Morning came too soon.
The courtyard was silent.
The peach blossoms were still.
Even the wind seemed hesitant to blow, as if reluctant to disturb the moment.
Hao Wuya stood in the doorway, gazing at the house he had lived in since infancy.
The house Tianhai built.
The house where Xueyi learned to walk.
The house where they grew up together.
He touched the wooden frame lightly.
"…We're really leaving."
Xueyi walked up beside him, her eyes red from crying the night before.
She forced a small, wobbly smile.
"We'll come back one day."
Wuya blinked.
"…Why?"
Xueyi stared at him.
"Because—because it's our home! Don't you want to come back?!"
Wuya looked at the peach tree.
He touched its trunk.
"…It already gave me what I needed."
Xueyi's mouth twitched.
"You're terrible with sentimental things."
"…Yes."
Tianhai exited the house carrying three travel pouches.
"Wuya. Xueyi. Let's go."
Xueyi sniffed and wiped her eyes, trying to look brave and not emotional.
Wuya remained quiet.
He looked back one last time at the courtyard.
The broken wall where the beast crashed through.
The cracked stones where hunters fell.
The peach tree that witnessed the Codex awakening.
The home where they laughed and ate and fought and grew.
A wind blew gently through the blossoms.
It felt like a goodbye.
Wuya bowed slightly toward the courtyard.
"…Thank you."
Xueyi saw this and smiled faintly.
"You're sentimental after all."
"…Only a little."
---
THE CITY'S LAST CRY
As they walked toward the northern gate, the city felt unnaturally quiet.
When Wuya, Tianhai, and Xueyi reached the marketplace, they found it crowded.
But not with merchants.
Not with customers.
With lanterns.
Hundreds of lanterns lit in broad daylight.
A ritual of mourning.
A crowd gathered around a single point in the center.
Wuya stepped closer.
On the ground lay a body, covered with cloth.
An old man was kneeling beside it, crying silently.
Xueyi trembled.
"Tianhai… who is that?"
The old man lifted his face.
It was Li Shun.
His son, Li Kong—the boy who often greeted Wuya while selling buns—
lay lifeless beneath the cloth.
Wuya's chest tightened.
"…What happened?"
A voice answered:
"The beast."
Tianhai bowed his head.
The Heaven-Seeking Beast, in its rampage toward Wuya, had crushed homes and killed innocents.
Li Shun clutched Wuya's sleeve with trembling hands.
"He never did anything wrong… he was a kind boy…"
Wuya knelt down silently beside him.
His heart tightened painfully.
"I'm sorry."
Li Shun sobbed harder.
"You… you didn't cause this. The heavens did."
Wuya didn't respond.
Because he knew the truth—
He was the cause.
Not by intention.
Not by desire.
But by existence.
He placed his hand gently over Li Shun's.
"I promise," Wuya whispered quietly, "I will protect everyone I can. One day."
Li Shun cried harder.
Xueyi hugged Wuya's arm tightly.
"Wuya… it's not your fault…"
But Wuya didn't answer.
Because a voice inside him whispered:
[The world reacts to your existence.]
The Codex.
He stood slowly.
Tianhai placed a hand on his shoulder.
"How you handle this pain will decide your path."
Wuya exhaled.
"I won't run from it."
Tianhai nodded.
"Then you are already different from the heavens."
---
DEPARTURE
They finally left the city through the northern gate.
The guards hesitated when they saw them.
Wuya, Tianhai, and Xueyi had never been anything but ordinary residents.
Suddenly seeing them leave with packed bags felt suspicious.
A guard stepped forward.
"You three… going somewhere?"
Tianhai smiled gently.
"Visiting relatives."
The guard squinted.
"Relatives… where?"
"Outside the city."
"…All three of you?"
Tianhai leaned in.
"Yes."
A faint ripple of aura drifted from Tianhai's body.
Barely noticeable.
But the guard froze.
His pupils dilated.
His breath caught.
"…I… understand."
He stepped aside.
Wuya and Xueyi exchanged glances.
Xueyi whispered:
"…He hypnotized him."
"No," Wuya murmured.
"He showed him authority."
"What kind of authority?"
"The kind mortals obey without thinking."
Xueyi stuck her tongue out.
