In a swirling storm of blame and pain, Wèi Wúxiàn is pushed to his breaking point. But it is not until his tender-hearted A-yuàn becomes the target of their cruelty that he finally snaps, fueled by an almost primal urge to protect his innocent child...
'The storm is coming', he thought grimly. 'And I need to be ready for it'.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The days passed swiftly, as they always did when time was precious. In the blink of an eye, only five days remained before the much-anticipated discussion conference in Gūsū Lán Clan. The weight of those approaching days hung heavy over Wèi Wúxiàn's mind, yet he didn't allow himself to falter. There was no room for mistakes. His family's safety depended on everything going exactly as planned.
For the past month, Wèi Wúxiàn had worked tirelessly to ensure every detail of their departure from Yílíng was perfect. Every resource gathered, every arrangement made, and every potential risk carefully evaluated. This was no ordinary escape—it was an exit from the cultivation world entirely. The remnants of the once-feared Wēn Clan were now leaving behind not just their surname, but their past, starting a new life under his protection.
Twenty days ago, they had taken his surname, Wèi, symbolizing the beginning of that new life. Wèi Qíng, Wèi Níng, Wèi-pópó, and the others—his family now in every sense. They had all accepted his name, casting off the weight of their former identities, and standing together as the Wèi family. And of course, little A-Yuān, the light of his life, was officially his son. Wèi Wúxiàn would protect him with everything he had.
A-Yuān's leg, which had been stitched up after the injury, had nearly healed. He could walk on his own again, though Wèi Wúxiàn was always there to make sure his son didn't strain himself. "No running yet, little radish," he would remind him, gently pulling the boy's small hand back whenever he tried to dash forward. The last thing Wèi Wúxiàn wanted was for the stitches to tear before they were fully healed. Everyone in the family agreed with him, their concern for the boy evident.
Today, as Wèi Wúxiàn watched the last of the carriages being prepared for departure, his heart was heavy with both relief and apprehension. The Wēn remnants had been leaving Yílíng in waves, departing at five-day intervals to avoid drawing suspicion. The carriages had been hired using the money provided by that person—Zhú Shān. The carriages transported the remnants of the Wèi family and their equipment far to the northwest, out of the reach of the cultivation sects. The plan was in motion.
There was enough money left after hiring the carriages to support them for the first few months, until they could re-establish themselves and begin working the land again. They would grow their own crops, free of the resentful energy that had once tainted their surroundings in Yílíng. It was a new start, a clean slate.
Wèi Wúxiàn stood by the entrance of the Demon Slaughtering Cave, a map in hand. This map had been part of the goods delivered by Zhú Shān, but Wèi Wúxiàn had made eight copies using a talisman he'd created specifically for this purpose. The original map was too valuable to risk losing, and these copies would guide his family to safety.
