Shadows on the Road Home

The sky above the Blackspire Valley had begun to pale, casting a silvery hue over the rocky slopes. Jia Wei Xin walked slightly ahead of Liu Mo Fei, her brows furrowed and her sigil still faintly pulsing beneath her sleeve.

Beside them, a majestic spirit beast padded silently across the rocks—Liu Mo Fei's mount of choice for this journey. It was a snow-white qilin with streaks of indigo flame along its spine, its hooves never quite touching the ground, leaving faint glimmers in the air. The beast snorted occasionally, sniffing the air with regal disdain.

"Heir of the Celestial Line… Timewalker…" The words echoed in her mind.

"A Celestial Lineage… that explains so much," Liu Mo Fei said, his voice a low, steady rumble. "Your innate talents, the way you grasp complex formations without prior training. The legends speak of such heirs, though they are rarely seen in this age. This 'Lore Stone' you spoke of… it truly holds the secrets of the ancients?"

Jia Wei Xin nodded, a strange blend of awe and apprehension stirring within her. "It's like… a flash drive of ancient knowledge, directly uploaded to my spiritual root. I don't understand it all yet, but there's a sense of destiny, a massive puzzle piece that's finally fitting together. And a warning, of a seal weakening."

She paused, then met his gaze, a quiet determination in her eyes. "I need to understand this, Sifu. I need to know what it means for me, for this world. And I know you can help."

Liu Mo Fei's expression turned serious. "Then we'll find out together—whatever that means. My Sect should have a lot of records. And if they come up short... we'll go outside. Celestial inheritance isn't just rare. It's hidden for a reason." 

Jia Wei Xin hesitated, the magnitude of his promise sinking in. "What if it's dangerous? What if it changes who I am?" The thought was a tremor of fear in her gut. She was a modern woman, pragmatic and self-reliant. This ancient power, this destiny, felt like a force that could consume her.

Liu Mo Fei stopped walking. "Then we face it head-on. You won't do it alone." His commitment was a tangible presence, a solid anchor against the swirling uncertainty of her newly discovered past.

Their gazes met. The warmth in his eyes steadied her pulse, even as something in her chest tightened.

---

Meanwhile, miles away, a thunderous roar ripped through the opulent halls of the Demon Sect. Zhang Tian sat bolt upright, his crimson eyes blazing with a fury that could melt stone. The lingering effects of Jia Wei Xin's potent sedative were finally wearing off, replaced by a volcanic surge of indignation.

"JIAAAAAA! WEI! XIN!!"

Zhang Tian shot upright from the silken couch he'd been flopped over, limbs askew and a wine jug rolling off the edge.

His guards stared at him, visibly flinching.

"She drugged me," he declared, wide-eyed, hair a mess. "A celestial woman with big eyes and no respect! She drugged me! Me, the mighty Demon King!"

One attendant attempted diplomacy. "Your Majesty, perhaps she was worried you'd follow her and—"

"Of course I'd follow her! She's my obsession! MY—future—fiancée! Did she not understand? I was protecting her! Keeping her safe from… from her own poor judgment!"

He shot out of the hall with demonic speed, knocking over three terrified guards. "Ready the beasts! I shall hunt them down! Both of them! And when I find them, Liu Mo Fei will regret the day he ever laid eyes on my Jia Wei Xin, and she… she will get a stern talking-to!"

----

The narrow canyon ahead curved unnaturally, shrouded in mist that didn't belong. Liu Mo Fei narrowed his eyes.

"This place wasn't like this when I came."

Jia Wei Xin slowed her pace. Her instincts prickled.

Too late.

A dozen figures —not demons— dropped from the cliffs. Black sashes. Familiar qi signature—brutal, disciplined, but off. Their leader, a sneering man with a jagged scar, grinned. "Liu Mo Fei. How fortunate. The Sect Leader's head will make a fine trophy."

Liu Mo Fei moved with lightning speed, pushing Jia Wei Xin behind him. "Stay close! These are not ordinary thugs!"

He hadn't expected an ambush so soon, and certainly not with such precision. Usually, his movements outside the sect were cloaked in secrecy, leaving no trail. But this time, his singular focus on finding Jia Wei Xin had perhaps made him careless. Someone within his own ranks had to have leaked his precise whereabouts. Elder Hai, a rival elder who coveted Liu Mo Fei's position, immediately sprang to mind.

Liu Mo Fei fought like a storm—precise, ruthless. His strikes were as elegant as they were deadly, golden spiritual energy lashing through the air like lightning. Blades clashed, qi cracked, and bodies flew. He was holding his own until—

A dark, jagged shard of spiritual energy hurtled toward Jia Wei Xin. Liu Mo Fei didn't have time to deflect it. He lunged instead, shielding her with his body.

The shard pierced his shoulder. Black tendrils spread instantly across his skin. Poison. Potent and swift. "Damn it," he muttered, bracing himself.

"Sifu!"

Jia Wei Xin yanked a smoke pellet from her sleeve to create a diversion. She lunged toward Liu Mo Fei, grabbing his uninjured arm.

This was her Sun Tzu moment: Create a diversion, and then… vanish.

She focused her mind on teleporting. Her sigil pulsed, a desperate, frantic hum. She had only ever managed to teleport herself, and barely at that. To take another person, especially one weakened and poisoned, was an impossible feat. But she had to try.