Night fell over the Assembly like a cloak of wet velvet.
The moon hung low—fat and watchful—its silver eye gazing down at stone courtyards and flickering lanterns. Somewhere in the far east of the fortress, laughter echoed faintly, the sound of rival disciples still celebrating minor victories and drinking down their fear of tomorrow.
But inside Sun-Ho's courtyard, silence reigned.
So-Ri walked the perimeter, chalking invisible sigils onto stone. Her fingers moved like wind over water—light, fast, precise. Behind her, Yeon followed with his own set of tools, leaving behind tiny rune-tags that glowed once before vanishing.
"You're getting faster," So-Ri said softly.
Yeon didn't answer, only gave a small nod. His hand paused briefly as he scratched a warning glyph into a floor tile: Intrusion below – bait line drawn.
From the inner room, Ji-Mun called, "Do we have to bait them into trying something tonight? What if they just give up and go assassinate someone else?"
"Then they weren't good assassins," Yul-Rin replied, lounging by the window with a sharpened needle between her teeth.
"Not comforting."
"You asked."
In the center of the courtyard, Sun-Ho sat on a flat stone, cross-legged, his eyes closed. Qi radiated from him in rhythmic pulses—soft at first, then expanding outward like ripples through a lake. His lightning and fire had settled into a strange rhythm: burn and spark, burn and spark.
He wasn't just waiting.
He was calling.
---
Moments Later – Below the Stone
The first whisper came like a slither.
Two masked figures crawled through the hidden passage beneath the quarters, moving with practiced silence. Their clothes bore no insignia, only black threads etched with poison qi. One paused and tapped the wall twice.
Heartbeat detected above. Still meditating.
They slid upward, knives ready, feet hovering over pressure-sensitive tiles.
But they didn't see the thread.
Snk—
The rune thread snapped like a spider's trap.
Above, So-Ri's sigil flared to life.
And Sun-Ho opened his eyes.
---
The Counterambush
With a low crack, a section of the floor shattered outward—not from below, but from within.
Sun-Ho moved in a blur of golden flame and white lightning. The two assassins barely registered the change before one was slammed into the far wall by a wave of pressure.
The other flung a needle at So-Ri—but her fan flicked open with a sharp snap. Ping!
Ji-Mun's blade slid into the assassin's side a beat later.
Ma-Rok came barreling out from the side hall, shouting, "I KNEW it'd be tonight!" and clotheslining the wall just to be sure.
The courtyard glowed faintly, sigils locking the exits.
Yul-Rin stepped forward. "They're not scouts. These are specialists. Sent to kill you and vanish."
Sun-Ho stood over the conscious one. His aura flared—still concealed, but just enough for the assassin to feel the threat. The man began to tremble.
So-Ri crouched beside him. "Tell us who sent you."
Silence.
Yeon walked up and calmly placed a single rune on the assassin's forehead.
The man screamed—loud, feral, involuntary.
"Eastern Wild Sect," he gasped. "But… not their leader. A hidden patron… cloaked qi… don't know their face."
"Did you know who you were attacking?" Sun-Ho asked.
The man coughed, eyes bloodshot. "A… candidate. They said… make it look like a random strike…"
Ji-Mun exhaled. "They're testing the waters. Trying to remove you early without raising alarm."
Yul-Rin's voice darkened. "Or worse—make it look like an internal betrayal to trigger factional collapse."
Sun-Ho stood slowly, gaze cold. "Get rid of them. No bodies left behind. Let them vanish as quietly as they came."
Ma-Rok grunted. "Want me to break the floor again?"
"No."
"Aw."
---
Later – Roof of the Courtyard
Sun-Ho sat atop the tiled roof, wind teasing his hair.
So-Ri climbed up and joined him, two cups of tea in hand. She passed one without speaking.
"They're getting bolder," she said eventually. "This wasn't a warning. It was a removal attempt."
"And it failed," he said. "But we still don't know the puppet master."
She looked at him sideways. "When do you plan to stop being calm about all this?"
"When I stop seeing clearly."
She took a sip. "You're not going to like this, but I think you're becoming… colder."
Sun-Ho tilted his head. "Colder or sharper?"
"Both," she said. "But don't lose what made people follow you."
He gave her a faint smile. "You'll remind me, if I do."
So-Ri smirked. "No, Yul-Rin will stab you. I'll just slap you with a fan."
Down below, the team cleaned up quietly, Ji-Mun muttering something about how he deserved a "non-life-threatening evening."
Above, thunderclouds gathered on the horizon—not lightning, not fire.
But storm.
---
End of Chapter 107 – Fangs Beneath the Floor