It had been weeks since Tian Yu disappeared. Not a single word about him had been heard. The palace had searched everywhere they could imagine, yet every scout and messenger returned with the same defeated shake of the head.
It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
The Emperor turned the whole kingdom upside down. Soldiers combed the borders, climbed the mountains, and searched the quiet rivers. Messages traveled to nearby kingdoms, begging for even the smallest clue. But nothing came back.
Inside the palace, the atmosphere was heavy, thick with unspoken fear. Guards stood tense at their posts, and even the normally argumentative ministers fell uncharacteristically silent. A strange stillness settled over the halls, quiet and uneasy.
But no one felt the emptiness the way Yuyan did.
She tried every spell she knew, tracking spells, tracing spells, even the forbidden one that connected two heartbeats across distance. Each time she cast it, she waited for the slightest pull, the smallest warmth.
But she felt nothing, silent, as if he was never there at the first place. "Arghhhh" she screamed in fulstration, as tear flow down her eyes.
It terrified her more than the battle she has ever fought. It made it feel as if he was never beside her. As if everything between them had been nothing more than a dream she had suddenly awakened from.
"What should I do?", she murdered, as she continues to pace around her chamber.
It has always been like this in the past few weeks. Her eyes were always red. Some days, she could not eat. Other days, she tried to appear strong, but her heart trembled whenever any guide returned from searching.
The previous night, she had gone to her house, hoping to feel his present. She sat alone on their bed, holding the blanket they used or touching the pillow where he once slept, hoping to feel some or it would somehow pull him back to her.
But she came back to the palace, more broken .
Her parents watched her in helpless silence. Even Leng Yue grew unsettled; he had never seen Yuyan this broken break before. Each corner of the palace reminded her of him, of the day they got married. Every quiet dawn made her chest tighten. Yet she refused to give up.
Every night, she stood outside beneath the cold wind, staring at the horizon, whispering his name or trying to cast a spell she has tried countless times before.
---
In a village far from Lianhua , a young man lived quietly with a woman everyone believed was his wife. No one could remember when the two of them arrived. One day they were simply there, settling into the tiny house near the edge of the forest.
The man was strikingly handsome in a way that didn't match the simple life he lived. His face was clean and sharp, and his eyes carried a depth that made people pause. Even when he wasn't trying, he moved with a kind of quiet strength that felt out of place for a hunter.
Hunting was how he survived with his family.
And he was incredibly good at it.
He could sense animals long before he saw them. Sometimes he lifted his head like he was listening to something far away, something no one else could hear. No animal had ever slipped away from him, not once.
He was in the woods that evening, moving quietly between the trees, when he heard the familiar voice. So faint and soft.
The voice felt distant. Almost swallowed by the wind. But painfully familiar.
He froze mid-step, and he forgot the small deer he was tracking. The bow in his hand lowered slowly as he tilted his head, listening.
There it was again, calling a name.
A name that seems too familiar. A name that lived somewhere deep inside him, buried under a weight he couldn't understand.
But the more he tried to hold onto it, to remember where he had heard it before. The faster it slipped away, like water leaking through his fingers.
Whenever that voice reached him, a deep emptiness hollowed out his chest.
A sharp ache, like he was missing something important… someone important… someone he should never have forgotten.
His breathing turned unsteady. He put away his weapon and sat down heavily on a nearby stone, pressing his palms against his head.
"Why am I like this?" he whispered. "Why does everything feel wrong?"
He rubbed his head rougher, out of frustration, as if forcing himself to remember would break whatever wall trapped his thoughts.
He tried but nothing came.
Nothing about his past. Not even his wife.
The harder he pushed, the more the confusion tangled inside him.
Sadness crept in, quiet, heavy...until it settled over him like a second skin.
He stood up again, defeated, picked up his tools, and made his way home with slow steps.
When he reached the house, the lamps inside were already lit. His wife had prepared his food and cleaned the entire place as usual. She stood by the doorway, as if waiting for him.
The moment she saw him, her face softened with a smile. A sweet and gentle smile that supposed to flattered his heart. But it all felt empty.
He stood there staring at her, as she walked straight into his arms, hugging him tightly.
"I missed you, my dearest," she whispered into his ear.
He looked down at her. She was beautiful, perfect, everything a man could wish for.
And yet… that hollow ache returned.
Something about their perfect life felt wrong.
Though he couldn't explain it, not even to himself.
He pulled away gently from her hug, not wanting to be rude, but something inside him refused to relax. Her warmth felt unfamiliar… and somehow strange. Whenever she touched him, his body tense up, as if she was a stranger he was not use to. And his heart stayed quiet, no warm out all.
She took his tools from his hand and led him inside.
The house looked perfect, cleaner than most homes in the village. The food on the table was warm, smelling fresh. Everything was set in a way that should have made him feel lucky, satisfied… content.
But instead, he felt that same emptiness growing inside his chest.