The silence of the Deadroot Ravine was unnatural.
Birds didn't sing. Beasts didn't howl. The wind didn't move.
Only the crunch of dried bones beneath Lin Xuan's boots echoed as he walked through the fog-choked gorge. His black robes fluttered around him like an omen. The demonic energy curling off his body twisted the air into mirages of crimson.
His eyes were cold.
He'd followed the trail of corpses for three days—each one a clue, a statement. The captors were mocking him, leaving behind the slain bodies of those who resisted. But he wasn't afraid.
He was hunting.
A scream broke the stillness ahead. Female. Young. Cut off too quickly.
His eyes flashed blood-red. That was Liu Yue.
---
Inside the Ravine's Cavern
Torches flickered weakly, casting orange shadows against the stone walls of the cavern hideout. A group of bandits and rogue cultivators stood in a loose circle, jeering around the trembling form of a teenage girl with tear-streaked cheeks. Her plain robe was torn, her hair tangled. Her mother knelt beside her, shielding her with a bruised, broken body. Her little brother lay unconscious in her arms, his breathing shallow and rattling.
"You think anyone's coming to save you?" the leader laughed. "That trash Lin clan's long dead. And no one's dumb enough to come this deep into Zhi territory."
Another voice spoke from the entrance.
"I am."
The cave darkened.
The torches flickered out.
Something heavy pressed into the bones of everyone present—like the sky was falling.
A figure stepped into the light of the dying fire. His face was calm, almost dispassionate, but his eyes…
His eyes were hell.
"Who—?"
The leader never finished.
With a flick of Lin Xuan's hand, a spear of shadow burst from the floor, impaling the man through the jaw and into the cavern ceiling. Blood poured like rain.
The others screamed.
"Kill him! Together!"
They charged.
Lin Xuan moved like death given form. His left arm turned pitch-black as demonic qi surged, forming claws longer than swords. He tore through one cultivator's chest with a single swipe, caught another by the throat, and squeezed until the head popped with a wet crack.
A third tried to run. Lin Xuan vanished.
He reappeared behind the man, his hand sinking into the rogue's back, fingers curling around the man's heart.
"Cowardice," he muttered—and crushed it.
---
Moments Later
Silence returned.
Corpses littered the ground—mangled, half-consumed by dark energy that hadn't even bothered to spare their souls. The cavern was painted red, and the survivors' blood was still dripping from Lin Xuan's fingers.
He turned slowly.
Liu Yue was staring at him, lips trembling. "B–Brother Xuan?"
Her voice broke.
Lin Xuan knelt before her. "I'm here."
She burst into sobs and threw herself into his arms. Her mother cried silently, clinging to her son, who was still barely breathing. Lin Xuan gently placed a hand on the boy's forehead.
"Poison... and soul rot. Who did this?"
Liu Yue managed through her tears: "The Liu Clan... sold us. They—used us to pay off a debt to the Zhi."
Lin Xuan's face remained expressionless.
But something inside him shattered.
He stood, his aura rising like a tsunami, the cave trembling with pressure. Demonic wisps hissed from his body, and the shadows on the walls writhed like they were alive.
"The Liu Clan… will pay."
He picked up the unconscious boy, his expression calm again.
But the air smelled of storms.
---