"Pull! You useless dogs, pull!" Old Barlow’s voice cracked over the roar of the wind.
Chief Gao and three elite caravan guards slamd their boots into the mountain gravel, grabbing the thick hemp lines wrapped around Shen Jin’s bleeding arms. With a collective, roaring grunt, they heaved. The iron-bound wheels of Carriage Twelve scraped violently against the precipice before finally toppling forward, slamming safely onto the flat dirt road.
The mont the carriage's weight shifted away from the abyss, Shen Jin went limp. He collapsed backward onto the frozen ground, gasping for air, chest heaving in a theatrical display of near-fatal exhaustion. He hid his hands—raw, torn, and leaking blood—beneath the frayed sleeves of his burlap shirt, subtly circulating a minor wisp of Vanguard Qi to seal the weeping capillaries before anyone could inspect them closely.
"By the Ancestors," Old Barlow breathed, rushing over to slap a heavy hand onto Shen Jin’s trembling shoulder. "The brat actually did it. If he hadn't gotten tangled up in that tie-line while trying to flee, the old man’s luxury box would be splattered across the canyon floor by now."
Chief Gao didn't speak imdiately. He walked over, his sharp martial artist eyes boring into Shen Jin’s prone figure. Thanks to the absolute, flawless compression of [Absolute Obscurity], all Gao saw was a lucky, terrified teenager whose muscles were spasming from a sheer, involuntary adrenaline spike.
"An absurd freak accident," Gao muttered, kicking a splintered rock away from the ledge. "The boy's body was wedged so tightly between those two boulders that the carriage used him as a structural anchor. If the rocks had shifted even an inch, his spine would have snapped like dry bamboo."
Gao looked down at Shen Jin, a flicker of cold pity crossing his face. "You have ridiculous luck, brat. But your debt to the company for the porcelain is officially halved. Get up and head to the dical wagon before you bleed out on the trail."
"Th-thank you, Chief Gao... thank you, Master Barlow," Shen Jin whimpered, his teeth chattering as he dragged himself up, trembling like a leaf in a gale. He stumbled away toward the center of the camp, keeping his posture slouched and pathetic.
Behind him, the sounds of steel clashing and screaming slowly died down. The remaining seven rogue cultivators, seeing their stealth vanguard utterly obliterated by a "freak rockslide" and their primary target secured, realized the elent of surprise was entirely gone. They broke formation, retreating into the swirling mountain mist like ghosts.
The caravan was safe. For now.
Shen Jin skipped the dical wagon entirely. He knew that if a proper dic examined his hands, they would find that beneath the surface abrasions, his muscle fibers were perfectly intact, fortified by the density of a cultivator who had opened the First Seal of Qi. Instead, he slipped into the dark space between two cargo wagons, pulled out a small piece of clean rag from his sack, and tightly wrapped his palms himself.
Sitting in the cold dark, he summoned the system interface.
The pale-blue screen flickered to life, its glow reflected only in the dark pupils of his eyes.
📊 HOST PROFILE
Na: Shen Jin
Realm: First Seal of Qi — Qi Gathering (Early Stage)
Vanguard Points (VP): 40
📜 ACTIVE SYSTEM QUEST:
The Low-Key Escort: Progress (40%). Key asset protected during Initial Ambush.
Warning: The rogue faction will realize environntal factors alone did not foil their assault. The next strike will involve a higher-tier commander.
Forty points, Shen Jin calculated, a cold, predatory focus taking over his mind. The initial skirmish is over, but the Black Ridge Mountains are long. The rogue cultivators aren't fools. When they report back to their employers within the Heavenly Sword Sect council, they will send soone capable of crushing Chief Gao.
He opened the Vanguard Exchange Shop, realizing he needed to upgrade his capabilities imdiately to handle a higher-tier threat without breaking his low-key persona.
