After sending the short, encrypted message through the enchanted artefact, Ming Xuan Ji flicked another gold coin toward the innkeeper with casual, practiced precision. It spun once in the air, catching the warm, flickering light from the oil lamps hanging above the counter, before the man caught it with both hands. His eyes widened noticeably at the satisfying, heavy weight of it. In a frontier village like this, a single piece of imperial gold could feed a family for months.
“Take good care of the girl in the upper room,” she said, her voice light and pleasant yet carrying the quiet, absolute authority that made people straighten their posture without consciously deciding to.
“Meals whenever she asks for them, hot water for bathing, fresh linens, clean clothes if she needs them, whatever she needs to feel comfortable. No questions asked. No visitors. If anyone comes around asking about strangers or anything unusual that happened recently, you saw nothing out of the ordinary. Understood?”
The innkeeper swallowed hard, his grip tightening around the coin. He bowed so deeply that his forehead nearly brushed the worn wooden counter. There was no hesitation in his voice when he answered.
“Of course, my lady. She will want for nothing while she is under this roof. And not a single word about her or about you will leave these walls. You have my word on that.”
“Ah, if a representative from Marquess Vael comes, lead him to my room,” Xuan Ji added, her tone shifting to something slightly more conversational, though the underlying command remained.
Satisfied that the immediate mundane logistics were handled, Xuan Ji rented a second room on the same floor.
It was smaller and significantly simpler than the one she had arranged for Vanessa. It boasted only a narrow bed with a straw mattress, a single wooden chair, a small table with a cracked basin for washing, and a window that looked out over the darkened village rooftops. But it was quiet enough for undisturbed cultivation, and that was all she truly needed right now.
The walls were thin enough that she could occasionally hear the creak of floorboards or muffled, drunken voices from other guests in the tavern below, but that was a small price to pay for the privacy and the chance to finally center herself.
She stepped inside, closed the door with a soft click that seemed louder than it should have in the quiet hallway, and sat cross-legged on the plain wooden floor. The enchanted artefact the marquess had given her could only carry a handful of words before it entered a long, mandatory cooldown period, so she had kept the message deliberately brief and to the point: *Urgent. Blood God Cult is active near your borders. Send carriage, trusted representative, and one maid. Details in person.*
It would be a full day at least before anyone from Theloca could possibly arrive. Good. She needed the time. Time to cultivate properly, time to think through the new responsibilities that had landed in her lap without warning, and time to begin sorting out what having a traumatized young disciple with a rare and dangerous constitution actually meant in practical terms.
She pushed the larger, looming matters aside for the moment and focused entirely inward.
It still felt strange, this ability to sense an entire living world inside her own body, but she was growing used to it with each passing day.
The dantian at her core pulsed like a living star, warm and vast and steadily growing, its surface shimmering with the thick, balanced Qi she had forged through months of relentless hunting, careful meditation, and the slow, patient work of refinement.
It was no longer the fragile, flickering thing it had been when she first woke up in this world, confused and alone. It had grown. It had stabilized. And it had begun to feel like a true foundation she could build upon.
Breathing slowly and evenly, she activated the *Heavenly Demon Scripture*. Ambient mana from the world around her flowed toward her like invisible rivers responding to an unseen moon, drawn in by the scripture’s gentle yet inexorable pull.
She guided it through her meridians with practiced care, refining it strand by strand, turning raw worldly energy into pure, harmonious Qi that merged seamlessly with her own. As the energy circulated, she directed a fraction of her focus to her right hand. The dark, unassuming *Enigma Ring* she had claimed from the Vael treasury thrummed against her skin.
She had yet to fully test its limits in live combat, but the meditative process of feeding it was fascinating. She channeled a compressed charge of *Demonic Echo* directly into the ring's void. The artifact greedily swallowed the technique, holding it in perfect, violent stasis.
The process of manual cultivation was far slower than simply absorbing the concentrated essence of slain monsters, tedious even on the best of days, but there was a deep, quiet satisfaction in it that hunting alone could never provide. This was building. This was deliberate growth rather than opportunistic harvesting.
She examined every pathway with the same meticulous attention she had once given to reading patch notes or theorycrafting optimal skill rotations. She felt every subtle shift in her Yin-Yang balance, committing the sensations to memory so she could recognize them again later.
