Before dawn, I managed to sleep for less than an hour leaning against a rock by the Cliff, my eyelids feeling as heavy as iron. When I woke, there was still a medicinal taste in my mouth, and the Small Porcelain Bottle Lu Jiuxuan gave me was clutched in my hand; the bottle was no longer cold.
I tucked it back into my sleeve and got up, heading toward the Academy. My legs felt weak, but I could move. The fire last night didn't burn anyone, but the spot where the Pendant pressed against my chest remained hot, as if reminding me—the markings on that Stone Slab were not a coincidence.
The cooking smoke from the Mess Hall was just rising, the sound of the pot lid hitting the iron rack sounding rhythmically. I stood at the entrance, touching the Old Scar on my wrist, then pressing my hand against the Pendant on my chest. It didn't vibrate or heat up again, but I just felt something was wrong.
The uncle stirring the pot of porridge had his back to me. Today he was wearing a faded blue cloth shirt, the cuffs rolled up to his elbows, revealing a section of his thin, dry forearm. Just like yesterday, nothing special.
But as I approached, the hand stirring the pot paused.
I didn't stop, joining the end of the line as usual. The students ahead of me held their bowls, speaking lazily; no one noticed anything unusual.
When it was my turn, he scooped a ladle of porridge and handed it over without looking up.
“The scar on your wrist,” he suddenly spoke, his voice kept very low, “You were at the Scrap Market fire three years ago too?”
I took the bowl, the heat washing over my face. My Heartbeat sped up a beat, but my hand didn't shake.
“Uncle has a good memory,” I smiled. “I picked up a piece of iron then; it burned me.”
He stared at me for two seconds, his mouth twitching, and said nothing.
I turned to leave, but my peripheral vision caught a flash inside his cuff—an Ethereal Blue Light, like the reflection off a Scale, gone in an instant.
I looked down at the porridge in my bowl; the rice grains floated motionless on the water. But in my mind, I was replaying everything from the Library Pavilion last night. Situ Lie hadn't chased me out, but he knew what I was investigating. And this person, his very first sentence this morning mentioned the Scrap Market.
He wasn't asking casually.
I circled around to the Woodshed in the back courtyard, placing the bowl on the windowsill, and squatted down by the base of the wall. My sightline passed perfectly through the half-open back door to the open space by the well.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the uncle came out carrying a wooden bucket and walked to the well to draw water. His movements were the same as usual, but as he set the bucket down, he lightly tapped the small of his back three times with his left hand.
Then, Footsteps sounded from the small alley outside the wall.
A figure in a Grey Robe flashed in, the brim of the hood pulled very low. The two stood close together, their voices suppressed to almost inaudible levels.
I held my breath, my fingernails scratching a line in the dirt, noting down the fragmented sentences I heard.
“...Bloodline purity is sufficient... the Yin Fire Gang is pressing hard... move tonight?”
The Grey-Robed Person handed over a Jade Talisman, the corner carved with a snake head pattern. I recognized that Mark; Situ Lie had one on his boot last night.
The uncle took the Jade Talisman, glanced down at it, and nodded.
I scratched another line in the dirt with my fingernail, etching the pattern of the Jade Talisman. Just as I was about to retreat, my knees lifted off the ground, and a dry branch snapped underfoot with a 'crack'.
Both men by the well turned their heads simultaneously.
I pressed against the wall, motionless, my Heartbeat pounding against my Ribs. I had Three Breaths to decide whether to run or hide.
Footsteps approached this way.
I rolled behind the Pile of Firewood, my hand reaching for the Pendant on my chest. It still didn't react, like a dead object.
A low chuckle came from by the well.
“Little mouse from the Star Gazing Clan,” that voice drawled slowly, “Smelled the scent and came running?”
I gritted my teeth and slowly backed away.
Just as I reached the corner of the wall, a Roof Tile shifted overhead.
Someone was on the eaves.
I looked up; Lu Jiuxuan was standing there, his Silver Hair ruffled slightly by the morning breeze. He wasn't looking at me, only staring at the area by the well.
The uncle looked up, the wrinkles on his face suddenly tightening. He opened his mouth and smiled, the corners stretching wider and wider, all the way to his ears.
His skin ripped open with a 'hiss', and his black cloth shirt burst into shreds. Nine fluffy Tails tore out from behind him, each one glowing with an Ethereal Blue Light. His arms elongated violently, his claws growing long and black, and he lunged toward me.
I leaned back, hitting the wall behind me.
Claws scraped past my throat, creating a gust of wind. I tried to roll away, but he slammed a paw onto the ground, sending numbness up my legs.
The second claw followed immediately.
I closed my eyes, my hand instinctively shielding my chest.
But the expected pain didn't come.
A whoosh of air passed over my head, followed by a sharp 'clang'.
I opened my eyes; a streak of Sword Qi had pinned the base of the uncle's right Tail, knocking his entire body half a foot sideways. He staggered back, his Tail twitching, blood dripping from the tip.
