Gen waited for a long time in front of the Lost Triangle barrier. The suns rose and set, the desert winds scoured the stone, and the faint, shimmering scar he had left on the ancient shield remained as a silent testament. He meditated. He breathed. He did not move.
Until one day, the barrier rippled. Not from an attack, but from within.
He opened his eyes. A figure stepped through the shimmering veil, resolving from distortion into solid form. A smile grew on his face, cracking the dust on his skin. He quickly stood up.
"Li Fen!"
She smiled at him, walking out from the barrier's edge into the harsh sunlight of the ledge. She waved. The youthful girl from the Jade Palace and the Sky Ocean was gone, replaced by a real woman. Her face held a new calmness, but her eyes carried a weight they hadn't before.
"It's been a long time, Gen."
Gen nodded, scratching his head in a familiar, awkward gesture. After they'd reached the Four Kingdoms, Li Fen and the others had left. He'd been happy enough to know they were alive somewhere. Seeing her now, whole and here, was a balm on his loneliness.
"It has. You look… well." He glanced past her, his expression turning earnest. "What about Kaito? And Master Ting?"
Li Fen's smile softened. "You will learn the whole story later. First, let's get you in." She held out her hand. In her palm lay a simple bracelet of dark, polished wood. Five delicate petals, carved from a pale, almost luminous jade, were set into it in a graceful arc. All five petals were open, like tiny cups ready to be filled. "Take this. Wear it. It is the only way to allow visitors inside."
Gen let her place the bracelet in his hands. It was cool and smooth.
"But I need you to note one thing," she said, her voice dropping slightly. She pointed to the open petals. "They represent the number of days you are allowed on the mountain. Each morning at dawn, one petal will close. When the fifth petal closes and fans out, turning dark… you will have to leave." She met his eyes, apology clear in her gaze. "I am sorry for that. The Master of the Mountain is… complicated to deal with."
Gen nodded, slipping the bracelet onto his wrist. It fit snugly. "It's fine. I understand." He looked up at the towering pavilions, his gaze searching. "I don't plan on staying long anyway. All I want is to meet Lorel." He said it with a smile, but the intensity behind it was absolute.
He followed Li Fen inside.
The moment he stepped through the barrier, the world changed. The oppressive desert heat vanished, replaced by a cool, crisp air carrying the scent of pine and stone. The sound of the wind became a distant murmur. The ambient Qi here was thick, serene, and ancient. It was peace incarnate.
From the side, Li Fen observed his profile as he took in the sight, a warm, private smile on her lips. Ever since their awkward three person hug , she had never forgotten them, him. She couldn't help but feel a knot of envy for Lorel. At this moment, Gen's eyes saw nothing else on the mountain. She sighed, the sound bittersweet, and walked ahead.
Gen, oblivious to her thoughts, was guided, observing and commenting. "Where are we going?"
Li Fen pointed upwards, towards the mid-level pavilions nestled among the cliffs. "First, we need to find a place for you to rest. Then we can talk safely."
As Li Fen and Gen walked side by side along the broad, stone pathways, the disciples of the Lost Triangle observed with keen interest. They had all heard of the fanatic who had fractured the Shield of their mountain. Murmurs followed them.
"He looks… handsome," one young female disciple whispered.
"I heard he's here for Lady Lorel," another replied.
A third, an older male, scoffed quietly. "Not surprising. In the mainland, people say they were betrothed by Immortal Jiang. But stories of the old Jiang are dead now. So who cares?"
Gen and Li Fen ignored the curious stares and comments as best they could, maintaining a steady pace until they reached a quieter quarter of the complex. Li Fen led him to a small, secluded guest pavilion overlooking a misty ravine. They sat at a low table within.
Li Fen brought a pot of tea, serving the hot, clear liquid into simple cups. Gen accepted his with a quiet "thank you."
She sat opposite him, her expression turning serious. "What have you been through, Gen?" she asked suddenly.
Gen's hand went unconsciously to the silvery scar on his neck. He flashed a bitter smile that didn't reach his eyes. "It's a long story. One I would rather forget." He took a sip of tea, the warmth a stark contrast to the memory of cold null-energy. "But tell me, how was your journey after we separated?"
"Trying to run away, huh?" Li Fen said, a small, knowing curve to her lips. Her alluring presence, usually so controlled, seemed to soften for a moment, becoming almost irresistibly genuine. However, she nodded. "Alright."
She began retelling. From her, Gen learned how harsh their journey had been after the Four Kingdoms. The revolutionaries, the collapsing order, the desperate scramble for safety. They had been hunted. "If I had not made that deal with the Lost Triangle that day," Li Fen said, her voice barely above a whisper, staring into her tea, "to let us in… you might not have seen me alive."
Gen bailed his fist, his knuckles white. He looked towards the highest peak, where the Master's pavilion would be. "How can that woman be so cruel? Does she have no heart?"
Li Fen's head tilted slightly downward. "Her master thinks it is a weakness to be this close to people. It is like drawing a clear target on your back, making you easy to deal with. That is why we… cultivate the **Blind Heart** here."
Gen could feel the pain and regret in her expression now, thick and palpable. How could he not understand? Li Fen had sacrificed a part of herself. She had cultivated this **Blind Heart**—this deliberate emotional detachment—as the price for their safety, for Ting's and Kaito's sanctuary. That was the bargain.
He reached across the small table. He used a finger to gently lift her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. His own smile was forced, an attempt to will away her sorrow. "But you are not obliged to listen to her."
Li Fen stopped breathing. For a brief, suspended second, she just looked at him. This was the boy—now a man—who had dared to defy Divine Generals, who wanted to bring down the Damocles themselves. What would he not dare say? His touch was warm, his eyes held a ferocious, protective kindness she had seen directed at Lorel, at Chubbs, and now so fully at her.
Her heart, walled behind the cultivated Blind Heart, gave a violent, traitorous lurch. She wanted this. She wanted this simple, defiant comfort more than anything.
She shook her head, a sharp, minute movement, and retreated from his touch. She couldn't allow her heart to waver. Not now. Not when it didn't truly belong to her anymore, but to the covenant of the Lost Triangle.
Li Fen took her eyes away from Gen, looking sideways at the drifting mist in the ravine. "I know they all left you," she said, her voice regaining its quiet control. "But I just want you to know… you still have us. Kaito. Master Ting. Me."
Gen's heart clenched. The simple words, spoken with such sincerity, melted a layer of the cold isolation that had encased him. He forced his eyes to stare at the grain of the wooden tabletop. She was right. He wasn't completely alone. There was still Madame Su, somewhere in this world. And all the others…
Yet, the central need remained, burning through the momentary comfort. He looked back at her. "Can I meet Lorel? Is she here?"
Li Fen's smile wavered for an instant, a flicker of something complex—pain, sympathy, resignation—before it brightened again, polished and professional. "Of course. I will let her know you are here. In the meantime, it will be better for you to stay here and rest."
After saying her part, Li Fen stood up with fluid grace. She gave him one last, unreadable look, then turned and left the pavilion, her footsteps silent on the stone.
Gen stared at the disappearing woman with a difficult, tangled expression. He had met her father in the Sky Ocean—a schemer, a man of cold calculation and cowardice. She was so different from that Li family. Far from their schemes, far from her father's cowardice.
She was his friend, Li Fen. And he had just watched her walk away, carrying a burden he only partly understood, her heart locked in a cage of her own making for the sake of the very people he had come to find.