The residual qi dissipated like morning mist as Zhao Rui retracted the silken threads of energy from Dun Che's pores. The fox demon stretched his liberated limbs with exaggerated groans, his golden fur crackling with restored vitality.
"You've returned every stolen wisp," Dun Che admitted, sniffing his paw like a fastidious cat. "But next time your cursed cultivation devours me, I'll—"
"—charge in uninvited again?" Zhao arched an eyebrow. "Why did you barge into my seclusion chamber anyway?"
Dun Che's ears flattened. "Blame your mortal flower! Little Orchid pestered me daily—'Three moons without movement! What if his bones mold?'" His imitation of Sun Xiaolan's worried tone drew a chuckle from the corridor outside.
Whispers Beyond the Veil
Sun Xiaolan stood bathed in corridor torchlight, jade hairpin askew from months of anxious pacing. Behind her, Li Jingyan's honeyed reassurances dissolved like sugar in acid rain.
"See?" Zhao stepped into the light, the chamber's residual energies making his silhouette shimmer. "Not even a scratch."
The healer's composure shattered. She flew into his arms, herbal scent mingling with ozone as her fingers traced his jawline. "You've thinned," she murmured, then pinched his waist hard. "And developed a taste for terrifying women!"
Li Jingyan's smile froze. His nails dug crescent moons into palms as their laughter echoed—a harmony that excluded all others.
Serpent's Smile
"Disciple Li was most... persistent in his comfort," Sun remarked later, adjusting Zhao's collar with mock severity. "Practically glued to my shadow these three moons."
Dun Che snorted. "More like vulture circling fresh carrion. That one's eyes linger where they shouldn't."
As if summoned, Li materialized with ghostly quiet. "This humble servant merely sought to—"
"Depart," Dun Che growled. "Before I test if foxfire cleanses hypocrisy."
The bow Li offered could've graced imperial courts. Only Zhao noticed the tremble in those graceful fingers—the telltale twitch toward the dagger-shaped jade pendant.
Golden Hall Gambit
Shu Mountain's highest peak thrummed with anticipation. In the Hall of Celestial Alchemy, Sword Saint Li Lingfeng stood before a cauldron shaped from petrified lightning. Three orbs pulsed within—jade cores stolen from thunderclouds, their surfaces etched with primordial runes.
"Behold." Li's sleeves billowed as the cauldron disgorged its treasures. The Marrow-Cleansing Elixirs glowed like captured supernovas, their light painting Sun's awestruck face in emerald hues.
"Three doses," the Sword Saint intoned. "Consumed beneath waxing moon, tempered by heartwood tea. Should fever burn blackened veins..."
Zhao's grip tightened on Sun's hand.
Unspoken Bargains
Li's gaze sharpened. "This one proposes an arrangement. Let Little Orchid study under my tutelage—learn the Nine Celestial Swordforms."
Dun Che's tail bristled. "Since when does Shu Mountain's patriarch play nursemaid?"
"Since recognizing potential." Li's finger traced an ancient mural—a phoenix reborn from ashes. "Her healing arts fused with sword intent... imagine."
The chamber stilled. Even the cauldron's eternal flames seemed to hold their breath.
Echoes of Ambition
As night draped the mountain in star-flecked silence, Li Jingyan knelt in shadowed chambers. Before him, a blood-jade mirror swirled with crimson mists.
"They mock me, Master Zhang," he hissed to the coalescing figure. "The fox, the upstart, even that mortal harlot!"
The Blood Sea Patriarch's ghostly visage smiled. "Patience, little knife. Even jade shatters when struck true."
Epilogue: First Step
At moon's zenith, Sun Xiaolan swallowed the first elixir. Her scream tore through Shu's eternal mists—body arching as emerald flames scoured mortal frailty. Zhao's arms became her anchor, his qi merging with hers in a dance older than cultivation itself.
When dawn came, the healer's eyes opened changed. Where warmth once reigned, now glimmered the frost-edge of nascent sword intent.
"Interesting," Li Lingfeng murmured, watching Zhao wipe blood from her bitten lips. "The chrysalis cracks."
Far below, in chambers reeking of betrayal, Li Jingyan dipped his dagger in phoenix ash. The ritual circle glowed—a viper's smile etched in fire.