Author's Preface
Elsewhere in the city, a quiet park lay beneath the gentle glow of moonlight. Rows of lanterns lined the broad street beyond its stone paths, their warm light filtering through the trees and casting long, wavering shadows across empty benches and the winding walkways. Save for the occasional whisper of leaves stirred by the night breeze, the place had fallen almost completely silent. Beyond the street, a row of modest two-storied homes rested in darkness, their windows lit here and there by the few families still awake.
Standing alone beneath one of the trees was a hooded young woman.
The hood concealed most of her face, leaving only a glimpse of sharp features and slightly hollow cheeks beneath its shadow. A single strand of long, dark hair had escaped the fabric, swaying gently with the breeze as she kept her eyes fixed upon the empty street ahead.
She lowered her gaze to the palm-sized artifact resting in her hand. Its circular face resembled a compass more than a watch, a single golden needle slowly sweeping across engraved markings.
9:56
"Captain said ten..." she murmured, glancing down the empty stone path. "Where is he?"
A faint rustle sounded behind her. Her hand shot to the hilt at her waist.
"Easy there."
A young man stepped out from between the trees with both hands raised. He wore a simple ash-gray coat belted at the waist over light inner garments, the sort of practical clothing one could find anywhere in Rivergate. His features were pleasant enough to invite a second glance without lingering for a third, and an easy smile rested upon his face.
"I just thought you were beautiful," he said with an awkward chuckle. "Figured I'd come say hello."
Yu Ji's grip loosened, though she didn't take her eyes off him.
"Thank you," she replied curtly. "But I'm waiting for someone."
"I see." The young man scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed smile. "I wouldn't mind keeping you company until whoever you're waiting for arrives."
The warmth vanished from Yu Ji's eyes. "Leave."
The young man blinked. "I don't mean any harm."
"You scum." Her voice dropped into a low growl, stripped of even the slightest hint of courtesy. "Get the hell away from here."
He remained rooted where he stood.
With a sharp metallic hiss, her sword left its scabbard. White Qi flowed along the blade like moonlight over still water, bathing the steel in a cold radiance. "Did I stutter?"
The young man's face immediately paled. "N-No... I'm going."
He stumbled backward before hurriedly disappearing down the path without another word.
Only after his footsteps had faded did Yu Ji lower her sword.
"Bastard." She spat.
Her gaze drifted back to the artifact in her hand.
The golden needle rested precisely upon its mark.
10:00
Her fingers tightened around it. "Captain...Where are you?"
She remained standing beside the bench for a long moment before restless unease finally won out. She began pacing beneath the trees, only to turn back every few steps, her eyes repeatedly drifting toward the empty street.
"Captain said..." she murmured under her breath. "If they aren't here by ten... then something must have happened." She swallowed. "And I have to do as he said."
Her pace slowed. "I'll wait one more minute."
The needle crept onward.
10:03
Yu Ji closed her eyes in resignation. "I hope you're safe."
Her fingers found the bronze badge hanging from her belt. She stared at it for several long seconds.
Snap-
The badge broke cleanly in two. She threw the pieces into the darkness.
Next came an old brown leather satchel hanging at her side. She reached inside, withdrew a pouch of pale powder, and dusted it over her clothes and exposed skin until not a drop remained.
A talisman followed. It was no larger than two fingers, its surface covered in fine silver strokes that sparkled faintly beneath the street lantern.
The moment she fed it a thread of Qi, the inscriptions lit up one after another. The talisman dissolved into countless specks of light. They drifted toward her like fireflies before sinking into her body, leaving behind only a thin, invisible veil wrapped around her body.
"Now I just have to wait in the Lantern Ward district. " She took a steadying breath.
"Senior Yan Ju, Chief of Internal Affairs, always stops for tea at the Quiet Reed Pavilion in Willow Walk Street at exactly midnight."
She took another look. Left then right. "I have to go."
That's when-
"You people really came prepared, didn't you?"
The unfamiliar voice drifted from the shadows beside the path.
Yu Ji spun around. The color drained from her face.
