The blade reached my throat before I could blink.
Cold.
Sharp.
Silent.
One moment, Yue Xiang stood several metres away on the moonlit water, her crescent blade lowered at her side.
The next—
Silver steel kissed my neck.
I didn't move.
Mostly because I enjoyed breathing.
The lake around us was still, reflecting the three moons above like shattered mirrors, but the killing intent surrounding her made the entire realm feel colder.
Her blue-silver robes moved gently with the wind.
Long black hair flowed behind her like dark silk.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
Absolutely capable of murdering me.
Her voice was calm.
Which somehow made it worse.
"You are not from this realm."
Not a question.
A verdict.
I kept both hands visible.
"Correct."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Then explain why you arrived through an ancient sovereign gate carrying the scent of Crimson Flame."
Ah.
Right.
Lian's sovereign sigil.
And probably the fact that I had literally fallen out of a world gate.
Suspicion was fair.
Murder was still a little excessive.
"I came looking for you."
That was apparently the wrong sentence.
The blade pressed closer.
A thin line of warmth slid down my neck.
Blood.
Excellent.
Yue Xiang's expression didn't change.
"Most men who seek me come with lies."
Her gaze sharpened.
"The smarter ones come with armies."
I gave a small nod.
"I came with neither, so technically I'm improving the average."
Silence.
The kind of silence where I wondered if humour would be written on my tombstone.
Then, surprisingly—
The corner of her lips moved.
Not a smile.
But something close enough to count as survival.
Before I could celebrate, she stepped back.
The blade remained raised.
"Name."
"Ishaan."
"Purpose."
That one was harder.
Because saying I'm here to save you because a divine system told me to, and also my missing professor left instructions, sounded like the fastest route back to the afterlife.
I chose partial truth.
"I'm searching for someone important to me. Professor Viraj Mehra."
Her expression shifted instantly.
Not much.
But enough.
Recognition.
Interesting.
"You know that name."
Yue Xiang looked toward the distant floating ruins above the lake.
"An outsider scholar passed through this realm."
My pulse quickened.
Months.
Then Crimson Realm.
Now here.
He had been moving on a path.
Following the fragments.
"What happened to him?"
Her voice dropped.
"He entered the Moon Palace."
She pointed toward the largest floating ruin suspended above the silver lake.
A massive palace of white stone and broken moonlight, hanging beneath the fractured blue moon like a dream abandoned by the heavens.
"He left before dawn."
Alive.
Again.
Always one step ahead.
Or one world away.
I exhaled slowly.
Good.
That was good.
Probably.
Yue Xiang studied me carefully.
"You carry his stubbornness."
I almost smiled.
That was the nicest insult I'd received in days.
ARINA's voice echoed softly.
"Favorability fluctuation detected."
A panel appeared.
Favorability Updated -50 → -42
Progress.
Tiny.
But progress.
Then the wind changed.
Yue Xiang's expression hardened instantly.
Her blade snapped toward the eastern ruins.
"Down."
I obeyed first and questioned later.
A heartbeat later, silver arrows rained from the sky.
They struck the water around us like frozen stars, each impact turning the lake surface into jagged crystal.
Assassins.
Of course.
Figures in pale masks appeared atop the floating stone pathways leading toward the Moon Palace.
Archers.
Seven.
No—ten.
All dressed in white-grey armour marked with a black crescent.
Yue Xiang's voice turned colder.
"The Moon Shrine."
Not allies then.
Good to know.
One of the masked archers stepped forward.
His voice echoed across the lake.
"Moon Sovereign Yue Xiang."
He drew another glowing arrow.
"By decree of the Lunar Council, your authority is revoked."
She laughed.
Softly.
Dangerously.
"They sent children this time?"
The archer released the arrow.
Yue Xiang moved.
The lake itself rose.
A wall of silver water intercepted the shot, freezing it in place before it shattered into dust.
She looked at me without turning.
"Can you swim?"
I blinked.
"That depends on how much murder is involved."
"Enough."
Fair.
She flicked her fingers.
The water beneath my feet exploded upward, throwing me sideways just as another volley struck.
Ice spears shattered where I had been standing.
The battle began.
Yue Xiang stepped forward across the lake like she was walking on glass.
Every step created silver lotus patterns beneath her feet.
Moonlight gathered around her blade.
Not fire like Lian.
Precision.
Cold.
Elegant death.
The first assassin leapt down.
She cut once.
That was all.
A silver arc crossed the water.
He froze in midair.
Then split cleanly in half.
I decided immediately that I would remain respectful forever.
Three more rushed her together.
She moved like flowing water.
No wasted motion.
No anger.
Only certainty.
Their blades never touched her.
Bodies hit the lake one after another.
Meanwhile, I was being chased by arrows.
Different experiences.
I activated Flame Step and sprinted across the shallow water, red light clashing against silver reflections.
One arrow grazed my shoulder.
Another nearly removed my ear.
I found a broken stone pillar near the ruined palace stairs and took cover.
Perfect.
Ten assassins.
One moon goddess.
One underqualified archaeologist.
Balanced.
Very balanced.
ARINA's voice sounded.
"Emergency Side Mission Triggered."
A panel flashed.
Side Mission: Protect Yue Xiang Condition: Prevent Sovereign Capture Reward: Trust Increase +10
Prevent capture.
Meaning this wasn't just an assassination.
They wanted her alive.
Worse.
Much worse.
I looked up.
At the far end of the battlefield, a second group emerged.
Not archers.
Chains.
Moonlight-forged chains.
Specialised capture team.
Of course.
One of them threw the first chain.
It wrapped around Yue Xiang's wrist.
Her expression changed.
The silver light around her flickered.
Suppression chains.
Damn it.
She cut through the first, but three more followed.
The archers coordinated perfectly.
This had been planned.
And suddenly I understood.
This wasn't random politics.
Someone had prepared specifically for a sovereign.
The Obsidian Covenant.
Had to be.
I clenched my fists.
Not happening again.
Not after Lian.
Not while I was here.
I looked at the broken pillar beside me.
Ancient ruin stone.
Loose.
Heavy enough.
Good.
I took a breath.
Picked up the entire stone slab with both hands.
And ran straight toward the capture team.
If I couldn't out-cultivate them—
I could absolutely introduce them to archaeology.
Violently.
Yue Xiang looked at me like I had lost my mind.
She was probably right.
I threw the pillar.
It flew across the moonlit lake like divine judgement.
And the screaming started.
Perfect.
Maybe she'd trust me now.
Probably not.
But it was a good beginning.