Demon Blood, Maiden Vail

The early sun streamed through the wooden blinds of the inn, golden light gently warming the **garden-view room**. Birds chirped. Petals floated on spirit wind.

Lin Yuan stirred, bleary-eyed, and groaned softly.

> "Ugh… why is my bed… wet?"

He sat up slowly.

And froze.

At the foot of his bed, bundled in her twin robes, **Tearlume** was sleeping peacefully—**just beyond the soaked sheets**.

His face paled. Then reddened. Then paled again.

> "Don't tell me—she peed the bed… or… wait. No. I peed? Wait—no, no—SHE peed—but she moved away?!?"

His voice cracked in panic.

Just then, the door slammed open.

**Lady An** stood there, arms crossed, one eyebrow arched dangerously.

> "Why did Xiao Hu run through the hall screaming 'Emergency Pee Situation'?"

She stepped in, surveyed the soaked bedding, saw Tearlume sleeping **dry** and curled **near Lin Yuan's feet**, and her lips twitched.

> "Don't tell me…" she muttered.

Lin Yuan raised his hands. "I—I didn't mean to let her sleep in it! I think she crawled away on her own—like instinct!"

Lady An marched up to him and **picked up Tearlume**, patting her head.

> "You let my daughter-in-law sleep on a **wet mattress** and she had to **rescue herself**? Huh?!Even xaio hu ask for help to let her pee in middle of night. Don't let me you sleep all night , when she became afraid she stayed alone ! "

Lin Yuan bowed, humiliated. "I'm sorry, baby"

Lady An wrapped Tearlume in a soft towel, cooing gently. "From now on, she **sleeps with me**. You're not ready ,as a husband even you failed as a brother."

> "Am I really… that stupid?" Lin Yuan whispered.

Lady An didn't answer. She just slammed the door behind her.

Despite the rough start to his day, Lin Yuan **returned to the mortal arena**, determined to face more **non-cultivator martial artists** in pure physical combat.

Lady Mingyan watched from a distance, arms folded.

> "Ten rounds," she said. "No spiritual energy. No sword. Just fists."

Lin Yuan nodded.

He fought **ten rounds**.

He won **six**.

He **lost four**.

But each loss **taught him more** than victory.

He learned how to guard his ribs.

How to feel for the center of weight in his opponent's hips.

How to breathe through pain, not around it.

How to stand again when his vision blurred and lungs burned.

When it ended, he was bruised, bloodied, limping—but standing.

Lady Mingyan approached and handed him a **bottle of bone-soothing ointment**.

> "Not bad. You're soft-hearted, but not soft-boned."

Lin Yuan smiled wearily. "I'll get stronger."

> "You better," she said. "Before your daughter learns to walk and challenges you to a duel."

He chuckled.

Behind them, Tearlume giggled in Lady An's arms.

Even **Xiao Hu**, standing nearby with snacks, laughed.

> "Brother! If you lose to her in ten years, I'll challenge you in front of the whole sect!"

Lin Yuan raised a bruised thumb.

> "Deal."

The arena stones were slick with sweat, and Lin Yuan's breath came in ragged bursts.

He'd fought ten rounds again that day—**mortal combat, no spiritual energy**. Fists bruised, bones aching. But his eyes still burned with quiet fire.

Now, back in the training yard behind the inn, Lin Yuan sat alone, shirtless, eating from a large bowl of steamed spiritual rice and roasted beast meat.He chewed slowly, staring up at the fading sunset.

> *"If I had just one more year…"*

He looked toward the open door of the garden, where little **Tearlume** lay sleeping under a spirit lantern, her leafy baby robe curled around her chubby body like a blooming petal.

> *"She'll grow taller."*

> *"Maybe she'll walk. Maybe she'll talk."*

He smiled softly.

> *"Will she start swinging branches? Throwing leaves? Will she fight?"*

Then he paused… and muttered to himself:

> "If she challenges me in a year… and I lose to a one-year-old girl… that will be the **greatest shame in history**."

He stuffed another bite into his mouth and leaned back with a groan, half-laughing, half-weeping.

> "Great. Now I'm scared of a toddler…"

Suddenly, the air shifted.

A quiet ripple of qi moved across the stone.

Lin Yuan turned—

**Lady Qingxiuan** stood just a few paces away.

She didn't say anything.

She didn't need to.

Her gaze swept over him—his bandages, his sweat, the empty bowl, the tiny sleeping baby beyond the light.

And then she just… sat down.

A silent companion under the fading sky.

Lin Yuan blinked. *She came here? To me?*

He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again.

**They didn't talk.**

But her presence spoke louder than words.

He kept eating. She leaned back against the post.

Two warriors—one lost, one bound in silence—sharing a quiet moment neither of them knew how to name.

As the stars blinked into view, Lin Yuan glanced sideways at her.

> *"Maybe… just maybe… if I get one more year… I want her to still be there."*