Snehwal felt a lot of heat in his body because of Lily's body.
That heat was running through his blood along with Lily's tears and the warm breath coming from her mouth and nose.
At that moment, he was holding himself together — and also holding Lily.
Lily held him tightly and cried as she asked,
"Is everything okay?"
Snehwal gently nodded his head and said yes.
He moved a little back, just enough so the warmth of their breath stayed.
Then he kissed Lily on the forehead and said,
"Yes, everything is fine. And now that you are with me, what is there to fear?"
Lily cried softly with a small smile.
Then she hugged him again,
as if she never wanted to let him go.
It was morning.
Kankal City had just begun to wake from sleep when it felt as if the sky itself had torn apart. The air above the city trembled—and then—a mysterious portal opened.
Layers of blue-black light began to swirl, as if the heavens had opened a gateway of their own. In the very next moment, a person descended from the portal and landed on the ground, standing calmly.
The entire city fell silent.
People stopped in their tracks.
Soldiers' hands moved instinctively toward their weapons.
Whispers spread through the crowd—
"Who is he…?"
"A cultivator?"
"Or a messenger from a higher realm…?"
But the man— did not fear.
did not pause.
did not look at anyone.
He walked straight ahead, without stopping for even a moment. His steps led him directly to Lily.
Lily was sitting on a chair at that time. Snehwal stood beside her—alert, yet calm. The stranger stopped in front of them.
Suddenly, a letter appeared in his hand, as if it had been born from the air itself.
He held it out— without a word,
without a single expression.
And then— he turned…
And disappeared the same way he had arrived.
The portal closed.
The sky returned to normal.
But the peace of Kankal City had already been broken.
Lily slowly opened the letter.
The moment her eyes fell on the words— her eyes widened.
Her breath caught.
Because this was no ordinary letter.
It was— a summons.
A summons that could not be refused.
A summons sent only to Yakshinis.
Snehwal looked at her face and understood— this letter was about to change the direction of their happiness.
And the story of Kankal City
had only just begun…
Seeing Lily's expression, Snehwal asked, "What is it? This doesn't look like something ordinary."
Lily lowered her head and said, "We are not safe anymore."
Snehwal's mind ran in the opposite direction. Is this a call for war?
Have the Yakshinis found out that we are alive?
Lily shook her head. "No."
A small sign of relief appeared on Snehwal's face.
But Lily still looked shocked and confused, so Snehwal asked again, "Then what is it?"
Just then, Liora and Master Jins arrived as well.
They both asked, "What just happened here?"
"A portal opened in the sky," Snehwal replied.
"Who was that person?" Liora asked.
Without saying anything, Lily handed the letter to Master Jins.
The moment Master Jins read it, his eyes widened in shock.
Liora and Snehwal were still standing there, unable to understand anything at all.
Lily looked at Master Jins and said,
"We must go there within seven days."
Snehwal asked at once,
"Go where?"
Lily answered slowly,
"To the Chintamani Empire."
Snehwal's mind spun. He said,
"If I understand correctly… everyone will be there."
Just then, Liora jumped in and said nervously,
"Then everyone will find out that we are still alive!"
Snehwal asked,
"Can't we refuse this call?"
Lily shook her head.
"No, we can't. You saw it yourself — their messenger came here directly. They can easily find us again."
She took a deep breath and said firmly,
"We have no choice. We must go."
Snehwal nodded after a moment.
"Alright. Then we will go."
He looked at everyone and added calmly,
"Besides, the four of us are not that weak anymore. We won't be defeated so easily."
Hearing this, confidence appeared in Lily's eyes as well.
"Yes," she said,
"We have grown stronger than before."
Then she added quietly,
"We just haven't reached the Seventh Stage yet."
She paused… and her expression darkened.
"The only one I truly fear is Humbha Yakshini."
Snehwal's eyes widened.
"Humbha Yakshini?!"
Then Lily said,
"We should start preparing."
She continued,
"Within seven days, we must complete all arrangements. I will use a special ship so that we can travel quickly."
Liora nodded in agreement.
Within moments, all four of them came to the same decision—
now was the time to prepare.