I didn’t move for a while.

  The golden flecks had long since faded, pulled into my body or back into the earth. That deep calm—that strange quiet that had opened something in me—was already slipping through my fingers.

  But the system hadn’t.

  Qi absorbed.

  System sync in progress…

  Stats increased

  Spirit: 14 → 16

  Progress: Mortal 3/10 → 4/10

  I closed my eyes and reached inward, focusing on that familiar thread of awareness nestled behind my thoughts.

  Status

  Name: Ethan Ward

  Cultivation: Mortal – 4/10

  Titles:

  ? Diligence’s Chosen

  ? Otherworlder

  Skills:

  ? Last Stand

  Stats:

  Strength: 11

  Agility: 10

  Constitution: 15

  Spirit: 16

  There it was.

  Spirit: 16.

  It didn’t seem like much on paper. Just another number ticking upward. But I could feel it. Everything around me felt more real now. Like I had blurred vision and each time my spirit increased, that blur became a little more clear.

  I sat back down, cross-legged on the edge of the paddies and closed my eyes again.

  Breathe in.

  Breathe out.

  I tried to let my thoughts drift. To stop chasing them. To just… listen. Let the breeze move through me. Let the weight fall off. I tried to reach for that same open space from earlier. That soft nothing that had let the Qi find me.

  But it didn’t come.

  My thoughts kept circling back. To Earth. To Elise. To the woman behind the curtain.

  I opened my eyes and exhaled sharply.

  Tried again.

  Let go. Breathe. Be still.

  This time, I felt it—just a flicker. A tug at the edge of my awareness. Like the world was holding its breath.

  Almost.

  Then—

  “Fang Wu!” Wei Lin’s voice rang across the fields. “Dinner!”

  The moment shattered.

  I opened my eyes, blinked once, and looked toward the house. Smoke was curling from the chimney. The sky above was streaked with orange.

  “Coming,” I called back, voice flat.

  I stood slowly, brushing mud from my legs.

  So close.

  I’d touched something real today. I’d seen a path forward. One that didn’t have to involve death.

  But peace, it seemed, didn’t last.

  Not for me. Not when Wei Lin was around anyway.

  I walked inside and Wei Lin ladled two bowls and slid one across the table. I took it without a word and knelt on the floor, still thinking about the golden flecks. About the calm that had nearly settled around me like a second skin.

  He blew on his bowl, then glanced over.

  “So,” he said, “I tried calling you three times. Thought you’d passed out in the rice. What was that?”

  I gave a faint shrug. “Just… lost in thought.”

  “Yeah?” He grinned, stirring his stew. “You looked like some grand cultivator.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Wouldn’t be the worst thing.”

  Was that what I was now? Maybe.

  “Eh, probably not.” He took a bite, chewed, then added, “Ran into the sisters on the way back.”

  That got my attention. “Lian Mei and Lian Rui?”

  “The very same.” His grin widened. “Apparently, you and I did something a bit… stupid last night.”

  “Oh no.”

  He leaned forward. “You climbed onto the table, declared your undying love for Lian Rui.”

  “I did not.”

  “You absolutely did.” He laughed. “And I quote: ‘Lian Rui, since the moment I saw you, I was captivated. The way you brushed your hair behind your ear had me watching, lost in a trance. I think I love you.’ You dolt.”

  I squinted at him. “Bullshit.”

  “No shit. Cross my heart—that’s what she said. Well, that’s what Lian Mei said. I don’t know what you saw in the other sister. She’s like a mute.”

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  “Sounds fake.”

  He gave a dramatic sigh. “They also said you tried to tell them a story about a ‘magical rift’ and got so emotional you cried into your cup.”

  “…That part might be real.”

  Wei Lin barked a laugh and thumped the table. “I believe it. But don’t worry, Brother Fang, they had some stories about me as well that I’ll gladly take to my grave.”

  I rubbed a hand over my face. “Remind me to never drink that much again. And come on, out with it—what did they say about you?”

  “Don’t you worry about that.”

  The warmth of the room sank deeper into my bones. The laughter helped. I really needed to lay back on the drinking however.

  We ate in silence for a few minutes. The sun dipped lower outside the window, turning the sky a deeper red. The house creaked with the wind, and the smell of herbs drifted faintly from behind the curtain.

  Wei Lin glanced toward it once.

  And so did I.

  Despite the good mood, I resolved myself.

  She had more words for me. I was sure of it.

  And I’d find out. We finished dinner and settled in for the night.

  I was abruptly woken to the sound of growling.

  My eyes snapped open.

  Wei Lin was already upright, half-crouched in the dark, sabre clutched in a white-knuckled grip. His bare feet were planted quietly on the wooden floor, his body angled toward the door. All traces of sleep were gone.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked, pushing the blanket off me.

  He shook his head, eyes narrowed, listening. “I’m not sure.”

  Another growl echoed through the night. Low. Guttural. And it wasn’t alone. More followed—Surrounding the cabin.

  A cold weight settled in my stomach.

  “Shit,” Wei Lin muttered. “What do we do?”

  I reached for my sabre, fingers closing around the familiar leather grip where it leaned on the wall. I drew it slowly, the rasp of metal far too loud in the silence.

  “Blow out the lanterns,” I said quietly. “Maybe… maybe they’ll move on.”

  I didn’t believe it. Not really.

  Wei Lin snuffed the flame with a cloth. Darkness fell over the room, broken only by the silver slats of moonlight cutting through the window.

  Then I heard it.

  Sniffing.

  Wet breath and twitching nostrils pressed against the wooden door. Long, slow inhales, like it was tasting the scent of blood before the kill.

  The wood creaked.

  Then a deep, ragged snarl.

