The Meet
Though he didn't have many personal belongings, he stored the essentials—bedding and a few other items—in his storage ring before returning with Hye Won. Her mother, now nearly cured and showing no signs of cancer, but still under the belief, had been staying in the apartment under Han Chen's permission for palliative care while he lived elsewhere.
Now that Hye Won's mother was recovering, and Hye Won himself asked it was time for him to return. He settled into a separate room, though not without some awkward explanations to her mother. Hye Won, flushed with embarrassment, stayed quiet, letting Han Chen handle most of the conversation.
At night, the apartment was silent, her mother asleep down the hall. But sleep wouldn't come to her—not when her pulse still raced with unspoken need. Taking a steadying breath, she turned the knob and slipped inside.
The room was dark, but she could see the outline of Han Chen staying on the bed, his sharp eyes already fixed on her as if he'd been waiting. "Couldn't sleep?" His voice was low, rough with something that sent a shiver down her spine.
She swallowed. "No." A beat of silence. Then, softer: "Can I… stay here tonight?" Han Chen didn't move, but his gaze burned into her. "Just to sleep?"
"Just to sleep," she whispered, though her fingers twisted in the hem of her nightshirt. "I just… need to be close to you."
" Come here, why so shy now" he lifted the edge of the blanket in invitation. Hye Won crossed the room on unsteady legs, sliding in beside him. The heat of his body was immediate, intoxicating. She curled toward him, her back pressing against his chest, and his arm came around her waist—not tentative, not gentle, but possessive, like he'd been holding back for far too long. Her breath hitched.
"Relax," he murmured against her hair, his voice a dark promise. "I said I wouldn't do anything… unless you ask." A thrill shot through her. The words hung between them, dangerous and sweet... Night progressed like that.
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Hye Won woke to the first light filtering through the curtains, still wrapped in Han Chen's arms. His breathing was steady against her neck, his grip firm even in sleep. For a moment, she let herself savor it—the warmth, the safety. Then reality seeped in.
Carefully, she untangled herself, but not before Han Chen stirred, his hand brushing her waist as if reluctant to let go. "Leaving already?" His voice was sleep-rough, amused.
She smiled but eased free anyway. "I need to check on my mother."
"Last night…" she began, suddenly shy. "Just sleeping," he finished, voice rough. Then, a faint smirk. "Unless you're regretting that?" Her face burned, but she shook her head. "No."
His smile softened into warmer. "Good."
----
In the living room, her mother was already awake, propped up on the sofa with a blanket over her lap. The full-time caregiver wouldn't arrive for another hour, so Hye Won moved quickly to the kitchen to prepare tea and medicine.
"You're up early," her mother remarked, voice weak.
"Couldn't sleep," Hye Won lied, keeping her back turned as she measured the cooking items.
A beat of silence. Then— "Strange. I thought I heard your door open very late last night."
Hye Won's hands stilled. Her pulse hammered, but she forced her voice steady. "…I went to get water." Another pause. When she finally dared a glance, her mother's expression was confusing—but her eyes held a quiet knowing. Not judgment. Not anger.
"Ah," her mother said simply. Then, with deliberate lightness: "The tea smells strong today." Relief flooded Hye Won's chest. Her mother wouldn't press.
***
Han Chen turned down Hye Won's need for companionship for the next few days, using training as an excuse. Inside the world bead, he immersed himself in a year of seclusion ~ his longest stretch in a while. He focused on advancing his body refinement, though he had only laid the groundwork and hadn't yet begun the actual process. It has to be started before reaching golden core.
His cultivation in the Foundation Building realm reached the peak of the seventh level. Meanwhile, he sharpened his spirit's resolution, but he encountered an invisible barrier—an inherent biological and law-based limit that prevented him from manipulating matter beyond the macro-molecular level. Though his control had become precise, breaking chemical bonds that are incredibly weak, operating at a mere trillionth fraction, a minuscule part of his full force, was a challenge on its own.
His power functioned like its on two dials: one that determined his operating range and another that scaled his strength proportionally within that range. Because of this, manipulating molecules was surprisingly easier than it seemed.
To test his control, he focused on a wooden fragment suspended in the air. With a mere thought, it began to disintegrate, vaporizing into a haze of molecular and atomic fragments. But while destruction was effortless after months of training, creation was an entirely different challenge. Reassembling the molecules proved far more complex.
Their position and orientation were crucial for reconstruction, and even with his immense intellect, he could only manage to align fragments of DNA—hundreds at a time—but no further. The true challenge was in forming proteins that silence or influence these genetic coils and structuring them into functioning cells. The process was mentally exhausting, pushing him to the limits of his endurance.
Within his dantian, the seven layers of his Foundation Building realm stacked upon one another, forming intricate patterns. He knew he still had a long way to go, especially in an environment devoid of the Heavenly Dao's restriction. For most, nine layers marked the peak, but he could already sense the possibility of reaching thirteen. Anything beyond nine was normally attainable only by immortal or saintly bodies deeply aligned with creation itself. That was why eleven layers were considered the threshold of perfection.