"You..." Her lips parted soundlessly. "How did..."
A voice answered from the darkness. "We see everything."
A man emerged from between the trees with unhurried steps. Though he appeared to be somewhere in his forties, hardship had aged him beyond his years. His scalp was bare, deep wrinkles lined his brow, and short white stubble clung stubbornly to his jaw. A broad nose dominated his face, while a row of crooked teeth revealed themselves through a smile that carried no warmth whatsoever.
"Your old captain thought himself rather clever," he said. "Boldly agreeing to the meeting because of whatever you've got hidden."
His eyes lingered on her stunned expression, his smile shifting into a smirk. "Notice how I said your old captain."
Yu Ji's heart skipped.
"He's dead." He affirmed.
"You're lying." Her voice came out far weaker than she intended. Her eyes darted around the park.
The strolling couples, the old man feeding birds, the lone passerby crossing the path... All gone. Without her noticing, the park had emptied. Only then did she realize they weren't alone.
Five dark figures stood scattered among the trees, quietly sealing every path.
"If I were lying," the bald man said with a soft chuckle, "I'd tell you he was still alive." His smile became almost fatherly. "I'd promise to spare him if you handed me that satchel."
Yu Ji gritted her teeth and pulled it closer against her chest. "You scum don't deserve to live."
"Don't hate me." His voice remained calm. "Hate yourself. If you had accepted my offer that day... if you'd simply kept our little arrangement between us..." His eyes slowly hardened. "Your heroic captain wouldn't have interfered. He wouldn't have died. Your team wouldn't have died. You wouldn't be standing here waiting to join them as well."
"What a foolish mistake." He said in a cold, emotionless voice. A black dagger appeared in his hand without warning.
Yu Ji moved first as her sword swept through the air. A brilliant crescent of light burst from its edge, surging across the ground in a roaring wave that hurled leaves, dust, and loose stones into the air.
The bald man raised his free hand. The radiance shattered with an effortless swipe. Fragments of light dissolved before ever reaching him.
"A one-star Radiant Edge." He clicked his tongue. "It hasn't even reached First-Step."
He vanished.
Yu Ji barely managed to turn before the dagger was already upon her.
Steel rang through the quiet park.
She retreated step after step, every strike driving her farther backward. Sparks scattered with each collision as she poured every strand of Qi she possessed into her sword, forcing the dagger away for the briefest of moments.
The pressure returned. Heavier. Relentless.
The black blade slowly descended despite all her strength, making her arms tremble. The dagger slipped past her guard, and pain exploded through her abdomen.
Her eyes widened. Death had never felt so close; she could almost touch it.
Suddenly-
A brilliant white barrier blossomed around her.
The dagger rebounded as though it had struck solid stone, sending its handler a few steps backwards.
An orb of pale light materialized beneath her feet, lifting her gently into the air.
One, three, five meters, and it stopped.
The next instant, it shot into the night like a falling star in reverse.
By the time the ambushers reacted, nothing remained but a fading streak of white disappearing beyond the distant rooftops.
"Damn it. What rotten luck." The bald man slammed a fist into the ground. "This is bad. Very bad."
He reached into his sleeve, grabbing his own circular Resonance Disk.
Darkness had settled over the street, and the teahouse had entered its busiest hour.
Warm lanternlight spilled across polished wooden floors, while steam drifted lazily from rows of black clay kettles. High-backed booths upholstered in dark brown leather lined the walls, their finely finished tables crowded with teacups, skewers, and half-finished bowls of noodles. Customers talked business in hushed voices, workers laughed over cheap tea, and a bard in the corner told of a musical tale to a handful of sleepy listeners.
At the very end of the room, tucked away in the last booth, He Yu sat alone.
His untouched meal had long since gone cold. One hand remained wrapped tightly around a small glass cup of liquor, his thumb rubbing absentmindedly along its rim while his eyes stared through the dark liquid without truly seeing it.
A shadow stopped beside the table.
