Chapter Eleven: Whispering Among the Shadows
Ling Yu sat in his room, panting after emerging from that dark void. He couldn't sleep that night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her laughing... that mysterious woman who spoke as if she knew his fate better than he did.
The next day, he acted like any ordinary outer disciple: he attended morning training, sat with the other disciples, and practiced the exercises the Elder had taught them. But deep down, he was experiencing a bitter struggle.
The following nights, whenever he sat down to meditate, he was pulled back into that mysterious void. The woman was waiting there, always smiling as if she knew something he didn't.
Once she said to him:
"Kid, your nine lines are just the beginning. If you don't build on them, you'll remain an insect among tigers."
Again, she laughed and whispered:
"Even your Elder, the old man who gave you the Spirit Veil... he's afraid of the eyes watching the sect. But I... I'll show you how to break the eyes instead of hiding from them."
But whenever he tried to ask her about her true identity or her missing body, she would evade, laugh, or change the subject:
– "Your question is meaningless now. When the time comes, you'll know. You're not ready to see everything."
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Dream or reality?
Ling Yu began to doubt... Was what he was seeing just an illusion? Perhaps the book was a side effect of his meditation? Or was this woman a real entity living inside the stone?
It even became frightening: Sometimes he would hear her whispering even while he was awake in the middle of training, short words that would creep into his mind like a cold wind:
– "Beware this disciple..."
– "Behind the stone wall... there is something that might help you..."
But when he checked what she had whispered, he actually found things no one else knew about: hidden herbs, a small path in the forest that others hadn't noticed.
His heart began to sway between fear and curiosity.
> "If she was lying... how would she know all this? And if she was telling the truth... why did she choose me in particular?"
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One night, as he sank back into the void, the woman drew closer than ever, her eyes shining like two seas of mystery:
"My young disciple… the threads of your destiny have already begun to be woven. If you reject my offer, this destiny will swallow you up. If you accept… your true journey will begin."
Then she placed her cold finger on his forehead, before her body vanished like a mist, leaving a trail of unknown energy piercing his mind.
Ling Yu woke up startled, sensing that something new had awakened within him… something he didn't yet understand.