The First to Return

The wooden door had barely opened when Lanh Hoa rose to his feet.

The ancient Fire-aligned sword still rested across his knees. His hand closed around the hilt almost by instinct, but once he recognized Hao Nhien entering, his fingers gradually relaxed.

In the corner of the room, Luu Tan also jerked his head up.

He was still sitting close to the wall with his knees drawn near his chest, his face not yet fully recovered from the pallor left by the battle in the mountain pass. At the sound of the door, he immediately braced himself and stood, though the numbness in his legs made him sway slightly before he regained his balance.

Lanh Hoa asked in a low voice,

"Clan Head, how was it? Did you enter the altar?"

Hao Nhien shook his head. He stepped inside, closed the door, brushed a thin layer of sand from his cloak, then sat down on the old mat in the middle of the room.

"Not yet. The altar responded to the Fire Qilin Jade, but if I activate the rite now, the disturbance will almost certainly be significant. We have only just entered the tribe without alerting anyone. There is no reason to throw away that advantage ourselves."

Lanh Hoa's gaze shifted slightly. He looked toward the window, where the altar had become no more than a dark silhouette in the night. His breathing seemed to slow a little, but he did not ask how the altar had reacted, nor did he press Hao Nhien about any changes in the Fire Qilin Jade. He simply gave a small nod.

"This subordinate understands."

Hao Nhien looked at him for another moment.

Ever since returning, Lanh Hoa had spoken even less than before. The pain from that afternoon had been buried deeply. His face remained cold, his back stayed straight, and the ancient sword was always within reach. Only his gaze occasionally lingered longer on the old objects inside the abandoned house.

Watching him, Hao Nhien had the feeling that Lanh Hoa had not forgotten these things at all. He had simply been away from home for so long that he was not yet willing to reach out and touch those memories.

Hao Nhien said nothing more about it and turned toward Luu Tan.

"Luu Tan."

The man immediately straightened where he knelt.

"Please ask, Clan Head."

Hao Nhien looked at him calmly.

"Since your group came here, did those Heavenly Eye people have any plan to enter the Fire Qilin settlement?"

He deliberately said "those Heavenly Eye people" rather than "your people."

Luu Tan paused for a moment. He looked up quickly, then lowered his head again. The tension in his shoulders seemed to ease slightly, though the hands resting on his thighs tightened instead.

"Yes. The captain originally planned to divide the group between the two entrances, then send people inside to scout the settlement. If they found strangers or former tribesmen returning, they were to send word immediately. If nothing unusual happened, the group outside the forest would continue the ambush for several more days."

Hao Nhien gave a slight nod.

"Then there is still an opportunity."

Luu Tan looked up.

Hao Nhien met his eyes.

"If you truly want to return to the Fire Qilin Tribe, I will give you a chance to prove it. The Fire Qilin Tribe will eventually search for those who were scattered, but first we must see who still wants to return and who can still be trusted."

Luu Tan immediately lowered his head.

"I understand."

"If you handle this well, I will make sure Heavenly Eye cannot casually take your life simply because you have outlived your usefulness."

Luu Tan trembled faintly. This time he did not kowtow. He remained kneeling and answered more slowly,

"Thank you, Clan Head. I will do as you say."

Lanh Hoa sat beside the door without scolding him or releasing any killing intent. He only gave Luu Tan a brief look before turning his attention away.

That calmness alone was enough to keep Luu Tan from saying anything unnecessary.

Hao Nhien lowered his gaze, picked up a small piece of wood, and began drawing across the layer of dust on the floor.

A few simple lines gradually took shape: Dragonmist Thorn Forest, the main road, the northern shortcut, the abandoned houses, the central altar, and the narrow paths running between the low buildings.

"If they still follow the original plan, the earliest they will send someone into the settlement is tomorrow morning, or sometime during the day. The main road is easier to travel, provides better visibility, and gives them a clear view toward the central area."

Lanh Hoa studied the rough map and nodded.

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"That makes sense."

Hao Nhien placed the wooden piece on a point near the eastern houses.

"We do not go outside looking for them. We wait inside the tribe."

He pointed toward Luu Tan.

"You will appear first."

Luu Tan stiffened slightly.

"Me?"

"You are the only person they have a reason to trust if they see you inside the Fire Qilin settlement. That is why you will go first."

Hao Nhien dragged the wooden piece along the line representing the main road.

"If you meet Heavenly Eye's people, tell them the captain sent you into the settlement ahead of the others because you are Fire Qilin and can move around without drawing attention. The four people at the secondary route are still guarding their position as before. You do not know what has happened to them, and you do not bring them up unless asked."

Luu Tan repeated the instructions back one by one. Only after he was sure he had missed nothing did he raise his head.

"I understand."

"There is one more thing."

Hao Nhien looked at him.

"You do not need to know where Lanh Hoa and I will be hiding. Once you enter the settlement, you only need to do your part. If the situation changes, watch for the signal and act accordingly."

Luu Tan looked surprised, but nodded immediately.

"All right."

Hao Nhien continued marking several positions on the floor.

"If only two or three people enter, we prioritize taking them alive so we can extract information. If more people come than expected, or if someone stronger than we can quickly handle appears, you keep playing your role and Lanh Hoa and I do not move."

Lanh Hoa asked,

"What if they carry communication tokens?"

"The person holding the token must be controlled first."

