Three days passed in a flash after they left the Far North.
A gentle wind swept across the open country. Huo Yuhao and his three companions kept moving, with Violet walking at his side, tall and elegant, alert to every stir around them.
Huo Yuhao held the hand of the skipping Huo Yan'er on one side, while Gu Yue walked beside him on the other.
After a winding journey, the four of them entered a vast, dense forest.
Their purpose was clear. Huo Yuhao had proposed bringing Gu Yue here for the dragon bones left behind by the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings.
In truth, Huo Yuhao had no idea where the legendary Dragon Valley lay. But he felt Gu Yue should have the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' bones.
Even now, Huo Yuhao could not fully imagine what he would eventually make of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Countless ideas rose and fell in his mind, but none had taken definite shape.
He looked out over the sea of trees and gently let out a breath, his eyes full of feeling.
"It's nothing like I imagined."
The Sunset Forest in the original story had been different. There, poisonous miasma hung year-round and venomous creatures ran rampant. No living person dared enter. It was a forbidden land for all living things.
But the forest spread out before him now was another world entirely. Towering trees stood beneath interwoven layers of leaves. Sunlight filtered through the gaps, scattering flecks of gold across the ground. A breeze carried the fresh scent of plants through the woods, and peace and comfort seemed to fill every corner.
"A different fate really can set even a whole world on another path," Huo Yuhao murmured.
Once the butterfly of fate beat its wings, one