The mountain eagle descended in slow motion, its mighty wings spreading gusts of wind that rippled across the pink trees below.
The dense pink petals swayed like waves in air, carrying a sweet fragrance. Finally, with a thunderous beat of its wings, the eagle landed on the soft ground of the Pink Blossom Tree Sect.
Mo Han leapt down from its back with steady steps, his robes swaying lightly in the wind. Jia Kai followed close behind.
She specifically wore a blank wooden mask that concealed her identity completely. Where Mo Han walked freely and unbothered.
From a distance, a young woman hurried toward them. It was Chi Kai, Jia Kai's younger sister, her smile brighter than when Mo Han had first seen her days ago. Her eyes lingered on him more than once, betraying a mix of curiosity and nervous excitement.
"Sister Jia," she greeted softly, bowing slightly, though her eyes flickered towards Mo Han with a faint hint of shyness.
Without exchanging many words, Chi Kai led them away from the open grounds. They passed between lines of pink blossom trees, each in full bloom, their petals drifting down like sacred blessings.
The air here felt different from the Burning Sun Peak—gentle, fragrant, almost intoxicating with its purity. Chi Kai took them to a different place, outside the boundaries of the sect.
After some time, the group reached a wooden bamboo house built near the banks of a pink river. The sound of flowing water blended with the rustle of trees, creating a tranquil sanctuary, cut off from the sect's daily bustle.
Waiting at the doorway stood a graceful woman whose presence carried dignity and command. This was Su Kai, mother of Jia Kai and Chi Kai. Her features bore the maturity of years, yet her beauty still radiated with a refined aura that spoke of cultivation, wisdom, and strength. She looked at Mo Han directly, her eyes searching for him with a mother's sharp gaze that weighed every detail.
Mo Han also recognised her with one. She is the one who tested his body constitution first.
"Come in," Su Kai said, her tone calm yet firm. Mo Han bowed slightly and followed her inside, while Jia Kai gently took her sister's hand and guided her to another chamber.
Behind the closed doors, preparations began. Jia Kai worked with quiet devotion, helping her younger sister through the ritual bathing, guiding her into garments woven from the silk of special pleasure silkworms. These silks were faintly luminous, designed to harmonize the body's natural qi flow with that of a partner. Each fold and seam carried a deeper meaning, part of a ritual older than the sect itself.
Meanwhile, Su Kai led Mo Han to a different room. She motioned for him to sit, her gaze steady on his face.
"I do not know what my elder daughter sees in you… but from yesterday, she has been unyielding, insisting that you must become a partner for my second daughter's dual cultivation. She believes there is no one else fit for this role." Su Kai spoke in a serious tone.
Mo Han was about to respond, but she raised her hand, silencing him.
"Do not waste words explaining. It is not my place to unravel your secrets, nor do I wish to. I only ask one thing— take good care of my second daughter. Her path must not be cut short."
"Don't worry… my body constitution is heavenly…" Mo Han tried to reveal his body constitution.
"You don't need to…" Su Kai again interrupted. "Jia already warned me not to ask for any of your details. But I do not need to know what heavens favor you with. What matters to me is Chi Kai's safety."
Her words carry the weight of a mother's concern. Mo Han tried once more to offer reassurance, but again she cut him off.
"I had always imagined her future differently," Su Kai said, her tone softening, though her eyes did not waver. "I hoped she might marry a man who would stay by her side for life, one who could care for her as a husband should. But seeing her fate… seeing my elder daughter's insistence… I can no longer think in such small ways."
Her gaze lingered on him for a long moment.
"I will not tie your life to my daughter's. You are destined for higher places, and I know men like you will have paths that cannot be bound by ordinary bonds.
But hear me well, Mo Han. If ever the day comes when you take a second wife… or a third… consider Chi Kai. She will not ask for much. She will not demand a place. She will only be yours to cultivate with. Beyond that, she will remain single—forever. That is the devotion of her heart."
Mo Han's chest tightened slightly at her words. For a moment, he was silent. In his heart, he knew dual cultivators often changed partners; such exchanges were not uncommon in the great sects. Yet Su Kai's firmness, her immovable wish for her daughter's future, was something that left him unsettled.
'Why would she bind her daughter to such a solitary fate?'
But there was no answer. Only the mother's will.
After a long silence, Su Kai finally moved.
Mo Han was taken to a separate area where steaming water filled a stone tub, faintly fragrant with herbs that nourished both body and qi.
"Take a bath and wear this pleasure silk clothes. If you tap the crustal tree, the water will sprinkle from above." Su Kai explained while adding aromatic liquid and left the bamboo house.
Stripping away his old garments, Mo Han immersed himself in the bath, feeling the warm liquid seep into his flesh, cleansing impurities, calming the restless flow of qi in his dantian.
The crystal tree sprinkled water like a modern day shower. Mo Han shook his head to kick away distracting thoughts and came out of the water pool.
The silk garments were unlike any he had worn before—soft, flowing, their threads faintly glowing with spiritual light. They were scholarly in design, loose yet refined, as if made for sacred rituals rather than combat.
As the cloth rested on his body, he could feel a strange resonance, like the garments themselves were aligning his energy for the dual cultivation.
He stood in wait for Chi Kai while staring at the decorated bed.