Chapter 20

Chapter 20: The Valley of Echoes

Xiao Lian and Yun Mei rode in silence as they approached the Valley of Echoes. The journey had taken three days—three days of winding mountain paths, mist-covered rivers, and forests where the wind whispered like a living thing. The air had grown colder, charged with an energy neither of them could explain.

Now, standing at the valley's entrance, Xiao Lian felt the weight of something ancient pressing down on him.

The valley was unlike anything he had seen before. Towering cliffs curved inward, their stone faces etched with strange markings, glowing faintly under the moonlight. The wind that had guided him here was gone, replaced by a silence so deep it felt unnatural.

Yun Mei dismounted first, her hand resting lightly on the hilt of her dagger. "I don't like this," she murmured. "It feels… wrong."

Xiao Lian nodded, his grip tightening on the Windblade. "It's waiting for us."

They moved forward, their steps muffled by the damp earth. As they entered the valley, the silence shifted—not broken, but filled with something new.

Whispers.

They came from all around, drifting through the air like forgotten echoes. Some were too faint to make out, others were clear, sharp as a blade.

"Turn back."

"The wind carries only death."

"The blood of the Aetherbound runs through you."

Xiao Lian froze. That last voice—it was different. It spoke directly to him.

Yun Mei shivered. "I swear, I just heard someone."

He met her gaze. "You did."

The valley was alive with voices of the past.

A sudden gust of wind rushed through, bringing with it a change in the air. The whispers stopped. The silence returned, but this time, it was not empty.

A presence had awakened.

From the depths of the valley, a glow appeared—pale blue, like moonlight on water. It flickered, then sharpened into a figure.

A man in flowing robes, his hair silver as starlight. His face was unreadable, his eyes deep as the endless sky.

Xiao Lian knew that face.

His heart pounded as realization struck.

Bai He.

His master.

His dead master.