Two weeks had passed since Lin Chen and Su Xiao returned to the city. The autumn leaves fell in golden heaps on the university campus, and the hum of lectures and laughter masked the memory of green fire and shadowy dragons. Lin Chen sat in the library, staring at his math textbook—but his eyes kept drifting to the drawer of his desk, where the bronze key lay.It hadn't glowed since Dragon Sleep Valley. No more burns, no more pulses—just a cold, metal reminder of what he'd left behind. Su Xiao sat across from him, flipping through a thick book titled The Healer's Clan: Ancient Rituals, her brow furrowed."Find anything?" Lin Chen asked, closing his textbook.Su Xiao shook her head, pushing the book toward him. "Grandmother's notes mention a 'mist barrier'—a spell the Healer's Clan used to hide sacred sites. But there's a gap here," she tapped a page with a coffee stain, "right after she writes about '雾隐寺' (Wuyin Temple)—the 'Hidden-in-Mist Temple'. She says it holds 'the second seal' for the dragon. But the next pages are torn out."Lin Chen leaned forward. "The second seal? We thought the bone was the only one."Before Su Xiao could answer, Lin Chen's phone buzzed. It was an unknown number, with a single text: "The bone isn't safe. They're digging."His blood ran cold. He grabbed the phone, typing back: "Who are you? Who's digging?"The reply came ten seconds later, in a blurry photo. It showed two figures in black jackets, kneeling beside a cave—the cave where they'd buried the dragon bone. The ground was torn up, and a flash of gray (the bone?) peeked through the dirt. At the bottom of the photo, scrawled in messy ink: "Wuyin Temple. Find the barrier. Hurry."Lin Chen showed the photo to Su Xiao. Her face paled. "They found it. How?"Lin Chen pulled the bronze key from his pocket. For the first time in two weeks, it was warm—not burning, but a faint, urgent heat. "The key. It's reacting. Whatever's happening, it's not just random—they're following the same magic we are."They packed their bags that night, skipping their morning classes to catch a train to the mountains. The address for Wuyin Temple wasn't on any map, but Su Xiao's grandmother's notes had a clue: "Where the river bends like a dragon's tail, and the mist never lifts."The train dropped them at a small station, where they hired a taxi to the nearest village. The driver shook his head when they mentioned Wuyin Temple. "That place is gone," he said, gripping the steering wheel. "Burned down fifty years ago. Locals say it's haunted—mist wraps around it day and night, and anyone who goes in never comes out.""Perfect," Lin Chen muttered.The village was even smaller than the one near Suolong Village—just a dozen wooden houses, a general store, and a river that curved around the edge of town, its water dark and fast-moving. An old woman sitting on a porch knitting stared at them as they walked past, her eyes narrowing."Strangers," she called out, her voice thin. "You're looking for the temple, aren't you?"Su Xiao nodded. "Do you know where it is?"The woman spat on the ground. "Bad place. My husband went there when we were young—wanted to find old treasures. He came back three days later, muttering about 'eyes in the mist' and 'bones that talk'. He never slept again. Died a year later, wasting away." She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper. "If you're smart, you'll leave. The mist's getting thicker this week—same as it was before he went."Lin Chen and Su Xiao exchanged a look. The mist—the "mist barrier" Su Xiao's grandmother had mentioned. It wasn't just hiding the temple; it was warning them.That night, they camped by the river. The mist rolled in at dusk, cold and wet, clinging to their tents like cobwebs. Lin Chen lay awake, holding the bronze key. It was warmer now, almost hot, and he could hear a faint hum—like the one from the dragon bone.Suddenly, the key flew out of his hand, slamming into the tent wall. Lin Chen jumped up, grabbing his flashlight. Outside, the mist was swirling, forming shapes—tall, thin figures with no faces, standing by the river."Su Xiao!" he yelled, throwing open his tent.Su Xiao was already outside, her herb pouch in hand. She crushed a handful of herbs, blowing them into the mist. The figures wavered, then vanished—but the hum grew louder, and the river water began to bubble, as if boiling."The barrier's weakening," Su Xiao said, her voice shaking. "Whatever's in the temple, it's waking up."They set off at