The Broken Paths

The morning air was crisp but cold Daokan and Yan Shuren clashed in their daily sparring routine. The sound of steel meeting steel rang through the courtyard, precise and deliberate. Each strike, each step, each movement was honed from years of mastery—two warriors sharpening themselves against each other like whetstone to blade.

Not far from them, Ren knelt beside Lianhua, guiding her through the first forms of martial arts. The little girl watched him carefully, mirroring his movements with quiet determination. To her, Ren was not just a teacher—he was family. A steady presence in a world that had given her nothing but pain.

"You're doing good" Ren encouraged, adjusting her stance slightly. "But don't be stiff. Breathe with the movement."

Lianhua frowned, nodding as she tried again. Ren chuckled, ruffling her hair.

"You'll get there. It's not about strength—it's about control."

Shen Xue, having watched from a distance, finally stepped forward. "Here, let me show you something."

Lianhua hesitated but nodded slowly. Shen Xue crouched down beside her, demonstrating a smoother transition between forms. Unlike Ren's gentleness, her approach was firm, disciplined.

Lianhua's gaze flickered between them. She wasn't sure what to make of Shen Xue yet. But she had seen her care for Atlas, had watched her worry over him.

Maybe… she wasn't so bad.

Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Xian Yue was tending to Atlas.

"You're still too weak to move properly" she scolded, adjusting his blankets.

Atlas, ever the menace, grinned up at her. "I like how you assume I ever move properly."

Physician Ming, watching from the corner, sighed. "Must you always make this difficult?"

Atlas smirked. "It's called building character, physician"

Then, his expression shifted—less playful, more considering. "Actually, can I talk to her?"

Ming frowned. "Who?"

Atlas tilted his head toward the lifeless woman. "Her."

The woman blinked, but didn't move. Ming hesitated before nodding, stepping back.

Atlas studied her, his gaze sharp, assessing. "Your hands keep twitching. Not from the cold, but from habit. You were trained to hold something—something familiar. A blade, perhaps?"

Her fingers stilled. A flicker of recognition crossed her empty gaze, but she said nothing.

Atlas continued, voice softer now. "And the way you step—hesitant, like you're not sure if you're meant to move forward or wait for orders. That tells me you were always given commands, never choices."

A long silence stretched between them.

Then, for the first time, she spoke. "What do you want from me?"

Atlas leaned back against his pillows, smirking just slightly. "Just a conversation."

Ming and Xian Yue both tensed immediately. "Absolutely not."

Atlas sighed dramatically. "Come on, I'm bedridden, in pain, and quite possibly unable to break anything expensive in this state. This is the safest I've ever been!"

Xian Yue narrowed her eyes. "That's exactly what you said before you knocked over Master Daokan's entire shelf of medicinal herbs."

Ming crossed his arms. "And the time before that, when you 'accidentally' directed a stage coup in the grand hall AND paraded around like a king."

Atlas grinned. "Alright, fine. But look at me—I'm harmless! Practically an invalid!"

After a long silence, Ming finally relented with a sigh. "Fine. Five minutes. And if I hear so much as a single crash, I'm sedating you with a punch''

Atlas beamed. "Physician, you wound me. Have a little faith."

Ming grumbled as he stepped back, and Atlas turned his attention back to the woman, his expression shifting from playful to calculating. He studied her, his gaze sharp, assessing every minute detail.

Atlas tilted his head, voice light but precise. "So, tell me—when was the last time you made a decision that was truly your own?"

The woman's fingers twitched again, but her expression remained unchanged. She did not answer immediately. Instead, she stared past Atlas, as if the question itself was foreign—something she had not considered in a long time.

Atlas waited, patient. His sharp eyes tracked the way her breath shallowed, how her lips pressed together—just slightly. A small, almost imperceptible shift. Recognition.

Then, at last, she spoke.

"I never have."

Her voice was quiet, void of weight or emotion, but the truth in it struck harder than any outburst ever could.

Atlas exhaled, tilting his head. "Never? Not once?"

She shook her head. "Not since I lost everything."

Atlas studied her for a moment longer, gaze unreadable. Then he sighed, almost lazily, his voice taking on that familiar lilt—casual, sympathy, yet unnervingly sharp.

