The night bled quietly into morning.
Frost glimmered on the tents like dusted glass, and the faint scent of smoke lingered from the dying fire.
Mei Lian hadn't slept. She sat watching the horizon, her hands pressed together in the stillness of meditation. The gold within her veins no longer burned — it moved like quiet breath beneath her skin. Controlled, but not subdued.
When the first light broke over the hills, Zhen Yu stirred. He found her standing a little apart, the cold wind tugging at her hair.
"You didn't rest," he said softly.
She turned, her signs slow but certain.
There's something ahead. Northeast.
Her eyes flickered crimson-gold. Another one of them.
Zhen Yu's grip tightened on his sword. "Then we move at once—"
She shook her head before he could finish.
Not yet.
He frowned. "Why?"
Her hands hesitated before she answered.
I'm not ready.
She looked down at her own palms, faint light pulsing under the skin.
The fox still whispers. I need to learn control. If I can't… it will use me when I fight.
Zhen Yu was silent for a long while, the snow crunching softly between them.
Finally, he nodded. "Then we move slowly. No battle is worth losing you."
Her eyes lifted — surprised by the warmth in his tone — but she said nothing. Only a brief nod.
By midmorning, they descended into a narrow valley.
A thin river wound through it, reflecting the pale sky. Ahead, small cottages dotted the landscape — a quiet village wrapped in mist and morning smoke.
They learned its name from a passing shepherd: Hanqiu — the "Valley of Cold Autumn."
Liang Hu rode beside them, surveying the place.
"This far north, the folk are wary of outsiders," he said. "But they'll trade shelter for coin."
Zhen Yu glanced at Mei Lian. "A few days here?"
She nodded. Enough to train, she signed.
When they entered the village, children peeked from behind wooden doors, whispering about the pale witch with red eyes. The air smelled of pine and ash, and distant bells chimed faintly through the fog.
They found lodging at a small inn by the river's edge — a single room, low ceiling, the walls lined with faded talismans that trembled in the draft.
Mei Lian spent her first evening sitting by the water outside, her reflection rippling beneath the dim light.
The current shimmered faintly gold each time her fingers brushed the surface.
Zhen Yu watched her from the doorway.
She wasn't the same woman he had met at the start of their journey. There was power in her now — vast, dangerous, and heartbreakingly fragile.
When she turned toward him, he caught the faint gold shimmer in her eyes — the fox's whisper, buried deep.
And for a fleeting moment, he wondered if the monster inside her was truly caged…
or merely waiting for its chance to wake again.