[ Third Person ]
The second evening within the reconstructed walls of the hidden inn proved to be vastly superior to the vanguard's initial, chaotic stay in Nantong. The atmosphere was charged with a heavy, restless anticipation; the celestial alignments dictated that the full moon would reach its absolute zenith at exactly ten o'clock tonight.
As Lady Suan Ming formally pledged her mystical guidance to help the imperial candidates breach the powerful illusion cover of the legendary Night Pavilion, Master Dan Pu Chi, on behalf of the throne, promised to grant her a single royal request once the campaign concluded.
Throughout the afternoon hours, Lady Suan Ming gracefully entertained their tactical inquiries, answering their questions with an enigmatic clarity. She explained that the Night Pavilion had been anciently engineered as a sanctuary for entities like herself—individuals gifted with profound intuition, sensory foresight, and outer-world capabilities that the mundane courts often feared.
The vanguard's primary objective for entering the shifting structure was to locate Lord Dame. Known across the provinces as the eternal Master of the Night Pavilion, Lord Dame was a mythical figure who only manifested his physical presence when a monumental, history-altering prophecy was poised to arise.
The last recorded instance of his appearance occurred nearly two decades prior, on the exact night the Third Prince of Arghon had miraculously survived a terminal, supernatural illness at two winters old. The Empress had explicitly dispatched the candidates to disturb Lord Dame's isolation and extract fresh clues regarding the current political rot threatening the capital. If fortune favored their bloodlines, the master would appear tonight; if not, the gates would dissolve, forcing them to wait for another full lunar cycle to pass.
Before the march could begin, Lady Suan Ming personally assisted the elite students in settling into their private upper suites. When she entered Weicheng's quarters to arrange the linens, Weicheng abruptly halted her movements, slowly turning her head toward the blind seer.
Weicheng was wrestling with deep, agonizing second thoughts about whether she should risk asking about the 807 manifest hidden in her sleeve. But as she looked up, she noticed the small, knowing grin already playing across Lady Suan Ming's flawless lips. The seer didn't require eyes to read the structural panic of her guest.
"Ask away, young candidate," Lady Suan Ming murmured smoothly before Weicheng could even form a syllable. She dropped the fresh, silk-cased pillows onto the carved bedframe and gracefully sat upon the edge of the dark wood.
Weicheng stuttered for a moment, her breath hitching as she realized the woman had effortlessly anticipated her thoughts.
"Did my previous words linger so deeply within your consciousness?" the seer started, her blind, silver-veiled gaze tracking Weicheng's posture with absolute confidence. "I explicitly warned you during our first encounter that a massive wave of news would soon break out across the entirety of the North. Did I miscalculate?"
"How exactly do you know all of these occurrences?" Weicheng whispered, momentarily forgetting that the woman before her was a living vessel for the future. She waited, her pulse hammering against her ribs.
"The invisible string of fate has already been stretched to its absolute limit," Lady Suan Ming stated, her tone turning remarkably solemn. "The Northern Empire will soon confront hurdles of a magnitude it has never witnessed. What you saw transpire within the capital courts is merely the brief introduction to a much grander tragedy. Everything will soon collapse into its designated place... and I require your eyes to be the ultimate witness to the fallout."
Weicheng creased her brow in deep confusion, but before she could voice another question, Lady Suan Ming reached out and gently took her right wrist. With a soft, deliberate motion of her index finger, the seer traced a perfect, small triangle directly over the linen bandages wrapping Weicheng's palm.
"Your secrets will not retain their shadows for much longer," the elder whispered, her smile turning subtly taunting.
Weicheng grimaced, a cold sweat breaking out across her collarbone. Secrets? Did the seer mean the stolen ledger fragment, or something infinitely more dangerous? Before she could pull her hand away, Lady Suan Ming stepped closer, her fingers moving with lightning speed. With a single, fluid pull, she extracted the old, tarnished hairpin from Weicheng's head.
The heavy, dark silk of Weicheng's hair instantly tumbled down her back, swaying dramatically as a sudden gust of mountain wind blew through the open window lattice. For the first time in weeks, her scalp felt as if it could finally breathe the open air.
Weicheng's eyes grew wide with absolute horror. She snatched the hairpin back from the seer's fingers, her gaze frantically darting toward the closed sliding doors to ensure none of the capital candidates had witnessed the revelation of her feminine hair. "How... how long have you known?"
The old lady merely shrugged her shoulders, returning to her seat on the mattress with an air of complete indifference. "I simply know, child. And I know things that are buried far deeper than your current comprehension."
Weicheng stood frozen, the heavy realization crashing over her that her true identity and her hidden bloodline were running on borrowed time. The illusion she was living would not stay hidden much longer. Silently, she gathered her long hair, expertly binding it back into the tight, masculine topknot before securing it once more with the old hairpin.
