Chapter 62: A Past Uncovered
The group settled inside, exhaustion pressing down on them. Zheng Wei leaned against a fallen pillar, his breath labored from the strain of their recent battles. Mei Lian sat near the temple's altar, fingers tracing the sigil on Lady Yuexiang's scroll. Her expression was unreadable, yet something dark flickered beneath the surface of her gaze.
Yan Shun paced near the temple's entrance, muscles tensed, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He had been uncharacteristically silent since their encounter with Yuexiang, but now his impatience was beginning to unravel.
"We don't have time for riddles," he finally said, his voice cutting through the stillness. "Open it."
Mei Lian hesitated before unsealing the scroll. The parchment shimmered faintly as if imbued with lingering traces of power. As she unraveled it, the sigil of the Silent Orchid was revealed in bold strokes of ink. The sight of it made her exhale sharply, her grip tightening.
"You recognize it," Li Feng said, watching her carefully.
Mei Lian nodded. "This… this was the mark of the Silent Orchid Sect."
Yan Shun frowned. "The Silent Orchid? That sect was wiped out decades ago. How is Yuexiang tied to them?"
Mei Lian traced the sigil again, her fingers trembling. "I don't know. But this wasn't just a sect. It was a lineage of warriors who sought the balance between celestial forces. They didn't wield power for conquest or destruction. They sought understanding."
Zheng Wei stirred, his voice weaker than before. "And now, Lady Yuexiang uses their symbol. That means something. Perhaps the sect isn't as dead as history claims."
A heavy silence fell over them.
Zheng Wei shifted, his hands weaving a faint glyph in the air. His remaining strength coalesced into a faint glow, illuminating the scroll. Ancient text bled through the parchment, revealing a concealed map beneath the inscriptions.
Li Feng leaned in. "This isn't just any location. These markings…" His fingers traced the map. "They lead to the Gates of the Abyss."
Yan Shun's expression darkened. "That's not a place you find by accident. If Yuexiang left this for us, it means she wanted us to follow."
Mei Lian clenched her fists. "Then why leave it in riddles? Why not tell us the truth?"
Li Feng exhaled, his gaze still fixed on the map. "Because she wants us to find the answers ourselves. Or maybe… she wants to see if we're strong enough to reach them."
The wind howled through the temple's broken windows, carrying with it a whisper of something unseen. Yan Shun's grip on his sword tightened. "Either way, we need to decide. Do we follow her path, or do we forge our own?"
Tension crackled in the air. Mei Lian's expression remained closed off, her mind clearly waging a battle none of them could see. Zheng Wei let out a slow breath, his strength waning. Li Feng felt the weight of his choices pressing down on him like an iron chain.
"We rest for now," Li Feng finally said. "At dawn, we move."
The decision was made, yet an unspoken unease lingered among them.
That night, as the others slept, Mei Lian sat alone by the altar, the map resting in her lap. Her mind swam with memories, fragments of a past she had long buried. Her fingers curled around the scroll, her chest tightening with something close to dread.
She couldn't let them see this.
Before the first light of dawn, Mei Lian rose and slipped silently into the night, the scroll tucked safely beneath her cloak.
Outside, the wind whispered secrets only she could hear.