Chapter 4 - The Trail Beneath the Mountain

The next morning, Qingyun Sect’s bell rang seven times.

Seven deep echoes rolled across the mountains.

Lin Qingyue opened her eyes.

For a moment, she remained still.

She had dreamed again.

Snow.

A sword.

A woman’s voice.

And this time…

there had been a face.

White hair.

Blue eyes.

Shen Ruoxue.

Lin Qingyue sat up.

The image was already fading.

She pressed two fingers against her temple.

“Just a dream.”

She said it quietly.

But she did not believe herself.

⸻

By the time she reached the main square, hundreds of disciples had already gathered.

Elder Mo stood before them.

Behind him was a large stone tablet covered in ancient inscriptions.

“Three days ago,” the elder announced, “our sect received a message from the Frostveil Empire.”

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

“An ancient ruin has appeared beneath the northern mountain.”

The square became silent.

“The entrance has existed for less than one month. According to the records, the ruin belonged to a cultivator from an era that predates the Azure Celestial Empire.”

An ancient ruin.

Those words were enough to make even the calmer disciples excited.

Ancient inheritances could contain cultivation manuals, spiritual treasures, or techniques that had disappeared from the world.

Elder Mo continued.

“However, the entrance is protected by an ancient formation.”

He turned toward the stone tablet.

“Only cultivators below the Saint Realm may enter.”

Several disciples exchanged glances.

That restriction was unusual.

Very unusual.

“Qingyun Sect will send ten disciples.”

Elder Mo’s gaze swept across the crowd.

“Among them…”

His eyes stopped on Lin Qingyue.

“Lin Qingyue.”

She stepped forward.

“Here.”

“You will lead the group.”

Lin Qingyue nodded.

“Understood.”

Then Elder Mo said the words that made several disciples look at each other.

“Shen Ruoxue will accompany you.”

Lin Qingyue’s expression did not change.

Her heart did.

Just slightly.

⸻

She found Shen Ruoxue beneath an old cedar tree.

The woman was reading a book.

Not a cultivation manual.

A collection of ancient poetry.

Lin Qingyue stopped several steps away.

“You knew I would come?”

Shen Ruoxue turned a page.

“No.”

“Then why are you here?”

Shen Ruoxue looked up.

“Because Elder Mo told me to wait.”

Lin Qingyue nodded.

That made sense.

She turned to leave.

“Senior Sister Lin.”

Lin Qingyue stopped.

Shen Ruoxue closed the book.

“You don’t seem happy to see me.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Lin Qingyue looked at her.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Shen Ruoxue smiled.

It was small.

Almost impossible to notice.

“You’re very easy to tease.”

Lin Qingyue stared at her.

“…Am I?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

She turned away.

Shen Ruoxue laughed softly behind her.

For some reason…

the sound made Lin Qingyue’s chest feel warm.

She did not understand why.

⸻

They left the sect before noon.

The northern mountain was three days away.

The first day passed peacefully.

The second day brought rain.

By the evening of the third day, they reached the mountain.

The entrance to the ruin was hidden beneath a cliff.

Ancient stone doors stood between two enormous pillars.

Strange symbols covered their surfaces.

Lin Qingyue stepped forward.

Her fingers brushed one of the inscriptions.

A sharp pain suddenly passed through her hand.

She pulled back.

Blood appeared along her fingertip.

“Senior Sister.”

Shen Ruoxue was beside her immediately.

She caught Lin Qingyue’s hand.

The contact lasted only a moment.

But both froze.

A strange warmth passed between them.

And then—

the stone doors opened.

Neither of them moved.

The disciples behind them stared in shock.

“The formation…”

“It opened?”

“How?”

Lin Qingyue looked at the doors.

Then at Shen Ruoxue.

Shen Ruoxue was looking at her too.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Neither did I.”

The ancient doors continued opening.

A cold wind emerged from the darkness.

Then a voice echoed from inside.

Ancient.

Faint.

Almost impossible to hear.

But Lin Qingyue heard it clearly.

So did Shen Ruoxue.

“At last…”

Both women’s expressions changed.

The voice continued.

“The two swords have returned.”

Silence.

One of the disciples swallowed.

“What does that mean?”

No one answered.

Because the ancient ruin had already begun to tremble.

⸻

Inside the darkness, something awakened.

Lin Qingyue drew Moonfall.

Shen Ruoxue raised her hand.

Frost spread across the ground.

The disciples formed a defensive formation.

A low growl came from somewhere deep within the ruins.

Lin Qingyue looked ahead.

“Stay behind me.”

Shen Ruoxue glanced sideways at her.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t know what’s inside.”

“And you think you can protect everyone alone?”

“Yes.”

Shen Ruoxue stared at her for a second.

Then she smiled.

“No.”

She stepped forward until she stood beside Lin Qingyue.

“Not alone.”

Lin Qingyue looked at her.

Shen Ruoxue’s eyes remained fixed on the darkness ahead.

“We entered together.”

“So we’ll leave together.”

For some reason…

those words felt strangely familiar.

Lin Qingyue tightened her grip on her sword.

“Fine.”

Two figures stood side by side before the ancient darkness.

Sword and frost.

Moon and snow.

Neither remembered the countless lifetimes behind them.

Neither knew that they had once stood this way before.

But somewhere beneath the ruins…

an ancient stone wall began to crack.

And behind it was a painting.

Two women.

Standing beneath a moon.

One held a sword.

The other wore white.

At the bottom of the painting were four ancient words.

“They will return.”

The first crack spread across the wall.

Then another.

And somewhere in the darkness…

something laughed.

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