Xingli stands by the window of her room and looks down at the street below.
The city is alive again.
Burly Northern Mountain men walk through the streets, their broad shoulders wrapped in thick furs and leather, tooth and claw necklaces hanging across their chests.
Some carry heavy bundles of supplies.
Others laugh loudly as they walk together.
Their deep voices echo along the stone streets.
Among them are Northern Mountain women with braided hair adorned with colourful beads.
Some carry baskets filled with goods.
Others walk with children tied against their backs with cloth wraps.
The children peek curiously at the world around them while their mothers continue walking through the busy streets.
The city had been nearly empty during the battle.
Now the streets are crowded again.
Those who fled during the war are returning.
Merchants reopen their shops.
Caravans unload supplies.
Workers repair buildings damaged during the fighting.
Smoke rises from cooking fires.
Voices fill the air.
Life returns quickly.
Xingli watches quietly from above.
The movement below feels endless.
This city will become great.
She can already see it.
The location alone makes it inevitable.
Between the Northern Mountain tribes and the Song Kingdom, this place will become a hub connecting the two worlds.
Trade will flow through these streets.
Caravans will arrive from both directions.
Goods from the plains will move into the mountains.
Furs, minerals, herbs and beasts from the mountains will flow toward the kingdom.
The city will grow.
Power will grow with it.
And the family that controls the city will become indispensable.
The Duan Family.
Once this city stabilises, the Duan Family will become impossible to replace.
The Song Kingdom will depend on them.
If conflict ever arises, removing them would destabilise the entire northern border.
Because of that, the royal court will tolerate almost anything.
As long as the Duan Family does not openly rebel, the kingdom will close one eye to their actions.
Xingli understands this clearly.
She is a princess of the Song Kingdom.
She grew up listening to court discussions about power and stability.
She understands how kingdoms survive.
The Duan Family is rising.
Linking them to the royal family will strengthen the Song Family's rule.
If the Duan Family stands behind the royal family, any rebellion will become far harder to succeed.
Ambitious nobles will hesitate.
External enemies will think twice.
The alliance will stabilise the kingdom.
Which means the Duan Family has become the most important matter for the Song royal family.
Xingli understands all of this.
That is why the marriage was arranged.
Her fingers tighten slightly against the wooden window frame.
Her thoughts waver.
Everything she has exists because she is a member of the Song royal family.
If she were not born into the royal bloodline, her talent alone would not have been enough.
She would not have been accepted as a disciple by her master.
She would not have entered the Purple Lotus Sect.
The sect accepts disciples from outside only if they come from noble families.
Without her status, the sect would never have looked at her.
She understands that clearly.
Which means running away from the marriage means abandoning everything connected to her identity.
Her resolve wavers.
For a moment, she hesitates.
Then a face appears in her mind.
Shi Yang.
Her chest tightens.
The thought of him strengthens her resolve again.
She cannot marry Duan Merin.
Her determination begins to harden.
Then another thought appears.
Elder Mu's words.
Shi Yang has already become the Dao partner of a woman from the Yi Family.
If that is true, then perhaps she has no reason to run away.
If Shi Yang has already chosen another path, then what is she running toward?
Her thoughts begin to shift again.
Then another memory rises.
Her dream.
The dream she once held above everything else.
To become a Soul Awakening Realm cultivator.
She had had that dream since the day she began cultivating.
And there was another reason.
Her mother.
Xingli slowly closes her eyes.
The memory is clear.
Her mother is lying weak on the bed.
Her breathing is slow.
Her hand was gripping Xingli's tightly.
Her mother's voice was weak but firm.
She made Xingli promise.
Promise to become a Soul Awakening cultivator.
Promise to control her own destiny.
Her mother had not been able to control hers.
Before marrying the king, her mother had been a talented warrior.
Before the age of twenty, she had already reached the Inner Qi Refining Realm.
She belonged to a sect located near the territory of Xingli's grandmother's family.
Her grandmother visited the sect.
She asked for her hand in marriage.
The sect agreed happily.
Her mother was married into the royal family.
At first, she did not understand why the sect agreed so easily.
Later, she realised the truth.
Her cultivation technique.
A Yin cultivation technique.
If she remained pure, her cultivation speed would increase greatly.
But if her yin were broken, her cultivation would collapse.
The energy would transfer to the man who took it.
Her father.
Only then did her mother realise the truth.
The sect had raised her as a cauldron.
A cultivation furnace is to be given to someone powerful.
