After breakfast, Yuan Yu and Han Liang moved through the crowded market of Mui Town. The streets were wide, yet packed with people—stalls pressed tightly together as voices and movement filled the air.
Han Liang walked a few steps ahead, weaving through the crowd without slowing. He assumed Yuan Yu was right behind him.
When he finally glanced back—
he stopped.
Yuan Yu was gone.
His gaze swept the crowd once, then again. No sign of him. The Second Commander was nowhere to be seen either.
Something tightened in his chest.
For a brief moment, everything went still.
Then his eyes sharpened.
"If the Second Commander isn't here…" the thought flashed through his mind.
"…then he's alone."
Just then, the Second Commander appeared from a side street, his expression tense.
"I lost sight of him," he said quietly.
Han Liang's jaw tightened.
"He wouldn't just disappear," he said, his voice low but firm. "He's still nearby. Check the inn. Now."
The Second Commander nodded and disappeared into the crowd.
Han Liang moved.
Fast.
He pushed through the market like a storm, his gaze cutting across every face, every movement. The unease in his chest grew heavier with each passing second.
Nothing.
Without hesitation, he turned into a narrow alley and leapt upward, pulling himself onto the rooftops. From there, he moved across the tiles—light, swift—his gaze sweeping both the streets below and the surrounding roofs.
Still nothing.
Moments earlier, Yuan Yu had paused at a small stall, examining a set of delicate combs. He had only stopped for a moment—just long enough to lose sight of Han Liang in the shifting crowd.
By the time he finished paying, Han Liang was gone.
Yuan Yu looked around, slightly puzzled, but not yet alarmed. They must have drifted apart.
Then—
a faint glow flickered at the edge of his vision.
A soft, childlike laugh echoed somewhere nearby.
His steps slowed.
Something about it felt wrong.
Before he could react, a hand reached from behind and covered his nose. A strange scent filled his senses. His vision blurred. The world tilted.
Darkness.
Hours later, Yuan Yu awoke.
His eyes opened slowly, his head heavy, his body weak. He lay on the floor of a dim, unfamiliar room. The door was shut. Locked.
For a moment, he did not move.
Then, slowly, he pushed himself up, forcing his thoughts to settle. The scent still lingered faintly in his mind.
He was alone.
A murmur reached him from beyond the door.
Yuan Yu moved closer, careful not to make a sound.
Two men were speaking.
"Is he coming tonight?" one asked. "The slave trader?"
"The one we caught… he looks like a noble," the other replied. "I hope this doesn't bring trouble."
A low chuckle followed.
"It ends tonight. We'll get a good price for him. Someone rich will pay well…"
A pause.
"…look at him. Almost as beautiful as a woman."
Yuan Yu's breath stilled.
In that moment, everything became clear.
He had been captured.