They moved before sunrise again.
No fire. No warm breakfast. Only cold water and dried food that tasted like dust and endurance. Shen Lu chewed without appetite, letting bitterness sit on his tongue like a reminder: you're alive, so keep going.
The terrain shifted as they traveled. The mountains softened into rolling hills. The air grew wetter. The wind carried the scent of moss and river stone. Somewhere ahead, water was running fast.
Tang Ye walked with easy energy, like travel only made him brighter. His fox padded at his side, silent and smug, occasionally flicking its tail into someone's shin on purpose.
Pei Xun took the rear half the time, paper strips tucked into his sleeve like he kept his thoughts folded too. He didn't talk much, but when he did, it was always something that made Shen Lu want to glare and laugh at the same time.
Gu Li checked everyone's pulse points during short stops like it was a habit he couldn't turn off. When he pressed two fingers to Shen Lu's wrist, it wasn't gentle, but it was careful.
Xie Han stayed annoyingly relaxed, like danger was an accessory he wore well. He kept spinning that metal fan open and shut, open and shut, the clicking sound landing on Shen Lu's nerves.
Helian Feng walked at Shen Lu's side most of the time.
Not close enough to touch.
Close enough that Shen Lu couldn't pretend he was alone.
By midday, they reached a river.
Not wide, but angry. Water foamed around rocks, cold and fast, and the only crossing was a narrow rope bridge strung between two posts that looked too old to trust.
Tang Ye stepped onto it without hesitation.
Pei Xun muttered, "If you fall, I'm not drawing a rescue talisman for your dignity."
Tang Ye laughed. "You'd do it anyway."
Pei Xun's tone stayed flat. "No."
Gu Li went next, steady-footed, not looking down. Xie Han followed with the lazy confidence of someone who had never been taught fear properly.
Shen Lu stepped onto the bridge and instantly regretted it.
It swayed under him. Rope creaked. The river roared loud enough to swallow thought.
He kept his eyes forward. Don't look down. Don't look down.
Helian Feng stepped onto the bridge behind him and the swaying steadied, not because Helian Feng was lighter, but because Helian Feng moved like he belonged in unstable places.
Halfway across, Shen Lu felt the pendant at his chest warm faintly.
Not hungry.
Not warning.
Curious.
He swallowed. The fracture is close.
A gust hit the bridge. It swayed hard.
Shen Lu's foot slipped a fraction.
Helian Feng's hand shot out and closed around Shen Lu's wrist.
Firm. Unhesitating. Too possessive to be polite.
Shen Lu's breath caught.
Helian Feng didn't pull him close. He only held him steady until Shen Lu regained footing, then released him instantly, like touch was only a tool and not a thing that meant anything.
Shen Lu's wrist burned where Helian Feng's fingers had been.
Not pain.
Something worse.
Pei Xun called from the far end, dry as ever. "Romantic."
Shen Lu snapped, "Shut up."
Pei Xun's voice floated back, amused. "So it is romantic."
Xie Han's laugh was soft and delighted. "I like him."
Gu Li didn't look back. "Focus."
Tang Ye's fox spoke into Shen Lu's mind, smug. Master husband catches you.
Shen Lu hissed under his breath, "Stop calling him that."
The fox's tail flicked. No.
They crossed the bridge and climbed a small ridge, then dropped into a shallow basin where the grass grew in strange spirals. Shen Lu's skin prickled as soon as he stepped into it.
The air felt thin and thick at the same time. Like something was pressing from above and pulling from below.
Pei Xun's gaze sharpened. "Formation residue."
Gu Li's voice was stern. "Or a tear."
Tang Ye's grin returned. "You feel it, right. The wrongness."
Shen Lu did feel it.
He felt it in his teeth. In his bones. In the way the pendant warmed like it was listening.
They walked for another hour before they saw it.
A ruined shrine half-buried in collapsed stone. The roof had caved in. A broken statue lay face-down in dirt like a god that had decided not to watch anymore.
And behind the shrine, the air shimmered.
Not like heat.
Like a wound.
A thin, vertical slit in the world, barely visible unless you stared directly. It pulsed faintly, like a breath taken by something that wasn't alive.
The fracture.
Shen Lu's throat went dry.
The scent coming from it wasn't smoke. It wasn't ash.
It was clean, sharp warmth, like flint struck in cold air.
Fire.
Yuan went very still in Shen Lu's mind. Master… that's real.
Little Root's leaves trembled in the jade space, excited in a way that felt almost desperate.
Master.
Helian Feng spoke, voice calm and final. "We observe first."
