The report was from the northeastern border of the Blood continent, which made Han Yu’s brows furrowed faintly.
That region was... remote.
Extrely so.
While the Slaughtered Moon Divine Blood Sect claid dominion over the Blood Continent, its influence was not absolute. There were regions where their reach was thin, where surveillance was minimal, and where control was more theoretical than practical.
This was one of those places.
A place often ignored.
Because it held no significant value.
Or so it was believed.
Han Yu continued reading.
The report detailed a series of incidents. There were strange deaths that happened in a recurring patterns over the past five years. His eyes paused briefly as he reached the descriptions.
The corpses had been found in an unusual state.
Frozen from the inside out.
Han Yu’s gaze sharpened slightly.
He read further.
There were additional details.
Bite marks.
Unnatural.
Not consistent with ordinary beasts.
Images appeared on the formation screen.
Han Yu studied them carefully.
The bodies were preserved in a way that did not align with natural freezing. The freezing had originated internally, spreading outward through the tissues in a pattern that suggested sothing more controlled.
Sothing... deliberate.
The bite marks were equally strange. Not large like it would cut apart flesh, but precise. As if sothing had fed with intention rather than instinct. Han Yu felt a flicker of recognition. But he suppressed it imdiately.
His expression did not change.
He continued reading until the end of the report.
Then he leaned back slightly, his gaze returning to Lady Rot Rose.
"What does this have to do with your mission?" he asked.
His tone remained steady, though his mind had already begun forming connections.
Lady Rot Rose exhaled a thin stream of red smoke before answering.
"Several of my people have died in that region," she said.
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
"I do not know what is behind it," she continued. "It could be a beast. It could be a cultivator. It could be sothing else entirely."
Her eyes t his.
"And I need you to investigate it."
Han Yu held her gaze.
"And eliminate whatever is responsible."
The words settled into the space between them.
Han Yu did not respond imdiately.
Instead, he replayed the images in his mind.
The frozen corpses.
The bite marks.
The pattern.
There was sothing about it.
Sothing that felt... familiar.
He kept that thought to himself.
For now.
"You want to go to the northeastern border," he said slowly, "to investigate a series of deaths in a region the sect barely monitors... and deal with an unknown entity."
"Yes."
Han Yu tapped his finger lightly against the table.
"And you believe I am the most suitable for this?"
Lady Rot Rose’s smile returned.
"I do."
Han Yu studied her for a mont.
Then he spoke again.
"What exactly about makes you think that?"
The question was simple.
But the answer...
That would reveal far more than the mission itself.
And Han Yu intended to hear it.
Lady Rot Rose did not answer imdiately though..
She took her ti, taking a puff of her pipe then letting the faint curls of red smoke drift between them as if the question itself needed to settle before being addressed. Her gaze remained on Han Yu, steady and assessing, as though she were asuring not just his words, but the intent behind them.
Then she spoke.
"The reason I chose you," she said softly, "is because of your cultivation technique."
Han Yu’s eyes flickered.
He already knew where this was going.
"The Freezing Abyss Glacial Art."
He opened his mouth, instinctively ready to deflect, to offer so asured denial or redirect the conversation. It had beco second nature to him, especially when dealing with individuals who knew too much.
Lady Rot Rose leaned slightly forward, resting her elbow against the arm of her lounger.
"I have sent others before you," she continued. "Cultivators who specialize in Ice elental techniques. Individuals with deep foundations and considerable experience."
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"They all ended the sa way."
Han Yu’s expression remained composed, though his attention sharpened further.
"They died," she said simply.
The word lingered.
"No resistance. No escape. No aningful report before their deaths."
She tapped lightly on the jade slip, and the image of the frozen corpses flickered again.
"This is not ordinary cold," she added. "Nor is it a simple environntal hazard. Whatever is responsible for this... possesses a level of control that surpasses common techniques."
Han Yu leaned back slightly, absorbing her words.
"So you believe," he said, "that my cultivation technique will allow to resist it."
"I do."
The answer ca without hesitation.
Han Yu let out a faint breath.
"Then why not ask one of the Kidney Peak Heads?" he asked. "Or soone stronger. There are cultivators within the sect who have reached the Dao Treading realm. Sending them would be far more reliable than sending ."
His tone remained respectful, but the aning was clear.
If this mission was truly dangerous, then logic dictated that stronger individuals should be assigned.
Lady Rot Rose smiled faintly.
"You are not wrong," she said. "In terms of raw strength, there are many who surpass you."
She paused briefly.
"But their positions do not allow them such freedom."
Han Yu’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"The Peak Heads cannot leave the sect for extended periods without consequence," she explained. "Their responsibilities bind them. Even if they were willing, the cost of pulling them away would far outweigh the value of this mission."
She shifted slightly, her gaze turning thoughtful for a mont.
"And as for commanding them..."
A faint chuckle escaped her lips.
"That is not as simple as you might think. Even for ."
Han Yu remained silent.
"Everything has a price," she continued. "And in this case, that price would be... excessive."
She then looked back at him.
"As for sending stronger cultivators, I have already done so."
Han Yu’s brows furrowed slightly.
"And?"
Lady Rot Rose’s expression did not change.
"They never returned."
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