Lin Feng stood frozen in the doorway of the ruined seclusion chamber, sword half-raised, feet rooted in the classic enforcer stance that had carried him through a hundred night raids.
The girl hadn't moved.
She sat curled against the cracked stone wall, knees drawn tight to her chest, long black hair hanging like a curtain over her face. The wild crying from before had dwindled to small, hiccuping breaths, almost like she was trying to cry quietly so as not to bother anyone.
His first instinct screamed: threat assessment, neutralize, report. Twenty years of righteous training didn't vanish overnight.
But the tired, retired part of him, the part that just wanted tea and quiet, looked at her again.
Skin like thin paper. Cheeks hollow. Fingers so thin they looked like they might snap if the wind blew too hard.
She looked less like a vengeful spirit and more like something that had been starving for decades.
He exhaled slowly through his nose.
Lowered the sword, only halfway, because he wasn't an idiot.
"You said you're hungry. What do ghosts even eat?" Lin Feng asked, in a low voice.
No answer.
Just the faint tremble of narrow shoulders.
He waited.
Eventually he crouched down, several careful steps away, still well out of lunging distance.
"Look," he said, softer this time. "I'm not here to exorcise you. I just bought this dump. If you're not planning to kill me in my sleep… we can probably talk."
Her head tilted slightly.
A gap opened in the curtain of hair. One pale, cloudy eye peered out at him, still mostly white, but with the faintest suggestion of a pupil deep inside.
Voice very faint, layered like wind passing through broken bamboo:
"…yang… energy… warm things…"
Lin Feng blinked.
"You want qi? Or… actual food?"
Before she could respond, new text bloomed coldly in his vision.
[Entity status update]
[Yin-Remnant Soul (Partial Sentience) – Severe Qi Starvation]
[Current loyalty potential: Extremely Low]
[Suggested action: Provide yin-compatible sustenance to raise trust]
[Small reward preview: +5 Sect Contribution Points on first successful feeding]
He stared at the words for two heartbeats.
Then muttered under his breath:
"Of course you're giving me homework now."
...
Back in the main courtyard he turned his pitiful storage pouch inside out.
Options were depressing.
Dried spirit beast jerky, too yang-heavy, it would probably burn her like acid.
Three low-grade spirit fruits, also yang-leaning, bright orange and smug-looking.
One small porcelain bottle of yin-attributed spring water he'd confiscated from a demonic cultivator three years ago during a raid. Never threw it out because "evidence".
And one fist-sized chunk of ice-attribute ore he'd been using as a paperweight for arrest reports.
He grabbed the water bottle and the ore.
Felt ridiculous.
Walked back to the east wing like he was approaching a feral cat that might scratch his face off.
He set both items down midway between them, about four paces from where she sat, then backed up until his shoulders touched the doorframe.
"Here," he said flatly. "Take it or don't. I'm not coming any closer."
She watched him for a long moment.
Then slowly uncurled.
Moved like smoke, limbs too fluid, too silent, no sound of clothing rustling or feet touching stone.
She reached the ice ore first.
Picked it up with trembling fingers.
Pressed it to her cheek.
A faint, almost inaudible sigh escaped her. The sharp edges of her silhouette seemed to soften slightly.
Then the yin water.
She uncorked the bottle with careful movements, took tiny sips, like someone afraid the liquid might disappear if she drank too fast.
Color crept back into her lips. Still deathly pale, but less corpse-blue.
Lin Feng watched, every muscle tense, waiting for the moment she lunged.
It didn't come.
Instead a small notification chimed in his vision.
[Feeding successful – Basic trust established]
[+8 Sect Contribution Points]
[Entity name recorded: Incomplete (requires full acceptance to unlock)]
He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
...
She looked at him properly for the first time.
Eyes still mostly white, but now the pupils were faintly visible, tiny dark specks in a sea of fog.
Voice clearer, less overlapping:
"You… are not afraid?"
Lin Feng snorted.
"Lady, I've arrested things that would make you look like a house cat. I'm just tired."
She studied him for a long, unnerving moment.
"You smell… like chains. And blood. And regret."
He winced.
Didn't deny it.
She continued, quieter:
"This place… used to be mine. Before they came. Before the fire and the swords."
Lin Feng's old instincts flared, who, what sect, when, but he bit the questions back.
Not yet. Too soon.
Instead he rubbed the back of his neck and said.
"I'm Lin Feng. If you're staying here… you can call me whatever. Just don't possess me in my sleep, alright?"
A ghost of something crossed her face.
Very faint. Very fragile. Almost a smile.
"…Silly old man."
...
She suddenly stiffened.
Head snapped up, looking toward the broken ceiling like she could see straight through it.
Voice dropped to a whisper:
"They're coming back… the ones who sealed me here."
Lin Feng frowned.
"Who?"
Before she could answer, the yin qi in the room surged violently.
The temperature plummeted.
At the edges of the chamber, several wispy shapes began to form, resentful shadows, faceless, mouths open in silent screams. Full yin ghosts. Far less sentient than the girl. Far more aggressive.
They drifted toward her like sharks scenting blood.
New system window flashed urgently:
[Warning: Yin Vein instability increasing]
[Minor yin ghost outbreak detected]
[Protect the candidate or lose access to her potential]
[Time limit: 30 minutes]
[Reward on success: Unlock Disciple Acceptance Interface]
The girl shrank back against the wall, trembling, arms wrapped around herself.
Lin Feng drew his sword fully this time.
Shifted his stance, low, balanced, proper combat form.
Looked at the drifting shadows, then at the terrified ghost girl, then at the ticking timer in his vision.
Gritted his teeth.
Half to himself, half to the empty air:
"Great. Day one and I'm already fighting my own house."