The courtyard fell into an unnatural silence.
Qi Longye remained kneeling, his forehead lowered in an old-fashioned warrior's salute—one so ancient even the Pavilion Elders did not recognize it.
Only Jin Wei reacted.
"Q… Qi… signature… match… detected…"
His cracked runes flickered violently, as if recognizing something buried deep in forgotten memory fragments.
Drakonix, perched protectively on Shan Wei's shoulder, growled softly—not in hostility, but in confusion.
"Fweee…?"
Shan Wei steadied himself.
His voice came out quiet, controlled, but threaded with tension.
"…You said your name is Qi Longye."
The man rose slowly.
Silver hair tied in a warrior's knot.Black-white robes embroidered with faded constellations.Eyes sharp enough to slice through lies.Face stern but not cruel.Aura… muted but impossibly deep.
He clasped his fists and bowed again.
"Yes," he said."I am the younger brother of Qi Longshen."
Shan Wei's breath stopped.
"Y-You're my father's brother…?"
Qi Longye nodded.
"And therefore… your uncle."
Ling Xueyao and Qingyue shared a stunned look.
Bai Yefeng immediately dropped to one knee, recognizing power instinctively.
Jin Wei straightened his broken frame.
"FAMILIAL HIERARCHY… DETECTED.RECALIBRATING… PROTOCOLS…"
Drakonix tilted his head.
"Fwrrr?"
Shan Wei stepped closer.
"If you're my uncle… where have you been?"
Qi Longye inhaled deeply, as though gathering memories that cost pain to touch.
"That answer is long. But you deserve truth."He looked at Shan Wei with something like sorrow."When your father broke Heaven's decree… he wasn't the only one hunted."
Cold prickled down Shan Wei's spine.
"What do you mean?"
Qi Longye turned his gaze toward the sky.
"I was there the night of the Crimson Comet," he said softly."I saw Heaven's lightning fall. I saw your father torn from this realm. I saw your mother cry your name before she disappeared into the lower winds."
He looked back at Shan Wei.
"And I saw Heaven issue a silent order—kill anything bearing your bloodline."
Shan Wei froze.
"What…?"
Xueyao's breath caught.
"They didn't target only you," Qingyue whispered."They targeted your entire family line."
Qi Longye nodded.
"I survived only because I erased myself."
He touched the hilt of his blade.
"I cut my name from my soul. I abandoned my realm. I drowned my presence in dust and wind."
Shan Wei felt his chest tighten.
"You erased yourself… to survive?"
"No," Qi Longye corrected quietly."I erased myself so one day… I could protect you."
The courtyard trembled with emotion.
Even Jin Wei seemed to hesitate, runes flickering as though something about Qi Longye triggered buried core protocols.
Shan Wei swallowed.
"Why come now? Why not earlier?"
Qi Longye met his eyes.
"Because the first of the four winds began to move."
Shan Wei stiffened.
"My father mentioned that."
Qi Longye nodded.
"And he knew what it meant."
He lifted a finger.
Wind swirled around him—but not ordinary wind.
This wind whispered.Carried faint runic shapes.Swirled with distorted time.It bent leaves but not shadows.
"The First Wind of Fate, Shan Wei, has stirred."
Shan Wei frowned.
"What does that even mean?"
Qi Longye closed his eyes.
"It means the people tied to your destiny… are beginning to awaken, move, or return."
"People?" Xueyao questioned.
"Enemies?" Qingyue asked.
Qi Longye opened his eyes.
"Yes," he said softly."And also… allies."
Drakonix Knows Something
Drakonix leapt from Shan Wei's shoulder, wings spread, landing directly in front of Qi Longye.
He stared deeply at the man's aura—
Then hissed.
But not angrily.
Suspiciously.
"Fweeeee…"
Qi Longye smiled faintly.
"A Nirvana Drakonix. Majestic creature. Sharp instincts."
Drakonix narrowed his eyes.
Qingyue frowned.
"You're giving him… a strange look. Why?"
Qi Longye looked at Drakonix with sadness.
"His instincts are telling him the truth," he said quietly."I am not here by my own will."
Shan Wei stiffened.
"What do you mean?"
Qi Longye turned his attention fully to Shan Wei.
"I came because something… called me."
"Called you?"
"Yes," Longye said. "From within you. Something belonging to your bloodline awakened me."
Shan Wei felt a pulse in his wrist—the Prismatic Mark burned faintly, as though agreeing.
"…My flame?"
"No," Qi Longye whispered."Something older."
Drakonix screeched a warning note.
"Fwee—FWEEE!"
Jin Wei stepped forward protectively.
"MASTER THREAT ASSESSMENT…UNCLEAR."
Longye lifted both hands peacefully.
"I am not your enemy, Shan Wei."Then he added softly—"Not yet."
