Chitterfang was nothing like the Blood Rats in size or temperant.
But the resemblance was undeniable.
A mutant.
Sothing that should not exist.
And as Han Yu stared at the rat, his mind, which had been circling the sa walls over and over again, suddenly slipped through a crack he had not noticed before.
He froze.
'Wait...'
Slowly, his hand stopped moving.
Chitterfang tilted its head, confused by the sudden stillness.
Han Yu's eyes sharpened.
He had been thinking like a disciple.
Like an artisan.
Like a cultivator trying to navigate official channels.
That was the mistake.
He did not need permission.
He did not need a mission.
He did not need to enter the Kidney Peak himself.
He only needed to deliver a ssage.
A ssage that would never be logged, never be filtered, and never be intercepted by formation arrays designed for cultivators and slaves.
His gaze dropped fully to Chitterfang.
The rat stared back at him innocently.
Han Yu's heart began to pound, not with fear, but with a sudden, exhilarating clarity.
Rats.
The sect had always underestimated them. Once Chitterfang had grown back his fur, Han Yu had let it wander from ti to ti.
And Chitterfang moved freely within the sect.
He had never once triggered a repelling array. Not on the Fifth Rib Peak. Not at the Puppet Peak. Not even near restricted workshops. Han Yu had initially thought it was because of his own aura, or because Chitterfang was a tad beast.
But that explanation no longer held.
Blood Rats were repelled.
Normal spirit rats were repelled.
And yet Chitterfang was not.
He slipped through arrays like smoke through cracks.
Which ant the arrays did not recognize him as a threat.
Or perhaps did not recognize him at all.
Han Yu's thoughts raced.
Formation arrays were designed to detect intent, energy signatures, cultivation patterns, blood Qi fluctuations, and ownership seals. Slaves were tagged. Beasts were categorized. Cultivators were monitored.
But Chitterfang was none of those things.
He carried a trace of fire Qi. A trace of blood Qi. But neither was dominant. His cultivation was low. His spiritual fluctuations were faint. His consciousness was simple.
To the arrays, he was probably nothing more than ambient noise.
A harmless anomaly.
Han Yu slowly straightened, a faint smile touching his lips for the first ti in days.
He did not need to get the interest of the Kidney Peak's people.
He only needed to get sothing into the Kidney Peak.
A ssage.
Sothing that would make the Second Kidney Peak Head realize that soone out there possessed what he desperately needed.
And once that realization struck, the Peak Head himself would move.
Han Yu lowered his voice, leaning close to Chitterfang.
"How would you like a little adventure?" he murmured.
Chitterfang squeaked happily, tail flicking as if the idea alone delighted it.
"Adventure?" The rat asked
Han Yu chuckled softly.
"Don't get excited yet," he said. "This one needs to be done perfectly."
His mind was already constructing the plan, step by careful step. He would not send words. Words could be misunderstood. He would not send threats. That would be suicidal.
He would send proof.
A trace of Cold Silk Orchid essence, refined into a form only soone cultivating frost arts could recognize. Not enough to be wasted. Not enough to be tracked. Just enough to be undeniable.
And Chitterfang would carry it.
No cultivator could sneak into the Kidney Peak.
But a rat?
That was sothing no one guarded against.
For the first ti in weeks, Han Yu felt the impasse shatter.
The door had been there all along.
He had simply been looking too high to see it.
Han Yu did not waste even a breath after the idea fully ford in his mind.
The mont he stepped out of his cave, the indecision that had plagued him for weeks vanished, replaced by a sharp, deliberate calm. This was not a gamble born of desperation, but a calculated move.
Sure it was dangerous... yes, but precise. The kind of move that could not be rushed, nor could it tolerate even the smallest mistake.
He went straight to the alchemy district.
Unlike the Puppet Peak workshops, which were noisy and perpetually busy, the alchemy chambers were places of quiet discipline.
Thick stone walls layered with formation arrays isolated each chamber, preventing Qi fluctuations, stray auras, or spiritual reactions from interfering with one another. These chambers were designed not just for pill refinent, but for blood arts, ritual work, and aura manipulation as well.
Exactly what he needed.
Han Yu paid the rental fee without hesitation, choosing a mid-tier chamber, one strong enough to handle unstable energies, but not so conspicuous as to draw attention. The attendant disciple barely glanced at him.
Ju Fan's reputation preceded him here too: cold, dangerous, and not soone to pry into.
Once inside, the heavy stone doors slid shut with a dull thud, sealing the chamber completely.
The interior was circular, engraved with faintly glowing formation lines that ran along the floor, walls, and ceiling like veins of light. A raised stone platform sat in the center. There was a cauldron placed next to it while the platform itself was surrounded by grooves ant for blood runoff, Qi flow, and ritual materials. The air itself felt dense, stable, and obedient.
Han Yu took a mont to steady himself.
This was not sothing he could redo casually.
He reached into his spatial pouch and took out the sealed box containing the Cold Silk Orchid.
Even through layers of talismans and sealing formations, the chill it exuded was unmistakable. The box itself was made of layered spirit wood reinforced with tal braces, its surface etched with frost-resistance runes. This was not a container ant to be opened lightly.
Han Yu placed it gently on the central platform and exhaled slowly.
"I only need a trace," he muttered to himself. "A single wisp would be enough too."
He knew better than anyone that attempting to cut the orchid, scrape it, or extract even a fragnt would be disastrous.
User Comments
0 comments from readers