'I am Zi Feng. Someone who always loved to live freely. I spent the first part of my life without worries... until I met you. I didn't know what love was back then. I thought it was just a fleeting thing, nothing important.
But thank you, Yue Ling. Thank you for teaching me what love truly means.
I was happy... all this time. Thank you for that.
But I've come to realize, nothing lasts forever.
Yue Ling, never forgive me. Never.'
Tears rolled down her cheeks, landing on the page, soaking the words. She didn't wipe them away.
Instead, she covered her face and wept in silence.
"Why..." she choked out. "Why, even at the end, why are you still thinking about him?"
She clutched the letter to her chest as if it were her son's heartbeat.
"Lin Yue," came a gentle voice.
A golden-haired youth stood quietly at the doorway, worry clouding his soft eyes.
"You're doing it again."
Lin Yue wiped her tears and turned toward him. "It's not like I can forget," she whispered, forcing a fragile smile.
He crossed the room in silence and sat beside her, dressed in his flowing golden robe. As she leaned her head on his shoulder, he let her cry freely, his arm wrapping around her in quiet comfort.
"Feng... he was so selfish," she sobbed. "And He Yu… He Yu was so cruel."
Her tears soaked through his robe.
"How could they do this to me...? It's been three hundred years. Three hundred years to this day… and they still haven't come back."
He gently stroked her hair, eyes hollow with helplessness. No words could bring back the ones she lost.
"You've read that letter too many times," he said softly, staring at the wall. "Aren't you tired of it, Lin Yue?"
"I read it every single day." Her voice was barely a breath.
"I keep hoping I missed something. Maybe... maybe Feng left me even a single word. Maybe I just didn't see it."
"My Feng would never leave without saying goodbye…"
He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. A sad smile formed on his lips.
"You're right. Feng wouldn't leave without a word."
Then silence.
Long, heavy silence.
And then…
"Lin Yue…" he said, his voice trembling. "There's something I haven't told you."
He took in a shaky breath.
He didn't know how to begin, how to break it gently. But he couldn't watch her drown in grief anymore.
His fists clenched in his lap.
And then, with a voice like breaking glass, he said it:
"Feng… our Feng… is alive."
***
San Jie's face was pale as a ghost.
When they returned, Jun Peak was no more, only broken ruins greeted them. Now, even the sight of wreckage exhausted him. He was tired of cleaning it all up. The sect had been turned upside down. Sha Diren and Juyao Peak were the most devastated.
"Sorry," said Xiao Hai quietly, helping San Jie carry the firewood.
"Stop it, Xiao shixiong. You've already said that a hundred times," San Jie replied wearily.
He glanced up. Jun Peak was being rebuilt fast, but none of them could smile about it.
Murong Meng had betrayed them. That much was true. But the destruction he left behind had shaken all three peaks. Mei Qingxuan, their second shixiong, had grown quieter… and sharper. San Jie understood. No one had been closer to Murong Meng than Qingxuan.
"But… sorry," Xiao Hai murmured again.
San Jie blinked. "…?"
Xiao Hai believed the fall of Jun Peak was his fault. A man of few words, he hadn't said much since their return, just sorry, over and over.
San Jie could only hope there wouldn't be a conflict over the jade ruby of Chuangzhou is cleaning the ruins of Jun Peak.
Three days had passed. Yu Lingyu still hadn't woken up. San Jie didn't know how Wu Xuan was doing, and frankly, he didn't care to. If someone was going to worry themselves to death, let them.
Besides, Wei Yunhe was supposed to return today.
"By the way, Xiao shixiong…" San Jie asked, suddenly. "Why is Yi Qiu the main disciple of Chuangzhou instead of you?"
Xiao Hai didn't respond.
San Jie sighed and gave up. It was useless trying to talk to him anyway.
But then,
"…Because of Wei Yunhe," Xiao Hai said, stepping out of the woodshed.
"Huh?"
Xiao Hai turned to face him directly. His golden hazel eyes didn't waver.
"Because of Wei Yunhe."
San Jie didn't ask further. He knew this was where the conversation would end, no matter how curious he was. Xiao Hai never offered more than necessary, and even that was rare.
