River water dripped from Chen Wuya's hair as he stepped onto a rock by the shore, his footing slipping for a moment. Bai Zhi reached out to steady him without a word. Mo Feng crouched at the riverbank, wiping down the surface of his mechanism box with a cloth, his fingers trembling faintly.
The three had only just emerged from an underwater fissure, their clothes soaked through and their breaths still heavy with dampness. The woods to the north were abnormally silent—not even a birdcall could be heard.
"That light came from here just now." Mo Feng pointed at a patch of rock above the fissure in the riverbed. "The runes flashed three times. The frequency resembles the signal on the red flag."
Chen Wuya wiped his face and looked up at the sky. The clouds hung low, swallowing most of the morning light. The Misaligned Force within him slowly circulated, while the system interface in his sea of consciousness had only just stabilized. The Miswarning Domain was still active, letting him sense shifts in the airflow within a hundred paces.
He suddenly raised a hand.
"Don't move."
Bai Zhi immediately halted, her hand resting on her sword hilt. Mo Feng froze as well.
The treetops swayed slightly—not from the wind. Three black shadows raced along the branches in a triangular formation, closing in. Their steps were feather-light and soundless when they landed, but the Misaligned Force caught the minute compression of the air.
"They're here," Chen Wuya said under his breath.
Before his words had faded, a slender needle sliced through the air at his chest. Its shaft gleamed a dark green, clearly steeped in poison.
He had no time to dodge. Instinctively, he circulated the Canglang Art. Yet this time, rather than guiding his true qi through its