The snow fell thicker that night, turning the mountain pass into a pale, muffled world. Mo Lianyin had chosen a sheltered hollow near a jut of black rock to camp. The fire's light barely reached the cliff face, where ice clung like a second skin.
Qingxue sat opposite him, her hands cupped around a steaming bowl of broth. She still felt the phantom weight of the Moon-Silencing Seal inside her robe, but tonight her unease was different.
Because they were not alone.
---
The feeling had started hours earlier, a prickling at the base of her neck, the sense of eyes following from the treeline. Lianyin must have sensed it too—he hadn't spoken once since they'd set camp, his attention fixed beyond the fire.
The first sign came as a shadow moving against the snow's natural rhythm.
The second was the whisper of boots on ice.
---
A man emerged from the darkness, tall and broad-shouldered, wrapped in a black cloak slick with frost. His hair was bound in a warrior's knot, his eyes sharp and dark as obsidian.
"Mo Lianyin," he said, his voice deep and resonant. "It's been a long time."
Lianyin rose slowly, his sword still sheathed. "Blackwater Duan. I thought you were dead."
Duan smiled faintly. "You almost made me. But I owe you my life… and a debt of blood."
---
Qingxue studied him. The man radiated strength, but it was the subtle flicker of shadow along his hands that caught her attention—a trace of the same corruption they'd seen in the bandits, though more controlled. His presence was dangerous, his aura thick with restrained violence.
"What do you want?" Lianyin asked.
Duan's eyes flicked toward Qingxue. "The same thing you do. The Forbidden Arts."
---
Qingxue stiffened.
If Duan knew about the Forbidden Arts, then he was either an old ally… or the most dangerous kind of enemy.
Lianyin's expression didn't change. "The Arts aren't given. They're taken. And you aren't strong enough."
Duan chuckled. "Not yet. But you've already awakened four. And I hear the Fifth is within your grasp." His smile sharpened. "Help me find it, and I'll help you kill the one who sealed your heart."
---
Qingxue froze. Sealed his heart? The words clawed at her mind, begging for questions she didn't dare ask.
Lianyin's jaw tightened. "Leave."
For a heartbeat, Duan didn't move. Then, with a shrug, he stepped back into the shadows. But his voice lingered in the cold air:
"You can't fight what's coming alone, Mo Lianyin. When you're ready, Blackwater will find you."
---
The darkness swallowed him, leaving only the hiss of the wind.
Qingxue stared at Lianyin across the fire. "Who is he?"
"Someone I should have killed," he said, sitting again.
"And the part about sealing your heart—"
He cut her off with a look. "Don't ask."
---
Later, when Lianyin's breathing grew slow with sleep, Qingxue sat awake, turning Duan's words over in her mind.
If someone had sealed his heart… perhaps the Forbidden Arts weren't just power. Perhaps they were a curse. And perhaps the Moon-Silencing Seal wasn't just a way to protect the world from him—it might be the only way to save him.
But if Duan truly wanted the Arts, he might be her chance to end this without facing Lianyin alone.
---
Outside the hollow, the snow fell silently. Somewhere out there, Blackwater Duan was watching… waiting.
And Qingxue wasn't sure which of them she feared more.