The night deepened. Yang Yu stood atop the cliff behind Black Wind Stronghold, his mourning clothes fluttering as the cold wind whipped across his face.
Shen Haoran came to his side. Unsure of what to say to comfort him, he could only stand there quietly, keeping Yang Yu company.
Atop the cliff, the two stood motionless like a pair of proud, solitary pines. Not until the moon hung high in the sky did Yang Yu finally break the silence.
"Brother Shen," Yang Yu asked, pointing to Black Wind Stronghold below, "isn't the night view beautiful?"
Shen Haoran paused, taken aback. He gazed at the brightly lit Black Wind Stronghold below, glittering like a sea of stars, and nodded.
"When I was a child, I'd often come here with my father to look at the nightscape. Back then, he told me his greatest wish was for Black Wind Stronghold to move beyond its name and become a Major Sect in the Northern Domain!
