In the lobby of the Ruyue Inn, a small silver‑haired girl drifted past like frost under lanterns. A younger sister, not yet ten, rode her back like a bundled sparrow.

The clerk nearby froze like a startled cat. She’d been dozing on her elbows and almost toppled.

“Miss, this—”

“Don’t shout—my sister.” Tangxue cut her a glance like a thin blade. “Her legs don’t work, so I carry her.”

“But yesterday—”

“Don’t. If you’ll dock money, dock it.” Her voice was cool as moonlight on ice. “I paid several days up front yesterday.”

“It’s not… I mean… ah, forget it. Whatever you like.” The clerk’s face folded like a cheap fan.

…

Did she twist it in her head, like reeds bent by wind?

Qianyue nuzzled Tangxue’s hair, soft as a kitten’s paw, and it tickled.

Quit it, you little terror.

Tangxue threw a spark of a glare over her shoulder and stepped out through the door like slipping past a curtain.

“Alright, down.”

“Mmm…”

“Mmm won’t save you. If you don’t get down, I’ll toss you.” Tangxue let her tone snap like a twig.

Qianyue trembled like a leaf, then hopped off Tangxue’s back, reluctant as a cat leaving a warm patch.

A dozen minutes earlier, the clock beat like a slow drum.

“Qianyue, time to go.” Exasperation gathered on Tangxue’s brow like a small cloud as she eyed the stair‑shy girl.

Maybe years in shadowed warrens did it. Qianyue feared people here like a mouse fears bright tiles.

“Sister… can we go out by the window?” Her voice tapped like rain on paper.

“No.” The answer fell like a cold pebble.

…Uu. Her whimper curled like steam.

“If you can’t even go downstairs, how will you be my guide?” Her words nudged like a gentle push.

“But, but…” The syllables stumbled like pebbles underfoot.

“Sister, can you hold me…” The plea clung like ivy.

…? A question hung like a lantern.

“I think if Sister is beside me, I won’t be so afraid… then I can guide you.” Qianyue said it with a knot‑firm resolve.

…?? The surprise fluttered like moths.

“Qianyue’s not heavy…” Her voice was soft as cotton.

“Please, please, Sister—just once, just once!” The sweetness pooled like syrup.

She’s doing it on purpose, for sure. A fox‑kit trick since she was tiny—what happens when she grows up, this little tormenting sprite?

“Just this once. I’ll carry you only this once.” The promise lay thin as a thread.

“Mm‑hm~!” The hum buzzed like a bee.

And so the lobby scene came to be, a brushstroke in passing.

“Qianyue, where do we head next?” Tangxue’s gaze roamed like starlight.

Qianyue pointed to a street corner near the Ruyue Inn, her finger a reed. “This way, Sister. I know a hidden path that skirts this whole area—let’s go.”

“Mm.” Tangxue nodded and followed, her steps falling like quiet snow.

“Sister~ hold Qianyue’s hand tight. It’s very dark; if we’re careless, we’ll lose each other.” The darkness pooled like ink.

“Is that so~ Qianyue, you do know your way.” Tangxue gave a knowing look like a crescent moon, then caught her slender wrist like a willow twig.

“Since that’s the case, I won’t be polite.” Her grip set like ice.

“Sister…” Qianyue lowered her blushing face, the color rising like dawn.

“Don’t blush. Let’s hurry. I remember you said it’s a long way.” The road lay long as a river.

“Mm… with this shortcut, we’ll reach it in a few days.” The days clicked like beads.

“A few days, huh…” The words fell like dry leaves.

About that long. Qianyue isn’t lying. A prickle of doubt rose like fog. She feels off, like I was back then—memories waking, a mask playing dumb. Is this little one pretending, or truly dim?

“Sister, why are you staring at Qianyue again…” Her eyes were lamps in the ink.

“Because Qianyue’s very cute~ and her eyes glow in the dark.” Tangxue smiled, her gaze two thin moons.

“…Yours do too.” The quiet came like frost fire.

…

“Not that. Qianyue, are you sure we’re not off track? I feel like we’re lost.” Two little boats in fog.

“No, Sister.” The dead ends were painted walls, a trick for soldiers like paper screens. “Through here we enter a special zone.”

“Qianyue used to stay there often.” Her voice drifted like smoke.

“There are lots of things. When Qianyue couldn’t eat enough, she went there to find snacks.” The word “snacks” scattered like seeds.

…

“Ah—here!” “Heave‑ho…” “Mm, Sister, can you help Qianyue? These crates are heavy; Qianyue can’t push them.” The boxes hunched like stubborn oxen.

“Oh…” The sound plinked like a pebble.

Tangxue flicked a hand toward the crates, motion soft as snow. White light flashed, and the crates beside Qianyue vanished, then blinked into place behind Tangxue.

Qianyue stared, stunned into silence, and awe rose like stars.

“Sister, amazing…” Tiny stars lit her ruby eyes.

Tangxue shook her head like a willow in wind. “Just a little parlor trick. No need to be surprised.”

“But it’s really amazing.” “Moving all the crates in a lightning instant—Qianyue couldn’t do that even in half a day.”

“Qianyue… the secret zone you meant is… this???” Her words pointed like an arrow.

They pushed the crates aside. Beyond lay a gray sea of trash, and even… many Blood Clan corpses.

No wonder crates blocked it—an abandoned dump, dead as a swamp.

Tangxue covered her nose on instinct, her hand lifting like a shield.

Qianyue glanced at Tangxue’s disgusted face and lowered her head like a wilted flower.

“Yes, Sister… this was where Qianyue stayed before, but only sometimes… Qianyue doesn’t like it either.” The confession thinned like mist.

“I get it. No wonder you wanted to leave.” “If it were me, in this place I couldn’t last a day—no, not even a minute.” The air sat like a choking cellar.

“Then let’s hurry, Sister. Once we get through, we reach the next zone.” A gate behind garbage.

“Mm.” Agreement bent like a nodding reed.

Honestly, Tangxue didn’t want another minute in this dump, especially with corpses. They were dried husks, blood sucked away; the stench blew like rancid wind.

Passing a pile, the reek nearly smoked tears from Tangxue’s eyes.

“Wait, what’s that thing over there???” A shape twitched like a lizard on the trash.

On a nearby slope of junk, Tangxue saw a moving corpse. It noticed them and sprinted their way like a loose boar.

“Waaah—don’t come near!” Her voice snapped like a frayed string.

White light flashed. Layers of thin ice bloomed around Tangxue like glass petals, sealing them off.

The figure jolted at the sudden ice, then backpedaled like a crab and slammed into a trash can.

“Mercy, noble lord! I’m just picking scraps—please don’t kill me…” The plea rasped like a dying cicada.

The “corpse” was a gray‑haired Blood Clan male. His face and irises were ash, almost no trace of blood. He looked like a walking winter.

… So it wasn’t a corpse—scared me half to death. Tangxue wiped cold sweat like dew, then pried Qianyue off her leg with one hand.

Ignoring Qianyue’s protest, Tangxue met the man’s eyes, her gaze a blade. “I wasn’t planning to kill you, but I’m curious—why did you rush us?”