A group of five children could be seen standing on an expansive, barren landscape, their small figures resembling ants tossed in a vast ocean. The group included Ming An Xian, Yu Long, Xin Yao, and Xin Tianshi. As usual, they were out scavenging for something edible.

The heat was merciless, draining what little energy the children had left. They settled early that evening to rest, and, as usual, the children went out to hunt for food. Ming An Xian and Yu Long led the way, trailed by Xin Yao and Xin Tianshi, who insisted on coming despite their younger age.

About a kilometer from camp, the children came to an abrupt halt, staring wide-eyed at the sky. Above them, two enormous creatures clashed in a fierce battle, silhouetted against the orange sunset. “Let’s go closer!” Ming An Xian whispered, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

“No, it’s too dangerous!” Xin Yao protested, grabbing his arm.

“Everything here is dangerous. What difference does it make?” Ming An Xian retorted, slipping free and darting toward the scene. The others, reluctantly, followed.

As they drew nearer, they saw that the creatures were massive cranes, and on each of them rode a man. Two men in yellow robes with black-striped sleeves faced a man dressed in white with blue accents. The yellow-robed men had their swords drawn, poised to strike.

“Hand it over if you value your life!” one of them shouted.

The man in white sneered, his eyes flashing with defiance. “Even if I had it, I’d never give it to you,” he replied, summoning a spear from thin air.

“Do you really think you can take on the two of us? No one will miss you if you die here,” the other yellow-robed man taunted.

“Then try,” the man in white replied, laughing as he spun his spear with blinding speed.

The children crouched in the dry grass, mesmerized as the battle raged. The man in white moved with deadly precision, his spear slicing through the air like lightning. Ming An Xian’s gaze was fixed on him, captivated by his skill.

For nearly half an hour, the fighters clashed, the man in white holding his own despite his outnumbered odds. But then the yellow-robed men changed tactics, synchronizing their attacks. Soon, blood began to stain the white-robed man’s clothing as wounds appeared on his body. Desperate, he urged his crane upward, but one of the men struck the bird down with a powerful blow, and the crane spiraled to the ground.

The two yellow-robed men pursued him as he fell, blades flashing. The man in white lost consciousness midair, his bird plummeting beside him, lifeless.

“Did they kill him?” Xin Tianshi whispered, but before she could say anything else, An Xian covered her mouth with his hand. "Quiet," he breathed, his eyes wide and alert.

The two girls trembled, frozen in place, though every instinct screamed for them to run. An Xian urged them to stay still, watching as two cultivators descended from the sky, their robes billowing. One strode toward the man lying motionless on the ground, while the other inspected a large, lifeless bird nearby, scanning the area as if searching for something.

“It’s not here,” muttered the one closest to the man, his face twisted in frustration.

“Check him again. It’s got to be here somewhere,” the other replied. They searched him thoroughly, their movements growing more tense, but their efforts yielded nothing.

“Forget it. He must’ve hidden it somewhere else,” the leader finally snapped, anger flashing in his eyes. With a sharp command, he mounted his crane. His partner gave the area one last sweeping glance, then followed suit, and both soared into the sky, vanishing beyond the horizon.

As soon as they were gone, Ming An Xian bolted forward, making a beeline for the wounded man.

“What are you doing?!” Xin Yao gasped. Her heart pounded. This reckless boy was bound to get them all in trouble one day, yet they found themselves rushing after him.

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“I told you he’s mad,” Yu Long panted as they followed.

An Xian knelt beside the man, pressing two fingers to his nose. Relief flooded his face. “He’s still breathing!” he called out, his voice barely above a whisper. Without a second thought, he began examining the man’s wounds. An idea struck him, and he started tearing strips from the man’s robe, making crude bandages to staunch the bleeding. As he worked, a small bottle slipped from the man’s sleeve and landed on the ground.

An Xian picked It up, peering inside. Three small pills lay within. Without hesitation, he took one out and gently pushed it between the man’s lips.

“Are you crazy? Do you even know what kind of pills those are?” Xin Tianshi asked, eyes wide. Even at her age, she knew that random pills weren’t to be taken lightly.

An Xian shrugged. "I don’t know what they are, but if he’s carrying them, they’re probably for emergencies, right?”

The others stared, momentarily speechless. None of them knew much about medicine or alchemy, but they all felt a strange sense of awe. Ming An Xian’s boldness had somehow transformed their fear into something else—hope, perhaps, or maybe just a spark of courage in the face of uncertainty.

