Yuzhen headed back to the space the next night, waiting until things at the Bia estate were quiet. It wasn't that he was worried about getting caught; they wouldn't catch him. But after what happened in the west hall, he wasn't about to push his luck. His grandfather hadn't said much, but Yuzhen knew him well. Bia Zhenyuan was watching, and that was fine. Let him watch. As long as no one asked the one question Yuzhen still couldn't answer.
He sat on his bed, touched the faint mark on his wrist, and felt that familiar pull. One blink later, he was back in the pendant space. It was cool, clean, and quiet. The spring was still flowing, the fields stretched out under a soft light, and the distant halls were as silent as ever, like they had all the time in the world.
Xiaoren was sitting cross-legged by the spring. "Thought you'd take longer," it said.
Yuzhen looked at it. "You sound disappointed."
"I am. Humans usually waste more time staring at hope before using it."
Yuzhen ignored that and walked closer. "Yesterday you said I could cultivate again. You didn't say anything else."
"I said enough."
"No," Yuzhen disagreed. "You didn't."
Xiaoren stared at him for a moment, then clicked its tongue and hopped off the stone. "Fine," it said. "Then listen properly, and don't ask the same question twice."
Yuzhen folded his arms. "That depends on your answers."
Xiaoren gave him a stern look and started walking toward the center of the space. Yuzhen followed. They stopped where the grass met the first rows of spiritual land.
"The first rule," Xiaoren said, turning to face him, "is that this space is yours, but not everything in it belongs to you yet."
Yuzhen frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means you can use what you can access. What's sealed, you can't touch. If you force it, the space will reject you."
"The libraries?"
"The libraries. The storage halls. Some of the land. Some other places you haven't seen."
Yuzhen's eyes narrowed. "So the space decides."
"The space follows rules," Xiaoren corrected. "Your cultivation. Your mastery. Your soul power. If you meet the requirements, it opens. If not, it stays shut."
That made sense, based on what he'd already experienced. He glanced at the halls again. "And if I try anyway?"
Xiaoren's face remained impassive. "Pain."
Yuzhen waited.
Xiaoren shrugged. "Maybe worse. You want to test it?"
"No."
"Good."
Yuzhen looked back at the fields. "You said this land is mine."
"It is."
"Then why is it empty?"
Xiaoren's eyes widened as if it had never heard anything so absurd. "Because you haven't planted anything."
Yuzhen was silent for a moment. Then he said, "You're irritating."
"I know."
That almost made him smile. Xiaoren continued as if nothing had happened. "The second rule is simple. The space helps you, but it doesn't do the work for you. The spring won't make you strong if you just sit around. The libraries won't put knowledge in your head if you don't learn it. The land won't grow herbs if you never plant them."
Yuzhen nodded once. That rule, at least, he liked. He had no desire for some easy shortcut that turned him into someone reliant on pure luck.
"The third rule," Xiaoren said, "is that you tell no one."
Yuzhen's expression went still. "I know."
"Not your grandfather."
Yuzhen said nothing.
"Not your grandmother. Not your father when he returns. No one."
Yuzhen looked at Xiaoren for a long moment. "Why?"
Xiaoren's answer was quick. "Because this is the kind of thing that gets people killed."
The words hung between them. For once, Xiaoren didn't sound impatient. It sounded ancient. Yuzhen lowered his arms.
Xiaoren continued, "A hidden space. Time difference. Libraries full of inheritances. Spirit land. Healing spring. If the wrong person learns even one part of it, your life will no longer belong to you."
Yuzhen immediately thought of Mingzu City, and then beyond it: Cangyuan Sect, the Southern Region, the entire continent. He already knew enough to grasp the danger. A treasure could save a person, but it could also make them a target.
"I won't tell anyone," he stated.
Xiaoren studied him, then gave a short nod.
"The fourth rule," it said, "is about time."
Yuzhen's attention sharpened. Xiaoren gestured around them. "You already know the outside world keeps moving when you're in here."
"Three days here, one day outside."
"For now," Xiaoren added. "The ratio will improve when the space upgrades."
"Through my breakthroughs."
"And through the space itself expanding," Xiaoren said. "Unlock a new area, improve the spring, open higher library sections, expand the land—those also strengthen the space."
"So, both."
"Yes."
Yuzhen considered this quietly. The rule itself was straightforward, but its implications were huge. More time to train, refine pills, and learn without disappearing from the outside world for months. But it wasn't unlimited freedom. If he stayed too long, people would still notice.
