A man.
Zhang Yue carefully looked at the man who walked into the osmanthus grove.
He emerged from the grove carrying an armful of freshly cut branches and medicinal herbs. His steps were steady, unhurried, as though he belonged to the forest itself. The fading sunlight stretched his shadow across the ground, and with every step he drew closer to the ancient osmanthus tree.
Zhang Yue stiffened.
Who would be here at this hour?
This part of the forest had seemed completely deserted.
A commoner? A servant? Someone gathering medicinal herbs?
Whatever the answer, she couldn't afford to be caught halfway up a tree with a fistful of stolen blossoms.
She pressed herself against the trunk, scarcely daring to breathe. If she stayed perfectly still, perhaps the dense canopy would hide her until the man passed beneath.
Above her, Wu Qian Jun watched the scene unfold in silence.
His crimson eyes lingered on the approaching man before drifting back to Zhang Yue.
The corners of his lips lifted ever so slightly.
"It seems like anyone could walk into my grounds."
His gaze settled on the young woman clinging awkwardly to his tree.
"Let's see if you're truly worthy of the chance you've been given."
With an almost absent-minded flick of his fingers, a silver light rippled through the ancient osmanthus tree.
The breeze that had been gently carrying the fragrance of blossoms suddenly changed.
It surged.
Branches groaned.
Leaves whirled into the air as if they got into some tornado.
The branch beneath Zhang Yue's feet shuddered violently.
Her eyes widened.
"W-Wait-"
She quickly grabbed for another branch. But somehow smooth bark slipped through her fingers.
"No, no, no-"
In a moment, Zhang Yue's world tilted.
"Ahhh!"
Her scream echoed through the grove as she plunged toward the ground.
Above her, Wu Qian Jun remained seated among the blossoms, watching without the slightest intention of intervening. But looking at the height of the tree and the speed of her plummet, he was bit concerned for a split second.
"Perhaps," he mused to himself, "I overdid it."
However, even before he could do something Zhang Yue's scream tore through the quiet grove.
Her fingers clawed desperately at empty air as the branch slipped away beneath her feet. For one terrifying heartbeat, the world spun upside down. Leaves, blossoms, and fragments of orange sky blurred together.
"I'm dead."
The thought flashed through Zhang Yue's mind before she could stop it.
The ground rushed toward her.
But then-
She never hit it.
Instead, an arm slipped firmly around her waist, arresting her fall with effortless precision. The force of her descent dissolved as though she'd landed against a drifting cloud rather than another person.
Zhang Yue's senses were embraced by a peculiar scent of crushed herbs mingled with the lingering fragrance of osmanthus.
Her heart pounded wildly against her ribs.
For several long seconds, she couldn't tell whether she was still falling or simply forgot how to breathe.
Slowly, Zhang Yue opened her eyes.
Blue.
The first thing she saw was a pair of striking blue eyes.
Not the pale blue of a clear sky, nor the dark blue of the sea, but something in between, deep enough to hide secrets, yet clear enough to reflect every flicker of emotion.
They were looking directly at her.
Not startled.
Not flustered.
Simply... observing.
She blinked.
The man holding her was young, perhaps only a few years older than herself. His features were refined, almost impossibly so, as though carved from jade rather than flesh. There was no strain in the arm supporting her, despite having caught a grown woman falling from a tree.
He looked down at her with quiet composure.
Then, almost imperceptibly,
The corner of his lips lifted.
Not quite a smile.
More like someone who had just witnessed something mildly unexpected.
Zhang Yue, however, was still trying to process one very important fact.
She was...
Still in his arms.
"..."
"..."
"Oh."
Above them, hidden among the blossoms, Wu Qian Jun watched the scene with unmistakable satisfaction.
A knowing smile spread across his face.
"So..."
He rested his chin lazily against his hand.
"My aim hasn't grown rusty after all."
His amused gaze drifted between the two of them.
"I don't know who you are but what a promising first meeting."
The breeze carried away his quiet laughter, unheard by the pair beneath the tree.
Zhang Yue blinked up at the stranger, her pulse hammering against her ribs.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Her thoughts, however, were anything but quiet.
Who is he?
...And how did he catch me so effortlessly?
She had fallen from several feet above the ground. Anyone else would have stumbled backward or at least shown some strain.
He hadn't.
It was as though catching a fully grown person was no more difficult than catching a falling leaf.
Only when Zhang Yue realized he was still supporting her by the waist did she suddenly stiffen.
"Oh."
Right.
She was still in his arms.
An awkward heat crept up her neck.
The stranger seemed to notice at the same moment. Without a word, he loosened his hold and helped her back onto her feet. His hand remained lightly around her forearm just long enough to make sure she had regained her balance before withdrawing.
The touch was warm.
Steady.
Oddly reassuring.
"Th-thank you," Zhang Yue managed, brushing a few loose strands of hair away from her face.
She looked up, expecting... something.
A question.
A reprimand.
Perhaps a laugh.
Instead, the man merely inclined his head once.
Then, as though nothing unusual had happened, he crouched down and calmly gathered the scattered branches and medicinal herbs that had spilled across the ground.
Zhang Yue stared.
"That's it?"
No response.
He continued picking up the herbs with practiced care.
Her brows slowly knitted together.
Seriously?
A woman just fell out of a tree and nearly landed on your head.
Shouldn't you at least ask if she's alive?
Or whether she regularly descends from the heavens?
For someone blessed with such a pleasant face...
His conversational skills were absolutely tragic.
She wasn't sure whether to feel embarrassed...
...or mildly insulted.
The man rose to his feet, adjusted the bundle beneath one arm, and resumed walking as though their encounter had already ended.
"Wait."
He stopped.
Not immediately.
Just long enough for her to wonder whether he intended to ignore her again.
Without turning around, he waited.
"Could you tell me how to get back to Zhang Mansion?"
A quiet sigh escaped him.
He lifted one hand and pointed toward a narrow trail disappearing between the trees.
"Oh."
Relief spread across her face.
"Thank you."
She instinctively turned to look in the direction he'd indicated.
When she glanced back only a heartbeat later...
He was gone.
No retreating footsteps.
No rustling branches.
Nothing.
Only an empty woodland path stretching into the gathering dusk.
A chill ran down her spine.
"...What?"
She spun once, searching the grove.
There was nowhere he could have disappeared that quickly.
Was he even human...?
The thought lingered longer than she wanted it to.
Hugging her arms around herself, Zhang Yue hurried toward the path he'd shown.
Pull yourself together.
This isn't your world anymore.
You don't know what walks these forests after sunset.
And apparently... some of them are polite enough to catch you before disappearing into thin air.