"That sounds scary."
"…Yes."
---
ON THE ROAD TO THE CLEAR SKY SECT
The road to the sect was long and winding.
Forests thicker than cities.
Mountains taller than the clouds.
Rivers like silver dragons winding through jade valleys.
Wuya inhaled deeply.
The air was richer here.
Cleaner.
Filled with faint spiritual energy.
Xueyi walked beside him, poking his arm repeatedly.
"What does it feel like? Your new veins? Do you feel stronger? Taller? More handsome?"
"No."
"Liar."
"…Why would I lie about that?"
"Because you're too honest."
"…That doesn't make sense."
"It does! In a confusing way!"
Tianhai walked ahead of them.
"Xueyi."
"Y-Yes?! Uncle?! I didn't do anything!!"
"Your seal."
Xueyi touched her chest quickly.
"It's… it's pulsing on its own."
Tianhai frowned.
"Describe it."
Xueyi hesitated.
"…It used to feel like a shield. A barrier."
"And now?"
"…Now it feels like an eye."
Wuya and Tianhai both stopped.
"…An eye?" Wuya repeated.
Xueyi nodded nervously.
"Yes. It's like it's watching something. Searching for something."
Tianhai's expression darkened.
"The Moonveil Seal has awakened a second layer."
Wuya blinked.
"…What does that mean?"
Tianhai shook his head.
"It means Xueyi may be connected to something far beyond simple protection."
Xueyi paled.
"Am I dangerous?"
"No," Tianhai said firmly.
"But someone may be watching you through the seal."
Xueyi froze.
"…Who?"
Tianhai didn't answer.
Neither did Wuya.
But the Codex whispered faintly to Wuya:
[Danger Approaching]
Wuya looked up sharply.
"Uncle…"
"I sense it."
They reached a fork in the forest road.
Tianhai stopped.
Wuya and Xueyi stopped behind him.
Wuya whispered:
"…Someone is here."
Xueyi grabbed Wuya's arm tightly.
"Behind us…?"
"No."
"Then—?"
Wuya pointed ahead.
"On the road."
Tianhai nodded.
"Yes."
---
THE WHITE-ROBED STRANGER
A man in white robes stood in the center of the road.
Deeply hooded.
Tall.
Hands behind his back.
Breathing slow and steady.
He didn't look like a hunter.
Or a beast.
He looked like…
A scholar.
A gentle breeze shifted around him.
He lifted his head slightly.
His voice was soft.
"Good morning."
Tianhai's aura flared—
quietly.
"State your intent."
The man chuckled.
"My intent? Ah, nothing harmful. I am simply curious."
Wuya narrowed his eyes.
"…About what?"
The man lifted a jade mirror.
Clouds swirled inside it.
He smiled.
"You."
Xueyi stiffened.
"Who are you?!"
The man tapped his mirror playfully.
"Just a traveling historian. One who records fate."
Tianhai's eyes sharpened.
"A Fate Scribe."
Wuya blinked.
"…A what?"
Tianhai spoke slowly.
"Someone who observes the world… but must never interfere."
The man bowed slightly.
"Precisely."
Xueyi bristled.
"Then why are you blocking our path?!"
The scribe smiled.
"Because I have seen countless destinies…
but never one like yours."
Wuya clenched his fists.
"…What do you want from me?"
The scribe tilted his head.
"Nothing."
He stepped aside.
"You may pass."
Wuya blinked.
"…Just like that?"
"Yes."
He pointed at Wuya.
"But know this, young one:
Even I cannot see your future."
He turned away, voice soft.
"…The heavens tremble for a reason."
Then he vanished.
As if he were made of wind.
---
THE THIRD SIGN-IN HINT
When the scribe disappeared, Wuya felt something tug at his soul.
He pressed a hand to his chest.
"…The Codex moved."
Xueyi panicked instantly.
"Moved HOW? Why? Are you dying?!"
"…No."
"Are you exploding?!"
"No."
"Are you—"
Wuya covered her mouth.
"It's giving me a location."
"The third?" Tianhai asked.
Wuya nodded.
"Yes."
"Where?"
Wuya looked into the forest ahead.
"…The Clear Sky Sect."
Tianhai smiled faintly.
"Then we must go."