Her features began to take shape, little by little… the features of a woman—no, rather, those of a young girl.
Her appearance wove itself together with a slow, solemn grace, like a painting forming before their eyes through unseen strokes. A face so smooth it seemed never to have been touched, skin pure and pale, glowing with a faint radiance like moonlight upon still water. Her eyes… were not yet fully defined, yet their glimmer alone was enough to make any onlooker feel they stood before something beyond the bounds of humanity.
Her hair flowed behind her, long and silky, a pristine white, swaying with the wind as though it were part of the mist itself—unbound by gravity, untouched by the weight of reality. Each strand moved with a quiet fluidity, as if carrying an ancient secret it would never reveal.
The siblings' eyes remained fixed on the scene, unblinking, as though they had fallen into a strange dream the mind could not comprehend. What they were witnessing was not merely something unusual… it was closer to a fantasy made manifest before them.
Gradually, her form was completed. Her body took shape with astonishing elegance, every line perfectly balanced, as if crafted with a precision beyond nature itself. She stood—or rather, floated—around Qing Han, her arms wrapped around him in a strange embrace, a blend of protection and dominance, as though she possessed him… or guarded him from the entire world.
At last, the image was complete.
A girl of incomparable beauty, a beauty that bordered on the inhuman, as though she had emerged from a forgotten legend or a fantasy tale with no place in reality. And yet, she was there… present, tangible, filling the space with a silent majesty.
The sight was breathtaking… and terrifying at once.
Qing Han's body hung motionless in the air, while the girl held him in that peculiar embrace—one that carried something deeper than mere closeness, something mysterious, incomprehensible, sending chills through the soul.
In that moment, it was not fear alone that seized them… but something heavier—a sense that they were witnessing the beginning of something after which nothing would ever be the same.
The girl raised her gaze toward them. It was not a fleeting look, nor merely one of anger—it was a terrifying blend of restrained fury and a deeper compassion, directed entirely at Qing Han in her arms. In her eyes lay a promise of punishment… and a strange tenderness unfitting for such a scene.
Slowly, with solemn gravity, her hand began to rise. It was not a natural motion, but one so slow it inspired dread, as though time itself parted to allow it. Her hand lifted until it extended toward the siblings… and toward the house behind them.
In that instant, everything changed. The air around her trembled—not like a breeze or wind, but like a hidden distortion, as if the very fabric of the world had begun to waver. The atmosphere grew charged, heavy, almost humming with a faint sound—something no simple human mind could grasp or comprehend.
In the sky, masses of clouds began to gather, drawn toward a single point, growing denser and darker with each passing moment, as though responding to a hidden will emanating from that girl. Everything foretold the coming of something catastrophic—something this mortal world, nor any within it, could endure.
A faint light formed around her hand, then gradually intensified until it became a concentrated beam pulsing with suffocating energy, as though it held the power to erase everything before it in a single instant. And she would have done it. Just one moment more… and disaster would have struck, but—
"Enough… Lianshu."
A resounding voice split the air from behind her—deep, heavy, carrying within it ancient wisdom and an unquestionable authority. The girl—now revealed to be named Lianshu—halted in place, as though the voice had bound her without touching her. The air around her trembled for a moment longer before gradually settling, as though the storm itself had been forced into submission.
She turned slowly. There was… a tear in space.
A dark rift, as though the fabric of the world had been forcibly split open, faint threads of fractured light dancing along its edges—like a gateway that did not belong to this place. And from within that tear, an old man stood.
He was tall and slender, yet bore no trace of weakness. He wore dark black garments that flowed around him with quiet majesty, as though they were part of the shadows themselves. His face was etched with deep wrinkles—not of frailty, but of a long history of power and experience. His eyes… deep and steady, as though they had seen enough of the world to lose all surprise, yet never their control. He stood with pride, his hands clasped behind his back, embodying both dignity and authority. He did not move, nor did he need to—his mere presence was enough to impose a heavy silence upon the space.
His voice echoed once more, calm, yet bearing an irresistible weight:
"You leave the territory of the Gu family without permission… and now I find you embracing a mortal body, on the verge of causing a disturbance in the lower realms?"
