Tales by Firelight

Hao Nhien’s flying sword did not slow until they were well away from Cat Loi City.

Quan Nha remained close beside him. Since leaving the city walls, she had barely spoken, keeping one hand curled into the fabric of Hao Nhien’s robe. Her grip had loosened compared with before, yet she still had not let go.

Hao Nhien guided the Tieu Dao Sword back toward the mountain east of Cat Loi City, where Cat Thanh and Lieu Thien Van were still waiting.

From a distance, the two men saw a streak of light returning.

Cat Thanh immediately stepped toward the edge of the mountain. But when he realized that Hao Nhien was not alone on the flying sword and that a woman in red was standing beside him, he paused slightly.

Lieu Thien Van also quickly recognized the newcomer.

“Quan Nha?”

The Tieu Dao Sword descended slowly.

Hao Nhien stepped off first, then reached out to steady Quan Nha as she came down. She gave Lieu Thien Van a slight nod.

“City Lord Lieu.”

Lieu Thien Van studied her for a moment longer but asked nothing.

Cat Thanh had no idea who Quan Nha was, and at this moment he had no mind to care. The instant he saw Hao Nhien standing safely before him, he strode forward.

“How did it go?”

His gaze remained fixed on Cat Loi City in the distance.

“I made the terms clear,” Hao Nhien replied. “Within twelve hours, Huu Thanh’s entire army must withdraw from Cat Loi. There will be no pursuit, no ambushes, and no scouts left around the city.”

Lieu Thien Van asked:

“Did he agree?”

“He didn’t say.”

Hao Nhien shook his head.

“But he knows what happened to Han Minh, and he also knows that the weapon responsible for the explosion at the Hoa Ky Tribe is in my hands.”

Cat Thanh looked at him.

“What if he refuses to withdraw?”

Hao Nhien glanced at Quan Nha for a brief moment before answering:

“Then I’ll go back.”

The mountaintop suddenly fell silent.

Cat Thanh stared at the distant city for a long time before asking:

“Right now… Cat Loi City is still intact?”

“At least when we left, it was still standing.”

Cat Thanh’s hands trembled slightly.

He looked toward the tiny stretches of city wall visible through the drifting sand, as though needing to confirm with his own eyes that they truly still existed.

“That’s enough…”

Lieu Thien Van placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Old Cat, this isn’t over yet.”

Cat Thanh quickly regained his composure.

“Right.”

He turned toward the Cat Loi cultivators waiting behind him.

“Split into three teams. One watches the eastern gate, one circles south, and the last keeps its distance to the north. Observe only. No one approaches too closely, and no one engages without orders.”

One man asked:

“What if Huu Thanh really withdraws?”

“You still do not enter the city immediately.”

Cat Thanh replied:

“Wait until every last one of them has left. Then inspect the gates, walls, wells, warehouses, formations, and underground passages. Pay particular attention to strange formation flags, poison, hidden weapons, and ambushes. If anything changes, report immediately. Do not handle it yourselves.”

“Understood!”

The three scouting teams quickly left the mountaintop.

Most of Cat Loi’s people had already been relocated to Hoa Van Town. Only Cat Thanh, several elders, guards, and those responsible for monitoring the situation remained here.

Even if Huu Thanh truly withdrew, the first priority was still to confirm that the city was clear, the route home was safe, and the army of nearly ten thousand had genuinely left the area.

Cat Thanh found a large rock and sat down.

Lieu Thien Van did not rush to leave either. He stood nearby with both hands clasped behind his back.

Hao Nhien watched the two men for a moment before turning to Quan Nha.

“Wait a little longer.”

She nodded.

“Mm.”

Half a day passed.

The sun gradually tilted westward, and the desert wind lost some of its heat.

Reports arrived from time to time.

Huu Thanh’s army had begun dismantling its formation flags.

War wagons were leaving the city one after another.

The archers withdrew from the walls.

Even the camps outside the city were being packed up.

