I wasted no time going to Duke Lin's main hall, bursting into the room where Susu, Hua Lin, Bai Lin, and Elder Li were gathered.
"Yinuo," Susu said, smiling lightly as if I'd just woken from a long nap. "You're finally awake from your slumber. Come, we were just discussing a new clue."
A slumber. As if it hadn't been two years.
"We need to act now," I said, breathless. "The falls...Zhang Li...his sister's soul. He's trying to use the immortal's craft."
Bai Lin arched a brow, unimpressed. "You look drunk. Sit down first."
"I'm not," I snapped, raising the mirror. "I saw it. Through this. The mirror let me see the immortal's life. Zhang Li betrayed her. He's trying to recreate the craft for his sister's sake. We don't have time."
Bai Lin and Elder Li exchanged looks—flat, unreadable. Susu, at least, didn't dismiss me right away.
"What proof do you have?" she asked, her voice calm, maybe too calm.
"The falls. The mirror. His betrayal...it's all connected. The soul, the body, the ritual." My voice trembled but I kept going. "He's not just obsessed—he's ready to break the realms apart if it means saving her."
"You speak of Shen Li as if he's a threat," Bai Lin said, a short, disbelieving laugh in his voice. "We don't even know who that is. How are you so sure he exists at all?"
"Zhang Li," I corrected. "That's the name he used before—"
"Right," Hua Lin cut in, folding her arms. "Jiang Li. Someone no one in this world has met or heard of. Forgive me, Yinuo, but this sounds more like a fever dream than a threat."
The room felt colder. Smaller. Their doubt pressed in like fog.
I managed a tight smile. "For the last time, it's Zhang Li...not Shen, not Jiang." I exhaled, steadying myself. "But perhaps you're right to doubt me. Still, this mirror—this shows the truth. I won't ignore what I've seen." I placed it on the table, its surface gleaming, untouched. "I'm not asking for blind faith. I'm asking for help."
No one spoke. Their eyes flicked between one another, silent consensus brewing. I had seen this before.
The silence reminded me.
Six years ago. That same silence. That same heavy doubt.
Back then, I had stood before my sect's elders and told them what I saw: Elder Mo preserving a body in a secret altar, murmuring with another master about transferring a girl's soul. A demon's shell—a body meant to host something no human should touch.
They looked at me then the way they looked at me now.
Even Yueqing, who had beenthere and witnessed everything with me said nothing. Let me carry the blame alone.
I swallowed hard and turned to Elder Li.
"You remember, don't you?" I said. My voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the air. "Six years ago. I told the sect what Elder Mo was doing. I warned them."
Elder Li's gaze settled on me, long and unreadable.
"If I hadn't found that altar, Elder Mo would have completed the ritual. Instead, he became a great demon. All three sects had to unite to destroy. If I hadn't said anything, it would've been our sect that bore the shame of his crimes."
"Do you want t repeat history again, Elder Li?"
Still, Elder Li said nothing.
Then Bai Lin spoke up. "Elder Mo was punished. Master Xinyue exiled him for building that altar. There was no body. You know that."
Of course. That was what they chose to find.
Hua Lin motioned, and the door opened. Two disciples entered, dragging an iron cage. Inside, a water demon snarled and writhed, eyes wild, limbs bound by iron and talismans.
"This," Hua Lin said flatly, "was found near the falls. It fits the profile. Likely the one who disturbed the energies you 'sensed.' It'll be brought back to the sect for investigation."
I turned to Susu. Her expression was unreadable, but when I looked harder—really looked—she gave me a slight nod.
She didn't believe either. But she was playing along.
So I did the same.
That night, I wrote everything down. All that I know of that world.
Because if they refused to see the truth, then I would gather it alone.
We hurried back to the Jade Dragon Sect, the silence of our journey pressing heavy against my chest, broken only by the frantic beating of my heart. I didn't speak. I couldn't. Not until I felt the familiar cold of the sect grounds beneath my feet.
Once there, I found Lin Jian waiting in the courtyard, moonlight catching in the strands of his loose hair. His gaze snapped to mine the moment I appeared, sharp and searching. I didn't hesitate—I told him everything. The mirror, the two years I'd spent in that twisted world, the immortal's sorrow, Zhang Li's betrayal.
I told him everything… except the part where I fell in love with the version of him who stood at my side through it all. That truth...I kept buried. It would change everything, and right now, I couldn't afford change.
When I finished, Lin Jian didn't speak. He simply stood there, watching me like I might shatter.
"You believe me?" I asked softly, afraid to hear anything but yes.
His nod was slow but steady. "Mm...I do."
Relief crashed over me in waves. I hadn't realized how tightly I'd been holding myself until I nearly crumpled.
That night, he approached me again. I was standing by the koi pond when he said it, quiet and strange.
"Do you want to go somewhere? With me."
I turned to him, puzzled. "Like… a mission?"
"No," he said. "Like a date."
He led me up to the high branches of the sacred plum tree that overlooked the mountains. The sky was ink-black, scattered with trembling stars. Jasmine filled the air, and azure fireflies floated around us like spirits.
I sat beside him, legs swinging over the edge. "Why now?" I asked. "Why take me here?"
