Night had deepened. Heaven Dou Imperial City had shed its daytime clamor, leaving only scattered lights and the steady footsteps of patrolling guards. The inn where Shrek Academy was staying had long since fallen silent. Only one window on the second floor still cast a faint yellow glow.
Inside the room, Xiao Xiaoxiao sat cross-legged on the bed, yet she did not immediately enter meditation as usual. She held two hairpins in her hand—one was the dark-blue metal hairpin Tang San had given her during the day, the blue crystal at its tip glimmering faintly beneath the lamplight; the other was the plain wooden hairpin she had bought herself, carrying the subtle fragrance of Clear Heart Wood.
Her fingertips repeatedly traced the cool texture of the metal hairpin as scenes from the daytime match replayed uncontrollably in her mind. Tang San's precise control, his calm commands, and the strand of pure Mysterious Heaven Skill Soul Power he had quietly passed to her the instant her Spiritual Power had been overdrawn... and, when they left the arena, his brief words: "Your perception just now was very precise."
His approval stirred her heart more than any praise could have.
And this hairpin... "It looks sturdy enough. Use it during training. It won't break easily." He had said it so casually, as though he had simply picked up a practical little item. But Xiao Xiaoxiao knew that, given Tang San's personality and discernment, he would never casually buy something for someone. The material of this hairpin, that crystal—neither was ordinary. Had he... noticed that the plain hair ties she used before always snapped?
The thought made her cheeks flush slightly. She carefully set the metal hairpin beside her pillow, then picked up the wooden one. It was warm and smooth, carrying the old