"I have a final favor to request," Weicheng muttered, her voice tight.
"Go on," Lady Suan Ming replied softly.
[ Weicheng's POV ]
"Do you possess a private bath within this sector? I urgently require a proper washing," I asked Lady Suan Ming shamelessly, trying to shift the conversation away from my exposed identity as she finished organizing the room.
In response, I merely received a wide, highly amused grin from the blind seer.
"The Princess is currently occupying the primary washing chambers at this exact moment," Lady Suan Ming instructed, gesturing toward the western corridor. "However, you can locate a private natural hot spring nestled right beside the exterior of the west wing. It should suit your preferences."
The moment she vacated the suite, I quickly gathered my fresh inner garments, a drying cloth, and my heavy winter robes, quietly slipping down the darkened stairs.
I carefully navigated the foreign architecture of the new downtown inn. The oil lanterns were heavily dimmed on this subterranean floor, the thick, sulfurous heat of the volcanic springs already drifting through the floorboards. As I reached the intersection of the corridor, the distinct, rhythmic sound of elegant silk slippers echoed ahead. Princess Xiao'er was walking back toward her quarters, draped in layer upon layer of lavender satin.
I immediately pressed my back into the shadow of a deep wall corner, holding my breath until her regal silhouette completely vanished down the far hallway. Once the perimeter was clear, I stepped out from the darkness and accelerated my pace until I breached the heavy bamboo gates of the eastern spring.
A massive wave of thick, white steam instantly enveloped my senses as the gates swung shut behind me. The heat emanating from the bubbling, crystalline water was incredible. I let out a small, excited giggle, the stress of the capital elite briefly lifting from my shoulders. I shed my heavy uniform layers, stepping down into the natural stone basin until the scalding water reached my chest.
"Ahhhhh..."
A long, profound sigh of relief escaped my lips. I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the smooth river stone as I listened to the serene, buzzing symphony of the Nantong wilderness. The crickets were singing through the thick bamboo groves surrounding the perimeter, their rhythm perfectly matching the gentle rustle of the night wind. The heat began to deeply untangle the knots in my muscles.
Slowly, I lifted my right hand out of the water, carefully unwinding the long, water-logged linen bandages wrapping my palm.
I stared down at my bare skin under the moonlight. The rough, pale calluses and the jagged scars from years of brutal survival looked stark against the water. The physical pain I had endured in the dirt was never going to be enough. All the blood I had spilled, all the training I had survived—none of it would mean anything if I failed to clear my master's name and bring absolute justice to the greed-driven monsters who had slaughtered my entire tribe. I was living to compensate for the countless breaths that had been violently stolen away thirteen winters ago just so I could escape.
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the faint, crystalline notes of a guqin drifting through the bamboo grove from a distant balcony.
I froze, listening intently. Whoever was plucking the silk strings possessed an extraordinary, masterful command of the instrument. The melody was hauntingly serene, a traditional northern air that seemed to weave seamlessly through the rising steam. The beautiful, rolling cadence helped my mind loosen even further, drifting into a light, peaceful slumber against the stone.
The moment the musician struck the final, lingering note, the sudden silence woke me. Knowing the freezing night breeze would cause me to catch a mortal cold if I stayed submerged any longer, I reluctantly climbed out of the basin, dried my skin, and bound my chest tightly before slipping back into my uniform.
[ Third Person ]
A grueling, hyper-focused day of preparation passed within the walls of the inn.
As the sun began its final descent below the jagged western peaks, the vanguard officially gathered outside the stable gates. According to Lady Suan Ming's instructions, the first true rune required to break the barrier would have to be performed the exact moment they reached the ancient cornfields outside the town. To open the path, the barrier demanded a strict blood offering representing the four primordial elements, alongside an act of soul tampering—a concept the capital candidates were still completely blind to.
To satisfy the elements, they had secured several live animals: a cage of wild crows, a jar of venomous water snakes, and a mountain rabbit.
"What exactly is the purpose of these primitive creatures?" Candidate Mishu and Fu Ri inquired, checking the bindings on the cages. The two of them had been officially ordered to remain behind at the inn to act as a secondary communication relay and signal the capital forces if the deployment encountered an unexpected loophole.
"These specific animals are destined to be offered to the first threshold," Lady Suan Ming explained, her blind gaze fixed on the horizon. "They perfectly represent the structural elements of the natural world. The crows represent the air, the water snakes command the water, and the rabbit satisfies the earth."
"And what of the fire element?" Tae Hua demanded.
"The fire must be created and offered directly at the scene of the rune," the seer answered, sealing the wicker cages with iron pins.
Weicheng looked over at Niu Qiu Run, a look of profound, pouting misery plastered across his handsome face. He had been relegated to the stay-behind team as well. "Can I truly not convince you to let me ride with the vanguard, Master?" he whined for the tenth time.
