Advancement

Smack!

Woken for dinner, Chen Banxia slapped herself hard across the face, the crack sharp and clear—

She had been so busy sleeping that she had forgotten to take photos!

Infuriating!

A hundred million down the drain!

She could never forget again!

Still fuming, Chen Banxia walked to the table and found it laden with a feast: beef in golden broth, hot-and-sour razor clams, abalone with shiitake mushrooms, Snakehead Fish fillets with pickled mustard greens, pickled-pepper chicken gizzards, and a pot of tomato meatball soup. Golden oil rimmed the bright red broth, with pale meatballs nestled inside.

"Haha!"

Chen Banxia promptly forgot her anger and picked up her chopsticks. She turned to Ning Qing. "I'm telling you, with Chen Shu cooking like this, you're in for a treat."

Ning Qing said nothing.

Poor sister. I've been enjoying his cooking for ages.

Chen Banxia helped herself to a piece of abalone and popped it into her mouth. Speaking indistinctly, she said, "Stay here tonight. I've got another room."

"I have to go back to my dorm."

"Me too."

"Hey, didn't Chen Shu say you were practicing Silence Meditation?"

"I just finished."

"How come?"

"I couldn't hold out, so it ended."

"So you failed." Chen Banxia nodded, then added, "You don't have class tomorrow. Why go back to the dorm?"

"None of your business," Chen Shu said.

"I need to go back," Ning Qing said.

"Fine, fine. I can't be bothered with you two anyway."

After a few bites, Chen Banxia suddenly stood and took the bottle from the Royal Wine Cellar off the liquor cabinet. She twisted off the cap with ease and pulled the cork free with a pop, then urged Chen Shu and Ning Qing to drink. But since they had come by scooter, only Chen Shu agreed to have a little.

On the way back, Ning Qing drove while Chen Shu sat behind her, his arms around her waist.

The breeze felt wonderful.

Qingqing's waist is so slender.

"We're here."

"Oh."

Reluctantly, Chen Shu let go of Qingqing's waist, taking the chance to give it one last firm stroke before climbing off the little scooter.

Ning Qing looked at him expressionlessly.

They were at the entrance to Yujing University's sports field. Apparently, students gathered there every Mid-Autumn Festival to stroll beneath the moon and sing and dance. Chen Shu had arranged to come take a look with her.

After locking up the scooter and their helmets, they walked into the sports field.

It really was lively inside.

There were floodlights at two opposite corners of the field. Usually only one was lit, but today, unusually, both shone. Even so, they were dim, as though neither dared compete with the moon.

People were everywhere. Some sat on the grass in groups of three or five, drinking and eating mooncakes; others strolled slowly along the track, chatting with companions or playing on their phones if they were alone. Everyone had their own way of enjoying the evening.

Emboldened by a third of a glass of wine, Chen Shu draped an arm over Ning Qing's shoulders and walked into the crowd with her.

Ning Qing glanced at her shoulder, then turned to him.

"Are you charging for this?"

Chen Shu stared intently ahead. He couldn't hear her.

Patiently, Ning Qing asked again, "Are you charging for this?"

"I'm drunk."

"So?"

"Why do you have to count every little thing?"

"?"

"You're so annoying! Put it on my tab! Put it on my tab, then!" Chen Shu said irritably. "You should've started practicing your Stillheart Way as soon as dinner was over."

"I have a good memory."

"..."

"Here."

Ning Qing produced two mooncakes from somewhere and handed one to Chen Shu. "You made them. I haven't eaten mine yet."

"Didn't you share any with your roommate?"

"I left her two."

"Oh..."

Chen Shu couldn't bear to take his right arm off her shoulders, so he reached across with his farther-away left hand to accept the mooncake. He took a small bite. It tasted familiar.

The person beside him was familiar, too. They had spent fifteen Mid-Autumn Festivals like this.

"Should we see less of each other for a while?"

"Why?"

"You've failed at the Stillheart Way twice now. Maybe you should finish it in one go instead of putting yourself through this again."

"No."

"How come?"

"Practicing the Stillheart Way isn't the goal. What it gives me is the goal." Ning Qing's voice was clear and firm. "Once I finish practicing it, I'll still be with you."

"I see..."

Chen Shu ate his mooncake and looked up.

Tonight the moon was perfectly full, its clear light spread across the earth.

Zhang Suannai sat listlessly in a chair, chin propped on her hand. On the table before her were two plates of mooncakes: one held only two small ones, while the other held large mooncakes sent by her sect.

There were also two cans of soda.

But the dorm room door was shut tight, and the corridor outside was silent. Moonlight spilled in from the balcony, painting a thin layer of frost across the floor tiles and lending the room a further chill.

The television flickered in the living room, showing a Mid-Autumn Gala from some platform or other. Someone was singing about letting fireflies lead you back to the beauty of the beginning. But the song echoed forlornly through the room. Far from making it feel lively, its lone voice only deepened the silence.

Her roommate still hadn't returned.

Zhang Suannai knew Ning Qing was practicing Silence Meditation. At first, she had suspected Ning Qing had made it up because she didn't want to talk to her, so she kept hovering outside Ning Qing's door, hoping to overhear her speaking. When she heard nothing, she even suspected Ning Qing had drawn soundproofing Runes on the wall, though she had no way to prove it.

Eventually, she had confirmed that Ning Qing really had stopped talking.

So she hadn't asked when Ning Qing would be back.

She had just waited alone like an idiot.

"Ah..."

Zhang Suannai stretched.

Although it was already Mid-Autumn, she wasn't afraid of the cold and was still dressed lightly.

