Jin Yue didn't remember how he reached the top.
The last minutes of the climb existed in mere seconds of his memories, blood smeared across obsidian stone, fingertips splitting open, breath tearing from his chest
Not to mention his master who kept making him heavy with some invisible force, forcing him to pull himself up twice as hard
He collapsed the moment he pulled himself over the edge, vision blurry and his hands ruined
The air tasted strange. Clean and wrong.
Maybe after two weeks of choking on poison and the metallic tang of beast blood, clean air felt like a luxury.
He laid there for a while, cheek pressed against the cold ground, every breath scraping through him. His limbs twitched uncontrollably, muscles spasming as the last traces of poison struggled within his newly-formed core. The world spun. Dizziness folded over him like a heavy cloak.
He didn't know how long he lay there before her voice cut through the haze.
"You did not disappoint me, child."
Jin Yue forced his eyes open.
The Obsidian Maiden stood above him—tall, robed in black that shimmered like polished stone, her black hair drifting behind her as if stirred by a wind only she could command. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes, those dark, devouring and empty voids gleamed with faint approval.
He tried to push himself up but his body refused, collapsing under him like a wet cloth.
A soft sound left her lips as she lightly kicked at him with her feet smiling when he gave out a chocked cry "You climbed out with a broken body. Good. Pain is a teacher far more honest than any master."
He swallowed, throat raw. "M-Master"
"Do not speak." She flicked her fingers, and a thin thread of Qi pinned him flat to the ground. "Your lungs are close to collapsing. Your meridians are torn in dozens of places. And your poison dantian ah. It grew faster than I expected honestly but still pitiful small"
Her voice deepened, pleased in a way that chilled him.
"You devoured far more poison than you needed, didn't you? The hunger must have been far too great"
He didn't answer just licked his chapped lips that tasted faintly of poison and animal blood
She smiled, slow and sharp. "Desperation suits you."
He didn't really care to notice her expression, all he cared about was getting the rest he needed
Just as the sweet embrace of sleep was about to take him away he heard footsteps approaching then and his eyes looked up to catch who was here besides them
Jin Yue's vision slowly cleared, and he saw a girl standing a few paces behind the Obsidian Maiden.
She was small, delicate in a way that made her look almost translucent. Her hair was the first thing Jin Yue noticed—long, silky strands of deep ocean blue, broken by streaks of pure white like moonlight on water. Her eyes were a soft, pale blue, swirling faintly as if containing flowing currents.
Jin you didn't know much about but the clans in the land but his mother had always told him about the water azure clan a clan with powers that could heal the most deadly of diseases and beauties that could rival that of the heavenly princess
The Obsidian Maiden stepped aside, revealing her fully.
"This," she said, "is Lin Xiaoqi. Eldest daughter of the Water Azure Tribe's current matriarch. A rare treasure though a dying one."
The girl bowed her head weakly, hands clasped before her. She looked like she might collapse from the effort.
Jin Yue frowned, breath shaking. Dying?
"She carries a Qi Deficiency illness," the Obsidian Maiden explained her voice calm, as if speaking about the weather. "Her condition worsens by the day. Soon, her meridians will completely fail."
Lin Xiaoqi lowered her eyes, hiding the flicker of shame in them.
Jin Yue gritted his teeth, trying to push himself upright again. The Obsidian Maiden watched him struggle for a moment before releasing the Qi that held him down.
He rose to his elbows, panting. The girl immediately crouched beside him, alarmed.
"Y-you shouldn't move," she whispered, voice soft as flowing water. "Your injuries—"
"Child," the Obsidian Maiden cut in, "you will tend to him, heal him, clean him, feed him and ensure that he does not die."
Lin Xiaoqi stiffened. "Yes, Senior sister ."
The obsidian maiden face turned to a scowl in a second and she grabbed Xiaoqi face, nails digging into the soft pale skin
"Don't! call me that, call me Master."
The girl nodded, her eyes wide with fear. "Yes master."
It was silent for a moment after that before the obsidian maiden let go of Xiaoqi face
Jin Yue's heart hammered in his chest. Why bring a dying girl for him?
As if hearing his thoughts, the Obsidian Maiden tilted her head, amused. "You require a caretaker. And she-" She gestured lazily to Lin Xiaoqi. "-Requires a purpose before she passes."
A cruel smile curved her lips and her eyes shone with amusement again
"You will keep each other alive. One way or another."