A faint smile touched her lips as she felt a particularly stubborn knot of stagnant energy finally loosen and begin to flow smoothly through a previously blocked meridian near her collarbone. Small victories, but they added up to a flawless vessel.
Time slipped away in the pleasant, focused haze of meditation. Outside the window, the sun rose, painting the sky in vibrant streaks of violet and gold.
The sounds of conversation and laughter from the common room below gradually grew softer and more sporadic, eventually replaced by the occasional creak of the old building settling on its foundations and the distant, mournful calls of night birds somewhere in the trees beyond the village edge.
Inside the small room, the only movements were the slow, steady rise and fall of her chest and the faint, almost imperceptible shimmer of Qi that occasionally danced across her skin like pale moonlight reflected on dark water.
A firm, deliberate knock shattered the stillness.
Xuan Ji opened her eyes, exhaled once to settle the lingering flow of energy through her meridians, and rose smoothly to her feet.
When she opened the door, she noticed Rowen stood in the hallway. Silver-haired and impeccably dressed even after what must have been a hard and urgent ride from Theloca, he was the very picture of the Vael manor’s head butler. He was calm, dignified, and utterly reliable in a way that immediately put her at ease, though his usual pristine appearance was betrayed by the dust coating his boots and the faint scent of horse sweat clinging to his dark coat.
He bowed with the same flawless deference he had shown back in Theloca, though there was a faint tightness around his eyes and a subtle weariness in his posture that spoke of hard travel and little rest.
“Good to see you in good health, Lady Xuan Ji.”
“You arrived faster than I expected,” she said, stepping aside to let him in. “I thought it would take at least another half day.”
“It was an urgent matter, my lady. I departed the moment the marquess received your message. Still, it took a full day of hard travel over roads that are not as well maintained as they should be this far from the capital. I apologize for the delay.”
A day already? She made a mental note to acquire an alarm artifact or even a simple mechanical timepiece the next chance she got. Losing track of time during deep cultivation was a luxury she could no longer afford now that she had others depending on her and threats that would not wait politely for her to finish meditating.
“No matter,” she said, closing the door behind him. “You are here now. Come in. We have much to discuss, and I would rather not do it in the hallway.”
She ushered him inside and closed the door with a soft click. In calm, precise words she laid out everything that had happened since she left Theloca’s gates.
She described the hidden ritual cave she had discovered through the *[Divine Eye of Veritas]* while scouting the surrounding hills, the blood runes carved into the stone, and the concentrated and corrupted mana that had felt like a physical pressure against her spirit.
She detailed the gaunt cultist performing some kind of ritual over a chained and clearly suffering girl, and the unconscious young woman whose dantian had been forcibly and crudely remade into a vessel for the Blood God.
She described the *Heavenly Killing Star* constitution in as much detail as she currently understood it, the horrific slaughter of House Valerius that had fueled the ritual, and the cultist’s careless, almost boastful words about sacrificing ten thousand souls to summon the Great One—or whatever those fuckers called their God. She concluded with his chilling mention that Theloca was already finished and that the cult’s plans were moving forward regardless of one failed ritual site.
Rowen listened without interruption, his face growing steadily graver with each new piece of information. His hands, usually so steady, tightened slightly on the arms of the wooden chair he had taken, his knuckles turning white. When she finished, he let out a slow, heavy breath and rubbed his temple with two fingers in a rare display of visible stress.
“What happened to the Valerius family is indeed unfortunate,” he said quietly, his voice low and measured. “Yet despite the days that have passed since the tragedy, I have heard no word of any massacre in their territory. I fear the kingdom’s investigation has yet to begin in earnest, or perhaps the cult has managed to suppress news of what happened through some means we do not yet understand.”
“I thought as much,” Xuan Ji replied, her tone remaining even and analytical. “Fortunately, with Vanessa under my protection, the Blood God Cult has lost its chosen vessel for the time being. I doubt they will find many bodies suitable for such a rare and specific summoning ritual. They may very well halt the large-scale sacrifices they attempted near Theloca and instead redirect every available resource toward hunting her down… or finding a replacement vessel that meets their requirements.”
