The morning dawned with a cheerful symphony of bird songs trilling outside the window. Warm sunrays filtered through the bamboo curtain, casting a dappled glow across the second floor of the medicinal shop.

Ji Wuye sat cross-legged on a cushion, his long white hair cascading like a silvery waterfall around the sleeping forms of his Senior Sisters huddled close.

As they slumbered peacefully, their soft breaths mingling in a hushed rhythm akin to the gentle simmer of a pot of hot water, Ji Wuye's crimson eyes fluttered open. He scanned the serene scene, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

Senior Sister Lian was draped over him from the front, her slender arms looped around his neck, her face nuzzled against his chest. Shen Bi lay curled on his thigh like a contented kitten, using it as a pillow while turned on her side to avoid the sun's bright glare. Qiu Xia leaned into his shoulder, her head lolling softly against him.

Noticing the bandages still adorning their bodies, Ji Wuye's smile widened with relief. 'They're fully healed now,' he thought, thanks to the upgraded Healing Art Primer techniques that had mended the wounds and swelling in a fraction of the usual recovery time.

As for their intimate sleeping arrangement...Ji Wuye knew an awkward silence would likely descend once his sisters awoke to find themselves so closely entwined with him. He could already envision the deep blushes and averted gazes as they inevitably shied away, flustered by the unintended intimacy.

Gently, he began shifting their bodies back onto separate cushions, taking care not to rouse them. Shen Bi murmured softly and nuzzled deeper into his thigh before settling again.

Qiu Xia's brow furrowed momentarily as her head lolled onto the cushion, but she merely sighed and curled tighter, hugging herself.

'Next is...' Ji Wuye mused, carefully reaching with two fingers to press the Baihui pressure point at the crown of Qiu Xia's head.

Her lips tightened into a thin line and a wrinkle creased her forehead as Ji Wuye applied light pressure to the Baihui (GV-20) point with deft fingertips.

Once the process was complete, he withdrew his hand gently before repeating the same action on his other sleeping Senior Sisters, Shen Bi and Lian Rougang.

Immediately after stimulating the pressure points, the faint bluish wisps of Qi lingering in the room seemed to stir. Slowly, the energy threaded were drawn inward, absorbed into the slumbering forms of his sisters.

By activating the Baihui point, he helped harmonize their upper Dantians and regulate the flow of Qi throughout their bodies. It also served to calm their minds while strengthening the connection between all three Dantian centers.

THUD!

The resonant knock echoed loudly through the shop, abruptly shattering the tranquil atmosphere.

Ji Wuye's eyes narrowed at the jarring intrusion as the muffled thumping of someone vigorously pounding on the door filtered up from the first floor. Frowning, he descended the stairs to investigate the commotion.

But upon reaching the main level, there was no sign of the lanky young assistant who normally tended the shop.

The space was eerily vacant. Ji Wuye's gaze slid towards the back room behind the counter - the entrance leading down to the basement quarters.

'The announcement has already been posted, which means...'

Realization flickered across his features. It wasn't a customer. He had explicitly instructed the owner and assistant to close the shop until after the Kunlun gathering concluded.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

A notice explaining the temporary closure had been clearly posted on the front door for all to see.

Left with no other recourse, Ji Wuye turned his attention to the tightly shut wooden entrance. He strode forward, grasping the door handle and pulling it open in one smooth motion.

The tacked-on notices fluttered away as the inviting warmth of the morning sunlight spilled inside, bathing his face in its radiant glow.

Under Ji Wuye's crimson gaze, the bustling sights and sounds of Kunlun Qiuxiu Village unfolded before him.

The street was a river of activity, villagers flowing back and forth while carrying baskets, parcels and wares for their daily tasks. Most were familiar faces, natives going about their regular chores and routines.

However, the guests and strangers who had previously flocked to witness the fierce sparring matches of the Kunlun gathering seemed to have vanished.

"Ah! Greetings, Hero!"

"Greetings, Master!"

As soon as the medicinal shop door creaked open, the villagers noticed Ji Wuye's tall figure clad in his Kunlun white martial robe with aqua stripes. Smiles and warm greetings were called out to him.

Ji Wuye returned their salutations politely, his lips curving though his sharp eyes did not miss the faint undercurrents of fear and hesitation flickering in their gazes.

His narrowed eyes swept across the bustling pedestrians until something caught his attention - a rolled parchment lying at his feet, no doubt the source of the earlier commotion.

Swiftly, he bent to retrieve it, tucking the scroll into his voluminous sleeve. Without further delay, Ji Wuye stepped back inside, pulling the wooden door closed behind him with a dull thunk.

