Chapter 13: A Restless Night, A Master's Worry
The moon hung high above Silent Peak, casting a gentle, silver glow across the courtyard. The air was quiet—too quiet. Not peaceful, not serene. Just still. The kind of stillness that made the hairs on one's neck rise.
Lin Mo sat alone on the front steps of the wooden house, a small jug of wine resting beside him. His gaze wasn't on the stars. They twinkled too innocently tonight. Instead, his eyes stayed fixed on the dark forest at the edge of the peak.
It wasn't the silence of sleep that bothered him. It was the kind that clung too heavily to the trees. Even the insects seemed to know something was wrong.
Behind him, the soft sound of breathing came from inside the house. Luo Yixue had fallen asleep early after exhausting her energy in cultivation. The golden egg rested beside her, wrapped in soft cloth, glowing faintly like a heart gently beating.
Lin Mo rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a slow sigh. "Something's off."
He reached for his wine and took a sip, letting the warmth slide down his throat.
The wind picked up, ever so slightly. Just enough to rustle the peach blossoms.
Then it stopped.
The trees at the edge of the cliff stood still.
And he felt it—eyes. Not physical ones. A presence. Careful, deliberate, testing.
He didn't move. He didn't draw his sword. He simply stared forward and said casually, "You've got guts, coming up here."
No reply.
He took another drink. "Not planning to introduce yourself? Or are you just here to sniff around?"
A long pause followed, and then something shifted in the trees. Just a flicker of movement, a branch nudged by something unseen. Not a beast. Not a disciple.
Something smarter.
Still, he didn't move. "I'm not in the mood for games tonight."
The pressure faded, just slightly. But it hadn't left. It lingered at the edges, just beyond where his senses could clearly trace it.
Then, a twig snapped.
It wasn't loud, but in this silence, it sounded like thunder.
He stood up slowly, brushing dust from his robes.
"I came here to drink in peace," he muttered. "I didn't invite ghosts."
Another shift in the air. It was subtle, but he'd spent enough years in the martial world to know what it meant—someone was watching. Measuring. Calculating.
He looked over his shoulder.
Inside, Luo Yixue stirred slightly, pulling the blanket tighter around herself. The egg pulsed once, gently.
Lin Mo's gaze sharpened.
"You're not getting close to them," he said quietly.
He walked toward the trees, steps slow but steady.
"You can run," he said. "You can even hide."
He stopped at the boundary where stone met soil.
"But once you've looked at my disciple like that, you've already crossed a line."
A cold breeze passed through.
The presence vanished.
Gone. Completely.
Not retreating. Not suppressed. Just… gone.
He stared at the woods for a long moment, then turned back toward the house.
Back inside, Luo Yixue was asleep, her breath now steady again. The egg glowed faintly, almost like it had reacted to something.
He walked to her side and crouched down, brushing a strand of hair away from her forehead. She mumbled something in her sleep and shifted slightly, curling in closer to the egg.
Lin Mo didn't smile.
He simply watched her for a long moment, then stood.
"She's growing," he murmured. "Faster than she should."
He stepped outside again and leaned against the doorframe, folding his arms.
"It's starting sooner than I thought."
The stars above continued to shine. Unbothered. Unaware.
But Lin Mo couldn't shake the feeling. Something had changed tonight. A gear had turned in the world, quiet but irreversible.
He poured another drink.
His thoughts wandered.
She was too kind-hearted for the world outside. She smiled too easily, cared too quickly. That kind of softness got people killed in the cultivation world.
But what could he do?
If he told her to be cruel, he'd destroy the very part of her that made her different.
But if he let her stay soft, someone else would break her.
He raised the jug toward the sky. "You've got a cruel sense of humor," he said to no one. "Giving me a disciple like her, on a mountain like this, with a body like mine."
No answer, of course.
Just wind.
He sat back down, the jug now nearly empty.
And then, just as he began to close his eyes, he heard it.
A soft hum.
It wasn't the egg. It wasn't Luo Yixue.
It was the mountain.
A faint vibration, deep under the stone.
He placed his palm flat on the ground. Nothing. Just earth.
But the feeling remained.
He looked up at the sky again, lips tightening slightly.
"First signs of movement…" he whispered. "It's too early."
He didn't know who had watched them tonight. He didn't know if it had been a scout, a spy, or a beast testing its luck.
But whoever it was, they hadn't come randomly.
Something had drawn them.
Something had marked Silent Peak as a place of interest again.
Lin Mo poured the last of his wine onto the ground.
"Come if you want," he said. "Just know, the last ones who tried didn't leave with their heads."