Princess Xiao'er let out a beautiful, mocking chuckle from her saddle. "Why did you even possess the utter clumsiness to encounter an accident before our hooves could even cross the downtown threshold?" she teased, causing the remaining candidates to burst into laughter.
During the morning harvest, Qiu Run had been aggressively pursuing a nest of water snakes when he lost his balance, slipping into the rapids where his foot became severely wedged between two massive boulders. His ankle was heavily sprained, rendering him completely unable to mount a horse properly. Master Dan Pu Chi had instantly scratched his name from the active line, leaving him to sulk alongside Mishu and Fu Ri.
Once the cages were securely fastened to the pack horses, the reduced vanguard initiated their exit from the downtown sector. The horizon was rapidly dissolving into total, pitch-black darkness, forcing the candidates to ignite their personal iron lanterns. The freezing mountain breeze swept violently through the mountain passes, causing Weicheng to pull her heavy wool cape tighter around her throat.
"I am remarkably glad Qiu Run was commanded to stay behind," Tae Hua remarked from the front of the line, his tone laced with a dry, aristocratic humor. "Otherwise, this entire journey would have been rendered an annoyingly unbearable ordeal."
Ji Wok offered a rare, subtle smile, shaking his head. "His silly remarks are the only entity keeping this platoon alive. He is likely destroying the inn's liquor supply out of spite right now."
As the high-altitude fog began to rapidly drop due to the shifting climate, Princess Xiao'er pulled her heavy silk hood over her hair. She expertly guided her horse forward, her eyes locking onto Weicheng's back with a sudden, deep intensity. Her brow furrowed as she observed the weapon strapped across Weicheng's shoulders.
"Is that... a cursed bow?" her crystalline voice cut through the quiet, causing several of the capital candidates to instantly look back over their shoulders. The Princess accelerated her mount, drawing her horse directly side-by-side with Weicheng.
Weicheng merely offered a stiff, silent bow of her head from beneath her veil, refusing to grant her a verbal response.
Princess Xiao'er's lips twisted into a dangerous, condescending smirk. "You truly possess an extraordinary amount of arrogance for a commoner, do you know that?"
Before Weicheng could voice a sharp retort, Master Dan Pu Chi aggressively steered his massive warhorse directly between their mounts, his staff cutting through the air. "I do not intend to tolerate useless bickering during an active military march," he growled, his piercing eyes warning them both. "Keep your mouths sealed, or your voices will draw unintended hostility to our perimeter."
He surged ahead, leaving a tense silence in his wake. Princess Xiao'er violently rolled her eyes at his back, whispering beneath her breath, "How dare an unrefined old martial artist presume to lecture a member of the royal bloodline?"
"Princess Xiao'er?"
Tae Hua's authoritative voice suddenly rang out from the front of the column. Hearing her name called by the Dragon Son, her irritable expression instantly dissolved into a sweet, flawless smile. She checked her horse's speed, falling back to ride beside the prince while Weicheng continued forward.
Minutes later, the trail terminated into a massive, yawning dark cavern tunnel. Lady Suan Ming and Ji Wok halted their mounts at the mouth, waiting for the vanguard to re-align and elevate their lanterns. As they crossed into the absolute, suffocating blackness of the subterranean passage, Weicheng rode close to Master Dan Pu Chi, using the white fabric of his master's robe as a visual anchor in the dark. They marched in silence until a sharp, brilliant pinprick of natural light manifested at the far exit.
"There is invariably a light situated at the conclusion of every dark tunnel," Bai Ku Ji noted with a philosophical grin, trying to break the heavy tension.
Beside him, Ji Wok let out a soft, amused cough, a rare smile touching his features at the scholar's remark.
The moment they breached the exit, the world exploded into a massive, sweeping grass field that stretched out under the brilliant glow of the nearing full moon.
"We have reached the geometric perimeter of the first barrier," Lady Suan Ming announced, her voice echoing across the plain.
Weicheng and Eun Jo quickly dismounted, reaching for the heavy wicker cages on the pack horses to place them directly before the blind seer's feet. But the moment the silver moonlight illuminated the interior of the cages, the blood completely drained from the candidates' faces.
A collective shock paralyzed the vanguard.
"What in the heavens transpired here?!" Princess Xiao'er shrieked, taking a panicked step back as she stared at the offerings.
Inside the enclosures, every single animal they had harvested was completely, inexplicably dead. The crows were piled in a lifeless heap of black feathers, the water snakes were stiff and bloated, and the mountain rabbit lay motionless on its side.
"I can swear upon my house's honor, I personally verified they were entirely alive and breathing when we vacated the inn's stables," Eun Jo stated, his jaw tightening as he analyzed the carnage. What kind of unnatural force could have executed their sacrifices within a mere hour of travel?