Each time a report arrived, Cat Thanh gave the same answer:

“Keep watching.”

By the time the sunlight had deepened into dark gold, a streak of light suddenly flew in from the west.

The scout had not even fully landed before shouting:

“Patriarch! Huu Thanh’s army has withdrawn from Cat Loi!”

Cat Thanh immediately rose.

“Confirmed?”

“Confirmed. The final unit left through the northern gate nearly half an hour ago. The war wagons, formation masters, and spirit beasts have all withdrawn.”

“And inside the city?”

“We inspected the outer areas. So far, we found no signs of poisoning or deliberate destruction. A few formation flags were left behind, but nothing abnormal has been detected. Both underground passages were checked as well. No ambushes.”

The scout paused before adding:

“Cat Loi City is empty.”

No one spoke immediately.

Cat Thanh stood motionless, his gaze still fixed on the city.

Only after a long while did he exhale heavily, as though the stone pressing against his chest for the past several days had finally been lifted.

“Good.”

His voice had turned hoarse.

“Very good.”

Hao Nhien watched him.

Cat Thanh quickly regained his composure and turned to the elders.

“Three teams will continue following Huu Thanh’s army. Keep your distance and report their direction of retreat each day. Another team will enter the city and inspect everything again. Report to me tomorrow.”

One elder asked:

“Patriarch, are you returning to the city now?”

“Not yet.”

Cat Thanh shook his head.

“Most of our people are at Hoa Van. I need to go there first and personally bring them home.”

He looked at Hao Nhien for a long time.

This time, he neither cupped his hands nor offered words of thanks.

He only said in a hoarse voice:

“I had prepared myself for the possibility that the next time I returned, there would be nothing left but a crater.”

Hao Nhien smiled faintly.

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“So had I.”

Only then did Cat Thanh look toward Quan Nha. His gaze lingered on her face before dropping to the hand still gripping Hao Nhien’s robe.

“This is…”

“Quan Nha.”

Hao Nhien had barely spoken when she quietly called:

“Hao Nhien…”

As if she did not want him to explain further.

Hao Nhien looked at her and changed his answer.

“Family.”

Cat Thanh paused slightly.

He studied Quan Nha once more, as though understanding something, before finally nodding.

“I understand.”

Beside them, Lieu Thien Van gave a soft cough.

“Cat Loi is stable for now. I should return as well.”

Hao Nhien turned toward him.

“City Lord Lieu, you’re not coming with us to Hoa Van?”

Lieu Thien Van shook his head.

“Tam Thanh has had too many people deployed outside for too long. I need to return and reorganize our defenses.”

He looked toward Cat Loi before continuing:

“Huu Thanh withdrawing today does not mean Heavenly Eye has retreated. They still have two other forward cities.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“I know.”

Lieu Thien Van looked at him.

“But this time, they’ve learned something.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“Before Heavenly Eye makes its next move, they first have to solve one problem: how to deal with what you’re holding.”

Hao Nhien did not deny it.

“As long as they stop long enough to think, we gain time.”

“Exactly.”

Lieu Thien Van nodded.

“And right now, time is extremely valuable.”

He turned toward Cat Thanh.

“Old Cat, once I finish arranging things in Tam Thanh, I’ll send people over to help repair your formations.”

Cat Thanh nodded.

“I’ll remember that.”

Lieu Thien Van summoned his flying sword.

Before leaving, he looked once more at Quan Nha.

“It’s good that you made it back.”

Quan Nha replied softly:

“Thank you, City Lord Lieu.”

Lieu Thien Van stepped onto his flying sword and became a streak of light heading toward Tam Thanh.

Cat Thanh also began organizing his people.

“I’ll remain here for one more night and wait for another round of reports. Once I confirm Huu Thanh’s army is still retreating, I’ll head to Hoa Van tomorrow.”

Hao Nhien did not try to persuade him otherwise.

“All right.”

Cat Thanh looked at him.

