Jìng'ān Chéng, the City of Quiet Peace. The Wèi Mansion.
Han Yuan stood outside the towering gates.
"Old man, come out," he called, his voice calm but carrying an undeniable authority.
No response.
"Hmm," he scoffed. "Then I'll invite myself in."
He walked towards the door. Two guards immediately stepped forward, crossing their spears to block him. "You can't go in. Please go back."
"Do I look like I need your permission?" Han Yuan asked.
With a single, cold gaze, the two guards dissolved into nothingness. He walked into the main courtyard.
"If you don't come out," he announced to the empty air, "don't blame me for tearing this mansion down."
An old man with a long white beard and a bald, shining head appeared from the main house.
"I knew you would come, Han Yuan," the old man said, his voice tight with anger.
"Ah, Wèi Bó. So you knew I would be here? Why didn't you welcome me then?"
"You are not welcomed here. Please leave."
Han Yuan walked towards the old man and gently wiped his head with a single finger.
"Old man, your head is so bald, I can't trace a single strand of hair. Why don't you just become a monk?"
Wèi Bó turned his back to leave, but paused when Han Yuan spoke again.
"I thought you cared about the Guardian of the Orb? Now you don't even know that she is missing."
The old man spun back around, his face a mask of anxiety.
"How did you know that?"
"She turned into a rabbit," Han Yuan said with a smile.
"And is now in my hands. So, if you don't want anything to happen to her, you better hand over the stars map of the realm."
"Threatening me?" Wèi Bó scoffed.
"How do I know that you really have her?"
"I do. And even if I didn't, I could still leak the information that she is missing so that the whole realms scramble for her. If she falls into the wrong hands..."
"Aren't you the wrong hands yourself?" Wèi Bó countered. "You came in and killed two of my guards."
"It's because you refused to invite me in," Han Yuan replied simply. "So. The stars map."
"I really can't give it to you," Wèi Bó insisted.
"That is a treasure entrusted to our family from generations to generations. It is a written rule by our ancestors that it must not be given to outsiders."
"Ancestors and their damn rules again," Han Yuan sighed.
"Do you think your ancestor's rule is right?"
"Yes! It prevented many disasters from happening because of that map."
"Then whatever I say now is correct," Han Yuan said, his logic sharp and twisted.
"Since I am also an ancestor, for future generations. New rule: give it to me."
The old man was stunned into silence. "I-it doesn't work like that," he stammered.
Han Yuan just sighed.
The Gate to the Mortal Realm.
Líng Fēng stood before the shimmering barrier, his face a thundercloud.
"Are you sure you want us to go in, General?" one of his soldiers asked, trembling. "We could get heavenly punishment for disturbing the mortals' peace."
"SEARCH!" Líng Fēng roared.
"I want every corner of the realms searched! If you do not find the Sword of Light, what you'll get is worse than any heavenly punishment!"
"Yes!" his men shouted in unison, bowing before entering the realm.
The Abandoned Temple. Night.
Gù Míng sat at a table, pouring himself a cup of tea. On the cot behind him, Xiangling yawned and stretched her tiny rabbit body.
"You're awake," Gù Míng said.
"Mmmm," Xiangling replied, hopping off the bed and onto the table.
"Why are you alone? Where is the white-haired guy?"
"He's gone," Gù Míng answered, sipping his tea.
"Huh! You just let him go?"
"Sad he's gone? I thought you didn't like him?"
"It's not about liking him or not!" she explained.
"A guy like him, it is better to have him around us all the time, so we can keep an eye on him. Otherwise, he will mess up the whole mortal realm."
"What does it have to do with me?" Gù Míng asked.
"You won't be able to find the peace you seek," she answered, before grabbing a carrot from a plate Gù Míng had left for her.
"I'm not interested in watching someone," Gù Míng said.
"Tomorrow, we will go down and visit the market and see if there's anything interesting."
As he spoke, he noticed a shadow flicker outside the paper screen of the door.