The sound of shattering Roof Tiles still echoed overhead, and that single cry of "Ye Zhen" felt like a nail piercing my eardrums. Before I could react, three Black Shadows plummeted down, the stench of their approach hitting me before their blades did.
Lu Jiuxuan moved.
He didn't look back, but his sword was already half-drawn, a cold glint sweeping the ground, forcing back the blade path of the man directly in front. But the moment he raised his arm, the fine lines on his Chest Seal cracked further, Black Qi seeping out and wrapping around his wrist, making his movement half a beat too slow.
That man seized the opening, twisting his blade to strike directly at my throat.
I leaned back, my head hitting the bed frame, and I slid to the floor. The Incense Burner was right beside my hand—I hadn't put it away after lighting the insect-repelling incense last night. I grabbed it and flung everything, ash and base included.
The Incense Ash blinded the man's face.
He grunted, his blade missing my throat by three inches, slicing a gash in my robe. He raised a hand to wipe his face, his fingers full of ash, his eyes red like burning coals.
I rolled away from the second flash of the blade, already clutching a Purple Crystal Fragment in my sleeve. The man by the back window had just landed and was about to swing his blade, but I flicked my wrist and threw the Fragment, hitting the old wound on his wrist—the one I got from the caltrops when climbing the wall last night; I hadn't forgotten.
His hand jerked, and the Sword Tip touched the ground.
Lu Jiuxuan was waiting for this instant.
He flicked his Sword Tip, and Silver Light exploded, three streaks of energy simultaneously piercing the throats of the three men. The movement was so fast that the process of sheathing the sword was almost invisible. The three men froze, bloodlines slowly appearing at their throats, and then they all collapsed.
Silence reigned in the room for a breath.
I pushed myself up using the edge of the bed, my hand still trembling—not from fear, but because the Pendant was still scalding hot, the heat drilling up my arm from my palm. In that last moment, it seemed to have moved again, as if it were... listening to something.
Lu Jiuxuan looked down at me, breathing heavily. He raised a hand to press against his chest; the cracks on the Seal were deeper now, Black Qi crawling along the edges, threatening to escape.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
I shook my head, stood up bracing myself on the floor, and casually flipped the Incense Burner upside down, base facing up. A drop of un-dissolved blood was trickling down the side of the burner—dark purple, Demon Blood.
I used the base of the burner to catch that drop of blood, walked to the table, and poured the blood into the Groove at the center of the Compass.
The Compass had been lying still, but the moment it touched the blood, the needle violently shuddered.
Golden Light burst from the dial, brighter than last night, like a lightning bolt striking the room. The needle spun wildly a few times before locking firmly toward the north.
I stared in that direction and murmured, "The Yin Fire Gang's lair is to the north."
Lu Jiuxuan walked over, glanced at the Compass, and then at the Incense Ash and bloodstains on my sleeve. He said nothing, only reached out and pulled my sleeve down slightly, covering my wrist.
"Your methods are crude," he said, "but effective is all that matters."
I looked up at him.
His earlobes were slightly red, but his gaze didn't waver. In that fight, he could have handled it all himself, but he hadn't driven me away. He knew I wouldn't leave, and he... didn't want me to leave either.
The wind outside had stopped.
A sliver of daylight leaked through the Fissure in the Roof Beam, illuminating the Compass. The Golden Light hadn't completely faded, and the needle trembled slightly, as if reminding me of something.
I bent down to pick up the Purple Crystal Fragment, but the moment my fingertips touched it, the Pendant suddenly grew hot.
It wasn't the sustained heat from before, but a sharp sting, like a needle prick. I pulled my hand back, fumbled the Fragment, and it slipped under the bed.
Lu Jiuxuan sensed something was wrong and turned to look at me.
I shook my head, pressed the Pendant against my chest to suppress the heat. Had it... "heard" something again just now?
"We can't leave the Corpses," I said. "They'll turn to smoke."
As soon as the words left my mouth, the bodies on the floor began to blacken, the flesh curling at the edges like paper about to burn but not quite catching. I grabbed the Incense Burner and scattered the remaining ash over their faces—an old rule from the Scrap Heap: where there is decay, ash can slow down the transformation.