“Take her back first. Most of my people are already in Hoa Van. I’ll follow later.”

“See you in two days.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“I’ll be waiting.”

The Tieu Dao Sword appeared.

Hao Nhien stepped onto it first.

Quan Nha followed. Once she was steady behind him, one hand naturally reached out and caught his robe again.

The flying sword slowly rose.

Together, they looked back one last time at Cat Loi City in the distance.

The city still stood amid the yellow sands, silent and scarred by war, but intact.

Hao Nhien withdrew his gaze.

The Tieu Dao Sword changed direction.

Hoa Van Town was roughly two days away.

This time, he would not be returning alone.

That night, the two of them stopped beside an oasis.

The Cosmic Ark opened in its dwelling form, sheltering them from the cold wind sweeping across the desert.

Inside, only the quiet crackling of the fire remained, along with the warmth of the person sitting beside him.

Quan Nha sat close to Hao Nhien, her head resting against his shoulder, one hand still gripping the edge of his robe as though she had not yet fully grown accustomed to the fact that he was truly here.

After a long while, she finally spoke.

“Hao Nhien.”

“Mm.”

“Do you want to hear it?”

Hao Nhien glanced at her.

Quan Nha immediately noticed his look, and a faint flush rose to her cheeks.

“What are you looking at?”

“Nothing.”

“Then stop looking.”

Hao Nhien smiled.

“I’m listening.”

Quan Nha lowered her gaze toward the flames.

“That day, Elder Linh Van came to find me. He said he had discovered news about my father—the man I had believed was dead since I was a child.”

Hao Nhien took her hand.

Quan Nha continued:

“I asked about my parents many times when I was young, but no one ever gave me a clear answer. So when Linh Van told me my father was still alive, I followed him.”

She paused.

“Linh Van took me away from Tam Thanh and traveled a very long distance. When we reached Huu Thanh, the person waiting there was Hoang Lap.”

Quan Nha stared into the flames, her fingers tightening slightly around Hao Nhien’s hand.

“The moment he saw me, he called me Nha Nhi.”

She fell silent for a while before continuing:

“Then he told me he was my father.”

Hao Nhien did not interrupt.

Quan Nha shook her head slightly.

“I didn’t believe him then. A man I had never met suddenly appeared and claimed to be my biological father. How could I believe him after only a few words?”

“Hoang Lap knew that too, so he told me what happened back then.”

She lowered her eyes toward the fire.

“Heavenly Eye had wanted to uncover the secrets of the Quan Clan’s Body-Soul Fist Art for a very long time. Linh Van and Hoang Lap were both planted inside the Quan Clan because of it.”

Hao Nhien’s expression darkened slightly.

Quan Nha continued:

“During that time, Hoang Lap had opportunities to meet my mother.”

Her voice slowed.

“He said they truly had feelings for each other. Later, I was born.”

Hao Nhien already understood much of what came next, but he allowed her to tell it herself.

“My mother died not long after giving birth to me. At the time, Hoang Lap had to return to Heavenly Eye for another mission, and his identity made it impossible for him to openly take me away.”

“So I was left with the Quan Clan.”

Quan Nha paused again.

“And Linh Van stayed beside me.”

Hao Nhien asked:

“To protect you?”

Quan Nha smiled faintly.

“That’s what Hoang Lap said.”

She looked at him.

“But Linh Van was originally planted in the Quan Clan because of the Body-Soul Fist Art. Even now, I don’t know how much of the reason he stayed beside me was to protect me and how much was because of his mission.”

After a moment, she shook her head.

“Perhaps I don’t want to know.”

Hao Nhien gently tightened his grip around her hand.

Quan Nha continued:

“After the Inner Clan Secret Realm, I also comprehended part of the Body-Soul Fist Art. Then I came to the Western Wastes on a mission at Tam Thanh. Linh Van believed there was no longer any need to keep everything hidden.”

