Glimmers of Shattered Stars

After a night of rest, the morning mist had yet to fully disperse.

Liu Meng's guards cooked a huge pot of plain congee in the camp. Chen Qing filled a bowl for A Ning, who drank it in small sips.

After breakfast, everyone packed up, and the convoy set off once more.

The wrecked donkey cart had been modified and lined with soft cushions removed from the escort wagons. The two most seriously wounded guards, along with Liu Meng, were settled inside. Every bump on the road made them knit their brows, yet they gritted their teeth and endured without groaning.

Chen Qing sat on the driver's bench, guiding the old donkey. His gaze calmly swept over the road ahead. He appeared casual, but his spiritual sense had long since spread outward, sensing every stir of wind and grass around them.

Yan Yunxi rode a relatively docile nag beside the donkey cart.

Some of her initial panic had faded, replaced by the composure born of surviving life and death. Yet whenever those bright eyes fell upon Chen Qing's back, they still gleamed with undisguised curiosity and gratitude.

She had changed into a spare set of fitted clothes from the luggage. Though she was still dressed as a man, the somewhat loose clothing could not conceal her gradually developing figure.

The most eye-catching sight was undoubtedly the giant wolf walking on the other side of the donkey cart. A Ning rode on its back as it strode steadily along. The injury to its left hind leg seemed not to hinder it much, while its two dark green eyes shone like twin lanterns, vigilantly sweeping the forests and open wilderness.

Wherever it passed, even the chirping of birds and insects seemed to quiet down. The surviving guards held their weapons and spread themselves before and behind the convoy. Their gazes toward the Wolf King were filled with awe. They did not even dare approach too closely, unconsciously keeping their distance as they walked.

Chen Qing idly toyed with several items taken from the corpses of the black-clad men: a few poison-coated throwing darts, and a palm-sized, weighty Mysterious Iron Token. On the back of the token was engraved the ancient-form character for "Shadow."

"Shadow Kill Tower..." Chen Qing murmured the name. After recovering a little last night, Liu Meng had told him in fits and starts where this terrifying enemy came from.

An assassin organization that operated in the shadows, took money to do its work, and employed ruthless methods—one that made people pale at the mere mention of its name. For someone to hire them and dispatch such a lineup, with the box of You Lan Stone as their clear target, showed just how deeply this escort shipment was entangled.

"Brother Chen," Yan Yunxi said, riding a little closer, "I still have to thank you. And... A Ning and... the Wolf King too."

Chen Qing returned from his thoughts, tucked the token into his robe, and smiled. "It was fate, that's all. Besides, we also wanted to see this border fortress."

"Brother Chen!" Yan Yunxi seemed to want to ask something. Her little face flushed faintly with excitement. "I saw it all yesterday! That finger wind of yours, and your movement technique... Uncle Liu said that even renowned first-rate masters of the martial world might not be able to do it so effortlessly! You must be one of those reclusive masters who games through the mortal world, right?" Her eyes shone as though she had discovered a treasure, and she fired off question after question at Chen Qing.

Chen Qing laughed and shook his head. "What reclusive master? I'm merely a traveler who knows a little crude martial skill." His words were half true and half false. His system of power was indeed vastly different from this world's "inner force."

Yan Yunxi clearly did not believe him. She pursed her lips, but wisely did not press the matter, instead turning to look toward the giant wolf. A Ning lay quietly on the Wolf King's back, silently gazing into the distance.

"A Ning, are you hungry? I have some dried meat here." Yan Yunxi tried to show goodwill, taking a small oil-paper packet from her robes and offering it over. She had always been bright and kind-hearted, and she was filled with curiosity and sympathy for this silent, frail little girl, who nevertheless seemed close to Chen Qing and the giant wolf.

A Ning looked at her, then at the oil-paper packet in her hand. Rather than taking it immediately, she first raised her head to look at Chen Qing.

Chen Qing gave a slight nod.

Only then did A Ning stretch out her little hand and accept the packet. "Th... thank you," she said softly. Her voice was still faint, but a little clearer than before.

