When we reach the Golden Pearl Pavilion, I let out a sigh of relief. The curious stares and murmurs as we pass by while the Nei Wei clear a path through the crowd are a little uncomfortable, but at least there are no incidents.

  As we approached the entrance, the guards stood to attention and, after a slight nod, one of them greeted me and said “Welcome, Zhāohuán Wen."

  "Thank you”, I replied politely. "Could you please let Manager Hong Yan know that I wish to speak with him?"

  The guard nodded and signaled for another to approach, but before entering, I bowed slightly to Lianhua, who immediately approached, and whispered softly “Lianhua, find an excuse to take Xia away. You could invite her to go for a walk with a couple of Nei Wei, because if we end up talking about the Ling family, I'd rather she not be present. I imagine a half period will be enough, then come and get me."

  Lianhua looks at me, with a clear intention to protest reflected in her eyes, but I don't give her a chance.

  "I'll be fine”, I assure her in a firm tone. "The other Nei Wei will stay with me, and besides, I've never had any problems here."

  "As you wish, Zhāohuán Wen”, she says with a sigh, then turns and walks over to Xia, who is absorbed in curiously observing the newcomers to the city.

  "Ling Xia, would you like to take a walk with me?" she says kindly. "While they talk about boring things, we could look for some sweets nearby. Would that be okay with you?"

  Xia's face lights up and, as expected, she accepts immediately. She laughs and takes Lianhua's hand, who smiles at her and signals to two of the Nei Wei to accompany them.

  After Lianhua leaves, one of the Nei Wei stands behind my chair, ready to push me. I nod in thanks and we move toward the interior of the pavilion.

  We are greeted by an employee who, with a bow, guides us to the familiar courtyard where we usually meet when I come to shop. We settle in, and soon I am served a steaming cup of tea, which I take a sip of as I allow myself to relax in the tranquility of the surroundings.

  Shortly thereafter, Hong Yan appears with a slight smile on his face. However, he pauses for a moment, as if something unexpected has caught his attention, but he quickly regains his composure and bows slightly to me.

  "Zhāohuán Wen, it's a pleasure to have you here again”, he says with a respectful smile and approaches me with his usual kindness "I have just received some books that I am sure will interest you."

  "Thank you very much, Manager Hong Yan”, I reply, bowing slightly. "Your service is invaluable. Also, today I would like to acquire some information in addition to the books, if it's not too much trouble."

  Hong Yan raises an eyebrow, showing a hint of surprise "It would be my honor to answer your questions, Zhāohuán Wen. What would you like to know about?"

  "About the Celestial Fragment of the Sands”, I say as I look at him intently.

  Hong Yan blinks and his expression hardens for a moment, though he soon regains his usual composure and settles down in front of me.

  "It's a sensitive subject. But before we continue, what do you know about the celestial realms and the Celestial Rift?"

  "Pretend I know nothing”, I reply. "Please explain everything you can about the celestial realms, the Celestial Rift, and their relationship to the Celestial Fragment of the Sands."

  Hong Yan nods as he sits down in a nearby chair and seems to reflect on what to tell me, finally asking me a question "You really don't know what the Celestial Rift is?"

  In a moment, I realize that this is my chance to get answers to some of the nagging questions I've been asking myself and for which I've had no answers, so I put on my best poker face before continuing the conversation.

  "I've read about it in my studies, but I haven't gotten around to studying it in depth yet”, I say, keeping my poker face. "And since I don't know if there's anything I'm missing, you'd be doing me a big favor if, as part of the service I've asked of you, you would tell me everything there is to know about it."

  Hong Yan seems to hesitate for a moment and looks at the Nei Wei, but seeing that they don't react to my words, he finally seems to give in to my request and begins his explanation while pouring himself a cup of tea.

  "The Celestial Rift is a huge hole in the sky above the central continent, right above its center”, he begins to tell me. "It is the nexus that connects our world to the celestial realms, and the conduit used by cultivators who decide to abandon our world and try their luck in those higher realms."