Lady Suan Ming narrowed her blind eyes, her posture turning dangerously rigid.
Master Dan Pu Chi knelt down, tearing open the wicker hatch of the birdcage to extract a dead crow. He checked its vitals, pulling its beak close to his nose as his forehead creased into deep, weathered lines. "It is the anomalous fog," he muttered, holding out one of the bird's wings. The black feathers were entirely covered in a thin, glittering layer of solid frost.
"The local wildlife could not withstand the extreme thermal drop of the mountain fog?" Ku Ji suggested, his brow furrowing.
"No... this fog is explicitly saturated with a localized toxin that targets animal respiratory systems," Ji Wok answered with absolute tactical certainty. He stepped forward, spreading the bird's frozen wings as the lingering gray vapor drifted from the feathers. He took a brief scent of the air. "It is an airborne toxin engineered specifically to kill simple lifeforms."
"What is our secondary course of action?" Ku Ji asked, his voice laced with rising anxiety as he scanned the empty fields. "How can we possibly initiate the ritual without a proper biological sacrifice?"
Before an answer could be reached, Princess Xiao'er abandoned the circle, walking toward a small, stagnant marsh pond nestled at the edge of the limestone rocks. Tae Hua and Ji Wok immediately followed her movements to secure her safety. Seeing a movement beneath the dark water, the Princess reached for her silver hunting bow—but before she could notch an arrow, Ji Wok's hand shot forward. With a singular, lightning-fast throw, he hurled his heavy steel sword directly into the center of the pond, impaling a massive mountain fish and pinning it to the muddy bed.
On the opposite side of the field, Lady Suan Ming initiated her ancient runes, her fingers tracing invisible geometry through the air while Master Dan helped her align three empty clay jars before the invisible barrier line. Seeking an earth offering, Ku Ji caught sight of a large wild rat darting through the limestone rocks; with a swift flick of his wrist, he launched two throwing daggers, pinning the rodent to the earth before pursuing it back into the cavern mouth.
Weicheng stood at the center of the clearing, her mind analytical. Was this toxin a natural defensive mechanism of the Night Pavilion's barrier, or was someone actively trying to sabotage their entry from the shadows?
Suddenly, a sharp, incredibly faint whistling sound cut through the upper atmosphere.
Weicheng's head snapped upward. High above the dense, rolling gray fog, the distinct, rhythmic flapping of powerful wings echoed through the night. The sound felt deliberate—almost as if the creature was actively taunting the humans trapped on the field below. The bird continued to circle their coordinates in wide, invisible arcs.
Weicheng could feel the eyes of the entire vanguard shifting toward her position, but Master Dan Pu Chi raised his hand, halting the candidates before they could interfere. "Hold your positions. Let the boy handle this."
Weicheng closed her eyes completely, tuning out the panicked whispers of the princess and the rustle of the grass. She let her advanced auditory senses map the night sky. She memorized the exact velocity, the weight of the wings, and the sweeping sequence of the bird's flight path. It was nearing her vertical axis.
The moment the sequence clicked in her mind, her eyes flew open.
Her hand moved like a blur. She drew the heavy, unrefined bow from her back, notched a black-fletched arrow, and released the string in a single, seamless heartbeat.
The sharp TWANG of the bowstring was instantly followed by a piercing, high-pitched shriek from the clouds. The candidates gaped in absolute stun as a massive, dark silhouette came whistling down through the fog, crashing heavily into the tall grass yards away.
"Waaa! You are an absolute ace for a reason, Dan Weicheng!" Ku Ji shouted, returning from the cave mouth while holding his retrieved mice.
Weicheng exhaled a long, steady breath, lowering her bow as Eun Jo rushed forward into the brush to retrieve the fallen carcass and her arrow.
"Your point pierced precisely through the center of the bird's heart," Eun Jo announced, his voice laced with profound shock as he wiped the steel tip and handed the arrow back to Weicheng.
"A northern peregrine falcon?" Ku Ji snickered, clapping his hands in genuine academic appreciation. "This is undeniably one of the fastest aerial predators in the province. Incredible marksmanship."
With the three fresh, toxin-free animals secured, the vanguard quickly mobilized to assist Lady Suan Ming with the ritual. The seer offered a soft, deeply approving smile toward Weicheng's direction as the blood of the fish, the rodent, and the falcon was carefully gathered and poured into the three clay jars.
The moment the final drop touched the threshold, Lady Suan Ming chanted an ancient, low-frequency tribal rune.
The candidates instantly took three massive steps back as the ground beneath their boots began to violently vibrate. The three clay jars shattered with a loud crack, and the ancient, rustic lines carved into the earth began to glow with a blinding, celestial silver light that completely tore the dark fog apart.
But the next sight that materialized through the dissolving illusion left the entire vanguard completely bewildered.