Xueyao and Qingyue instantly stood beside Shan Wei.
"What does that mean?" Xueyao demanded.
"Clarify. Now," Qingyue snapped.
Longye looked at them calmly.
"It means Heaven will try to use me."
Shan Wei's eyes hardened.
"How?"
Qi Longye closed his eyes.
"Because I am the Second Wind in your prophecy."
The Prophecy Revealed
The Pavilion Master and elders approached, silent and pale.
"You know the Four Winds Prophecy?" Elder Lu asked.
Qi Longye nodded.
"I lived through the last man who bore its mark."
He looked at Shan Wei.
"The prophecy reads:
'When the Heaven-Breaker is bornFour Winds move to shape his fate.'
**Wind One — Stirs the sleeping pastWind Two — Binds blood to destinyWind Three — Brings destructionWind Four — Crowns the survivor'"
Shan Wei felt the words cut deep into his bones.
"So which one are you?" he whispered.
Qi Longye's voice was steady.
"I am the Second Wind —the blood-bound guide who comes when the Heaven-Breaker steps into the world of fate."
The air turned electric.
Xueyao gripped her sword.
Qingyue's flames rose anxiously.
"And the other Winds?" Shan Wei asked.
Qi Longye inhaled.
"Wind One has already moved."
"My father?" Shan Wei guessed.
Longye nodded.
"He awakened your past. Your flame. Your lineage."
"And Wind Two… is you," Shan Wei said softly.
"Yes."
"So Wind Three—?"
Longye's face darkened.
"Wind Three is the one who brings destruction."
Qingyue swallowed.
"Who… or what is it?"
Longye looked toward the east.
"They call him the Calamity Heir.A cultivator born under the same comet as you… but holding the opposite destiny."
Shan Wei's veins turned to ice.
"There's another… like me?"
"No," Qi Longye said. "Not like you."
He paused.
"He is your opposite. Your shadow. The one Heaven will support to kill you."
Lightning cracked across the sky, though no storm existed.
Jin Wei's runes flared.
Drakonix hissed sharply, flame rising instinctively.
"And Wind Four?" Shan Wei asked.
Longye smiled a sad, proud smile.
"Wind Four…is the one who survives."
The weight behind the word hit Shan Wei like a hammer.
"Survives… me?"
"No," Longye corrected firmly."Survives with you."
There was a moment of stunned silence.
Xueyao exhaled slowly.
"So Wind Four is an ally."
"Potentially," Longye said. "But fate twists everything."
Shan Wei steadied himself.
"You said Heaven will try to use you. Why?"
Qi Longye looked at him with deep, almost pained intensity.
"Because I am the last surviving Qi-blood after your father vanished and your mother was hidden."
"And Heaven," he added darkly, "loves using family to break the chosen."
Shan Wei's stomach dropped.
"They want to turn you into a weapon… against me."
"Yes."
Jin Wei's Reaction
Jin Wei stepped forward.
His core glowed violently—lines of gold energy crawling across his cracked armor.
"UNACCEPTABLE.MASTER WILL NOT FALL TO BLOODLINE THREAT."
Longye smiled faintly.
"You were well-forged. Loyal. Protective."
Jin Wei's runes brightened.
"I WILL NOT PERMIT…BLOODLINE HARM."
Shan Wei touched Jin Wei's arm.
"It's okay. He's not my enemy."
Jin Wei paused.
"…MASTER… COMMANDS."
He knelt back.
Qi Longye stared at Jin Wei with unreadable emotion.
"I never thought I'd see a Primordial Guardian kneel to a child."
Shan Wei looked at him sharply.
"Then maybe stop seeing me as a child."
Qi Longye blinked.
Then smiled — genuinely.
"You're right."
The New Threat Arrives
A distant horn echoed through the mountains.
A deep, ancient, warlike sound.
Everyone stiffened.
Bai Yefeng drew his blade.
"Enemy sects?"
Elder Lu shook his head, pale.
"No… not sects.Something older."
A second horn sounded.Then a third.
Drakonix growled.
Jin Wei's core blazed.
Qi Longye's expression hardened.
"…They came quicker than expected."
Shan Wei narrowed his eyes.
"Who?"
Qi Longye spoke the name like a curse:
"The Beastbone Legion."
Xueyao inhaled sharply.
"That… that clan was wiped out centuries ago—!"
"No," Qingyue whispered."They were sealed."
Qi Longye nodded.
"And now… they think you are the key to breaking their chains."
Shan Wei clenched his fists.
"Why me?"
Qi Longye looked at him gravely.
"Because the Calamity Heir isn't the only one awakened by your father's interference."
A shadow fell across the pavilion.
The ground trembled.
Something massive approached.
Qi Longye whispered:
"Your real fate begins… tonight."
To be Continued
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