Click.

  The front door opened.

  Jin Hao froze, swallowing a lump of pastry. He stood up, trying to look imposing and tragic at the same time.

  Su Lian stepped into the room.

  If she had been beautiful at the banquet, she was transcendent now. She wore a robe of pale jade silk that was cut slightly lower than was traditional, hinting at the creamy skin beneath.

  Her hair was loose, cascading over her shoulders in a dark waterfall. Her expression was one of deep worry.

  She stopped when she saw him. Her eyes widened.

  To anyone else, Jin Hao looked like a beggar who had broken in to steal food. He was covered in mud and dried blood. His robes were shredded. He smelled of the slums.

  But Su Lian didn't recoil. She didn't wrinkle her nose. Instead, she brought a delicate hand to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.

  "Jin Hao," she breathed, her voice trembling. "Oh, look at what they have done to you."

  She rushed forward. For a second, Jin Hao thought she might hug him and his heart nearly exploded.

  But she stopped a few feet away, as if held back by propriety, or perhaps by the sheer overwhelming emotion of the reunion.

  "Miss Su," Jin Hao stammered, bowing awkwardly. "I... I apologize for my appearance. The road has been... difficult."

  "Do not apologize," she said fiercely, her eyes flashing. "It is they who should apologize. Your family. And the world."

  She gestured for him to sit and she sat across from him, her movements graceful.

  Suyu appeared from the shadows, refilling the tea pot and placing a fresh plate of spirit fruits on the table before vanishing again.

  "Eat," Su Lian urged, pushing the plate toward him. "You must be starving. Suyu told me... she told me you were hiding on a roof."

  "I was surveying the battlefield," Jin Hao corrected, taking a fruit. "Planning my counter attack."

  "Of course," Su Lian nodded, looking at him with admiring eyes. "I knew you were not the man they said you were. At the banquet... I saw it. I saw the fire in your eyes. I saw... a dragon waiting to wake up."

  Jin Hao felt a warmth spread through his chest that had nothing to do with cultivation.

  "You saw that?" he asked, leaning forward.

  "I have a gift," she said softly, lowering her gaze. "I can see potential. And I can see pain. Because... I have felt it too."

  She looked up at him, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek.

  "Jin Hao, I know what it is like to be overlooked. To be cast aside for someone... lesser."

  Jin Hao frowned. "You? But you are the pearl of the Su Family."

  "Am I?" She laughed. "Look at the engagement. My sister... Meira. She is the one who is marrying Arya Chen. She is the one my father looks at with pride."

  She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "It was supposed to be me, Jin Hao. Arya and I... we had an understanding. Or so I thought."

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Jin Hao's fists clenched on the table. "Arya Chen. That bastard."

  "He chose Meira," Su Lian whispered, her voice breaking. "Why? Because she is stronger? Because she is the 'genius' eldest daughter? I have worked so hard. I have learned every art, every grace. But in the end... they want the cold statue, not the woman with a heart."

  She looked at Jin Hao, her eyes searching his. "Just like your family. They cast you aside because they couldn't see your worth. They gave everything to the main line and left you with nothing."

  "Yes," Jin Hao hissed. "Exactly. They treated me like a dog."

  "And now look at you," Su Lian said, a note of awe entering her voice. "My maid tells me... the rumors say you are a Late Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. That you defeated a Captain with a single blow."

  She reached out, her hand hovering over his, almost touching. "Is it true?"

  Jin Hao puffed out his chest. "It is true."

  "But how?" she asked, her eyes wide and innocent. "How did you do it? Everyone says... they say you found a treasure. A divine artifact that can turn anything into power."

  Jin Hao hesitated.

  "I..." He lowered his voice. "I didn't find any treasure. But I had resources. I... I found a hidden inheritance a long time ago. I kept it secret, waiting for the right time."

  He lied. He couldn't tell her he ate his family's warehouse. That sounded like theft. A hidden inheritance sounded like destiny.

  "I see," Su Lian breathed, looking at him with even more admiration. "You were hiding your strength. Biding your time. Like a true hero."

  "Exactly," Jin Hao nodded. "But I... I used it all. To break through. Now... I have the power, but I have nothing left."

  Su Lian's face fell. "Oh, Jin Hao. That is... tragic. To use such a legacy just to survive..."

  She looked down at her hands. "I wish I could help you. I wish I could give you the resources of the Su Family. But... Meira controls everything now. My father only gives me a stipend for dresses and jewelry. He thinks that is all I am good for."

  She looked up, her eyes blazing with a fierce determination. "But I can help you in another way."

  She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. She slid it across the table.

  "What is this?" Jin Hao asked.

  "A map," she said. "Of the Jin Family estate."

  Jin Hao frowned. "I know the estate. I lived there."

  "Do you know the underground?" she asked. "Do you know the secret passages beneath the water prison?"

  Jin Hao went still. "The water prison?"

  "My spies told me about your father," Su Lian said softly. "I knew... I knew you would want to save him. You are a filial son. And a man of honor. You wouldn't leave him to suffer."

  She pointed to a red mark on the map. "This is a ventilation shaft. It leads directly into the lower levels of the dungeon. It bypasses the main formations."

  Jin Hao stared at the map.

  "Why?" he asked, looking at her. "Why help me? This is dangerous for you. If the Jin Family finds out... if Patriarch Jin finds out..."

  "Let him find out," Su Lian spat, her face twisting with righteous anger. "I want to help you, Jin Hao, because... because your situation and mine are so similar. I want to help you so that perhaps, one day, someone might reach out to help me, too."

  She reached out and finally touched his hand. Her skin was soft. Jin Hao felt an electric shock jolt through his arm.

  "Save your father," she whispered. "Bring him here. No one knows it belongs to me. You can hide here."

  Jin Hao looked at her. He saw the fire in her eyes, the shared resentment.

  She needs me, he thought. She's a damsel trapped in a tower of expectations and I am the knight who just broke down the gate.

  "I will," Jin Hao vowed, turning his hand to grip hers. "I will save him."

  Su Lian smiled. It was a smile that reached her eyes, a smile that promised him the world.

  "I know you will," she said. "Now go. Before the sun rises fully. The guard shifts change in an hour. That is your window."

  Jin Hao stood up. He felt ten feet tall. He felt invincible.

  "Wait for me," he said.

  "I will be here," she promised.

  He turned and strode out of the room, grabbing the map. He walked out of the safe house and back into the night, his heart burning with a righteous fury.

  He didn't see Su Lian stand up as soon as the door closed. He didn't see her wipe her hand… the hand he had held, on a silk handkerchief with a look of utter revulsion.

  "Burn it," she said to Suyu, dropping the handkerchief onto the table.

  "Yes, Young Miss," Suyu said, appearing from the shadows. "He... he actually believes it."

  "Of course he does," Su Lian sneered, her voice cold. "He is a starving man. I gave him a crumb and he thinks it is a feast."

  She walked to the window, watching the direction Jin Hao had gone.

  "He lied about the resources," she noted.

  "Do you believe him?" Suyu asked.

  "No," Su Lian smiled, a cruel smile. "He is a bad liar. He is still hiding the treasure. But that doesn't matter."

  She looked at her reflection in the dark glass of the window.

  "He is going to prison. And if he dies? Then I lost a pawn. But if he succeeds... if he brings his father here..."

  She turned back to the room.

  "Then I have his weakness. And sooner or later, he will give me that treasure. Willingly."