He made his way to the counter, unfurling the bamboo scroll atop the smooth wooden surface. As it unrolled, bold inked characters painted across the parchment were revealed:

"When the frost begins to paint the earth white, lone crows of winter gather where shadows of forbidden bamboo stretch like ghostly fingers. Among the stillness, four stalwart pines, their branches heavy with frost, bow in reverence to the rising eighth moon, their swaying forms etching fleeting calligraphy on the forgotten parchments of time."

Ji Wuye paused after the first elegantly calligraphed paragraph, refraining from unrolling further. Instead, his crimson eyes lingered intensely on the words, carefully analyzing each inked stroke and poetic phrase as his mind worked to decipher their hidden meaning.

Ji Wuye muttered softly to himself as he scrutinized the cryptic passage, his expression sharpening as significant terms and symbols revealed themselves.

"The 'winter frost' symbolizes the arrival of ominous circumstances...frost often signifies troubling times. 'Winter crows' refers to heretical figures, often seen as ill omens..." His brow furrowed as he highlighted each layered metaphor. "And the 'forbidden bamboo grove'..."

"Winter frost...Winter crow...Forbidden bamboo grove..." Ji Wuye's voice trailed off, letting the resonance of the coded words hang in the air as he contemplated their hidden meaning.

As the highlighted script glowed faintly, Qi began to ripple and emit from the parchment itself.

Before long, the luminous characters lifted into the air, coalescing into hovering ethereal text that materialized before Ji Wuye's eyes:

(The attackers come from four unorthodox factions: the Sky Demon Cult, Phantom Mist Sect, Abyssal Soul Alliance, and Black Scorpion Society. Each faction is led by their vice-leaders, martial artists of the 8th realm. In total, there are four eighth-realm martial artists.)

Ji Wuye's crimson gaze sharpened as he studied the revelatory script. 'A skill,' he murmured.

Then...

Before he could unravel further, the bamboo scroll suddenly unfurled of its own volition, new inked passages blossoming into view.

"The fiery brush of autumn spares no corner of the mountain, yet its vivid leaves do not yet smother the forest. Beneath cooling skies, a hundred morning dewdrops rest upon blades of tender grass, while twenty-five butterflies cloaked in jade weave amidst crimson cliffs. Their ephemeral wings cast rippled dreams of a storm waiting to break."

(Their numbers aren't enough to be called an army, nor could this be labeled as war. Yet, the attackers bring with them 100 fourth-realm martial artists and 25 fifth-realm martial artists.)

As before, the glowing lines of text hovered below the previous revelatory paragraph. Ji Wuye's crimson eyes remained transfixed, his expression inscrutable as he absorbed each ominous detail laid bare by the enchanted parchment.

As if by an unseen force, the scroll continued to unspool, the final poetic paragraph blossoming into view:

"Across the moonlit abyss of midnight waters, the obsidian crane unfurls wings of tempestuous black feathers, splitting the mirrored moon into countless shattered reflections. Behind its thunderous cries, pearl-eyed swallows flit like whispers between the drenched peaks, their faint cries trembling beneath the echoes of heaven's judgment."

(Among the attackers, we detected—though only eyes trained enough could confirm it—one of the Five Emperors, specifically the Black Thunder Emperor. He is leading this skirmish along with several of his disciples.)

The glowing characters coalesced into a third ominous text block hovering beneath the others. Ji Wuye's expression tightened imperceptibly as he absorbed this dire revelation.

"From tranquil waters long unbroken emerges the silver koi, its scaled brilliance piercing snow-laden skies as it surges to meet the unknown. Ripples emerge, stretching outward to yearning jade peaks wrapped in clouds, where the bamboo forest, wise with age, bends to welcome the whispers of unseen winds."

(Another piece of news is that the Windblade Emperor has gone missing from his location, possibly heading toward the same destination as the Kunlun gathering.)

Once the final encrypted message had materialized, the hovering script began fading swiftly, the glowing characters winking out of existence as though they had never been. The bamboo parchment now lay fully unfurled and empty before Ji Wuye, its black ink slowly dissolving away into nothingness.

The revelatory information, though faded from sight, echoed resonantly in Ji Wuye's mind - each prophetic word and dire metaphor emblazoned with vivid clarity. His crimson pupils hardened as he reflected intensely on what had been unveiled.

‘This is almost a completely different sequence of events...’ Ji Wuye concluded silently, absorbing the full magnitude of the coded messages.

Only a few elements mirrored the events of the previous timeline. A deep sigh escaped his lips as his gaze lingered on the now-empty bamboo scroll lying bare before him.

"Ugh..." it was then, the faint sounds of groaning and shuffling interrupted his weighty thoughts, drifting down from the second floor.

It seemed his Senior Sisters had finally awoken...