"Can a secret realm experience earthquakes?"
"No. That shouldn't be possible." Han Suyien's brows knit as another shudder rolled through the stone beneath their feet. "Either a large fight is happening nearby, or a beast big enough to rattle the ground is moving."
Qin Xueyi opened her mouth, then shut it. Her nails digging into her palm. If she spoke, it would look like she wanted to join their conversation. She refused to give them that satisfaction.
Since Han Suyien didn't treat it like an immediate threat, Yue Rin forced herself to do the same. This secret realm was maintained and guarded by the Verdant Pine Sect. What could possibly go wrong?
When the shrine appeared in the distance, Yue Rin's pace quickened. Han Suyien glanced at it and asked, "Is that it?"
"Yup." Yue Rin's relief came out too fast. She'd been half-afraid it would vanish and make her look like an idiot.
Stepping inside, the shrine looked almost the same as last time. Almost. Yue Rin's heart sank, because what she'd imagined turned out to be half true. Where the graceful statue should've stood at the far end…
There was nothing.
Yue Rin blurted, "I swear there was a statue there!"
Han Suyien's gaze went to the bare pillar at the end, where said statue should've been. She walked to it and brushed her fingers along the top. Fine stone dust coated it, with more scattered on the ground nearby. "It might have disintegrated, likely from lack of energy."
Yue Rin seized on the idea. "You mean… if the feather came from it, it was its source of energy?"
Han Suyien nodded and crouched. Faint grooves lined the pillar, worn down by time until they were barely more than scars. She traced them slowly. "There was writing here. It's mostly gone. I can only make out two words. '…Heart… Witness…'"
"What?" Yue Rin blinked, trying to follow.
"That's what's left of the inscription." Han Suyien rose and searched around the pillar and the shrine for anything else.
Behind her, Qin Xueyi's footsteps followed closely. Han Suyien's patience thinned. Although She'd heard Yue Rin's ridiculous theory, she felt nothing about it. Knowing Qin Xueyi had feelings didn't make the constant hovering any less annoying.
Qin Xueyi watched Han Suyien ignore her while focusing on this random rogue, and heat crawled up her neck. She was better than that girl in everything. So why was Han Suyien looking at her like that?
"Han Suyien," Qin Xueyi snapped, "why are you helping this purple haired rogue? Is she threatening you?"
Instead of the answer she expected, Qin Xueyi only heard a quiet sigh.
Before she could demand what that meant, Yue Rin's frustrated voice rang out. "Ugh, this is too hard to think about."
After finding nothing notable, Han Suyien returned to Yue Rin side without glancing at Qin Xueyi as she passed, making Qin Xueyi stomp her foot hard enough to sting.
"You still remember what the statue looked like. And those words might be enough to find something later, if you can match them to a record."
Yue Rin nodded slowly. "Have you really never heard of someone having six wings?"
Han Suyien shook her head. "Two, yes. Four, rarely. Six? Never."
Yue Rin groaned. For a moment, the disappointment hit her so hard it almost felt funny. She'd finally found something that appeared to be the opportunity she had waited for, yet she still couldn't make sense of it.
Then the realm lurched.
Yue Rin lost her balance and pitched sideways. Before she hit the ground, Han Suyien caught her by the arm and pulled her upright.
"Are you hurt?" Han Suyien asked, eyes scanning her as if looking for blood.
"No, thank you." Yue Rin swallowed, pulse racing. "But I don't think this is caused by some fight or a beast…"
Qin Xueyi wanted to feel jealous at how Han Suyien had caught her. A fall like that wouldn't scratch a cultivator anyway. But the tremors kept coming, making the unease in her chest grow.
A tense stretch passed as the tremors abruptly stopped, leaving Yue Rin feeling foolish for being afraid.
Realizing she was still holding onto Han Suyien, Yue Rin let go awkwardly, rubbing at her sleeve. "I guess this might be the end of my journey in this secret realm." She didn't want to leave Han Suyien yet, but with her cultivation in its current state, she'd only drag her down.
Han Suyien understood that without being told. "Once I'm out, I can come find you."
Yue Rin's face brightened immediately. She jumped forward and hugged Han Suyien tight, catching her off guard.
"Thank you so much, Han Suyien," Yue Rin said into her shoulder, voice muffled but sincere. "I usually stay at the Willow Inn in Dawning Vale's capital. I'm looking forward to your visit."
The moment didn't even finish breathing before Qin Xueyi cut in. "Do you have no decency?" she hissed. "No wonder you're a rogue!"
Yue Rin's smile twitched. For a heartbeat she wanted to bite back, hard. Instead, she forced herself to step away from Han Suyien and pretend Qin Xueyi's words didn't hit.
She took out her entry token and smiled. "I wish you a wonderful journey."
Then she crushed it.
Light swallowed her.
Yue Rin closed her eyes and waited for the familiar pull, the sense of being yanked out of the realm. It didn't come. She frowned, but the thought didn't fully form before the light faded.
A few breaths passed.
Then a voice she'd just heard a moment ago reached her ears again. "Yue Rin?"
Her eyes snapped open.
She was still in the shrine.
Yue Rin stared at her hand. Token fragments glittered in her palm. She'd crushed it. She'd seen the light. And yet…
"Eh?"
Han Suyien and Qin Xueyi were both staring at her with dumbfounded expressions. There was no question it had been Yue Rin's token. The light had proven it.
Yue Rin looked at Han Suyien, helpless. "Did it… not work?"
"Uh…" Han Suyien's expression tightened, her mind racing for an answer she didn't have.
Before the three of them could say more, the realm heaved again. This time it was worse than before, a brutal surge that nearly threw Han Suyien and Qin Xueyi off their feet. Yue Rin grabbed the edge of a nearby stone table and clung to it.
Then, through the broken roof, Yue Rin saw it.
A beam of light speared into the sky, bright enough to make the air look torn.
Her hand shook as she pointed. "What's that…"
Han Suyien and Qin Xueyi looked up.
And Both of them went still.