Chapter 5: The Dormitory Wars

The infirmary smelled of crushed herbs and quiet suffering.

Yao Jun lay on a narrow cot, staring at the ceiling, where faded murals of celestial physicians healing wounded warriors peeled at the edges. The disciple who had escorted him had left after a perfunctory examination by a stoic, white-robed healer. The woman had pressed cold fingers to his wrist, her qi probing his meridians with clinical precision. Her eyebrows had twitched—just once—when her energy brushed against the Void Flame's presence, but she said nothing. She prescribed a foul-smelling tonic ("For shock," she muttered) and left him to rest.

Bao Siwen had been forcibly ejected ("No loitering! This is a place of recovery, not a banquet hall!") but not before promising to secure them both beds in the Aspirant Dormitories. "I'll bribe someone if I have to!" he'd declared, thumping his chest before being dragged out by an exasperated attendant.

Now, alone, Yao Jun exhaled slowly, pressing a hand to his sternum. The Void Flame pulsed in response, a slow, rhythmic thrum like a second heartbeat. It had been… active during the trial. Not just reactive—assertive. It had fought the vision. Defied it. As if the idea of Yao Jun being consumed by another void was unacceptable.

"The fire is yours now." Mei Ling's words slithered through his thoughts.

Did that mean the Flame had chosen him? Or had he simply inherited it from the original Yao Jun? And what had the Jade Disc's sigils meant? The whispers in the crowd had mentioned "Abyssal resonance." Not exactly reassuring.

A sharp rap at the door snapped him from his thoughts.

"Enter," he called, expecting the healer returning with more bitter concoctions.

Instead, the door slid open to reveal—

Liu Qian'er.

She stood framed in the doorway, her frost-pale robes immaculate, her glacial blue eyes fixed on him with unsettling intensity. The air in the room dropped several degrees. Yao Jun's breath fogged slightly.

Oh.

This is bad.

She didn't speak. Just stepped inside, letting the door shut behind her with a soft click. The silence stretched, thick enough to choke on. Yao Jun sat up slowly, acutely aware that he was in thin infirmary robes, his hair a mess, and very much not prepared for a conversation with the girl who had flash-frozen three nobles without breaking a sweat.

"Uh," he said intelligently.

Liu Qian'er's gaze didn't waver. "You screamed."

Yao Jun blinked. "I—what?"

"During the trial." Her voice was like winter wind over frozen lakes—clear, cutting, beautiful in a way that made his instincts scream danger. "You screamed like a man being flayed alive."

Ah. That.

Yao Jun rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. The Jade Disc, uh. Shows your worst fear. Mine was… vivid."

She tilted her head slightly. "Most aspirants whimper. Some cry. A few vomit. You screamed." A pause. "Then the Disc reacted."

She's probing. Of course she was. The Jade Disc's reaction hadn't been normal, and Liu Qian'er was sharp enough to notice.

Yao Jun forced a weak laugh. "Guess my fear was extra scary?"

Her expression didn't change. "The Disc doesn't just show fear. It resonates with the soul. Yours made it speak."

A beat of silence. Yao Jun's pulse thudded in his ears. The Void Flame coiled, watchful.

Then—

"You reek of the void."

Yao Jun's blood turned to ice.

Liu Qian'er took a single step closer. "Not like mine. Not ice. Not absence. True void. The kind that eats." Her eyes narrowed. "What are you, Yao Jun?"

Oh, this is very, very bad.

He opened his mouth—to lie, to deflect, to say anything—

BANG!

The door slammed open.

"JUN! I FOUND US BEDS! ALSO, THERE'S A CHICKEN—oh."

Bao Siwen stood in the doorway, his massive frame nearly filling it, one hand holding a squirming chicken by the legs. His eyes darted between Yao Jun and Liu Qian'er. The chicken clucked indignantly.

Liu Qian'er didn't turn. "Leave."

