Flow-Sand Town woke earlier than usual.
Not because people were excited, but because fear had soaked into the morning air like cold dew. The Heavenfire Sect's shadow was not something a poor border town saw often, and when it did, it meant one of two things:
Opportunity.
Or misfortune.
For most of Flow-Sand, the arrival of recruiters meant a slim chance for glory. For Yunxiao, it meant being dragged into something he didn't ask for.
He stood quietly outside the ruined shrine, watching dust swirl in lazy circles. The star-furred creature perched on his shoulder, small enough to hide under his collar.
"Are you going?" it asked softly.
"I don't have a choice," Yunxiao murmured. "If I don't show up, they'll come looking."
"And if you do show up?"
Yunxiao laughed under his breath.
"They'll still come looking."
He walked toward the market square.
The notice posted yesterday had grown wrinkled from wind, but the order was clear: all marked youths must gather at the east road before sunrise.
He reached the meeting point early, hoping the crowd would be thin.
He was wrong.
Half the town was there.
And all eyes turned to him.
Whispers chased one another through the crowd.
"That's the broken boy…"
"Why is he here?"
"He'll fail immediately."
"Maybe he'll die during the test."
Guo Ren's gang stood near the front. When they saw Yunxiao, smiles crawled across their faces like worms.
"Look who came to entertain us," Guo Ren called loudly. "I thought your broken seal would explode last night."
His friends laughed.
"You're participating in the test, right? Good. We need someone to fill the quota."
"Yeah! Heavenfire wants numbers. Even trash counts as a body!"
"Maybe they'll use him to test poison!"
The crowd chuckled.
Yunxiao lowered his eyes.
He'd endured insults his whole life. But today, the words felt heavier — as if each one added a stone to the chain around his chest.
A Heavenfire scout in crimson armor approached to take attendance. He moved down the line, looking mostly bored.
When he reached Yunxiao, he stopped.
His gaze traveled from Yunxiao's face to his chest.
The scout opened his mouth—
But did not speak.
Instead, he frowned, looked Yunxiao up and down again, then wrote something on his board without comment.
That was worse than mockery.
It was dismissal.
Guo Ren elbowed his friends.
"See? Not even worth insulting."
But then something happened — subtle, unnoticed by the crowd.
The little creature under Yunxiao's collar trembled.
Its fur prickled.
Its eyes darkened.
The scout flinched.
For a moment — just a breath — the man's pupils shrank as if he'd glimpsed something cold behind Yunxiao.
But the moment passed.
He shook his head, muttered "illusion," and moved on.
Yunxiao exhaled slowly.
He didn't know what the scout saw.
He didn't want to know.
---
"Come on, trash. You're coming with us."
As the scouts prepared the caravan for the Outer Gate, Guo Ren and his friends rushed toward Yunxiao.
One grabbed his shoulder.
Hard.
"You walk with us," Guo Ren said.
"…Why?"
Guo Ren grinned maliciously.
"Because we need you to do something."
Yunxiao felt tension rise.
"What?"
Guo Ren whispered in his ear:
"We want to pass the first test. You'll help."
Yunxiao stiffened.
"I can barely pass myself. What could I—"
"You'll play the weak decoy," Guo Ren said. "When the examiners look down on you, we look better."
His friends nodded.
"And if the trial has danger, you go first."
"Yeah! Let the cursed one soak up the bad luck."
"Maybe the test kills you — perfect!"
Yunxiao clenched his jaw.
His hands trembled, not from anger, but from resignation.
He had no choice.
If he refused, they'd beat him.
If he accepted, he'd be humiliated.
Both were familiar.
"…Fine," he whispered.
Guo Ren smirked.
"Good dog."
They shoved him forward.
The caravan set off.
---
The Road to the Outer Gate
The path wound through broken dunes and brittle grass. Heavenfire banners fluttered at the front, bright red against the washed-out sky.
Children around Yunxiao whispered about cultivation, destiny, heroics — all the illusions young fools chase.
No one whispered to him.
He walked at the very back, herded by Guo Ren's gang like he was livestock.
When they neared the Outer Gate, Yunxiao felt the ground vibrate beneath his feet. Massive stone pillars rose from the earth, carved with fire patterns that spiraled upward.
The Outer Gate was not beautiful.
It was intimidating.
A furnace of stone and judgment.
Guo Ren shoved Yunxiao again.
"Stay behind us. When they call for the first group, you walk in front."
Yunxiao nodded mechanically.
His stomach knotted.
The star-furred creature leaned close, whispering:
"You don't need to do this."
Yunxiao smiled bitterly.
"I've been doing this my whole life."
The creature's small eyes shimmered like distant stars.
"…Then I will do it with you."
A small comfort.
A fragile one.
But Yunxiao felt less alone.
---
Arrival at the Examination Hall
The caravan halted at a wide courtyard filled with Heavenfire disciples, examiners, and glowing flame pillars.
Children stared in awe.
Yunxiao stared at the ground.
A group of examiners sat behind a stone table, looking at each youth like weighing livestock.
When Yunxiao's group stepped forward, one examiner raised an eyebrow.
"This one again?" he said, pointing his chin at Yunxiao.
"A broken-seal brat. Every year, small towns send us trash."
His fellow examiner snorted.
"Marks like his should be eliminated at birth."
Guo Ren puffed up proudly.
"Esteemed examiners! That boy is here to… observe. He is weak and cursed. We believe he should test first!"
The examiners grinned.
"Good. Weak ones make good entertainment."
Laughter followed, cruel and sharp.
Yunxiao's face remained expressionless.
Inside, something cracked.
Not anger.
Not defiance.
A quiet, painful acceptance.
Like someone who had been struck in the same place too many times.
---
The "Role" Assigned to Him
The lead examiner pointed at Yunxiao.
"You. You will demonstrate the Mirror-Heart premises first."
The crowd whispered.
"That's the deadliest one."
"He won't survive."
"Poor boy…"
"No, good — fewer mouths."
Guo Ren elbowed him.
"Go," he whispered. "If you die, you die. If you live, you make us look better."
Yunxiao stepped forward.
The courtyard felt colder.
The star-creature trembled under his collar.
He walked slowly toward the Mirror-Heart Hall — a black stone chamber lined with old mirrors.
The examiner shouted:
"Let the cursed boy begin!"
Laughter erupted.
Yunxiao didn't look back.
He didn't need to.
He knew exactly how they looked at him.
Trash.
Burden.
Tool.
Nothing new.
But as he crossed the threshold of the hall, the broken mark on his chest stirred.
Once.
Twice.
A faint, painful pulse.
And somewhere deep inside that pulse —
something old
and watching
and patient
opened one eye.
---