The morning arrived, birds nearby the mountain chirped, the cold dawn air embraced Yinuo as she woke up. She clutched her head, there was a sharp stinging feeling she can't explain. She felt like she forgot something ,"Whatever! I'm saving that moron first." she exclaimed, darting towards the direction of the Xin Kingdom. She had seen a totem that indicated their identities, swirls of black and white embedded in the horse of their shoes. She was certain it was the Yang Army.
The clan of the Yangs where men are born to be soldiers, and woman as healers; adept in poison medicine. A question is left, why did the Yang of Xin Kingdom attack General Su Ning? Were they already an ally of my brother? She disregarded the thought for a minute
She stood before the kingdom's towering gates, eyes narrowed at the guards stationed on either side. To enter, she needed a citizen's badge. A detail she hadn't accounted for.
"This won't do," she muttered under her breath, frustrated.
She glanced at the guards again, then turned away, heart already set on something darker. A heinous plan took shape. If she couldn't enter as herself—she'd become someone else. All she needed was a badge… and someone expendable.
She wandered down the path toward the outer settlement, shadows pooling in the creases of the alleyways. That was when she saw her.
A blind old woman, hunched and frail, carrying a carton of wilting vegetables. Strapped to her chest in a long sash was a small child, bundled in cloth—no, not a child. Not anymore. The stench hit her first. Then she saw the truth: the corpse was already decaying, parts of its flesh mottled, crawling with flies and maggots. The old woman cradled it with heartbreaking tenderness.
"Mad woman," she thought, both disgusted and unnerved. Not just by the rot, but by the refusal to let go.
She stepped forward, masking her face with indifference. "Give me your badge," she said coldly.
The old woman flinched. "Who... who's there? Please—my child—"
Without hesitation, she snatched the corpse from the woman's arms and held it to her side, blade unsheathed and aimed at the woman's chest.
"Take one more step," she warned, voice like ice, "and this child dies again."
The blind woman froze, the pain on her face immediate and raw. Her hands trembled as she fumbled through the bag at her side. "Please, don't hurt him… please…"
She found the badge. The moment her fingers closed around it, she sighed with relief.
At last.
With a flick, she pulled her sword back and healed the wound she'd made—small, just enough to scare. She led the old woman to a tree nearby and sat her down gently.
"You've been carrying a corpse," she said softly. "The child… he's long gone. May I bury him?"
The woman clutched at empty air. "No… no, Xiao Bao isn't dead. He's sleeping. He just needs warmth. Just needs to eat…"
Denial.
For a moment, she stood there, blade in hand, uncertain. She had seen death many times—caused it, escaped it, danced with it. But something about this woman's delusion cracked the numbness she'd built around her own grief.
Since her sect's massacre, death had haunted her steps. Yet she never stopped to think about it—not deeply. But now, watching this woman cling to the lifeless form of a child… the terror of death surged anew. The thought of living while everyone else dies. Of existing only to someday vanish.
She exhaled slowly, then crouched by the earth. With her qi, she broke off a piece of her sword's hilt and shaped it into clay, molding it with both magic and will. A doll emerged—small, imperfect, but alive in the way a puppet might be. It blinked, moved, turned its head with a tilt of curiosity.
She transformed the corpse into a stone necklace and hung it gently around the doll's neck.
The doll climbed into the old woman's lap and held her hand.
"There," she whispered. "He'll stay with you a while longer."
She didn't wait for thanks. Didn't want it. She turned, placed the badge on her robe, and walked toward the city.
The gates opened.
Once inside, her eyes scanned the bustling square, locking onto the execution platform. Men knelt, heads covered in coarse sacks, awaiting judgment. She peered closer.
"He's not here," she murmured.
Her eyes flicked to the side—there, a guard herding another group of prisoners toward the dungeon. She moved swiftly.
"Psst." Her voice was soft, teasing, baiting.
A smile etched her face, seemingly sweet and innocent catching one's attention. As the man approached her, she countered him in a swift move, leading him out of the crowd.
"Obey," she threatened him. The man in front of her nodded and kept his head down.
Su Ning and Shen Dao was in a dungeon, tied. Shen Dao still unconscious. Xiao Li was being interrogated about what lies beneath the Jade Falls. It was clear that the Xin Kingdom has also its eyes on the treasure the two sides is fighting for. They weren't planning on taking anybody's side, they had already decided to act their own.
"Don't make it difficult!" the interrogator in front of him yelled, touching the hot iron rod in his skin. Xiao Li refused clenching his fist, he was determined. "Xiao Li, Xiao Li, my men is currently investigating you.." a sinister smile playing on his lips. "You wouldn't want me to touch your loved ones, right?" he added, plunging the rod deeper in his skin, making him let out a bloody scream.
Just then someone as graceful as the wind knocked out the guards nearby with her tool, it was Yinuo. Her gaze met that of Su Ning, a curve forming in his lips "Why you?" he uttered.
"Why not me?" she annoyingly said, throwing the sword in his shoulders, cutting the rope, barely missing him by an inch. At one second he thought she would kill him personally. He adjusted his stiff arms, cracking his waist and neck for relief. Su Ning carried Shen Dao on his back, and Yinou guided Xiao Li to walk.
"Hurry," she said hurriedly. It was a temporary stall, just as they were exiting, the wall started to move, it was cornering them.
"Get behind me," Yinuo said, drawing out a sword, as she stepped forward a hand pulled her backward. "Too bad, I also like to be the hero." Su Ning said, coming in front of her.
"Alright then, you have to be careful." she said, accepting his heroicness. "You! I can't believe you...you're my right woman after all. You should fight with me!" he replied awkwardly. The tense environment around them seemed to momentarily rejoice to what they once had.
Man in white gathered around them, it was the same man they had encountered upon entering Xin's territory. Both sides exchanged moves, the swords clanged, blood splattered, and the air swooshed in their lightning-fast moves. They were slowly being cornered once again.
"Su Ning, I need you to run," Yinuo gasped, her voice ragged with exertion.
Su Ning reached for her, his hand hovering just above her shoulder. "You-"
"I need you to do as I say," she cut him off, her eyes blazing with urgency as she turned to face him. "One of us might live to tell the tale today."
A cold knot of fear tightened in Su Ning's chest. He knew she was right. Staying meant certain death. But Yinuo... she was vital to his plans. "Listen here you mother fucker, I'm not going anywhere without you so just stop wasting out time!" he yelled out.
She smirked, "You won't take the risk of dying. But I'm still important to your plans. Come back for me. I can stall them for a while." she said daringly.
With a desperate prayer, Su Ning made a dash for the nearest house. Bursting through the door, he found himself face to face with a terrified citizen. "Behave," he said, agitation lacing his voice. "I need you to get something for me."
The man, trembling, managed to scrounge up a pigeon and some parchment. Su Ning scribbled a message with trembling hands.
He released the pigeon, a silent messenger bearing his plea for aid. His mind raced, his heart pounding. He had to get to them, to find a way to save Yinuo. His plan needed her. He needed her.
Then, he remembered the three he'd rescued from the Jade Sect massacre. Susu, Li Yang and Zhang Li's right hand Bai Lin. Originally he had tried to kill Bai Lin, he must have knew all his master's schemes, making him involved in all of it, just to discover Bai Lin is working also to someday stop Zhang Li. He had seen through their facade, seen the potential for loyalty that simmered beneath their fear. He needed allies, and they needed a purpose. He would find them, offer them a chance to fight for something good, for a chance at redemption.
He would not abandon Yinuo. He would return, and together, they would face the darkness.