The newcomer was shorter than most men, broad through the shoulders, his weathered skin darkened by decades beneath the sun. A polished bald head reflected the lanternlight, while thick white-flecked eyebrows rested above a pair of small, calculating eyes. His beard fell heavily over his chest, streaked with enough white to betray his age, though the rest of him still carried the compact strength of a seasoned soldier.
He slid into the booth opposite without asking.
Removing a pair of thick, dirt-stained leather gloves, he casually tossed them onto He Yu's side of the table before leaning back as though the booth belonged to him.
"So, He Yu..." he said after letting the silence stretch just long enough to become uncomfortable. "What did they have? Anything besides the image recording crystals?" His gaze finally settled on the man opposite him. "What a terrible job this has been. Nothing but work, risk, and headaches. Still..." He shrugged. "No one keeps the stove warm without feeding it firewood. So, that's something."
He Yu lowered his head another fraction. "I..." He swallowed the rest of his drink in one gulp. "I couldn't get it. She...fled."
The short captain, Wang Jie, stared at him. "What?" His voice rang loudly enough that several nearby tables turned their heads.
Before either man could continue, a cheerful waitress appeared beside them carrying a steaming kettle.
"Good evening, honored Guard Captains." She smiled politely. "May I bring you another pot of tea? Or perhaps something a little more stron-"
"Nothing. Go away." He Yu never even looked up.
The young woman blinked, her pleasant smile disappearing. "You don't have to be so rude," she snapped. "Just say 'not now, thank you,' and I'll go my merry way."
The cup slammed against the table. Dark liquor splashed across its fine lacquered surface.
Seizing her wrist in a flash, he whispered in a cold tone. "What did you say?" The friendliness vanished from his face, leaving behind something ugly.
"Let go of me!"
Several customers craned their necks to get a better look.
Wang Jie sighed. With a sharp slap, he knocked He Yu's hand aside hard enough to make him wince.
"Forgive him, little beauty." He offered the waitress an apologetic smile warm enough to seem genuine. "He's had a particularly dreadful day."
The waitress shot one last glare toward He Yu before wrenching free and walking away, muttering something beneath her breath.
Only after she disappeared did the smile vanish from Wang Jie's face. His expression hardened into something far colder. "You..." he said quietly. "How could you possibly mess this up?"
His voice never rose. "I took care of the difficult part. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to get Ashbloom Powder? The Silver Ant Larvae? To find two foreign meats nobody would miss?" He slammed his fist against the table. "That's four jobs in one."
He leaned forward. "All you had to do was catch one little fucking girl." He clicked his tongue. "Heavens... I always knew you were incompetent. I just never imagined you were this bad..."
"I'm sick of hearing it." For the first time since the conversation began, He Yu met his gaze. "It's not like I did it intentionally." He leaned forward himself. "The bitch had a peak One-Star Escape Talisman. I've never even seen one before. It activated on its own. We couldn't even tell which direction she disappeared into."
Wang Jie remained silent for a moment.
That... was at least believable. He mused. Still, he refused to surrender the advantage.
"I'm certain you ignored my instructions."
"No."
"You appeared right in front of her."
"I didn't." He said in a whisper, hands tightened into fists.
"You started running your mouth like a weak idiot."
"I didn't." He yelled, fists slamming into the table.
"You tried to look big and manly in front of a helpless girl."
He Yu answered almost instinctively. "I did sneak attack her." The lie rose as naturally as breathing, unimpeded by either filters of shame or morality. "It activated by itself. She looked just as surprised as I was."
He paused for a second, gathering his thoughts. "But I wounded her. Not somewhere fatal... but unless she finds a healer soon, she'll bleed to death."
Wang Jie slowly nodded. "Good." He finally relaxed against the booth. "At least you accomplished something. That narrows our search considerably."
He had only just begun considering their next move when both Resonance Disks vibrated simultaneously.
He Yu's Qi flew into his first. The resonance lasted only a heartbeat. That was enough.
The panic on his face melted into an enormous grin.
Wang Jie noticed immediately.
His own disk answered a breath later. He poured Qi into it, and the voice arrived directly inside his mind.
"Both of you little shits have failed."
