By Saturday evening, the last traces of Numbroot had been removed.
The healer checked Chen Ba one final time.
"No cultivation."
Chen Ba nodded.
"No missions."
Another nod.
"Until Monday."
Chen Ba looked up.
The healer's expression hardened.
"Did that part sound optional?"
"No."
"Good."
Chen Miao was still nearby.
The healer glanced between them.
"Both of you reacted better than many would. That can happen. Strong constitution. Limited exposure. Natural resistance."
Then he added,
"Do not confuse resistance with immunity."
Miao visibly relaxed.
There was an ordinary explanation.
At least for now.
Zhaowu pushed himself away from the wall.
"Rest."
That was all he said before leaving.
...
Chen Ba returned home.
Aunty Ning was less calm.
"You came back poisoned?"
"It was treated."
"That wasn't what I asked."
Chen Ba remained quiet.
Chen Ning checked him herself anyway.
Pulse.
Eyes.
Skin.
Breathing.
Only after finding nothing wrong did she stop.
"You're staying home tomorrow."
"I know."
"No training."
"I know."
"No secretly circulating Qi because you think it doesn't count."
Chen Ba paused.
Chen Ning pointed at him.
"That pause is exactly why I said it."
He gave up.
"All right."
The weekend passed quietly.
Chen Ba ate, slept and rested.
More than once, he considered asking Aunty Ning about his body.
The wound at Greenmist that had vanished.
The way Numbroot had barely affected him.
The speed of his recovery.
But he never found a question he was ready to ask.
By Monday, he was fully recovered.
...
The remaining two weeks of the month settled into routine.
Monday and Friday lessons continued.
On free days, Chen Ba took missions.
His First Step became cleaner and more efficient.
Second Step remained unreliable.
Sometimes he could feel the timing.
Most of the time, he could not reproduce it.
He did not force it.
Instead, he kept working.
Across the two weeks, he completed seven ordinary missions.
Some were White.
Some Yellow.
None became another Greenmist or Willowbank.
They were simply work.
By the final week, Chen Ba, Chen Xueyin and Chen Gao were all Qi Initiate Level Four.
Chen Yiru and Chen Lanyue remained Level Three, both nearing their next breakthrough.
Chen Shun was still absent.
Then came the final Sunday.
Chen Ba, Xueyin, Gao, Yiru and Lanyue accepted a Yellow mission together.
Event guard duty.
A trade gathering outside the main clan grounds needed cultivators present in case disputes turned violent.
Nothing happened.
A merchant shouted at another merchant.
Two drunk men nearly fought.
Chen Gao only had to stand up before both reconsidered.
The mission ended without blood, monsters or hidden danger.
For once, Yellow meant exactly what the board had promised.
They returned that evening.
Eight missions across the final two weeks.
Fifteen for Chen Ba's first month in the Outer Court.
As they crossed the training grounds, Chen Gao stopped.
Someone was approaching from the Recovery Hall side.
Chen Shun.
He was thinner than before Stonebridge, but walking normally.
The Heaven-Subduing White Fang rested across his back.
Chen Gao looked him over.
"You're finally back."
"Yes."
"Fully recovered?"
"Enough."
Chen Gao sensed his cultivation and raised an eyebrow.
"Level Four."
Chen Shun looked at him.
"I had three weeks with little else to do."
His gaze shifted past Gao.
Chen Ba stood with the others.
Both were now Qi Initiate Level Four.
Chen Shun said nothing about it.
Not yet.
"Tomorrow begins a new month," he said.
Chen Gao shrugged.
"So?"
Chen Shun walked past him.
"So the first one no longer matters."