The lanternlight flickered quietly in Elder Mu's study, casting soft shadows across the rows of scrolls and tomes lining the dark wooden shelves. He sat alone, his brush moving with slow precision across the parchment. Outside, the night wind stirred the trees, their branches creaking against the tiled roofs like murmured warnings.
He paused only once, dipping the brush in the inkstone again before returning to the letter with practiced calm. But his brow was furrowed, and his usually steady hand bore the smallest tremor.
> To Elder Feng, Master of the sect of the Returning Soul, Keeper of the Eastern Doctrine, Guardian of the Soul Treasury, and my respected brother in the Dao—
> I write to you under urgent circumstances regarding an incident on the Mist Path Trial three days prior. The matter concerns not only a breach of sect protocol, but what may amount to a deliberate assassination attempt on an outer disciple.
> I request an immediate council gathering at your earliest command.
Elder Mu lifted the brush again, tapping the side of the inkwell in thought. His eyes moved to the glowing fragment of jade wrapped in talisman cloth at the center of the desk. It's pulsing ceased— as it's a distance from Wei Shen and wrapped in talisman to suppress it yin output.
> The artifact in question is a Sacred Jade Amulet, one of the Sect's classified Yang tools once stored within the Inner Treasury. It is confirmed to have been yin-fied through a forbidden inversion technique. It was discovered in the possession of outer disciple Wei Shen, following a chain of disturbances on the Mist Path.
> Upon examination, I identified that the amulet's spiritual resonance has been inscribed with Wei Shen's unique qi wavelength, causing it to respond directly to his presence and magnify in intensity as his refined qi leaks from the dantian.
> It is my belief that this was not coincidence, but an orchestrated attempt to lure the disciple into danger.
He paused again, rolling his shoulder slowly. His eyes narrowed.
> When the artifact activated, it emitted an unstable resonance that drew three mist demons, ancient creatures of yin qi, to its location. I personally dispatched the threats using the Thunder-Seeking Sage Sword technique. But the method of their summoning—and the nature of the tool used—suggests this was not a random occurrence.
> I do not yet know the perpetrator. But I suspect one of two possibilities:
An enemy within the sect with access to the inner vaults.
Or perhaps a higher hand seeks Wei Shen dismissed—but this possibility bewilders me. Why should an elephant concern itself with the fall of an ant?
Elder Mu's brush slowed as he reached the final lines.
> I request permission to place Wei Shen under temporary personal observation. I further recommend that this matter be raised before the full Elder Council under seal. The balance of yin and yang in our sect's most sacred relics has been disturbed. And a single outer disciple has become its unlikely epicenter.
He set the brush down.
> With respect and vigilance, Elder Mu, Hall Master of the East Outer cultivation Hall.
He folded the letter and pressed his personal seal into the wax, then summoned a windborne spirit messenger from his sleeve talisman.
The letter vanished in a twist of wind and paper.
Elder Mu leaned back and closed his eyes.
Something had been set in motion. And the heavens were watching.
****
The moonlight streamed through the high wooden window, casting pale light across the stone floor.
Lin Yue lay flat on her bed, still dressed in her outer sect robes. Her boots were kicked off and forgotten by the door. Her arms lay limp at her sides, and her eyes—staring blankly at the ceiling beams above—were rimmed red.
She hadn't moved for hours.
The room was neat, like always. Her blade rested across the wall brackets, polished. Her scrolls were stacked with perfect alignment. Her writing brush was washed and sheathed.
But Lin Yue was broken in ways order could not fix.
Her face was dry, but every few minutes her chest shook—subtle, quiet tremors. She didn't cry loudly. She never had. Her sobs were silent, as if even grief had to obey the rules she lived by.
This had been her second Mist Path trial.
Her second failure.
She thought she'd be promoted by now. Enter the inner sect. Have a Stage Two breakthrough. Master her spiritual channels. Earn the sect respect. Break free of the silence that followed her name. Be something better than her past life.
Instead, she was still here. Still outer. Still trapped.
The path had been perfect. She had trained, meditated, calculated everything. Then the amulet appeared. Then the demons came. Then… everything unraveled. Was it Wei Shen fault?
And somehow, she felt powerless again.
Her mind drifted to Wei Shen. He had fought when others would've fled. He had stood between her and danger without hesitation. He had been honest—even if foolish.
But he was also the reason the trial was invalidated.
Her eyes welled again, though she hated herself for it. Many thoughts went through her head— was I not strong enough? Didn't I not train? I should have entered seclusion before the mist trails. Was a breakthrough a far reach?
She hated how tired she was. How scared she was that she'd never advance. That maybe her father had been right.
Maybe she wasn't enough.
A knock broke her thoughts.
Three soft raps. Measured. Cautious.
She wiped her face with the edge of her sleeve and rose slowly.
Another knock. Slightly louder.
She crossed the floor and opened the door—half-expecting another disciple delivering a summons or a message scroll.
But it wasn't.
It was Wei Shen.
Joseph stood there in the moonlight, hair slightly disheveled, hands at his sides, his face unreadable but clearly tense. The light framed him like something out of a painting. Not a warrior. Not yet. But someone caught between regret and resolve.
For a heartbeat, neither of them spoke.
Lin Yue stared.