The smile vanished from his face.
"Are you really that useless? What use is there in keeping such trash around me?"
"Boss..." he replied carefully. "It wasn't me. It was this degenerate pervert who couldn't even kill a woman at the First Stage of Qi Condensation. He's always-"
"When I say both of you, then that's that."
The captain froze.
"Mark Robinson is alive."
His chair scraped loudly across the floor as he stood.
"What?" He caught himself. "Boss... that can't be right."
His voice became noticeably smaller. "I killed them myself with Ashbloom Powder. You know how dangerous that stuff is. I watched them breathe their last breath. I watched the Silver Ant Larvae crawl into their noses." His breathing quickened rushing to save himself. " And because I am naturally paranoid, I even pierced Mark Robinson's heart after he was already dead."
A long silence answered him.
"Shut up." The single sentence carried enough pressure to make his palms dampen. "Not only do you fail miserably...You dare argue with me?"
"I'm sorry, Boss." He offered.
"If I say the sky is green..."
Wang Jie lowered his head. "...then it's green."
"Good."
A short silence followed, making Wang Jie sink even deeper into his own fears.
"Mark Robinson is alive, and you have one chance to find what we need."
"Understood."
"Move quickly. For some reason, the Grand Deputy Chief has been paying close attention to this case."
"Understood."
The voice almost sounded amused now. "Or don't."
Wang Jie frowned.
"The coffins are already prepared. Whether they're for him or for you...hardly matters to me."
The connection ended.
He remained standing for several seconds before slowly lowering himself back into the booth. His thoughts raced in every direction. He emptied his cup in one swallow. When he looked up, He Yu was openly grinning.
Wang Jie met his eyes before stating as a matter of fact. "Do you believe I won't smash every tooth out of your mouth right here in the middle of this store?"
The grin disappeared immediately.
"So..." He Yu coughed awkwardly, quickly changing the subject. "What should we do?"
Hidden beneath the table, Wang Jie's hands trembled ever so slightly. He noticed it himself and calmly folded them beneath his sleeves before the man before him could.
"Mark Robinson doesn't matter." His voice had regained its composure. "Who is he? Who are we? Our words carry more weight than his. Without the evidence, he's harmless. We just need to make sure that Quiet Reed in Willow Walk is under surveillance, and find the girl." He fixed He Yu with a hard stare. "What else do you know? I know you've had your disgusting eyes on that girl for months."
He Yu waved the accusation away impatiently, not saying anything.
"We're already wasting enough time. We won't even be able to use the Inner City's transportation arrays without drawing suspicion."
After a moment, He Yu sighed. "I only know about her house, and her parents' house."
Wang Jie blinked. "Only?" He laughed. "That's practically her entire life." His mind was already calculating routes. "The parents' house is the obvious choice. Which means it's also the dangerous one. An Inspector is probably heading there already."
A thin, proud smile on his face. "I did break through recently." He flexed one hand. "I wouldn't mind helping my blade with more blood tonight."
"We won't find anyone there."
Wang Jie looked up. "Oh? Why so sure?"
"I changed her file some time ago, and removed most of the important information."
"Why?"
He Yu shrugged, trying to feign nonchalance, but he was clearly asking for praise. "Just a hunch."
Wang Jie smiled, and this time, it reached his eyes. "Good, good, good!"
He rose from the booth and slipped his gloves back onto his hands. "Since the parents' house is the dangerous one, I'll handle it."
He looked at him with a subtle, reassuring smile. "You know her better, so you check her home."
"What?" He Yu frowned. "They've been preparing this for days. Her house won't have anything useful."
"I know." The answer came so smoothly that He Yu almost missed it. "Then search somewhere else. Use that brain and good hunch of yours. We can't both appear at the parents' house. It'll look suspicious."
He Yu opened his mouth again.
The captain cut him off with a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Contact me if you find anything." He turned toward the exit.
"Oh..." Without looking back, he added, "And get the tab, will you?"
He Yu remained seated for several long seconds, and then very quietly, he ground his teeth until his jaw hurt.