2026-09-30 22:13:36A mark that neat had not been left by someone acting in haste. It had been written for the eyes of the public.
Rong Tian picked up the copper coin he had found near the altar. The black stain along its edge was faint, but when he scraped it with the bone needle, a trace of fine oil clung to the tip.
The oil had not come from the temple. Its scent was buried beneath the medicine, but its base resembled the protective metal oil he had smelled from the t
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The Crooked Wings on the State Preceptor’s Back
Rong Tian raised the black flute slightly. The note that emerged was extremely low, not a melody but a brief vibration that caused the smoke from the false seal to move back toward Lin Zhao.The smoke clung behind Lin Zhao’s shoulders and formed a pair of crooked, uneven wings. They resembled a damaged bat clearly enough for everyone to recognize the shape, yet looked defective enough to reveal that the seal had never touched the true core of the name it was using.A Hellfire Sect disciple standing behind Yan Mo failed to suppress his laughter. The small sound was immediately disguised as a cough, but everyone heard it, including Lin Zhao.Lin Zhao tried to keep his expression calm. However, the malformed smoke clinging behind his shoulders made him look like a man wearing wings made from funeral paper, and the harder he suppressed his anger, the more obvious it became that he was losing face.
The False Seal Begins to Cough
The cup in Lin Zhao’s hand did not fall, but his fingertips pressed so hard against the porcelain that his knuckles turned pale. Prince Liu Xuan glanced at the State Preceptor, beginning to realize that the man he had brought as the guarantor of this plan did not control the situation nearly as well as he had assumed.Hanim studied the masked figure without haste. “A sharp tongue does not necessarily mean sharp fangs.”“Fangs do not need to speak once the skin has already begun to tear,” Rong Tian replied.Yan Mo gave a coarse laugh, partly to conceal the unease among his own disciples. “If you truly are that great shadow, then show us your fangs. Don’t just sit there like a guest afraid someone might ask him to leave.”Rong Tian did not move from the low stone. Behind Yan Mo, however, one of the Hellfire Sect lanterns suddenly dimmed for half a breath,
The Masked Guest in the Circle of Mist
The mist around the stone table did not move freely. It revolved according to the four lanterns hanging low from dry branches, while small talismans beneath the chairs restrained every current of breath so that no stranger could enter without causing the shadow bells to ring.The meeting place was more than an empty patch of ground disguised by the forest. Beneath the old roots, thin threads of qi stretched like spider veins, black ash had been scattered into the gaps between stones to detect changes in the air, and the mist lanterns at the four corners had been arranged so that every unfamiliar breath would leave a tremor in their light.Dark Shadow Sect disciples had once boasted that this formation could detect the steps of a mist weasel before the animal reached the first root. Hellfire Sect disciples had also mocked that an ordinary city resident would burn within two breaths if he dared touch the outer boundary without a token of permi
The Black Bat King’s Name Cannot Be Borrowed at Will
Yan Mo arrived from the right-hand path with restrained heat lingering around his shoulders. He heard the mockery and gave the prince’s attendant a coarse smile.“Palace nobles enjoy calling other people dogs,” he said. “Strangely enough, they are always the first to call for dogs when their own doors are too heavy to open.”Prince Liu Xuan’s attendant immediately changed expression. “Watch your mouth in the presence of imperial blood.”Yan Mo laughed quietly. “Imperial blood doesn’t make a neck any harder.”Hanim raised one hand slightly before the prince’s attendant could answer. The movement was small, but it was enough to stop the two guards who had already been on the verge of stepping forward.“We did not come here to decide who is best at trading insults,” Hanim said. “His Highness ca
Imperial Blood at the Mist Table
Rong Tian did not need them to believe the truth. He only needed them to doubt their own allies, because an enemy looking sideways would always be slower to notice the blade coming from the front.The next layer opened into three paths separated by low black stones. The left path led toward An Ying’s dark tent, the right toward Yan Mo’s dark-red flames, while the middle path descended into a stone chamber surrounded by mist lanterns.Rong Tian stopped behind a half-dead tree trunk. On a low stone table along the middle path, a small jade token had been placed by itself. Its surface was damp with dew, but the prince’s emblem within it remained clear enough to recognize.The deepest part of Purple Mist Forest did not open into a clearing. Instead, it resembled a chamber secretly carved between black rocks and the roots of ancient trees.Mist hung low around a round stone table, breaki
The Black Flag in the Mud
At the black-stone intersection of the second layer, two dark-robed groups stared at each other like two packs of wolves forced to guard the same gate. The mist between them carried the smell of rancid incense, weapon oil, and lingering heat from the black flames at the outer post that had not yet completely died away.The Dark Shadow Sect disciples had arrived first, their expressions restrained. One of them was delivering a report about the Moon-Swallowing Shadow Formation behaving strangely, but before he could finish, laughter from the Hellfire Sect disciples cut through the air.“Your shadow formation can’t even control its own shadows,” said a broad-faced Hellfire Sect disciple as he patted the hilt of his sword. “A little mist makes you kneel. No wonder you only dare attack people from behind.”The Shadow disciple carrying the report suppressed his anger. “The Hellfire Sect only knows how to burn things. Perhaps you would finally become useful if your brains could catch fire to
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