The sun had just begun to paint the horizon pink when Wei Yao arrived at the western training grounds. The morning air was crisp and clean, scented with damp grass. Punctual as always, she carried a bamboo basket with the red bean pastries he had requested, along with a pot of hot tea. Discipline was a part of her, as fundamental as her own heartbeat.
The courtyard was empty. The wooden stands remained silent, and the training posts cast long shadows across the packed earth. She waited, her posture impeccable, the basket at her feet. Several minutes passed.
Typical, she thought with a pang of irritation. The great master is late for his own lesson.
Just as her patience began to wear thin, she heard a rustle in the bamboo grove bordering the courtyard. Wei Feng emerged from among the green stalks, yawning widely, a bamboo stick in his hand which he used to scratch his back. He wore a simple robe, and his black hair was loose and disheveled.
"Ah, you're here," he said, as if she were the one who had just appeared. "Excellent. I hate tardiness. Come with me."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked back into the bamboo. After a moment's hesitation, Wei Yao picked up her basket and followed him. He moved with a surprising ease, making no sound, like a ghost. He led her down a barely perceptible path to a small, hidden clearing that she, having lived her entire life in the palace, never knew existed. It was a perfect circle of soft grass, surrounded by a ring of smooth stones and covered by the canopy of an ancient ginkgo tree.
"Here," he said, pointing to the center.
She sat on one of the rocks and set the basket beside her. The sensation was immediate.
"The Qi…" she whispered, her golden eyes widening. "It feels different. Denser, clearer. It's like breathing pure air after being in a smoke-filled room."
Wei Feng sat across from her, directly on the grass. Without asking permission, he opened the basket and stole a pastry.
"Obviously," he said, his mouth full. "This is a ley-line node, a crossroads of the earth's energy veins. An excellent place for a nap. Or, I suppose, if one is so inclined, for cultivation." He took another bite. "These pastries aren't bad. Too sweet."
They faced each other in silence. She expected instruction on stances, on channeling Qi, or on sword techniques. Instead, he simply stared at her. His lazy expression faded, replaced by a seriousness he rarely showed; an intensity that made her feel strangely exposed.
"Before you can understand your power, Yao'er, you must understand yourself," he said, his voice calm and deep. "You must be completely… open. No secrets. No armor. Nothing standing between your will and your soul." He paused, his gaze piercing. "Unfasten your robe."
The shock hit her like a slap of icy water. Her brain refused to process the command.
"What?" she managed to articulate.
"You heard me," he said with infuriating calm. "The first lesson is vulnerability. I want to see the canvas before I teach the painter. Take off your clothes."
Wei Yao's face burned. She glanced frantically around, at the trees and the shadows of the bamboo, as if expecting an army of guards to appear.
"Here?!" she hissed in a low, furious voice. "Are you insane?! Anyone could see us! We're outdoors!"
"No one dares interrupt my morning 'meditation' in this clearing," he replied, his tone implying that anyone who did would deeply regret it. "I assure you, princess, you are safer here with me, naked, than you are in your own room surrounded by guards. Now, stop being a frightened child." His voice hardened, losing all trace of playfulness. "Obey your master."
That last phrase was the key that turned the lock. Master. She herself had called him that. She had accepted his terms. With her heart hammering from humiliation and a strange, terrifying trust, her trembling fingers moved to the tie of her robe.
Her entire consciousness contracted to focus on the experience: the shame burning her cheeks, the cool morning air on her skin as each layer of clothing fell away. She felt incredibly vulnerable. Finally, her upper robe fell into her lap, revealing her breasts to the dawn air. She instinctively crossed her arms.
He watched her in silence. There was no lust in his gaze, but rather the detached appreciation of an art critic examining a sculpture. He nodded slowly.
"Perfect," he decreed, his voice so clinical it was all the more unsettling. "An ideal balance of firmness and generosity. The curve is elegant, but the fullness denotes strength. Worthy of an imperial heiress."
His commentary left her speechless, her mind blank from the sheer audacity of his analysis. His voice turned serious again, pulling her back to the present.
"Now, forget your shame. Forget I am here. Forget your body. Concentrate. I want you to manifest your Decree. Not your Qi, not a sword technique. I want to see the heart of your power. The law you have inscribed upon your soul. Show me."
Wei Yao took a deep breath, trying to ignore that she was sitting bare-chested in front of her uncle. She closed her eyes. She searched within herself, past the whirlwind of emotions, toward the core of her being. She found it. And she called it forth.
A silver light, cold and majestic, emanated from her chest. The light swirled and condensed, taking the form of a small, illusory dragon, no larger than her forearm. It was made of pure moonlight; its scales shimmered and its whiskers moved with a life of their own. The dragon coiled protectively around her arm, and its eyes, two tiny sapphires, regarded her with an ancient, arrogant intelligence. A cold and dominant spiritual pressure filled the clearing, silencing the rustle of the leaves.
Wei Feng observed the small dragon with an unreadable expression.
"Impressive," he admitted. "A near-perfect manifestation. Our family's lineage is strong in you."
He moved closer, sitting cross-legged directly in front of her, so close their knees almost touched. The light dragon hissed, a silent warning. Wei Feng ignored it.
