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194: The Fifth Name
The voice from beneath the courtyard settled over the stone like a held breath."Shen Tian. You brought Adrian's son at last."Kai stopped fighting the remains of the red formation. His pulse hammered in his ears. He knew that voice. Not the broken recording from the token, not the distorted message from the silver sphere. This one was clear, steady, and close enough that Adrian Ashford might have been standing directly under his boots."Father?" he whispered, and hated how small it sounded.The platform shook. Daniel Mercer pushed himself off the ground, his face the color of old paper."Everyone away from the platform! Move!"Students scattered toward the buildings while instructors threw up defensive lines. Victor Hale stood frozen, blood still drying on his lip."What is this?" he demanded. "Some trick of yours?""If it were my trick," Daniel snapped, "I'd have picked a better time than the middle of your ambush."Shen Tian ignored them both. "Adrian. If that's really you, answer
193: Blood on the Family Record
Daniel Mercer did not invite them inside right away. He stood at the entrance of Azure Peak Academy, staring at Shen Tian as though the older cultivator had just climbed out of a grave.Kai caught the change in his face, and his chest tightened."You told me you knew my father," Kai said. "Now you're saying Shen Tian was part of his expedition. I want the truth, all of it."Daniel glanced at the students streaming through the gates. "Not here. Too many ears.""Then somewhere private. And quickly, before I lose my patience.""You have patience?" Daniel muttered. "You look like you're about to bite someone.""Only if they keep lying to me."Daniel almost smiled, then caught himself and led them toward the administrative building. Shen Tian followed in silence. Kai walked behind them, watching the colored uniforms, the swords, the crates of medicinal herbs. A group of students rushed past, bickering over an examination.'Strange,' Kai thought. 'A place this ordinary, hiding something thi
192: The Sixth Cultivator
Kai read the name again. Daniel Mercer. Twenty years gone, and the man had resurfaced as an instructor at Azure Peak Academy."You're certain this came from the academy?" he asked."The messenger wore their badge," Marcus said. "He claimed Mercer personally requested you.""We have our first destination, then."Shen Tian leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "You're assuming Mercer wants to help.""He knew my father. That's reason enough to listen.""Knowing someone twenty years ago doesn't make them trustworthy today.""I never said I trusted him.""Good. Progress." Shen Tian smirked. "I'll alert the media."Marcus cleared his throat. "Before Mercer, you'll face the Alliance patrol. No registration, no travel.""Then we register," Kai said.Marcus blinked. "You're not planning to dodge them?""We're guests in their territory. Starting a fight with the people who enforce the rules seems like a poor opening move.""Remarkably sensible.""I contain surprises," Kai said, gathering the d
191: The Man Who Waited Twenty Years
"Put the rifle down."Kai studied the stranger: late forties, broad frame, grey hair, a scar slashing across his left cheek. The clothes were worn. The rifle was not.Two more men slid out from between the buildings. Behind Kai, Shen Tian climbed out of the vehicle and shut the door with the calm of a man arriving at a dinner party."We're not looking for trouble," Kai said."People who bring trouble rarely announce it."'Fair point,' Kai admitted silently. 'Terrible timing, though.'The man nodded at the manual bulging beneath Kai's coat. "Where did you get that book?""It's mine.""I didn't ask who owns it.""We found it during an investigation.""An investigation?" The scar twitched. "You think this is an abandoned research facility?""No. But I don't explain my entire journey to people pointing guns at me."One of the other men raised his weapon. "Watch your mouth.""Careful," Shen Tian murmured. "He gets cranky when he's hungry.""I'm not hungry.""You will be. Which is why I'd l
190: The Price of Preparation
Kai's first problem was money, and the shopkeeper's third explanation of the total did nothing to improve it."Three weeks of food," Shen Tian said, lifting a packet and sniffing it with open suspicion. "It would be safer.""It would also cost more than our transport.""Then stop choosing the expensive ones.""They're the only ones that won't spoil.""They taste like cardboard soaked in regret.""You designed survival supplies for Project Origin. This is your fault."Shen Tian's mouth thinned. "I designed them to keep people alive, not to make them happy. Nobody ever filed a complaint from the grave.""Then you'll be the one eating them.""That is cruelty disguised as budgeting."Kai dropped the packet into the basket, and for one brief moment the weight on his shoulders lifted. They sounded like two ordinary men planning a hard trip. Then he checked his account balance, and the moment died.'Not enough. Not even close.'"We need another source of income," he said."Do you intend to g
189: Two Days Before the Door
Kai had barely finished closing the laptop when the lights died.The hum of the safehouse's ventilation faded into a silence so complete that he could hear his own pulse. His foundation twinged, a dull ache behind his ribs, as if it resented being reminded of its condition."That wasn't a power failure," Shen Tian said quietly."No kidding.""I'm only stating it for the record.""Record noted. Now check the perimeter."Shen Tian was already at the monitor panel, his fingers moving across the dead screen as though touching it might revive it. "Cameras are down. Backup is down. Someone cut the line, and they did it cleanly."'Serah.' The name surfaced in Kai's mind like something sour. 'She's faster than I planned for.'He slid the manual into his coat and pulled the map off the table, rolling it with more care than speed. The expedition records were next, then the portable analyzer. Every second he spent on equipment was a second the enemy spent closing the distance."Leave the laptop,
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