The girl looked twelve or thirteen at most, likely a new recruit like herself. Her hair was tied in two neat buns, and her bright smile bloomed as cheerfully as the flowers she tended.

  “Why do you need to see the Valley Master?”

  “I want to collect flower dew.”

  “Then come with me. I’ll take you to him.”

  “Thank you.”

  The girl led her to a greenhouse. Through the windows, Lauren saw several female cultivators already inside, speaking with a stooped old man.

  She guessed they were here for the same reason—permission for flowers or nectar.

  Lauren stopped politely at the door. “I’ll wait until they’re finished.”

  “Then sit here for a bit,” the girl said with another smile. “I’ll get back to watering.”

  Lauren sat beneath a trellis heavy with vines, breathing in the thick fragrance. It was refreshing, clearing her mind like a spsh of cold water.

  These were no ordinary blooms. Every part—the petals, the stems, even the dew—was infused with the essence of heaven and earth. Used in alchemy, medicine, or spirit baths, they were treasures.

  It wasn’t long before the greenhouse door smmed open.

  The old man kicked the female cultivators out one by one, still muttering angrily.

  “If I say no, then it’s no. Rules are rules. Without your master’s seal, don’t even think about touching a single petal in my valley.”

  “Elder, come on. We’ve already used this month’s quota—can’t we borrow against next month’s?”

  “No. Come back next month.”

  “Why are you so unreasonable?”

  “Out!” The old man shoved them away and smmed the door shut again.

  The cultivators fumed as they passed Lauren.

  That was when Lauren noticed one of them—Tamara, a woman she’d known before entering the sect.

  “Hey, it’s you,” Lauren called. “Tamara, remember me?”

  Tamara’s eyes lit up, and she broke into a shy smile. “Oh! Lau.... I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “You can still call me Lauren,” she said with an easy smile.

  “Lauren, are you here for flowers too?”

  “I’m not picking flowers,” Lauren replied. “I just want to collect some nectar.”

  Before Tamara could answer, another woman from her group eyed Lauren curiously. “Do you have your master’s seal?”

  Lauren frowned. “Seal?”

  The woman’s tone carried a faint edge of superiority. “Taking anything from Hyakka Valley isn’t simple. You have to submit a request, then have your master or your peak’s steward elder stamp it. Each peak has its yearly and monthly quotas, and whether you get approval depends entirely on your steward elder.”

  Her gaze swept Lauren up and down. With a little sigh, she added, “Looks like you didn’t even know the rule. I’m guessing you don’t have a seal, do you?”

  Lauren shook her head.

  “Forget it. That old man’s stubborn as hell. He’s not giving you a single flower.”

  With that, she tugged Tamara by the sleeve.

  “Junior Sister Tamara, don’t take this the wrong way. But as an inner disciple now, you need to remember your status. Don’t go making random friends.”

  “I’m not making random friends,” Tamara protested. “Nyx, she’s someone I knew before I became an inner disciple. Please, just let me talk to her.”

  Nyx snorted. “Oh, what, you still want to ‘catch up’ with her?” She tightened her grip on Tamara’s arm, pulling her away.

  Lauren stood there, a little dumbfounded. Since becoming an inner disciple, no one had ever treated her like this. She didn’t know whether to ugh or cry.

  “Hey, Tamara,” Lauren called after her.

  She remembered those days before she’d entered the inner sect—how, if it hadn’t been for Tamara, she wouldn’t even have had a pce to live. Maybe it was time to repay the kindness of splitting that room.

  “Tamara, what flower do you want? I’ll get it for you.”

  “That… isn’t really appropriate, is it?” Tamara hesitated.

  Lauren gave her a small, easy smile. “It’s fine. Wait here a moment. I’ll be right back.”

  Without another word, she headed straight for the greenhouse.

  The two other girls with Tamara exchanged curious looks, wondering who exactly Lauren was.

  Nyx, however, curled her lip. “Hmph. Doesn’t know the rules at all. Who does she think she is? What’s she going to bring you back, a handful of weeds from Hyakka Valley?”

  “Don’t talk nonsense,” Tamara said sharply. “She’ll definitely get it.”

  “Get it? Please. I know every new disciple that’s entered the inner sect this year. I’ve never even seen her face.”

  Another girl chimed in, a little more cautiously. “Nyx, don’t outer disciples also get some flower dew? Just… not as much as we do?”

  Nyx rolled her eyes. “Oh, that’s right. Maybe she’s been saving hers for years, just to scrape together half a bottle.”

  Inside the greenhouse, an elderly man with his back to the entrance was carefully tending to a pale-blue blossom encased in a transparent box packed with ice.

  Lauren’s breath caught. The flower’s aura was like a whisper of winter itself—pure, biting cold.

  “What flower is this?” she asked before she could stop herself. “Its energy is so pure… so sharp.”

  The old man stiffened and turned around slowly, surprised.

  “You can feel it?”

  Lauren nodded.

  He studied her closely, then his gaze softened. “You have ice spiritual roots, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  His expression eased, almost wistful. “This is the Ice Spirit Flower. It’s taken me many, many years to raise it.”

  Lauren’s eyes widened. “Wait—the one that bears Ice Spirit Fruit?”

  “That’s right. The fruit carries incredibly pure ice energy. For someone like you, with ice roots, it would be a tremendous benefit.” He carefully added another yer of ice cubes to the box as he spoke.

  He hesitated, then sighed. “Truth is, I grew it for a friend… someone who’s no longer here.” His voice faltered, and he quickly changed the subject. “It bloomed three days ago. And now you’ve come. That’s fate. I’ll give it to you.”

  Lauren’s heart leapt, but then a pang of guilt struck her. She drew her hand back.

  She shook her head. “I love it, but I can’t accept it. A flower like this must be unimaginably hard to raise. I doubt I could even keep it alive.”

  The old man blinked, then suddenly chuckled. “You’re an honest one. With ice roots, you’d have an easier time nurturing it than I ever could. The real problem is you probably don’t know the first thing about keeping flowers. Never mind—when you’ve learned, and when you’re ready, come back. I’ll keep it for you until then.”

  Lauren bowed slightly. “Thank you, senior.”

  The old man’s expression hardened as quickly as it had softened. “Enough of that. Why are you here? Everything in this pce follows the rules—strictly. Even if the Sect Master himself came, there’d be no special treatment. Don’t think a few kind words will get you around the system.”

  His sudden shift in tone left Lauren blinking. The speed with which his face changed… was downright terrifying.