"Oi, San Jie! Hurry up!" Shen Ming shouted from a distance, carrying a bamboo pole over his shoulder.
San Jie looked at him but said nothing. Shen Ming, at least, hadn't argued with ahim since the disaster.
Still,
"But Xiao shixiong," San Jie muttered under his breath, watching the elder boy work. "Is it really okay for you to push yourself like this?"
Xiao Hai nodded, already bending down to pick up another bundle of sticks.
"…It's all right."
"San Jie!"
Jian Yu came running from somewhere, slightly out of breath. "We've finished clearing the west courtyard. Need help?"
San Jie gave a sheepish smile. Since even the Lingxiao Sect is lending a hand… I guess I can accept help from Xiao Hai too.
Together, they carried bamboo over to the construction site. The temporary cabins were nearly complete. San Jie wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed deeply.
"San Xiong," Duan Xia called, handing him a flask of water.
"Thanks, Duan Shimei," San Jie said, pouring it over his head. "How is he?"
"Yu Shixiong is stable. Luo Xiong is staying with him."
San Jie hesitated, then asked, "And… Wu Xuan?"
Duan Xia smiled mischievously, as if catching him red-handed. "Yu Yi Shijie said he's fine. I think so too."
"Hmph. That arrogant fool. Never even came to see Yu Shixiong once," San Jie huffed, scowling.
"He did come," Duan Xia replied, surprised. "Didn't you see?"
"…What?"
"He was carrying a golden rabbit. Just like our Da Shixiong's Xiao Yu. Oh right, where did Hu Mao go? I haven't seen him around."
San Jie's expression darkened. Frankly, no one was happier than him about that weasel's disappearance. "Did you say… a golden rabbit?"
"Mhm." Duan Xia sat on a nearby rock, swinging her legs. "It was adorable."
San Jie's brows furrowed. Could it really be a coincidence?
"…I want to meet him," he muttered under his breath.
"Rabbit?" Duan Xia tilted her head, eyeing him. Then she burst out laughing. "If you want to see Wu Shixiong, just go! I heard he's leaving for work today."
"…Duan Shimei, you really know everything."
***
Wu Xuan gently caressed the cub snuggled in his arms. A powdered mooncake rested in one hand as he broke off small pieces to feed the cub. His eyes, usually cold and distant, now brimmed with a quiet, unfamiliar warmth.
He wasn't fully recovered either. But every day, he transferred a portion of his spiritual energy to the cub without fail.
"They're good, aren't they?" he murmured. When the cub turned its head away, refusing food, Wu Xuan's expression tightened with worry. "No? Why won't you eat?" He turned sharply and called out to a nearby disciple. "Bring more food. Now."
"Da Shixiong, maybe try some grass- okay, okay! I'm going!" the disciple stammered, flinching under Wu Xuan's lethal glare before dashing off.
"You split into two again, didn't you?" Wu Xuan sighed, brushing a strand of his hair away as the cub batted at it with tiny paws. "Don't worry. We're leaving today to meet Master Lian."
Just then, the door creaked open.
Startled, the cub darted into the corner with a yelp. Wu Xuan's expression turned thunderous, only for it to freeze in disbelief.
"…Dad?"
San Jie leaned against the pillar just inside, panting, drenched in sweat.
Wu Xuan stared.
San Jie, still breathless, blurted out, "G-Go-goin' somewhere?"
"Is that a problem?" Wu Xuan replied flatly, arms crossing, voice cold.
"I'm coming too!"
"…?"
Wu Xuan blinked. Then, unexpectedly, he laughed, sharp and mocking. "Did I hear that right? You? Coming with me? Sorry, I don't need any helpers."
"It's not like I want to help!" San Jie snapped, his ears turning bright red. Avoiding Wu Xuan's eyes, he stormed to the door, stopped abruptly, and muttered without turning back,
"Thanks… for the other day."
Then he was gone, feet thudding down the hall.
Wu Xuan stared after him, stunned.
Picking up the cub again, he chuckled softly. "Did you hear that? Your dad thanked me."
Within a few hours, Wu Xuan handed command of Juyao Peak to his juniors and quietly descended the mountain.
