Wei Qiren stared at the man he had just saved. Although his body was still weak, the man's aura felt heavy, as if it could shake the ground he was standing on.
"Luo Yian?" Qiren repeated, raising an eyebrow. "A familiar name. Where are you from?"
Luo Yian did not answer immediately. He looked away, watching the snow slowly falling, as if it held a thousand secrets.
"From a time I almost forgot," he muttered.
Wei Qiren grinned. "Strange answer. But never mind, strange people usually have exciting stories."
He sat on a rock, leaning his back against a dead tree trunk. His sword was propped up beside him. "So, where are you going after this? The world is vast, but there's not much to go to without a direction."
Luo Yian turned his head, looking at Qiren with cold eyes but without any malicious intent. "Moyan."
Qiren was silent for a moment. "Moyan? Are you going to Moyan?"
Luo Yian nodded once.
"Amazing," Qiren laughed softly. "You saved yourself in a freezing place like this, and it turns out you have the same goal as me."
Luo Yian raised an eyebrow. "You're going to Moyan too?"
"Yes. There's some personal business," Qiren replied casually. "You know, even as a bandit I sometimes have principles. And that matter… I've been carrying it around for too long."
Luo Yian didn't react much. He just stared at the sky that was starting to brighten.
Wei Qiren glanced at him curiously. "Who are you really? Your face… I've seen many assassins, soldiers, nobles… But your aura is like… a demon that has just risen from the deepest abyss."
"I'm not a demon," Luo Yian replied softly.
Qiren laughed. "But you're not an ordinary human either, are you?"
Luo Yian didn't answer. But his expression was clear enough that he didn't deny it.
Wei Qiren stood up and patted the snow off his shoulders. "I don't care who you are. But if we're both going to Moyan, let's go together. At least, our goals are the same."
Luo Yian glanced at Qiren blankly.
"Just kidding," Qiren chuckled, though not entirely. "Besides, I'm curious. What kind of person would make you want to go to Moyan?"
Luo Yian answered without looking. "Someone I have to meet. The past… that's unfinished."
"Huh… same. Moyan is indeed a place where everyone's pasts pile up. The city is like a confession waiting to be paid."
The cold wind blew again, bringing with it the scent of snow and frozen leaves. Wei Qiren hooked his sword to his back, then turned to Luo Yian.
"Can you walk?"
Luo Yian nodded slowly, though his face was still pale. A thin black mist still faintly emanated from his body.
Wei Qiren shrugged. "Good. Let's begin our journey. Moyan won't come alone."
They began walking, crossing the cold, silent expanse of white. Two figures against a dark backdrop, one human full of vengeance and loss, one creature who had just returned from thousands of years of sealing.
They didn't speak for a while. But in the silence, the sound of footsteps on the snow formed a rhythm that slowly became familiar.
After walking for quite some time, Wei Qiren finally spoke again.
"Are you sure you can make this journey like this? Moyan is far away, and this is nothing."
"My body is only tired because I have not fully awakened. But this soul has been asleep for too long. I will not stop," Luo Yian replied calmly.
Wei Qiren nodded, a little amazed, a little confused.
"Then, let's go to Moyan together, but don't expect me to help you twice."
"No need," Luo Yian replied.
The two of them continued walking, but the tension between them slowly turned into mutual respect. They walked in the same direction towards Moyan, towards an unfinished past, and an uncertain future.
Luo Yian let the man go ahead of him, then he tried to use his inner strength to get there quickly. However, it only hurt his heart.
"Why?" he said softly holding his tight chest, he couldn't even do a small move.
Wei Qiren turned his head. "You can't walk anymore?"
"Those eyes are still healthy, right?" Luo Yian snapped.
"Heheh relax, about 5 kilometers ahead there is a hut. We can rest there." Wei Qiren said, starting to help Yian walk.
"Your name?"
"Ah name? I'm Wei Qiren."
Yian just nodded in understanding.
In Moyan, there was a commotion.
There was a massacre of the villagers of Qianxi, making them anxious again. They knew it was Luo Yian. Qianxi under the guard of the Shenli sect began to report.
Wangyuan looked panicked, how could the demon rise, the girl's blood should have made him disappear and the gem in his hand was fake?
"Moyan City is not doing well." Master Fuyi stared at the beauty of the world from outside his sect.
"Sir, almost all the residents of Qianxi village are gone, some are seriously injured." Guoshu reported.
"The devil." Wangyuan growled, he immediately went to look for someone.
Wangyuan met someone who was still himcalled the master. He immediately bowed his head respectfully.
"Master, he is too aggressive." he said in panic.
A black shadow immediately threw Wangyuan quite far, until he vomited red liquid.
"You were too careless, you didn't realize this was arranged by the bastard Mo Chenghai!"
Wangyuan quickly knelt down. "I'm sorry master, I won't be careless again."
"How is the condition of Qianxi village?"
"Some of the villagers who died, their bodies turned black and there were no blood wounds at all." Wangyuan explained.
"That means Luo Yian sucked their spirits. You, quickly find him. He has violated the agreement, and must be seriously injured, this is your chance to kill him."
"Yes, Master!" he said quickly.
Wangyuan immediately rushed, ordered his disciples to search all corners of Moyan city, and asked people in Dongcheng City, east to look for Luo Yian
Wangyuan wrote a letter.
"Find out where Luo Yian is, he must not be far from there. Just past Jiuhua Mountain he reaches Jinghai sea, if he is there, kill him before he reaches Fenglin village." he began to fold the letter and let his white dove fly to the east.
Wangyuan was the vice-master of Shenli sect in Moyan. However, he had an alliance in the east. There, was a trading place. Some prohibited goods, and human trafficking.
Dongcheng city, the eastern star, was indeed the center of trade. Not a few officials sought dirty money from this place.