Lu Jiuxuan squatted down and used his Sword Tip to pull open the collar of one of the men. Beneath the Black Robe, a Brand was visible on the Shoulder—a twisted fire pattern with a closed eye in the center.
"The Mark of the Yin Fire Gang," he said. "Branded personally by Situ Lie. It won't kill the living, and it won't fade on the dead."
I stared at the fire pattern and suddenly remembered something. Three months ago at the Black Market, I sifted through a pile of discarded torture implements; among them was a red-hot iron poker with the exact same shape. I thought it was Scrap Iron then and tossed it into the furnace.
So that's what they used to capture people.
"You recognize this?" Lu Jiuxuan asked me.
"I've seen one," I replied. "At the Scrap Heap."
He glanced at me but didn't press further. He knew where I came from, and he knew how many unwanted Truths were hidden in those places.
The Corpses started smoking, faster than before. I snatched the Compass and stuffed it inside my robes. It was still hot, pressed against my chest like a freshly forged piece of iron.
"We have to go," I said. "If we wait any longer, not even the ash will remain."
Lu Jiuxuan nodded and sheathed his sword into his sleeve. He turned to close the door, his back blocking the hole, a corner of his Silver Hair lifted by the wind.
I looked down at my hand.
The Gold Pattern on my palm had faded, but a faint warmth remained beneath the skin, slowly moving through my Blood Vessels. The Pendant quieted down, but I knew it wasn't asleep. It had heard something just now, something farther away than Demonic Qi—like a bell tolling.
Very faint, but it struck three times.
Lu Jiuxuan returned and stood beside me.
"Go north," he said. "Past the Library Pavilion, and once you leave the mountain gate, you'll reach the Wasteland."
I nodded.
He said nothing more, just placed his hand on the doorframe, as if waiting for me to leave first.
I took a step, and just as my foot lifted, the Pendant suddenly grew hot again.
This time it wasn't a sting, but a rolling heat. It felt like something was climbing up from underground, following the direction of the Compass, heading straight north.
I stopped.
Lu Jiuxuan turned back. "What is it?"
I shook my head and pulled the Compass out of my robes. The needle was still trembling, but the direction hadn't changed. The Golden Light had dimmed, but the heat hadn't receded.
"It's nothing," I said. "It's just... it seems more certain now."
He looked at me, his gaze falling on the hand holding the Compass. That hand was still shaking, not from fear, but because the heat inside was climbing up my arm.
He didn't ask, only pulled his sleeve down slightly, covering the Seal on his chest.
"Let's go," he said. "We need to leave the Academy before dawn."
I followed him out.
It was still dark, but the east was turning gray. The wind blew from the north, carrying a Scorched Smell, like something had been burning far away for a long time.
We passed through the Side Courtyard one after the other, our footsteps light. He walked ahead of me, his back perfectly straight, but I could see his fingers twitching occasionally—the Seal was pulling at him.
I touched the Pendant on my chest.
It wasn't hot anymore, but it was still beating, once, twice, like it was counting our steps.
When we reached the courtyard gate, he suddenly stopped.
"You just... used Incense Ash on people," he said.
I froze.
"That kind of method," he paused, "it's dirty, messy, and nothing like what a cultivator should do."
I frowned, thinking he was about to scold me.
But then he continued, "But you won."
I looked up at him.
He didn't turn around, his voice dropping: "I studied the sword for over a decade, adhering to rules and forms, yet in that crucial moment, I almost couldn't stop them. But you... with a furnace of ash, you won half a move."
The wind swept past his Silver Hair, revealing his earlobes, which were red as if they might bleed.
I said nothing, just gripped the Compass tighter.
He stepped forward and continued walking; I followed.
When we reached the Stone Steps of the mountain gate, he suddenly stopped again.
"Next time," he said, "don't get so close to the blade's edge."
I hummed in acknowledgment.
He said no more and stepped onto the Stone Steps.
I walked behind him, my hand pressed against my chest. The Pendant felt warm against my skin, as if it had fallen asleep.
But the moment we stepped out of the mountain gate, it suddenly jumped once more.
It was heavy.
As if responding to something.