But now, beyond perfection lay something else—imperfection. The final layers carried an unfamiliar essence, an untamed segment that defied conventional wisdom. Han Chen could only speculate about what lay ahead in his path of cultivation, but one thing was certain: he was approaching an uncharted realm of power characteristics.
Returning from his seclusion, and seeing Hye Won, he was happy again. Spending a little time venturing through the streets, in parks and listening to her jokes, his spirits lifted. Several days passed as they finalized their plans and informed Yue Lan they would meet her again in the forms of two people she might recognize.
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While this was happening, Yue Lan hadn't simply trusted their cryptic warnings about her grandfather's fate. She'd insisted he undergo comprehensive medical testing, though the results showed nothing more concerning than the typical pains of aging and stiff joints, old age complications and some recommendation to follow special diet and patterns.
...
When Han Chen and Hye Won entered the room, her mid stage master grandfather barely had time to react before Han Chen uttered a single command: "Sleep." His spiritual soul pressure instantly forced the old man into unconsciousness, his body slumping back against the chair.
Yue Lan's eyes widened as she stared at them, her breath catching in her throat.
"It's you," Yue Lan replied tightly, recognizing the same voices she'd heard in her mind. "What happened to the real ones, the bodies?" remembering those faces instantly.
"We didn't harm them," Han Chen answered. "Think of it as... a cooperative arrangement. We can discuss the details later."
Her hands clenched into fists. "The doctors found nothing wrong with my grandfather. Were you lying to me?"
"We only told you he would die—not how," Hye Won explained. "We don't know the exact circumstances ourselves. But we can examine him properly."
Without another word, Han Chen placed his hand on the old man's chest. To Yue Lan's eyes, nothing visible happened—but she could sense the surge of internal energy flowing through him, analyzing every aspect of his body, of course Han Chen shared the feeling to convey the message.
The diagnosis was bleak.
"Accelerated cellular decay," Han Chen reported. "He was once a mid-level martial master, but decades of inactivity have left his meridians brittle. Any sudden exertion—whether combat, emotional stress, or channeling energy—could reduce his remaining months to mere days. These aren't conditions standard medical test would detect."
The weight of his words hung heavily in the air. Yue Lan's face paled.
"So here's your choice," Han Chen continued. "His death is inevitable. I can extend his life by about six months, but no more. You'll have to face this eventually. What do you want?"
"Please... extend it," Yue Lan whispered. "He's been so kind to me and my mother."
Han Chen nodded. "We're invisible to the cameras in sight and sound. Make sure no one interrupts, and return everything to its exact position afterward so it just appears to be a system glitch."
He activated the same healing technique he'd recently developed—the one he'd used to revitalize Hye Won's mother. Golden-green energy threads emerged from his palm, spreading across the old man's body. The energy flowed through his acupoints and meridians, reinforcing the pathways while Han Chen's spirit sense systematically replaced dying tissues with new ones. Even the man's hair darkened slightly with renewed vitality.
Han Chen was careful to only expend enough energy for the promised extension—any more would be too costly. Already, a quarter of his reserves were depleted from manipulating such advanced life law energies.
As the procedure continued, Yue Lan and Hye Won watched in silent awe—until Yue Lan spoke up, her tone deliberately casual: "You know... I never properly thanked you for warning me."
Hye Won smiled warmly. "Oh, it was nothing! We just wanted to help." "Still," Yue Lan tilted her head, "it's strange how you knew. Modern medicine couldn't detect anything wrong."
Hye Won chuckled. "Let's just say we have... different ways of seeing things."
Yue Lan nodded slowly, moving closer. "That makes sense. You two clearly aren't ordinary guardians" She paused meaningfully. "Though the bodies you're wearing... they were."
Hye Won blinked. "These were interns I met a few months ago," Yue Lan said, feigning nostalgia. "So young. So normal. Nothing like you. Why choose them?" She glanced between Hye Won's face and the glowing energy threads, pretending nonchalance.
Caught off guard, Hye Won answered carelessly: "Because we were powerful." She didn't notice how Yue Lan's eyes narrowed slightly or how Han Chen's hands twitched mid-procedure.
"How powerful could you be?" Yue Lan pressed. "These were just young interns in their early twenties. What kind of power could they have had?" "Well... we had certain contacts with these people and helped " Hye Won hedged. "They'd experienced similar tragedies to yours."
"How similar?" Yue Lan's voice grew sharper. "You mean like my losses?"
"Yeah, I mean... this body's mother died young too, ..... (and he was orph—)" Han chen restricted the spirit will barrier to converge the voice silencing to cover Hye Won immediately, but Yue Lan heard till mid way and saw her lips moving saying the rest.
"That's enough." Han Chen cut in sharply, terminating the procedure. His spiritual senses washed over both women ~ reading Yue Lan's calculating curiosity mixed with something like hope, and Hye Won's usual affectionate trust now tinged with dawning annoyance for interrupting her. But he could see the dangerous dots Yue Lan was connecting.