[The Warning of the Earth Yao]
Night was like spilled ink. The bamboo forest outside the guest palace rustled in the wind. Gu Xingyu and the Five Yao sat around a stone table, the tea long cold, but the air heavier than the winter night.
"A person from the Rift..." Cang Yuan tapped his cup, his playful facade failing to hide the storm in his eyes. "We thought this was just a palace conspiracy. It turns out the board is much larger than we imagined."
Lin Lie toyed with a broken gold gear. "If this 'Preceptor' can control the Emperor and manipulate the Yao-spirits, he isn't just an ambitious man. He knows the laws of this world better than we do."
Li Yan, silent until now, spoke with the weight of a mountain. "I've seen anomalies at Gray-Tooth Cliff. The Yao-crystals are shattering faster than before. The patterns inside them... they are in chaos. If this continues, the very foundation of our world will collapse."
"Chaos?" Xingyu's heart tightened.
"Like blood flowing backward," Lin Lie added. "This is exactly what the ancient texts describe as the 'Yao-Shift'—the inversion of order."
Xingyu looked at each of them. "Then we aren't just facing a political storm. We are facing a trial that could drag this world into the abyss. I need your help—not as a 'Saintess,' but as friends who want to protect the homes and families we've lost."
One by one, they pledged themselves:
Lin Lie: "I will forge a weapon that can truly guard this realm."
Luo Ye: "If some outsider wants to destroy this world, he has to ask my flames first."
Sang Qi: "I'm just a doctor, but if the world is sick, I'm staying until the end."
Cang Yuan: "I will sever his flow before he lets the world drown."
Li Yan: "I will stand in front of you all."
Xingyu whispered, "From now on, we aren't just seekers. We are the true Guardians of the Yao-world."
[The Quiet Reflection]
Later, back in her room, Xingyu sat by a small lamp. She folded her cloak, feeling the lingering warmth of Li Yan's silent protection. She picked up her pocket watch. The five seals flickered softly—five powers, and five hearts.
"You all say you will protect me..." she murmured. "But I can't walk this path on protection alone."
She smiled to herself, a bit self-deprecatingly but with a sense of relief. "At least... I'm not alone." She began to realize what each of them truly gave her: Lin Lie's steady trust, Luo Ye's fiery devotion, Sang Qi's safe space for her to be herself, Cang Yuan's uncanny empathy, and Li Yan's unwavering fortress of silence.
"I don't just need them," she confessed in the quiet room. "I already care for them too deeply."
[A Midnight Visit]
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. She opened the door to find Sang Qi standing there, a small ceramic jar in his hand. The moonlight caught the dark strands of hair over his brow.
"Sang Qi?"
He grinned. "Caught you. You're the type to overthink before bed and ruin your sleep, aren't you?"
"How did you know?" Xingyu blinked.
"Doctor's intuition," he teased, handing her the jar. "I ground some herbs. It won't make you groggy; it'll just stop your brain from spinning so fast."
Xingyu held the jar, moved. "Sang Qi... you always use the lightest tone to do the kindest things."
"Ah, you caught my trick," he chuckled.
"No," Xingyu shook her head. "I just... I treasure it." She reached out and lightly touched his fingertips. "Thank you for staying by my side. For not rushing me, and for not pulling away."
Sang Qi froze for a moment, the silence rare for him. He looked down and laughed softly. "If you keep talking like that, I'm the one who won't be able to sleep tonight, Gu Xingyu."
She smiled and told him to follow his own advice. As he walked away into the bamboo shadows, Xingyu clutched the jar to her chest, a warmth spreading through her that no winter wind could chill.