"Qin Tian, what are you daydreaming about?"

A familiar gentle voice sounded by his ear, carrying a hint of teasing laughter.

Qin Tian opened his eyes suddenly, and a delicate face came into view—Dongfang Mingyue in a light blue dress, her eyebrows bent in his memory’s gentle and elegant demeanor.

"Mingyue?" Qin Tian’s heart trembled, a trace of confusion passing through his eyes.

Wasn’t Dongfang Mingyue supposed to be in seclusion at the Dan Tower?

When had they arranged to meet?

Instinctively, he looked around and found himself standing on a bustling street, with shops lined on both sides, filled with the sounds of vendors hawking and bargaining. The stalls of small merchants were laden with an array of small items, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a dappled shadow on the ground.

The place was both familiar and strange, like a dusty fragment from the depths of his memory, and he couldn’t recall where it actually was.

"Stop standing around, come help me have a look!"

Without a word, Dongfang Mingyue pulled his wrist, dragging him to a stall full of flower hairpins.

Each hairpin on the stall was of different styles; some made of jade, some of silver, embedded with tiny crystal stones—all delicate and exuding a lustrous sheen.

The vendor was a smiling old man, who, seeing this, joked, "Sir, your wife is so pretty, why don’t you pick a hairpin for her?"

The word "wife" rang in Qin Tian’s ears, and he instinctively looked at Dongfang Mingyue.

She blushed slightly, with a faint reddening of the ears, but offered no rebuttal. Instead, she just lowered her eyes, gently caressing the hairpins on the stall with her fingers, looking bashful and captivating.

Qin Tian felt a warmth in his heart and smiled as he picked a jade hairpin in the shape of a frost flower from the pile. With a flow of golden light at his fingertips, the Divine Weapon Emperor’s Power was quietly infused, enveloping the jade hairpin in a layer of pale golden Spiritual Energy, rendering it more robust and the frost flower pattern clearer, radiating a refreshing chill.

He gently inserted the jade hairpin into Dongfang Mingyue’s coiled hair, moving gently, "Mingyue, this is for you."

Dongfang Mingyue picked up a mirror from the stall, looking at the ice pin adorning her hair in the reflection, her face blossoming into a brilliant smile, as beautiful as an ephemeral flower, incomparably graceful.

Qin Tian looked at her smiling face, and the confusion in his heart seemed to dissipate slightly.

"Qin Tian, thank you." Dongfang Mingyue looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.

"As long as you like it." Qin Tian smiled slightly.

"Shall we walk a bit further ahead?"

Dongfang Mingyue naturally took his hand, her touch warm and soft.

"Alright."

Qin Tian let her lead him, blending into the crowd with her.

In the moments that followed, Dongfang Mingyue was like an exuberant girl, pulling him through the shops along the street—exclaiming at the adorable stuffed dolls in the window, capturing memories with delicate little ornaments, looking at him with hopeful eyes when seeing something she liked.

The two walked side by side, laughing and chatting, as intimate as a couple deeply in love.

Qin Tian responded with smiles along the way, though his heart was always haunted by an inexplicable sense of discord. However, unable to pinpoint what was wrong, he suppressed his doubts and indulged in the rare warmth of the moment.

As they exited a jewelry store, a slightly urgent voice came from ahead, "Mingyue, Qin Tian!"

Qin Tian looked towards the voice, only to see Dongfang Haoyue walking briskly towards them, with a hint of tension on his face, and a flicker in his eyes, as if something urgent was at hand.

"Brother, why are you here?" Dongfang Mingyue stopped in surprise.

Dongfang Haoyue approached the two, his gaze scanning the ice pin in Dongfang Mingyue’s hair before turning to Qin Tian, saying gravely, "Qin Tian, there’s an urgent family matter, I need to speak with Mingyue alone."

"What’s so important that it can’t be said here?" Dongfang Mingyue asked.

"It’s a serious matter, come over here."

Without further explanation, Dongfang Haoyue grabbed Dongfang Mingyue’s wrist, hurrying her towards the corner of the street, his steps hurried, not even glancing back at Qin Tian.

Qin Tian stood still, watching the two figures fade into the distance, shaking his head slightly.

He raised his wrist, lighting up the screen of his smart watch—the location displayed was clearly the central street of the Imperial Capital.

"Right, I came to the Imperial Capital to report my duties under Marshal Lin’s orders."

He muttered to himself, his previously furrowed brows smoothing out.

It was then that a series of rapid "beep-beep" sounds suddenly echoed.

All the smart watches on the street simultaneously sounded an alarm.

Pedestrians lowered their heads to check, and upon reading the text, their faces instantly turned pale, their bodies stiffening like stone. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Soon after, the crowd erupted, some taking to their heels, others fleeing frantically into the alleys on either side of the street, and some casting a furtive, fearful glance at Qin Tian before fleeing as if avoiding a calamity.

The shop clerks and owners were even more frightened out of their wits, escaping through back windows, not even caring to manage their stores.

The once vibrant street turned into chaos in mere moments, soon becoming deserted, leaving Qin Tian standing there alone.

Tap-tap-tap—

Heavy footsteps approached from all around the street, as squads of soldiers in black uniforms, fully armed, rapidly surrounded him, the sound of guns being loaded crisp and piercing, with muzzles aimed squarely at Qin Tian in the street’s center.

Qin Tian’s gaze fell on the figure walking slowly in front of him, his heart suddenly constricting.

It was a tall middle-aged man, temples slightly frosted, face resolute, eyes deep as an abyss, as if containing endless wisdom and authority, none other than the Empire’s military god—Marshal Lin.