The Weight of the Core Flame

Lu Qinghe sat on the doorstep until the wee hours of the morning.

"Walk."

As dawn broke, he said only one word to Shen Moxin.

Shen Moxin spent the night in a local temple outside the town, her glasses fogged up with moisture. She didn't ask where they were going, grabbed her luggage, and followed. The two of them, one after the other, plunged into the desolate mountains to the west.

The road was already buried by grass. Lu Qinghe walked ahead, using his machete to cut through the vines, his steps heavy like tamping earth. Shen Moxin struggled to keep up, but didn't utter a sound.

After crossing the second mountain ridge, the sun was high in the sky. Lu Qinghe stopped by the rocks, broke off half a hard biscuit, and handed it over.

Shen Moxin took the biscuit and nibbled on it. "Those two children," she swallowed a crumb, "One is named Su Yan, twelve years old, with the Martial Soul ' Iron Ruler,' at the third level of the Innate Realm. His family are blacksmiths; he's quiet but hardworking. The other is Li Wangye, eleven years old, with the Martial Soul ' Gray Sparrow,' at the second level of the Innate Realm. He's lively and eager to learn, but he's poor."

Lu Qinghe didn't reply. He stared at the distant mountain valley, his brows furrowed.

He knew all too well what it felt like to be stuck at level 19 for fifteen years, with no one telling him how to exert himself.

"Let's go." He stood up. "We'll get it before dark."

The mine entrance was hidden behind a rocky slope, overgrown with wild vines. Lu Qinghe pushed aside the vines, and a musty smell mixed with the smell of rust wafted out. He lit a tinderbox and stepped aside to let Shen Moxin go in first.

The cave was dark, and the path was bumpy. The cave walls were damp and seeping water, and occasionally small stones fell from above. Shen Moxin noticed some carvings on the walls, which were crooked and unreadable.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, we reached a fork in the road. The left path had collapsed, while a faint light shone from the depths on the right.

Lu Qinghe chose the right.

After rounding two bends, the cavern suddenly opened up. The ceiling was high, and the ground was piled with metal parts, reddish stones, and a small clay stove emitting blue smoke. Two people were squatting with their backs to the cave entrance. One was struggling with a lump of iron with a file, while the other had his head down, his palm holding a faint halo of light.

Lu Qinghe's throat tightened.

Shen Moxin spoke first, "Lu Yuan?"

The two people who were squatting froze simultaneously.

Lu Yuan turned around abruptly. The firelight illuminated his face, which was covered in soot, and his hair was stuck to his cheeks with sweat. When he saw Lu Qinghe, he was stunned for a moment, and his gaze fell on Shen Moxin.

A hint of understanding flashed in those calm eyes.

There was also a sense of solemnity.

"Father," Lu Yuan stood up, dusting off his hands, "Teacher Shen."

Mo Chen also stood up, squinting as he sized up the newcomer. His face was thicker with soot, and a file was held horizontally in front of him. "Who's this?"

"This is my father. This is Ms. Shen Moxin, a teaching assistant at the Nuoding Academy."

Mo Chen gave an "Oh," lowered the file, and his wary expression remained. "What are you doing in this godforsaken place?"

Lu Qinghe ignored him, walked a few steps to Lu Yuan, and looked him up and down. "You've lost weight." He took out the brown paper envelope from his pocket and handed it over, "Take a look."

Lu Yuan took it and walked to the clay stove to examine it by the light. He pinched the edge of the paper with his fingers, tightening it little by little.

Mo Chen leaned closer and craned his neck. "What did you write?"

Lu Yuan handed him the letter and turned to Shen Moxin. "Teacher Shen, please tell me in detail."

Shen Moxin took a deep breath.

Dismissal. Warning. Ostracism from the academy. Su Yan and Li Wangye were expelled and had nowhere to go.

She spoke at a steady pace, each word like a stone hitting the ground.

