Yun Zhen's legs still felt stiff from yesterday when he stepped back onto the cracked stone of the side training grounds. The morning air was cold enough to sting, but he welcomed the sensation. At least cold reminded him he was alive. Pain reminded him this body wasn't strong enough. Both were better than the empty numbness he felt when he first woke in this life.
He adjusted his breathing and whispered, "Silent Steps… slow version this time."
His right foot lifted with small control, his balance shifting just enough that his chest didn't flare up. He moved two more steps with rough precision. The third movement caught slightly at his ribs, so he stopped before it collapsed into pain. He let out a sharp breath and rubbed his side.
"Still terrible," he muttered.
[Host meridian stability decreasing.]
"I noticed," he answered with a low groan.
He rested one hand on his knee, catching his breath. "You keep giving warnings, but you're not helping me grow a new body."
[Host must complete First Yin Contact.]
"Yeah, not happening today. She'd stab me."
[Host survival—]
"Enough," he snapped softly. "One problem at a time."
He pushed himself upright again. Sweat already collected at his hairline. Just breathing with technique focus burned more qi than this body could hold.
He tried the movement again—smaller steps, weaker output. It flowed better this time. He was about to try a short pivot when a voice cut through the training field like a blade.
"What are you doing?"
He froze mid-step.
Yun Xue stood at the edge of the grounds with her arms crossed and her gaze sharp enough to slice metal. She wore a simple training robe, but her posture made it look like she was dressed in armor. Her expression was already twisted with annoyance.
Yun Zhen lowered his foot and answered calmly, "Trying not to fall on my face. You?"
She walked closer, the frost in her eyes colder than her Yin. "I heard something strange this morning."
"Congratulations," he said, wiping sweat from his jaw.
She ignored the joke. "Two of the younger disciples said you performed Silent Steps yesterday. They described your movement. They said you learned it instantly."
He shrugged lightly. "They exaggerate."
Her eyes narrowed. "They don't even know enough about the technique to exaggerate. But I do."
She stepped forward until she stood directly in front of him. Her voice dropped lower.
"You shouldn't be able to learn that technique in one day. You shouldn't be able to learn any technique in one day."
"I'm full of surprises lately."
"This isn't funny."
He sighed and sat on the edge of an old stone platform. "I never said it was."
She stared at him long enough that he felt her gaze like pressure on his skin. Finally, she reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Stop moving."
Her touch came cold, and the wave of her Frost Yin traveled up his arm like faint ice. She focused her senses and then snapped her eyes open with confusion.
"Your meridians are chaotic," she muttered. "You should be in bed. You should be unable to stand. Why are you doing footwork with meridians like this?"
He pulled his wrist free. "Because sitting in bed won't fix them."
She stepped closer until her shadow fell across him. "You're hiding something."
"You think too much, Yun Xue."
"You think too little!" she shot back.
He gave a half smile that frustrated her even more. "You said that yesterday."
"Because you keep proving it," she complained.
She studied him again, stepping around him as if trying to spot the parts that didn't make sense. "Your breath pattern is different. Your eyes don't look like someone scared to exist. Your stance is too stable. Even your voice…"
She clenched her jaw. "It's not yours."
Yun Zhen tilted his head. "Whose is it then?"
Her expression tightened. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. And every time I look at you, I find more that doesn't match."
He stood up slowly, correcting his posture so she had to look upward slightly to meet his eyes. "Your problem is simple."
She scoffed. "Say something clever then."
"You're watching me too closely."
Her face heated so fast she looked stunned. "I—I'm watching you because you're suspicious, not because I care."
"You care a bit," he replied with a small grin.
She shoved him lightly in the chest. "Stop talking like that!"
He barely moved from the push, though the impact made a dull ache spread across his ribs. He hid the wince and stepped to the side.
"You can stare longer if you want," he teased.
Her ears reddened this time. "I'm not staring longer!"
He shook his head. "Fine. You're investigating me. It's very serious."
"You think everything is a game."
"No. I think you're adorable when you're irritated."
Her breath caught, and for a second, she forgot how to speak. Then her expression hardened again, icy and sharp.
"You're mocking me."
"I'm being honest."
"You—" she cut herself off before shouting. She inhaled slowly through her nose, trying to keep herself together.
Then she pointed to the circular sparring stage nearby.
"Fine," she said. "If you want to act like you've become someone new, then prove it. Right here."
He blinked. "…You want to fight now?"
"You're so calm it makes me angry," she muttered. "If you're pretending to be strong, I'll expose it."
"I'm not pretending."
"Then fight me."
He looked at her, then at the sparring ring, then back at her. "You're Elementary Spirit Realm Stage 3."
"And you're the one 'full of surprises,' right?" she said with a mocking lift of her brow. "So show me."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not fighting you."
She stepped closer, voice rising from frustration.
"Scared?"
"Smart," he corrected. "Elementary Spirit Realm Stage 3 versus Elementary Spirit Realm Stage 1 isn't a duel. It's suicide."
Her lips tightened. For a moment, she didn't speak. Then she said quietly, "I don't care about winning. I want the truth."
"You won't get it by knocking me out."
"I'll get something."
He looked at her for a long moment, studying the mix of anger and confusion swimming behind her cold exterior. She wasn't challenging him out of cruelty. She was challenging him because she didn't understand him anymore, and losing that understanding terrified her more than she'd ever admit.
He stepped away, shaking his head.
"When you're ready for the truth, you'll hear it. But not today."
Her breath froze.
The words seemed to hit somewhere deep, deeper than she wanted.
Her voice cracked with frustration. "You— You think you can walk away?"
"I am walking away."
She clenched her fists so hard her knuckles whitened. "You can't keep changing without explaining. You're not supposed to act like this. You're not supposed to look at me like that—like you know something I don't."
"I do know something," he said softly. "But you're not ready to hear it."
She flinched as if he struck her. For a moment, she looked almost… hurt.
She spun around, refusing to let him see the expression.
"Fine! Stay weak! See if I care!"
She stormed off, leaving disciples whispering behind their hands.
A few came closer to Yun Zhen.
"…Did she seriously challenge him?"
"She's crazy strong though…"
"Why'd he refuse? The old Yun Zhen would've fainted on the spot."
He walked past them without giving any answer. Their whispers followed him until he turned the corner and reached the quiet part of the grounds again.
He sat beneath the same tree as yesterday and exhaled slowly.
[Lewd Quest: First Yin Contact — Pending.]
"Not the time," he muttered.
[Host instability increasing.]
"She'd freeze me solid if I tried anything right now."
[Host's survival is—]
"I get it," he said sharply, rubbing his eyes. "Just let me breathe."
The System fell silent.
His head rested against the tree for a few minutes until the sounds of training faded. When he looked up again, he caught a glimpse of Yun Xue behind a stone pillar at the far edge of the yard.
She was watching him quietly, her expression unreadable.
When she realized he'd noticed, she turned sharply and walked away.
He exhaled with a tired laugh. "You're a mess."
Before he stood up, footsteps approached.
An elder cleared his throat. "Yun Zhen."
He looked over with a neutral expression.
"Yes?"
"Report to the inner courtyard. You've been assigned a task."
Yun Zhen raised a brow. "A task for me?"
"Yes," the elder muttered. "Immediately."
Yun Zhen stood, brushing dust from his robes.
If the clan is calling the bastard child, he thought as he followed the elder, they're not calling him for anything good.
End Of Chapter 6