—
Mù Qiantang moved slowly through the dirt, still invisible.
His knees scraped against stones, his breath short and shaky.
Every muscle in his body screamed, but he kept going.
The dragon's growl rumbled across the field like thunder.
He could feel it in his chest — deep, angry, dangerous.
The air reeked of smoke and burnt soil.
He stopped a few feet behind the girl.
She was still kneeling, shaking a little, her long silver hair falling over her face, still looking up.
—
He swallowed.
His heartbeat pounded so hard he thought the dragon could hear it.
He reached for the sword lying near her.
The moment his hand touched the hilt, his invisibility flickered — then vanished completely.
The shimmer faded off his body, and there he was — burnt, bloody, and half crouched behind her.
The dragon turned instantly, eyes glowing like molten gold.
Its chest rose and fell fast, smoke puffing from its nostrils.
Mù Qiantang whispered, "I'm sorry, Xuán'er... forgive uncle... I have no choice."
—
Before she could move, he wrapped his arm around her neck from behind and pressed the blade against her throat, trembling slightly in his weakened grip.
The girl froze.
Her breath hitched.
Her small hands gripped his arm weakly.
"U-Uncle- ?" she stammered.
He didn't answer.
His face was pale, sweat dripping from his temples.
—
The dragon froze.
Its great golden eyes — wide and wild as twin suns — locked on the man kneeling behind the girl.
Smoke coiled from its nostrils, the ground beneath it trembling with each growl that rumbled deep in its throat.
The air thickened, heavy with heat and fury.
It then stopped moving.
The sound of its breathing filled the air.
—
Mù Qiantang coughed, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
Still, he smirked, his lips twitching with mockery.
"Heh… so it's true, isn't it?" he rasped. "You can burn down mountains… split seas in half… but you can't harm this girl."
The dragon's wings spread wide, blotting out the sky.
The sheer force sent waves rippling through the ground, scattering dust and shattered stones.
Its tail lashed once, gouging a trench through the soil.
The girl's tears rolled silently down her cheeks, her small hands clutching his sleeve.
"Uncle… please…"
His expression flickered — guilt, pain, something mortal — before turning to stone again.
"I must live, Xuán'er," he murmured. "I must live — I must."
—
His burnt fingers tightened around the sword.
His other hand, bleeding and blistered, gripped her shoulder firmly.
The faint smell of iron mixed with the scorched air.
The great beast's chest rose and fell heavily.
Smoke hissed from its nostrils.
He smiled — a bitter, crooked smile, blood at the corner of his lips.
"It really won't touch you, will it…" he muttered. "Then I can live."
—
He drew on his remaining power, the faint light of his qi glowing around his burnt hand.
The torn flesh knit slightly, but the healing was weak, incomplete—the light flickers weakly.
His body shuddered from the effort.
His jaw tightens.
Damn it…
I've overused my qi escaping that beast's fire.
—
"Uncle, please—" she started, but he cut her off, voice low and cold.
"Don't worry, little girl… after this, I'll let you see your parents again."
Her tears streamed down silently.
He looked at her pale face, something breaking behind his eyes.
Then he turned to the dragon and smirked, cruel and tired.
"Come closer, beast. Let's see if you dare."
—
The dragon bared its teeth, its entire body shaking.
Blue fire flickered between its fangs — unstable, furious.
The clouds above darkened, gathering like a storm summoned by its grief.
It released a deep, rumbling breath that rolled across the ground like thunder.
And then — it moved.
A flash of light burst from its chest — golden runes igniting across its scales.
Trees shook violently as the ground rambled.
—
The man's smirk faltered for the first time.
He could feel the dragon's wrath now.
The air burned. The trees wilted.
Even his sword began to tremble in his hand.
He tightened his hold on the girl's neck, shouting,
"Stay back, beast! One more step, and she dies!"
The dragon's roar exploded — not in anger this time, but anguish.
It lowered its massive head, wings folding slightly, its eyes glistening like molten gold.
It was begging.
The man blinked, startled.
"You… you understand me?"
The dragon exhaled sharply — the flames dimming for a heartbeat — then let out a wailing cry that shook the heavens.
The girl's hair whipped around her face from the force.
"Uncle!!!!" she screamed, her small voice breaking against the storm.
—
But Mù Qiantang's resolve hardened.
His body trembled as he raised his sword higher, pressing the blade close enough to draw a thin line of red along her neck.
He laughed bitterly through the blood in his mouth.
"I'm sorry, Xuán'er… I'm sorry… but this world was never meant for mercy."
—
And then dragon… snapped.
The sky ignited.
It unleashed a blast of white fire that tore through the clouds, blinding in its fury — but still, impossibly, it curved around her.
The air itself screamed as the blaze consumed everything else.
Trees turned to ash. Rocks melted.
The force hurled Mù Qiantang backward, his body crashing into the earth but still holding the girl.
He felt his skin tear, his bones crack — but his sword remained on her neck.
The girl lay still, trembling, the ground around her untouched — protected by a faint golden aura that shimmered like sunlight through mist.
And from within the smoke, the dragon's roar bled into something else — a sound almost…
A cry.
Mù Qiantang coughed again, trying to rise, but the world tilted.
"Even if… you kill me…" he muttered weakly, "you'll lose her anyway…"
—
Suddenly —