"Give me your hands," he ordered softly.
Hesitantly, she extended them. He took them in his. His skin was warm, a direct contrast to the cold energy emanating from her Decree. Then, he leaned forward until their foreheads touched. The intimacy of the gesture made her hold her breath.
"Don't resist," he whispered, his voice vibrating in her skull. "Don't think. Just feel. Just listen."
"Feel your dragon," he said quietly. "It is magnificent. Strong. Filled with ancient power. But answer me honestly, Yao'er… is it truly yours?"
The question baffled her.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, was it a choice? Or is it the Decree that the spirit of our first ancestor and the expectations of an empire forced you to choose? When you call it, do you feel like you're calling on a part of yourself, or on a glorious ancestor you must serve?"
Wei Yao hesitated.
"It's… my clan's legacy. It is my duty."
"Ah, duty," he sighed, and she felt the vibration through her forehead. "The prettiest gilded cage of all. Tell me, when it's quiet within your soul, does it feel like a loyal companion… or an arrogant jailer?"
That question struck her with the force of a truth she had never dared to admit. The dragon had always been there, an immense power at her disposal, but it had always felt… alien. Heavy. Like a royal mantle that was too large; an inheritance she had to carry, not a part of her that had grown.
"Sometimes…" she admitted in a barely audible whisper, "it feels… heavy. Distant. A power I use, not a power that I am."
"Exactly," he said, and she could feel a faint smile in his voice. "Your Soul-Realm is the amount of power you have. It's the mountain of raw jade you possess. And yours, niece, is a mountain that rivals the celestial peaks. Impressive, yes." His thumb began to stroke the back of her hand, a reassuring gesture. "But your Decree… your Decree is the statue you carve from that mountain. Since the day you were born, the clan gave you the finest chisel, the most perfect hammer, and told you, 'Carve the same dragon everyone before you has carved.' And like the perfect student you are, you did so flawlessly. A masterpiece of tradition."
He paused, letting his words sink in.
"But no one—not your father, not your mother, not even I—stopped to ask you if, in the depths of your soul, you'd rather have carved a bird. Or a river. Or a storm cloud."
The simple truth of his words, the validation of a feeling she didn't even know she had, was too much. A single, hot, treacherous tear slid down her cheek and fell upon their joined hands.
"I understand…" she whispered, her voice broken with emotion. "I understand… Master."
The intensity of the moment shattered as quickly as it had formed. Wei Feng leaned back, breaking contact. The warmth from his hands and forehead vanished, leaving her feeling cold and empty. He winked, his mocking smile returning like the sun after a storm.
"No, no. Don't call me that," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "It's a title with too much responsibility. Too much work. Besides, I already have a student, and she's a terribly jealous girl. She wouldn't like to share me." He paused, seeing the surprise on her face. "But don't worry," he added mischievously. "I'm sure you two will get along. Your personalities are… complementary. Maybe I'll introduce you someday."
The serious lesson, the deep philosophical connection, was over. The mask of the lazy hedonist was back in place. With his roguish smile firmly installed, his gaze drifted down again, undisguised, to her bare breasts.
"Very soft, by the way," he commented, as if assessing the quality of silk. "Excellent work. Definitely the highest quality."
Before Wei Yao could process the change of topic, he leaned forward with surprising speed. With an audacity that defied all logic and decorum, he gently pinched one of her nipples between his thumb and forefinger.
A choked gasp escaped her lips. The sensation—a mixture of shock, pain, and a sharp, shameful pleasure—left her paralyzed. She hastily covered herself with her robe, her face a mask of fury and humiliation. The heat she felt now was not from vulnerability, but from pure rage.
"W-will I…" she stammered, her voice trembling with rage, "will I have to do this again tomorrow?"
He looked at her with the most absolute and infuriating innocence, as if she had just asked the most absurd question in the universe.
"Do what?" he asked, blinking. "Oh, that." He laughed, a cheerful, carefree sound. "No, of course not. That was never necessary for the lesson."
Wei Yao gaped at him. The words wouldn't come.
"THEN… THEN WHY…?!" she finally managed to shriek.
He cut her off with a deep, philosophical sigh, as if explaining a fundamental truth of the universe to a silly child.
"Because the world, my dear Yao'er," he began, his tone now that of a sage instructing his disciple, "is a vast and monotonous ocean of boredom, stupidity, and duty. It's exhausting. And if, in the midst of that desolate ocean, one has the incredible good fortune to find oneself before a pretty girl, and that pretty girl happens to have truly nice breasts, it is the sacred and inescapable duty of any man with a shred of appreciation for beauty and art to take a moment to admire them properly."
He looked at her with complete seriousness.
"It's a simple matter of principle. Of aesthetics. Of finding joy in the small details. To not do so, niece, that would be the real crime."
He stood up in a fluid motion, stole one last pastry from the basket, gave her a condescending pat on the head, and strolled away toward the bamboo grove.
He left her sitting on the rock, blushing to the roots of her hair, trembling with fury, utterly humiliated, and, on a very deep and confusing level of her soul, understanding the twisted, infuriating, and strangely coherent logic of the man who was her master just a little better.