He didn't answer right away. His gaze lingered on the mirror in my lap, still faintly glowing.
"When Susu held it," I began, "nothing happened. But when I touched it… the world shifted. I thought it might be luck, but… maybe not."
"You think you're connected to the immortal?" he asked.
"I don't know. Maybe," I admitted. "Maybe there's something in me that calls to it. Or maybe it's just coincidence."
He was quiet for a long time, then whispered, almost to himself, "Turns out… it's really you."
I blinked. "What?"
But he didn't elaborate. His eyes were distant now, shadowed by thoughts I couldn't reach.
To cut the awkward tension, I pulled out a small, pale bud I'd picked from the Eternal Tree. It was dull under normal light, but here, in the moonlight, it pulsed faintly with life.
I infused a bit of qi into it, and it slowly bloomed in my hand. I didn't even think—just turned, placed it on his head.
"You were already wearing white," I said, trying to keep my voice light. "Might as well complete the look."
He blinked up at me, caught off guard.
I grinned, trying to hide how close everything felt to collapsing. "You look… annoyingly pretty."
He smiled faintly. "That's the first time you've said something like that."
I stood, brushing off my robes. "Don't let it get to your head."
I turned away.
Then, a sharp sensation. A burst of pain behind my eyes.
My knees gave way. The world spun. I gasped, one hand reaching out, grasping nothing.
"Lin..." I tried to say, but darkness surged up too fast, too strong.
And then I fell.
I woke with a jolt, the sounds of clashing swords ringing in my ears. I was locked inside a dark chamber, the window offering a terrifying view of our once-peaceful sect, now engulfed in chaos. The air was thick with the smell of blood and fear.
"No!" I screamed, tears stinging my eyes. "This can't be happening!"
I frantically searched for a way out, a way to help, to save my brothers and sisters. I managed to escape, throwing myself into the fray, swinging my sword in a desperate attempt to protect the young disciples. Seeing friends and mentors fall around me, their faces contorted in pain, was a nightmare I wouldn't soon forget.
"A-Jian!" I cried out, searching for my friend in the chaos.
But he was nowhere to be found. It all happened in a flash. Those I saved I brought into a secret hideout in our sect, a cave.
There we spent minutes...perhaps hours, even days. There was no sign of time. I lost a few juniors in my hand, they were bleeding so much, their lifeless faces terrified me. I saved some, while others died in their sleep. I felt weak, no one dared open the cave's door. No one dared say a word.
I saw a familiar figure in the distance, it was Lin Jian. Then it all went black...
That's what happened. That's how I found myself in this my original situation.
I woke up in an unfamiliar place. My eyes blindfolded, my arms in contact with tight, sharp chains wrapping around them, half of my body numbed soaked in cold water. My throat was dry, my stomach emptier than I was feeling, surrounding me with a foul smell of blood and dirt.
I couldn't utter a word. I can't even move...I couldn't breathe properly. I didn't know why I was here, nor why I was in a situation like this. Lin Jian was the last one I saw. What happened? Had I been caught? Who was it?
Thoughts raised in my mind. I composed myself, regulating my energy, trying to regain my strength.
It helped me move my fingers, move my lips, as I let out a raspy voice, "Is someone there?" it was barely audible, it sounded like I was deprived of water for years. There was only silence that replied. I repeated myself, "Someone? Please, I'm cold and thirsty." I lowered myself, completely giving up.
I have nothing. They all died, in front of me. I know I shouldn't give up, but my body is.
I sensed someone's presence in front of me, "I'm thirsty." I spoke. Water is more important right now. The person stood still in front of me, I felt its eyes piercing my weak body. "Buddy, I want water, alright? Please. " I repeated myself.
The person in front of me used his hands as a cup to hold the water he and I were standing on, the water in which my blood trickled down.
How disgusting. Utterly disgusting. "Here. Drink." a voice said. It was still water. I don't care anymore. I drank from the person's hand.
Gods was still showing kindness to me, the situation isn't totally hopeful. Totally. My family just died in front of me, it wasn't a big deal . Lin Jian just disappeared, it doesn't hurt me. I am just lightly injured, I'll heal. What a joke! Heaven is making me a joke! Rage and sorrow filled my heart at that moment, "Get lost! You, get lost!" as I paddled the water with my last ounce of strength, making the chains around me tighter, crushing my flesh.
I felt the person's eyes still locked, "It's okay. I'm good, what are you still staring at! Get lost! Get lost!" I screamed with my hoarse voice, until the person finally left. My eyes stung, thankfully the blindfold covering my eyes is soaking in my tears. My heart crumbled, finally pouring the pain out.
I just don't understand and I don't want to understand anymore. Master Xinyue, did he had a horrible death? Susu, if she was still alive, she won't be her lively self anymore, right? Those juniors that died in my hands just because I was incompetent, will they blame their senior sister? Those I saved, were they in the same situation as I am right now? How can their little bodies take this hellish torture? Lin Jian, if he survived, will he look for me?
It was all making me mad. I don't know what to do nor can I do anything. I went unconscious that night, and woke up to people carrying me. I didn't dare move, accepting what it was. I was put in a cold room...with grails? No, it was a cage. Yes, a cage. They were treating me as an animal, what do they want from me?