The air was different.
Even after the Mirror Echo Rite faded and the fog of the Shrouded Grounds withdrew, the silence that followed wasn't peace.
It was anticipation.
Rael felt it in his marrow—the rhythm of footsteps in the dark, the scent of hidden blood, and the soft, almost inaudible draw of a blade being unsheathed.
Someone was following them.
---
Yue Qingshi didn't speak as they retraced their path through the Whisper Path, but her body had subtly shifted. Shoulders loose. Fingers hovering near her sleeve. Ready to fight.
Rael's senses sharpened in response.
Every stone underfoot, every breeze curling past his collar.
He said nothing.
But his grip around the bone dagger turned.
---
They made it to the edge of the path—where the veil shimmered faintly, signaling the barrier of the Moonlight Court.
And then—
The fog behind them stirred unnaturally.
Soundlessly.
---
System Alert: Undetected Presence Breaching Defensive Boundary
Entity Type: Cultivator (Low Heaven-Step, Concealment-Oriented)
Status: Hostile Intent Confirmed
Note: No identity revealed. Tracking initiated.
—Combat Initiation Pending—
---
Rael turned.
But it was already too late for a warning.
A silver thread whipped from the shadows—like a whip made from moonlight—and struck toward Yue Qingshi's exposed neck.
She moved, but not fast enough.
It grazed her collarbone, drawing a line of red through her azure robes.
Rael's body moved before thought.
Strike the shadow, not the weapon.
He dashed low—closing the gap between them and the attacker.
In the fog, a figure barely visible.
Wearing robes without clan insignia. Masked.
Silent.
Deadly.
---
Rael feinted left—and then spun, letting the bone dagger whistle from his hand.
It wasn't meant to kill.
Only distract.
The masked figure parried, arm twitching slightly—enough for Qingshi to unleash a burst of Lunar Qi, her fingers flaring with cold silver light.
The fog hissed as it clashed against her technique.
---
Then she gasped.
The Lunar Qi rebounded—unfocused.
Rael caught her just as her knees buckled.
Poison.
The thread had been laced.
She blinked once, trying to stay conscious.
Rael set her gently against the base of a stone pillar and turned.
Expression calm.
Breath steady.
---
"You came for her," he said aloud.
The figure didn't reply.
Only raised their hand again, threads shimmering like spider silk between each finger.
Not one assassin.
A spider with hands.
---
Rael didn't wait.
He dashed in.
Drew another blade—not bone, this time, but the iron fang dagger he'd looted from the corpse of the Moonhowl Beast.
A corrupted weapon.
One that bit deeper into flesh.
His feet moved with strange rhythm.
Stutter steps.
Winding approach.
The assassin struck twice—threads lashing in curved arcs meant to entangle, not kill.
Rael ducked beneath the first, twisted past the second—and hurled his body forward.
Steel met skin.
---
But no blood spilled.
A barrier flashed, barely perceptible.
Qi-shielding. Refined. Beyond inner sect level.
Rael flipped backward, landing beside Qingshi again.
This wasn't just a rogue killer.
This was sect-sanctioned.
He looked down at her again. Her lips were pale.
Fever rising.
And something in him—
Broke.
Not loudly.
Just… cracked.
---
He rose.
Again.
And did not move to strike.
He just stood still.
The assassin hesitated.
Rael raised his hand slowly and pulled from his robes a strange piece of folded cloth.
Black silk. Threaded with red.
Not from this sect.
Not even from this realm.
He held it out.
"You'll stop now, or I'll speak the name carved in this thread."
The masked figure froze.
Tension snapped.
Silence fell like a knife.
---
Then, quietly, the attacker vanished into the mist.
Not a word spoken.
Just the scent of fear and something else—
Recognition.
---
Rael waited five heartbeats.
Then turned to Yue Qingshi.
She was half-conscious, lips parted.
He slid his palm over her pulse point—checking, then reached into his pouch and pulled out a pale green vial.
Beast Bone Elixir – Intermediate Tier
Property: Neutralizes low-to-mid grade poison. Temporary stamina restoration.
He tilted it gently against her lips.
She sipped.
Coughed once.
Blinked.
"...that was yours?" she murmured.
He didn't answer.
Just held her shoulder.
---
Later, when they passed through the outer sect veil, no guards stopped them.
No record was made.
But Rael knew eyes had seen.
And those eyes—had chosen not to interfere.
The sect is split.
And she's in the middle.
---
They returned to the Moonlight Court just as dawn broke.
Qingshi walked with her head high, but her step faltered once.
Rael steadied her without words.
Her hand lingered a moment longer than necessary.
She didn't thank him.
But as they reached the garden path—she turned suddenly.
"Next time," she said, voice soft, "don't come alone."
Rael raised a brow.
"Would you have?"
She didn't reply.
But her gaze… lingered.
Then she was gone.
---
System Update: Trait Refined – [Memory Trace Combat II]
Effect: You may now predict up to 2 combat moves of an observed opponent after three exchanges.
Cost: Mental Strain.
Limitation: Not effective against erratic or mindless entities.
---
Rael stood in the courtyard as the light of morning spilled over the garden stones.
He did not smile.
But he did breathe.
He was still alive.
And someone had just tried to change that.
Not out of revenge.
But orders.
Which meant—
The real game was just beginning.