In the residence of the venerable Bei Hua, silence cloaked the room where Wu Xin lay. Only his uneven breaths could be heard...sometimes rebellious, sometimes surrendering quietly in the dark.
The room was dim, like the heart of Huo Feng herself, lit only by his pale face—pale as the moon's last fading hour. His eyes were sunken, yet deep within them flickered a faint light that did not resemble illness. It resembled contentment.
The contentment of a man who realized he had not lost everything—for he had been granted something far more precious than strength: The worry of his girl for him.
She leaned over him gently, her fingertips grazing the wounded place on his shoulder, checking his scars. Suddenly, her eyes widened—pure, clear joy bursting like the first rain.
He had opened his eyes.
"Wu Xin!"
Her voice trembled inside her own chest before it finally escaped her lips. Something deep within him stirred. For a brief moment, he lived inside that small happiness… silently.
Huo Feng broke the silence—naive as always, unfiltered, direct:
"Are you… happy?" "Happy that I was afraid for you?"
He lifted his hand slowly, with a heaviness that felt ancient, and placed his fingers on her cheek. He stroked her gently—like a warm cat seeking a familiar embrace. Then he smiled.
"Yes."
His voice came out faint, broken slightly by the fragile honesty within it:
"I never thought… that I could feel happiness while seeing you like this...Sad."
He paused and breathed out a truth that reached bone:
"Sad… for me."
Her heart stumbled, warmth rising to her face like almond blossoms blooming too soon.
She fled from the intimacy of the moment—from the confession he did not say, yet she heard.
"I—I was thinking… about the parasite," she blurted, looking away. "I know how to destroy it now."
Wu Xin tilted his head slightly, watching her—not listening to her words, but to her blush.
"How?"
She drew in a breath, as if gathering courage to forge itself into steel:
"I must manifest poison with poison. Meaning… I must find the parasite's natural predator."
"I fear it now, even before I see it—and that means my body has recognized its essence. If I catch the creature that feeds on it… I will strike you with it. Let it devour it and vanish."
He was silent for a moment. And then… he laughed.
A quiet laugh, but a real one. The laugh of a man watching a girl grow into something far more dangerous.
"Your tongue has grown bold."
He smiled softly.
"And sharp."
She blinked, genuinely surprised.
He looked directly into her:
"You've changed… after all those trials."
She couldn't tell if his words held pride…or fear. Or both.
Before she could answer, a voice fell upon them—gentle, warm, familiar beyond sound.
A voice that could stop time by simply existing:
"But if you leave to seek that poison… your failure in all examinations will be recorded immediately."
The air froze. She turned… And saw her teacher standing at the door—white robes, and a calmness like spring smiling at rivers...Master Li.
A quiet light seemed to fill the room just because he was there. Huo Feng smiled—a smile unlike any she had ever smiled before.
This time, it was the smile of a wanderer who had finally found home. Joy ,far too great, rose in her eyes. A mysterious blue glimmer flashed in Master Li's gaze, deep and unfathomable, disappearing as soon as it appeared.
"What you seek," he said, voice calm but heavy, "exists in the most dangerous realm."
"The Shadow Kingdom."
But the happiness in Huo Feng's eyes did not fade. It grew—wild, bright—like a child discovering the gateway to adventure.
Master Li did not know why. But Wu Xin knew. She wanted two birds with one stone: The cure. And the search for Shu Shu and little Fu.
"Can you describe the creature? Where can I find it?" she asked with her usual earnest boldness.
Two voices answered together:
"No."
This time, fear belonged to both of them. She raised an eyebrow, holding back a small laugh:
"Wu Xin… you're injured. I can't let you travel. So I will go with Master Li."
Again, the refusal came as one voice—as if their hearts beat the same denial. But the difference was clear:
Wu Xin feared for her....Li feared for something else. Something only he knew.
Huo Feng exhaled, then spoke without wavering:
"I have decided. I will go. You may accompany me—if you insist."
Wu Xin's silence was surrender. Not weakness but acknowledgment that nothing could stop her.
Master Li, however, was different. Huo Feng looked directly at him, without hesitation:
"What are you hiding… Master?"
He turned his gaze away, looking at something far beyond walls and sky.
"The place you seek lies in sacred, forbidden ground. Only those of royal blood know the path. Or rather—the path opens for them alone."
Huo Feng inhaled sharply, like someone who just struck a target center-perfect:
"Then the matter is solved!"
Li spoke with soft bitterness:
"Do you truly think so?"
"Yes. Because you are of that bloodline. Otherwise… the answer would not have stirred inside you when I spoke of the Shadow Kingdom."
He remained silent. Then:
"But it is not that simple.
There is an enemy there. An enemy who has waited a long time for me.
I do not wish to awaken him...Nor approach him."
Silence thickened—heavy, inevitable. Huo Feng's shoulders lowered, her eyes shifting down, voice quiet and bittersweet:
"He must be strong…"
"I am… truly sorry, Master."
"I am the reason you are weak now."
"But I promise you… I will heal you soon."
"After this task…"
"…or perhaps after the next one."
Her words were a vow. And her vow was a door to a destiny that would not permit return.