The Art of the Invisible Strike

Chapter 8

Han Feng stopped his hand an inch from the man’s Adam’s apple. The vibration of Han Feng’s "Copper Skin" was so intense that the leader could feel his own teeth rattling just by being near him.

"Talk," Han Feng commanded.

"I... I have a letter," the man gasped. He reached into his inner pocket with shaking fingers. He pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment and handed it over.

Han Feng took the paper. He didn't let go of the chain. He kept his silver eyes locked on the man while he glanced at the writing.

It was a simple note, written in elegant, cold calligraphy. “Regarding the trash known as Han Feng. His survival is a mistake that must be corrected. Do not wait for the Culling. Ensure he never leaves the mountain alive. Payment will be rendered upon proof of his remains.”

At the bottom of the letter was a seal. It wasn't Merchant Gao’s merchant stamp. It was the seal of the hall of justice, the personal office of the Great Elder of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Han Feng felt a coldness in his gut that had nothing to do with hunger.

The Great Elder was the second most powerful man in the sect. Why would he care about a broken-rooted slave? Why would he hire street thugs to kill a "Null"?

"He... he said you were a threat," the leader whispered. "He said you were hiding a secret. Please, let me go! I’ll leave the sect! I’ll never come back!"

Han Feng looked at the man. He saw no honor in him. Only cowardice. If he let this man live, the Great Elder would know within the hour that the "Null" had survived again.

"You shouldn't have taken the job," Han Feng said.

He didn't strike the man. He simply released a "Vibrational Pulse" through the chain he was holding. The high-frequency hum traveled up the iron links and into the leader’s arms. It traveled through his collarbone and into his brain.

The leader’s eyes rolled back into his head. He didn't die, but his nervous system was scrambled. He would be a vegetable for the rest of his life.

Han Feng let the chain fall. He was exhausted. He leaned against the wall of the alley, his chest heaving. His stomach growled so loudly it sounded like a wild animal.

"Pills," he muttered.

He pulled the jar of Vitality Pills from his pocket. He unscrewed the lid. The smell of concentrated herbs and blood-marrow hit him. He didn't just take one; he took three.

As soon as he swallowed them, he felt a rush of heat. It was like drinking liquid fire. His "Copper Skin" soaked up the nutrients like a dry sponge. The color returned to his face. The metallic silver in his eyes grew brighter.

While he waited for his strength to return, he pulled the jade pendant from his neck.

Earlier, when the pendant had reacted to the "Exordium" coin, it had changed. The cracks in the jade had begun to glow with a faint, blueprint-like light.

Han Feng held the pendant up to the moonlight. He realized the "sleeping dragon" shape wasn't just decorative. The tail of the dragon was a specific length. The ridges on its back were shaped like the teeth of a key.

He looked at the letter from the Great Elder again. Then he looked at the pendant.

"The Forbidden Library," he whispered.

The Azure Cloud Sect was built on the ruins of an older, much larger civilization. Everyone knew that the Forbidden Library was built on top of ancient catacombs. No one was allowed in the basement of the library.

Han Feng placed the pendant against the drawing of the Great Elder’s seal on the letter. They matched perfectly. The pendant was the key to whatever the Great Elder was trying to hide, or whatever he was trying to find.

"They aren't just trying to kill me because I'm a survivor," Han Feng realized. "They're trying to kill me because I'm the only one who can unlock the vault. I am the key."

He stood up, his strength fully restored. He looked at the bodies of the six thugs. He didn't feel pity. He only felt a cold, burning purpose.

He had twenty-four days left until the Culling. But he couldn't wait that long. If the Great Elder was sending assassins now, the hunt would only intensify.

"You want me dead because of what I am?" Han Feng said, looking up toward the Great Elder’s palace. "Then I’ll show you exactly what I am."

He turned and melted into the shadows of the alley, heading not for the servant quarters, but for the most dangerous place in the entire sect: The Forbidden Library.

But as he moved through the streets, he didn't notice a small, black bird watching him from the roof. The bird had eyes made of red glass. It wasn't a bird at all, it was a mechanical scout, a "Clockwork Eye."

Miles away, in a room filled with shadows, the Great Elder watched a shimmering mirror. On the surface of the mirror was Han Feng’s face.

"He used the Void Collapse," the Great Elder whispered. His voice was like dry leaves. "He hasn't just healed his roots. He has awakened the Sovereign's Marrow."

A man in a black mask stood behind the Great Elder. "Shall I send the elites, Master?"

"No," the Great Elder said, a cruel smile touching his lips. "Let him go to the library. Let him open the vault for us. And once he has the Final Script... then, you may peel the marrow from his bones while he is still awake."

As Han Feng reached the gates of the Forbidden Library, he felt the jade pendant against his chest grow ice-cold. 

A heavy, rhythmic thumping started to echo from beneath the ground, something was waiting for the key to be turned. Something that hadn't been fed in a thousand years.