She gave birth to Xingli.
A few years later, she gave birth to Xingli's younger brother.
After that, her health slowly deteriorated.
Her cultivation was gone.
Her body weakened.
Then she died.
On her deathbed, she made Xingli promise.
To reach the Soul Awakening Realm.
To control her own destiny.
Xingli slowly opens her eyes.
She had almost forgotten that promise.
Years in the Purple Lotus Sect had changed her.
She had fallen in love with Shi Yang.
Her thoughts had revolved around him.
But now everything has changed.
Her marriage has been arranged.
Others are deciding her future.
Her destiny is no longer her own.
The memory of her mother's words burns clearly in her mind.
She cannot marry Duan Merin.
She refuses to repeat her mother's fate.
And she is not the only princess of the Song royal family.
If she disappears, the royal court will choose another princess.
The alliance will continue.
The kingdom will not collapse because of her absence.
Her decision is settled.
She will escape.
But she will not return to the Purple Lotus Sect.
Going back there would only trap her again.
The sect would return her to the royal court.
Or worse.
They would use her the same way her mother had been used.
No.
A different path.
She will become a rogue cultivator.
She will cultivate alone.
Her mother already paid the debt owed to the royal family with her life.
The rest of the debt Xingli will repay herself.
When she becomes a Soul Awakening Realm cultivator.
Her gaze turns back to the city outside.
People continue moving through the streets.
Life continues.
But her mind is already planning.
Paths of escape.
Possible routes.
Supplies she will need.
How to leave without being noticed.
Her thoughts sharpen.
A plan begins forming in her mind.
Xingli understands immediately that she cannot escape alone.
Leaving the residence unnoticed will require help.
She turns from the window and walks toward the door of her room.
When she pulls it open, a servant is standing quietly outside in the corridor.
Xingli gestures for the servant to step closer.
"Please invite Mu Qiuran and Shi Yinli to my room," she says calmly.
The servant bows and leaves quickly.
Xingli closes the door again.
Her heartbeat is steady, but her thoughts move quickly.
If she is going to leave, she must make sure no one notices the preparation.
She reaches into her space bag and takes out several small materials.
Array flags.
Energy stones.
Thin carved jade plates etched with formation lines.
She kneels on the floor and begins arranging them around the room.
Her fingers move quickly but carefully.
One flag near the window.
Another beside the door.
Two jade plates were hidden beneath the table.
A final stone was placed near the bed.
She channels a thin strand of spiritual energy into the array.
The formation activates silently.
A faint ripple spreads through the air before vanishing.
The barrier array seals the room.
Sound will not escape.
Spiritual fluctuations will remain hidden.
No one outside will know what happens inside.
Moments later, a knock sounds at the door.
Xingli quickly stands and walks toward it.
She opens the door.
Her steps stop.
Standing outside is not Mu Qiuran or Shi Yinli.
It is Elder Mu.
Xingli's heart suddenly begins beating faster.
Tension rises in her chest.
But Elder Mu does not notice.
Her expression remains calm as always.
"I am going to meet Duan Merin," Elder Mu says.
"We need to discuss the marriage arrangements."
At that moment, footsteps approach from the corridor.
Mu Qiuran and Shi Yinli arrive together.
They bow respectfully when they see Elder Mu.
Elder Mu glances at them briefly.
"Behave yourselves," she says firmly.
"Do not leave the residence before I return."
The three girls nod obediently.
Satisfied, Elder Mu turns and walks down the corridor.
Her figure disappears around the corner.
Xingli finally exhales slowly.
She steps aside.
"Come in."
Her friends enter the room.
Xingli closes the door behind them.
Then she activates the barrier fully.
The air inside the room becomes quiet and sealed.
Mu Qiuran looks around curiously.
Shi Yinli tilts her head.
"What is this about?" she asks.
Xingli does not answer immediately.
Instead, she begins telling them a story.
Not about escape.
Not about the marriage.
She tells them about her mother.
She explains everything.
Her mother's talent.
The sect.
Her grandmother arranged the marriage.
The Yin cultivation technique.
The truth was that her mother had been raised in a cultivation cauldron.
The loss of her cultivation.
The sickness.
The final promise made at her mother's deathbed.
Silence fills the room when the story ends.
Shi Yinli suddenly breaks down in tears.
Mu Qiuran remains quiet.
Her eyes remain steady.
After a moment, she finally speaks.
"What help do you need?"
Xingli looks at them both.
Then she begins explaining.
They start planning her escape.