The cocoon of light contracted and then expanded. The stagnant space within the box was being stripped away bit by bit by the threads of Bloodfall.
The petals of the Crimson Abyss began to sway gently, stretching outward from the stem. The near-black hue within the dark red faded a layer, revealing a brighter crimson beneath.
In the windowless basement, Qiu Shubai began to smell the flower’s scent—a metallic tang mixed with the stench of wet earth, so pungent her throat tightened.
The red patterns on Bloodfall flared brilliantly. The blade hummed and vibrated, its frequency climbing higher and higher.
She pressed her left hand against the blade and gripped the box with her right. The light cocoon melted into a warm liquid in her palm, flowing through her fingers and hitting the wooden table with a heavy, dull thud.
The Crimson Abyss fell into her other hand.
The moment the petals touched her skin, the distortion power began to burrow into her body.
It felt like countless fine needles piercing from her fingertips toward her elbow, each needle following her blood vessels deeper inside. Qiu Shubai clenched her teeth against the inside of her lower lip, the taste of blood spreading across her tongue.
She braced herself to keep from collapsing. Bloodfall let out a shrill cry in her other hand as the red light on the blade surged forward, crawling up her arm to entangle, swallow, and consume the distorted threads one by one.
The distortion power swallowed by Bloodfall was, in turn, transformed into a purer energy that flowed back into her veins.
Her once calm and silent Sea of Consciousness was pushed open, a crack forming amidst her blurred consciousness.
Qiu Shubai could feel it; on the other side of this crack was a new world. The high wall between Core Consolidation Level 9 and the Clear Heart rank was being torn open inch by inch by her efforts.
Sweat slid from her forehead, dripping down her jawline. Bloodfall suspended itself in mid-air, its tip pointing toward the space between her eyebrows, continuously feeding back the swallowed distortion power to her.
The breakthrough had only just begun; the road ahead was still very long.
But in the gaps between Bloodfall’s energy output, Qiu Shubai caught something else.
Bloodfall’s form was gradually changing.
A hint of unease was mixed into the blade’s vibrations, but it quickly transformed into an even more intense excitement, making the energy tides within her body grow more violent.
In the living room, Luo Yang sat on the sofa. The black cat was curled up on his lap, its head resting on its front paws as it slept soundly. Its rhythmic purring warmed half of his trouser leg.
The basement door was closed, and not a sound could be heard from within, but his mental power remained anchored to that door.
The blood energy fluctuations were intense, but there were no abnormal wave patterns. It seemed nothing had gone wrong for the time being.
Letting out a shallow yawn, he was just thinking about whether to send Yan Ya a message when the mental power he had spread outward suddenly shivered.
His expression darkened. He lifted the cat off his lap, and Night Owl-Slash appeared silently in his palm.
The thing disturbing his mental power was moving extremely fast—so fast that every time he tried to re-localize it, it had already closed the distance significantly. Yet, it carried no fighting intent or killing intent; it was like a cloud of mist that could be seen but not touched.
Luo Yang’s mental power finally captured its shape a kilometer away.
No, it had no shape.
He couldn't use a single word to describe what he perceived. The moment his mental power swept over it, the thing had no physical substance.
It truly felt like his mental power was passing through a patch of air, but that patch of air was moving, and its speed was still increasing.
“...What the hell is that?”
He cursed under his breath. Before the words could even settle, there was movement at the door.
He looked up sharply. The front door was still securely closed, yet a man was already standing at the entrance.
It was a man in a white shirt, dress pants, and polished leather shoes, topped with a fedora. He looked to be in his early thirties, his appearance not particularly striking, but there was an air of refinement in his eyes and brows.
He was adjusting his collar, doing so very meticulously—first smoothing the corners, then adjusting the angle, and finally fastening his cufflinks.
Once he finished that series of movements, he seemed to finally remember to look around.
Then he saw Luo Yang.
Their gazes met. Luo Yang’s hand was pressed against the hilt of Night Owl-Slash as he stared at this eerie man who treated physical matter as if it were nothing.
The man’s eyes moved, as if he had finally realized that the young man in glasses before him actually existed. He froze for a moment, and then his entire face suddenly lit up with a broad smile.
“Ah—”
He tapped his forehead.
“I see.”
Luo Yang: “...Huh?”
“You must be Miss Qiu’s partner, sir!”
Luo Yang’s mind jammed.