🏪 VANGUARD EXCHANGE SHOP (TIER 1)
[Iron Skin Ointnt (Low-Grade)] — Cost: 15 VP
[Vanguard ridian Scripture - Volu 1 (Sub-Technique: Kinetic Dissipation)] — Cost: 25 VP
(Allows the user to absorb up to 50% of an incoming blunt-force or elental strike and discharge it harmlessly into the earth through their feet.)
[Phantom Shroud Mask] — Cost: 20 VP
(An ethereal artifact that completely masks the user's face in shifting shadows when operating in total darkness.)
Purchase Kinetic Dissipation and Iron Skin Ointnt, Shen Jin commanded.
[Transaction Complete. 40 Vanguard Points deducted.]
[Current Balance: 0 VP.]
[Items deployed. Initializing direct neural and physical synthesis...]
A sharp, tingling sensation erupted across Shen Jin’s skin as the Iron Skin Ointnt materialized as a liquid spiritual current, sinking deep into his pores. His skin didn't change color or harden like bark; rather, the underlying cellular lattice beca tightly bound, capable of resisting the bite of common steel blades. Simultaneously, the profound principles of Kinetic Dissipation wove themselves into his muscle mory.
Before he could close the nu, a soft, dry rasp echoed from the shadows behind Carriage Twelve.
"Boy."
Shen Jin stiffened slightly, instantly dismissing the pale-blue screen. He turned around, adjusting his face into a mask of nervous curiosity.
Grandmaster Yu stood by the rear wheel of the black carriage. The old man was wrapped in a heavy, fur-lined cloak that seed too large for his frail, decaying fra. He was coughing into a silk handkerchief, his breath wheezing heavily, yet those sharp, ancient eyes were fixed entirely on Shen Jin's wrapped hands.
"Grandmaster... I an, honored passenger," Shen Jin stamred, bowing quickly. "Is sothing wrong with the carriage? I can fetch Master Barlow—"
"Do not play the fool with an old man who has spent eighty years watching the world bleed," Yu said softly, his voice cutting through the mountain wind like a thin wire. He stepped closer, the faint, erratic scent of burning timber—the physical manifestation of the Shattered-Heart Embers poison—wafting from his skin.
"A rotted rope breaking in the docks to wipe out two enforcers. A perfectly tid rockslide that crushes a stealth squad. A mortal boy whose bones do not shatter when holding a five-ton sliding carriage." Yu let out a low, dry chuckle that turned into a painful cough. "The universe is chaotic, child. But it is never that chaotic."
Shen Jin kept his head down, his face hidden in the twilight shadows. His heart beat with perfect, unhurried calmness. Absolute Obscurity was still doing its job—Yu couldn't sense a single drop of Qi from him. The old man was relying purely on legendary intuition and sharp observation.
"I don't know what you an, sir," Shen Jin said softly, his voice a perfect mixture of confusion and mild fear. "I was just scared. I didn't want the carriage to fall on ."
Grandmaster Yu stared at him for a long, agonizing mont. Finally, he sighed, the imnse, suffocating weight of his presence deflating. He reached beneath his fur cloak and pulled out a small, heavy object, tossing it through the dark air.
Shen Jin caught it out of instinct. It was a flawless, cold token carved from pure Glinting White Jade, etched with the elegant insignia of a drifting leaf.
"That is an entry token to the Sanctuary City of Drifting Leaves," Grandmaster Yu whispered, turning his back to return to the carriage. "If we survive this mountain trail, take that token to the West District Library. Tell the old archivist that the sword has grown rusty. He will give you a place where the wind cannot find you."
The old man stepped up into the black carriage, the heavy velvet curtains snapping shut behind him.
Shen Jin looked down at the jade token in his palm. In his past life, he had spent ten years begging on the streets just to get a glimpse of the outer walls of the Sanctuary City. Now, a dying legend had handed him a master key.
"The wind might not find , Grandmaster," Shen Jin murmured into the dark, his fingers tightening around the cold jade. "But I think the wind is exactly what I’m going to use."
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