The valley fell into complete silence.
Thousands of Spirit Butterflies hovered motionless in the air.
The only sound was the faint hum of the silver arrow resting on the masked woman’s bowstring.
Lin Tianyu instinctively stepped in front of Yue.
“Stay behind me.”
Yue grabbed his sleeve.
“…She’s dangerous.”
“You remember her?”
“…No.”
“But…”
“My heart does.”
The masked woman chuckled.
“Still protecting her?”
She looked directly at Tianyu.
“So.”
“The Twenty-Eighth Keeper.”
“I expected someone older.”
Sun Xiaohou landed on Tianyu’s shoulder.
“…Ugly.”
The woman glanced at him.
“…Still as rude as ever.”
The monkey blinked.
“…Know me?”
“I watched you steal peaches for three hundred years.”
“…Research.”
She laughed.
“No.”
“You were simply greedy.”
“…Maybe.”
Shen Yuan slowly stepped forward.
His cheerful smile had vanished.
“…Leave.”
The masked woman respectfully inclined her head.
“Gardener Shen.”
“It has been centuries.”
“It has.”
“You’ve aged.”
Shen Yuan sighed.
“So have you.”
The woman smiled beneath her mask.
“Not nearly enough.”
The System flashed urgently.
Scanning Target…
Identity…
Partially Confirmed.
Name:
Luo Qing
Affiliation:
Unknown
Cultivation:
???
Threat Level:
Extreme
Warning:
Host is currently unable to defeat this opponent.
Tianyu frowned.
“…Three question marks?”
The System responded.
Target exceeds current scanning authority.
Luo Qing lowered her bow.
“I didn’t come to fight.”
“No?”
Shen Yuan’s voice remained cold.
“Then why fire an arrow?”
“I wasn’t aiming at the girl.”
She looked toward the fading silver light where the butterfly had disappeared.
“I was testing the barrier.”
The old gardener’s eyes narrowed.
“…And?”
“It has weakened.”
Everyone became silent.
Luo Qing continued.
“The Sanctuary is dying.”
“No.”
Shen Yuan shook his head.
“It is awakening.”
“For now.”
“But a Sanctuary cannot survive on one Keeper and two awakened Guardians.”
She raised one finger.
“Your formations are incomplete.”
“Your Spirit Veins are fractured.”
“Seven Guardian Thrones remain dormant.”
“And…”
Her gaze shifted toward the cracked sky above the valley.
“The seal beneath Monkey Mountain continues to weaken.”
Tianyu’s heart skipped.
“…You know about that?”
“I know much more than that.”
Yue stepped forward.
“…Who am I?”
Luo Qing’s eyes softened.
For the first time…
Her expression carried genuine sadness.
“You…”
“…used to follow me everywhere.”
Yue froze.
“…What?”
“You were too small to pronounce my name.”
“So you called me…”
She smiled faintly.
“…Big Sister Qing.”
Fragments flashed through Yue’s mind.
A young woman with long black hair laughing.
Teaching a little girl how to shoot a bow.
Braiding her hair beneath blooming peach trees.
“…Big…”
Yue whispered.
“…Sister?”
A sharp pain exploded inside her head.
She cried out and stumbled.
Memory Seal Reacting
Integrity:
89%
Uncontrolled Recovery Detected.
Tianyu caught her before she fell.
“Enough!”
He glared at Luo Qing.
“Stop forcing her memories back!”
Luo Qing’s smile faded.
“I didn’t.”
“The seal is breaking on its own.”
Granny Mu suddenly stepped forward.
“…Leave.”
Luo Qing looked at her quietly.
“…Aunt Mu.”
“You’ve hidden her long enough.”
“I’ll hide her for another thousand years if I must.”
“You can’t.”
“Watch me.”
For several seconds…
Neither woman moved.
Yet the air between them became unbearably heavy.
Even Tianyu struggled to breathe.
The System rapidly analyzed the phenomenon.
High-Level Spiritual Pressure Detected
Recommendation:
Do Not Interfere.
Probability of Survival:
12%
Then…
Hei Bao moved.
One enormous step.
He placed himself between the two women.
“…Enough.”
His voice was calm.
But the entire valley trembled.
Luo Qing lowered her eyes respectfully.
“…Bear Emperor.”
“…Still stubborn.”
Hei Bao looked directly at her.
“…Still lonely.”
The masked woman’s fingers tightened around her bow.
For the briefest moment…
Then it was gone.
“I didn’t come to fight.”
She reached into her robes.
Instead of drawing another arrow…
She produced a weathered scroll.
With a flick of her wrist, it floated toward Tianyu.
He caught it instinctively.
“What is this?”
“A gift.”
“Why would you help us?”
“Because…”
She looked toward the distant stars.
“If the Sanctuary falls…”
“…there will be no world left to fight over.”
The System immediately scanned the scroll.
Item Identified
Ancient Beast Atlas
Grade:
Legendary
Function:
Records the locations of dormant Guardian Beasts.
Status:
Seven locations sealed.
Unlock Requirement:
Keeper Authority.
Tianyu stared at the scroll.
“This is…”
“The map you need.”
Luo Qing nodded.
“You have forty-eight hours.”
“To do what?”
“Wake another Guardian.”
“If you don’t…”
Her gaze turned toward Monkey Mountain.
“…the thing beneath the First Seal…”
“…will awaken first.”
A cold silence settled over the valley.
Even Hei Bao didn’t speak.
Tianyu noticed something unsettling.
Neither Hei Bao nor Sun Xiaohou denied her words.
That meant…
She was telling the truth.
Luo Qing stepped backward.
Space rippled behind her like disturbed water.
Before disappearing, she looked at Yue one last time.
“…Little Princess.”
“No matter what anyone tells you…”
“…your parents didn’t abandon you.”
“They chose…”
“…to save everyone.”
With those final words…
She vanished into the rippling space.
The valley returned to silence.
Yue stood frozen.
Tears rolled silently down her cheeks.
“…She knew my parents…”
Granny Mu closed her eyes.
“…Yes.”
“Can I trust her?”
The old woman didn’t answer immediately.
Finally, she whispered,
“…She was once one of the Sanctuary’s greatest Guardians.”
Yue’s eyes widened.
“…Was?”
Granny Mu looked toward the place where Luo Qing had disappeared.
“…Until the day she betrayed us.”
The System immediately displayed a new mission.
Main Story Quest Updated
Awaken the Second Guardian
Time Remaining:
47 Hours, 58 Minutes
Failure Consequence:
First Seal Collapse
Recommended Destination:
Northern Forest Habitat
Guardian Sleeping Within: Unknown
[End of Chapter 19]