Ying Ran nodded and returned to the room to rest.
She and Xu Liling took a short nap. When they woke, it was dark, and Uncle Xi knocked, inviting them to the bonfire.
He brought them two sets of dark, embroidered clothes with floral patterns.
Ying Ran noticed Uncle Xi and Aunt Huan wore similar attire, likely a village custom.
She accepted the clothes and changed with Xu Liling.
At the door, Uncle Xi and Aunt Huan were waiting, having placed flower wreaths around Da Hua and Xiao Huang’s necks.
Da Hua looked displeased but didn’t shake it off due to the elders’ kindness.
Xiao Huang, however, bounced around excitedly with its wreath.
Ying Ran walked over, patting their heads.
Uncle Xi: “Let’s go, it’s at the village’s end.”
Aunt Huan held Uncle Xi’s arm, and they headed toward the village’s end together.
Ying Ran linked arms with Xu Liling, following behind.
Along the way, every household had lit candles, but the light didn’t spill beyond the houses, making Wuyin Village feel submerged in a deep pool.
Only the bright moon above cast a silvery glow, draping the village in a veil of white.
Ahead, Uncle Xi and Aunt Huan moved so swiftly they seemed to float with the wind.
Ying Ran shot Xu Liling a surprised look: They really aren’t human?
Xu Liling remained silent.
Ying Ran, thoughtful, suppressed her surprise and fear, observing Uncle Xi and Aunt Huan.
They arrived at the village’s end with them.
The villagers had already built a bonfire.
Though the flames burned, their light, like the candles in the houses, barely illuminated anything.
The bright moon shone radiantly, illuminating the night like day, casting a pure, snowy glow over the land.
After the people of Wuyin Village greeted Ying Ran and Xu Liling, they gathered with their families, chatting and laughing.
Yet, driven by curiosity, they kept stealing glances at the pair.
Under the moonlight, they appeared even more ethereal, like wandering spirits.
Uncle Xi settled Aunt Huan before approaching, “I’ll take you both to the place where my savior left his poem.”
Ying Ran nodded, and Xu Liling accompanied her as they followed Uncle Xi out of the village.
They passed through a locust tree grove, and a cave appeared before them.
Inside the cave, deep within, was a stone bed and a fire pit circled by stones.
The cave wasn’t cold or damp—it felt like an ordinary summer night’s warmth.
Ying Ran noticed marks on the stone wall above the bed, but it was too dark to make them out.
With a “whoosh,” flames leapt from the stone pile. Uncle Xi had lit the bonfire.
The firelight illuminated the entire cave, its brightness making Ying Ran feel: This is the light of the mortal world.
Uncle Xi’s form lost its ethereal quality in the light, and he pointed to the wall, “Please, take a look.”
Ying Ran gazed at the stone wall.
The characters etched by a sword were vigorous, refined, and elegant, with a familiar depth that Ying Ran recognized.
“Wuyin, Wuyin… Without fate, how can one hide? With fate, why need to hide? The Yin-Yang Path lies in mystery, Wuyin conceals the heavens and earth.”
Ying Ran recited softly, and a mist seemed to rise before her eyes again.
She closed her eyes, and the stone wall reappeared in her vision.
But now, on the empty stone bed, a vague figure of a young man emerged.
He stood like a graceful crane, clad in thin robes, black hair bound with a simple crown, carving words with a sword.
“The years race like galloping horses, life and death return to the Taiji.”
By the stone bed, a small child recited softly.
The young man sheathed his sword.
The child looked up at him, “Savior, how marvelous. Life is like a galloping horse or a fleeting lantern—only at death do mortals reflect on their fate. But the Yin-Yang Path can perceive fate and destiny.”
The young man smiled with clear pride, turning around.
Ying Ran still couldn’t see his face, but as he looked down at the child, he carried the noble air of a heaven-blessed prodigy, yet also the compassion of a merciful deity. “When the Yin-Yang Path is mastered, it follows fate and destiny. I hold Wuyin, and seeing you in Wuyin, this is fate.
With the Yin-Yang Path, I can read your fate and send you to the Nine Netherworlds.”
The child beamed, “Thank you, Savior!”
The young man formed a hand seal to channel spiritual energy but suddenly shuddered, spitting out a large mouthful of blood and collapsing from the stone bed.
The child cried out, “Savior!”
Ying Ran’s heart trembled, instinctively wanting to rush forward to help him.
But in an instant, the vision dissolved, returning to chaos.
Ying Ran opened her eyes, realizing she had walked to the edge of the stone bed.
Xu Liling stood protectively by her side, steadying her to prevent a fall.
Uncle Xi stood at a distance, “Did Miss Qin see something?”
Ying Ran, dazed, said, “There was someone carving words on the wall…”
Uncle Xi was surprised, “Miss Qin can see shadows of the past?”
