The forest stretched wide, thick with fog and silence.
Every breath Jian Wu took felt heavy, every step pressing deeper into damp soil.
Yue Shan followed behind, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "We should've rested back there."
Jian Wu shook his head. "No. They'll find us if we stop."
"Find us?" Yue Shan scoffed. "You blew a hole through a mountain, Jian Wu. The whole continent probably saw it."
Jian Wu didn't reply. His eyes were focused ahead, sharp, restless. The blue mark on his chest pulsed faintly under his torn shirt, like a quiet reminder that peace wouldn't last.
---
Hours passed.
The sun disappeared behind the clouds, leaving the forest dim and cold.
Cicadas chirped somewhere far away, and the air smelled of wet moss and iron.
Yue Shan dropped his bag. "That's it. I'm resting. My legs are about to fall off."
He sat down on a fallen tree, rubbing his sore shoulder. Jian Wu stayed standing, scanning the dark woods.
"Do you ever stop?" Yue Shan muttered. "Even the heavens need a break."
Jian Wu glanced at him. "I can't stop. Every time I do… I hear it."
"Hear what?"
He hesitated. "The voice."
Yue Shan frowned. "From that thing inside you?"
Jian Wu nodded slightly. "It whispers. Like it's waiting."
---
The sound of leaves crunching cut their conversation short.
Both men froze. Yue Shan's hand moved to his sword again. Jian Wu raised his palm, signaling him to stay quiet.
The noise came closer, slow steps, deliberate.
Then, from behind the trees, a shadow appeared.
It was a woman.
She walked calmly into view, wearing a long dark robe. Her face was hidden behind a white mask carved with a single black line across it, like a tear. Her hair was tied back, and her movements were quiet, too quiet.
Yue Shan stepped forward. "Who are you?"
The woman didn't answer.
Jian Wu's eyes narrowed. "You've been following us."
Still no answer. The woman stopped a few meters away, her head tilted slightly.
Then she spoke, her voice calm, soft, but cold enough to make the air feel heavier.
"You shouldn't be here, Vessel."
Yue Shan drew his sword. "You..!"
"Wait," Jian Wu said, raising his hand. His eyes locked on the woman's. "You know what I am?"
The woman nodded once. "You carry the Void's Mark. That makes you dangerous."
"Then why aren't you attacking?" Jian Wu asked.
She tilted her head again. "Because I'm not your enemy. Not yet."
---
A tense silence filled the forest.
The wind blew through the trees, carrying faint whispers.
Yue Shan's grip on his sword tightened. "Not yet? You expect us to believe that?"
The woman's gaze turned toward him. "If I wanted you dead, you'd already be lying on the ground."
Yue Shan froze for a second. Her tone wasn't arrogant, it was simply true.
Jian Wu exhaled slowly. "Then why are you here?"
The woman reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small talisman glowing faintly red. "To warn you. The Sky Sect has put a bounty on your head. Every cultivator within a hundred miles is hunting the Vessel."
"That's not new," Jian Wu said dryly. "They already wanted me dead before."
"This is different." Her voice dropped lower. "They don't plan to kill you… they plan to drain you."
Jian Wu's eyes darkened. "Drain?"
"They've learned the Void energy inside you can be refined, converted into pure spiritual essence. To them, you're not a threat. You're a resource."
---
Yue Shan cursed under his breath. "Those bastards…"
Jian Wu clenched his fists, the mark on his chest pulsing brighter.
"Then they'll regret coming."
The woman stared at the light glowing through his shirt. "Be careful what you promise. The Void always listens."
"Then let it listen," Jian Wu said, stepping closer. "Who are you really?"
She hesitated for a moment before answering.
"I was like you once."
That stopped him. "Like me?"
The woman nodded. "A vessel. A failed one."
Yue Shan frowned. "Failed?"
She looked at her hand, pale, shaking slightly. "The Void doesn't choose. It devours. Most can't contain it. I survived… but not as myself."
Jian Wu studied her silently. "So you came to warn me out of pity?"
Her tone sharpened. "No. I came to make sure you don't make the same mistake."
---
Suddenly, a faint whistle cut through the air.
The woman turned her head fast. "They're here."
"What?" Yue Shan snapped. "Who.."
Before he could finish, a volley of glowing arrows rained down from the trees.
Yue Shan rolled behind a rock. Jian Wu threw his arm forward, and a burst of blue energy rippled out, shattering half the arrows midair.
Figures emerged from the mist, cloaked assassins wearing the silver insignia of the Sky Sect. At least ten of them, moving in perfect formation.
The woman's voice was sharp now. "You fight, you die. Follow me."
Jian Wu hesitated only a second before nodding. "Yue Shan, move!"
They dashed after her through the forest.
Arrows flew past, slamming into trees. Energy blasts lit up the night.
"Who the hell is she!?" Yue Shan shouted as they ran.
"No idea," Jian Wu replied. "But she seems to know how to stay alive."
---
They reached a cliffside overlooking a roaring river. The woman stopped, turning around.
"The bridge, cross it."
"What about you?" Jian Wu asked.
"I'll cover you."
"No," he said firmly. "We stay together."
The woman's masked face tilted slightly. "You'll argue about trust now?"
"Just move!" Yue Shan yelled, deflecting an arrow with his blade.
The woman sighed and ran first, crossing the narrow bridge made of old wood and rope. Jian Wu and Yue Shan followed close behind.
Halfway across, the attackers appeared at the other end of the cliff.
"Fire!" shouted their leader.
A storm of arrows filled the air.
Jian Wu turned, raising both hands. The mark on his chest flared bright blue, a shockwave erupted, tearing the bridge ropes apart.
The whole structure began to collapse.
"Jump!" he shouted.
Yue Shan didn't think twice. "Damn it!"
They leaped.
---
Cold water swallowed them whole.
The current dragged hard, twisting, roaring. Jian Wu fought to reach the surface, gasping for air.
He grabbed Yue Shan's arm before the current pulled him under again.
"Hold on!"
They finally drifted to the riverbank, coughing water and mud. Yue Shan groaned, rolling to his back. "Remind me… never to listen to masked strangers again."
Jian Wu sat up, drenched, looking around. "Where is she?"
Yue Shan pointed upriver. "There!"
The masked woman stood on a rock in the middle of the river, water rushing around her. Her robe clung to her body, mask still in place.
She looked at Jian Wu, then spoke softly, barely audible over the river.
"If you want to survive, find the Temple of Silence… three days west from here. Don't stop."
"Why help me?" Jian Wu called out.
She paused. "Because if you fall… the world falls with you."
And with that, she turned, leaping into the fog, gone without a trace.
---
The forest went quiet again.
Yue Shan sat up, rubbing his shoulder. "Temple of Silence? Sounds like trouble."
Jian Wu looked at the fading mist where the woman vanished. His expression was unreadable.
"Maybe," he said. "But I think that's where our answers start."
Yue Shan sighed, shaking water from his hair. "Fine. But next time, I pick who we trust."
Jian Wu smiled faintly. "Deal."
They stood, dripping wet, under the pale light of dawn.
Far above them, in the shadows of the trees, two golden eyes watched, silent, waiting.