Tang Zin stord into Jumi’s courtyard, her steps quick and temper sharp, the frost sword at her waist rattling with each movent. Jumi sat quietly beneath the lantern light, polishing her blade when she heard the footsteps. She didn’t even need to look up; she already knew the fiery temper belonged to Tang Zin.
"He rejected !" Zin spat, tossing her sword against the wall with a loud clang. "That bastard Mo Han looked in the eyes and walked away, as though I was nothing. Nothing!" Her face burned crimson, half from sha, half from rage.
Jumi’s hands froze for a mont, but she resud polishing. "Then you learned the sa lesson I did," she said evenly. "He does not bow to beauty, nor seduction."
Zin gritted her teeth and leaned closer. "You faced him too. How did you even get him to listen? How did you bend him?"
Jumi’s eyes flickered with sothing unreadable. For a mont, she considered lying, but then she rembered Elder Park’s instructions. Her voice lowered. "It wasn’t . It was the powder... the enchantnt powder Elder Park gave. I used it, and for a mont, I thought I had control. But he... he’s not normal."
The fury on Zin’s lips twisted into a wicked smile. "Enchantnt powder, you say? Then I will do the sa. He may resist beauty, but no man can resist true enchantnt."
Jumi finally looked up, her eyes sharp. "Do not underestimate him, Tang Zin. That man... he is like a sword drawn against heaven itself. If you misuse that powder, you may find it cutting you instead."
Zin only laughed, extending her hand. "Then give what’s left. Let test my own fate."
Jumi hesitated. Her instincts scread not to, but Park’s shadow lood too heavily. Slowly, she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small jade vial with a trace of shimring pink dust inside. "This is the last of it. Use it wisely... or don’t co back to crying when your pride is torn apart."
Zin snatched the vial and slipped it into her robe with a triumphant smile. "Mo Han will regret walking away. If he won’t bow willingly, then I’ll make him bow to , body and soul. And once I bind him to my flesh, he’ll never escape my control."
Jumi sighed, lowering her gaze back to her blade. She whispered so faint that Zin didn’t hear: "You don’t know what you’re playing with, Zin. None of us do."
---
anwhile, in the quiet stone house of Elder i’s garden, no one was asleep. The air was thick with tension, yet excitent glimred in their eyes. In the center of the room, on a cushion of spirit jade, lay an egg—reddish-gold, faint cracks glowing with fiery light.
Mo Han sat cross-legged in calm composure, though his gaze didn’t move from the egg. Fatty Lambu, however, leaned so close that sweat rolled down his cheeks from the heat the egg emitted. He clutched his round belly and laughed nervously.
"Hahaha... Brother Han, I’ve never felt this excited before. What kind of beast do you think will hatch? A phoenix? A qilin? Maybe... maybe even a dragon!"
Jia Kai leaned against the wooden pillar with her arms crossed, her sharp gaze fixed on Lambu. "Idiot. If it were a dragon egg, it wouldn’t have been tossed in an auction house like a trinket. Look at it—it’s just a fire chicken egg. Don’t embarrass yourself."
Chi Kai giggled from the corner, her soft voice teasing. "But look at Lambu. He’s practically drooling more than the egg itself. He hasn’t blinked once in the last half hour."
Fatty waved them off, his round cheeks puffing. "Hmph! You laugh now, but Brother Han told it’s not normal. If Brother Han says so, then I believe him. Who knows? It could still turn into a dragon! Or... or maybe sothing even rarer!"
Mo Han smiled faintly but said nothing. His gaze remained sharp as he observed the egg’s aura. He could sense faint fluctuations of fire Qi—more concentrated than a re beast egg, but not strong enough for a dragon. Still... there’s sothing unusual.
A faint crack echoed. The shell trembled. Fatty gasped so loud the sisters jumped. "It’s hatching! It’s hatching!"
They all leaned closer as the fiery glow spread across the shell, forming web-like fissures. With a final shudder, the shell burst apart, and out tumbled...
...a tiny chick.
Round, golden feathers. Eyes barely opening. Its chirp was soft, pitiful, and anything but majestic.
Silence filled the room.
Fatty’s jaw dropped. His face fell as though soone had struck him with a hamr. "Th-this... this is it?"
Jia Kai smirked coldly. "See? A chicken."
Chi Kai covered her mouth to hide her laughter. "So much suspense... all for this little fluff ball."
Mo Han, however, narrowed his eyes. His senses whispered the truth—though outwardly a chick, its Qi felt strangely condensed, like a firestorm sleeping in an ember.
Fatty finally scooped the chick into his palms, staring at it with mixed horror and hope. The chick chirped, pecking his finger with surprising heat. He yelped, blowing on his finger, then broke into a grin.
"Hehehe... I don’t care! Even if you’re just a chicken, you’ll be my chicken! From now on, your na is... Dambu!"
The chick chirped again, as if approving, and nestled into his palm.
Jia Kai rolled her eyes. "Dambu? You nad it after yourself."
Fatty puffed his chest. "What’s wrong with that? Dambu and Lambu—it fits perfectly! We’ll be partners, and him. Just wait! One day this chick will shock the entire sect!"
Mo Han leaned back, finally closing his eyes. A faint smile curved on his lips. "Perhaps you’re not entirely wrong, fatty. Take good care of it. You may be surprised."
The room quieted after that, the soft chirps of Dambu echoing in the night. Fatty cuddled it protectively as though it were his own child, while Jia Kai and Chi Kai shook their heads with helpless smiles.
But in the back of Mo Han’s mind, a thought lingered like a whisper of fire: This egg was sold off carelessly... but no ordinary chicken can hold such condensed fla Qi. Dambu may yet prove its worth.
And sowhere, far away, Tang Zin fingered the jade vial of enchantnt powder under her robe, her lips curling into a dangerous smile.
"Mo Han... let’s see how long you can resist."
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