Engagement 2

As Lan Qingyuan walked toward the inner door, the corridor bustled with activity. Maids hurriedly cleared the tables and tidied up, preparing for the departure of Li Zhen. Chi Yu, her ever-faithful maid, was ready to guide the young lady back.

Lan Qingyuan glanced back at Li Zhen, whose retreating figure felt strangely distant to her. It was as if he had become a mere shadow of someone she once knew intimately.

Noticing her contemplative expression, Chi Yu approached with concern. "Is there something troubling you, my lady?"

Lan Qingyuan's thoughts were troubled by the sudden change in Li Zhen's demeanor. "Chi Yu, has Li Zhen changed? He seems so different from before."

Chi Yu's eyes hardened as she studied Lan Qingyuan's face. "No, my lady. It's best not to dwell on him."

Lan Qingyuan's curiosity was piqued. "Why do you say that?"

Chi Yu's tone was low, tinged with an edge of disdain. "My lady, Li Zhen used to be very clingy towards you in the past. His sudden change is surely a ploy, a trick to win you back or to strike when least expected."

Her words, laced with subtle hostility, fueled Lan Qingyuan's growing unease. The shift in Li Zhen's behavior was not merely puzzling but unsettling, casting shadows over their past interactions and leaving Lan Qingyuan to grapple with the implications of his transformation.

Li Zhen stepped out into the courtyard, the tension from the meeting with Lan Qingyuan still clinging to him like a second skin. The wind was colder now, cutting through the blossoming cherry trees that lined the path. His mind was a torrent of thoughts, yet his face remained calm, a mask carefully cultivated over the years.

The twelve women who had escorted him here still stood nearby, their expressions stoic as they awaited further instructions. Chi Yu watched him with an intense, almost scrutinizing gaze, as if trying to uncover something hidden beneath his composed exterior.

He met her gaze, holding it for a beat longer than necessary. "Lead the way back," he said finally, his voice as steady as the stone walls surrounding them.

Chi Yu gave a slight nod, her eyes flickering with an unspoken emotion before she turned, gesturing for the others to follow. As they walked, Li Zhen let his mind wander, piecing together the intricacies of his new situation. The dissolution of the engagement had been inevitable, yet the manner in which Lan Qingyuan had carried it out stirred something within him.

Lan Qingyuan had always been known for her cold, calculated approach, but today she had seemed almost too indifferent. It was as if she were dismissing a mere formality, rather than breaking a bond that had tied their clans together. Her quickness to sever that tie spoke volumes about her ambitions, and her disdain for him was all too clear.

But what did it matter? He had his own path to walk—a path that stretched far beyond the walls of this sect, beyond the politics and alliances of the noble families.

As they neared the outer gates, Chi Yu slowed her pace, allowing the others to pass. She lingered beside him, her expression unreadable.

"Young Master Li Zhen," she began, her voice low enough that the others wouldn't hear. "Do you truly accept Lady Lan Qingyuan's decision so easily? Or are you merely feigning indifference?"

Li Zhen's eyes flicked to her, his expression hardening slightly. "It's of no consequence to me," he replied. "I have no time to be burdened by decisions that are not my own."

Chi Yu regarded him silently, her gaze searching. "You've changed, Li Zhen. You used to be so... fervent. Yet now, you stand here as though nothing can touch you. Is it power that drives you now? Or something else entirely?"

He turned to face her fully, his expression as sharp as a blade. "Tell me," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "why do you care? You're loyal to Lan Qingyuan, not to me. Your feelings, your questions—they're irrelevant."

A flash of something—anger, perhaps—flickered in her eyes before she masked it. "You're right, Young Master," she said, her voice steady. "My loyalty is to my lady. But we live in a world where alliances can shift, where even the most steadfast bonds can shatter. I wonder... will you stay the same when that time comes?"

Without waiting for his response, she turned and walked ahead, her back straight, her steps resolute. Li Zhen watched her go, a faint smirk playing on his lips. She, too, was bound by duty, by expectations. How amusing it was to see someone so constrained, yet so unaware of the chains that held her.

He continued on, the grand gates of the sect looming before him like a gaping maw. As he stepped through, he felt a strange sense of liberation, as though the dissolution of his engagement had lifted a weight from his shoulders. It was not freedom he sought, but power—power to transcend, to rise above the petty squabbles of the clans, to carve out a path that no one could obstruct.

---

The path back to his quarters was a quiet one. The disciples he passed gave him wide berths, their eyes averted, whispers trailing in his wake. He could sense the change in the atmosphere, the way his presence had shifted in the eyes of others. No longer was he merely the young master with a prestigious engagement; he was something else now, an enigma, a question that no one dared to answer.

As he entered his room, he noticed a small, lacquered box on the table. It bore the seal of Lan Qingyuan's family, its crimson wax glinting in the dim light. With a flick of his wrist, he broke the seal and opened the box, revealing a simple jade pendant nestled within. A note accompanied it, written in Lan Qingyuan's meticulous script.

"For the bonds we once shared, and for the future we no longer hold. May this jade serve as a reminder of the path you now walk alone."

He held the pendant in his hand, its surface cool and smooth. A lesser man might have felt a pang of regret, a shadow of the connection they once shared. But Li Zhen felt only a quiet satisfaction, a sense that the ties binding him to his past were finally, irrevocably severed.

He placed the jade back in the box and closed it, his movements deliberate, final. There would be no turning back now, no clinging to what once was. His gaze drifted to the window, where the first hints of dawn were breaking over the mountains, casting the landscape in a pale, ghostly light.

Tomorrow he would visit the outer sect library to gain more information about the time line he was present in ....

"I hope to get something good "