Han Yu absorbed all that Hou Luli had said in silence.
"Why try at all?" he finally asked.
Hou Luli's expression hardened. "Because at the ti, it was that or disappear quietly into diocrity. And I don't like disappearing."
That resonated more than Han Yu expected.
He shifted the conversation slightly. "Did anyone else enter around the sa ti as you?"
"No," she said. "But there were so twelve years ago. Two of them." She added.
It was clear that Hou Luli had gathered a lot more information than Han Yu had managed to do in a day.
"What happened to them?" Han Yu asked.
"One died," she said calmly. "Heart stopped soon after they reached the Stelae. The other ca out screaming and never stopped. They put him in the underground cells eventually."
Han Yu's fingers tightened inside his sleeves.
"Would you do it again?" he asked.
Hou Luli hesitated for the first ti.
Then she exhaled slowly. "If I had the rit points again? Yes."
That answer surprised him.
Seeing his expression, she shrugged. "Failure doesn't an it was the wrong choice. It just ans it wasn't my turn."
Han Yu studied her anew.
This woman was not reckless.
She was stubborn.
"What do you want from ?" Han Yu asked bluntly knowing she hadn't stopped him just for curiosity's sake.
Hou Luli smirked faintly. "Straight to the point. I like that."
She stepped closer, lowering her voice slightly. "I want to know if you succeed."
Han Yu's eyes sharpened. "And why would I tell you that?"
"Because if you do," she said, "it ans the Stelae is active again and actually rewards people. Truly active. And that changes everything."
"As of now, no one really pays attention to it. Of not for the array detecting I had failed, no one would have even noticed. There's no one there other than so mindless Jiangshi keeping guard." She explained.
Hearing that Han Yu felt intrigued as this ant there was almost no scrutiny.
"And because if you fail, I'll know not to waste my ti dreaming about it again." She said after a pause.
Han Yu considered her words carefully.
"You assu I will survive either way," he said.
Hou Luli's gaze was steady. "You don't talk like soone planning to die."
That was… uncomfortably accurate.
Han Yu turned away slightly, looking down the winding path that led back toward his cave.
"I have not decided yet," he said.
Hou Luli smiled, small and sharp. "Yes, you have."
He did not deny it.
After a brief pause, he asked one last question.
"If you could give one piece of advice," he said, "what would it be?"
Hou Luli's smile faded.
"Don't go in wanting one thing," she said. "Go in ready to lose everything that isn't essential."
She turned and began walking away.
"Oh," she added over her shoulder, "and don't believe anyone who says courage is enough. The Stelae doesn't care how brave you are."
Han Yu watched her leave, her figure disappearing along the curve of the path.
The night wind stirred faintly around him.
For the first ti since the Peak Head had ntioned the Inheritance Stelae, Han Yu felt sothing settle in his chest.
Not fear.
Not excitent.
Resolve.
Whatever awaited him inside the Stelae, it would not be a simple test.
It would be an unraveling.
And if he entered, he would need to decide in advance which parts of himself he was willing to sacrifice… and which he would cling to, no matter the cost.
***
The next day.
Han Yu walked alone.
That, in itself, already felt strange.
The Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect was never a quiet place. Even at dawn, there were sounds of clashing Qi, distant screams from training grounds, the low rumble of formations activating and deactivating, and the constant, oppressive presence of blood Qi saturating the air.
Yet the closer Han Yu drew to the Inheritance Peak, the more those sounds seed to fade, as if swallowed by an invisible veil.
It was not silence born of peace.
It was silence born of restraint.
He had done everything he reasonably could to prepare. Supplies for Xuan Qing and ng Jueyan were stocked for months, not days. Pills, food, spirit stones, replacent talismans, even ergency instructions had been left behind.
Qing Luan had been inford in coded terms that he might be unreachable for an uncertain period. Not dead. Just unavailable. She was clever enough to understand what that implied without asking questions that would endanger either of them.
Chitterfang had been the hardest to leave behind.
The rat had squeaked in protest, clinging to the inside of his robe with tiny claws, until Han Yu had gently but firmly peeled him off. He had crouched, t the rat's beady eyes, and told him to stay. To guard. To cultivate.
ng Jueyan had watched the entire exchange in silence.
She had not spoken, but Han Yu had noticed the way her eyes lingered. Not on him, but on the rat curled against his palm. There had been confusion there. And sothing else. Sothing softer, more fragile.
She had once known soone like that too.
Han Yu did not comnt on it. He simply stood, gave his final instructions, and left.
Now, as he stepped onto the long ascending path of the Inheritance Peak, those mories were pushed aside. This place demanded focus. Anything less would be fatal.
The path itself was wide, paved with dark stone that absorbed light rather than reflecting it. Faint crimson veins ran through the stone like frozen blood vessels, pulsing slowly, almost imperceptibly. Han Yu could feel them resonating with the Blood Moon River far below, forming a vast circulatory system that connected the entire sect.
And lining that path were the Jiangshi.
They stood perfectly still, spaced with chanical precision, each one facing forward as if awaiting an order that would never co. Han Yu felt unnerved by them, but tried to keep calm, knowing they would not do anything to him.
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