"What if someone escapes?"

"You cut off the retreat, but do not chase too far beyond the area we prepared."

Hao Nhien looked over the map again.

"If someone recognizes you, the plan immediately changes to withdrawal. If the tribesmen inside the settlement panic, we avoid letting the fighting spread into the residential area. We do not need a grand victory here. What matters is preventing Heavenly Eye from learning that we have returned any earlier than necessary."

Lanh Hoa answered in a low voice,

"Understood."

Luu Tan also lowered his head.

"I remember."

Hao Nhien went through the worst possibilities one by one until he was certain both men understood their roles. Only then did he wipe the diagram from the dusty floor with his palm.

Outside the window, the moon had risen high. The Fire Qilin Altar remained buried in darkness, but inside Hao Nhien's Sea of Consciousness, the Fire Qilin Jade still released an occasional faint fluctuation. The resonance with the altar had not completely faded, though it was no longer growing stronger as it had when he stood before the stone ring.

Hao Nhien slowly regulated his breathing.

"We rest tonight. If the group outside the forest still follows the original plan, someone should enter tomorrow or sometime during the day."

Lanh Hoa placed the ancient sword across his knees and sat near the door.

Luu Tan returned to the corner of the room. He no longer curled inward as tightly as before, but he still did not dare lie down. He leaned against the wall with both hands resting on his knees, occasionally looking toward the window before lowering his gaze again as though replaying Hao Nhien's instructions in his mind.

Hao Nhien sat in the middle of the abandoned house, drew his spiritual awareness close to his body, and closed his eyes to rest.

Outside, the desert wind passed over the old rooftops of the Fire Qilin settlement, carrying a thin layer of sand across the empty paths. No one in the tribe knew that inside one abandoned house, three people had already begun preparing a new trap for the force waiting beyond the settlement.

The next morning.

The sun had only just risen above the horizon when pale orange light spread across the old rooftops of the Fire Qilin Tribe, coating the cold sand that still held a trace of the night's moisture.

The tribe that had once been famous for its Fire arts and forging now carried a heavy stillness. Many roofs had partially collapsed, doorways left unopened for too long were buried almost to the threshold in sand, and weapon racks in front of several houses held nothing but rotting cords that swayed in the wind.

Near the central area, an old forge had split from its mouth all the way down to its base. No hot coals remained inside. Only a rusted iron hammer lay half-buried beneath dust. Farther away, the tallest banner pole in the settlement still stood, but no flag flew from its peak. Only a charred length of rope remained, tapping softly against the pole whenever the wind passed.

In a small courtyard near the central houses, an elderly woman with silver hair sat beside a weak fire. Her skin was deeply wrinkled from age and the harsh winds of the Western Wastes, and her thin hands held a wooden stick that slowly stirred a pot of watery porridge. Inside were a few desert roots, several dried Fire Sand Grass leaves, and a small handful of grain.

Two children sat beside her.

The older boy looked about eight, while the girl beside him was several years younger. Both sat quietly with empty wooden bowls in their hands, watching the pot without urging her to hurry.

The old woman filled a bowl for each child and spoke gently.

"Eat. I added some Fire Sand Grass today. It will keep your stomach warm."

The boy accepted the bowl with both hands. He looked down at the thin porridge for a moment, then raised his head.

"Grandmother, will anyone come back today? Father and my older brother..."

The wooden stick in the old woman's hand stopped for only a brief moment.

Then she raised one wrinkled hand and stroked his head.

"Eat first. Those who travel far will return if they still remember the road home."

Her voice was hoarse from age and smoke, as though she had already spoken those words too many times.

Not far away, a middle-aged woman sat repairing a torn piece of beast hide. Beside her feet, a girl of about four used small stones to arrange the shape of a flame, one stone at the center and the others forming a curved ring around it.

The symbol that had once appeared on Fire Qilin war banners, armor, forges, and the tribal altar had now become nothing more than a clumsy pattern of stones on the sand.

The woman continued threading her needle while singing softly, her voice so faint that it nearly disappeared into the wind.

"Wind across the red sands, guide the distant ones home; the fire still sleeps beneath the ash, and the old roofs still wait."

The old woman beside the fire heard the song but said nothing.

After some time, an elderly man approached slowly with the help of a walking stick. His skin was darkened by years of sun and sand, his back slightly bent, and one leg moved more slowly than the other, but his eyes were still bright.

He sat beside the fire and looked toward the east.

"The wind is coming in from the desert today."

The old woman raised her head. Something briefly stirred in her eyes before fading just as quickly.

"The wind has blown from that direction countless times. Many people left, but very few returned."

She looked down at the pot before her and lowered her voice.

"I only hope no one comes to take more of us away this time."

No one answered.

In this part of the settlement, most of the people outside were elderly, women, and children. The houses missing their owners, the silent forges, and the empty courtyards made the absence of strong young adults clearer than any explanation could have.

At that moment, a figure appeared on the road leading into the edge of the settlement.

His old desert cloak was covered in dust. He stopped outside for several breaths, looked across the houses ahead, then slowly began walking inward.

The old woman by the fire narrowed her eyes.

At first, she did not seem to recognize him.

But when the man stepped through the patch of morning light between two houses, the wooden stick in her hand suddenly slipped against the rim of the pot.

She stared at him for a long moment.

Her lips trembled.

"Luu... Tan?"