Qiao Zhi and Gu Yangjin walked side by side along the winding stone road. The air was crisp with early morning chill, and the soft light of sunrise painted the world in gentle golds and pinks. Their footsteps echoed quietly—two figures moving through a world that felt both familiar and brimming with new possibilities.
It had been almost ten days since Qiao Zhi first met Gu Yangjin. In that time, the strange case of the young man seeking revenge had unraveled in an unexpectedly anticlimactic way. When Qiao Zhi confronted the boy, the martial art he demonstrated turned out to be nearly seventy percent identical to a technique from the Jinyu Sect. It became clear that Yuan Kang had nothing to do with his sister's death. The boy left with a heart full of despair, but Qiao Zhi felt only a cool distance. She already suspected what had truly driven his sister to her end.
