Later that night, Lin Mu stood alone again on the cliff beside the Jade Echo Retreat, the same place he had often meditated, drank tea, and stared into the stars.
And yet tonight, the stars seemed to shine more clearly. As if they, too, now looked at him differently.
The wind brushed through his robes, and the sheath on his back vibrated faintly in response, the sound barely a whisper.
"Shelter all blades…" Lin Mu murmured. "And walk without edge."
His hands moved on their own, forming the sword seal he had perfected long ago. But now, as he drew a finger through the air, the stroke carried something new. A serenity. A sharpness without aggression.
The air itself bent slightly around his motion, responding not to his will—but to his intent.
From within the sheath on his back, he felt Afternoon Pine and Ocean Raker stir gently, as if in meditation. Not eager to be drawn, not thirsting for battle.
But waiting.
Ready.
"So this is the path you want me to walk," Lin Mu whispered.