An Xian worked carefully on the man’s injuries, fumbling to stop the bleeding. Just as he thought he was finished, he caught sight of another large bird soaring toward them. Little Xin Tianshi was the first to bolt back to their hiding place, and the others wanted to follow, but it was too late—the bird had already landed in front of them.

Two men, dressed in white and blue robes similar to the injured man, descended from the bird. One was chubby and had a funny expression, his cheeks stuffed with rice balls as he occasionally pounded his chest to aid digestion. The children stared longingly at the rice balls, their stomachs rumbling at the sight. The other man, tall and well-built, looked handsome and carried a fan, his long hair neatly tied.

“San Mo!” the chubby man shouted, leaping from the bird before it even fully landed and rushing toward the injured man. An Xian instinctively took a few steps back, while Xin Yao clutched Yu Long’s sleeve in fear.

“You did this to him!” the chubby man shouted, pointing at An Xian, his mouth still full of rice but his gaze blazing with anger.

An Xian backed up several steps, but the man advanced on him. Xin Yao, panicking, stammered, “That’s not true! We’re just passing by—we were trying to help!”

“Enough of your lies!” the man roared, spraying crumbs as he spoke.

Yu Long had never encountered someone so unreasonable. He glared at the man fiercely and retorted, “I may say my friend is a bit mad, but you, sir, are simply unreasonable! How could a twelve-year-old boy beat up your friend to this extent? Are you overestimating my friend or underestimating your own?”

The fat man’s jaw trembled with rage, his mouth moving rapidly, though no words came out—just a few grains of rice. Finally, he sputtered, “Are you saying I’m unreasonable?” He took a step forward, and before Yu Long could react, the man was in front of him, startlingly fast for his size.

“So fast,” An Xian murmured, surprised at how the man’s bulk seemed to be no hindrance.

The man reached out to grab Yu Long, but a calm voice intervened. “That’s enough, Han Sen,” said the taller man from behind him. With visible reluctance, the chubby man stepped back to stand by the injured man.

An Xian noted how the fat man, Han Sen, seemed unable to defy the orders of the refined man standing on the bird. The gentleman smiled warmly at the children.

“My apologies for my brother’s behavior,” he said politely. “He tends to act impulsively when he’s angry.”

The children remained silent, still tense.

“We come from Moon Continent for the hunting festival. I am Han Jizheng, and this is my brother, Han Sen,” he explained, gesturing to the chubby man.

“I’m Yu Long. This is my friend, Ming An Xian, and my niece, Xin Yao,” Yu Long replied, trying to steady his voice. “We’re lost in this wasteland, searching for any place with vegetation and water. Could you guide us?”

Han Jizheng looked at them with surprise. “Lost? Where are your families?”

“They’re about a kilometer away,” Yu Long answered.

Han Jizheng seemed about to ask more but decided against it, not wanting to pry too deeply into strangers’ affairs. “Head west. It will take you two weeks on foot to reach a place with vegetation. For water, go about a kilometer and a half ahead, and you’ll find a small lake near a hill. It looks like an oasis.”

Yu Long’s face brightened, and he cupped his hands gratefully. “Thank you for your kindness.” An Xian and Xin Yao followed suit, bowing their heads in gratitude.

Han Jizheng smiled and then asked, “Little friends, did you happen to see what happened to our friend before helping him?”

Yu Long quickly explained everything they had witnessed.

“You said they wore yellow and black robes and were also flying on cranes?” Han Jizheng asked.

The children nodded in unison. Han Sen’s eyes blazed with fury. “Scarlet Sun! Those unruly people from Sun Continent think they can do as they please because of that Dominance Patriarch of theirs. But this time, I will hunt them down!”

Han Jizheng remained silent, then turned to the children. “Thank you for your help, friends. If you ever come to Moon Continent, you’re welcome to visit me at the Ember Moon Sect." With that, he and Han Sen mounted their crane and flew away, taking the injured San Mo with them.

Once the crane disappeared into the horizon, Xin Tianshi emerged from her hiding spot, visibly relieved. She joined her friends and looked at the massive bird lying nearby. “What about the bird?”

An Xian examined the creature with a gleam of wonder in his eyes. “I’d say we take what we can, but since the others will come here anyway, there’s no point in carrying it back and forth. The oasis is nearby, so let’s go bring everyone here.”