The greatest treasures draw the darkest hearts, like moths to me. A wise cultivator guards their fortune not through strength alone, but through discretion. For what remains hidden cannot be coveted, and what remains unknown cannot be stolen.


    —Master Wu Zhi, Commander of Ten Thousand


    Xin stared as the roll of half-finished talisman papers fluttered away behind the wagon as they dislodged themselves from the hasty cement under her travel pack.


    An hour ago, she’d floated cross-legged atop the wagon while practicing basic formations under Feng Yu’s guidance. The gentle sway of the cart had made the delicate brush strokes challenging yet oddly enjoyable.


    Now arrows whistled past her head as the wagon thundered down a forest path. Dust clouded behind them, rocks spraying from the wheels as their drivers pushed the straining horses to their limits.


    "Faster, don’t stop for anything!" Feng Yu shouted from her position on top of the collection device.


    The drivers cracked their whips. Sweat glistened on their foreheads as they urged the terrified horses forward.


    An arrow streaked toward Xin’s chest. Feng Yu’s de shed with crimson light, incinerating the projectile mid-flight.


    Two cultivators burst from the tree line, weapons drawn. Xin sprang to her feet, gathering qi in her palms. Her Thunder God p technique sent them flying backward. Their bodies cracked against a massive oak trunk with a satisfying thud.


    More arrows hissed through the air from mounted archers pursuing them. The bowmen stayed frustratingly outside the range of her thunder technique, their horses’ hooves drumming against the packed earth.


    "Miss! In front!" One driver’s panicked voice cut through the chaos.


    Xin spotted two cultivators ahead, making intricate hand gestures in the middle of the road. Those movements—they’re preparing a formation technique!


    "Feng Yu! Road block in front!" Xin’s shout cut through the thundering of hooves and creaking wagon wheels.


    Feng Yu spun toward the threat. Another volley of arrows streaked through the dust-filled air. Xin leaped to the back of the wagon, channeling qi through her meridians. The thunderp technique burst from her palms, creating a vortex that scattered the arrows like twigs in a storm.


    Damn it. Xin gritted her teeth. One middle range offensive technique wasn’t enough for this kind of fight. The limitations of her current abilities burned.


    Above Feng Yu’s raised hands, a sphere of me materialized—smaller than the inferno she’d unleashed against the ancient dawn serpent but still radiating intense heat. The orb pulsed once beforeunching a barrage of fire bolts. They streaked toward the road-blocking cultivators, leaving trails of super-heated air in their wake.


    The horses shrieked and bucked against their reins as the waves of scorching heat passed over them. Both cultivators broke their formation stances and fled, their clothes and hair ame. Their hastily constructed earthen barriers melted into smooth ss under the intense barrage.


    The drivers screamed as their horses charged through the wall of mes. Heat seared Xin’s face. Smoke stung her eyes. The wagon wheels jolted against the newly formed ss beneath them, nearly throwing her off bnce.


    A fresh volley of arrows whistled through the dissipating inferno, all aimed at Feng Yu. Her de danced in precise arcs, each movement deliberate and graceful. Steel rang against steel as her sword intercepted every projectile, sending them spinning harmlessly into the dust.


    Xin braced against the wagon’s side, lungs burning from the smoke. "Are there moreing?"


    "I think that—" Feng Yu started.


    One of the pursuing archers raised his hands skyward. The air crystallized above him, forming a massive icicle that gleamed like polished crystal in the sunlight. The frozen spearunched forward with devastating speed.


    Xin’s thunderp technique burst from her palms, but the icicle plowed through the wave, undeterred. Feng Yu thrust her sword up into the hovering me orb. Fire spiraled down the de like a serpent, wreathing the steel in brilliant orange light. She pointed the zing weapon at the iing projectile, and the messhed out in a beam.


    Ice met fire in an explosive collision. Steam erupted between them with a deafening hiss, enveloping the road in a scalding white cloud.


    The steam billowed around the wagon as Xin steadied herself against the rocking motion.


    "Really, this happens too often!" Xin shouted over the thundering hooves and creaking wheels.


    "Everyone in Fershere probably heard about what happened in the trade hall before you even got out of jail!" Feng Yu deflected another arrow with a precise sh of her de.


    "Argh!" The shout burst from Xin’s throat.


    Light from the mes glinted off another volley of arrows plummeting toward them. Feng Yu deflected them again and Xin positioned herself to defend the drivers’ exposed backs.


    She spun her spear in a defensive pattern she’d learned during their training sessions. The weapon connected with an arrow, sending it spiraling to the side.


    Heat radiated from Feng Yu’s de as she drew another circle of me. The sword swept horizontally behind the wagon, trailing fire like a burning brush stroke. A wall of mes erupted from the ground, spreading across the width of the road.


    "What—" Xin stared at the zing barrier.


    Xin’s heart leaped into her throat as Feng Yuunched herself off the wagon. The sudden movement sent ripples through the wooden nks beneath her feet.


    What the—should I stop the wagon!?


    The thought barely registered before her attention locked onto Feng Yu sprinting toward the wall of mes. The fire cast dancing shadows across her friend’s determined face. Two mounted cultivators burst through the zing barrier, their horses’ hooves striking sparks from the charred road.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Feng Yu met them at full sprint. Her sword shed in a brutal arc, cleaving through both horse and rider on her right. In the same fluid motion, she jumped and twisted to drive her boot into the second rider’s chest. The impactunched him from his saddle with a satisfying crack.


    Dust kicked up behind Feng Yu as she pivoted and raced back toward the wagon. Her legs blurred with impossible speed, outpacing even their galloping horses. The drivers shouted in amazement as she closed the distance.