Hao Nhien asked:

“They wanted you to reveal the secrets of the Body-Soul Fist Art?”

“I couldn’t. We had sworn a blood oath. If I tried to forcefully reveal it, the oath would retaliate against me.”

Hao Nhien’s gaze darkened.

“Then why bring you back?”

“Because even if I couldn’t speak about it, I was still someone who had comprehended the secret art. Simply having such a person under their control was valuable enough.”

Quan Nha fell silent for a moment before speaking softly:

“After learning everything, I no longer knew who I was.”

She looked at him.

“I carry Hoang Lap’s blood, but I grew up in the Quan Clan. Everyone there… all of them are family.”

Her voice gradually grew choked.

“But my very existence may have been part of a Heavenly Eye plan from the beginning.”

Hao Nhien remained silent.

Quan Nha continued:

“If I chose my father, I would feel that I had betrayed the Quan Clan, the Eastern Plains, and even you.”

Tears slowly slipped down her cheeks.

“But if I turned my back on him, he would still be the only blood relative I know I have left.”

She lowered her head.

“I didn’t know what to do, so I kept delaying. I didn’t even dare to look for you.”

Hao Nhien frowned.

“Why?”

Quan Nha looked at him.

“I was afraid.”

It was a word she rarely used.

“Afraid that because of me, you wouldn’t be able to do what you needed to do.”

She lowered her eyes.

“Today, if I hadn’t appeared, you would have used Thunder Burst.”

“Yes.”

Hao Nhien did not deny it.

Quan Nha closed her eyes.

“I don’t want to become the reason you hesitate in front of an enemy.”

Hao Nhien wrapped an arm around her.

“Quan Nha.”

She leaned against his chest.

“You don’t need to apologize.”

Hao Nhien gently lifted her face.

“Your birth was decided by other people. Heavenly Eye’s schemes, Linh Van staying beside you since childhood, even the original reason you were left with the Quan Clan—none of those were choices you made.”

He looked directly into her eyes.

“But the years you lived in the Quan Clan, the people you loved, and everything you did there were real.”

Hao Nhien’s voice softened.

“No one can use a scheme from years ago to erase the life you actually lived.”

Quan Nha looked at him.

Hao Nhien continued:

“As for Hoang Lap…”

He paused.

“He and I are standing on opposing sides. If he continues bringing armies toward Hoa Van, I will still stop him. If we eventually have to fight, then I will fight.”

Quan Nha trembled slightly.

Hao Nhien did not avoid the truth.

“I can’t pretend the things Heavenly Eye has done—or intends to do—never happened simply because he is your father.”

His fingers gently wiped away the tear at the corner of her eye.

“But I won’t force you to hate him either.”

Quan Nha stared at him for a long time.

“He is your father. If you want to love him, meet him, or discover for yourself what kind of man he truly is, that is your right.”

Hao Nhien spoke softly:

“I will never use that to force you to prove which side you belong to.”

Quan Nha lowered her gaze.

After a while, she rested her head against his chest again.

“You always say things that leave me with no idea how to answer.”

“Then you don’t need to answer.”

Quan Nha remained silent for a moment before whispering:

“Mm.”

Hao Nhien looked into the fire.

“I don’t know how the conflict with Heavenly Eye will end either.”

Quan Nha raised her head.

“Hoa Van is still too weak. In this world, the words of the weak are easily ignored.”

Hao Nhien watched the flames before him.

“So we have to become stronger. Not because the stronger person is always right, but because once you are strong enough, others at least have to sit down and listen.”

Quan Nha listened quietly.

Hao Nhien continued:

“Perhaps one day, disputes in the Western Wastes won’t have to be resolved by an army of nearly ten thousand marching to someone’s gates, by Cat Thanh abandoning his ancestral home, or by me holding Thunder Burst in my hand. When that day comes, perhaps everyone can simply sit down and talk.”

Quan Nha looked at him for a long time.

At last, the corner of her mouth curved upward.

