Location: Skyshade Hollow – Temporary Sanctuary
Nestled in a hidden ravine far from the celestial sects,
Skyshade Hollow shimmered with concealed enchantments. Spiritual fog blocked
divine senses, and no sect dared claim it. It was once the retreat of ancient
beast clans—now long vanished.
It was here that Qin Huaian, Qin Xiaoxiao, Song Yueru, and
their newest companion, Mu Yinyin, rested following the clash with Jiang
Mozhen.
The group had barely spoken since their return.
The fire crackled quietly in the stone pavilion, casting
shadows on everyone's face.
Yinyin sat curled beneath a heavy cloak, watching the flames
with unblinking eyes.
Finally, she spoke.
> "You all want to save the world…"
She looked directly at Huaian.
> "…but in every future I see, you die first."
---
🕯️ The Vision of the Ninth Winter
The air thickened. Her voice became hollow, like a wind
echoing through time.
> "In one future, your own Void Flame consumes you."
"In another, Xiaoxiao watches you fall to protect her."
"In the worst… you become like Mozhen. The Void Reaper. A
God-Slayer with no heart."
The group went silent.
Even Xiaoxiao's fingers clenched unconsciously.
Yueru stood and crossed her arms.
> "So what do we do? If all roads lead to death, do we
stop walking?"
Yinyin shook her head slowly.
> "No. There's one vision where you don't fall. But to
find that path…"
She raised her eyes.
> "You must find the Key of the North."
---
🧊 Clue of the Northern Key
She opened a cracked scroll—an ancient prophecy etched in
time-based spirit ink.
It showed a creature bound in ice, not entirely human. One
red eye. One golden horn.
> "This Key was born not of blood, but of ruin," Yinyin
whispered.
"It sleeps beneath the Frozen Abyss, inside the tomb of the
Storm Serpent God."
"If awakened, it can bend fate like I bend time."
Yueru's brow furrowed.
> "A Key that's not human?"
Huaian replied quietly, "Not all destiny is made of flesh."
---
💬 Private Talk: Huaian and Xiaoxiao
That night, as the others rested, Huaian sat alone at the
cliff's edge. Xiaoxiao approached, her blades finally at her side.
> "You heard the kid," she said. "You're fated to die."
Huaian didn't respond at first.
Then:
> "She sees futures. Not choices."
> "Are you afraid?"
He looked at her.
> "Yes. But I'm more afraid of leaving this world broken…
than I am of dying."
Xiaoxiao sat beside him. The moonlight made her eyes look
like silver flame.
> "If your story ends, I'll rewrite it. You don't die
unless I say so."
They sat quietly, shoulder to shoulder, looking toward the
northern stars.
---
🌌 The Next Move
By morning, the decision was made.
> Mu Yinyin would stay under warded protection with Song Yueru.
Qin Huaian and Qin Xiaoxiao would travel north to find the
Frozen Abyss Key.
They would cross the Glacier Spine Range, into uncharted
lands untouched by cultivation sects.
Before leaving, Yinyin gifted Huaian a Time Thread Token.
> "If you're about to die," she said, "this might give
you one second more."
He smiled.
> "Sometimes, one second is everything."