Ten years ago.

  Snow fell in thick, downy fkes, bnketing the forest in heavy white from the ground to the sky.

  In the depths of the Bi luo Forest, a man and a woman were sprinting across the snow.

  Their tracks left spshes of crimson and green, vivid and startling against the pure snow.

  Behind them, just out of sight, fmes flickered, illuminating the shadows of people—each one urgent, each one fierce.

  At st, the man and woman stopped in front of a rge cave. The woman quickly pushed the man toward the entrance, her beautiful face a mix of pain and determination. "Leave the rest to me—I won't let them hurt you!"

  "Are you insane? Don't go! I don’t need a woman protecting me!" The man chased after her, blood seeping from the gash on his shoulder. The blood was green, like molten jade.

  "The Nine-Colored Sunflower has bloomed, and the Fme Crystal Arrow has emerged. You can't stand against the Centaur Cn! If they find you, it will be a dead end!" The woman gripped his hand tightly, her face flushed. "Trust me, I have a way to avert this disaster."

  "No!" The man refused firmly, csping her wrist. "We’ll leave here—leave Romania—far, far away!"

  Tears filled her eyes as she looked at him. "Have you forgotten you can't leave this forest? You can’t break through the barrier set by the Baili family."

  "Then I'll try!" The determination in his eyes was unyielding, as solid as the Carpathian Mountains.

  "I can keep them from hurting you!" she pleaded, desperation in her voice. "Just trust me! If you make it through tonight, you’ll be safe!"

  "I don't need that!" His fury erupted in an instant.

  The two arguing had no idea that two shadows had suddenly appeared behind them.

  With a dull thud, a lightning-fast strike hit the man′s neck, and his vision froze on the woman′s face as he slowly colpsed.

  A middle-aged couple, cloaked in bck and expressionless, caught him—or rather, firmly restrained him.

  "You..." The woman was initially startled, but she quickly bit her lip and said with resolve, "I'll take care of this. Trust me. He won′t be harmed."

  The couple didn’t respond, holding the unconscious man as they turned and left without saying a word, their eyes filled only with suppressed anger and a trace of helplessness.

  "Please... believe me!"

  The snow kept falling heavier, thick enough to drown out the woman’s voice and the sound of her footsteps as she turned and walked away.

  In the opposite direction, two golden-furred lions were sprinting through the forest, their dazzling coats like suns fallen from the sky. On the back of one, a man y with his eyes tightly shut, murmuring faintly, "Wei Qing..."

  In the basement of the Baili family, a figure cautiously slipped inside.

  The fshlight's beam flickered across the floor as the figure stumbled through the winding corridors, stopping before a closed wooden door.

  The shiny key gleamed in the darkness. With the sound of metal turning, the door creaked open.

  A beam of light fell on a pedestal behind the door, resembling a shrine. At the center, a bck wooden box with gilded carvings sat perfectly in pce. On its smooth surface, a yer of blue light seemed to flow like ripples in water, so solemn and untouchable.

  The figure slowly approached, and the blue light from the box gradually illuminated her face—startled yet still beautiful.

  She stood frozen in front of the box, her hand slowly extending toward it...

  "Don’t move!" Cen Kaiwen pressed down on Baili Weibu's hand, which was gripping the Swiss Army knife, and quickly turned his head. "Listen!"

  From a few meters away in the bushes, there came the rustling of movement and heavy breathing, with a faint smell of blood hanging in the cold air.

  Their eyes were still scanning when suddenly, a huge bck shadow lunged from the bushes, nding just under five meters away. Two eyes, faintly glowing red like small nterns, flickered in the darkness.

  Baili Weibu sucked in a sharp breath—it was a young brown bear, not fully grown, but already fierce enough.

  According to what she knew, these creatures should have already gone into hibernation. The only reason a bear wouldn′t hibernate was if its food reserves weren′t enough.

  Under the moonlight, the bear stood on its hind legs with a loud crash. Its massive body twisted strangely in the night, letting out a deep, guttural roar.

  Baili Weibu slowly moved in front of Cen Kaiwen, gritting her teeth as she spoke through clenched jaws, "Don't move. If I tell you to run, run and don’t look back!"

  A flicker of surprise passed through Cen Kaiwen's eyes. After a moment, he pulled at the tense Baili Weibu, whispering, "It doesn′t seem like it′s here to attack us. Look at its left front paw."

  On the bear's raised paw, there was a band of shining metal, and upon closer inspection, it was stained with blood.

  A trap?!

  Baili Weibu recognized the crude yet effective device. In Romania, hunting with traps like these was legal.

  Considering the biting force of this simple mechanical trap, if it had been set for a deer or another weaker animal, the steel teeth would have easily broken its limbs or neck upon contact.

  "It’s just injured," Cen Kaiwen muttered, his voice heavy, and to Baili Weibu's shock, he began to step toward the brown bear.

  Baili Weibu grabbed his arm, whispering sharply, "Are you crazy?! An injured brown bear is ten times more dangerous than a healthy one. You—"

  The brown bear slumped its massive body down, sitting like a broken heap of mud, breathing heavily as its injured front paw trembled painfully in front of it.

  Ignoring her warning, Cen Kaiwen shook off her hand and strode forward without hesitation.

  As he approached, the fierce animal's gaze, which had been filled with hostility, began to soften. The growls ceased, repced by a low, mournful whine from deep within its throat.