Sweat beaded on the brow of Dai Ziyao, young master of Rejuvenation Hall, as he recoiled, his right hand retreating as if singed. A strained smile flickered across his face. "Lady Xue, a misunderstanding, ha, merely a misunderstanding," he stammered, stepping back.
The pawnshop keeper's jowls quivered as he forced a dry chuckle. "Master Dai," he said, "by the pawnshop's code, an item not yet sold, still within these walls, may be redeemed at its original price with interest if the buyer returns. Today, it seems, Mr. Li has come to claim what is his."
Dai Ziyao blinked, as if waking from a dream. "Yes, yes, that's the way of it," he muttered, offering the white jade amuletwith both hands. Li Yongyi accepted it without a glance at the young master, placing eleven taels of silver on the counter. "The contract, if you please," he said evenly.
The keeper, his bulk bustling, retrieved the contract with haste. Li unfolded it, reading: "A woman with child pawned one white jade amulet, valued at ten silver taels." His auntie's fingerprint marked the page. Folding it neatly, he tucked it into his robe, his expression serene.
As Lady Xue and Li Yongyi prepared to depart, Dai Ziyao, stung by envy, stepped forward with feigned grace. "Lady Xue, forgive my earlier discourtesy. It has been too long, yet your radiance endures." Lady Xue turned, her brow creasing. "And you are?"
Dai Ziyao's poised smile faltered. "I am the son of the Dai family of Rejuvenation Hall," he stammered. "We met at your family's banquet some time ago." Lady Xue paused, then said softly, "Rejuvenation Hall—some of our herbs come from your stores." Dai's face brightened, but her gaze darkened. "Henceforth, we shall source them elsewhere."
Dai's expression froze, his countenance ashen. Lady Xue turned to Li Yongyi. "Mr. Li, shall we?" They departed, leaving the keeper to mop his brow, chuckling at Dai's misfortune. The Dai family's trade with the Xue clan, it seemed, was no more.
In the carriage, Li's fingers traced the recovered the jade amulet, his heart calm. With nineteen silver taels, he could secure a better home for his auntie. Yet duty called him first to the Xue estate, to learn its paths and claim his attire.
The Xue estate loomed like a city within a city, its stone lions snarling at the gates, its cobbled paths guiding the carriage through a side entrance. Li Yongyi's eyes lowered, the inner breath from Song of Breaking Formations coursing through him, each cycle strengthening his frame. Yet a venomous chill at his heart stifled its flow, like a masterwork blade dulled by rust.
As the carriage reached the inner courtyard, the Cauldron of Ancients within Li Yongyi's chest thrummed, brimming with jade essence. His pupils dilated, a mystic qi rising, piercing the veil of reality: a White Tiger of the Void, vast as a three-story hall, paced with fur like snow, blue eyes glacial, black stripes etched like the night itself, its whip-like tail coiling through the ether. At its heart stood an old man, staff in hand, hair and beard white as frost, his presence a prison of authority.
Xue's laughter rang like silver bells as she lifted the carriage curtain, leaping down with the grace of a dancing butterfly. "Grandpa!" she called, embracing the old man's arm, her smile radiant, no longer the poised lady but a girl of fourteen summers. The coachman whispered, "This is the Xue patriarch, heir to the Divine General Xue, who five centuries ago secured the frontier with three arrows."
The old man's gaze fell gently, the White Tiger bowing behind him. Within Li Yongyi, the Cauldron surged, jade essence flooding his veins, as the boy sensed destiny stirring on the horizon.
**(End of Chapter)**