The "survive Elder Chen's Wrath" quest didn't exactly pan out.
One minute, Ethan was sassing a senior cultivator; the next, he was face-planting into the dirt, courtesy of a well-aimed Qi blast.
His body felt like one giant, throbbing bruise, and his pride wasn't doing much better.
He'd managed to escape, mostly by virtue of being surprisingly nimble when motivated by sheer terror.
Later that night, while Ethan was contemplating the many ways his life had gone wrong, there was a soft *tap tap tap* on his rickety window.
He'd taken refuge in his, ahem, *cozy* shack, which the Qingyun Sect generously referred to as "apprentice quarters." It was more like a glorified garden shed, but hey, at least it had a window.
He cracked an eye open, expecting another disciple sent to mock him.
Instead, he saw Mia, the mute herb girl, silhouetted in the moonlight.
She held a steaming bowl, its contents emitting a strangely comforting aroma, not unlike freshly baked bread mixed with… was that a hint of unicorn farts?
No, couldn't be.
Probably just the sleep deprivation talking.
Mia gestured for him to sit up, her expression surprisingly… bossy?
He obeyed, wincing as his various injuries protested.
She dipped her fingers into the warm, gooey concoction – seriously, it looked like something you'd find at the bottom of a swamp witch's cauldron – and began applying it to his wounds.
The instant her fingertips touched his skin, it was like a jolt of pure energy.
Not the painful, "I'm-about-to-be-smited" kind of energy, but a warm, soothing wave that spread through his entire body.
He let out an involuntary groan, which he immediately regretted.
*Smooth, Ethan, real smooth.
*
Mia, however, didn't seem to notice his awkwardness.
Her eyes were closed, her brow furrowed in concentration.
As she worked, a faint, shimmering mist began to rise from the bowl, filling the tiny shack with that bizarre, yet strangely addictive, scent.
Ethan felt his eyelids getting heavy, his senses heightened.
He could hear the faint rustle of Mia's simple robe, feel the gentle pressure of her fingers, even smell the faint, earthy scent of her hair.
It was… nice.
Too nice.
Suddenly, Mia made a choking sound, a violent cough that racked her small frame.
Ethan bolted upright, instantly concerned.
Had he accidentally poisoned her with his aura of bad luck?
But then he saw it.
Sprouting from Mia's lips, as if coughed up from her very core, was a tiny, crimson bud.
It pulsed with an inner light, and before Ethan could even process what he was seeing, it blossomed.
Not gradually, not subtly, but *exploded* into a flower of vibrant, almost obscene beauty.
The petals were a shade of red he'd never seen before, tinged with gold at the edges.
As the petals unfurled, they brushed against one of Ethan's wounds – a particularly nasty gash on his arm.
A flash of golden light erupted, so bright he had to shield his eyes.
When he could see again, the wound was… gone.
Not healed, not scarred, but *gone*, as if it had never existed.
Ethan, never one to miss an opportunity, even when completely bewildered, decided to test his luck.
He subtly – or at least, what he *thought* was subtly – shifted his position, using a clumsy version of the Drunken Immortal Steps (which, let's be honest, mostly involved tripping and flailing).
He bumped into Mia, "accidentally" brushing his injured leg against her.
Another flash of gold, another wound vanished.
He was about to go for the trifecta – a particularly impressive bruise on his back – when Mia finally opened her eyes.
And for the first time, Ethan saw a genuine smile spread across her face.
Not a polite, pitying smile, but a real, honest-to-goodness, *sparkling* smile.
It was… breathtaking.
It lasted for approximately 2.
5 seconds.
Then, her eyes widened in alarm.
The smile vanished, replaced by a look of sheer terror.
She pushed him, hard, towards a trapdoor he hadn't even realized was there.
It was hidden beneath a pile of – what else?
– old brooms.
"Go!" she mouthed, her silent urgency more terrifying than any shout.
He has sensed.
Ethan didn't need a translation.
He knew *exactly* who "he" was.
And he knew that whatever Mia had just done, it had triggered something big.
He scrambled into the darkness, the trapdoor slamming shut above him.
He was left in pitch black, the scent of herbs and something… *else*… lingering in the air.
"Go quick...", he heard the faint sound.
The world swam back into focus, a blurry kaleidoscope of greens and browns.
Ethan groaned, his head throbbing like a drum solo played by a particularly enthusiastic ogre.
His last memory was a flash of blinding light, Elder Chen's face twisted in a furious grimace, and then… nothing.
Now, he was lying on something soft, a faint, earthy scent tickling his nose.
He cracked open an eyelid, and the first thing he saw was a blur of vibrant emerald green.
As his vision cleared, the green resolved itself into a flowing robe, embroidered with delicate silver blossoms.
He followed the robe upwards, and his gaze landed on a face framed by raven-black hair – Mia, the mute girl from the medicine hall.
Mia's normally placid features were etched with concern.
Her fingers, surprisingly strong for someone so seemingly delicate, were probing his ribs gingerly.
Ethan winced.
"Ow," he croaked, his voice like sandpaper.
Mia's head snapped up.
Her eyes, the color of rich, dark honey, widened in surprise.
Then, something shifted within them.
A spark.
A glow.
And the earthy scent intensified, becoming almost intoxicating.
Suddenly, a wisp of emerald green smoke curled up from Mia's hands, swirling around Ethan's wounds like curious spirits.
The pain receded, replaced by a tingling warmth that spread through his body.
It felt… weirdly good.
Like a hot bath after a week in the wilderness, with maybe a dash of something slightly more… illicit.
\[*Ding!
Detected unusual energy signature.
Analyzing… Analyzing…
Result: User exposed to nascent Worldheart Blossom essence.
Significant boost to physical resilience and spiritual acuity detected.
Lucky bastard.
*]
Ethan blinked.
Worldheart Blossom?
Wasn't that a mythical herb, rumored to bloom only once every thousand years?
He snuck a glance at Mia.
She was concentrating intensely, her brow furrowed in concentration.
The green smoke continued to swirl, thickening and taking on an almost luminous quality.
Suddenly, Mia gasped, her eyes snapping open.
The green smoke vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving behind a faint, lingering fragrance.
She looked dazed, almost… shy.
She met Ethan's gaze, her cheeks flushing a delicate pink.
Then, with a hesitant gesture, she reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair from his forehead.
The air crackled between them, thick with unspoken… something.
Ethan swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.
This was weird.
This was *really* weird.
He was pretty sure he was supposed to be focusing on escaping Elder Chen's wrath, not… whatever *this* was.
But then, the moment was shattered.
A deafening alarm blared through the air, shaking the very foundations of the medicine hall.
Red light pulsed from the walls, casting eerie shadows.
Security alert!
Elder Chen has initiated Code Crimson: Pest Extermination Protocol.
Recommendation: Run like hell.
*]
The System's advice seemed sound.
Ethan scrambled to his feet, a sudden jolt of adrenaline banishing the last vestiges of the strange, hazy warmth.
He grabbed Mia's hand.
"Come on!" he yelled, pulling her toward the back exit.
As they ran, Ethan couldn't shake the feeling that something fundamental had shifted, something… blossomed.
And he had a sneaking suspicion that Elder Chen's wrath was the least of his problems now.