Master Sun Wanghe set them up with food, had Oni-AI housekeepers get them clean clothes and prepare their rooms. He studied the huge egg silently for a long time, his fingers brushing the shell like it was a long-lost friend.
"It seems you two are fated to be." He mumbles seeming to be lost in thought.
Later, beneath the shade of a plum tree in the backyard garden, old master Sun sipped his tea, eyes fixed on the egg once more.
"So," he said at last, "tell me how you came upon this… unusual specimen."
Fan Yumei opened her mouth, but Fan Hanji was already halfway into a dramatic gesture.
"It dropped from the heavens!" he declared. "Like a divine dumpling from the sky beast gods themselves! Thump! Right in front of us! I barely dodged it with my life!"
Yumei rolled her eyes.
"We don't know where it came from," she offered. "We just—found it. Sort of. I mean, it didn't nearly flattened my uncle, but—"
"I saved her life," Hanji interrupted, puffing his chest. "I caught it! With my bare hands!"
"You screamed and tripped over a stick," Yumei muttered.
"It was a ferocious stick," Hanji sniffed.
Master Sun chuckled, a deep, mellow sound like thunder napping on a distant mountain. "Interesting."
"Oh! And I told her we should roast it," Hanji added brightly. "Still do! It's just sitting there, wasting away. Might be rotten already! What if it hatches into some no-good cursed goose demon? Or worse—a tax collector?"
He leaned in toward the master, voice low and conspiratorial. "Better to eat it now before it goes bad. No sense in wasting good protein."
Yumei's jaw dropped. "You—you already tried to roast it once!"
"I was only preheating!"
"Uncle!"
Hanji shrugged, then glanced back at the mythical beast egg wistfully. "I just think if we're going to drag it around like it's a sacred cow's heirloom, we oughta at least consider the pot."
Master Sun didn't respond right away. He merely turned his gaze back to the egg, eyes distant.
"Life," he said finally, "is not always loud when it begins. Nor is it always fast. The seed in the soil grows even when no one is watching."
He placed his teacup down gently, fingers brushing its rim like he was listening for something only he could hear.
"If this creature is fated to live… it will. If it wants to survive, it will find a way. The heavens do not hatch eggs. But sometimes… they do drop them."
He looked at them both, his tone unreadable, though something flickered behind his eyes.
"We will wait. And we will see."
Hanji blinked. "So… that's a 'no' on the roasting?"
Yumei kicked him under the bench.
Master Sun just smiled sipping his tea.
⸻
Later, Master Sun led Fan Yumei to a back room where an array of refiner tools shimmered in candlelight. He refined the awakening serum with focused intent, murmuring incantations older than the stars.
After several hours, he finished leading her to the awakening room.
The awakening room was dim and silent, lit only by the runes etched into the floor. Fan Yumei stood at its center, calm despite the tension in the air. Master Sun adjusted the formation with practiced movements, saying little.
She watched him quietly for a moment, then spoke—her tone level, almost curious.
"Earlier… in the living room. The way you stood by the beast egg. You weren't studying it. You were communicating."
Master Sun's hands paused mid-air. He turned his gaze toward her, eyes narrowing just slightly.
She continued, unfazed. "The egg responded to your presence. Not with fear or confusion—but familiarity. You're not just a refiner, are you? You're also a beast tamer. A dual awakener."
A long silence settled between them.
Then he exhaled softly, something between amusement and approval in his expression. "You noticed that?"
"I don't say things I'm not sure of," she said simply.
Master Sun stepped back from the formation, folding his hands behind his back. "Most children see only the egg," he said. "You saw the bond."
She held his gaze. "I've always believed the bond is where real power begins."
He nodded once. "Then we begin your awakening with clarity. Let's see if the world agrees with you."
As the final rune locked into place beneath her feet, Fan Yumei glanced up at Master Sun, brows slightly drawn. Her voice was calm, but a hint of skepticism slipped through.
"Is it true that Soul Function Awakeners form a bond with a soul beast? That your soul… births an egg which hatches into a beast?"
She hesitated, then added, almost to herself, "Doesn't that make you a soul-birthing mother?"
The corners of Master Sun's mouth twitched. This kid amused him.
He folded his arms, watching her with quiet amusement. "Ask me again," he said, "when you awaken."
She narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't press. Still, the thought stuck, a soul-birthing mother? She wasn't sure whether to feel disturbed, amazed… or proud.
She blinked, lips parting to respond but he stepped forward and handed her a small jade vial filled with glowing amber liquid. The warmth pulsed faintly through the glass.
"This will unlock your cultivation path," he said. "But only if you can endure it. Do not fall asleep. Do not surrender. If your mind breaks, your core will shatter and with it, your soul. You will never cultivate again."
"You can cleanse your core to improve your results but if you achieve full harmonization, your future will be brilliant, young girl."
Fan Yumei swallowed hard.
"You must endure the pain, all of it like unbreakable steel. Balance is neither given nor taken—it must be earned through understanding. Stay awake. Accept it. If you do, great rewards will follow. If not…" He paused, eyes darkening. "Well. That is a path we shall not speak of."
She nodded, trembling but determined.
"I shall return in three days," the master said. "Should you endure, I will assess your core's purity, the strength of your mind, the depth of your soul—and reveal your true calling. May fortune favor you."