The morning mist had not yet dispersed. I squatted by the dormitory windowsill, dipping my fingernail in water to trace the crooked sword mark on the Stone Slab. The bloodstain from the Bottom of the Spring last night hadn't faded at all. After drawing the last stroke, I held my fingertip on the stone surface for two seconds before straightening up.
The Pendant rested against my chest, warm, as if it had just been in the sun.
I changed into the Academy robe, brushing Herb Ash clinging to the cuffs onto the collar. After fastening the sash, I tucked the Pendant inside my inner garment, turned, and pushed the door open.
The Star Gazing class on Fate Plates was about to begin.
The Corridor was empty, the Footsteps completely absorbed by the Green Bricks. As I rounded the corner, my hand unconsciously touched my wrist—that Nine Tails Shadow in the mist last night was still flickering in my mind. It wasn't an illusion. When it spoke, the water rippled, and the tip of the Shadow's Tail hooked a Blue Light, like fire, yet like tears.
I didn't stop, nor did I look back.
The classroom door was open, a few shafts of sunlight slicing in, illuminating the edge of the lectern. The Instructor stood there, holding the roll call roster.
I chose a seat in the back row by the window, placing my hands flat on the desk, palms down. This was a habit formed during my wandering days—ready to grab something at any moment, or to push off and run immediately.
Students trickled in, their chatter buzzing. No one mentioned last night's events. The Night Patrol bell had rung, the Fire Scene cleared, and everything was back to normal.
Just as the Spring Eye behind the mountain hadn't bubbled with Black Mist, just as Lu Jiuxuan hadn't lain at the bottom of the pool drawing a blood sword.
I looked down at my own hands.
“Ahem.” The Instructor tapped the desk. “Starting today, we have a new student joining the class, visiting from the Demon Realm. I hope everyone will be mutually respectful and advance together.”
Footsteps sounded by the door.
I looked up.
The person wore a Black Robe, the collar open, revealing an Old Scar near the collarbone. His steps were neither fast nor slow; his fingertips toyed with a Half-broken saber, its blade rusty, the edge chipped in several places. As he walked in, the sunlight shifted half an inch, falling upon his face.
Purple Eyes.
The corners of his eyes tilted up, his gaze sweeping the room before finally landing on me.
I didn't move.
The corner of his mouth lifted. He bypassed the front desks and walked straight toward my area.
His Footsteps were light.
Until he stopped beside my desk, casting a shadow over me.
“Classmate,” he suddenly reached out, gripping my wrist firmly, though not heavily, “Your cuff is dusty, your palm lines are messy. Didn't sleep well last night?”
I stared into his eyes.
They were dark Purple, with a flash of Red Light deep within.
The Pendant vibrated slightly against my chest.
“Academy rules,” I slowly said, “No touching people.”
He didn't let go; instead, he leaned closer, lowering his voice: “But you have a scent on you…”
My breathing remained steady.
“What scent?”
“The scent of Stardust in Ashes,” he chuckled softly. “The kind left behind after the Star Gazing Clan burns their ancestral shrine.”
The classroom fell silent instantly.
Someone in the front row turned around; a girl shifted away, and a boy placed his hand near his talisman pouch.
I didn't struggle.
“You have the wrong person,” I said.
His thumb brushed against my Pulse Gate, as if testing my rhythm. “Your Heartbeat is so fast. Are you scared of me? Or… are you hiding something?”
“Let go,” I said.
“What if I don't?” he asked.
A cough came from the lectern.
“Situ Mo!” the Instructor snapped. “Causing a disturbance on your first day, what kind of conduct is that! Return to your seat!”
Only then did he release my wrist, stepping back slightly, and winked at me.
“Just kidding,” he said. “Just a joke between classmates.”
Then he turned and walked toward the empty seat in the corner, spinning the Broken Saber between his fingers before tucking it into his sleeve.
I slowly withdrew my hand; my palm was already sweating.
I looked down at the desk. There was a Cracks in the wood grain, like lightning. I traced the fissure twice with my fingernail, forcing my Heartbeat down.