"Lost everything, huh? Let's see... It wasn't just your home. If it were only that, you wouldn't be here, standing instead of collapsing. No, you lost something deeper. Something that took your reason with it."

The woman's fingers curled slightly, ever so slightly, but it was enough. There it is.

Atlas pressed on, his tone quieter now. "You lost your family."

The air in the room shifted. Xian Yue and Physician Ming who was listening in behind the door but said nothing.

The woman's breath hitched, though her expression did not change.

Atlas' voice softened, but the weight in it remained. "Your child."

Her hands clenched.

Atlas leaned back against his pillows, watching her carefully. His usual smirk was absent now. "So tell me… if you've lost everything, then what are you waiting for?"

A long, painful silence stretched between them.

Atlas sighed, glancing at the ceiling. "You know, I lost everything too."

Her gaze flickered toward him—curious but wary. She said nothing, so he continued.

"When I was five, my family was wiped out. Not by war, not by illness—but by men in silks, men who smiled as they burned my home to the ground."

His voice remained casual, but there was something underneath. Something raw. Sadness in his tone "My parents, my siblings—gone. Just like that."

The woman didn't move, but something in her eyes darkened. A flicker of understanding.

Atlas continued, his voice quieter now. "I remember the smoke. The way my sister and mom screamed for me. The way my father tried to fight back even when he was already dying. I remember how they laughed—how they said it was just business. A transaction."

His hands curled into fists. "I was worth more to them alive. A bargaining piece. A pawn in their world of gold and contracts. So they let me live."

A breath. Slow, measured.

"But I wasn't really alive, you know? I was the last thing left of a house already buried."

The woman's lips parted slightly. She didn't speak, but Atlas saw it—the recognition. The mirror of loss reflected in her empty gaze.

Atlas exhaled, forcing a smirk back onto his face. "So trust me when I say—I get it. I know what it means to lose everything. To have the world take and take until you don't even know if you're a person anymore, or just the hollowed-out remains of someone else's tragedy."

The woman's fingers twitched. She swallowed, throat working around something unspoken.

Atlas tilted his head, voice softer now. "But here's the thing. You're still here. And you're still breathing. So… what are you going to do about it?"

Silence stretched again, but this time, it wasn't empty.

This time, it was heavy. And for the first time, the woman truly heard the question.

What was I going to do?

After revealing his past, his voice shifted, lighter, almost teasing. "So that brings us here. You, me, both standing at the edge of something neither of us asked for. The difference is, I've decided to bet on myself. What about you?"

She looked at him slightly, maybe the faintest of curiosity in her eyes. "Bet?"

Atlas grinned now, sharper, more familiar. "You're a woman with no future, yeah? Stuck in a sect where Daokan's just waiting to see if you'll break or if you'll prove yourself useful."

He tilted his head. "So why not gamble a little?"

Her fingers twitched. "On what?"

Atlas smirked. "On her."

She blinked. "Who?"

He nodded toward the small figure practicing with Ren.

Lianhua.

"She's like you. Broken, lost. But she's still here. She's still fighting. If you can't find a reason for yourself, why not find a reason for her?"

He leaned forward, voice low, coaxing. "Take care of her. Teach her. And in return?"

His smirk deepened. "You get to find out if there's more to life than just existing."

The woman stared at him. For the first time, she hesitated.

Atlas pressed on, voice lilting with amusement but underpinned with something real. "High risk, high reward. You either stay a ghost, waiting for Master Daokan to kill you, or you take a chance and see if maybe, just maybe, you're meant for something more."

Silence. Then—

For the first time, something flickered in her dull gaze. But then, just as quickly, it dimmed. She exhaled slowly, shaking her head. "No."

Atlas raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, waiting.

Her voice was quiet but firm. "She doesn't need me. And I… I have nothing to give."

Atlas leaned back, studying her for a moment. Then, with a grin that was all mischief and sharp edges, he tilted his head.

"Alright, then let's make it interesting. Let's put me in the deal."

She frowned, confused. "You?"

"If you're not convinced, then let's sweeten the pot. You help her, you teach her, you figure out if you can still find a purpose."