  I barely have time to be surprised by the revelation he has just made when he continues and drops another bombshell that I did not expect in the least "In addition, the Celestial Rift is where Qi enters our world, which is why the central continent is the place with the highest concentration of Qi, as it is right below the Celestial Rift."

  Hong Yan pauses for a moment to drink some tea, which I take advantage of to try to put what I've just heard into context, and the only thing I can think of is that this world, rather than being in a bell jar, is as if it were in a kind of bottle, and the Celestial Rift were the opening through which the water enters. But that would fill the bottle equally and does not explain why everyone complains that there is more Qi in the center of the continent than here on the edge.

  "I have a question I'd like to ask you about the last thing you just told me”, I say to Hong Yan. "If Qi enters continuously through the Celestial Rift, shouldn't our world be full of Qi? Why does everyone say that there is little here at the edge?"

  "Because Qi is a consumable resource, Zhāohuán Wen”, he says as he puts the cup back on the table. "After entering our world through the Heavenly Rift, Qi expands toward its edges, but along the way it is continuously absorbed and used."

  "Qi is used in cultivation, in the use of talismans, in formations, and in many other applications”, Hong Yan continues. "In addition to cultivators, beasts also absorb it to transform into spirit beasts, plants use it for the same purpose, and even the earth itself absorbs Qi to form special metals or Qi crystal mines."

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  "That means that the density of Qi decreases the further you get from the Celestial Rift due to its continuous use”, Hong Yan continues, seeming to finish his explanation, although his last sentence seems to have a touch of bitterness. "And here on the edge, we only get the leftovers that haven't been used by the rest of the world, which is why we have so little."

  After those words, I see Hong Yan pick up the cup again and drink from it while I digest what he has told me, even though deep down it is not that difficult to understand.

  While I'm still reflecting on what he's told me, Hong Yan puts the cup back on the table and looks at me to ask “Would you like to ask me anything else about the Celestial Rift?"

  I actually have many questions, but as I look at Hong Yan, I have to remind myself that I am paying for each question I ask him, and I can almost see the dollar sign in his eyes when he asks me his question. My curiosity can be satisfied later when I return to the Imperial Palace, so I say “I don't have any more questions on that subject for now, so if you don't mind, I would like to return to my main question about the Heavenly Fragment of the Sands."

  Hong Yan nods at my words, although I can see a slight flash of disappointment in his eyes, I imagine at the loss of the money those questions would have earned him. But above all, he is a professional, so he begins to answer my questions.

  "For that, I first have to explain what Celestial Fragments are”, Hong Yan begins. "Actually, there are two types of celestial fragments that are completely different. The first and probably the most famous are artificial, and we assume they are created by powerful cultivators or organizations that inhabit the celestial realms."

  "These Celestial Fragments are designed to challenge and test the people who enter them”, Hong Yan continues. "In them, people who enter face various tests and challenges, receiving rewards based on the difficulty of the test or challenge they have completed."

  "And they are so famous because among the rewards they offer are extremely pure and rare pills, formation designs or talismans, spiritual artifacts, Qi techniques, and even rarer or crazier things”, Hong Yan finishes telling me.

  At this point, I interrupt him and ask “And what reason could organizations or people who aren't even in this world have for basically giving away things of great value? Isn't that extremely suspicious?"

  Hong Yan smiles when he hears my question and replies “It is extremely suspicious, Zhāohuán Wen, but the rewards are attractive enough that no one cares."

  "There are even sects that have been founded simply on the knowledge that their creator has gained from one of these Celestial Fragments”, Hong Yan continues. "Even though every time one of those Heavenly Fragments appears, more than half of the people who enter die, the stories of the benefits and successes of those who survive are attractive enough to draw people in droves."

  Hong Yan sighs and finally says to me “As they say, the bird dies for food, the man dies for wealth."

  After those words, there is a moment of tense silence, which I use to digest what I have just heard, especially the part about people dying en masse in these so-called trials. What kind of psychopaths create a place to lure people in masse to kill them with the promise of great profit? And above all, what do they gain from it?

