"But that is not your concern. What is your concern, Lin Xiaotian, is why you are in these dangerous woods alone, especially given the state of your own Qi."
Her face flushed, a mixture of embarrassment and indignation. "That's none of your business, Han Xiao! And my Qi is perfectly fine!"
"Is it?" I challenged, my gaze piercing. "I sense it, girl. A flicker. A pulse of… potential. But it is suppressed. Stifled. Like a hidden flame under a wet blanket. You are cultivating, aren’t you? But not in the way the sect approves. And not very successfully, by the look of it."
Lin Xiaotian gasped, her hand instinctively going to the small satchel at her hip. Her eyes, wide and startled, confirmed my suspicion. "How… how did you know?"
"I know many things," I said, a faint smile playing on my li