The girl's hands trembled, but she nodded. Jin Yue couldn't tell if it was fear, weakness, or exhaustion maybe it was all three.
The Obsidian Maiden stepped closer, crouching gracefully, her long nails brushing Jin Yue's jaw.
"Look at you," she murmured. "Filthy, broken but still breathing, still clinging to your worthless life"
She leaned in, voice lowering. "Do you know how many disciples I've thrown into that pit? Dozens. And they all died screaming."
Jin Yue flinched but he didn't move from where she laid his hands clenched into a ball, trembling
"But you," she continued, "you crawled out. You created your own dantian for survival, you devoured poison with your bare teeth."
Her fingers tightened on his chin. "You will be magnificent"
Jin Yue forced himself not to recoil, face scrunched up in pain
"Lin Xiaoqi," the Obsidian Maiden said, rising, "take him to the Azure Spring, clean him, treat him and ensure his poison does not riot."
The girl nodded again.
"And Jin Yue," the Obsidian Maiden added, turning away, "rest while you can. When your body recovers, training will begin. Real training."
Her silhouette faded into drifting black mist, disappearing entirely.
Silence swallowed the clearing.
---
Lin Xiaoqi exhaled shakily and looked at Jin Yue.
She tried to help him stand, but she was small far too small and weak to support him fully. Instead, she knelt and let him lean against her, guiding him slowly, carefully across the dimly lit pathways
Her steps were uneven. She coughed twice, soft but painful sounding, before steadying herself.
"You don't have to hold me," Jin Yue rasped brows pinched in pain
"I must," she said softly. "Master's orders."
A bitter taste filled his mouth.
She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be forced into this. She should be with her family
A noble daughter who was dying, taken away to be forced to care for someone like him.
They reached a wooden door carved with water lilies and flowing currents. Lin Xiaoqi pushed it open, revealing a dim chamber lit by glowing blue stones. Steam curled through the air from a spring pool in the center, water shimmering with healing Qi.
"Sit," she said, voice quiet but determined.
He lowered himself to the floor. The moment the tension left his muscles, agony surged through him_deep and relentless.
Lin Xiaoqi knelt beside him with a bowl of medicinal water.
Her hands were feather light as she cleaned the blood and grime from his arms. She paused every few strokes to catch her breath, her illness visibly draining her.
"You should rest," Jin Yue murmured.
Her eyes softened with a sad smile. "If I rest too long, Master will be displeased. And I do not mind helping you."
A strange warmth twisted in his chest.
She reached for his shirt well what remained of it and hesitated only a moment before sliding the torn cloth away. Her breath hitched as she saw the extent of his injuries.
His entire torso was a map of bruises, claw marks, bite wounds. Purple veins spiderwebbed beneath his skin—poison lines, still faintly glowing.
"How-how did you survive this?" she whispered her fingers tracing along the black veins
Jin Yue didn't answer.
She swallowed and dipped her cloth again, carefully cleaning each wound.
"You must have fought so hard," she murmured. "I can feel the poison still circulating, It's amazing you're alive."
He flinched as she pressed against a deep gash.
"Sorry," she gasped. "I'm sorry, I'll be gentler"
"It's fine," he said through clenched teeth. "Just keep going."
Her movements slowed, becoming more careful. She worked in silence for several minutes before speaking again.
"I've heard stories about you."
Jin Yue stiffened. Stories about him? What was that supposed to mean? Had his parents spent their time looking for him and failing? Was word spreading about his disappearance and were people looking for him?
"Word of master taking in another student has spread round the land" he winced again as she brushed against another wound with a bit more pressure "that the boy she took in is a random nobody and they say Master only chooses disciples for one of two reasons: power or cruelty. I don't know which one you are yet."
"Neither," he whispered.
Her hands paused.
"I don't want to be here," he admitted. "But I don't have a choice."
Lin Xiaoqi nodded slowly, a sad smile on her face. "Then we are the same, my family wanted me gone so here I am"
She stood and gestured to the spring.
"Get in. The Azure Spring will soothe your meridians."
He rose unsteadily and lowered himself into the water. Instantly, relief washed over him—soothing warmth spreading through his battered flesh, numbing the worst of the pain.
Lin Xiaoqi sat beside the pool, legs tucked beneath her, watching him with quiet concern.
"Master said we will keep each other alive," she said softly. "I hope that is true. Even if only for a little while."
Jin Yue closed his eyes.
For the first time since entering the pit, he felt something other than pain.
Something small and fragile. Joy