Xiaoren seemed to read his thoughts. "Don't get greedy. If you hide in here for thirty days, the outside still sees ten. Your family won't ignore that."
Yuzhen let out a breath. "I understand."
"No, you don't. Not fully." Xiaoren folded its arms. "Humans get stupid when given more time. They think they can fix everything if they just stay a little longer. Then they come out and realize the world didn't wait for them."
Yuzhen looked away toward the mist-shrouded halls. That sounded less like a general warning and more like one specifically for him. He didn't ask.
Xiaoren turned and started walking again. "Come. There's one more thing."
This time, it led him to the nearest small hall behind the spring, the one where the pill had been stored. Inside, the shelves were still filled with bottles, boxes, and sealed jars. Most were empty, but some weren't. Xiaoren pointed at them one by one.
"Don't touch anything until I say so."
Yuzhen's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Because some are too potent for you. Some are for specific arts. Some are for later. And some..." Xiaoren paused, then looked at him flatly. "Some will waste good resources if used by someone half-trained."
Yuzhen almost took offense, then remembered he'd entered the space less than two days ago and swallowed the pill.
"So, what can I use?"
Xiaoren pointed to a side shelf. "Those three for body recovery. Those two for stabilizing spiritual energy. That stack of blank jade slips. The lower herb drawers. The basic tools in the left storage room. Nothing else unless I say so."
Yuzhen followed the direction of its hand and memorized everything.
"Good," Xiaoren said. "At least your brain works."
Yuzhen ignored that too. "And the libraries?"
"You may enter the open sections. Read. Learn. Don't pretend reading is the same as mastery."
"I know that."
Xiaoren gave him a long look. "Do you?"
Yuzhen didn't answer. The little spirit seemed satisfied anyway.
They stepped back outside. The spring flowed quietly, the land waited, and the halls stood as before, still and full of promise. For the first time since entering this place, Yuzhen felt something settle within him. Not excitement, but shape. A path was beginning to form.
"So," he said, "what do I start with?"
Xiaoren looked at him as if the answer was obvious. "Alchemy."
Yuzhen glanced toward the hall with the flame symbol and nodded. That was what he'd expected. But Xiaoren raised a finger before he could move.
"Not because it's easy," it said.
"I didn't think it would be."
"Good. Because it isn't." Xiaoren's expression turned sharper. "You'll start with alchemy because your wood-fire roots suit it, because it will help your cultivation, because it gives you a skill you can use in the outside world without looking suspicious, and because if you're smart, it will become your best cover."
Yuzhen's eyes sharpened at that last part. A cover. Yes. A fallen genius who could cultivate again overnight would attract way too much attention. But a once-famous young master who shifted focus and showed talent in alchemy after his downfall? That was easier to accept. Easier to explain. Not harmless, but believable.
Xiaoren saw he understood and nodded once. "Good. Tomorrow night, you begin with herb recognition, furnace basics, and fire control."
"Tomorrow?"
"You have family outside. Don't stay too long your second time in here and make them suspicious."
That was fair. Yuzhen looked down at his wrist. "Can I bring things in?"
"Yes."
"Living things?"
"Yes, if the space allows it."
"People?"
Xiaoren's face went blank. "No."
Yuzhen let that one go. He looked around one last time: the spring, the fields, the distant halls with their closed doors and hidden levels. This place still felt surreal. But the rules made it easier to navigate. Rules meant structure. Structure meant a way forward. He took a breath and said, "Then I'll come back tomorrow."
Xiaoren waved a hand dismissively. "Try not to die outside before then."
Yuzhen touched the mark on his wrist. The pull came instantly. A blink later, he was back in his room, the night still deep outside the window. He stood there quietly, listening. No footsteps outside. No one at the door. No change in the world except the one he carried within him.
He walked to his table and lit a second lamp. Then he pulled a sheet of paper toward himself and started writing. Space rules. Time ratio. Accessible halls. Allowed resources. What Xiaoren said about secrecy. What Xiaoren said about alchemy as a cover. He wrote down everything he could remember, not because he was afraid of forgetting, but because he needed to see it laid out clearly.
By the time he put his brush down, the first lamp had burned low. Yuzhen looked at the page. Then he added one final line at the bottom: "No one can know." He stared at those words for a while. Then he folded the paper, slid it into a hidden compartment under the table, and finally went to bed. Sleep didn't come easily. But when it finally did, it was the first time in many months that his dreams didn't end in falling.