I opened my eyes, a trace of warmth lingering in my palm. That wisp of Heaven-Slaying Origin had finally solidified. Three wisps had formed, and the Pseudo-Primordial Body within me faintly burned, as though something were moving through my blood.
Ye Qingwan was lowering her head to bandage her shoulder when her hands suddenly stopped halfway through. A faint golden glow shimmered at her fingertips—the remnant left behind when I had transferred power to protect her. She looked up at me, her gaze cool. "Who exactly are you?"
I did not answer. At the cave entrance, Yan Jiuxiao slowly turned around and leaned against the scorched stone wall. A tear had split his left sleeve, and though the bloodline had mostly receded, dark red patterns still flickered beneath his skin.
"You treated me as a chess piece." His voice was hoarse, but the anger was gone, replaced by the calm of a man forced into a corner.
I rose and walked steadily toward him. "Not a chess piece. A partner. You want to live, and you want to keep your position as City Lord. I want a map—the Blood Demon Sect's deployment map in the Northern Wastes."
He sneered. "And why should I, a Young Master with wasted meridians, be worth taking such a risk for?"
I did not argue. I merely raised my right hand. A strand of pale golden light appeared in my palm, hanging in the air like mist and smoke, yet never dispersing.
Yan Jiuxiao's pupils contracted slightly.
It was neither Spiritual Power nor True Essence, and it resembled none of the known cultivation powers. It drifted there quietly, yet made the air throughout the kiln cave grow heavy.
"What is this?" he asked.
"Something you can use," I said. "Bring me the map, and it will be yours. The origin contained within the Pseudo-Primordial Body can help stabilize the foundation of your Half-step Tribulation Crossing. It may even... suppress the demonic qi currently eroding your meridians."
He stared at me sharply, his gaze shaking.
He said nothing, but I could see what he was thinking. At last night's trading site, something had been wrong with the sealing wax cracks on his token. They formed an old-style cross pattern, yet the City Defense Office had changed its formula three years ago. He had not believed it then, but now he had no choice but to believe—someone at his side had tampered with things, and more than once.
His arm still hurt. That bone-deep burning sensation could not be suppressed by ordinary healing medicine. He knew it was a sign that demonic qi had entered his body.
"What makes you think I can trust you not to silence me afterward?" he finally asked.
I withdrew my hand. The golden wisp did not vanish, but slowly drifted toward him. "I do not need you to trust me. You only need to understand two things. First, I can give you what you want. Second, if you refuse, the next person holding that token may be one of your trusted aides. When that happens, the Blood Demon Sect will not even need to act. You will drive yourself to death."
He remained silent for a long time.
Wind poured in from outside the ruined kiln, stirring his half-tattered official robe. The distant flames had long since died out, and there was no movement from the broken temple, as if the slaughter just now had never happened.
Then he extended his hand.
The golden light fell into his palm and seeped into his skin like water. His whole body jolted. His breathing suddenly quickened, cold sweat beading across his forehead before turning into a thin mist that rose away. He lowered his head to look at his arm. The red line that had not yet fully faded was actually beginning to shrink at a visible pace.
"This power... can purify demonic qi?" he muttered.
"This is only the beginning," I said. "Once you bring the map, there will be another half."
Ye Qingwan stood up then, her medicine pestle held at her side. Her gaze swept over the two of us. "You are playing with fire."
I looked at her. Her expression was still cold, but there was a ripple in her eyes. Not fear—wariness. She was beginning to realize that I was not the crippled young master who could barely protect himself as she had first believed.
"I know," I said softly. "But I have to take this step."
She said nothing more, merely retied her Treasure Pouch. Her fingers inadvertently brushed the edge of her sleeve, where a faint gleam of gold still lingered.
Yan Jiuxiao took a deep breath and suppressed the turbulent qi within him. "Within three days, I will bring you the map."
"The location remains unchanged," I said. "Here. Come alone."
"What if I bring others?" he asked.
I looked at him. "Then that trace of origin inside you will be the first thing to make you hurt so badly you cannot speak. It recognizes its master—and it bears grudges."
His expression shifted, but he did not argue in the end. He knew that once such power entered the body, it would take root in the Divine Soul. Trying to force it out would only bring a backlash.
"One more thing," he suddenly said. "How can you be sure the Blood Demon Sect's target is not me?"
"Because the core of their formation is not on you," I said. "It lies in the identity of the Token Holder. Whoever holds the token becomes the sacrifice. If I had not made you throw it away last night, your blood essence would already have been drained dry."
He closed his eyes. A moment later, he nodded.
"I am leaving," he said. "Three days from now, at the same time."
I stepped aside to clear a path. He did not leave immediately. Instead, he stood there and watched me for a while, then looked at Ye Qingwan. Finally, he turned and headed out of the kiln.
His footsteps gradually faded away.
For a time, the kiln cave was silent.
Ye Qingwan walked up to me and stopped very close. She tilted her head up at me, her eyes sharp. "You gave him origin. Are you not afraid he will study it? Not afraid he will find a way to break it?"
"He will not," I said. "The more he studies this power, the more dangerous it becomes. The system recognizes only me. If outsiders try to analyze it by force, they will only set themselves on fire."
She stared at me, then suddenly pressed a hand against my chest. "Then tell me—how much longer can you hide? That protective barrier strike just now already exceeded the limit of what a cultivator with wasted meridians should possess. Next time, people will not simply think you got lucky."
I did not dodge.
Her hand was cold, and calluses from battle still roughened her palm.
"I will hide until I am strong enough," I said. "Before then, I will make them believe I am merely a useless man with a few tricks."
She withdrew her hand and gave a cold laugh. "But what you are doing now is already more than merely having a few tricks."
I fell silent.
Outside, the wind howled, making the broken roof tiles of the kiln tremble faintly. A few barks sounded in the distance. The patrolling guards were probably changing shifts.
She turned and walked to the corner, sat down with the medicine pestle laid across her knees, and fixed her gaze on the cave entrance.
"What if he does not come in three days?" she asked.
"He will come," I said. "Once a person has tasted the hope of life, they can never return to the darkness."
She said nothing more.
I leaned against the stone wall and closed my eyes to regulate my breathing. The Heaven-Slaying Origin within me was still slowly circulating. The more it was suppressed, the fuller it became. If I did not strike, so be it—but once I did, mountains and rivers would surely shatter.
But I still could not strike.
Deep within the kiln cave, only the wind and our breathing intertwined.
After an unknown amount of time, Ye Qingwan suddenly said in a low voice, "That wisp of origin you gave him... did you tamper with it?"
I opened my eyes.
She was watching me, her gaze clear, as though she had seen through something.
"What do you think?" I asked.
Her lips moved slightly, but she did not press further.
I looked toward the gray, hazy sky beyond the cave, calm in my heart.
Three days were enough for me to gather the remaining seven wisps.
I only needed to keep lying low for another three days.
Outside the kiln, a crow flapped past the broken wall and landed on a crooked beam.
One of the toe bones on its right claw was missing, and it limped slightly when it walked.
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