Tao was the last to enter the cave, trailing behind Shun and Gu. As she stepped inside, her eyes widened at the sight before her. The chamber was vast, with an open ceiling that allowed the sunlight to stream in, illuminating the lush greenery within. A large tree stood at the center, its thick roots spreading out like fingers across the earth, while a small, clear stream flowed gently behind it. The combination of light, water, and foliage created a serene and almost ethereal atmosphere, making it seem like a hidden paradise carved deep within the mountain.

The cave was massive, large enough to shelter an entire village and more. It stretched deeper into the mountain, the dark recesses hinting at further chambers and hidden pathways. Gu gently placed Minho down beside the large tree, and Shun, still nursing his wounds, sat near the stream to clean the dirt and blood from his skin. Tao, feeling the weight of exhaustion finally settle on her shoulders, sat next to Minho, offering a reassuring presence.

Gu, scanning the surroundings, couldn't hide his amazement. "This place is incredible," he muttered, his eyes darting around the chamber. "It could easily serve as a base. I'm baffled we never found it before."

Tao nodded in agreement, her gaze fixed on the peaceful scene around them, but her mind remained alert, knowing the tranquility wouldn’t last long. As they settled, Gu suddenly shifted his attention to Minho. "Xiao Minho," he began, his voice carrying a weight of seriousness, "I know this might not be the right time, but..."

He reached into the sash around his waist and pulled out a small wooden plate, carefully wrapped in cloth. He held it out, his expression grave. "This was left with me by Senior Brother Dao when I rushed back to the village after seeing the fires," Gu explained, his voice thick with the memory of that chaotic night. "I didn’t find him, or the hostage we had kept in the village after. Everything was already in ruins. I believe this plate holds the answer to why we were attacked."

Minho’s eyes widened as she took the wooden plate from Gu. Her heart raced as she saw that something had been written on it. The characters, although hastily scrawled, were clear enough to read.

Gu continued, his voice softening. "Only Senior Brother Minfe and Dao knew how to read and write in the Thunder Sky Brotherhood. Most of us tried to learn, but we never became fluent. Senior Brother Dao must have known someone literate would survive, or at the very least, that whoever found this would be able to pass it on to someone who could read it."

Minho nodded, her fingers brushing the surface of the plate, feeling the rough wood under her skin. She had been taught to read and write from a young age, thanks to Minfe’s insistence. It had always seemed like a luxury, a skill unnecessary for a member of a bandit brotherhood, but now it was more valuable than ever.

Gu’s brow furrowed as he recalled the moment he received the plate. "Senior Brother Dao found me at the mountain’s edge, near the fields where I had been working. He was in a hurry, panicked, as if he knew something terrible was about to happen. He gave me this and told me to keep it safe. He bet his luck on me surviving since I was far from the village when the attack began." Gu paused, his voice thick with guilt. "He believed I’d make it. At least, that’s what I understand now."

Minho clenched the plate tightly in her hands, her resolve hardening. She knew that whatever was written on this plate could reveal the truth behind the attack, perhaps even the reason her entire brotherhood had been destroyed. She could almost feel Dao’s urgency as she traced the carved letters with her fingers, knowing that he had entrusted this vital message to Gu, and now, to her.

She looked up at Gu, her expression determined. "I’ll read it," she said firmly.

The others watched Minho in tense silence, the weight of anticipation thick in the air as she unfolded the wooden plate and began to read aloud:

“Xiao Minho or Brother Yuan, whoever finds this letter, know that I am not the man you think I am. The lives you’ve been living, the brotherhood we’ve built, is not what it seems. I don’t have much time, so I’ll make this brief.

My real name is Jin, a member of a noble family that serves the Council of the Frost Kingdom. I was sent here to the Jing Mountains with a mission—to infiltrate any bandit brotherhood, gain their trust, and wait for the day when the young Second Prince of the Frost Kingdom, Han Ming, would reach adulthood and make his escape from his hostage status in the Central Plains Empire. My duty was to ensure his safe passage across the borders and protect him at all costs.

Our intelligence revealed that the Empress of the Central Plains, Momo Zhou, had devised a plan to eliminate the prince before he could return to the Frost Kingdom. She orchestrated the formation of a bandit brotherhood whose sole purpose was to ambush and kill the Second Prince once he attempted his escape. Their plan was to make it look like he died in a territorial skirmish among bandits, concealing the Empire’s involvement in his death.

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For years, I’ve been waiting, living among the Thunder Sky Brotherhood, hoping that day would never come. But last week, it finally arrived. The signal was clear. His Highness had made his move. He couldn’t leave the Imperial Palace as himself, of course, so he disguised himself as a common traveler, and the only way I could identify him was through the unique cargo his caravan would carry —colored glass.

