"Sister, your friend didn't look so good," Li Hao managed, but before he could finish, Li Hua's grip on his shoulder tightened anxiously.
"What do you an he didn't look good? Was he injured?" The worry in her voice was unmistakable, her usual composure forgotten in her concern.
"Oh? Worried about him, are we?" Despite his wounds, Li Hao's eyes sparkled with familiar mischief. "Who is he, sister?"
"Li Hao." There was a plea in her tone rather than warning.
"He said he just needs ti to recover," Li Hao's voice gentled, "and promised he would co find you."
Li Hua nodded, her shoulders relaxing slightly at the news. She tried to hide her relief behind her usual composure, but her brothers knew her too well—Li Hao's knowing smile and Li Wei's careful study of her face told her she wasn't entirely successful.
Her brothers tried to stand, but their legs betrayed them, shaking from the lingering effects of the cultivation-suppressing chains. They didn't fall—instead, all three of them shifted to support each other, their bodies rembering countless similar monts during their hunting expeditions when Li Hao's boundless enthusiasm or Li Wei's scholarly determination would overco their judgnt. Li Hua beca their steady center, her strength helping to stabilize her brothers' weakened fras as they leaned against each other.
The familiar action brought tears to their eyes—how close they had co to losing this, to losing each other. Like this, with Li Wei's trembling form on one side and Li Hao's weakened body on the other, they held each other up, though Li Hua bore most of their weight, her sister's love turning her into the pillar they both needed.
"So things never change," Li Wei murmured, his scholarly voice thick with emotion.
Li Hua tightened her grip on both brothers, her throat too constricted to speak. The weight of their bodies against hers, even weakened as they were, felt like an anchor pulling her back from the edge of despair she'd teetered on during their separation.
"Now, where to?" Li Hao asked.
Li Hua's fingers unconsciously traced the ring on her hand, her mother's words echoing in her mind: Places where you can hide, survive, and stay together. After everything they'd endured, after all they'd survived... Though she could take them all into her inner space physically to recover, they needed to get far from this place. If anyone ca searching for the False Elder or investigating the temporal bindings, they'd be too close to danger. No, they needed true escape.
"The Ascending Plateau Realm," she said softly, causing both brothers to look at her sharply. "Mother and Father prepared sanctuaries there. The rings will guide us." Her voice grew stronger with certainty. "We're all strong enough to make the crossing."
Li Wei's scholarly eyes widened with understanding, despite his exhaustion from the temporal bindings.
"Sister, are you sure?" Li Hao asked, his usual bright tone sobering even as he fought against the lingering effects of the void chains. "Mother said the sanctuaries were only for—"
"For when there's no other choice," Li Hua finished firmly, supporting her injured brothers more securely. "Look at you both. We need sowhere to recover, to hide." She paused. "We could try to return ho, but how? In your condition?" She shook her head. "With the rings, we can reach the sanctuary now." Sowhere I can protect you properly, she added silently, rembering how close she'd co to losing them both.
The rings on their fingers pulsed faintly in response to their shared understanding, awakening to guide them to their parents' prepared sanctuary. Mother had promised the rings would show them the way—now it was ti to trust in that promise.
As one, the siblings channeled their spiritual essence into their rings. The formations within ca alive imdiately, their father's craftsmanship manifesting in a soft golden glow that enveloped all three siblings.
For a mont, they stood suspended between realms, their forms translucent, before fading from the cave like morning mist dispersing in sunlight. Only traces of spiritual essence remained, quickly dissolving into nothing.
The world shifted around them in waves of golden light, their father's formations guiding them through the void between realms. Ti seed to stretch and compress, the journey both instantaneous and eternal, until finally—
Reality solidified around them gradually, like ink settling into paper. The first thing they felt was the gentle brush of mountain air, crisp and pure in a way that spoke of higher realms. As their vision cleared, they found themselves standing in a sheltered valley, where ancient trees grew in patterns that couldn't be natural—their father's formation work evident in every careful placent.
Before them stood a modest courtyard house, its walls gleaming with protective arrays that pulsed in response to their rings. The formations on their fingers resonated with the sanctuary's defenses, each pulse of light confirming what their mother had promised—the rings would guide them ho. The entire valley humd with their parents' power, layers upon layers of protection woven into the very fabric of this hidden sanctuary.
Li Hua adjusted her grip on her brothers, their weights still heavy against her shoulders as the realm crossing left them even more drained. "We made it," she whispered, relief coloring her voice as she felt the sanctuary's defenses settle around them like a warm embrace.
Li Wei, despite his exhaustion, was already studying the formation arrays with scholarly appreciation, while Li Hao managed a weak whistle at the sight of their refuge. "Trust Māmā and Bàba to prepare sothing like this," he murmured, his usually booming voice still soft from fatigue.
"Co on, we need to get you both healed and bathed." Li Hua guided her brothers toward the courtyard house, their combined weight steady against her shoulders. The wooden doors swung open at their approach, responding to their rings' essence, revealing chambers that had been prepared and waiting—as if their parents had known exactly what they would need.
Inside, they found rooms already furnished with everything necessary for recovery: healing herbs laid out in precise arrangents and clean robes folded neatly on carved wooden shelves. The air itself seed to carry restorative properties, their father's formations working to accelerate healing even as they breathed.
Li Hua settled her brothers in their respective chambers, each equipped with its own jade-carved bath. In Li Wei's room, she first conjured pure water with her essence, letting it fill halfway. From her inner space she carefully poured in the spirit water to complete the bath. Steam rose in spiraling patterns, carrying faint traces of spiritual energy.
Her movents were asured and deliberate as she ground the dicinal herbs in a spirit-jade mortar, following the precise ratios their mother had drilled into them during their training. The fragrant herbs would help purge the temporal energy from his ridians while strengthening his damaged core. So herbs she scattered directly into the steaming water, watching as they dissolved into trails of golden essence, while others she set aside in a jade bowl for him to consu during recovery.
"The dicinal bath is ready," she told Li Wei, noting his expression of stubborn pride. "And no argunts—I can see the damage to your spiritual pathways, eldest brother. I'll prepare Li Hao's bath next."
She moved to her second brother's chamber to repeat the process, determined to see them both begin their recovery properly.
Reviews
All reviews (0)