Undercurrents

In the afternoon, rainwater washed across the sandy Martial Arts Arena.

Li Tui took a shortcut through the eastern corridor, carrying the newly issued pine-soot ink. His pace was unhurried, but his thoughts were on that well in the West Suburbs.

That night, they had hastily buried the demon corpse without properly inspecting the well. It had rained frequently these past few days, and the water was likely rising. If anything had been soaked loose or left behind a trace, it would mean more trouble.

As he rounded the moon gate, his eyelids lifted slightly and his steps slowed.

Ten paces away, Zhao Hao was walking toward him from the opposite direction.

Their gazes met.

Li Tui lowered his eyes and stepped aside to the edge of the corridor, his back slightly bent in a deferential posture. Zhao Hao did not stop. His cloth shoes scuffed over the wet stone slabs with a soft rasp. The distance between them shrank.

Five paces, three, one...

At the instant their sleeves nearly brushed, Li Tui's heart sank without warning.

A tremor rose quietly from the depths of his soul. It was as if something dormant inside him had been lightly "plucked" by some unseen thing on the person approaching.

Almost at the same moment, a faint ripple silently spread across the mirror surface of the Samsara Mirror, deep in his sea of consciousness.

And Zhao Hao, opposite him, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He spun around and clamped his right hand over the Ink Jade Pendant at his throat. The pendant, usually so dull, was now radiating heat between his fingers.

Zhao Hao looked up, his gaze sharp as a knife, and fixed it on Li Tui.

"You..." His voice was low and taut. "Just now, did you feel anything?"

Li Tui had already steadied his breathing.

That sudden palpitation had come and gone in an instant. Now, all that showed on his face was the pallor of an injury not yet healed and just the right amount of bewilderment. He even swayed at the appropriate moment, his shoulders lifting slightly, as if he truly were too weak to stand steadily.

"Young Master Hao?" His voice sounded faint. "You mean...? This humble one's vision just suddenly went dark. Perhaps I haven't fully recovered from my injuries a few days ago, and my qi and blood are still weak... I'm sorry to trouble you with this, Young Master."

As he spoke, he raised a hand to press his temple, his fingertips trembling slightly.

A flawless performance.

Zhao Hao said nothing.

He stared at Li Tui, his usually somber eyes now shining with a frightening intensity. That strange sensation just now had been far too clear.

But the person in front of him... was pale, his breathing uneven, even his fingertips trembling. Everything made perfect sense, yet it left Zhao Hao uneasy.

"Is that so?" Zhao Hao tugged at the corner of his mouth. The faint curve did not reach his eyes; instead, it gave his face a coldness beyond his years. "If your injuries haven't healed, you should take proper care of yourself. The paths in this residence are slippery. If you fall... it won't be a small matter."

His words were light, but his gaze was heavy as it slowly scraped across Li Tui's face.

Li Tui bowed slightly. "Thank you for the reminder, Young Master. This humble one will remember it."

Zhao Hao said no more.

He gave Li Tui a long look, as if trying to carve that calm face and those unnaturally still eyes into his bones, then turned and left.

His cloth shoes struck the wet stone slabs, one step at a time, unhurried, until they gradually faded into the distance.

Only after the sound of footsteps had vanished completely around the corner did Li Tui slowly straighten up.

He opened his left hand, which had been curled slightly all along. His palm was cold and damp.

It hadn't been his imagination.

The Treasure Mirror had definitely moved just now. It had been only for an instant, but that palpitation, the ripple in his sea of consciousness, the faint, almost "hungry" stir from deep within the mirror... none of it could be faked.

Zhao Hao's reaction only confirmed it.

Li Tui raised a hand, his fingers unconsciously brushing over his chest. Through the fabric, he could almost feel the cold outline of the mirror deep in his sea of consciousness.

Was the mirror warning him?

A vague thought pressed down on him, heavy, though it had yet to take shape.

He shook his head and set those thoughts aside for now. There were more urgent matters at hand.

That well in the West Suburbs, and whatever lay inside it, could not be left alone any longer. The buried demon corpse had been weighing on his mind. The origin of that fleshy growth was even stranger; until he figured it out, it would remain a hidden danger.

Whatever was concealed at the bottom of the well, he had to clear it out as soon as possible. The longer he waited, the more trouble might come.

As for the Treasure Mirror and the strange disturbance just now... he would see what came of them later.

Li Tui tightened his grip around the cool ink stick and turned toward the side rooms in the West Courtyard.

His steps remained steady, but his mind was made up.

He would go to the West Suburbs after nightfall.