When night fell, the village grew quiet. Everyone had returned to their huts, and even the livestock had drifted into a peaceful sleep. Jing Lei lay on his straw mattress, staring at the thatched ceiling above him. No matter how hard he tried, sleep refused to come.
With a quiet sigh, he sat up and stepped outside.
He wandered aimlessly until he found himself at the edge of the lake. The water was calm beneath the moonlight, its glass-like surface disturbed only by a gentle breeze. Countless fireflies drifted lazily over the lake, their soft glow reflected in the rippling water like scattered stars.
Then he noticed someone sitting atop a large rock by the shore.
As Jing Lei approached, the figure gradually came into view.
It was Wu Zhen, silently gazing across the lake.
"Senior Wu?" Jing Lei called softly.
Wu Zhen glanced over his shoulder before looking back at him.
"Still awake?" he asked. "Can't sleep?"
Jing Lei nodded.
"...Yeah. Being in such an unfamiliar place makes me uneasy. And... we still don't know where everyone else ended up."
Silence settled between them once more.
Neither spoke as they watched the fireflies dancing above the water.
"They'll be alright."
Wu Zhen was quiet for a moment before continuing. He turned his gaze toward Jing Lei, who looked back at him in confusion.
"If we're right about everyone being teleported," Wu Zhen said slowly, "then Yang Luo and Yang Wei should have ended up together. They were holding onto each other tightly just before everything collapsed."
His brows furrowed.
"The problem is... Xu Yanran was touching that monster at the time, and Bai Zhi was thrown the farthest away. I'm worried they may have been sent somewhere completely different... with no one by their side."
Jing Lei fell silent.
"Senior... we should—"
Before he could finish, a desperate scream erupted from the village.
"The Xuemu Tribe is attacking! Evacuate the women and children!"
The shout was followed by countless others.
In an instant, the peaceful night turned into chaos.
Wu Zhen and Jing Lei immediately rushed back toward the village.
The village had descended into complete disorder.
Several huts were already engulfed in flames. Villagers cried out in pain as the wounded were dragged to safety. Livestock scattered in terror.
The attackers looked nothing like the people of the Lingmu Tribe. Their bodies were broad and muscular like seasoned hunters, and beside them ran several trained wolves, baring their fangs.
Only a handful of Lingmu men stood to resist them.
Their weapons were pitiful—mostly farming tools, hoes, sickles, and wooden staffs.
Against an enemy raised for battle, they stood little chance.
"Why are you two just standing there? Run!"
It was Qing Li.
She hurried toward them while struggling to support Baba, trying to escort the old woman away from the fighting.
"We can't just run," Jing Lei said firmly.
He grabbed a long wooden staff that appeared to belong to one of the shepherds and prepared to charge into battle.
Before he could move, Wu Zhen extended an arm, stopping him.
"I'll handle it."
"Your injuries haven't fully healed."
Without another word, Wu Zhen picked up a sickle lying nearby and sprinted forward.
The warriors of the Xuemu Tribe sneered when they saw him charging alone.
They had only a second to regret it.
A heartbeat later, several bodies collapsed onto the ground.
Wu Zhen cut through the battlefield with terrifying speed.
Every swing of the sickle was swift, precise, and ruthless.
One by one, the Xuemu warriors fell.
Even their wolves, sensing overwhelming danger, whimpered and lowered themselves to the ground in fear.
But Wu Zhen showed them no mercy.
The wolves met the same fate as their masters.
"...He's... incredibly strong," Qing Li whispered in astonishment.
Baba quietly watched the battle before murmuring,
"...A great tide is coming."
Jing Lei remained speechless as he watched Wu Zhen fight.
Despite the darkness and confusion, Wu Zhen never struck a single member of the Lingmu Tribe.
Every attack landed only on their enemies.
"...How..." Jing Lei muttered. "How can he tell who's from the Lingmu Tribe and who's not?"
Baba smiled faintly.
"While you were unconscious... he spent his time getting to know everyone here."
"He remembered every single face."
Jing Lei was stunned once again.
By the time dawn broke, the bloody battle had finally come to an end.
Wu Zhen sat quietly, facing the rising sun.
His clothes were soaked in the blood of his enemies, yet he seemed completely unbothered by it.
Jing Lei simply stood there, watching him in silence.
What no one realized—not even Jing Lei himself—
was that, at that very moment...
something small had quietly stirred within his heart.
.
.
.
"Stand up straight," one palace guard said to his companion. "Even if it's early morning, we still have to guard the gates of the Xu Imperial Palace."
"This is so boring," the other guard complained. "Who would be stupid enough to enter the Xu Palace through the front gate?"
"You never know. It's better to stay vigilant than regret it later."
Just then, a woman calmly walked toward the gate they were guarding.
"Hey! Who are you? This area is off-limits!"
One of the guards reached out and grabbed her shoulder.
The woman slowly turned around.
The two guards froze.
Their expressions changed instantly.
"...The Princess has returned."
.
.
.
"So... that's what happened."
Yang Luoya sat beside the window, quietly watching the moon.
Only a single candle and a small pendant rested beside him.
"I never imagined I'd be teleported this far..." he murmured.
"I even crossed the Cursed Land."
He lowered his gaze toward the pendant.
"What about you?"
"Nothing much happened here."
The voice came from the pendant beside the candle.
It belonged to Xiang Rui.
"We ended up at Heaven Peak. We entered the admission trials and became inner disciples there."
He chuckled lightly.
"Besides, someone has to keep an eye on the movements of the novel's protagonists."
Yang Luoya let out a helpless smile.
"Who would've thought I'd end up in the Xu Empire?"
"The teleportation crystal you encountered..." Xiang Rui continued, "...it never existed in the original plot."
"What you found was most likely an error variable."
"We have no way to return," Yang Luoya said quietly.
"A ship would take months and vermilion sect still in middle of recovering they wont participate treasure hunt this time"
"And we have to make it back before the Treasure Hunt."
"I'm afraid the Tenth Blood Candle will be lit inside the Treasure Realm... just like it was in the original story."
"...I do have an idea," Xiang Rui replied after a brief silence.
"But it's going to sound ridiculous."
"I'm listening."
"Use another entrance."
"Come to Heaven Peak."
"Enter the Treasure Realm from this side instead."
Yang Luoya blinked.
"...Why does that sound so strange?"
"It's actually the shorter route," Xiang Rui explained.
"Traveling to the Yue Empire from where you are is much closer than returning to the Yang Empire, which would require circling around the entire Cursed Land."
"You only need to cross the sea..."
"...and pass through the Lesser Dragon Palace located between the Xu and Yue Continents."
He paused for a moment.
"...Although the Lesser Dragon Palace is dealing with a rather serious problem at the moment."
Xiang Rui lowered his eyes toward the table beside him.
A freshly delivered newspaper lay there.
Its bold headline read:
"Dragon Prince Kidnapped from the Lesser Dragon Palace — Culprit Still Unknown."