“That is a serious matter indeed,” Rowen said, his voice low and deeply troubled. “If they are willing to slaughter an entire noble house and attempt something on the scale of slaughtering a city, they are far more organized, well-funded, and bolder than any of us assumed. This is no small cult hiding in the shadows. This is something with real reach and real ambition.”
“Make sure you relay this information to the marquess in full detail,” Xuan Ji said. “The kingdom must be warned as soon as possible. Let the capital handle the larger cult threat with their armies and their investigators. I will take care of Vanessa in the meantime. I intend to continue to Elyndria as planned, and I will keep her with me.”
“Understood, my lady. I shall leave immediately and ride through the night if necessary.” Rowen straightened, the weight of duty settling over him like a familiar and well-worn cloak.
“As requested, I have prepared the finest carriage in the marquess’s stables for your use, along with a reliable and discreet coachman and one maid who can be trusted. They await outside whenever you are ready to depart.”
“That is much appreciated, Rowen. Truly.”
“I am only carrying out the marquess’s instructions,” he said with another bow. Then he paused at the door, his expression softening slightly.
“If I may be so bold, my lady… thank you again. For Theloca. For the lives you saved there, including my own lord’s. The entire domain owes you a debt that grows heavier with each passing day. If there is ever anything the Vael family can do to repay even a fraction of it, you have only to ask.”
Xuan Ji inclined her head, accepting the words with quiet grace. “Go safely, Rowen. And thank the marquess for me.”
Outside the inn, two carriages waited in the soft morning light. The larger one gleamed with fresh black lacquer and silver trim, clearly the “best” Rowen had promised. It looked sturdy enough for long-distance travel over rough roads yet incredibly comfortable, boasting reinforced wheels, subtle reinforcement runes etched along the iron frame to absorb shock, and thick velvet curtains that could be drawn for absolute privacy.
Beside it stood a broad-shouldered man in sturdy, practical travel leathers, his face weathered by years spent on the road and a longsword resting comfortably at his hip. He had the calm, watchful air of someone who had seen trouble before and knew how to handle it without unnecessary panic or dramatics. Next to him, Lira shifted nervously from foot to foot, her cat ears twitching beneath her neat maid’s cap and her fluffy tail curling and uncurling with barely contained excitement and nervous energy.
Rowen introduced them with his usual brisk formality. “Lady Xuan Ji, this is Harlan, your coachman for the journey ahead. And of course you remember Lira from the manor.”
“It is nice to see you again, Lira,” Xuan Ji said, allowing the faintest warmth to enter her voice. The catgirl had been kind during her stay at the Vael manor, and genuine kindness was something Xuan Ji had come to appreciate more than she once would have admitted.
The catgirl curtsied deeply, her golden eyes shining with genuine enthusiasm and a touch of open worship. “The pleasure is mine, Lady Xuan Ji! I will do my absolute best to serve you and the young miss. Whatever either of you needs, just say the word and I will see it done!”
Harlan bowed with the quiet confidence of a man who had driven nobles, merchants, and worse through far more treacherous roads than this one. “At your service, my lady. The carriage is ready whenever you give the word. The horses are ready, the harnesses are sound, and the route ahead is clear as far as I know.”
Rowen climbed into the smaller, swifter carriage that had brought him from Theloca. “I will relay your words to the marquess at once, my lady. Safe travels to you and your companions.”
With a final, respectful bow he departed, the wheels of his carriage kicking up a light plume of dust as it rolled away toward Theloca and whatever political and military storm was undoubtedly brewing there in the wake of everything that had happened.
Xuan Ji turned to her new companions. “I know you are both tired from the journey here, but time is short and we cannot afford to linger. We will leave for the capital in a few hours. Do you think we can reach the next decent village or waystation before nightfall?”
Harlan nodded without hesitation, his expression calm and highly professional. “The distance is manageable, my lady. The road is clear enough this time of year, and the horses are fresh and well-rested. We should make good time if we do not run into any unexpected delays.”
“Good. Take a short rest and prepare yourselves and the carriage. I still have some business to attend to before we depart.”
She left them to their tasks and returned upstairs to check on her new, fragile responsibility.