The morning sun rose quietly over Heng Ming Sect.
Golden rays filtered through the mountain peaks, washing the ancient buildings in a warm glow. The lingering chill of dawn gradually gave way to the gentle warmth of a new day as disciples began their daily routines.
The rhythmic sound of wooden practice swords echoed from distant training grounds.
Servants moved through the stone pathways carrying water, medicinal herbs and freshly prepared meals.
For the first time in many days...
The sect was calm.
Inside the Sect Master's residence, however, another day had begun much earlier.
Hidden beneath layers of stone and concealed mechanisms, the secret investigation room remained illuminated by several dying candles.
Xiaoyu stood before the wall she had spent countless hours constructing.
Names.
Reports.
Witness testimonies.
Timelines.
The mysterious symbol.
Thin strands of red thread stretched from one clue to another, connecting pieces that still refused to reveal the whole picture.
In the center of the wall rested the map she had discovered the previous night.
Her eyes lingered upon the route she had painstakingly pieced together.
The final point remained unchanged.
Bamboo Courtyard.
Her fingers unconsciously traced the inked path.
Not hurriedly.
Carefully.
Almost reverently.
"...Am I searching for a place..."
She murmured softly.
"...or following someone's footsteps?"
The room answered only with silence.
She remained standing there for several moments before finally letting out a quiet breath.
"No amount of staring will give me the answer."
She rolled the map carefully before extinguishing the remaining candles.
One after another, darkness reclaimed the room.
The hidden stone door slid shut behind her with a muted rumble.
No trace remained that such a place even existed.
—
Outside...
Shen Wei was already waiting.
The moment the stone mechanism settled into silence, he stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Young Master."
Although Yuchen had officially become Sect Master, Shen Wei still occasionally addressed him by the title he had used for years.
Old habits were difficult to change.
Xiaoyu had long since stopped correcting him.
"Good morning."
Shen Wei straightened before presenting several neatly arranged scrolls.
"The outer disciples have submitted yesterday's cultivation reports."
"The Medicine Hall requests additional funding for medicinal supplies."
"The Treasury has also prepared this month's expenditure records for your review."
Xiaoyu accepted the documents without complaint.
One by one, she read through each report.
Some required approval.
Others required only a brief instruction.
Compared to uncovering conspiracies and investigating assassinations...
These routine matters should have felt dull.
Instead...
They grounded her.
Every decision she made now affected thousands of disciples.
Every signature carried the authority of the Sect Master.
This was no longer a role she merely pretended to play.
Little by little...
It was becoming her responsibility.
By the time she finished the final document, nearly an hour had passed.
Shen Wei silently collected the completed scrolls.
"Is there anything else, Young Master?"
Xiaoyu looked toward the open courtyard beyond the window.
For a brief moment...
The image of the map resurfaced in her mind.
The route.
The final point.
The Bamboo Courtyard.
She looked back at Shen Wei.
"I'll inspect the inner residences today."
Shen Wei seemed unsurprised.
"As you wish."
Within moments, preparations had already begun.
Two personal guards took up their positions several paces behind.
Shen Wei walked quietly at Xiaoyu's side.
The small procession departed the Sect Master's residence without unnecessary ceremony.
—
The paths of Heng Ming Sect were already alive with activity.
Disciples carrying training swords immediately stepped aside upon seeing the Sect Master approach.
They lowered their heads respectfully.
"Greetings, Sect Master."
Xiaoyu acknowledged them with a slight nod.
As they continued walking, several instructors also stopped to salute.
Others quietly watched the small procession disappear around the stone pathways.
"...The Sect Master has been inspecting different areas of the sect quite frequently."
"So I've noticed."
"It seems he intends to familiarize himself with every part of the mountain."
"Perhaps..."
"...that's exactly what the sect needs right now."
Their voices faded behind her.
Xiaoyu continued walking without slowing her pace.
She noticed everything.
The disciplined order.
The respect.
The expectations resting upon the title she now carried.
Yet today...
Her destination lay elsewhere.
The mountain path gradually narrowed.
The lively sounds of training grounds became distant.
Before long...
Only the rustling of bamboo leaves accompanied their footsteps.
Finally...
The Bamboo Courtyard appeared before them.
Time seemed almost unwilling to touch this place.
Tall bamboo stalks swayed gently in the morning breeze.
Sunlight filtered through emerald leaves, scattering shifting patterns across the stone path below.
An old pavilion stood quietly beside a narrow stream whose crystal-clear water flowed with gentle persistence.
A weathered stone table rested beneath the shade.
Nothing about the courtyard appeared unusual.
Nothing suggested secrets.
Nothing hinted at conspiracies.
It was simply...
Peaceful.
Xiaoyu remained standing at the entrance for several moments.
Without warning...
Fragments surfaced within her mind.
A young boy sitting beneath the bamboo.
An unfinished sheet of calligraphy fluttering in the wind.
Small hands stained with ink.
Silence.
Always silence.
The images vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
She slowly stepped into the courtyard.
"...So this was your sanctuary."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Not a hiding place.
Not a battlefield.
Simply...
The only place where Yuchen had once found peace.
Behind her, Shen Wei quietly stopped walking.
He had accompanied Yuchen here countless times throughout the years.
Some days, Yuchen would remain for only a few minutes.
On others...
He would stay until nightfall without speaking a single word.
Xiaoyu looked toward the old stone table.
