"Don't misunderstand what this means," Luo He said calmly, his voice cutting cleanly through the lingering pride that still floated in the hall like smoke after a fire. The room stilled.
Jin Mulan's gaze shifted toward him, her earlier composure tightening slightly, as if she already knew this was not going to be praise. "With my backing," he continued, his tone even, almost indifferent, "you won't be accepted into any imperial dojo." The words landed heavier than expected.
A few family members stiffened. Some exchanged uneasy glances. "Not just the royal academies," Luo He went on, taking a slow step forward, his presence filling the space without effort. "Not even the training halls backed by the great merchant empires."
His eyes remained steady. "None of them will even touch you." Jin Mulan's brows furrowed. Not in anger yet but in confusion. "Why?" A single word. Direct. Luo He didn't hesitate. "Because you're mine." Silence.
It wasn't possessive in tone. It was absolute. "They won't invest in someone they can't control," he added, his voice lowering slightly. "And they won't risk offending me by trying." He stepped closer now, close enough that only she could fully feel the weight of his presence.
"So your path is already decided." A brief pause. "You train with me." The words settled like iron. Not a suggestion. A fact.
Then a faint edge entered his voice. Subtle. Teasing. "And right now among my disciples, you're the second strongest."
Jin Mulan's eyes narrowed instantly.
"Second?" There it was. That spark. Luo He didn't look away. "Yes." A small pause. "But don't get comfortable." His gaze flicked briefly toward where Fei had stood earlier, as if measuring something unseen.
"The blacksmith" he continued, "give him one week of proper training, and he'll surpass you." Jin Mulan's expression hardened. "You're joking." "I'm not."
No hesitation. No doubt. His voice didn't rise. Didn't press. It didn't need to. "You'll try your best," he said, "you'll push yourself…" A slight pause.
"And still" His eyes held hers. "Two weeks at most." The challenge didn't feel like an insult. It felt like inevitability. Jin Mulan didn't look away. Something shifted in her eyes. Not anger. Not humiliation. Something sharper.
Determination.
"Then I won't give him that chance," she said quietly. For the first time Luo He smiled. "Prove me wrong," he said softly, "and I'll give you a gift." A faint pause.
"And something material," he added with a slight tilt of his head. "Not just my presence." That earned him a look.
Sharp. Dangerous. But he had already turned away. "With that," he said, "this meeting is over."
The hall emptied slowly. No one spoke loudly. No one lingered too long. But the weight of what had been said remained, pressing into the stone walls, into the minds of everyone who had heard it.
The next morning came quietly. Before the sun had fully risen, the world still wrapped in that pale blue stillness before dawn. Luo He was already prepared.
Standing at the entrance. Still.
Composed. Su Kim leaned against one of the wooden pillars, arms folded, watching him. "You're leaving again?" she asked. Her voice was calm.
Jin Mulan also stood, she showed no expression. But there was something under it. Something she didn't voice. "Not for long," Luo He replied. "This isn't a normal journey." He adjusted his sleeve slightly. "I'll go and return as quickly as possible."
"How quickly?" Jin Mulan pressed. This time He looked at her. A faint smile.
"Around..." Before she could react he moved. No warning. No buildup. Just a flash. The air cracked slightly where he had stood. And a boom and he was gone.
The world blurred. Wind tore past him, sharp and cold. Mountains became shadows. Rivers streaks of silver beneath him. Villages, forests, plains.
All erased by speed. Time itself seemed to fold around him. And in less than an hour he stopped.
The Flame Kingdom stood before him.
Vast. Unshaken. Its walls gleaming under the rising sun. Its towers cutting into the sky with quiet authority. This was power.
Not loud. Not desperate. But absolute.
He stepped forward and the moment he crossed the gates "Luo He." His mother's voice. He turned. She was already there.
As if she had known the exact second he would arrive. He smiled slightly.
"Mother." She stepped forward immediately and pulled him into an embrace. No hesitation. No restraint.
"You've grown thinner," she said, her hands already moving slightly as if checking for wounds, injuries, signs of strain.
"I've grown stronger," he replied lightly.
She didn't argue. Because she could feel it. Later, they sat together in a quiet chamber. Warm light filtered through carved windows. The scent of incense hung faintly in the air. His father entered without announcement, taking his place silently. Listening. Observing. Luo He didn't waste time.
"I met my sister." His mother's attention sharpened instantly. "She's in the Chu Kingdom," he continued. "With the eldest prince." His father leaned slightly forward. "A political move?" Luo He shook his head. "No." He said. "Personal." That made his mother frown.
"She has feelings for him," Luo He added. "And him?" she asked. Luo He exhaled slightly. "He listens to her."
A pause.
"Completely." The room quieted. "That's not balance," his father said. "No, he resembles more of her pet than her to be husband." Luo He agreed. "It's obedience there is no tension at all." He leaned back slightly. "She'll get bored soon." A faint smirk appeared. "My marriage works purely on tension." He laughed. Soft. Unbothered. His mother gave him a look. Sharp. But she didn't deny it.
"I awakened Jin Mulan's element," he said next. That changed everything again. "Fire?" his father asked. "Yes." His mother nodded slowly. Then gestured.
A servant stepped forward. Carrying a small object. A sphere. Black steel.
Dense. Perfect. "I had it prepared," she said.
"For when the time came." Luo He took it. Felt the weight. Balance. Control.
"It's perfect, someone small just like her," he said quietly. "And this," she added.
A sword was revealed. Thin. Elegant.
Deadly in its simplicity but bare a purely golden flame dragon the symbol of the great flame kingdom. "For my grand-daughter." Luo He accepted it, his grip firm. "She'll grow into it."
Then He placed documents on the table.
"My work." His father leaned in. "Medicine?" "Yes." Luo He tapped the pages. "These compounds kill what we cannot see. Creatures in the blood that cause disease." His parents exchanged a glance. Not disbelief. Recognition.
"This goes beyond theory," his father said quietly.
"It does but not for me. I love the unknown." "Three formulas," Luo He continued. "Including penicillin." Silence.
Then "this will change the world," his father said. "It will," Luo He replied. "If it spreads."
A pause.
"Don't explain it. Just give it a name. A cure." His father nodded. "I'll have it produced." "And distributed," Luo He added. "Everywhere." "It will be done."
Later they ate together. His mother cooked herself. Today it was specially for him. No pressure. Just quiet exelance.
Afterward, Luo He went to see his master. The old man sat as always. Still.
Unmoving. Luo He approached. "I came to thank you." No response. So he placed the object before him. "A gift."
The old man picked it up. Examined it.
"What is it?" "Put it on." He did. And the world returned. Clear. Sharp. Alive. His breath caught.
"So this is how it was…" Then he looked at Luo He. Truly looked. For the first time.
"You've grown." Luo He said nothing. But something in his silence answered everything.
Soon after he left again. The palace fading behind him. The sky opening ahead and once more he vanished into motion returning to the Jin mansion.
Within eight hours he was back. The Jin mansion stood quiet under the fading light of evening when Luo He stepped through its gates again, dustless, composed, as if he had never left at all.
Only the faint shift in the air marked his return. Jin Mulan noticed first. "You're back already?" she asked, a trace of surprise slipping through her usual control. "I said I would be," Luo He replied simply. But he didn't linger.
"Come," he added, turning. "Both of you." Fei was already waiting nearby, silent and ready.