The heavy silence after Lin Yue's warning shattered under the crunch of approaching footsteps. Joseph's hand flew towards his broken sword hilt. Lin Yue shifted subtly ahead of him, eyes narrowed at the mist-shrouded pines. The whispers seemed to coil tighter.
Then, Han Bo's gratingly cheerful voice cut through. "Well, well! Wei Shen! You're not dead yet? Color me surprised!" He pushed through damp ferns, Liang Jun close behind. Han Bo's grin was wide, but his sharp eyes scanned their dirt-streaked robes and torn sleeves.
Lin Yue's annoyance flickered. "Stop the foolish jokes, Han Bo."
"Just relieved!" Han Bo chuckled, stepping onto the path stones. "Wouldn't want the sect's newest mystery vanishing!" His gaze dropped, landing on the jade amulet lying forgotten on the moss. "Huh. What's this?"
Liang Jun moved closer, brow furrowing. "That… that shouldn't be here. That's a Jade Amulet. Inner sect treasury."
Han Bo's grin vanished, replaced by sharp suspicion. He studied it without touching. "Liang's right. How did this get out here?" He fixed Joseph with a stare. "Start explaining, Wei Shen. Find it while running from snakes?"
Panic flared in Joseph's chest. Sect tools? Treasury? Ping An's warning about the forest felt small now. He scrambled. "Me? Lin Yue was with me! Maybe she knows?" The lie tasted sour.
Han Bo snorted. "Lin Yue? Using enchanted tools? Don't be stupid. She wouldn't break rules like that. Especially this one." He crossed his arms. "Sacred Sect Rules, Section Four, Paragraph Twelve: 'No outer disciple touches treasury artifacts.'" He paused dramatically. "Punishable by death."
Joseph felt the blood drain. Death? That wasn't in the novel! The rules were vague there. He remembered the amulet's warmth, its pulse near the serpent and the memory-flower. Ping An gave it to him. Why? Protect him? Or set him up? Another sign he didn't belong? He knew he shouldn't have known the Sect Master's name, shouldn't have said Elder Feng name earlier. Was the amulet more proof Ping An saw?
He swallowed hard, forcing casualness. "I… found it. Yeah. In the dorm corridor. Looked shiny. Thought it was just a dropped trinket. Didn't know it was special." It sounded weak.
"'Didn't know'?" Han Bo echoed, dripping doubt. "Everyone knows the treasury seals! Everyone knows we can't touch this stuff! Seriously, read the Rules sometime. Taking tools?" He shook his head gravely, a cruel amusement still on his lips. "Treason. Punishable by death."
Joseph's stomach clenched. The world tilted. Death for a borrowed amulet? Unfair. Was this Ping An's plan? Get him executed? He braced for dark cells and blades.
"Han Bo," Liang Jun interjected calmly, placing a hand on his arm. "Stop scaring him. You're exaggerating." He turned to Joseph. "The actual consequence for an outer disciple with unauthorized tools, without proof of theft, isn't death."
Joseph held his breath.
"It's disciplinary labor," Liang Jun continued. "Thirty days cleaning. Every hall, every courtyard, every training ground. Dawn till dusk." He gave a sympathetic grimace. "Except the Hall of Preserved Harmony, the Elder's Sanctum, and the Archives. They are excluded for outer disciples."
Relief washed over Joseph, leaving him lightheaded. Cleaning? He could handle scrubbing floors! Thirty days beat beheading. The novel had been wrong, or incomplete. It missed these details.
Han Bo looked deflated. "Fine. Thirty days of grime. Still no picnic. Doesn't explain how it got in your dorm, Wei Shen. 'Found it', huh?" He clearly didn't believe it.
Joseph started to stammer another denial when Lin Yue spoke. She hadn't taken her eyes off the amulet.
"It doesn't matter how now," she stated, her voice cutting the tension. "It's here. And it's broken." She pointed at the crack. "A broken Jade Amulet is useless. Worse. Its energy is unstable. I believe it may be dangerous."
Her words shifted the focus. Han Bo's suspicion about Joseph faded slightly, replaced by practical concern. Liang Jun nodded. "She's right. A cracked seal… the resonance could be unpredictable. Attract things or repel them violently. Can't leave it here."
Han Bo nudged it cautiously with his boot. "So? Leave it for a forest demon? Or carry it back and explain finding a broken treasury amulet on the Path with the guy who shouldn't have it?" He shot another look at Joseph.
Liang Jun sighed. "We report finding it. Here. On the path. We don't speculate how it got here. We just… found it. After hearing commotion." He looked meaningfully at their disheveled state. "Simplest."
Han Bo grumbled. "Fine. Less paperwork. You carry it, Liang. Responsible one." He stepped back.
Liang Jun hesitated, then carefully bent, reaching for the jade disc. His fingers were inches away…
The amulet glowed.
Not the fierce flare Joseph felt before. This was different. A soft, deep pulse of emerald light emanated from within the cracked jade, illuminating the carvings from inside. It throbbed once, gently, washing over Liang Jun's startled face, casting long, dancing tree shadows on the mist. The light lingered for a heartbeat, bathing them all in an eerie, silent radiance, before fading as quickly as it came. The amulet lay inert again.
Silence fell, thicker than the mist. Han Bo's mouth hung open. Liang Jun froze, hand outstretched, eyes wide. Lin Yue's breath hitched. Joseph stared, the amulet's familiar warmth replaced by a cold prickle of dread crawling up his spine.
Unstable energies, Lin Yue had said. But this… felt like a signal. A beacon. Lit right in front of them.
Liang Jun slowly withdrew his hand. He looked at the amulet, then at Joseph, then at the watchful forest. The simple solution suddenly felt very complicated. The brief, silent glow hung in the air, louder than any shout.
"Did you hear that?" Han Bo asked, his head tilting sharply toward the clustered bushes behind them, reacting to the eerie rustling within.
"I think I did," Joseph replied, gripping the hilt of his broken sword, his gaze fixed on Lin Yue—waiting for her next move.
"As I predicted," she said, her back still turned to the ominous noise. "The jade amulet acts as a beacon. It draws the mist demons."
"It's getting closer," Joseph warned. "Prepare for the worst."