Phoenix and Dragon Dojo.
Under Rong Lua's silent protection, the two disciples and Zhao Yunfei reached the dojo before nightfall. The sky was already deepening into shadows, lanterns flickering to life one by one as if the entire city exhaled in relief at their return.
Li Mei didn't waste a breath. The moment her feet touched the stone courtyard, she announced her intention to cultivate and slipped into seclusion. No one tried to stop her—given her breakthrough opportunity, any other reaction would have been absurd.
Wang Chen settled into his old rocking chair beside the small garden, the wooden frame creaking gently beneath him. The soft fragrance of night-blooming flowers drifted on the breeze as he watched the Fang sisters practicing the simple yoga poses he had demonstrated earlier.
Their movements were… stiff. Comically so. Anyone watching without context would think the two girls had been carved from wood and forced into shapes by an impatient sculptor.
