The next morning, as the first light of dawn brushed the horizon, the courtyard of the Jewel Sect was unusually lively.
The sky glowed in shades of pale pink, and the air was crisp and cool — though soon, the warmth of the rising sun would take its place. Servants bustled about, arranging wagons and loading supplies. Yuan Yu stood among them, personally checking every item. When Wang Bo entered through the gate, Yuan Yu smiled and embraced him without ceremony.
Rui observed quietly from the side. It was the second time he had seen this man — and the second time he had come to the same conclusion.
Intelligent. Loyal. Not easily moved.
Soldiers inspected their saddles. Swords and armor were polished one last time. The banners were prepared. Around ten soldiers, two servants, three wagons, several spare horses, Wang Bo, and Rui — a small but capable group, ready for the long road ahead.
Yuan Yu slipped away briefly to visit his grandmother.
Their farewell was quiet. She did not weep, and neither did he. She only held his hand for a moment longer than usual, and that was enough.
He carried that quiet with him.
When he returned to the courtyard, the convoy was nearly ready.
And then his family appeared.
His mother came first, moving quickly across the courtyard before he had even reached his horse. She held him tightly, her hands pressing against his back as though she could keep him from leaving through sheer will. His father and uncle embraced him in turn — firm, steady, the kind of embrace that said everything a man of the Yuan family would not put into words. Even the youngest nieces and nephews had come, tugging at his sleeves and asking questions he promised to answer when he returned.
Rui watched from the saddle without moving.
He had seen farewells before. But not like this.
No one had ever held on like that, he thought. No one had ever waited for him the way this family waited for Yuan Yu.
Rui said nothing.
He simply watched.
Yuan Yu and Wang Bo climbed into the carriage and closed the door behind them.
His uncle stepped forward and placed a hand on the carriage door.
"Don't worry," he said quietly. "We have eyes everywhere. Hidden men will watch over you."
Yuan Yu nodded.
Rui adjusted his grip on the reins.
Today, he thought. After twenty years, the road finally leads in the right direction.
"Are you ready?" Yuan Yu called from the carriage window.
Rui met his eyes.
"Yes, my lord."
The great gates of the Jewel Sect opened, and the convoy moved forward. The family stood together in the courtyard, watching until the carriages and riders disappeared down the sunlit road.
The gates closed behind them.
A few merchants setting up their stalls paused to watch the convoy pass. One leaned toward another and murmured,
"I hope nothing happens to the young lord... After all, he's heading to the Tiger Sect."
Rui heard it. He didn't turn his head.
They aren't enemies, he thought. So why does everyone speak of it like a threat?
The worry in the merchant's voice had been genuine—not the idle concern of someone repeating gossip, but the kind that came from knowing something. Rui filed it away carefully.
There's something deeper here. Something I'll have to uncover myself.
The road opened before them, wide and unhurried.
Twenty years had taught Rui patience. Revenge did not need speed. It needed the right moment — and the right position. He had not come this far to move carelessly now.
The sound of hooves. The soft rustle of the morning wind.
The journey had begun.
Three days later, Han Liang was also preparing to leave.
He checked the horses himself that morning, running his hands along each one's flank, checking feet and saddle fit with the quiet attention of someone who had done it a hundred times before. He tightened the strap on his own saddle a second time, though it hadn't needed it the first.
The Second Commander stood nearby, reviewing the route one final time.
"Same road as last time?" the commander asked.
"Mostly," Han Liang said. "We'll rest at the border town on the third night. Avoid the northern pass — too many eyes."
The commander nodded.
Han Liang had made this journey before — perhaps his second time, perhaps his third. He already knew the checkpoints, the border towns, the places where strangers drew attention and the places where they didn't. He knew how to move through Tiger Sect territory without announcing himself.
What he didn't know was what he would find when he arrived.
Yuan Yu would spend seven nights on the road. Han Liang, only five.
If nothing delayed either of them, they would reach the Tiger Sect's borders within a day of each other —
neither of them knowing they were already walking toward the same fate.