He tapped his own chest. "And in return, I'll owe you one."

She narrowed her eyes. "Owe me what?"

Atlas smirked. "That's the fun part. You get to decide later. A favour, a trade, something valuable."

He shrugged. "Or nothing at all, if you decide you don't need it. But I think you will."

She stared at him, uncertain. Silence stretched between them once more—but this time, it wasn't empty. This time, she was thinking. The woman hesitated, something unreadable flickering in her hollow gaze. Then, after a long breath, she spoke—her voice quieter, almost reluctant.

"There's no guarantee she even wants me around."

Atlas leaned forward slightly, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips. "No guarantees in life. But think of it this way—what's the worst that happens? You try, you fail, and you go back to being nothing? You've already been there. But if you win? If she accepts you? Then you've got more than you ever thought you'd have again."

She exhaled sharply, gaze flicking toward the child outside. Lianhua was still practicing with Ren, small but determined.

Atlas tilted his head. "And if that's not enough… let's add another wager."

She frowned. "Another?"

His grin sharpened. "Your family. You lost them. But not all of them. You had a sister, didn't you?"

Her breath hitched. Just slightly. "How—?"

Atlas shrugged. "Call it a hunch. Or maybe just a really good read. Either way, let's make a deal. You try. You stay. You give it a real shot. And in return, I'll find her."

Silence.

A dangerous promise, reckless even by Atlas' standards. He didn't know if he could find the missing woman. He didn't even know if she was alive. But he knew how to play the game, how to push just enough to make the gamble irresistible.

Because now… she had something to lose again.

And Atlas knew he had her. All that was left was to see if she'd take the gamble.

From just outside the room, hidden within the shadows of the hallway, Master Daokan and Yan Shuren exchanged a glance. They had been listening the entire time, silent observers to Atlas' reckless, calculated manipulation.

Yan Shuren exhaled, rubbing his temple. "That was the most absurd gamble I've ever heard."

Daokan crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. "And yet, it might be the only thing that saves her."

Yan let out a quiet chuckle, though there was no humor in it. "He's either a genius or an idiot. Probably both."

Daokan's gaze remained on the door. "He is lying. He has no idea if he can find her sister."

Yan nodded. "But that's not the point, is it? He gave her something to hope for. Something to fight for."

A long silence stretched between them before Daokan finally sighed, turning away. "We'll see if it's enough."

Just outside the infirmary, Xian Yue and Physician Ming stood pressed against the wooden door, their faces twisted in various shades of disbelief.

The moment Atlas sealed his absurd deal, Xian Yue yanked Ming back by the sleeve, dragging him a few steps away from the door, her expression a mixture of frustration and second hand exhaustion.

"What did we just hear?" she hissed, rubbing her forehead.

"I thought he was just going to talk to her, not… whatever that was!"

Ming pinched the bridge of his nose, inhaling deeply. "That was Atlas Ryland, being Atlas Ryland."

Xian Yue threw her hands up. "He lied to her! He doesn't know if he can find her sister! He just made a life-altering gamble based on pure instinct!"

Ming exhaled, long and slow. "Yes. And she took the bait."

Xian Yue froze, blinking. "Wait, you're… agreeing with him?"

Ming muttered, folding his arms "I'm not agreeing but I will say that it doesn't matter if he can actually find the sister. What matters is that he made her believe he could."

Xian Yue stared at him. "That's— That's— That's insane!"

Ming sighed. "It is. But tell me this—before Atlas opened his mouth, did she even have a reason to keep going?"

Xian Yue opened her mouth, then closed it.

Ming nodded, watching the door. "She wasn't surviving. She was just… waiting to be buried. Atlas? He doesn't deal in saving people the way warriors or healers do. He deals in making people save themselves."

Xian Yue groaned, rubbing her face. "That is the worst kind of wisdom I've ever heard."

Ming smirked. "It's effective, though."

Xian Yue shook her head, muttering under her breath. "Daokan's going to kill him."

Ming chuckled. "No. Daokan's been watching him. If anything… I think Atlas just passed another test."

They both glanced toward the door again, just as the sound of soft footsteps disappeared into the shadows of the hallway.

They hadn't been the only ones listening.