The wind tasted like ash.
Ever since they had crossed that bridge of broken roots and hanging stones, the air had changed. It was drier, tighter, as if the entire forest was holding its breath. Xiao Huli moved in silence, her small paws leaving barely visible tracks in the gray dust. The leaves crunched under her weight as if they died the moment they touched her.
Ahead, Jiutian walked with his gaze fixed, his back straight, his hand hovering near the hilt of his sword.
But Xiao Huli wasn't watching the path.
Her ears twitched in every direction, alert to every echo, every shadow between the trees. She could smell the danger. It wasn't a strong scent —just a whisper, a memory of old blood, of soil violated by something that should never have escaped the depths.
A shiver ran down her spine.
The pass between the cliffs was called the Pass of Abyssal Echoes, though she didn't know that name. To her, this place only meant one thing: ancestral danger. Something asleep. Something awake.
When Jiutian stopped, so did she. He turned his head slightly, his eyes meeting hers. He didn't speak but offered his open hand. Xiao Huli, as always, approached without hesitation and rested her muzzle in his palm.
There, in his warmth, she felt calmer.
He was her anchor. Her sun. Her moon. Even if she didn't remember why, even if she didn't know who she was… her instincts screamed that as long as she stayed by his side, everything would make sense.
That night, they camped in a rocky hollow.
Xiao Huli didn't sleep.
She stared at the fire with silver-lit eyes. The flames danced as if they knew a secret she had forgotten. Jiutian meditated. His breathing was deep, steady. With every exhale, currents of Qi swirled around them in an invisible dance.
Xiao Huli curled up next to him. Her tail covered her face. Her heart beat fast, but her soul… her soul seemed to drift.
In her dreams, she saw water. She saw a moon. And a name.
She didn't remember it when she awoke.
Dawn didn't bring light.
It brought mist.And with the mist, the scent.
Xiao Huli shot up. Her fur bristled all over. Jiutian reacted too, though slower, as if the weight of his wounds still lingered. No words were exchanged. None were needed.
From the cracks in the ground, shadows began to emerge.
Shapeless figures, made of smoke, with eyes glowing like dead embers. They crawled. They slid. Demon remnants. Xiao Huli didn't know them… but her body did.
Her body remembered the fear.It remembered the power.
One of the shadows lunged at Jiutian. He moved like lightning, his sword slicing the air with a sharp hum. Another shadow tried to flank him. Xiao Huli leapt. Her paws barely grazed the dust as, without thinking, she spun midair.
Something inside her broke.
Or maybe… awoke.
From the tip of her tail, a silver light burst forth like an explosion. It wasn't fire. It wasn't wind. It was moonlight. Pure, silent, and terrifying.
The shadow that touched her vanished instantly.
Xiao Huli landed on her feet, panting. Her paws trembled. Jiutian stared at her from across the clearing, stunned.
She lowered her gaze. She didn't know what she had done.But she knew it wasn't the first time.
They continued their journey in silence.
They passed under an arch of black stone covered in moss. On the other side, an ancient structure still stood: the Hermitage of Seals. Ruined. Silent. But alive.
Xiao Huli froze as she set a paw across the threshold.
A tremor ran through her bones. Not of fear. Of memory. Something here was speaking to her. A whisper without words. An echo without a mouth.
She crept to the center of the ruined hall. Jiutian followed, watchful. He didn't stop her.
When she sat at the exact center, her trembling ceased.
Here. Here…Here they had searched for her.Here… she had waited.
She didn't know how she knew. Only that it was true.
Jiutian placed stones around her. A circle. An improvised altar. A promise.
And then, as night fell…the voices began to return.
Not with words, but with sensations.With forgotten scents.With sounds only a lunar fox could understand.
And among them… one voice clearer than the rest.
A name. Her name.
One she didn't yet understand.But one that would soon echo across the entire Celestial Realm.