Morning spread slowly over the gardens of the Heavenly Palace, as if time itself had begun to move with hesitation. Pale sunlight filtered through the willow branches, thin and fragile, while the air carried a quiet heaviness — something unseen, yet impossible to ignore.

  Inside a peaceful chamber overlooking the Willow Forest, the Furnace Elder sat in his old rocking chair. His frail body leaned slightly forward, and silence rested around him like a familiar companion — the kind of silence that gathers only after many years have passed.

  Beside him sat Huo Feng. She was close enough to seem like a part of him, like the final warmth guarding a fading flame… Just as she had been on the first day Wu Xin met her.

  When the War Lord entered the room, he slowed ...then stopped. The scene before him was not new. Yet something in his memory stirred, pulling him back with unexpected clarity.

  He saw it again ,that first meeting ; A quiet girl with lowered eyes. And the Furnace Elder watching him with a knowing look that had unsettled him more than he had admitted.

  Warmth rose to his cheeks now, just as it had then and for a brief moment, he felt the same awkwardness he had felt that day.

  His gaze met Huo Feng's and he quickly looked away. But the feeling faded almost immediately. Because the moment he truly looked at the elder… everything else disappeared. the Furnace Elder looked like a lamp whose last oil had nearly burned away.

  His skin had lost its color. His hands trembled faintly in his lap. Even his breathing seemed shallow, as if each breath had to travel a long distance before reaching the surface.

  And his eyes… The light that had once filled them was now only a fragile trace — so thin it almost seemed like a memory of life rather than life itself.

  The elder smiled gently, though the effort showed.

  "Do not be surprised…"

  His voice was quiet and worn.

  "I have been dead for a long time."

  Wu Xin's brows tightened.

  The elder continued:

  "Since the Furnace Incident… this girl has been preserving my last breaths."

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  "Until now."

  Wu Xin's eyes widened slightly. He had not expected that answer. Slowly, he turned toward Huo Feng. This time, his gaze was different. There was something softer in it. Something warmer... Something deeper than before ; Gratitude… Respect… and something he could not quite understand.

  "I know," he said quietly. "She has a kind heart."

  Huo Feng blinked in surprise. She lowered her eyes slightly, unsettled by a gentleness she had never seen so clearly in him before.

  The Furnace Elder shook his head faintly.

  "And what you do not know…Is that she has found her new protector.... And that protector… is you."

  Both of them froze. Wu Xin raised an eyebrow. Huo Feng let out a quiet breath of surprise.

  The elder slowly lifted a trembling hand.

  "Do you see this thread of light?"

  They followed his gesture. And then they saw it. A faint strand of light stretched between the elder and Huo Feng — so thin it was almost invisible. It shimmered softly, like something that belonged more to destiny than to the physical world.

  "This has bound me to her since the attack on the Heavenly Kingdom." He paused to gather his breath. "And on that day…I saw another thread appear. A thread that reached from your heart… to hers."

  Wu Xin did not move. Huo Feng barely breathed.

  "And in that moment," the elder said softly, "I knew you were the one."

  Silence settled over the room. Not an empty silence but one filled with meaning too deep for words. After a moment, the elder spoke again.

  "So now… I entrust her to you...Protect her."

  For a heartbeat, no one spoke. Then Huo Feng let out a small laugh, gentle and slightly nervous.

  "You should have told me that instead," she said lightly. "I'm the one who will protect him."

  Wu Xin turned toward her. And before he realized it, a small smile appeared on his lips. It surprised even him.

  Something in the air shifted. It became softer...Warmer. Fragile in a way that made even breathing feel louder than it should.

  There was something growing between them —something quiet and uncertain, like the beginning of a story neither of them yet understood. Even the room itself seemed to wait in silence.

  Then...It broke. Slow footsteps approached the doorway...Heavy....Measured Enough to shatter the stillness completely.

  All three turned.

  Li stood there. He looked as though he had walked through a long night without rest. His face was pale. His lips dry....His shoulders carried a weight that seemed far greater than exhaustion. But it was his eyes that stopped the breath in Huo Feng's chest.

  Those gray eyes — once steady and bright — now looked hollow and distant like a sky emptied after a storm. He stepped forward. Not toward Wu Xin....Not toward the elder. But directly toward Huo Feng.

  He stopped in front of her lowered his head slightly. And when he spoke, his voice sounded strained as though each word had to fight its way out.

  "Huo Feng…Come with me. I need to speak with you... Away from them."

  In that instant, the warmth in the room disappeared. The fragile tenderness dissolved as if it had never existed...Something heavier took its place...Something quiet and painful a sadness that no one yet understood.

  Huo Feng looked at him , really looked at him. Something inside her tightened at the sight of his broken expression. Without a word, she stood and followed him.

  Slowly...

  Wu Xin watched her leave. He said nothing. But a quiet unease settled heavily in his chest and for the first time since the imperial decree…

  he felt something close to fear.