The wind rustled the trees one final time before fading completely.
And for the rest of the night, not a single sound disturbed the peak.
But Lin Mo didn't sleep.
Not because he was afraid.
Because he was waiting.
Chapter 14: The Egg, the Cold, and the Whisper No One Heard
The wind was quieter today, but not silent.
Luo Yixue sat beneath the peach tree, legs crossed, her breathing even but faintly rushed. The golden egg rested on her lap, glowing softly. Frost rose from her shoulders like mist dancing in morning light. The condensation of spiritual energy was slow but real — she was changing.
Lin Mo stood a few steps behind her, hands tucked behind his back, gazing not at her, but at the sky above.
It wasn't a peaceful gaze.
He'd felt it last night. A ripple in the spiritual current. Something that didn't belong to Silent Peak. Something watching.
But he said nothing.
---
"Senior Brother…" Luo Yixue opened her eyes. "My chest feels tight… cold, but… not painful."
Lin Mo crouched beside her, placed two fingers on her wrist, and checked her pulse. His brow raised slightly.
"You've broken through to the third level of Body Refinement," he said flatly, as if it were the most natural thing.
Luo Yixue blinked. "Already? But I just started…"
He stood and walked away. "You're lucky. Or maybe cursed. Frost Veins awaken faster under emotional strain."
"…Is that bad?"
He didn't answer.
---
Inside the small wooden hut, Lin Mo opened the old storage box again and checked on the items stored inside.
He paused.
A paper talisman… had burned halfway.
Not from fire. From spiritual corrosion.
His fingers tightened around it. "So, someone entered the peak last night."
He walked out of the hut, eyes scanning the forest edges below the cliff. Nothing moved, but he felt it again.
The trace of a gaze that vanished the second he tried to catch it.
---
That evening, Luo Yixue meditated again. The egg in her lap pulsed like a heartbeat. She'd grown attached to it, like it was more than just a spirit beast.
But something was wrong tonight.
The egg trembled. Light flickered. And—
A sound, like a whisper.
"…Cold… too cold…"
Luo Yixue gasped. "Master…! It spoke again!"
Lin Mo appeared instantly beside her. He placed a hand over the egg. His expression changed.
"Someone tried to steal spiritual warmth from it."
His tone was cold.
Luo Yixue's breath hitched. "Who would—?"
"Someone testing boundaries," he replied. "And I don't like tests."
He stood again, and looked toward the east side of the peak.
"Yixue. Sleep inside tonight. Lock the door. Don't open it. No matter what you hear."
---
Midnight.
The mist outside was unnaturally thick.
Silent Peak was no longer silent.
A faint crunch of gravel. Bare footsteps.
At the edge of the peak stood a man in tattered grey robes. Half his face was burned. His left eye was shut forever. But his remaining eye gleamed like an animal's.
He stared at the small wooden hut for a long time.
"The egg… that's what he took."
He pulled out a black jade flute from his sleeve. Its surface was chipped and bloodstained.
He raised it to his lips.
But before a sound came out—
A soft voice behind him said:
"You're three steps too close to death."
The man froze.
Lin Mo stood behind him, expression flat, but his eyes… were like a sword that had seen too many battles.
The man turned slowly. "Lin Mo…"
"You're from the Ghost Sound Pavilion," Lin Mo said. "Didn't think one of you rats would dare sneak up here."
"I came for what's mine."
"That egg never belonged to you."
The man's hand trembled slightly as he raised the flute again. "It was part of our experiment. You stole the vessel."
"Experiment?" Lin Mo's voice turned sharp.
"You'll see. That egg… will hatch into something more than a beast."
"You mean a curse," Lin Mo muttered.
He didn't wait.
In a blink, Lin Mo's figure blurred. His palm struck the man's chest — silently, without glow, without any fancy name. Just raw force.
The man flew backward and crashed against a stone, coughing blood.
"You're… too strong…" the man gasped.
Lin Mo walked up, lifted the man by his collar.
"No. You're just too weak to understand what shouldn't be touched."
The man laughed, blood dripping from his lips.
"You'll regret keeping that egg. You'll see…"
Then he bit his tongue — and the flute shattered.
A pulse of black Qi erupted, swallowing his body.
Luo Yixue, watching from the hut window, covered her mouth in horror.
When the smoke cleared, nothing was left but a cracked stone… and the smell of burned bone.
Lin Mo stood still for a while.
The wind blew softly again.
He returned to the hut, sat beside the egg.
It was still warm. Safe.
"Rest," he whispered, more to the egg than to himself. "It's not time yet."