When you raided that caravan, I knew immediately that it was him. What I didn’t anticipate, however, was that the man sent by the Empress to stop him was none other than our own Senior Brother, Minfe. Everything I had planned for crumbled in an instant, and there was nothing I could do to stop what happened next. I had no choice but to help the Second Prince escape and return to the Frost Kingdom. My loyalty, after all, was always to him.

I don’t know what the aftermath will be, or how many of you will survive the fallout of this betrayal. But I hope that you understand that I did what I had to do to fulfill my duty. If you find this, know that you can use the colored glass and other loot we acquired from raids to start new lives in a nearby town or city. Sell it, and use the money to move on. You deserve better than the life of bandits.

May you find peace, far from the shadows of the Jing Mountains.”

Minho’s voice faltered as she finished reading. Her hands trembled as she lowered the wooden plate, her heart pounding with the weight of the revelation. The air was thick with tension, her companions too stunned to speak. Gu, Shun, and Tao stood motionless, their faces betraying the shock and confusion coursing through their minds.

The silence that followed was almost unbearable. What the letter revealed was the hidden truth of their situation but it was also a story that was well known in every corner of the Central Plains and the Frost Kingdom. The tale had become legend over the past decade. The Frost Kingdom and the Central Plains locked in a bitter conflict, constantly skirmishing over the mountainous borderlands, but it was Emperor Feng Zhou who had delivered the most audacious blow. During one of these border wars, he had secretly led a small, elite force through the treacherous Jing Mountains into the Frost Kingdom. His target? The royal capital. His prize? The young Second Prince, Han Ming.

That brazen kidnapping had brought the Frost Kingdom to its knees. With their beloved prince held hostage in the Central Plains, the Frost Kingdom had no choice but to halt their aggressions. The boy had been kept as a royal prisoner, his life a constant threat over the Frost Kingdom’s head. To cement his control, Emperor Feng Zhou betrothed his third daughter to Prince Han Ming, ensuring that the boy would remain under his thumb, tied to the empire for as long as he lived.

But not everyone in the royal court had been pleased. Empress Momo Zhou’s public outrage at her daughter’s engagement to a foreign prince was the stuff of court gossip, her infamous drunken interruption of the engagement ceremony still whispered about in palace halls. It had been a scandal of epic proportions.

And now, here they were—caught in the middle of a scheme far beyond anything they could have imagined. Dao, or Jin, had been an agent of the Frost Kingdom all along, his loyalty not to them, but to the Second Prince. Their entire brotherhood, their entire lives, had been nothing more than pawns in a royal game of political chess.

The silence was finally broken by Tao, her voice hollow and furious. “He just says live peaceful lives, huh? After everything we’ve known is gone… What does he think he is?”

Gu, who had been staring at the ground, looked up at her. His expression was hard, but his voice, surprisingly calm. "We’ll talk more later. You should all rest for now. I’ll go out and find something for us to eat." His words carried an unexpected steadiness, a sense of control that none of them had felt in days.

Tao, Minho, and Shun nodded in agreement, too weary and emotionally drained to argue. Gu turned and walked toward the cave’s entrance, his shoulders tense but his steps purposeful. It was odd, seeing Gu so composed. This newfound calmness gave them all a glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe, they could find a way through this chaos.

Once he was outside the cave and deep into the woods, Gu finally allowed himself to let go. His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees on the forest floor. His chest heaved with a heavy, painful breath as he unsheathed his sword and began hacking furiously at the nearby plants, venting his frustration and despair in a frenzy of motion. His heart felt like it was tearing apart with every swing, each cut of the blade slicing through not just the plants, but through the crushing weight of the betrayal, the loss, the utter devastation of everything he had ever known.

Tears flowed freely now, mixing with the dirt and sweat on his face as he slashed at the greenery with all his strength. His muscles ached, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional storm raging inside him. As the eldest of the group, he had no choice but to remain strong for the others. He couldn’t break down in front of Minho, Tao, and Shun. Not when they were so scared, so confused, so lost. If they saw him crumble, their fragile grip on hope would shatter completely.

And yet, out here in the quiet of the forest, away from their eyes, he allowed himself this moment. This single moment of pure, raw grief and anger. His sword cut through the plants in wild, jagged strokes until he was too exhausted to continue. He dropped the blade, his hands trembling, and collapsed onto the ground. His chest heaved with sobs as the full weight of the past few days came crashing down on him.

He wasn’t just grieving the loss of his brothers and sisters, the destruction of their brotherhood. He was grieving the loss of everything he had believed in, everything he had fought for. Dao, no, Jin had lied to them. Their entire brotherhood had been a lie. Everything had been a lie.

After what felt like hours, Gu finally forced himself to his feet. His legs wobbled beneath him, and he wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand, taking a deep, shaky breath. He couldn’t afford to fall apart, not now. He needed to stay strong for them.