Inside Yuyan's chamber, Mei's breaths had grown thin and shallow. In the dim light of the room, Yuyan could see it clearly now, dark veins spidering across Mei's pale skin, the color creeping to the tips of her fingers until they looked inked in shadow.
Tian Yu's hand hovered above her wrist, as if afraid to touch. "What is that…" he said, his voice low and rough.
Yuyan's lips trembled. Hot tears spilled down her cheeks, tracing wet paths over her chin. "What should we do?" she whispered, voice breaking. The words felt small in the heavy silence.
Tian Yu forced himself to stay calm. He pressed both hands against Mei's pulse. "Her blood is cooling," he said quietly. "The curse is feeding on her warmth."
Yuyan fell to her knees and took Mei's hand. The skin was cold beneath her fingers, and the black lines pulsed like living things. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the incantations taught to her in her past life, words of pulling, tethering, binding. She breathed them out.
Golden light gathered between her palms as it traveled along Mei's arm. The black lines sizzled under its glow, then resisted. The curse recoiled as if in pain, but it held fast.
"It's Ji Woo's blood," Yuyan said again, misery folding her voice. "Her blood anchors the spell. My light can slow it, but I cannot break it."
Tian Yu's jaw tightened. "If Leng Yue were here...." He stopped himself. He knew, as Yuyan did, that only Leng Yue's intervention could counter Ji Woo's dark binding.
Yuyan let out a sound that was half sob, half vow. "I can't just stand and watch her die." She pressed her forehead to Mei's hand. "I'll go find him."
Tian Yu's eyes snapped up. "No." He moved so quickly that Yuyan had no time to step back. He set his hands on her shoulders and looked into her face until she met his gaze. "You would go alone into whatever Ji Woo has set? You know where that road leads."
"She's my friend," Yuyan whispered. "She's like a sister to me. I promised....."
"And I won't let you throw yourself away," Tian Yu cut in, softer now. He exhaled slowly. "The border is where Leng Yue took the troops. If he's gone to hunt what Ji Woo stirs, he is in danger too. I will go. I will find Leng Yue and bring him back." He hesitated, then added firmly, "But you're not going anywhere alone."
Yuyan shook her head once, fiercely. "I must try one more thing. There is a binding chant, forbidden. It will draw the curse to me long enough for Leng Yue to break it. But it will leave me weak… maybe worse." Her voice was steady; terror colored its edges.
Tian Yu's face went pale. "You would risk yourself...."
"For Mei." Yuyan's answer came like a spear. "If I fail, at least I tried. It's better than doing nothing at all."
Tian Yu's hands curled. He wanted to argue, to stay, to hold her back. Instead, he bowed his head, the decision made in silence. "Then I will not go without you."
Yuyan nodded, dried tears cutting fresh tracks. She bent over Mei and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Rest," she whispered. "I will bring Leng Yue back. I promise."
---
As the night deepened, Leng Yue turned restlessly on his mat inside his tent. They had been stationed at the border for days, and still there was no sign of any intruder. Yet the air felt uneasy, too still, too silent, as if something unseen was watching.
But what disturbed him more was Mei. He hadn't seen her for over a week, and to his surprise, he realized just how much he missed her. The emptiness she left behind gnawed at him, filling his chest with a strange ache he couldn't name. The more he thought of her, the sound of her laughter, the softness in her eyes, the more restless he became.
Unable to bear it any longer, he rose from his mat and pushed open the tent flap. The night wind brushed against his face, cool and sharp. Without thinking, he began to walk, farther and farther into the woods until the campfire's glow became a distant flicker behind him.
Meanwhile, far from the border, Yuyan knelt within a circle of shimmering runes. She had tried every breaking spell she could remember, from the Binding of Echoes to the Mirror Release, even the ancient Blood Seal Dissolution. Each time, her chants filled the air, her hands trembling as runes of light burst and vanished. Yet every attempt ended the same way: silence and failure.
Her eyes burned with exhaustion, but she refused to stop. Finally, when the last seal crumbled uselessly in her hand, Tian Yu stepped forward and caught her wrist gently.
"Enough, Yuyan," he said softly. "You're hurting yourself."
Her lips trembled, her eyes glistening. "If we don't act now, she'll die."
Tian Yu hesitated, then nodded once. He raised his palm, and a surge of crimson light enveloped them both. In the next heartbeat, their figures dissolved into mist, teleporting to the border, where Leng Yue stood beneath the moonlight, staring into the still forest.
He heard nothing but the whisper of leaves and the soft thrum of his heartbeat. Then, a sudden ripple tore through the air behind him, and two figures materialized within the fading light of a teleportation spell.
"Leng Yue," Yuyan's voice called gently, her tone laced with both relief and urgency.
He turned swiftly, disbelief flashing across his face. "Yuyan? Tian Yu?"
Yuyan looked pale; exhaustion clouded her eyes. Still, she managed a faint smile.
"I didn't expect to find you here," Leng Yue said, confusion softening into concern. "What brings you to the border?"
Yuyan exchanged a glance with Tian Yu before answering. "It's Mei," she said quietly. "Something's wrong. Her spirit is trapped in an illusion I can't break. Every spell I tried failed… I fear the curse has grown stronger. We might lose her anytime from now."
Leng Yue's expression darkened. "Mei?" His voice trembled slightly. "What do you mean trapped?"
"She's alive," Yuyan said, stepping closer, "but her mind isn't with us. Someone, something, is feeding on her spirit. I felt the connection. That's why we came."
She paused, then added gravely, "My mother once told me, only a pure seer can save a soul trapped by blood. Ji Woo isn't an ordinary witch; her blood is powerful."
For a long moment, Leng Yue said nothing. The firelight in his eyes flickered with emotions too tangled to name, fear, guilt, longing. Finally, he whispered, "Take me to her."
Tian Yu nodded. "We will. But be warned, the place she's trapped in… it isn't of this world."
Leng Yue smiled faintly, his eyes glinting under the moonlight. "I am the Great Seer," he said quietly. "Then I'll follow her into whatever world it takes."