“Xi Xi!”
They were standing right next to each other, yet the serpent’s tail swept toward Bai Xi alone—who could have anticipated that?
The sweep separated the two.
Long Haochen tried to reach for Bai Xi, but he was blocked by the blood-winged serpent’s final burst of venom.
By the time Long Haochen dealt with the venom, he witnessed a scene that would haunt him with unbearable agony.
The dying blood-winged serpent coiled around Bai Xi’s exhausted body, and flames instantly engulfed her. The serpent plunged headlong into the nearby lake, dragging Bai Xi with it.
“No! Xi Xi! Little sister!”
“Chen Chen, I’ll be fine. I’ll watch you ascend to the Throne of the Divine Seal with my own eyes.”
In the end, Long Haochen could only hear Bai Xi’s voice, but she was nowhere to be seen.
The lakewater did not extinguish the flames. The blood-winged serpent died amidst agonized shrieks.
As for Bai Xi, she vanished the moment she entered the water.
All that remained was Long Haochen, slumped on the ground in utter despair, his head bowed as he wept bitterly.
Meanwhile.
Outside the remote town of Aoding, Bai Yue jolted awake from her sleep.
“Xi Xi!”
Though she hadn’t dreamed of anything specific, Bai Yue felt a sudden palpitation in her heart. Cold sweat poured from her, her breathing grew erratic, and a terrible premonition gripped her.
“Yue, what did you dream about?”
A gentle male voice spoke up. A strong arm wrapped around Bai Yue, pulling her into an embrace. Bai Yue didn’t resist; instead, she clung to him.
“I didn’t dream of anything. I just suddenly felt panicked. It seems like something has happened to Chen Chen and Xi Xi.”
Bai Yue’s voice was filled with helplessness and worry.
“I only sent them to complete two very simple tasks. They’ll return safely. You’re just too worried and can’t let go of them.”
The man held Bai Yue even tighter, offering her support and comfort.
“Really?”
Bai Yue remained uncertain. That feeling of panic was too terrifying.
Seeing her still deeply worried, the man reluctantly relented.
“Alright then, I’ll send someone to find them and escort them back discreetly.”
With this arrangement, Bai Yue finally calmed down a little, her worries somewhat eased.
“Aren’t you going yourself?”
“No. I finally have a chance to be with you; I can’t bear to waste it. Once they return, I won’t be able to meet you openly again.”
As he spoke, the man kissed Bai Yue, their lips lingering in a tender exchange.
If Long Haochen and Bai Xi were here, they would be both shocked and furious.
Because this man was none other than Long Haochen’s highly revered teacher.
He was also the one Bai Xi always felt wasn’t quite right—the man who looked at her with strange eyes: Xingyu.
And Bai Yue, drifting back to sleep, would never imagine that Long Xingyu had no intention of sending anyone to find Long Haochen and Bai Xi. It was merely empty words.
Because Long Xingyu didn’t care much about the siblings and didn’t believe they would encounter any real danger.
On that night as they slept peacefully.
Bai Xi’s fate remained unknown, while Long Haochen was consumed by despair and self-blame. He dove into the lake countless times to search, only finding the corpse of the blood-winged serpent at the bottom, with no trace of Bai Xi anywhere.
The lake wasn’t large. Over the course of the night, Long Haochen scoured nearly every inch of the lakebed meticulously, but his efforts yielded nothing.
“Xi Xi…”
At that moment, Long Haochen sat by the lakeside, his head buried in his hands, calling Bai Xi’s name softly, over and over again.
Water still clung to his body, perhaps from soaking too many times in the lake water, his face was extremely pale, nearly translucent.
Just as Long Haochen was utterly despairing, wishing he could vanish into the depths of the lake along with her, the rhythm of his heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat. A slightly cool hand brushed against his wrist.
He jerked his head toward the lake and saw a fair, delicate little hand reaching out of the water, groping as if trying to grasp a lifeline on the shore.
“Sister!”
With just one glance, Long Haochen recognized that hand. He grabbed it tightly and pulled the person out of the water. The overwhelming joy of having her back enveloped his heart.
“How did you manage to get yourself into such a sorry state too!”
Seeing Long Haochen, Bai Xi also breathed a sigh of relief and teased him with a smile.
She had no idea how wretched she herself looked, yet she commented on Long Haochen instead.
At that moment, she resembled someone who had just recovered from a serious illness—though free from pain, her vitality had not yet fully returned.
“You’re alive, you’re alive…”
Long Haochen said nothing else, only holding his recovered sister tightly. His lingering unease seeped into his voice.
“I searched the lake for so long, but I couldn’t find you anywhere. Where did you come from? Where did you emerge from… I thought I had lost you forever…”
“Did you search for me all night? You fool, didn’t I say I’d be fine?”
Bai Xi felt both exasperated and moved, revealing a little to Long Haochen.
“I’m someone with a halo—I always turn misfortune into blessing. Don’t just see the danger I faced this time; I also encountered a great opportunity. Guess what it is.”
Bai Xi only mentioned what she had gained, hoping to reassure and cheer up Long Haochen.
But she said nothing about how she had nearly died to obtain that thing.
Fortunately, at the critical moment, the second seal was broken.
Only then could she acquire the treasure and return safely.
“Are you trying to distract me?”
Long Haochen, for once, wasn’t fooled. He pointed at the multiple tears in Bai Xi’s clothes.
“These marks are from sharp blades, aren’t they?”
“Even though you gained an opportunity, you must have been seriously injured. Probably that opportunity healed your wounds, but the traces on your clothes remain uncovered.”
How could the attentive Long Haochen fail to notice the subtle changes on Bai Xi?
“I did want to distract you, but you still noticed.”
Since she had been found out, Bai Xi saw no point in hiding it anymore.
She still smiled as she said, “Although I suffered a tiny bit of injury, compared to what I gained, these little wounds are nothing.”
The wounds had long since healed; only the torn clothes and Bai Xi herself knew that the so-called “tiny injuries” were actually one hundred and twenty deep gashes that reached the bone.
Many opportunities come with danger—either a great leap forward or a fatal end.
The greater the danger, the greater the reward.
“Quick, guess what I got. That thing is really amazing.”
Bai Xi shook the sorrowful Long Haochen, insisting he guess to divert his attention.
“There are so many treasures in the world—how could I possibly guess? But since you’re asking me to guess, it must be something we’ve seen before, and you’ve mentioned wanting to have it.”
Long Haochen understood Bai Xi very well. After searching through his mind, he immediately knew what treasure Bai Xi was referring to.
“A Spirit Furnace?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve obtained a Spirit Furnace.”