Yan Yunxi seemed to have received tremendous encouragement. A brilliant smile bloomed across her face, dispersing the gloom that had hung over her these past days. "You're welcome! It's good if you like it! This sister... ah, brother has more tasty things later. They'll all be yours!" She nearly let the truth slip and hurriedly patted her chest as if to cover it up.

A Ning lowered her head and took small bites of the dried meat. Her long lashes hung low, concealing her expression.

The Wolf King, walking beside the cart, twitched its nose. It seemed somewhat interested in the scent of the dried meat. It glanced at Yan Yunxi and gave a soft "wurrr" from its throat, as if saying, Why don't I get some too? When Yan Yunxi failed to react, it haughtily turned its head away and resumed its guard duty.

This small exchange eased the heavy atmosphere within the convoy somewhat.

One guard could not help whispering to his companion, "That wolf... it really understands people. Young Hero Chen is no ordinary man!"

The other nodded, lingering fear still in his eyes. "Yes. If it hadn't been for it last night... sigh! Still, it's frightening just to look at."

How could their whispers escape Chen Qing's ears? He merely smiled faintly.

The journey was monotonous, and Yan Yunxi was the sort of chatterbox who could never sit still. Gradually, she began talking.

She did not dare inquire too deeply into Chen Qing's origins, so she began sharing her own "experiences"—most of which were martial-world anecdotes she had heard from the guards. There were the secret arts of Shaolin and Wudang, legends of demonic sect enchantresses, and tales of this or that great hero slaying some villainous tyrant. Her voice was full of yearning for the martial world and wildly exaggerated embellishment.

"But my father won't let me roam the martial world alone. He's afraid people outside will trick me." The young girl sounded somewhat melancholy. "Even this time, I sneaked out in secret..."

"But if I hadn't come out, how could I have met Brother Chen and A Ning, right?"

At first, A Ning merely listened quietly. Slowly, she stopped chewing the dried meat and looked toward Yan Yunxi, who was speaking with such animated gestures. She seemed to have developed a faint interest in those strange and fantastical tales.

When Yan Yunxi told the story of a swordsman drinking alone beneath the moon before cleaving a waterfall in two with one stroke, A Ning blinked ever so lightly, as though her interest had deepened a little further.

Chen Qing watched A Ning. Her origins were like the mist shrouding Falling Star Lake. Like him, she seemed unable to remember whether she had been reincarnated or reborn.

During their noon rest, Liu Meng endured the pain and was helped down to stretch his limbs. He walked over to Chen Qing, solemnly thanked him again, then said in a grave low voice, "Young Hero Chen, after failing in their first strike, Shadow Kill Tower will likely not let the matter rest. The road ahead may be even more dangerous. We... are all relying on you." He glanced at Yan Yunxi, who was awkwardly trying to give the Wolf King water while the wolf licked a few mouthfuls with visible reluctance. His eyes were full of worry.

"I'll do what I can," Chen Qing said succinctly.

Since he had decided to interfere, he would see it through to the end. Moreover, the faint energy fluctuations emitted by the You Lan Stone had caught his attention. They seemed to offer some benefit to his cultivation of the Ancient Star Ruins Scripture.

The sun sank westward, stretching everyone's shadows long. The donkey cart creaked onward, leaving ruts of varying depth along the desolate official road.

Chen Qing handled the driving and kept watch. Yan Yunxi tried to coax A Ning into speaking, occasionally clumsily helping care for the wounded. The Wolf King guarded loyally at their side, sometimes swishing its tail in impatience. This woman was always setting her sights on its little master.

This strange party—a mysterious young man, a mute orphan girl, a proud Wolf King, stranded escort guards, and the cross-dressing daughter of a military family—carried a weighty mission and unknown dangers as they slowly headed beneath the afterglow of the setting sun toward that solitary iron-walled city in the north, standing amid windblown sand and war.

The official road wound onward, as though leading toward a future even more magnificent, yet fraught with killing intent on all sides.

A Ning had climbed down from the Wolf King's back and leaned against the cart canopy. She still held half a piece of uneaten dried meat in her hand. Her gaze passed beyond Yan Yunxi's excitedly gesturing hands and drifted toward the last streak of crimson clouds on the horizon, before finally returning to Chen Qing.