As he spoke, Ying Ran glanced at Xu Liling—he showed no particular expression.
For the first time, she felt frustrated by his ever-calm demeanor, hiding his emotions too well.
Calming herself, she asked Uncle Xi, “What are shadows of the past?”
Uncle Xi didn’t answer directly, only saying, “The Yin-Yang Path focuses first on fate, then on destiny. That you can see shadows of the past shows your remarkable talent for the Yin-Yang Path.”
Ying Ran understood only vaguely.
Uncle Xi asked her to stay and meditate alone, inviting Xu Liling to leave with him.
Ying Ran, afraid to be alone in the cave, instinctively grabbed Xu Liling’s hand.
But thinking of her path to cultivation, which couldn’t rely on others, she reluctantly let go.
Xu Liling patted her hand reassuringly and walked out with Uncle Xi.
Ying Ran watched him leave, feeling a bit resentful: He really just left me here? Not even a word of comfort?
Pouting, she faced the stone wall, studying the carved words.
Da Hua had gone out but said in her mind, “I’m guarding the entrance.”
Ying Ran felt warmed by this.
Moments later, she heard Da Hua scoff.
Ying Ran: “What’s wrong?”
Da Hua didn’t reply, and all Ying Ran could hear was the crackling of the bonfire’s wood.
She grew nervous, wanting to go outside to see what had happened.
Turning around, she bumped into a warm embrace.
His warm hand steadied her, “Where are you going?”
Ying Ran, surprised: “Didn’t you leave?”
Xu Liling, carrying a small bundle, walked to the stone bed, cleaned it, and spread a thin blanket from the bundle. “I went back to grab something.”
Ying Ran quietly felt embarrassed for her earlier resentment.
Xu Liling: “You can’t stand here the whole time. The stone bed is cold, and your body is already frail and prone to chill. Sitting on something will be better.”
Ying Ran: …Even more embarrassed.
She went to his side, hugging his waist from behind, her face pressed against his back.
Closing her eyes, she breathed in his familiar, refreshing scent, which replaced the cave’s damp, smoky air.
Ying Ran called softly, “Huai Zhen.”
Xu Liling: “Hmm?”
He finished setting up the bed and had her sit.
She pulled him to sit with her.
His arm encircled her waist, gently rubbing it—not with any allure, just intimacy.
“Did you see Da Hua when you came in?”
“It and Xiao Huang ran off to play.”
Play? Probably fighting with Xiao Huang again.
Ying Ran sighed helplessly. It said it would stay with me—little liar cat.
She continued, “Uncle Xi said to meditate here alone. Are you leaving soon?”
Xu Liling: “I’ll stay with you.”
Ying Ran teased, “You’ll stay? Won’t that affect my Yin-Yang Path cultivation?”
Xu Liling: “It will. With me here, you won’t be able to cultivate.”
Ying Ran’s eyes curved with laughter.
Xu Liling hugged her shoulders, patting lightly, “Rest for a bit. At midnight, I’ll guide you into the Mysterious Path.”
Ying Ran, puzzled: “Does the Mysterious Path require midnight to enter? I’ve never heard that.”
Xu Liling: “You can enter the Mysterious Path at any hour if you have the spiritual veins and foundation. But each hour corresponds to its own elemental destiny.
For the Yin-Yang Path, the best times to enter are midnight or noon.
But since you’re in Wuyin Village, a place of utmost Yin, where the moonlight’s spiritual energy is the foundation, midnight is the best time to enter the Mysterious Path.”
Ying Ran trusted him and closed her eyes to rest.
As she did, she suddenly recalled where she’d seen the handwriting on the stone wall.
The atlas!
It was the same handwriting as the atlas they’d looked at when planning to move to Lingyang.
Ying Ran understood something and gripped Xu Liling’s hand tightly.
He wrapped her hand in his palm, “What’s wrong?”
Ying Ran: “Uncle Xi’s savior… he’s a lot like you.”
Xu Liling waited a moment, but seeing she didn’t continue, he said casually, “Oh.”
Ying Ran pinched his face, “Is it you?”
Xu Liling chuckled lightly, “How could a demon save people?”
He was a demon.
Whether it was him or not, she shouldn’t entertain any illusions of him having some inclination toward goodness.
Ying Ran let go of his hand.
She knew it was him.
He drew the atlas, and he was the one who saved people.
That glorious past, his spirited youth, had been completely abandoned after his family betrayed him to the demons.
She didn’t know why, today, he twice denied being that savior youth.
But whether he was an immortal lord or a demon, that was never why she stayed by his side.
When she met him, he was just Huai Zhen.
Ying Ran leaned into his embrace, looking up at him with a smile, “A demon might not save people, but my Huai Zhen will definitely protect me.”