Tang Ye rolled his shoulders. "Of course. Observing. Very righteous."
Xie Han flicked his fan open. "Very boring."
Pei Xun's tone was dry. "Very alive."
They circled the shrine cautiously, keeping distance from the shimmering slit. The grass closer to it had browned in a perfect ring, like it had been cooked from the inside.
Gu Li crouched and touched the ground with two fingers. He withdrew them immediately. "Hot."
Tang Ye hummed. "It's opening soon."
Shen Lu stared at the slit.
His pendant warmed again, faint and insistent.
He didn't touch it.
He didn't need to.
He could feel the jade space responding like a lung desperate for air.
Then someone spoke from behind them.
A cheerful voice, too bright for a place like this.
"Wow. A whole group. And nobody's dead yet."
Everyone turned.
A boy stood on a fallen pillar at the edge of the basin, hands on hips like he'd arrived at a festival. He looked about their age. He had an easy smile and eyes that sparked with curiosity instead of caution.
His clothes were travel-worn but colorful compared to everyone else's. His hair was tied back with a simple ribbon. On his shoulder sat a small creature—fox-like, but not Tang Ye's fox. Smaller, fluffier, with ears too large and eyes too clever.
The creature's tail flicked once.
Then, impossibly, a second tail shimmered into view for a heartbeat… and vanished again like it was shy.
Shen Lu's skin prickled.
A beast with hidden potential.
The boy hopped down and waved. "I'm Tang Ye's friend. He's always where trouble is."
Tang Ye blinked. "I don't have friends."
The boy laughed. "See. That's why you need me."
Gu Li's gaze narrowed. "Name."
The boy smiled wider. "Tang Ye."
Pei Xun's eyes narrowed sharply. "That's taken."
The boy's smile didn't falter. "Oh. Right. Sorry."
He scratched his cheek like he was embarrassed, but Shen Lu sensed something beneath the cheer—sharp intelligence, quick adaptation.
"Call me… Tang Ye's problem," the boy said brightly.
Xie Han snorted. "We already have enough problems."
The boy leaned closer, still smiling. "But do you have someone who can talk your way out of trouble when you're too righteous or too sarcastic to try?"
Pei Xun stared. "Are you calling me too sarcastic."
The boy nodded instantly. "Yes."
Pei Xun's paper strips lifted, offended.
Helian Feng's voice cut cold. "Who are you."
The boy's smile softened just a fraction. "Tang Ye told you to gather friends before the fire, didn't he."
Tang Ye's grin turned innocent. "Did I."
The boy rolled his eyes dramatically, then looked at Shen Lu, gaze bright.
"I'm Tang Ye—sorry—Tang Ye's friend," he corrected quickly, cheerful again. "My name is Tang Ye."
Pei Xun's expression went flat. "You're doing it again."
The boy laughed. "Okay, okay. Tang Ye is Tang Ye. I'm Tang Ye."
Xie Han flicked his fan shut. "I'm going to kill him."
The boy held up both hands. "Wait. I'll fix it."
He took a breath, then said clearly, "Tang Ye is the one with the rude fox. I'm Tang Ye with the nicer beast."
The small creature on his shoulder snorted like it disagreed.
Gu Li's eyes narrowed further. "Your real name."
The boy's smile finally settled into something honest.
"Tang Ye," he said again, but quieter.
Then, seeing everyone's expressions, he sighed and gave up.
"Fine. Tang Ye is not my name," he admitted. "My name is… Tang Ye—"
Helian Feng's aura flared.
The boy yelped. "Tang Ye isn't my name! It's Tang Ye's name! I'm Tang Ye—"
Pei Xun muttered, "He's impossible."
Shen Lu, for the first time in hours, felt something loosen in his chest.
Because this boy was ridiculous.
Ridiculous meant alive.
Ridiculous meant not everyone in the world wanted to buy or kill.
Shen Lu stepped forward slightly and said, voice dry, "Tell us your name before Helian Feng decides you're a threat to order."
The boy's eyes widened, then he nodded rapidly. "Okay. Okay."
He straightened, took the situation seriously for exactly one second, and said clearly:
"My name is Tang Ye."
Pei Xun stared.
Gu Li stared.
Xie Han stared.
Even Tang Ye looked mildly offended.
Helian Feng's expression went dangerously blank.
The boy's small beast flicked its tail twice, like it was laughing.
Shen Lu exhaled, half laugh, half sigh.
They needed a friend who could talk.
They'd found one.
He just… needed a name.
And behind them, the fracture pulsed again.
The fire was getting closer.