  After that brief moment of silence, Hong Yan blinks for a moment as he looks at me and clears his throat for a moment as he says “I hope you will excuse me for the rudeness of my words, Zhāohuán Wen, and that you have not been disturbed by what I have told you. In talking to you, I have forgotten your age."

  Seeing Hong Yan's nervousness and how he glances sideways at the Nei Wei, I realize that many of the things he has told me are probably not usually told to a nine-year-old girl, or at least not in the crude way he has told me, and he fears some punishment for his words, so I decide to reassure him and say “Don't worry, Hong Yan. I appreciate your sincerity and would like the rest of your explanation to be the same."

  "I appreciate your generosity”, Hong Yan replies with a nod. "Then, with your permission, I will continue with my explanation of the Celestial Fragments."

  "The second type of Celestial Fragments that exist are the same type as the Celestial Fragment of the Sands”, Hong Yan continues. "These fragments, unlike the first ones, have no trials or challenges, they are simply large open areas filled with spirit beasts, and they almost always contain ruins of what were once cities, sects, or organizations that we believe belonged to the celestial realms and have suffered a catastrophe that has enclosed them in what we call a pocket realm."

  "The other difference with the other Celestial Fragments is that, unlike them, you can enter them several times”, Hong Yan continues. "The entrance to these Celestial Fragments is completely regular. It opens, remains open for a period of time that is always the same, and after closing, it reopens after a period of time that is completely predictable."

  "These Celestial Fragments are very popular when they are first discovered, as the ruins inside usually contain valuable items”, Hong Yan continues to tell me. "But over time, they become less and less popular, as there are fewer and fewer valuable things to find, and in the end, they simply become a hunting or gathering ground for beasts or spiritual plants that are not normally found in the area where they open."

  After those words, Hong Yan pauses to take another sip of his tea, so I take the opportunity to ask him “And that Kingdom of Sands, what category does it fall into?"

  "The Kingdom of Sands? I like the name you've given it, Zhāohuán Wen”, he says as he puts the cup back on the table. "The Kingdom of Sands, as you've called it, first appeared two hundred years ago. It opens once every ten years and remains open for a month."

  "It has opened so many times that no one believes there is anything valuable left”, Hong Yan continues. "But as you can imagine from its name, the Fragment is basically a desert, and as such, the spiritual beasts and plants found inside are very different from those in this area of the continent, so they are very valuable, and that means there are always people who want to enter, as there is a lot of money to be made."

  After those words, he picks up his cup again and finishes his tea, then looks at me and says “Is there anything else you want to ask me?"

  Actually, there are many, but my most immediate curiosity has already been satisfied, and it is better not to continue paying for information that I am sure to find in the imperial library once I return to the palace, so I say to Hong Yan “No, thank you very much for your information. But I think you mentioned something earlier about some new books you had received."

  "Of course, Zhāohuán Wen”, he says as he gets up from his chair. "Let me go and fetch them."

  With that, Hong Yan leaves the courtyard, leaving me deep in thought about the Celestial Rift, Qi, and Celestial Fragments. I try to construct a framework that will allow me to analyze all this information, but I know that I am still missing pieces, so I will have to wait until I return to the palace and have access to the library to complete my knowledge on these subjects.

  While I am lost in my thoughts, Hong Yan returns with several books, and we spend some time discussing their value, but he has the advantage that I neither have them nor have I read them, so in the end, I buy them all.

  After telling him that I'm keeping all the books, I ask him if he minds if I stay in the courtyard until my Fei Yi comes to pick me up, since she is the one who can pay him and I don't have any money on me.

  Hong Yan tells me it's no problem and leaves me in the courtyard with the Nei Wei. At first, I think about starting to read one of the books, but imagining that Lianhua won't be long in coming, I prefer to enjoy the garden while having a cup of tea and just hanging out.

  And as I expected, Lianhua doesn't take long to appear with Xia, who, as usual, is eating something, in this case a meat bun. After Lianhua's arrival, Hong Yan soon appears and tells her how much she has to pay. After hearing the amount and looking at me with a frown, she pays the bill, after which we leave the Pavilion and the Nei Wei once again make way for us towards the Palace and the safety of its walls, far from the turmoil currently in the streets.