Lu Jiuxuan landed in the courtyard, his sword still sheathed, only his fingertips resting on the Sword Hilt. He stood between me and the uncle, his back to me.
“Situ Lie’s dog,” he said, “dares to use its claws in the Academy?”
The uncle let out a low roar, his Nine Tails whipping wildly, blood spraying from the wound to draw an arc on the ground.
“You can protect her for a moment,” he hissed, “but you can’t protect her life.”
Lu Jiuxuan didn't reply. He took a step forward, the Sword Hilt turning slightly.
The uncle suddenly leaped backward, smashing through the back door, his figure flashing as he vanished into the depths of the kitchen.
I pushed myself up against the wall, my throat dry.
“He ran away,” I said.
Lu Jiuxuan didn't pursue; he just looked down at me.
“You stepped on a branch,” he said.
I touched the back of my head; it felt a little hot. “…Mm.”
“Stay further away next time.”
I looked down at my palm; the pattern from the dirt was still there. My fingernail had carved it a bit deep, and a little blood was seeping from the edge.
“I noted it down,” I smoothed the pattern over, then looked up. “He mentioned ‘Bloodline purity’ just now. Does that mean they have been looking for me? It wasn't a coincidence?”
Lu Jiuxuan was silent for two seconds. “They started looking for you the day you survived the Scrap Market.”
I clenched my sleeve tightly.
“Then why only make a move now?”
“Because before, you were just a wanderer,” his voice lowered slightly. “Now, you know about the Stone Slab.”
My heart skipped a beat.
The Stone Slab in the Library Pavilion had markings identical to those on the Broken Jade. And the Broken Jade was what I dug out of a pile of Corpses in the Scrap Market three years ago. At the time, I thought it was just a valuable piece of material.
It wasn't.
I looked up at him. “What do they want to use me for?”
He didn't answer.
The Bell Sound drifted from a distance; Morning Class was about to start.
He turned. “Go back first. You still have residual Demonic Qi on you; don't go near the Mess Hall again.”
I followed him, but stopped after two steps.
“There was a Scale reflection in his cuff,” I said. “He’s not a pure Fox Clan member.”
Lu Jiuxuan didn't stop walking. “A hybrid of a Nine-Tailed Fox and a Flood Dragon has a sense of smell sharper than a dog's. Situ Lie captured many mixed-breeds in the Northern Territory years ago and trained them as spies.”
I recalled the way he stirred the porridge, my fingers still trembling.
A person who could blend in at the Academy for so many years would have mastered human mannerisms. But he shouldn't have mentioned the Scrap Market.
How much did he think I knew?
Back in the dormitory, I redrew the pattern from the dirt onto paper, deepening it with a charcoal stick. The snake head pattern was entwined with a curved line, like a river, or perhaps the beginning stroke of some kind of Seal.
I stared at it for a long time, then suddenly remembered something.
I pulled out the Broken Jade from my robe and turned it over. There was a shallow carving on the back that I had never noticed before. Now, holding it up to the light—it matched the pattern on the Jade Talisman.
Not similar.
It was the same set of Runes.
My fingers tightened.
I didn't pick up this jade.
Someone placed it in my backpack. That day, after I finished searching through a pile of broken boxes in the Scrap Market, I turned around and found it at the very bottom, weighing down half a sheet of scorched paper.
The paper had four words written on it: Gate of Starfall.
I flipped it over and placed it on top of the paper; the patterns aligned perfectly.
Footsteps sounded outside the door.
I quickly stuffed the jade and the paper into the gap under the bed. Just as I straightened up, the door was pushed open.
Lu Jiuxuan stood in the doorway, holding a bowl of medicine.
“Apply this to the scar,” he said. “Don't leave the room today.”
I took the bowl; the medicine had a faint scent, just like the bottle from last night.
“Do you know something?” I stared at him. “About how I survived, about that fire… why was I there?”
He stood in the doorway, unmoving.
“The more you ask,” his voice was very light, “the faster you will die.”
I gripped the medicine bowl tightly.
He turned to leave.
“Wait,” I called out to him. “That uncle from the Mess Hall… will he come back?”
He turned back, his gaze chilling for a moment.
“He is already dead,” he said.
I froze.
“After the Library Pavilion last night,” he paused, “the Academy checked all records of night movement. His name was not on the roster.”
My mind buzzed.
Then the one from just now—
“It was a substitute,” he said. “Or, a Corpse was moving.”
My hand shook, and the medicine bowl nearly slipped to the floor.
He walked out the door, his Footsteps fading away.
I looked down at the bowl; the surface of the medicine trembled slightly, reflecting my own face.
Suddenly, the Pendant jumped lightly once more.
It wasn't hot.
It was vibrating.
As if responding to something.
I took it out and placed it flat in my palm.
It lay still, but I could feel something crawling beneath it.