In the days that followed, talk of the duel spread through the sect faster than either combatant could have anticipated, especially the events of that final day.
Mo Xuan, however, remained unaware of any of it, still unconscious in bed with a medicinal incense burner lit beside him, its slow curl of smoke doing what little it could to ease the strain his body had taken.
Given how far the incident had escalated — enough to draw the Sect Master himself into the arena — Elder Kui had decided it was in his own best interests to cover Mo Xuan's medical expenses personally. He was fairly certain that if the Sect Master had shown up in person, Han Long would have been close behind — and the last thing he wanted was that particular conversation. So, to head off any trouble before it found him, Elder Kui did everything within his power to nurse Mo Xuan back to full health as quickly as possible.
While Mo Xuan remained unconscious, Jin Bao was still busy counting the profits from three days' worth of collected entry fees when a thought suddenly derailed his celebration.
What, exactly, had made so many people so eager to challenge Mo Xuan in the first place?
His first guess was simple curiosity about the prize money, but even as he started settling on that answer, he found himself shaking his head. No — there was something before that.
Then he remembered the rumours.
Mo Xuan. The cloaked twins. A fight at the Sword Cliff.
The pieces clicked into place all at once, and Jin Bao slapped his own thigh hard enough to make a sharp crack echo through the room. "Of course! They must be hiding something! How dare they hide things from this young master!"
With no unconscious Mo Xuan available for interrogation, he stormed off immediately to track down the twins instead.
The twins were quietly discussing their next move in a courtyard when Jin Bao burst in like a peal of rolling thunder. "I want in!"
The twins stared at him, entirely speechless.
Yu Lianxue folded her arms. "In... in on what?"
Jin Bao pressed on without missing a beat. "You two sparred with my brother Mo Xuan, right? I know that wasn't just some casual sparring match. Whatever you're planning, I want to participate too." He spread his arms with great drama. "I have funds! I am practically a walking treasure vault!"
Yu Lianyan blinked, genuinely stunned. "...Well..."
Jin Bao wasn't finished. "Don't worry, I won't drag anyone down. And — and! Mo Xuan is really my brother!" He made sure to emphasise the word brother, nodding so vigorously that he nearly worked himself to tears. "Fate-bonded brothers! Life-and-death brothers! Wealth-sharing brothers!"
The twins fell into a long, stunned silence.
He kept rambling for a while after that, listing off enough resources to fund a mid-sized sect on his own. Finally, Yu Lianxue let out a quiet sigh. "He really does make a compelling case..."
Yu Lianyan pinched the bridge of her nose.
Jin Bao pressed his hands together. "Please."
Yu Lianyan finally threw her hands up. "Fine! But if you leak anything about this to anyone, we'll both castrate you!"
At the word castrate, Jin Bao visibly shivered, both hands flying protectively between his legs before he snapped into a salute so fast his hand blurred. "Yes, ma'am!"
And just like that, he'd joined the group.
The days that followed settled into preparation.
While Mo Xuan recovered beneath Elder Kui's care, the others quietly gathered supplies, mapped their route, and finalised everything needed for the journey.
By the eve of the third month, Mo Xuan finally woke. The first face he saw when his eyes opened was his father's, watching over him with quiet relief.
The next morning, all four of them reunited at the Sword Cliff. Mo Xuan arrived first, and Yu Lianyan and Yu Lianxue followed soon after, their auras calm, focused, and clearly ready for whatever the road ahead demanded of them.
A moment later, an elegant figure ascended the stone steps at a leisurely pace, a scattering of talismans shielding him from the pressing weight of the Sword Cliff's lingering intent.
It was a remarkably refined entrance—for exactly six more steps.
Right up until he reached the top.
The instant his foot touched the last step, his expression twisted violently. Sweat beaded down his forehead, his breathing turned ragged, and his whole body trembled as though some invisible hand had reached directly into his chest and squeezed. With great effort, he forced the words out anyway.
"I'm... not late, right?!"
Mo Xuan blinked, baffled. "...Jin Bao?"
Jin Bao, still shaking from head to toe, weakly lifted one arm in greeting. "Brother Mo!"
Mo Xuan stared at him in silence for a long moment, then slowly turned to look at the twin sisters, his expression filled with unspoken questions.
Yu Lianyan let out a long sigh. "He volunteered."
Yu Lianxue said nothing at all.