His unannounced departure stirred whispers among the sect, but no one dared to question him. This Wu Xuan, with kind gazes and a golden rabbit in his arms, was unfamiliar. But after everything, no one had the strength to speak against him.
By noon, he had already passed Lilan City. Sword flight became too taxing, so he chose to walk.
"Tch. These injuries are lingering far too long," he muttered, sneering to himself. "And now my spiritual energy's unstable? In a backwater forest like this?"
But Wu Xuan had always been the type to turn misfortune into strategy, if not with patience, then with relentless momentum.
He continued along a footpath, winding through the forest. The cub slumbered peacefully against his chest. Wu Xuan stared down at it with eyes full of sadness.
Yu Lingyu was alive, thanks to Hong Li. Had she not intervened, Lingyu's soul might've dissolved into nothing.
But Hong Li hadn't used her energy to destroy Xul'goth.
She had used it to save Lingyu.
So, no one knew if the monster was truly gone.
The forest slowly thinned. Great trees turned to withered brush, and the air grew still.
Up ahead, a village emerged, shadows flickering under dim torchlight. Not a soul stirred outside.
"It's already midnight… Let's find a temple or shelter," Wu Xuan murmured, gently brushing his fingers over the cub's head. Whispering softly, he walked into the village.
A cold wind blew through the narrow streets, stirring up dust and sending dry leaves skittering across the path. It howled as it passed, making a terrible rustling sound underfoot. The ground looked as though it hadn't been swept in weeks.
Still, Wu Xuan kept walking. There was no demonic aura, nothing that signaled danger, yet his senses remained sharp, every step taut with caution.
So, when a voice suddenly rose behind him, a woman's voice, he stiffened and immediately drew his sword.
"Ah, damn-!" he hissed through gritted teeth, turning to find an old woman standing there, shriveled with age. She leaned on a wooden stick and held a basket in her other hand, clothed in worn, layered garments that fluttered slightly in the wind.
"You, boy… you're not from this village," the old woman said, squinting up at him.
Wu Xuan narrowed his eyes, observing her carefully. She looked harmless, frail, even.
"No. I'm just passing through," he replied, sliding the sword back into its sheath with a metallic whisper.
"Do you have a place to stay? It's not safe to wander around at night."
He shook his head lightly, his expression unreadable.
At that moment, Han Ziying's voice echoed in his mind:
"Xiao Hai, I'm telling you this because you are so goofy, if you ever meet an old lady late at night, run. Just turn around and run."
"Xiao Hai - Okay."
Wu Xuan clicked his tongue. "Ah, damn. Ziying and his stupid ghost stories…"
"You, boy," the old woman interrupted his thoughts. "Stay at my place tonight." She turned and hobbled forward without waiting for a response.
Ziying's words came again, louder this time:
"Especially if she says, 'Stay at my house tonight', don't. Just don't."
Wu Xuan bit the inside of his cheek. It had to be a joke. This woman couldn't possibly pose a threat.
Even so… "If it's so dangerous at night," he said aloud, gently stroking the calf as it nestled tighter into his chest, "why are you walking around so late?"
"I'm the village leader," she replied without turning. "Strange things have been happening lately. So I patrol the village myself."
She didn't insist he follow, didn't glance back even once. That, oddly, made her feel less suspicious. And so, Wu Xuan followed her.
"What kind of things?" he asked after a pause.
The old woman lifted her chin slightly. "Once a week, a young person disappears. Always at night."
Wu Xuan's brows furrowed.
"That's why I told you not to walk around," she added.
"You reported it to the cultivators?"
"We did," she said plainly. "No one came."
That didn't surprise Wu Xuan. The Wen Sect had its hands full in Lilan City, demonic outbreaks, Lotus Sect activity, and more. Still… this case should've reached Shensheng Peak. It was their job to ensure nothing slipped through the cracks.
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
Eventually, they arrived at a small mud house. It looked humble, but warm. Torchlight flickered weakly at the doorway, the flames dancing against the wind, sometimes flaring up, sometimes almost dying.
"Come in," the old woman said, stepping through the creaking door.
Wu Xuan hesitated for a breath, then sighed and followed her inside.