"I'll remain here for a while."
Shen Wei immediately understood.
There was no surprise in his expression.
Just quiet acceptance.
"As you wish, Young Master."
He turned toward the two guards.
"Remain outside the courtyard."
Neither questioned the order.
Both bowed before withdrawing to the entrance.
Shen Wei followed after them.
Within moments...
The Bamboo Courtyard belonged once more to a single person.
Silence settled gently beneath the whispering bamboo.
Xiaoyu stood alone.
Exactly where Yuchen had once stood countless times before.
The courtyard remained silent after Shen Wei's footsteps disappeared beyond the entrance.
Only the gentle rustling of bamboo leaves lingered in the air.
Xiaoyu stood motionless for a long while.
Then...
She walked toward the old stone table beneath the shade of the bamboo grove.
The table had clearly weathered many years.
The once smooth surface had become rough.
Tiny cracks stretched across the edges, while patches of moss clung stubbornly to the stone legs.
She reached out and gently brushed away a thin layer of fallen bamboo leaves.
A faint smile appeared unconsciously.
"...Someone really spent a lot of time here."
It wasn't difficult to imagine.
A lonely child.
Sitting quietly beneath the bamboo.
Listening to the wind while the rest of the sect bustled with life.
Perhaps...
This had been the only place where Yuchen had truly belonged.
Xiaoyu slowly sat down.
The stone bench was cold despite the morning sun.
She rested both hands upon the table.
For several moments...
She simply listened.
The flowing stream.
The whispering bamboo.
The occasional chirping of birds hidden among the leaves.
Nothing more.
No voices.
No footsteps.
No expectations.
She finally understood why Zichen had always known where to find his brother.
If she were Yuchen...
She would probably have come here too.
A breeze swept gently through the courtyard.
Several bamboo leaves drifted onto the table before her.
One landed upon her sleeve.
She absentmindedly picked it up.
Then froze.
Without realizing it...
She had traced several shallow lines on the stone surface with her fingertips.
Her eyes lowered.
There...
Barely visible beneath years of weathering...
Countless tiny scratches covered one corner of the table.
Not words.
Not drawings.
Just...
Aimless marks.
Some deep.
Some shallow.
Some overlapping one another.
The kind someone would carve absentmindedly while lost in thought.
Xiaoyu slowly brushed more dust away.
There were dozens of them.
Perhaps...
Hundreds.
She quietly laughed to herself.
"So..."
"You really used to sit here every day."
Her fingers moved gently across the scratches.
None of them meant anything.
Yet somehow...
They spoke louder than words.
The comic had introduced Yuchen as a ruthless villain.
An ambitious man consumed by power.
It had never shown this.
It had never shown the lonely child who sought refuge beneath quiet bamboo instead of surrounded by people.
Perhaps...
The comic had only told one side of the story.
Perhaps...
No one had ever tried to understand the other.
The thought lingered heavily within her heart.
After several more moments, Xiaoyu rose from the bench.
Her purpose returned.
"If this really is the place..."
"There must be something."
She began searching carefully.
Not hurriedly.
Methodically.
Every stone beneath the pavilion.
Every wooden pillar.
The stream.
The flower beds.
The roots surrounding each bamboo stalk.
She examined everything.
Nothing.
She searched again.
Still nothing.
An hour passed.
Sweat gathered lightly upon her forehead despite the cool morning air.
"...Impossible."
She unfolded the copied map from inside her sleeve.
Compared it with the surroundings once more.
The route ended here.
She was certain of it.
She had not made a mistake.
Then...
Why was there nothing?
She looked around once more.
The same quiet courtyard.
The same bamboo.
The same flowing stream.
No hidden mechanism.
No underground entrance.
No secret message.
Nothing.
Frustration slowly crept into her thoughts.
"Did I misunderstand the map?"
"Was the Bamboo Courtyard never the destination?"
Her confidence began to waver.
With a quiet sigh, she folded the map again.
Perhaps...
She had reached the wrong conclusion after all.
She turned to leave.
At that exact moment...
A shaft of sunlight slipped through the swaying bamboo leaves.
The light struck one particular bamboo stalk.
Not because it was special.
Simply because the wind had shifted.
The reflection caught Xiaoyu's attention.
She stopped walking.
"...Hm?"
She stepped closer.
The bamboo looked no different from the dozens surrounding it.
Yet...
Something about its surface felt...
Unnatural.
She reached out.
Her fingers brushed gently against the smooth green stalk.
Then...
She felt it.
A shallow groove.
Almost completely concealed by years of growth.
Xiaoyu lowered herself slightly.
Using the edge of her sleeve, she carefully wiped away a layer of dust and moss.
Little by little...
A tiny carving revealed itself.
Only a single stroke.
Nothing more.
To anyone else...
It would have appeared as an ordinary scratch left by time.
But Xiaoyu's pupils contracted.
She immediately retrieved the copied symbol hidden inside her sleeve.
Holding the paper beside the bamboo...
She compared them carefully.
Silence.
The mark was not the mysterious symbol.
Not entirely.
It was only...
One stroke.
One tiny fragment.
Yet...
It matched perfectly.
Her breathing unconsciously slowed.
"...I wasn't wrong."
Someone had deliberately marked this place.
Many years ago.
The Bamboo Courtyard...
Had never been an ordinary refuge.
Someone had wanted it remembered.