She wore a youthful blue-and-white jacket over a little white cotton camisole that showed off the defined lines of her abdomen. Dark gray skinny jeans hugged her legs, making them look slender and long and her bottom especially pert. White sneakers completed the outfit, and she had casually tied her hair in a high ponytail with a red cord. Even slouched in her chair, her figure stood out.

Thoroughly bored, she picked up a small mooncake and ate it.

It tasted pretty good.

She ate slowly and waited.

Then she heard footsteps outside. Her ears perked up at once, and her hand went still.

As the footsteps drew closer, she left the table and padded silently to the door.

She gripped the handle and waited patiently.

Her eyebrows lifted—

"Beep..."

The instant the card reader sounded, she pressed the handle and swung the door open. Ning Qing stood outside, still holding her card up. Zhang Suannai gave her a brilliant smile.

"Haha! Scared you, didn't I?"

"Morning."

"What do you mean, morning? It's already eve—hey, you're talking?"

"I failed. I'll start again tomorrow."

"You failed? Even you can fail? I thought you could go your whole life without speaking." Zhang Suannai paused. "You must've been mute in your last life."

"Maybe."

"Where'd you go? I've been waiting for you to come back and eat mooncakes. If I didn't know you'd never date anyone, I'd think you'd gone on a date!" Zhang Suannai smacked her lips and followed Ning Qing as she walked past, launching into another question before Ning Qing could answer the first. "Those little mooncakes of yours are pretty good. Where'd you buy them?"

"Why were you waiting for me?"

"To eat mooncakes! It's Mid-Autumn Festival! Our dorm has to be together, too!"

"..."

Ning Qing glanced at the mooncakes and drinks on the table. Her time with Chen Shu earlier had softened her heart. She said nothing, merely walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down. Then she asked,

"Isn't there anything happening at the sports field?"

"Sure. Every year. Loads of people go."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I was waiting to eat mooncakes with you, silly. You said you'd be back today, and with that cold personality of yours, I figured you didn't have any friends or anywhere to go. If I didn't wait, you'd come back to an empty dorm, all by yourself. How miserable would that be? I thought if you got back early, I'd take you to the sports field to see how normal people socialize. It's too late now, so we'll do it next year." Zhang Suannai slapped her forehead with a smack. "I should've messaged you. I thought you were still being mute."

"You talk too much."

"?? Is that the point?"

"..."

Ning Qing looked at her silently and said no more.

Zhang Suannai's enthusiasm remained undimmed. Her figure, as striking as an anime character's, moved around Ning Qing as she urged her, "Try my mooncakes. Limited edition from a top-tier sect. I'm telling you, not just anyone gets to eat these. You're in for a treat."

As she spoke, she drew her longsword and used its tip to cut a large mooncake into smaller pieces. "It's got two egg yolks! From spirit birds!"

Ning Qing glanced at her sword. Wasn't that covered in germs?

But she picked up a small piece anyway.

"Well?"

Under Zhang Suannai's expectant gaze, Ning Qing pursed her lips and looked her up and down. "That outfit looks nice on you."

At noon on the sixteenth day of the eighth month.

Ning Qing had been standing alone in the courtyard for a long time.

The sun had dispersed the morning mist, and the dew on the plants had gradually vanished. The soil was dry on the surface and damp beneath, too fine, hard, and water-retentive to suit roses.

Two birds were still playing in the sky, the same pair from last week. Ning Qing had already found their nest at the top of the persimmon tree in the courtyard.

The sky was gray with light haze.

A north wind stirred the leaves softly, blowing at around two meters per second.

Footsteps outside the gate sounded rather brisk.

At last, Ning Qing moved. She walked toward the gate.

"Creeeak..."

She pulled open the wooden courtyard gate. Outside, Chen Shu had just raised his hand and stood poised to knock.

Ning Qing silently took a step back.

Almost at the same moment, his hand came down anyway. He had meant to pat her forehead, but now, even stretching his arm as far as it would go and leaning forward, he missed by a hair.

Ning Qing turned and walked back.

The gate closed behind her.

Then came Chen Shu's voice. "Shouldn't you put some of that stuff on the thing on your gate? It's always creaking..."

Ning Qing went back inside and sat down, as though waiting for something.

Chen Shu came over and told her, "I'm about to advance. I bought the potion the day before yesterday, and it arrived this morning. Keep an eye on me. Something probably won't go wrong, but if it does, call an ambulance."

With that, he opened the box in his hand.

It was a rigid white cardboard box lined with cushioning foam. A glass vial sat in the center, fitted perfectly into place.

The glass vial was about three centimeters wide and a dozen centimeters long. Inside, the potion shimmered with blue and red hues that seemed to flow constantly. There was no syringe included, which meant it was taken orally. Breakthrough potions at this level were essentially composed of special spiritual energy; whether injected or swallowed made no difference, so long as it entered the body.

"Here goes!"

Chen Shu sat cross-legged on the floor with his back against the sofa. Without another word, he opened the vial, put it to his lips, and tipped his head back.

Every drop poured out, without so much as a trace clinging to the glass.

It had no taste at all, not even the taste of water. If he hadn't felt its volume, he might have thought he was drinking air.

He swallowed it in two gulps.

Chen Shu closed his eyes.

Ning Qing tilted her head slightly and studied him.

Chen Shu was very quiet now, his breathing even. As he focused on breaking through in his Spirit Sea, his expression gradually grew intent, betraying the changes within him.

His brow furrowed slightly;

His eyes squeezed more tightly shut;

Then his brow furrowed deeper still.

He began to sweat.

Though he sat motionless, some of his muscles began to tense involuntarily.

He had reached the critical moment, and pain was setting in.

Ning Qing should have watched him quietly without disturbing him. Yet she could not help reaching out, wanting to smooth the crease between his brows and wipe the sweat from his temples.