Chapter 20: A Sister Taken by the Clouds
The next morning, the sky above Misty Cloud Sect was covered in thick, pale clouds.
It wasn't raining. But it felt like the heavens were holding their breath.
---
Luo Yixue stood quietly at the edge of Silent Peak, holding the golden egg close to her chest. Her training robe fluttered slightly in the wind, her eyes staring into the distance.
"Senior Brother," she whispered as Lin Mo stepped beside her, still chewing on a crispy bun.
"Hm?"
"Do you think… Yan Zhentian's sister is still alive?"
Lin Mo chewed for a second longer, then answered softly, "If she is, she's not safe. That's enough reason."
Luo Yixue's grip on the egg tightened. "He's not evil. Just… broken."
Lin Mo took a deep breath. "The world breaks people like him every day."
---
Meanwhile…
At the Misty Cloud Inner Hall, Elder Zhao slammed his hand on the table. "I warned you not to bring that cursed boy here! Now he dares threaten the sect?!"
Another elder frowned. "That boy is unstable. He must be dealt with."
But the Sect Leader, an elegant woman with cold eyes, remained silent.
A black-robed shadow knelt before her. "Sect Leader. We've confirmed it. The girl he spoke of was taken by the Cloud Capture Pavilion ten years ago… She was listed as 'suitable.'"
Her eyes narrowed. "They're still operating?"
"Quietly. Under our nose."
---
Back at Silent Peak…
Yan Zhentian sat alone on the stone stairs, sword across his lap. He hadn't slept. His eyes were hollow. But his hands trembled with something more than rage — helplessness.
He muttered, "Qingyu… are you still alive?"
Suddenly, a shadow stepped in front of him. Lin Mo.
"No one's going to give you answers. You'll have to tear the truth out yourself."
Yan looked up. "Even if I must spill blood?"
Lin Mo didn't blink. "If it's necessary… just make sure you're still you when it's over."
---
Later that evening…
A torn scroll was found pinned outside the Misty Cloud Sect gate. In bold blood-red letters:
> "To the ones who took her — I'm coming for what you stole."
— Y.Z.
The disciples whispered among themselves.
Luo Yixue stood by the gate, her face pale.
Lin Mo walked past her, cloak fluttering.
She asked softly, "Will you stop him?"
He smiled slightly. "Why would I stop someone who finally has a reason to fight?"
"But he could die…"
Lin Mo paused. "Then he dies trying."
---
At that same moment, somewhere deep in the mountain's fog…
A girl with silver eyes sat inside a cage of jade light.
Chains hummed with restriction arrays. Her hands were covered in scars. Her breath shallow.
But when she looked up at the moonlight slipping through the cracks…
She whispered, "Brother… I heard your voice."
---
Chapter 21: When Silent Peak Marches Downhill
The sun dipped low behind the mountains, casting long shadows across Misty Cloud Sect.
On Silent Peak, Lin Mo stood at the edge of a rocky cliff, arms folded behind his back. His eyes were fixed on the sky, not blinking, not distracted.
Luo Yixue walked up behind him, barefoot, holding the egg in a silk wrap. "Are you really going down the mountain?"
Lin Mo didn't turn. "If someone's sister is being tortured, I can't sit and sip tea."
She bit her lip. "Then I'm coming too."
He finally looked at her. "You're still learning the first layer of the Frost Sutra."
"I'll learn faster."
"…You're serious."
"More than ever."
Lin Mo sighed, ruffled her hair, then pointed to a peach blossom branch. "Then take that branch."
She looked confused. "Why a branch?"
He smiled. "Because you're not strong enough for a sword yet."
---
By sunset, the path from Silent Peak was quiet — until two figures stepped onto the stone path. Lin Mo, walking slow and relaxed. Luo Yixue, behind him, with a branch strapped to her back and the golden egg tucked into her sash.
As they passed the inner sect gate, disciples stared in shock.
"Isn't that Lin Mo?"
"Where's he going?"
"Did Silent Peak finally come back to life?!"
Elder Zhao narrowed his eyes from the window. "This is trouble…"
---
Night fell.
Cloud Capture Pavilion — hidden behind five illusion barriers and guarded by six formation circles — was a secret many believed was only myth. But Lin Mo walked straight toward it, as if he knew where it was all along.
Because he did.
The air turned cold. Killing intent rose like steam.
A man in gray robes stepped forward from the shadows. His eyes were narrow, his fingers glowing with a golden light.
"Turn back, stranger. You don't belong here."
Lin Mo didn't stop walking.
"I said—"
CRACK!
The man was suddenly flying through the air, crashing into three trees before collapsing, unconscious.
Luo Yixue stared. "Senior Brother… did you just slap him?"
Lin Mo shrugged. "He was talking too much."
---
Deeper inside the Pavilion…
Yan Zhentian stood alone in the center of a glowing formation, blood sword humming in his hand.
He wasn't waiting for backup.
He was waiting to kill.
One elder appeared, his beard glowing with spirit Qi.
"You're the boy from ten years ago," he said.
Yan's voice was soft. "Where is she?"
"She was a sacrifice. For something greater. A gift for advancement—"
Before he finished the sentence, Yan's blade pierced the air.
One second later, the elder was on the ground, mouth full of blood.
"I don't want your excuses."
---
Lin Mo and Luo Yixue reached the inner chamber just as the moonlight cut through the Pavilion roof.
Chains rattled from the shadows.
There, in a glowing cage, sat a girl.
Thin. Pale. But alive.
"Qingyu…" Yan whispered, stepping toward her.
Her eyes widened. "Brother…?"
But then a thick hand grabbed Lin Mo's shoulder.
A towering man with eyes like burning coals appeared, a red brand on his forehead.
"You dare invade the Cloud Capture Pavilion?!"
Lin Mo looked at him calmly. "What's your name?"
The man sneered. "Why ask the name of someone you're about to die to?"
"…I like to remember the names of the ones I slap."
---