Mo Chen listened and read the letter, his face growing increasingly dark. When Shen Moxin finished speaking, he spat angrily, crumpled the letter into a ball, and threw it on the ground. "utter nonsense! You're stupid yourself, but you won't let others be smart?"

The cavern was deathly silent.

Only the crackling of the firewood in the clay stove could be heard.

Lu Yuan lowered his head, looking at his palm—the aura of Soul Power was still there, faint but stable. The aura shifted, illuminating the darkness in his eyes.

He recalled the humiliation at the foot of the Nuoding Academy library steps, the librarian's cold rejection, and the glint in Shen Moxin's eyes when she handed him the notes.

It turns out nothing has ever changed.

Lu Yuan raised his head, his gaze moving from Shen Moxin's haggard face to his father's tightly pursed lips, and finally landing on Mo Chen's indignant profile.

He spoke slowly.

The sound echoed clearly within the rock cavity, each word distinct.

"Teacher Shen, thank you for bringing the news," he said. "Those two students... Su Yan and Li Wangye. If they'd like, they can come here."

Shen Moxin's pupils contracted slightly.

"There's nothing here." Lu Yuan spread his hands, the halo in his palm swaying gently. "Only stones, scrap metal, endless experiments, and a road whose feasibility is unknown. The food is poor, the accommodations are dilapidated, and you have to live in constant fear."

He paused, then looked directly at Shen Moxin.

Would you like to stay?

Shen Moxin nodded.

Without hesitation, she looked into Lu Yuan's eyes and nodded very lightly but firmly.

The stagnant air in the cavern loosened. Mo Chen chuckled and bent down to pick up the crumpled letter from the ground. Lu Qinghe walked to the clay stove and added some firewood.

Shen Moxin left before dawn the next day. She had to return to Nuoding City to pick someone up. Lu Yuan gave her a simple map, indicating the route into the mountains.

"Be careful on the road," Lu Yuan said as he escorted him to the cave entrance.

"I know." Shen Moxin adjusted her glasses. "They're both... good kids. They just had bad luck."

"When you're down on your luck, you need to seize every opportunity."

Shen Moxin glanced at him, then turned and plunged into the darkness before dawn.

Three days later, at dusk, Su Yan and Li Wangye followed Shen Moxin into Old West Gully.

The setting sun painted the rocky slope a dark red. The mine entrance was hidden behind wild vines, pitch black, and the wind blowing out carried the smells of mildew and rust.

Two boys stood at the bottom of the slope, looking up.

Su Yan stood ramrod straight, his lips pursed, carrying a faded, neatly bound coarse cloth bundle on his back. His bright black eyes scanned the area from the wild vines at the cave entrance to the pebbles on the slope, one by one. His fingers curled unconsciously.

Li Wangye stood to the side, tall and thin, slightly hunched. He rubbed his hands, his eyes filled with curiosity mixed with unease. "Teacher Shen, is this... the place?"

Shen Moxin hummed in agreement and pushed aside the vines. "Come in."

It's worse inside.

The passageway was narrow, with loose rocks falling from above. The rock walls were damp, and the ground was pockmarked with black water. Only the dim light of the cheap Soul Power lamp in Shen Moxin's hand could barely illuminate the area three feet in front of her.

Li Wangye walked cautiously, almost slipping and falling. Su Yan reached out and helped him up without saying a word.

After turning a corner, a wide-open space suddenly appeared before us—a natural rock cavity.

A fire was burning in the center, with a black earthenware pot resting on it. Scattered around the fire were metal parts, unfinished bases, and spread-out animal hide drawings. Mo Chen squatted in front of a reddish-brown rock base, engrossed in polishing it, sparks flying everywhere.

Lu Yuan stood at the other end of the cavern, his back to the entrance, drawing something on the stone slab with charcoal. Hearing footsteps, he turned around.

The firelight illuminated his face. He saw Shen Moxin, his gaze then falling on the two boys behind her.

The examination was detached, without hostility.