The White Jade Sect's inner gardens were quiet at dawn. Mist curled over the pond's surface, drifting between lotus leaves and the pale arches of the moon bridge.
Ruo Han sat at the water's edge, trying to focus on his morning breathing exercises, but something kept pulling at his thoughts — a faint echo, like the memory of a voice.
He pressed his palm to his chest, right over the bond mark that tied him to Lan Xiyue. The mark pulsed softly, steady as his heartbeat… but beneath it, there was something else.
A flicker of warmth, entirely unfamiliar.
It came without warning — a vision.
Dark pines swaying in a restless wind. The scent of cedar and smoke.
And a shadowed figure standing just beyond reach, eyes gleaming in the gloom.
Voice: "Remember me."
Ruo Han gasped and the image shattered like water disturbed. His fingers trembled.
This wasn't his bond. This wasn't Xiyue.
When he looked down, he realized his palm was glowing faintly — a thin, red light curling like smoke around his fingertips before vanishing.
Footsteps approached from behind.
Lan Xiyue: "You're awake earlier than usual."
Ruo Han turned, heart still unsteady.
Ruo Han: "I… couldn't sleep."
Xiyue studied him, eyes narrowing as if he sensed something just beyond his reach. But instead of pressing, he sat beside him, letting the silence stretch between them.
The warmth in Ruo Han's chest faded, but it did not vanish. It waited.
Far away, in the heart of the Scarlet Sun fortress, Feng Lian held the cracked jade fragment in his palm. It glowed once — and he smiled.