The Unwanted Guest
The incident during the night training session left an unhealable fracture in the tentative alliance. Mo Qing was unforgiving. His loyalty to the Academy and the Human Realm was absolute, and Bai Long's Shadow Clan blood was a catastrophic threat in his eyes.
"You must leave, Bai Long," Mo Qing stated flatly the next morning, his jaw set in a hard line. "Your presence here is a beacon for disaster. We cannot risk the Shadow Clan finding that kind of power inside our walls."
Before Bai Long could respond—before he could argue that he was trying to control the bloodline, not wield it—the doors to the training hall opened and Commander Sheng Hai (盛海) of the Imperial Guard strode in, his armor gleaming and his gaze sharp.
Sheng Hai approached Bai Long directly, his expression a calculated mix of suspicion and veiled challenge. He had clearly been informed of the strange power displayed the previous night.
"The Academy welcomes talent, but we do not harbor instability," Sheng Hai's voice was low and menacing. "I am suspicious of your origins, boy. But I am not here to execute you."
He offered a cruel proposition: a mission that was clearly a test of loyalty—or a veiled assassination attempt.
"We have detected strong Shadow Clan espionage activity near the northern border, specifically within the treacherous Demon Canyon," Sheng Hai explained, his eyes fixed on Bai Long. "You will go there. Clean out the spies. If you succeed, you prove your loyalty to the Human Throne. If you fail, or if you refuse, your true allegiance is confirmed, and you will be treated as a traitor."
The mission was a death sentence disguised as a task, designed to either eliminate Bai Long or expose him fully. Bai Long, realizing this was the only way to earn time and prove the purity of his intentions—or at least, the purity of his purpose—accepted without a moment's hesitation.
The Vow of the Monitors
Once Sheng Hai departed, a heavy silence descended. Mo Qing looked conflicted, but his earlier certainty remained.
"He's sending you to your death," Mo Qing muttered. "This confirms everything."
Xiao Ru stepped forward, placing a hand gently on Mo Qing's armored arm. She looked Bai Long in the eyes, her expression soft but resolute.
"We do not trust the darkness within him," Xiao Ru spoke firmly. "But we trust the human Qì he used to save my life. We trust the look in his eyes when he nearly lost control—he was terrified of it, Mo Qing. He is fighting a war within himself."
She turned to her companions. "We go with him. Not as friends, not yet. We go as monitors. If he steps out of line, we bring him back or stop him ourselves. But if he is innocent, he needs our strength."
Zhu Yi nodded instantly, her loyalty to Xiao Ru and her own inherent kindness overriding her fear of the Shadow Clan power. Mo Qing wrestled with his inner turmoil for a long moment, then reluctantly agreed. The promise of justice, and the need to truly understand the threat, outweighed his caution.
And so, the strange quartet—the hunted hybrid, the skeptical guardian, the empathetic healer, and the pragmatic spirit master—began the journey north.
The Bridge
The long journey to the Demon Canyon was marked by tense silence and shared discomfort. Bai Long tried to keep his distance, sensing the deep scrutiny from Mo Qing.
One night, finding solace only in Xiao Ru's presence, Bai Long confessed the rest of his lineage: his father, Li Jin, was indeed the former Crown Prince, and his mother was a Shadow Clan royal. He spoke of his father's love and his mother's sacrifice.
"My father was framed and murdered by his own brother, the current Emperor Zhang," Bai Long admitted, his voice low and raw. "The Emperor used fear of my mother's people to seize the throne. I don't care about the crown, Xiao Ru. I only care about the truth."
That same night, a strange sensation pulled him awake. His hand automatically went to the Blood Flower Ring his mother had left him. It pulsed, not with malice, but with a vibrant, familiar warmth. As he focused on it, a single, clear image flashed through his mind, a memory fragment:
His Shadow Clan mother, looking lovingly at his human father.
"The child," her voice echoed in his memory, soft yet resonant, "is the bridge between our two worlds."
He now understood his purpose, a goal far greater than mere survival.
When they finally reached the desolate and perilous Demon Canyon, they found the Shadow Clan spies where Sheng Hai had predicted. Two powerful Shadow Clan warriors were not simply lurking—they were actively working to destabilize an ancient, glowing energy barrier, aiming to tear open a permanent rift between the Human Realm and the Shadow Clan Continent.
The confrontation was inevitable, and it was about to begin.