He paused, his gaze shifting to Qing Han suspended in her arms, then returned it to her.
"You will have to provide an appropriate explanation to the young master, Gu Changge, upon your return."
Lianshu's expression barely changed. She looked at him calmly, though a faint flicker of irritation gleamed in her eyes—something closer to displeasure than anger.
"Old Ming…"
His name left her lips without reverence, as though she saw nothing in him that demanded submission.
"Were you following me?"
She tilted her head slightly, while Qing Han's body remained still within her embrace.
"Stay out of this matter. It has nothing to do with you… nor with what I am doing."
She paused for a moment, then added in a confident tone, laced with coldness:
"As for the young master… I know how to explain it to him."
Lianshu finally turned, as though a heavy decision had settled deep within her. She did not resist… she yielded, but her yielding was not weakness—it was a calm that precedes something greater. She continued to hold Qing Han in her arms, his body still, as if he had long since ceased to belong to this world.
Space split open once more. This time, it was not a violent tear, but a silent opening, as though reality itself bent before her. A dark gate appeared, its edges rippling with faint strands of dim light, beckoning her to pass through.
Lianshu stepped forward.
Her steps were calm, composed, carrying an undeniable presence. With each step, the air grew stiller, as though the world itself watched her departure in heavy silence. She did not look back, nor did she hesitate—she entered the gate as if returning to a place she had always belonged. And the moment the darkness swallowed her… everything vanished. The gate closed as though it had never been, and that strange weight withdrew from the space all at once, leaving behind a suffocating stillness… and a world drowned in indescribable shock.
The rain resumed falling alone. Sound returned. Reality returned… but it was no longer the same.
The siblings remained where they stood, unable even to move, as though what they had witnessed had stripped them of the ability to comprehend—or even to doubt.
As for Old Ming, he lingered for a moment longer at the edge of the rift. He exhaled slowly, a deep breath that carried a hint of weariness… or perhaps concern. He cast one final glance at the place—a glance whose meaning could not be read—then turned calmly.
He stepped back. The gate from which he had come swallowed him, as though he had never been there at all. The void closed once more.
As if… nothing had ever happened.
Everything vanished. As though the scene had been erased from existence, the light faded, that strange presence was extinguished, and Qing Han disappeared… without a trace. Nothing remained but the courtyard—just as it was. Quiet… with a terrifying stillness.
The rain poured heavily, striking the earth without mercy, while thunder tore through the sky from time to time, its sound ripping through space like a distant scream. The air was cold, heavy, as though what had happened moments ago had been nothing but a collective illusion… or a nightmare no one had yet dared to awaken from.
The siblings stood in place, unmoving, silent. Their eyes remained fixed on the emptiness where their brother had once stood… as if waiting for him to return, or for this false silence to collapse and reveal the truth.
But… nothing returned.
Elsewhere… in a place that did not belong to this world.
The sky there bore a strange color—a deep violet fading into an abyssal black, streaked with cracks of light as though remnants of ancient battles had torn the heavens themselves apart. Mountains floated in the air, massive الصخور drifting without support, surrounded by shifting halos of energy, while rivers of dim light flowed through the void, like the lifeblood of a living world.
On the horizon rose towering palaces, not built of stone alone, but of layered, enigmatic formations—black metals intertwined with transparent crystals that radiated a terrifying energy. Ancient inscriptions покрыли their walls, occasionally glowing as though they were breathing.
This was a world ruled by power. A world where the weak had no place.
Inside one of those palaces… a vast hall stretched out, its ceiling so high it could not be seen. Crystalline formations hung above, casting a faint glow that danced across a polished floor like a black mirror. The furnishings were luxurious, yet strange—chairs carved from unknown materials, tables bearing engravings that moved slowly, curtains that flowed like smoke despite the still air. Everything there… was unlike the world we know.
And in the depths of that hall, there was a shadow.
The shadow of a girl. Walking calmly.
Her steps were light, yet their echo resonated through the space, as though the hall itself were listening to her. Her features were not clearly visible, but her presence… was not unfamiliar.
It was her. Lianshu.
She moved forward with confident steps, while in her arms Qing Han still rested, lost in unconsciousness, as though he had crossed from one world to another without ever realizing it.
She stopped.