The black-feathered arrow vibrated in the oak desk, its steel tip buried deep enough to have claimed a life had it been aimed a finger's breadth to the left. Lin Xiyao stared at the golden dragon wax seal, the emblem of the Ming Emperor himself, shimmering like a malevolent eye amidst the soot and blood of the ruined apothecary. Outside, the Weaver's District was screaming; the orange glow of the encroaching fire painted the smoke-filled sky in the colors of a fresh wound.
"Do not touch it," Lu Yan said, his voice now carrying the resonance of a mountain bell—clear, heavy, and undeniably commanding. He stood over her, his golden eyes scanning the rooftops through the shattered skylight. The 'True Stability' essence had not just saved him; it had refined him. The feral heat was gone, replaced by a cold, majestic power that made the air around him feel thick and charged.
"It has the Emperor's personal mark," Xiyao whispered, her fingers hovering near the scroll. Her "Heavenly Forensic" System flickered, its sapphire light scanning the arrow's shaft.
[Heavenly Forensic System: Document Analysis] Object: Imperial Decree (Classified). Condition: Sealed with 'Blood-Gold' wax (contains a tracking catalyst). Aura Detection: Traces of 'Forbidden Palace' incense and a faint, metallic scent of 'Long-Life' pills.
"The Emperor does not send arrows to physicians unless he intends to bury the truth with them," Lu Yan growled. He reached down, his fingers—now back to their human shape but possessing a frightening strength—snapping the arrow's shaft to retrieve the scroll. He broke the seal with a sharp click.
Xiyao leaned in as the paper unfurled. The calligraphy was sharp, arrogant, and written in a hurry. As she read the characters, her heart felt like it was being squeezed by an icy hand.
"By the Will of Heaven," Lu Yan read aloud, his eyes narrowing. "The capital is tainted beyond repair. To preserve the dragon's line, the 'Cleansing of the Three Districts' shall commence at the first light of dawn. The Imperial Army is ordered to seal the gates and fire the slums. No soul, infected or whole, shall leave the Weaver's District."
"He's going to burn the city," Xiyao gasped, looking toward the back room where the patients were slowly waking. "He isn't trying to cure them. He's trying to erase the evidence of Wei's failure by killing everyone who saw it."
"It is a purge," Lu Yan said, his voice dropping into a dangerous register. "And we are at the top of the list."
Suddenly, the rhythmic pounding of heavy boots echoed from the street—not the chaotic shuffling of the ferals, but the synchronized, heavy iron-shod stomp of the Imperial Vanguard. They weren't just here to kill wolves; they were here to execute a sentence.
"Gao! To the back!" Lu Yan commanded, and the former guard appeared instantly, his own amber eyes now steady under Lu Yan's sovereign influence. "Gather the survivors. We move through the old silk-drying lofts. If we stay on the ground, we'll be trapped between the fire and the spears."
"What about the scrolls?" Xiyao asked, frantically sweeping her father's research into her chest. "If the Emperor is ordering this, it means he knows about the catalyst. He might even be using it himself."
"Then we take the truth to the one place they won't expect us to go," Lu Yan said, grabbing her waist and hoisting her toward the rafters just as the front doors of the shop were smashed inward by a heavy iron ram.
"Where?" Xiyao asked, clutching her chest as they leaped onto the roof, the heat of the burning district rising up to meet them like the breath of a dragon.
Lu Yan looked toward the distant, glowing silhouette of the Forbidden City, his golden eyes reflecting the flames of the dying district. "We go back to the source. If the Emperor wants to burn our world, we will show him the fire we carry in our blood."
As they sprinted across the rooftops, Xiyao's system pinged with a new, urgent discovery from the arrow's residue.
[System Update: Forensic Discovery] Residue Analysis: The 'Blood-Gold' wax contains the same catalyst as the 'Wolf-Spirit' pills. Inference: The Emperor is not just the judge; he is the Alpha of the palace.
The chapter ended with a chilling visual: As the first light of dawn touched the horizon, a massive, silver-white wolf, larger than any they had seen, stood atop the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, its howl silencing the screams of the burning city below.