dawn, following the river's curve. The mist was thicker now, so dense they could barely see three feet in front of them. The bronze key floated in front of Lin Chen, leading the way, its glow cutting through the fog.After an hour, they saw it: the outline of a temple, half-buried in mist. Its roof was caved in, and its wooden doors hung off their hinges, but the walls were still standing—covered in carvings, just like the cave in Suolong Village.This time, the carvings showed two figures: one with a key (a guardian), one with a pouch of herbs (a healer), standing beside a sleeping dragon. Below them, words in ancient Chinese: "Two bloodlines, one seal. Together, they bind the wakeful one.""The guardian and the healer," Lin Chen said, staring at the carvings. "My family and yours. We're not just supposed to protect the bone—we're supposed to work together."Su Xiao nodded, touching the dragon birthmark on her wrist. "Grandmother always said we were 'two halves of the same coin'. I never knew what she meant until now."They pushed open the temple doors. Inside, the mist was thicker, and the air smelled of incense and rot. In the center of the temple, a stone pedestal stood, empty—except for a small, wooden box, carved with the same dragon-and-bone symbol as the key.Lin Chen approached the pedestal. The bronze key flew out of his hand, landing on the box. The box clicked open, revealing a scroll. Su Xiao unrolled it—it was a map, marked with red dots: Suolong Village, Dragon Sleep Valley, Wuyin Temple, and one more place: "血月湖" (Blood Moon Lake)."Blood Moon Lake," Su Xiao read aloud. "Grandmother's notes said that's where the dragon's physical body sleeps. The bone is its heart, but the lake is its resting place. If someone wakes it there… there's no stopping it."Suddenly, the mist roared. Lin Chen spun around. The figures from the night before were back—only now, they had faces: the men in black, their eyes glowing green, their bodies half-transparent, like phantoms."Zhou Feng's followers," Su Xiao gasped. "He didn't work alone. They're using dark magic to become 'mist walkers'—to track us through the barrier."One of the mist walkers lunged at Lin Chen, its hands like claws. Lin Chen dodged, grabbing the silver dagger from his backpack. He stabbed it at the walker; the dagger glowed blue, and the walker screamed, dissolving into mist.But more came—half a dozen, surrounding them. Su Xiao threw her herbs, but they only slowed the walkers down. The bronze key pulsed, and the scroll on the pedestal began to glow, wrapping around Lin Chen's arm like a bandage."The map," Lin Chen said, realizing. "It's not just a map—it's a shield. But we need to get out of here. The temple's collapsing."The walls were shaking, and pieces of the roof were falling. Su Xiao nodded, grabbing Lin Chen's hand. They ran toward the door, the mist walkers chasing them. The bronze key flew ahead, clearing a path through the mist.As they burst out of the temple, the mist suddenly lifted—just for a second. Lin Chen looked back. The temple was gone, swallowed by the mist, and the walkers were nowhere to be seen.The river was calm now, and the sun was rising, painting the sky pink. Lin Chen looked at the scroll on his arm—it was still glowing, the map of Blood Moon Lake clear."They'll be there," Su Xiao said, squeezing his hand. "Zhou Feng's followers. They want to wake the dragon at Blood Moon Lake—during the blood moon, which is next week."Lin Chen nodded. He touched the bronze key, now cold again, and the scroll on his arm faded, turning into a small tattoo of the map."Then we'll be there too," he said.They walked back to the village, the river beside them. The old woman was still on her porch, knitting. She looked up at them, her eyes softening."You came back," she said."We did," Su Xiao replied.The woman handed her a small pouch. "Herbs. For the mist. My husband would have wanted you to have them. He always said the temple wasn't evil—it was just guarding something."Su Xiao took the pouch, thanking her.As they left the village, Lin Chen looked back. The mist was rolling in again, covering the river's curve. He thought of his parents, of the woman in white, of the old Taoist—all the people who had guarded the dragon before him.He wasn't just a college student anymore. He was a guardian. And with Su Xiao by his side—with the healer's bloodline—he was ready.The blood moon was coming. And Blood Moon Lake was waiting.The adventure was far from over.