Yao Xin scanned the crowd, her heart pounding as panic took hold. “Mother?” she called, but only silence replied. Her mother, the Queen, was missing. And so was Ming Qing, her maidservant and An Xiang’s mother. “Where is my mom?” Yao Xin’s voice trembled, a raw desperation clawing at her chest. The wasteland had taught her too much already—if everything were fine, her people would be celebrating, triumphant over the massive bird carcass lying nearby. But this silence, this absence… it gnawed at her soul.

“Mother!” she cried again, louder, but the words only scattered into the empty air. No one answered. Her vision blurred, and she blinked against the tears that spilled down her cheeks. She could feel it deep inside—her mother had met some terrible fate. The Queen always led the group, always looked after everyone, even when she and her maid had set out to hunt. And now…now she was gone.

Her legs buckled, and she sank to her knees, head bowed, shoulders shaking as she wept, raw and helpless.

Yu Qian came to her, gently lifting her trembling frame. “Your mother is safe,” she murmured, a softness to her voice that was as fragile as Yao Xin’s last strand of hope. “She… she just had to go ahead of us. But one day, you’ll see her again.”

“Where?” Yao Xin’s eyes searched her stepmother’s face, desperate for any hint of truth. The hope in her gaze was so fierce it was nearly painful to look at.

“She went to the Green Land,” Yu Qian said, her voice breaking just a little. “She asked me to tell you she’s sorry…and that she’ll come back for you.”

“Will she really?” Yao Xin whispered, clinging to this sliver of hope, even as doubt twisted inside her.

Yu Qian nodded, forcing a smile. “Yes, she…she didn’t go alone. Ming Qing went with her. She won’t be alone.”

It was a small comfort, but still, it steadied Yao Xin. Her mother was gone, but at least she wasn’t facing the unknown alone.

Nearby, Ming An Xiang lay motionless, his body slack in Xin Tianshi’s grasp. His skin had turned an eerie, deathly hue, dark veins snaking across his body as the venom spread. He was losing sensation, his body heavy and unresponsive. Yet his mind was painfully alert, and as he lay facing the night sky, silent tears trickled down to his ears.

They thought he was beyond hearing, but he heard every word.

Yu Long and Li Feng stood over him, voices low, recounting the horrors that had unfolded in his absence. Li Feng’s voice was haunted as he told of the men who had come riding on the back of a colossal bird. Dressed in yellow and black robes, they had demanded the Queen and her maid come with them. The Queen, fierce and unyielding, had refused to leave her people behind. Then, without warning, an invisible force had pressed down upon them all, crushing them. Children had collapsed, some coughing up blood.

Seeing her people suffering, the Queen had pleaded and surrendered, agreeing to go with the men to spare her people. And just like that, she and Ming Qing had been taken away.

An Xiang felt his heart shatter, though his body remained numb. The tears that slipped from his eyes were silent screams, cries he could not voice. Am I to die like this? He thought. My mother kidnapped, and I, slipping away without a final farewell…she’ll never even know I’m gone.

Next to him, Xin Tianshi wept, trying in vain to wipe away her tears with the back of her hand. But her sobs only grew louder, more desperate, as she gripped her mother’s arm and led her toward An Xiang. Yu Qian felt her heart wrench at the sight. Ming Qing had entrusted her son to her care, yet here he was, suffering, while the venom showed no mercy.

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In the distance, the vast wasteland was darkening, its once-searing heat giving way to a bitter cold. Xin Tianshi returned with extra blankets, draping them gently over An Xiang’s frail form. None of them had the heart to eat, though a few children roasted meat from the massive bird they’d felled.

Yu Qian moved among the children, comforting them with quiet words and gentle touches, though her own heart lay in shreds. Slowly, the stars blinked into the night sky, casting a fragile light over the scene. One by one, the survivors settled down to rest. But beside An Xiang lay Xin Tianshi, her tiny arms wrapped around his chest as though she could shield him from the world.

As the night deepened, only An Xiang remained awake, his mind slipping between the pain and the quiet darkness of near-death. Then, his eyes snapped open.

A strange sensation washed over him. He could hear a voice—soft, almost familiar—whispering his name, yet it was coming from within his mind. He shivered. It was as if his own thoughts were calling out to him, yet he knew it wasn’t him. He felt an instinct, something beyond logic, pointing him to a distant direction.

Fear surged through him. He was already at death’s door; why was he being tormented further? His breath came in shallow gasps as the voice grew louder, inching closer until it felt as though someone was standing right next to him.

“You still have a long way to go, An Xiang,” the voice murmured, low but resonant. “You can’t give up now.”

He barely had a moment to process those words before a powerful, unseen force gripped him, lifting him from the ground. His numb limbs moved, his body following the pull like a marionette. He struggled, but he was no longer in control. It was as if he’d been possessed.

Yu Long lay two meters away, tossing in his sleep. The events of the day haunted his mind: the deadly snakes, the strange creature that had come to their aid. Its face—a strange blend of kitten and pup—lingered in his thoughts, a creature out of legend. And then, something jolted him fully awake.

He saw An Xiang, moving through the darkness as though driven by some unseen force.

“Ming An Xian!” Yu Long whispered in amazement, his voice barely more than a breath. Seeing An Xian stand, unaided, made his heart lift—could it mean he was recovering?

But as he watched An Xian’s movements, Yu Long’s excitement faltered, replaced by an uneasy suspicion. “Where is he going?” he muttered, rising quickly to follow. He called out, “Ming An Xian!” But his friend gave no response, continuing to walk with a strange, steady pace. A new worry gnawed at Yu Long. What if he collapses? What if he worsens the poison’s toll?

For over five minutes, Yu Long chased An Xian through the darkness, yet, bafflingly, he couldn’t catch up. He pushed himself harder, marveling at the impossible. “How is he so fast?” Yu Long panted, frowning. “He was barely alive just hours ago, poisoned by the desert mamba…”

Meanwhile, Ming An Xian struggled within, fighting to regain control of his body. But each attempt to stop his own feet failed, until exhaustion overtook him. What’s the use? He thought bleakly. I’m nearly dead anyway. And so, he let his body be drawn forward, surrendering to the unseen force pulling him into the unknown.

They traveled well over a kilometer before the landscape changed, revealing a small hill on the horizon. Yu Long slowed, catching sight of a silvery lake, glistening in the moonlight beside the hill. Stars shimmered above, their light reflected on the water’s surface, casting a serene glow across the area. The hill and lake were surrounded by lush, green grasses and delicate white flowers—an oasis of startling beauty in the barren wasteland.

Yu Long’s eyes widened as he took it all in, a smile tugging at his lips. “So, this is the lake the Bird Gentleman mentioned… Did An Xian come here for water?”

But his wonder was short-lived. Without breaking stride, An Xian stepped into the lake, striding deeper as though unaware of the water engulfing him.

“Ming An Xian!” Yu Long’s voice rose to a scream as he watched An Xian disappear beneath the surface, his form swallowed by the dark waters. He waited, his heart pounding, watching for An Xian to rise again—but the lake remained silent, its surface unbroken.

Without a second thought, Yu Long sprinted forward and leaped into the lake after him, determined to pull his friend back. But as he plunged below, a strange sensation overcame him. In an instant, he, too, vanished into the lake’s mysterious depths.