Orphan’s Hidden Fire

Chapter 7: The Girl Who Broke Through

“This is my home,” Shen Hao said. “Well… now it’s our home.”

He pointed at the small wooden shack with its single hard bed and holes in the roof. Xun Yu’s face went through several looks at once — thanks, surprise, and a little bit of horror. In the end she forced a smile.

“It looks… nice, Brother.”

They ate a simple meal. Xun Yu changed his bandages again. When the sky grew dark, Shen Hao stretched.

“Time to sleep.”

“Who gets the bed?”

“Me, of course.”

Xun Yu puffed her cheeks. “If you hadn’t gotten hurt saving me, I would make you sleep on the floor.”

“Make me? How would a little thing like you do that?”

“You’ll see.”

Shen Hao almost laughed. He had never had anyone to argue with like this. It felt strangely warm.

“Fine. You take the bed. I’ll take the floor.”

He kissed her lightly on the forehead and lay down on the hard wood. A moment later Xun Yu quietly slid down beside him and curled up against his side. She was asleep in minutes.

---

The next morning they went to the Ancient Zither Abode. Pan Hua was asleep at the desk again, drooling.

Shen Hao cleared his throat louder and louder until the young man jerked awake.

“Who…? Oh. It’s you. What do you want?”

“Is Master Lin Yue here? I need to see her.”

Pan Hua pointed down a hallway. “Office that way.”

As they walked, soft zither music floated through the air. The farther they went, the heavier the pressure became. Spiritual energy rushed toward Shen Hao on its own. His steps grew slow and heavy, but he kept moving.

Xun Yu’s hand was in his. He had forgotten he was still holding it.

When he pushed open the office door, the energy inside him peaked. A soft boom sounded in his dantian. He had broken through to the third layer of Gathering Qi.

The music stopped.

Master Lin Yue looked up in surprise. “What are you doing here? I told Pan Hua not to send anyone while I play. The pressure can hurt the soul.”

Shen Hao was still breathing hard when he realized Xun Yu was pale and shaking. Thick Qi swirled around her in wild waves.

Lin Yue’s face changed. “You brought a child through that? Sit down, both of you. Now!”

She checked them quickly. “You’re fine, Shen Hao. Stabilize yourself. This girl has never felt Qi before. The music forced her meridians open. I’ll guide her.”

Lin Yue placed her hands on Xun Yu’s back and spoke soft instructions. Even in pain, the little girl followed every word.

Shen Hao closed his eyes and worked on the extra energy. Hours passed. When he opened them again, five small drops of thick liquid Qi sat in his dantian.

Three more hours later, Xun Yu’s eyes opened.

She had broken through straight to the fifth layer of Gathering Qi.

Lin Yue stared at her. “This girl is a genius. Ten years old, first time touching Qi, and she jumps to the fifth layer. What is your name, child?”

“Xun Yu, Master.”

Lin Yue looked at Shen Hao. “You broke through too… but only one layer. Strange. The pressure should have given you more.”

Shen Hao only smiled and apologized to Xun Yu for the pain. Then he told Master Lin everything that happened in the village, leaving out the details of his techniques.

Lin Yue listened carefully. “An entire village wiped out by beasts is rarely normal. You were right to leave fast. You did well killing the alpha alone.”

“Master, I’m poor. I don’t know how to take care of her.”

“You have the beast cores and the alpha pelt. Sell them downstairs. That should give you enough money for a few months.”

They sold the cores and the pelt (keeping the alpha’s special core). Five hundred silver taels changed hands.

Back at the shack, Shen Hao sat down and looked at Xun Yu.

“Why do you want to join the competition now?”

She was quiet for a long time. Then she spoke in a small voice.

“Brother Shen is strong. You’ll qualify and go to a sect. Then I’ll be alone. You promised to take me with you. So I have to enter the same sect.”

Shen Hao felt his chest tighten. “That’s sweet. But promise me you’ll stay safe. Don’t do anything stupid just to qualify.”

“I promise.”

She hugged him tightly, eyes bright.

---

After she fell asleep, Shen Hao sat in the dark and began refining the alpha’s green core. The poison energy inside would have been dangerous for most people at his level. His thick Qi swallowed it completely.

When it was done, he could feel a new kind of energy waiting inside him — Poison Qi.

The voice in his head spoke.

“You unlocked a new form. Poison comes from Yin. To use it, pull Yin first, then separate the poison. Attribute energies like this are stronger and rarer. In this lower world, almost no one has pure Yin or Yang, let alone these. You can use many kinds without them fighting each other.”

“So I can use fire and ice together someday?”

“Yes. But you still have to unlock them yourself by refining the right things. And the imbalance problem only happens with basic Yin and Yang. The others are different.”

“How do I fix the imbalance?”

“Still not telling you. Work it out.”

Morning light came through the holes in the roof. Xun Yu woke up. Together they packed supplies and left for the mountain waterfalls where Shen Hao’s body had been reforged.

They needed every day of the time they had left.

The dark lines under Shen Hao’s palms pulsed once, quiet and steady, as if something inside the mark was pleased.