When Han Qianzhang finally awakened, he had no idea what had happened. He even looked around in bewilderment and asked why he had been bound.
Han Yuexi and her parents exchanged glances but withheld the truth. In their hearts, they suspected the eclipse was to blame for his loss of control—but why, they did not understand. They were powerless to make sense of it, unable to divine the cause.
Her parents entrusted Han Yuexi with his care and set off to seek a cure. And so two thousand years passed.
At that point, Han Yuexi’s expression grew somber. She wrapped her slender arms around herself and curled into a ball of loneliness. Seeing this, Ye Yu couldn’t help blurting out a word of condolence—but his sympathy earned him a glare.
“My parents are still alive!” she snapped.
“Ah... my apologies—then why do you look so forlorn?” Ye Yu shifted uncomfortably. The script seemed all wrong. Usually in such tales, the prodigy with Heaven’s secret would lose his family and bear a tragic grudge. Yet here her parents still lived. Ye Yu kept this to himself, lest he provoke her ire.
“I simply feel lonely,” she said, shooting him another glare. He hastily waved for her to continue.
Han Yuexi went on. Over the two millennia, her parents had not broken contact; they continued searching for a divine lord’s help. Rumors had reached them of a lead, but summoning that deity would take time. Han Yuexi still vowed to protect her brother—but with each recent eclipse, she grew weaker. Han Qianzhang’s power advanced rapidly: even without her instruction, he had climbed into the Great God Realm. With each eclipse his frenzy surged, making it ever more difficult for her to restrain him. She prayed her parents would return with a solution soon.
Yet destiny proved fickle. Though brilliant, Han Qianzhang’s isolation had left his heart simple. During one of Han Yuexi’s retreats, he had quietly slipped away chasing a butterfly—and that very day he encountered the Hidden Ghost Daoist Lu Yuan. At his first sight of Han Qianzhang, the specters within Lu Yuan’s body howled and tried to flee, even at the cost of their own dissolution. Intrigued, Lu Yuan attempted to divine the boy’s fate—but the backlash left him coughing blood.
He became even more determined to seize Han Qianzhang. Just then Han Yuexi launched a surprise attack, forcing Lu Yuan to retreat, and fled with her brother clutched in her arms. Because of his wounds, Lu Yuan could not pursue them with full power.
But within days he had tracked down Han Yuexi’s trail to the divine city and demanded she surrender her brother—“or die.” Han Yuexi refused, and they battled. She was defeated and narrowly escaped, hiding Han Qianzhang away. Ever since, Lu Yuan hunted her relentlessly, finding her again every century.
It was during one of these desperate flights that she had met Ye Yu. Every time she fell, she perished by Lu Yuan’s hand—but miraculously seemed to rewind and resurrect. Yesterday, upon seeing Ye Yu again, she could not distinguish dream from reality and assumed her chance had come. She had thrown herself at Lu Yuan, hoping to find his weakness—after all, death was harmless if time rewound. Now she knew the truth was far more complex.
Ye Yu’s expression grew grave. Being hunted by an Ancient God–Realm power was no trivial matter.
“May I ask,” he ventured, “what realm are your parents? Have you sought their aid?”
“They are both Ancient God–Realm,” she replied, “but they journeyed to a secret realm in search of that divine lord, and I cannot contact them. The same happened in the parallel ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ world. I once thought to hide with my brother until they returned, but each time word of us reached Lu Yuan within a century, and he would slay us both.”
“Why only a century?” Ye Yu frowned.
Han Yuexi hesitated, then pointed to Ye Yu’s feet. He looked down and saw a writhing shadow, its wraithlike form bearing a grim, grinning face. It coiled around his silhouette, a faint red glow pulsing at its chest—an aura of dread.
“What is that?” he asked.
“It’s the Curse of Entwined Souls,” she said. “It is Lu Yuan’s greatest divination art. Once he locates you, he summons vengeful spirits to bind you. They cling to your shadow so that he can sense your position. I too bear this curse—so no matter how I hide, I cannot escape him for more than a century. That is why I never brought my brother near me.”
Guilt clouded her features. Ye Yu staggered inwardly: if Lu Yuan wanted her brother, he should pursue the boy directly, not attach ghosts to Ye Yu! If only he could use that art on Lu Yuan instead...
He muttered, “If I hide my shadow, could I evade his detection?”
Han Yuexi shook her head. “I tried that. The Curse of Entwined Souls cannot be broken unless the victim dies. That is Lu Yuan’s true menace.”
Ye Yu slumped. It seemed there was no choice but to stand and fight. But against an Ancient God–Realm master, victory alone was a long shot. Yet he recalled one last hope.
“Let’s go to Balance City,” he said.
Han Yuexi’s eyes lit up. She knew of the God of Balance—another Ancient God–Realm sovereign said to have friends across the Divine Realm. With that aid, perhaps they could finally drive back the Hidden Ghost Daoist. Only one concern remained: would the God of Balance covet her brother, too?
