"What the hell is this?" Jia Wei Xin squinted at the faded parchment laid out on Zhang Tian's table. "It looks like a chicken stepped in ink and tap-danced across the page."
Zhang Tian grinned proudly. "That's demon sect calligraphy. Elegant, ancient, deadly."
"It's illegible."
Liu Mo Fei sipped his tea, unbothered. "That explains your sect's reputation. Illegible scrolls, illegible morals."
"I saved your life, Liu Mo Fei!"
"You also gave me a rash," he said dryly, pointing to the side of his neck. "Demon poison's after-effects. Charming."
Both stared at each other for a brief second, the memory of that morning flashing like a shared trauma.
---
Earlier, just before sunrise, Liu Mo Fei and Zhang Tian had both woken up. At the same time. On the floor. In a tangle of limbs and robes and a pile of discarded blankets. Zhang Tian's leg was flung over Liu Mo Fei's waist; Liu Mo Fei's arm was wrapped tightly around Zhang Tian's hip like it was a prized relic. Worse still, Zhang Tian was clutching Liu Mo Fei's leg with an expression that could only be described as blissful.
It was very clear that in their drunken stupor the night before, both men had been dreaming of holding Jia Wei Xin.
Their eyes met in frozen horror.
They jolted apart like struck by lightning, scrambling backward in complete synchronization.
Zhang Tian checked his limbs like he'd been violated. "Whose leg was I—?"
Liu Mo Fei didn't answer. He was already disinfecting himself with a qi cleansing technique.
They looked around. Jia Wei Xin was nowhere in sight. Perhaps—hopefully—she hadn't seen anything.
"No one is to mention this to others," Zhang Tian said first, voice firm.
"No one can EVER mention this," Liu Mo Fei agreed grimly.
Both nodded. "Deal," they said in unison.
---
Now, seated in Zhang Tian's private study—if "study" meant a scroll-infested den with enough artifacts to trigger ten security alarms back in JWX's modern world—they both worked very hard to pretend none of that had ever happened.
Jia Wei Xin leaned closer to the scroll, ignoring their awkward silence. "This symbol… I've seen it before."
Zhang Tian raised a brow. "Where?"
She held up her wrist. The sigil there pulsed again—stronger now, as if sensing proximity. "Wait. The light isn't pointing at the scroll sign. It's pointing behind it."
Liu Mo Fei stood instantly, voice calm but tight. "There's a hidden layer."
Jia Wei Xin pressed her palm forward. A ripple passed through the sign—and behind it, a second map appeared. Older. Cruder. But unmistakably real.
Zhang Tian whistled. "That's not just any map. That's a Timewalker coordinate grid. They used those in the ancient wars. Only bloodline users could even see them."
She swallowed. "So only I… could've revealed this."
Liu Mo Fei stepped closer, brushing her shoulder. His voice was soft, low. "You're unlocking things no one's touched in centuries. But that also means... others will come."
Jia Wei Xin nodded, gaze hard. "Let them."
---
A little earlier, before they found her in the study room, Jia Wei Xin had called them there—told them she needed to show them something. That it was time to reveal what the dream had truly meant.
"The dream… it was about my lineage," Jia Wei Xin began, her voice low, serious. She recounted the Grand Elder's accusation, the turning of the crowd. She omitted the part about the betrayal of Liu Mo Fei and Zhang Tian. "It felt like a warning. That my Celestial Xaen bloodline could turn the entire cultivation world against me. And against anyone who stands with me."
"The Shard of Xaen," Jia Wei Xin said, tapping the map. "The tablet said I must recover it. Without it, my power—and my enemies—will consume me. And the prophecy mentions the 'Gate of the Beyond' opening, and the 'Forgotten' rising."
Liu Mo Fei's expression grew grim. "The Forgotten are a dark legend. Cultivators so twisted by forbidden arts they became neither human nor demon. Sealed away in another realm. If they are rising, the stakes are far higher than just your lineage. It means someone is actively trying to destabilize the entire cultivation world."
"And the Shard of Xaen is likely the key to either stopping them, or empowering them," Zhang Tian added, his usual flippancy gone. "Or both. The sigil on your wrist… it's a pointer, a guide to the Shard. It's leading us to the heart of the Ruins."
"Then we go," Jia Wei Xin declared, her voice firm. "Now. Before that gate opens any further."
---
The clue led them toward a floating mountain range in the far east—The Skysteel Peaks. The name itself sounded like something out of a fairytale, but there was nothing dreamy about it. These jagged, floating monoliths pierced the sky like celestial fangs, veiled in ever-shifting clouds and pulsing with unstable qi. According to fragmented legends, only those chosen by fate—or cursed by it—could set foot on the Peaks without losing their minds.
Which, honestly, explained Zhang Tian's enthusiasm.
They flew in on Zhang Tian's oversized spirit hawk, a beast with questionable grooming habits and zero respect for personal space. Liu Mo Fei sat in front, reading aloud from the ancient scroll like it was a flight manual. "We'll have to cross the Cloud Maw, then pass the Gate of Breaths, and finally survive the Trial of Echoes."
"That sounds made up," Zhang Tian muttered from the back, though a thrill of challenge sparked in his eyes.
"Then you'll enjoy it," Liu Mo Fei countered, a dry smirk playing on his lips.
They landed just as dusk spilled across the mountaintops. The Peaks loomed above them like fractured halos, lit faintly by starlight and something deeper—older. The air was thin. The energy charged.
"We camp," Liu Mo Fei announced, already eyeing a flat ledge nearby.
"We can move at night," Zhang Tian offered, fishing out a faintly glowing orb from his robes. "I have a Night-Sight Treasure. Illuminates everything within a mile—makes shadows jealous."
He looked far too proud of it, which only earned a withering look from the sect leader.
Jia Wei Xin, unfazed, spread the glowing map across a nearby rock. "We rest. At dawn, we move."
That shut them both up. They watched her in a rare moment of unified silence.
Zhang Tian leaned over to Liu Mo Fei and whispered, "She's hot when she's bossy."
"She's hot when she's breathing."
Zhang Tian glared. "Stop copying my lines."
"Improve yours."