Yang Zhai had his orange lines activated, they were glowing quietly in his void. He stood silently as the boy hurried to the heavy stone door and knocked, shouting with urgency,
"Sister! Open the door! It's me, Wen Bo!"
Only a short while passed before the stone door cracked open, and a girl emerged. Her long hair was tied into a braid, yet it still flowed down to her waist like a dark river. Her nose was straight, slightly upturned, her eyes thin and almond-shaped, sharp yet gentle at once. She wore a simple lavender hanfu embroidered with delicate flower patterns that swayed lightly with her movements. On her feet were wooden slippers, plain but steady. Her skin was pale, soft and fair like porcelain. She looked to be in her early twenties, though her true age was unknown to Yang Zhai.
"Wen Bo, where did you go?! I told you not to leave without my permission!" The girl quickly wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him tightly, voice trembling with worry. Despite her angry tone, her face could not conceal her happiness that he was safe.
"Sister… wait, you're… choking me," the boy gasped, struggling for breath.
She quickly released him, flustered, then gripped him tightly by the arms.
"Tell me—where did you go?! I searched everywhere and couldn't find you."
"About that…" Wen Bo lowered his head. "I went with Father. He said he would help me become a cultivator. I don't know why, but I fainted, and when I woke up, I remembered what you told me—so I ran when I saw a wound on my body. I kept running until I ended up in the forest… then fainted again." He stopped, lifted his hand, and pointed at Yang Zhai. "He's the one I saw when I woke up."
At those words, the girl's expression tensed, worried. She hurriedly opened his robe, her eyes scanning his torso. Only when she found no wound did she finally breathe out a deep sigh of relief.
She shook him slightly, her voice sharp with anger. "Didn't I tell you never to leave this house without my permission?! Then why did you follow dad?!"
"I don't think you can blame the boy," Yang Zhai cut in, stepping forward. "Even if he refused, what could he do? He cannot resist a rank one cultivator, much less a rank four."
The girl raised her head slightly, her gaze locking on Yang Zhai. She stood up, instinctively moving Wen Bo behind her as she asked coldly,
"Who are you? I've never seen you on this island before."
"I am Yang Zhai, a cultivator," he replied calmly. "I stopped here temporarily to gather food. While hunting beasts, I met this boy. I noticed he was injured, so I healed him." His tone was composed, then he glanced at the boy once more before continuing, "By the way, there's something else I must tell you."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. She wanted to speak but held back, then turned to Wen Bo and said softly, "Go inside. I need to discuss something with Brother Yang."
The boy gave a small nod and went into the house.
She faced Yang Zhai again, her tone hesitant. "What do you want to say?" She didn't thank him, her words direct and forward, though in her heart she already anticipated what was coming. Still, a flicker of hope remained—that he might say something different.
"I think you've already guessed," Yang Zhai said with a grave look. "His lung was missing when I met him. I've healed the wound, but he must remain at home. There was also a cut across his abdomen, right where the kidney is, though the kidney was intact. The attacker likely aimed for it as well, but failed."
Her fists tightened, face twisting with suppressed rage.
"Those bastards! I'll kill every last one of you!" she whis, her teeth clenched.
Yang Zhai stood in silence, watching her fury burn.
She turned around, ready to storm off, but Yang Zhai's voice stopped her.
"Wait…"
She turned back, eyes narrowing.
"Thank you for helping Wen Bo," she said flatly, "but you should leave this island. This is not a place you should linger in." She gave a small bow in acknowledgment, then moved to leave again.
But Yang Zhai's hand shot out, grasping her wrist. She froze, startled, and tried to pull free, but could not. In that instant, Yang Zhai stopped all the orange lines, losing the strength provided by them, but then reactivated them in a second.
"What are you doing?!" she said coldly.
He let go of her wrist, falling silent in thought. I grabbed her to test her strength. If she were stronger, I could still handle her as it's still night. But her physical strength is far weaker than mine—she is not a threat.
Turning his gaze back to her, he began to speak with careful calculation.
"Think carefully before you act. If you left that village despite being a rank five cultivator, that means someone stronger than you resides there, someone you cannot face."
His eyes sharpened as his words grew heavier. "But they feared you enough to wait until you left before making their move. The wound on his abdomen proves they planned to take more. If you leave now, they may come for him again. And since they acted only when you weren't home, that means that person is not stronger than you—otherwise, they would have struck while you were still home without fear and wouldn't have waited for you to leave. Even so, your brother's lung was taken. That means whoever did it does not fear you."
"I guess it means only one thing: there is more than one person at work against you. One is stronger than you, while the other is not. So, if you go now and end up entangled with the stronger opponent, and the weaker one seizes that chance to come for your brother, what will you do?"
Though Yang Zhai already knew it was her father, he held back, choosing not to ignite her emotions further.
"Even if they are weaker, and you left the village for love or for another reason—ask yourself, do they truly fear you? If they did, they would have done everything to conceal the truth. By now, your brother would already be dead. So tell me—will you walk into that village and risk his life? Or, it might even be a trap, who knows."
His words trailed off, and he fell into silence, his thoughts churning. I cannot let her leave before I uncover this island's secrets. I must prepare for the unexpected. If things spiral out of control, I must escape quickly.
But leaving simply out of fear of the unknown, without even struggling? That would mean giving up on freedom. True freedom lies beyond what I know. I cannot let fear bind me. Perhaps the unknown hides something precious—something that will carry me forward on the path of freedom.
Or it might hold terror, even death. But that will depend on me—on my foresight, on how I struggle, on whether I stay two steps ahead. If I die, it will mean I wasn't meticulous enough, that I failed to fight for my path.
His resolve, unshaken. I should stay, observe, and gather enough food in the meantime before continuing my journey.
"Let's decide after I discover the truth of this island. The formation covering the entire land… it might prove useful."
His gaze, calm.
"It's easier to walk a path carved by another than to forge one yourself. But those without a guide—what takes them a hundred years, others finish in a single day. My path has no guide. I must carve it with my own hands. It's not a short one."
!|!*****!*****!|!