Radeon had slept enough. He sat up, rolled his shoulders until the stiffness gave, then smoothed his robe and tugged the seams back into place.

A thin wash of qi chased grime from his skin and freshened his breath, the kind of small refinement mortals mistook for miracle.

Fay had been awake until the first crack of dawn. Her blond hair had come loose in places, a little wild from wind and long hours, but it was not the mess that caught Radeon's eye.

She had changed. She stood straighter. She did not flinch when men stared.

When they pressed her with questions, she chose safe answers without sounding frightened, and she did it again and again.

Radeon watched it through half lidded eyes, letting her notice him and Claudius speaking back them, letting her feel how words carried weight.

When she saw him properly awake, Fay brought him a list.

Radeon took it, scanned it, and felt a small surprise prick his chest. He gave Fay a single nod. Approval. Earned.

It was a compilation of what the people wanted, and it fell into three neat piles.

First, they wanted instruction. Martial arts. Cultivation methods. Movement techniques. Anything that could keep their children alive and their backs unbroken.

It came from men, and it came from women too, especially the ones who had watched Fay move and decided a heroine could be real.

Second, they wanted to know his plans for Goldkeep Crownmarkets. If his business there was private, they offered to step away politely and not pry.

Third, the questions lost their dignity. Concubines. Maids. Whether he needed a warm body to pass the night.

Radeon let out a short laugh at that last part. It came out amused.

He walked to the table that had been set up and found the managers of the collapsed mine waiting, Biscuit among them.

Their eyes kept sliding sideways, measuring each other. A silent contest.

Who had brought more. Who had been more useful. Who would be remembered.

Radeon reached out with qi and popped every cache open in one sweep. Lids lifted. Clasps clicked. The men leaned in without meaning to.

Ores and stones lay inside, some glittering, some dull, some sweating faint fumes.

There were chunks that would burn if you hammered at them wrong. There were pale pieces that gave off a calming hush when his qi brushed them.

Tools. Fuel. Leverage. It was an unexpected gain.

Radeon nodded once. The managers let out their breath like they had been held underwater.

He called the bison with a pulse of qi. The beast lumbered close, head lowering.

Radeon stepped onto its massive skull and stood there, high enough for ten thousand faces to see him.

"Everyone," he said, voice steady. "Goldkeep Crownmarkets is opportunity... And trouble. You all know that."

He let the words sit. He saw miners glance at their wives. He saw young men swallow.

Goldkeep Crownmarkets was a place where people built their own villages, towns, and cities.

Some settlements grew so large they called themselves empires, even if the blood in their veins was still mortal.

Despite that, Radeon didn't look down on them. He saw them as opportunity, a vast pool of resources that just needed tending.

"I plan to establish a town of my own," he said. "I don't have a great house behind me. I'm not royal."

Faces soured. Disappointment moved through the crowd like a cold draft.

Radeon did not let it grow teeth.

"What I can offer is simple," he said. "Sincerity."

He pointed toward the direction of the collapsed mine.

"No one died," he said.

The words landed harder than any boast. Men looked at the ground, then at their children.

"Second, I reward loyalty with martial arts," he said. "Cultivation methods. Movement techniques. Body strengthening."

He let his aura flare. Breath Tempering, the first stage, not even grand, yet it was enough.

Threads of misfortune bled into sight, thin dark lines that made the air feel wrong.

Men went weak at the knees. Sweat broke out across foreheads. A few nearly fainted before he drew it back.

"Lastly, laws," Radeon said. "An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. You steal from another man, I take your hand. Or you pay tenfold in hard labor. You choose."

A long silence followed. Radeon stepped down and went back toward his tent, leaving the crowd to chew on fear and hope in the same mouthful.

Inside, he beckoned Fay over with two fingers. She came quickly, holding herself together as best she could. She was at the peak of the corner setting stage, but her body still needed sleep.

Radeon conjured water into a clay pot and added flour with a pinch of salt.

He worked the mixture with quick hands, kneading until it stopped clinging and started obeying.

The dough warmed under his palms. Smooth. Elastic. Alive in its own simple way.

He pulled it into long strings and snapped his wrists, stretching the wheat into pale lengths that danced in the air.

A thin edge of qi flashed. It sliced through the strands in neat rows, clean cuts that left no ragged ends.

Radeon caught the falling noodles with the clay pot and set the weight into Fay's hands.

"It needs boiling, start a fire," he said.

Fay nodded, taking it like an assignment. Radeon pulled out a strip of dried ham and shaved it into thin pieces. He set it aside, then took oregano and chives and crushed them between his fingers.

He gathered long strands, pale and soft, and laid the herbs through them, then added the ham shavings on top.

When he set the bowl in front of Fay, the aroma hit her first. Her stomach answered with a loud sound that made her freeze, then flush.

"Senior... I mean, Master. What is this for? Is there some occasion?" she asked, swallowing as her mouth suddenly went dry.

"No occasion. Just try it," Radeon said.

Fay took her chopsticks and lifted a strand. She tasted it. Her eyes watered at once, not from pain, from something tender that found a place in her chest.

She knew noodles. Common enough on the central continent, yet still treated like a luxury in many corners, whispered about as food that promoted long life.

Radeon watched her face settle into something quieter. Then he spoke like he was discussing weather.

"We'll show those lot how to put a proper meal together," he said. "Are you up for it?"

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