Such a nonsensical sentence coming from an unidentified intruder who had just walked through a door created a scene that was utterly absurd.
His mouth opened, but no words came out. He wanted to ask “Who are you?”, but the words felt inappropriate as they reached his lips.
He also wanted to ask “How did you get in?”, but the answer was self-evident, and asking would only make him seem easily rattled.
In the end, he simply said nothing.
The man didn't notice that the person across from him had completely frozen up; he simply continued on his own.
“Oh, how rude of me, I haven't introduced myself.”
He bowed slightly toward Luo Yang. The gesture was quite standard, but given his entrance through a closed door, it looked bizarre no matter how one viewed it.
“My surname is Si, and my given name is Zhen. Si Zhen.”
He stood up straight and smiled again.
“Shenzhou Regional Head of the Shattered Night Society. Pleased to meet you.”
Shattered Night Society?
Luo Yang had heard many names of organizations from both the light and dark sides during his years of odd jobs at the Ability Bureau, but this was the first time he had heard the words “Shattered Night Society.”
“What is the Shattered Night Society?”
He finally spoke, his throat loosening.
Si Zhen arched an eyebrow. His expression was subtle, as if he had heard an interesting question but had no intention of answering it.
“Do you want me to start from the beginning, sir? Well...”
He raised a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair back, the movement quite refined.
“Actually, on my way up, I saw the flowers outside Miss Qiu’s door. They’re quite nice. Roses, right? My hometown has them too, but my mother is clumsy; everything she plants dies.”
Luo Yang: “?”
“By the way, sir, are you a local? This climate is perfect for flowers. Just the right humidity and sunlight. I spent a few years in the capital, and it’s hard to grow delicate flowers there.”
“Ah, look at me, I’m off-topic again.”
Si Zhen tapped his own forehead and let out a chagrined laugh.
“I’m just like this; once I start talking, I can't stop.”
Luo Yang looked down at the Night Owl-Slash in his hand, then looked up at this uninvited guest who was as talkative as a stand-up comedian.
“Mr. Si.”
Luo Yang interrupted his comparison of Jiangnan and Northern cuisines, his tone still somewhat polite.
“Why did you suddenly intrude into someone’s home today? Or rather, for whom are you here?”
Si Zhen let out an “Oh,” as if he had been found out.
“You really are sharp, sir. I can't hide my intentions at all.”
He straightened his jacket, his movements becoming more formal, and the smile on his face faded slightly.
“To be honest, I’m here today to invite Miss Qiu to join our Shattered Night Society.”
Luo Yang’s heart skipped a beat, but he didn't let it show on his face.
“Invite her?”
“Yes,” Si Zhen nodded. “Given Miss Qiu’s current situation, if she wants to go further, she needs resources that truly match her. The only place in all of Shenzhou that can provide such resources is our Shattered Night Society.”
“What path?”
“A path to become strong quickly,” Si Zhen said. “And the only path.”
He emphasized the word “only.”
Luo Yang stared at him for a few seconds. Any recruitment pitch that used the word “only” usually sounded like a scam.
But he didn't plan to immediately rebuff the man. Since the other party dared to identify himself and seek them out, he surely had something to back it up. If they turned hostile immediately, Luo Yang wouldn't be able to learn anything.
“Why should I believe you?”
Luo Yang’s voice slowed by half a beat as he asked the question steadily.
The moment Si Zhen heard this, the amiable smile on his face vanished.
It didn't fade slowly; it was gone in an instant.
He lowered his head slightly.
The movement was very slight, but the air in the entire living room froze the moment he lowered his head.
Cold air spread from beneath his feet, crawling along the grain of the wooden floor until it reached Luo Yang’s feet. The little black cat on the sofa bristled, jumping down without a sound and scurrying under the dining table.
In Luo Yang’s Sea of Consciousness, the leaves of the golden tree all flipped over simultaneously, revealing dark golden patterns on their backs that had never appeared before.
It wasn't because the other party had released a powerful killing intent; it was because the aura on him didn't belong to any type of energy Luo Yang had ever encountered.
Si Zhen looked up again. He was smiling, but there was no expression in his pupils.
The eyes are the windows to the soul, but his eyes were currently empty, deep like a dried-up well.
His voice dropped as well, sounding as if it were coming from deep underground.
“Because she—”
He paused, a faint, almost tender sigh escaping from between his lips.
“—is the most important fragment of that lord.”
Rate on N.U.
