Reunion and Scars

The door opened.

The room was dark; the charcoal fire was almost out, casting two shadowy figures. Lu Yuan slipped in and closed the door behind him, first scanning the room—broken walls, leaky windows, and piles of rotten firewood in the corner. Safe.

The figure beside the charcoal fire suddenly stood up.

"Lu Yuan?" Mo Chen's voice was low and anxious.

Shen Moxin remained silent, taking half a step forward, her glasses reflecting the firelight.

Lu Yuan walked over, his steps a little unsteady. After three days of hiding in the underground cave and traveling through the night, he had almost exhausted forty percent of his Soul Power. He found a wooden stool by the charcoal fire and sat down, reaching out to warm his hands. The flickering firelight illuminated his pale face.

"It's me." My voice was a little hoarse.

Mo Chen let out a breath and sat back down. Shen Moxin also sat down, her back straight.

No one laughed. The air in the room felt as heavy as lead.

Lu Yuan warmed his hands for a while, then looked up. "Where's Lin Xiao?" he asked, his voice calm, but something seemed to be weighing on his heart.

Mo Chen turned his face away. Shen Moxin pursed her lips.

A few moments of silence followed, broken only by the occasional crackling of the charcoal fire.

Suddenly, Mo Chen slammed his fist into the earthen wall! With a dull thud, plaster crumbled off the wall. His knuckles turned white as he pressed his fist against the wall, a low growl rumbling from his throat.

"That brat Lin Xiao... he's been captured by that old codger Soul Emperor from the Cloud Mist Sect!"

Lu Yuan stopped warming himself by the fire. His face remained expressionless, but his eyelashes twitched.

Mo Chen was panting, his words coming out quickly and incoherently. "I knew something was wrong when I heard the explosion in the southeast corner. I made a commotion on the west side to try and distract them... The explosion happened, and the pursuers moved on for a while. We tracked down to your signal area, but we couldn't find you, and we couldn't find him either."

He paused, then punched again, this time lighter, with a weaker sound. "Later, they risked approaching the Cloud Mist Sect's camp to investigate. They had all retreated. They captured a lone, wounded disciple and interrogated him... He said the elder had captured a prisoner, a young Soul Master of incredible speed, with a scar on his left cheek. The group withdrew from the Black Stone Mountain Range overnight, heading towards the sect."

Shen Moxin spoke, her voice as cold as ice. "After we withdrew, we left sentries to observe the mine outpost. Two days ago, a group of the Cloud Mist Sect members searched that area and lingered at the entrance for a long time. Fortunately, the outpost had been cleared and relocated long ago, and Su Yan, Li Wangye, and your father all safely returned to the old house in Maple Leaf Town. There were no casualties."

No one was injured or killed. But Lin Xiao was gone.

Lu Yuan slowly withdrew his hand and placed it on his knee. His fingers curled up and then relaxed. The embers flickered in his eyes.

Success! He obtained the Soul Marrow Essence, three pieces, and placed them in his inner chest pocket. The stronghold was saved, and everyone was evacuated alive.

But the price was Lin Xiao.

Mo Chen's shoulders slumped, the rekindled fire in his eyes now crumbling under the weight of guilt. "We created the explosion, but we only managed to reach the direction of your signal..." he murmured, "... we didn't find him."

Shen Moxin took off her glasses and slowly wiped them with the corner of her clothes. Her movements were unusually slow. "Everyone was saddened by Lin Xiao's capture. Su Yan and Li Wangye trained without uttering a sound, and your father sat in the courtyard all day gazing towards the Black Stone Mountain Range. That child, though wild..."

He choked up.

Lu Yuan listened in silence. His right index finger, resting on his knee, began to tap his kneecap repeatedly. Tap, tap, tap. The rhythm was steady and cold.

After a while, he stopped tapping, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small bag wrapped in scraps of cloth. He placed it on the ground between the three of them and, by the light of the charcoal fire, began to open it layer by layer.

Three pale golden crystals, each the size of a pigeon's egg, lay quietly, emitting a soft glow.

The light slightly dimmed the darkness in the room. Just a little.

"I got the stuff." Lu Yuan said, his voice calm to the point of indifference. His gaze fell on the essence, then he looked up again. "Three pieces."

Mo Chen stared at the essence, his eyes filled with complex emotions. Shen Moxin put her glasses back on, her gaze scrutinizing the crystal with a mixture of inquiry and a poignant sense of loss for what was once a different world.

"Lin Xiao," Lu Yuan continued, his tone unchanged, each word clear, "Must be saved as well."

Mo Chen suddenly looked up. "How do we save them?" His voice rose and then fell, filled with anxiety. "Charge into the Cloud Mist Sect? Do you even know where their sect is? How many Soul King Soul Emperor do they have? That's suicide!"

Lu Yuan shook his head. "Of course, it's not about reckless action." His gaze sharpened, piercing through the weariness. "The Cloud Mist Sect captured him simply to interrogate him about the whereabouts of his accomplices and to track down the treasure. Lin Xiao is tough; he won't speak easily. As long as he doesn't reveal what they want, he won't die anytime soon. This is a window of opportunity."

He paused, then tapped his index finger faster, as if he were performing a calculation. "To save them, the first step isn't force, it's intelligence. We need to know the Cloud Mist Sect's internal structure, their location, the guard rotation patterns, and the hidden and visible sentries near the sect's gate. We even need to know if there are any factional conflicts within their ranks that we can exploit."

Shen Moxin frowned. "This intelligence... is extremely confidential. We have no connections whatsoever, how can we obtain it?"

"So we need a second step." Lu Yuan looked at her, then at Mo Chen, "We need to improve our own strength as soon as possible. Especially you and Su Yan. Mo Chen, your old injuries and stagnant Soul Power; Teacher Shen's theoretical research bottleneck; Su Yan Li Wangye's foundation; my father's hurdle that's been stuck for fifteen years... We're too weak, so weak that we don't even have the qualifications to gather intelligence."

His gaze returned to the Soul Marrow Essence, where a warm, gentle glow flowed.

"This thing," Lu Yuan's voice lowered, becoming more somber, "Might help us move faster. I've studied it in the cave for three days; it's not just a tonic for nourishing the soul. Its more crucial function is 'lubrication' and 'catalysis.' It might have effects we haven't even considered regarding breaking through bottlenecks, healing old injuries, and accelerating the accumulation of basic Soul Power."

He looked up at his two companions. The embers cast their shadows on the mottled earthen wall, flickering and intertwining.

"The road is difficult, the enemy is strong. Lin Xiao is waiting; we have no time to be discouraged," Lu Yuan said finally, each word landing heavily on the ground. "We got the stuff, but we lost the person. Let's use what we got to find them. One step at a time."

Mo Chen stared blankly at him, his fist slowly loosening. Shen Moxin adjusted his glasses, the confusion in his eyes replaced by a renewed focus.

The room remained quiet, but the suffocating sense of powerlessness seemed to have been torn open.

Lu Yuan carefully wrapped the essence again and put it away close to his body. His movements were meticulous, like putting away Core Flame.

Outside the window, the wilderness wind still howls. The long night is endless, and the road ahead is pitch black.

But at least they know where to go next.