The Instructor began the lecture.
“Today’s divination involves the intersectional changes between the Fate Plate and the Star Track. Take three Copper Coins, toss them in sequence, and observe their heads/tails, Yin/Yang.”
I pulled three old coins from my inner garment and placed them on the desk.
Situ Mo didn't move.
He leaned back against the chair, one leg crossed, his fingers pulling out the Half-broken saber again, tapping the desk lightly. *Clang, clang, clang.* The rhythm was slow, but each strike landed precisely in the interval between the falling coins.
I tossed the first coin.
Heads.
The second coin.
Tails.
The third coin had just left my hand when the sound of the Broken Saber tapping the desk suddenly stopped.
The coin landed, rolled halfway, and stood upright on the edge of the desk, not falling over.
I stared at it.
The entire class saw it.
Something like this happens perhaps once in a decade.
“Coincidence,” Situ Mo suddenly remarked. “Life hanging by a thread, and the coin hanging by a thread too.”
No one responded.
I reached out to steady the coin.
Just as my fingertip touched it, the Broken Saber sounded again.
*Clang!*
The vibration traveled through the desk, and the coin fell, landing tails up.
I withdrew my hand.
“Divination result,” the Instructor read from the book. “Three tails signify Tai Yin, symbolizing concealment, retreat, and hiding form. Suitable for avoiding disaster, unfavorable for attack.”
I nodded, as if nothing had happened.
I put away the Copper Coins and looked down at my book.
In my peripheral vision, Situ Mo tucked the Broken Saber back into his sleeve, rested his hand on the edge of the desk, and made a gesture toward me.
His thumb wiped across his lips, and his index finger was held vertically in front of them.
—Don't speak.
I didn't move.
He smiled slightly, then turned his head away.
The break bell rang, and students began to get up. I grabbed my books to leave when the edge of my robe was lightly snagged by something.
I looked down.
An extremely thin Blue Thread was wrapped around my cuff; it would break with the slightest touch, like a spider silk.
When I looked up, he was leaning against the doorframe, raising an eyebrow at me.
A flash of Red Light appeared in his Purple Eyes.
I stood still and didn't follow him.
I reached inside my robe and touched the Pendant.
It was still vibrating, very lightly, like a Heartbeat.
Footsteps echoed down the Corridor—people heading to the next class. I blended into the crowd and walked toward the Pharmacology Hall.
Halfway there, a girl whispered, “I heard he’s the Young Master of the Yin Fire Gang; his father is Situ Lie.”
The person next to her chimed in, “No wonder he dares to be so arrogant, even talking back to the Instructor.”
“Didn’t you see his eyes? Purple, with Red Light flashing. He must be a Half-Demon.”
“But why would the Academy accept someone like that?”
I listened, not turning back.
As I rounded the pillar, my hand touched the Pendant again.
It had stopped vibrating.
But the warmth remained.
At the entrance to the Pharmacology Hall, I stopped, pulled out the three Copper Coins from my sleeve, and spread them in my palm.
The one that landed tails up had a scratch along the edge, as if it had been grazed by a blade.
I picked at the mark with my fingernail.
The mark hadn't changed.
I put the coins away and pushed the door open.
The teacher was already lecturing on medicinal ingredient ratios. I walked to the back row and sat down, opening my notebook.
On the previous page were notes about the water temperature of the Spring Eye last night, the Mist concentration, and the direction of Lu Jiuxuan’s Purple Markings on his back.
I turned the page; it was blank.
I picked up my pen and wrote: “Situ Mo, Black Robe, Broken Saber, Purple Eyes, knows Bloodline.”
After writing that, I paused.
I added another line: “He said the scent was Stardust.”
My pen tip froze.
The sunlight outside had shifted, illuminating the corner of the desk. That Cracks had reappeared, just like before, running across the wood grain.
I stared at it.
Suddenly, I understood.
This wasn't a crack in the wood.
It was an impression left on the desk by that upright Copper Coin from earlier.
I reached out and touched it.
It was indented, very shallowly.
As if someone had quietly scored it with the tip of a knife.