Bao Siwen blinked. Then, to Yao Jun's horror, he grinned. "Ah! The ice beauty from the gates! Here to check on our Jun, eh? Good, good! He needs friends! Also, do you like chicken? I won this one in a wrestling match."

Liu Qian'er's fingers twitched. Frost crackled along the floor.

Yao Jun decided intervention was necessary. "Bao! You—you found beds? Great! Let's go see them!" He scrambled off the cot, nearly tripping in his haste.

Liu Qian'er turned her head just enough to pin him with a look. "This isn't over."

Then she walked out, the air thawing reluctantly in her wake.

Bao Siwen watched her go, then shrugged. "Intense. Also, very pretty. Here." He thrust the chicken at Yao Jun. "Hold this. I stole some robes for you."

Yao Jun stared at the flapping bird. "Why is there a chicken?"

"Because," Bao Siwen said solemnly, "dormitory rules say no pets, but they didn't say anything about livestock."

Yao Jun decided not to question it.

**********************************

The Whispering Willow Courtyard

The Aspirant Dormitories were less "dormitories" and more "organized chaos with occasional structural integrity."

The Whispering Willow Courtyard was a sprawling complex of wooden buildings nestled beneath ancient, silver-barked trees whose leaves rustled secrets in the wind. The air smelled of pine, sweat, and the unmistakable scent of teenage ambition mixed with poor hygiene.

Their assigned room was… a disaster.

Four beds. Four chests. One window with a suspicious crack. And currently, one very smug Tang Huai sitting cross-legged on a bed, scrolls spread around him like a paper fortress.

"You're late," he said without looking up.

Bao Siwen barged in, tossing his hammer onto a bed with a thud that shook the floor. "Jun had a visitor." He waggled his eyebrows.

Tang Huai's gaze flicked up. "Liu Qian'er?"

Yao Jun groaned. "How do you—"

"Gossip travels faster than sword light in this place," Tang Huai said dryly. "Also, she's the only person who would make you look like you'd seen a ghost." He adjusted his spectacles. "Interesting."

Yao Jun dumped the chicken onto the fourth bed. It immediately began pecking at the sheets.

Tang Huai stared. "Why is there a chicken?"

"Livestock," Bao Siwen said sagely.

Tang Huai opened his mouth—then closed it. "You know what? I'm not paid enough to care."

Yao Jun collapsed onto his assigned bed, rubbing his face. The day had been too long, too strange. The Jade Disc, Liu Qian'er's interrogation, the chicken—

A soft knock at the door.

Everyone froze.

Bao Siwen grinned. "Ice beauty back for round two?"

Yao Jun shot him a glare. "Don't—"

The door slid open.

Not Liu Qian'er.

Mei Ling.

She stood in the doorway, her blindfolded face serene, her unadorned sword resting loosely in one hand. The chicken, sensing a predator, hid under the bed.

"Ah," Tang Huai said. "The other terrifying one."

Mei Ling smiled faintly. "I brought dinner." She held up a cloth-wrapped bundle. The scent of roasted meat and spices filled the room.

Bao Siwen's eyes lit up. "Marry me."

Mei Ling ignored him, stepping inside. She set the food down on the low table, then turned her head unerringly towards Yao Jun. "You survived the Disc."

It wasn't a question.

Yao Jun swallowed. "Barely."

She tilted her head. "Good." Then, softer: "The Flame listened."

A beat of silence.

Tang Huai's pen stopped scratching. Bao Siwen paused mid-reach for the food.

Yao Jun's pulse spiked. She knows. She really knows.

Mei Ling smiled, small and knowing. "Eat. Tomorrow, the real trials begin."

Then she turned and left, the door sliding shut behind her.

Bao Siwen exhaled. "Okay. What was that?"

Yao Jun stared at the closed door. "I have no idea."

Tang Huai adjusted his spectacles. "Fascinating."

The chicken, deciding the danger had passed, hopped back onto the bed and pecked at Bao Siwen's hammer.

Yao Jun buried his face in his hands.

What have I gotten myself into?