Shadow Tracking: Traces of Spirit Hall, Zhi Xia's Doubts

By the time they returned from Suotuo City to Shrek Academy, the night was already deep. The forest path was silent, with only their footsteps mingling with the occasional chirp of insects. Lin Zhixia walked in the middle of the group, still carrying the Rabbit Lantern. Its warm yellow light cast scattered shadows at her feet, but her heart was nowhere near as warm—the probing gaze from the Lantern Festival was like a tiny thorn, lodged deep within her heart.

"Zhi Xia, you seemed a little distracted today." Tang San slowed down and walked beside her, keeping his voice low. "Did something happen at the Lantern Festival?"

Lin Zhixia tightened her grip on the lantern handle. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "On Stone Bridge just now, there was someone dressed in white who kept staring at me. The jade pendant at his waist... had the emblem of Spirit Hall on it."

Tang San paused, a trace of vigilance flashing through his eyes. "Someone from Spirit Hall? Did you see what he looked like?"

"I only saw his profile. He was very handsome, and his bearing was different from ordinary spirit masters." Lin Zhixia recalled the scene. "The way he looked at me was strange. It wasn't like he was watching for amusement. It was more like... he was observing me."

Tang San's frown deepened—during their last wilderness combat exercise, he had sensed Spirit Power Fluctuations from Spirit Hall around the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. Now someone had been watching Lin Zhixia at the Lantern Festival. This was no coincidence. Just as he was about to say more, Ma Hongjun's voice suddenly rang out from ahead. "Hurry up, you guys! I'm still waiting to get back and eat Oscar's grilled sausages!"

Lin Zhixia immediately composed herself and nodded. "Let's go back first. Maybe I'm overthinking it." But she knew it was no illusion—people from Spirit Hall never appeared around ordinary people without reason, especially not around an Orphan of the Lin Family carrying the blood feud of her clan.

After returning to the academy, everyone went back to their wooden cabins to rest. Lin Zhixia, however, did not lie down right away. Instead, she sat by the window and polished the Starfall Bow by moonlight. The Void Piercing Feather Fletching in her quiver gleamed with a cold light, reminding her of the day her parents had been murdered—the same jade pendant hanging at the waist of Spirit Hall's Law Enforcement Elder, and the bloodstained longsword in his hand.

With a soft creak, the cabin door was gently pushed open. Zhu Zhuqing entered, holding a coat. "It gets cold at night. You'll catch a chill sitting there polishing arrows." She handed the coat to Lin Zhixia, her gaze falling on her tense shoulders. "Still thinking about what happened at the Lantern Festival?"

Lin Zhixia took the coat and draped it over herself, but her fingers did not stop moving. "How did you know?"

"You're using more force than usual when you polish your arrows. You're practically leaving marks on the shafts." Zhu Zhuqing sat on the edge of the bed opposite her. "When I traveled with my family as a child, I encountered people from Spirit Hall. The way they looked at others was different from ordinary people—there was a lofty, judgmental air to it. If that person really was from Spirit Hall, you need to be extra careful."

Lin Zhixia nodded silently and returned the polished Starfall Bow to her quiver. "I will. It's just... I'm afraid I'll drag all of you into this." Her voice was soft, carrying a hint of vulnerability that was difficult to detect—since joining Shrek, this was the first time she had so clearly realized that her hatred might bring danger to those around her.

"We're teammates. There's no such thing as dragging each other down." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was firm. "If danger really comes, we'll face it together. Tomorrow, I'll tell Boss Dai and Tang San so everyone can pay closer attention to what's happening around us."

Early the next morning, Zhu Zhuqing told Dai Mubai and Tang San about it as promised. Dai Mubai immediately decided to adjust their training plan for the time being, adding Anti-Tracking and Emergency Defense training. Tang San, meanwhile, went to find Master and ask about Spirit Hall's recent activities in Suotuo City.

After hearing Tang San's account, Master's expression turned solemn. "The son of Spirit Hall's Law Enforcement Elder is called Ye Jin. He has indeed been active around Suotuo City recently, supposedly investigating 'Abnormal Soul Master fluctuations.' Zhi Xia's Starfall Bow martial soul is a rare Assault System type, so it may very well have caught their attention."

"What should we do, then?" Tang San pressed. "Should we keep Zhi Xia from participating in outdoor training for the time being?"

"No." Master shook his head. "The more you avoid them, the more likely you are to arouse suspicion. What you need to do next is, first, strengthen Team Cooperation so that no one can target Zhi Xia alone in actual combat; second, keep a close eye on Ye Jin's movements. If he truly has his sights on Zhi Xia, he will definitely appear again."

When Tang San relayed Master's words to the others, Lin Zhixia was practicing archery on the training field. At the name "Ye Jin," her hand drawing the bow suddenly froze. The Starlight Arrow grazed the edge of the wooden target and embedded itself in the tree trunk beside it—she remembered that name. Her father had mentioned it while he was alive. It belonged to the son of the Law Enforcement Elder who had ordered the destruction of the Lin Family!

"Zhi Xia!" Xiao Wu noticed something was wrong and hurried over. "Are you all right? Are you feeling unwell?"

Lin Zhixia took a deep breath and slowly lowered the Starfall Bow, forcefully suppressing the chill in her eyes. "I'm fine. I just got distracted." She did not say that she recognized the name "Ye Jin"—she was afraid of losing control of her emotions, and even more afraid that once her companions learned the truth, they would look at her differently.

But she did not know that Ye Jin was standing in the woods outside Shrek Academy at that very moment, watching everyone train on the field. The attendant beside him handed over a report. "Young Master, that girl is called Lin Zhixia. She is a student of Shrek Academy. Her martial soul is the Starfall Bow, and her Soul Power is rank 29. Her family... was exterminated eight years ago during Spirit Hall's Clearing Out Abnormal Spirit Masters operation."

Ye Jin's hand holding the report paused, surprise flashing through his eyes—he had not expected the girl he had fallen in love with at first sight to have such a connection to Spirit Hall. But that surprise was quickly replaced by possessiveness. Watching Lin Zhixia draw her bow on the training field, he curled his lips into a faint smile. "So what if her family was exterminated? As long as she is willing to come with me, I can give her everything she wants."

He turned and left the woods, already forming a plan—when he saw Lin Zhixia again, he would personally confess his feelings to her. As for her family's past, as long as he was there, it was nothing. He had never considered that what he saw as "feelings" would be nothing more than another humiliation from an enemy in Lin Zhixia's eyes.

On the training field, Lin Zhixia nocked another arrow on the Starfall Bow. The Starlight Arrow struck the center of the wooden target with perfect precision. Looking at the small hole in the target, the resolve in her eyes grew ever firmer—she would not let Ye Jin have his way, nor would she allow her companions to fall into danger because of her. From this day onward, she would become stronger—strong enough to protect herself, strong enough to protect those around her, and strong enough to personally avenge her family.