[The Burden of Secret]
Gu Xingyu clenched her fists as her mind raced. If Si Moheng was right about the Heart of the Yao-Spirit, this wasn't just a power struggle—it was a coup against the very order of the Yao-world.
She looked at the man before her. He was cold and calculating, yet he had laid his soul bare for her. This trust was heavy enough to make her heart tremble. If she accepted it, she would no longer just be a Saintess; she would be a player in a deadly game between the Imperial family and the Preceptor.
"If the Preceptor truly seeks the Heart, I cannot stand by," she said firmly. "But I need proof. Can you give it to me?"
Moheng handed her the broken needle. "This is a replica of a lost craft. Furthermore, in the old archives of the East Wing, the names of the dead are being replaced by the shadows of the living. If you want proof, start there." He paused, his voice dropping to a vulnerable whisper. "Xingyu... I hope you can trust me more. I am changing for you. If I want to walk into your heart, will you let me?"
Xingyu's breath hitched. "Trust isn't earned with a single sentence, Si Moheng. If you want into my heart, prove you are worth it."
[The Confrontation in the Tent]
When Xingyu returned to the camp, the air was thick with unsaid questions. She took a deep breath. "I ran into... Si Moheng tonight."
The silence shattered.
"You met him alone again?!" Luo Ye roared, his eyes blazing. "He's a chess player, Xingyu! You're falling for his tricks!"
Sang Qi sneered. "This is like putting a knife to our own throats. Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"
Cang Yuan added a sharp, mocking edge: "The Third Prince... does he want the girl, or the key in her hand?"
Only Li Yan remained steady. "Tell us everything, Xingyu. Don't carry it alone."
Xingyu revealed the plot: the Preceptor was using them to open the gates and retrieve the Heart, only to snatch it at the final moment.
[The Heart of the Variable]
"What if he and the Preceptor are acting together?" Sang Qi challenged. "Good cop, bad cop. It's a classic ploy."
Xingyu looked at them, her voice trembling but clear. "I cannot prove his heart is true. But I know our goal is the same—to protect the Heart of the Yao-Spirit. If we don't trust each other now, we've already lost."
Then, Luo Ye lowered his head, his voice cracking with a grief they all shared. "But if the Gates of the Yao-Source open... you'll go back to your own world, won't you?"
The tent fell into a crushing silence. The reality they had all ignored was finally laid bare: Xingyu was a traveler, and her mission's success meant her departure.
Xingyu's heart ached. "I do come from another world. The gates might be my only way home. But until that moment... I will stand with you. I won't abandon this world."
She didn't say the words echoing in her mind: When that moment comes, will I even be able to leave you?