  A claw slammed into the door with a thud, making the frame jump. Another tore down the surface.

  Wei Lin stepped beside me. “Shit, get ready.”

  I glanced at him. “I got your back.”

  He nodded grimly.

  My grip tightened.

  Another slam shook the door, followed by a horrible splintering crack.

  Something punched through the bottom panel.

  A snout forced its way in, covered in pale fur slicked with moisture. Jaws snapped in the gap, slashing at the air, teeth flashing in the dark.

  I stepped back, raising my blade. “Get it while it’s vulnerable!”

  Wei Lin didn’t answer. He was already moving.

  Then there was a louder smash. Wood and glass exploded behind me.

  I turned too late.

  A white blur burst through the window in a shower of shards, mist trailing in its wake. The creature’s eyes gleamed violet. Its mouth stretched wide, tongue lashing, fangs bared.

  It was midair.

  Coming straight for me.

  I twisted.

  My feet skidded on the floor as I dropped low, pivoting hard. The wolf missed by a breath, its jaws snapping past my ear with a crack like breaking bone. I felt the wind of its body rush over me.

  I slashed upward.

  Too slow.

  The sabre cut nothing but mist.

  The beast landed behind me with a heavy thud, claws gouging into the floorboards, its massive head already snapping around.

  Before I could face it, the front door exploded inward.

  The other wolf burst through the remains of the wooden door, lips curled back in a silent snarl. Wei Lin met it head-on, driving his sabre forward in a desperate arc.

  The steel struck true, glancing off bone but biting deep into the creature’s skull.

  It shrieked. A wet, keening sound.

  But it didn’t stop.

  It rammed him, sending both of them crashing into the wall in a tangle of limbs and fur.

  I moved to help but the first wolf jumped in my path.

  It was circling now, low and slow, mist curling off its body.

  I looked past it to Wei Lin, he cursed, struggling to keep the second one off him.

  I didn’t have time to help him. Because the wolf lunged again.

  I moved to meet it this time, my stance low, blade held tight, breath locked in my throat. Its body blurred. The thing was fast, faster than it should’ve been for its size. Its paws barely touched the floorboards before it was already twisting midair, jaws wide and glowing eyes locked on my throat.

  I stepped into it.

  My sabre came up in a rising arc, angled toward its ribs. I felt the blade connect with a jarring impact like hitting stone but it wasn’t deep enough. The bristles along its side absorbed the worst of it. Still, it yelped and twisted, slamming into me shoulder-first.

  The impact knocked the breath out of me.

  We hit the ground hard. My back struck the table, collapsing it and stars exploded behind my eyes. The sabre fell from my grip and clattered across the floor. The wolf landed a few feet away, rolling once, then surged up again in a single smooth motion, unharmed.

  I scrambled to my feet. One knee buckled. Pain lanced up my side.

  The wolf was already charging.

  I dove to the side. It clipped my leg with a claw and I spun, hitting the ground hard again. My fingers found the sabre, slick with my own sweat. I rolled onto my back as the beast turned, crouched, and lunged again without hesitation.

  I brought the sabre up just in time to catch it.

  The force of the leap drove it straight onto me. The blade sank into its chest, but it kept pushing. Its hot breath blasted against my face, fangs gnashing inches from my eyes. I shoved with everything I had, but my arms were starting to shake. Blood streamed from the gash in its side, coating my chest, but it didn’t seem to notice.

  Its jaws opened wide.

  I did the only thing I could.

  I let go of the sabre with one hand, reached for my father’s dagger strapped to my waist, and pulled it free. Just as its teeth closed around my collarbone, I drove the blade up beneath its jaw—right through the soft patch at the base of the mouth.

  The dagger punched through, surprisingly.

  Even with a broken blade it was still watching over me.

  The wolf spasmed, gurgled, then went still.

  Its weight collapsed on top of me.

  For a second, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Blood, mine or its, poured over my chest, soaking my robe. I shoved with one trembling hand and rolled the corpse off. My lungs pulled in a ragged breath.

  My shoulder burned. My leg throbbed. My collarbone was bleeding freely.

  I didn’t stop to breathe.

  The moment I shoved the corpse off my chest, I grabbed the sabre and ran to where Wei Lin was pinned beneath the other wolf.

  The wolf was on top of him, fangs gnashing as Wei Lin held it back with both arms. His sabre lay a few feet away, out of reach, and blood stained the wooden floor beneath them.

  “Fang Wu!” he shouted, voice ragged. “H—help”

  I threw myself forward, shoulder slamming into the beast’s flank. It gave a startled snarl as we tumbled across the floor together.

  I ended up on top of it and didn’t give it a chance to recover. My sabre came down once, twice, three times.

  Each strike aimed for the neck. The second blow caught bone. The third went through.

  The wolf jerked once, limbs twitching, then went limp, blood pooling fast beneath its ruined throat.

  I turned to face Wei Lin but something latched onto my foot.

  Teeth sank in deep, grinding against bone. I was yanked backward, dragged across the blood-slick floorboards, the world tilting as I was ripped away from Wei Lin and the second corpse.

  I twisted hard, my free leg kicking wildly until I could roll to my side.

  Another wolf had its jaws clamped around my ankle. It snarled and pulled again, sending fresh pain through my body.

  I raised the sabre and hacked.

  The blade caught its shoulder. It yelped and flinched back, releasing my leg. Blood poured down my calf, hot and pulsing, but I forced myself upright.

  The wolf circled wide now, wary.

  Behind me, I heard shuffling. Wei Lin stumbled upright.

  He limped forward, sabre recovered, blood across his knuckles. He stepped beside me, just close enough that our shoulders brushed.

  Two more wolves stepped in through the broken door. Moving to either side of the room. Crouching low and growling.