    Xin scrambled to the wagon’s edge and thrust out her hand. Their fingers locked together, and she pulled Feng Yu aboard with a sharp grunt. The wagon swayed from the added weight but held steady.


    "That’s—" Feng Yu panted, brushing ash from her robes. "That’s all I could sense following us."


    "Will there be more?" Xin steadied herself against the rocking motion.


    Feng Yu wiped sweat from her brow. "We shouldn’t risk stopping at any inns until we reach ckmere."


    Xin stifled another yawn as she scanned the darkened road ahead. She and Feng Yu had taken turns keeping watch, neither willing to risk dropping their guard. A broken stone marker emerged from the shadows, its weathered surface bearing the faded insignia of ckmere County. Recognition sparked through her exhaustion.


    The moment they crossed the boundary, Xin sensed the dramatic shift in the ambient qi. The energy thinned considerably—far more noticeable than the gradual changes between Fershere and Dawn Valley.


    At least the attacks had stopped. Each mile between them and Fershere decreased the likelihood of another ambush. She hoped, anyway.


    But the horses stumbled beneath them, their steps growing increasingly unsteady. Despite changing mounts at every opportunity along the road, a full day had passed since thest inn. Sweat matted their nks despite the cool night air.


    Xin reached out and tapped Feng Yu’s shoulder. The other girl stretched, her joints popping as she twisted to face Xin.


    "What is it?"


    "We’re almost back to ckmere proper," Xin said. "But these horses won’t make it much further without rest."


    Feng Yu frowned and shook her head. "We shouldn’t stop now. Better to push through to the Treasure Pavilion and secure everything there first."


    Xin nodded decisively. "The drivers can take the horses to the manor stables. We’ll pull the wagon ourselves."


    Feng Yu froze, staring at Xin without blinking. The silence stretched for a full minute as moonlight cast shadows across her face. "You want us to pull the wagon? Like beasts of burden?"


    "Yes." Xin met her gaze steadily.


    Feng Yu dropped her eyes to her crossed legs, lips pressed into a thin line as she processed the suggestion.


    "It would be the safest way to keep moving," Xin said.


    A long breath escaped Feng Yu’s lips. "Okay. If you can suggest and do that, then so can I."


    Xin ordered the wagon to a halt. The drivers exchanged bewildered nces as she instructed them to unhitch the horses in the middle of the dark road.


    "Take them to the Lin Family Manor stables," Xin said, pointing toward the city. "Make sure they get proper care and rest."


    "But Miss Lin..." One driver stepped forward, eyes darting between her and Feng Yu. "What will you—"


    The question died in his throat as Xin and Feng Yu positioned themselves where the horses had stood. Shock painted their faces as they opened their mouths to protest, but Xin had already gripped the harness. The wagon creaked forward as she and Feng Yu began to pull, leaving the dumbfounded drivers behind.


    The wagon rolled steadily through the night as Xin and Feng Yu maintained their rhythmic pace. The physical effort blended with their qi cirction, creating an almost meditative state.


    Except for herpanion’s interruptions.


    "Never speak of this to anyone." Feng Yu muttered for the twentieth time. "A noble cultivator, pulling a wagon like an ox..."


    "Your secret stays safe with me." Xin smiled at the continued grumbling.


    The thin qi density of ckmere pressed against her senses. It didn’t really affect her much, considering she was still only at the first stages of cultivation, but she pondered how visitors like Master Qingfeng coped with the spiritual drought.


    Pre-dawn light painted the sky in muted grays as they approached a familiar fork in the road. The right path led to her family manor, while the left curved toward the city proper. A dark mass caught Xin’s attention at the junction.


    "Hey, what’s that?" Xin squinted at the undefined shape.


    "Not sure." Feng Yu slowed her steps, forcing their pace to decrease.


    The putrid scent hit Xin’s nose before the shape became clear. The unmistakable stench of decay wafted across the road.


    "That’s not good..." Xin’s muscles tensed as she stared into the gloom.


    The pre-dawn shadows resolved into a grotesque tableau. Bodiesy stacked in careless heaps, their limbs twisted at unnatural angles. Her stomach churned at the sight of her fallen soldiers left to rot by the roadside.


    "What happened?" The words escaped through clenched teeth.


    "I don’t know." Feng Yu stepped closer, studying the dposing remains. "They’ve been here for days, at least. Should I do something about them?"


    "Ha..." A bitterugh escaped Xin’s lips. "We can’t take the time to bury them, not when we don’t know what’s going on. But leaving them could cause disease and it’s..."


    "I can burn them." Feng Yu’s quiet offer cut through Xin’s spiraling thoughts.


    Xin unhooked the harness from her shoulders and pulled her sleeve across her nose and mouth. Each step toward the bodies amplified the nauseating stench.


    She crouched beside the nearest corpse, examining the distinctive patterns etched into the armor tes. The familiar Lin family craftsmanship confirmed her fears. These men had served her family.


    She returned to Feng Yu and the wagon, forcing steadiness into her voice. "I think you should burn them. I don’t know what’s going on, but we can’t just leave this here."


    Feng Yu nodded. A sphere of crimson me materialized above her palm, pulsing with contained power. The orb drifted toward the bodies, expanding as it moved. When it reached the grisly pile, the mes descended. Heat red and left nothing but bone and molten metal.


    Thirty to forty soldiers were dead…


    She’d been gone too long; left before things had stabilized. She had not stayed in contact with her mother and brother enough.


    Considering how things were…


    Were they even still alive? The world was not kind.


    Xin let out a tense breath.


    Feng Yu frowned at her. "Things might still be okay. We should hurry, and then we can find out."


    Xin nodded. "Let’s hope Master Qingfeng doesn’t want to sleep in today."