“You’ve changed a lot.”

Hao Nhien asked:

“For better or worse?”

Quan Nha answered immediately:

“Older.”

Hao Nhien froze.

She turned her face away, though the curve of her lips had become much more obvious.

Hao Nhien laughed.

“Quan Nha.”

“Mm?”

“I just spent all that time comforting you.”

“So?”

“Nothing.”

Quan Nha glanced at him.

“Good.”

The two of them looked out toward the desert.

Night still lingered, but the horizon had already begun to pale.

After a while, Quan Nha spoke again.

“My story is finished.”

“Now it’s your turn.”

Hao Nhien looked at her.

“Mine?”

“Mm.”

Quan Nha turned toward him.

“I wasn’t gone for that long, yet you somehow went from taking missions for City Lord Lieu to becoming Patriarch of the Hoa Ky Tribe and building an entire Hoa Van Town.”

She looked at him.

“Are you planning to make me guess the rest?”

Hao Nhien smiled.

“It’s a long story.”

“The night is long.”

Quan Nha replied:

“I’m listening.”

Hao Nhien began to tell her.

He did not recount every detail. Some parts took only a few sentences, while others made Quan Nha stop him and ask questions. At times, she simply sat in silence for a long while.

When the story finally reached the events of recent days, Quan Nha asked:

“Tieu Lan has been beside you this whole time?”

“Mm.”

Hao Nhien answered naturally.

“She’s been here from the beginning. Refining pills, managing medicinal materials, treating the injured, and carrying a great deal of Hoa Van’s burden. Without her, everything would have been far more chaotic.”

Quan Nha fell silent for a moment before nodding softly.

“I’m looking forward to seeing her again.”

Hao Nhien looked at her.

“Her?”

Quan Nha glanced sideways.

“What are you implying?”

“Nothing.”

“Then don’t ask.”

Hao Nhien laughed.

Quan Nha rested her head against his shoulder again.

After a while, she said softly:

“I once told you that if you truly became the brightest star of the Tieu Dao Sect, I would follow you just like Tieu Lan.”

Hao Nhien smiled.

“I remember.”

Quan Nha raised her head.

“Now it seems I underestimated you a little.”

“Only a little?”

“How much do you want?”

“At least—”

Quan Nha’s fingers had already pinched his waist.

Hao Nhien immediately stopped.

“Don’t get too pleased with yourself.”

The moment she finished speaking, she was the one who laughed.

Her laughter was not loud, but it was clear and familiar enough to make Hao Nhien look at her for a little longer.

It had been far too long since he had heard that sound.

Hao Nhien tightened his arms around her.

“Then the promise still counts?”

Quan Nha looked at him.

“Try forgetting it.”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

Their hands tightened around each other.

Outside the dwelling, the desert remained cold, and the matters involving the Quan Clan, Heavenly Eye, Hoang Lap, and Linh Van were still unresolved. Today’s conflict had only been temporarily halted, but at least Quan Nha no longer had to stand alone between two sides.

Two days later, as the sun tilted toward the west, the two of them finally saw Hoa Van Town rising amid the yellow sands.

The setting sun washed the desert in a softer orange-gold than the harsh light of day. Even the wind had lost much of its heat.

From the flying sword, stone walls, rows of houses, lush medicinal gardens, and irrigation channels running alongside the cultivated fields gradually came into view.

Farther away, smoke rose from the forging furnaces.

The calls of people moving goods, the ringing of hammers striking metal, and the voices of children running along the streets blended together into a sound utterly different from the battlefield they had just left behind.

Quan Nha stood on the flying sword and watched for a long time.

Her gaze lingered on the children longer than it did on the walls.

Hao Nhien noticed, but said nothing.

Only when the Tieu Dao Sword began to descend did he speak softly:

“We’re home.”

Quan Nha turned to look at him.

Her eyes, which had only just regained their calm, reddened slightly once more.

In the end, she answered with only a very soft:

“Mm.”