Jin Bao puffed his chest out with visible pride. "I'm very reliable!" He waved his hand dramatically through the air, making sure Mo Xuan couldn't possibly miss the new storage ring gleaming on his finger.
Mo Xuan glanced at it, took note, and said nothing.
When no reaction came, Jin Bao deflated slightly, his shoulders slumping.
Yu Lianyan snapped, "Useful."
Jin Bao squeaked and immediately ducked behind a nearby rock. "Right, right... u-useful..." He stressed the word carefully, as though terrified it might earn him another scolding if he got the emphasis wrong.
Yu Lianxue cleared her throat, reclaiming the moment, and turned to Mo Xuan. "We agreed to bring him along, Xuan'er."
Jin Bao's head poked back out from behind the rock the instant he caught the name she'd used. His eyes bounced rapidly between Mo Xuan and the twins, his mind clearly racing through several conclusions at once. He opened his mouth to say something — but before a single word could escape, both sisters turned to stare at him, their eyes sharp enough to cut stone.
He froze instantly. "...Never mind. Forget I exist..." He ducked back down out of sight without further argument.
Mo Xuan rubbed his forehead. Moments later, Jin Bao had crept up close beside him, whispering as though afraid of drawing any more attention to himself. "Brother Mo... just being here for ten minutes feels like I'm losing ten years off my life."
"We should leave," Mo Xuan said.
Before stepping beyond the sect's protective borders, they went to the Enforcement Hall to formalise their departure. An elder sat behind a desk bearing a plaque that read Departure Registry Division Head. He looked them over with stern, appraising eyes.
"Destination?"
Yu Lianxue answered calmly. "Training outside the sect. Several months."
"Registered group size?"
"Four."
The elder stamped their jade slips one by one, then handed each of them a departure token imbued with a faint, steady spiritual light. "Proceed."
Thunk.
The elder stamped the final jade slip before adding in the same tone, "And remember — if you do not return after one year, you're marked missing." He recited it with the flat, practised tone.
Yu Lianyan smirked at the delivery. The elder raised an eyebrow at her but otherwise let it pass without comment.
The four of them cupped their hands respectfully, then turned and walked out of the Sword Sect together, step by step, toward whatever unknown realm waited for them beyond its borders.
Morning mist still clung to the lower valleys as they descended, and birdsong gradually replaced the heavy silence that always seemed to hang over Sword Cliff. Before long, the towering gates of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect came into view — a massive stone archway carved with ancient runes that shimmered faintly with protective power, marking the last boundary between the sect and everything beyond it. Past the archway, the path descended into forests, valleys, and the wider world stretching out ahead of them.
Two outer disciples stood guard at the gate, and they recognised the silver Inner Court tokens immediately. "Senior Brothers. Senior Sisters," one of them said, bowing respectfully. Inner Court disciples carried considerable freedom within the sect — as long as they didn't violate any regulations, temporary departures like this required very little explanation or justification.
The heavy gates ground open. The four crossed the threshold together. Mo Xuan glanced back once at the Azure Cloud Sword Sect standing proudly behind them before facing the wilderness ahead.
Yu Lianyan stretched both arms overhead. "Finally."
Jin Bao paused right at the threshold, staring out at the world beyond the sect. "...So this is it," he whispered. "The beginning of the journey where we spread our names far and wide..."
Yu Lianyan glanced back at him dryly. "Or where we get robbed by bandits, or end up running from spirit beasts."
Jin Bao froze mid-step. "...Can... can we go back?"
Mo Xuan calmly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him forward regardless. "We're leaving."
"Gah—! Brother Xuan! Gentle! Gentle—!"
Lianxue unfolded a map without acknowledging either of them. "Our destination is northwest. We'll need to cross a forest valley before we can reach the teleportation node."
The group travelled swiftly along the mountain path, heading north. The trail coiled ahead of them like a great serpent, winding deeper into increasingly wild terrain with every mile. The trees grew thicker the further they went, their branches interlacing overhead to form a vaulted canopy that swallowed most of the daylight, reducing the world around them to shadows tinted with a dim, moss-green gloom. This was Tier 3 to Tier 4 Spirit Beast territory — a forest valley roughly two hundred kilometres north of the Sword Sect, and one they'd need to cross entirely on foot before reaching anywhere resembling civilisation again.
They'd barely been walking an hour before the forest around them stirred.
Rustle—