He stepped out of the spatial rift, his body slightly staggering forward as the unstable space behind him slowly sealed itself shut. For a brief moment, he didn’t move. His eyes slowly scanned the surroundings, taking in the unfamiliar world in front of him, the strangeness pressing against his senses in a way that felt nothing like any realm he had ever entered before. Everything felt wrong. His brows tightened slightly as he stood there. “Where is this…” he muttered under his breath, his voice low as he tried to reach out with his senses, searching for even the faintest trace of familiar qi, but there was nothing he could recognize. Then— Moonfang’s voice surfaced in his mind again, firm and hasty. “You are in the Wuyin Domain.” He paused slightly. His fingers curled faintly at his side, still feeling the lingering pull of the rift he had just come through. “The Wuyin Domain is a forgotten passage between realms.” the spirit wolf added again after a moment. “It is not a t

His fingers shifted slightly against his knee as he finally lifted his gaze from the fire to meet hers. “Um, I came through a spatial rift,” he said, his voice steady, though his mind was already weighing how much he should actually say. “And?” she pressed immediately, leaning forward just a little, clearly not satisfied with such a simple answer. Before he could respond— “Yu Yan.” A voice called out from the side, firm but not harsh. “Leave him alone. Stop bothering him.” She turned almost instantly, her expression changing as she frowned slightly. “Big brother, I’m not,” she said quickly, a small huff escaping her as she pushed herself up to her feet. “Hmph.” She walked over to his side without another word, though he could still feel her lingering curiosity even from where he sat. He let out a low breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. His gaze dropped back to the fire, the warmth brushing lightly against his face as the tension in his shoulders eased just a little

Third POV They continued their journey through the thick fog, their steps steady as they moved side by side.The deeper they went, the quieter everything became.The usual shifting sounds of the domain had faded, leaving behind an unsettling stillness that pressed heavily against their senses. Even the fog itself seemed calmer here, no longer twisting wildly around them like before.Kaien’s eyes stayed fixed ahead as he walked.The silence gave him too much room to think about how easily he had fallen for the illusions.The thought still left a bitter taste in his mouth. He tightened his jaw slightly and pushed the thought away.There was no point dwelling on it now.Beside him, Lan Su remained calm, her posture straight, her hand resting lightly near the dagger at her waist as her eyes scanned the path ahead.After a while, the fog finally began to thin.And then—They saw a bridge stretched before them, long and narrow, suspended over a dark hollow that disappeared into endless mis

Third POV After a while, they came to call everyone inside the room to work.Kaien was dawdling a little bit, trying to look for Li Wei, when a loud voice called out to him. “You. Move.”He paused slightly before turning and walking toward him without saying anything.Up close, his expression was even worse, cold and impatient, like Kaien was nothing more than something inconvenient standing in his way.“Stop standing around and make yourself useful,” he said as he shoved a bucket into Kaien’s hands. “Go clean the outer halls and make sure you don’t take all day doing it.”The force of the bucket hitting his palm made his fingers tighten around it immediately, but he didn’t react beyond that.He lowered his head slightly, forcing his voice to stay calm.“Alright.”He didn’t even bother responding properly, only scoffing before waving him off. Kaien turned and walked away, the bucket hanging from his hand as he moved to the outer hall to clean it up.His eyes stayed lowered most of th

Third POVOne of the guards stepped forward and brought out a small pouch. The guard loosened the pouch slightly before waving it toward the creature.Almost instantly, a strange fragrance spread into the air.The effect was immediate. Kaien could hear the weakened movement of the beast behind him. He immediately turned and was stunned. The violent madness in its movements disappeared almost immediately. The creature staggered weakly instead, its body swaying slightly from side to side like it had suddenly lost all strength.Then finally, it collapsed heavily onto the ground.Kaien’s eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the scene.What was that?Before he could process it further, rough hands suddenly grabbed him harshly from behind.“How dare you barge into this room!” one of the guards barked furiously as he tightened his grip on Kaien’s shoulder.Kaien’s expression changed almost instantly.The caution and sharpness in his eyes disappeared completely, replaced by panic and fear.