The night sky above the Huashan basin had turned the color of drowned embers, dark clouds smoldering faintly, lightning writhing like captive serpents. Beneath that uneasy firmament, Li Wei advanced along the half-forgotten road leading to the village's edge.

The path was broken by weeds and littered with prayer tags, their ink washed pale by years of rain. Somewhere beyond the fields, the lake glimmered—a single obsidian mirror under the moon's waning eye.

He moved with quiet steps, the faint aureole of qi about him rippling with controlled restraint. Each motion of his staff was deliberate, calm.

The whisper of reeds at the lake's edge seemed almost sentient. He could feel the pulse beneath the foul soil. 'The serpent's heart beats here', he thought grimly. 'The seal has bled through to the surface.'

As he neared the edge of the pier, his piercing rod began to hum. The silver runes etched along its shaft ignited in a feverish glow. He turned sharply toward the sound of shifting gravel.

"Emerge!" His voice cracked through the mist like a whip. "The alcoves cannot hide your presence."

From the darkened alley beyond the shrine wall, figures stepped forth, about six in number fully clad in the sable armor of Council sentries. Their pauldrons bore the twin-dragon sigil, though tarnished and warped. Their faces were obscured by lacquered masks.

One of them spoke, voice muffled behind iron. "By decree of the Inner Council, Li Wei of Crescent Moon City is charged with unauthorized access to restricted sanctums and the destruction of classified relics. You are to surrender and return for judgment."

Li Wei tilted his head slightly. "Judgment," he repeated. "A noble word, coming from men who serve corruption wearing the Council's face."

The sentry's grip tightened on his halberd. "Do not dare utter such blaspheme."

"Blasphemy implies the gods are listening," Li Wei replied evenly, "and I assure you, they turned their gaze from the Council long ago."

The air shuddered. The sentries moved as one.

Their halberds whistled through the mist—silver arcs trailing killing intent. Li Wei stepped forward, his staff spinning once in a smooth circle before slamming against the ground.

[Defensive Array – Heaven's Second Seal]

Rings of azure light flared outward. The first three strikes rebounded harmlessly, sparks scattering like rain. Li Wei pivoted, his free hand carving sigils through the air.

[Sixth Form of the Waning Moon Staff – Fractured Tide]

His staff lashed out with a speed almost invisible. The first sentry fell, ribs crushed inward. The second managed to parry, but the backlash of spiritual force sent him sprawling into the reeds.

The others fanned out, chanting binding incantations. Threads of golden qi lashed at Li Wei's legs. He countered with a flare of spiritual pressure, breaking the bindings before they could solidify.

"You think to capture me with half-taught incantations?" he said, eyes narrowing. "You serve a Council that feeds upon its own entrails."

"Enough." A voice rose from behind them and spoke in a calm, commanding tone. From behind the sentries, a new figure stepped forward. His robes bore crimson embroidery, his mask chased with bronze.

The sentries froze mid-motion and lowered their weapons. Li Wei recognized the sigil on the newcomer's shoulder, it was High Adjudicator Pei Zhen, nephew to the councilman who had once aided Li Wei.

"So they finally sent someone competent," Li Wei murmured. "Do you even know what your uncle unleashed beneath the Pavilion?"

Pei Zhen's eyes gleamed through the narrow slits of his mask. "I know enough. You opened the seal. The serpent's influence echoes across half the province because of you."

Li Wei straightened, staff planted firmly at his side. "You speak of consequence without cause. The seal was already broken; I merely revealed its rot."

"Semantics." Pei Zhen raised his hand. "By order of the Council, you are to be brought back alive. Or dead, if you resist."

"Then you will have to decide which outcome your courage prefers." The lake wind stilled. Even the crickets ceased their chorus.

Pei Zhen drew his sword slowly, the narrow blade was forged from blacksteel, its edge shimmering with faint red light. "Then let us test the worth of your combat skills."

~Shhhhhnk—~

Their auras collided like two storms meeting in mid-heaven. The ground split beneath their feet, water rippling outward from the pier. Pei Zhen moved first, his sword art flowing like mercury.

[High Council Blade Technique – Mirror Dragon Flow]

The blade's afterimages multiplied, weaving a cage of reflected light around Li Wei. In response, Li Wei closed his eyes, drawing a breath that resonated with the pulse beneath the earth.

[Third Form of the Waning Moon Staff – Shattered Reflection]

His staff swept upward, striking through the mirages. Each blow dispelled a phantom blade until only one remained. Sparks rained across the water's surface.

Pei Zhen pressed the assault, his strikes precise and merciless. Yet Li Wei met each one with serene economy—turning, deflecting, redirecting the force back toward its source.

"You are quite the fighter," Li Wei said softly, even as their weapons locked. "Am sure your uncle is proud to have a relative like you."

"Do not speak of him!" Pei Zhen snarled, breaking away. "You corrupted his mind. Pei Wong witnessed his execution for treason because of you!"

Li Wei's gaze softened—only slightly. "No, child. He was executed because he saw what lay beneath the Council's gilded veil."

The adjudicator hesitated, the briefest flicker of hesitation in his stance. That was all Li Wei needed. The staff whirled. A crescent of condensed qi burst forth, striking Pei Zhen square in the chest. His armor cracked, and he stumbled backward, coughing up large volumes of blood.

Li Wei advanced no further. "Go back," he said quietly. "Tell your masters that the serpent stirs, and their judgment comes not from the heavens but from below."

But the younger man merely laughed ,a dry and broken chuckle. "You think you can stop it alone? The idol's curse runs through the Council, through every city that feeds on spirit trade. The serpent is already inside us."

Lightning split the clouds overhead.

In its flash, Li Wei saw the truth, a faint shimmer crawling beneath Pei Zhen's skin, the crimson veins pulsing with unholy rhythm. The black jade's taint.

"What is this…" Li Wei whispered. "You've been marked."

Pei Zhen's laughter turned guttural, his body convulsing. The sword clattered from his grip as his form began to distort abnormally as his shoulders started swelling, skin darkening to ashen gray. His eyes burst open, twin orbs of molten gold.

"The serpent claims what it sired!" he roared, voice doubled by some unseen force. The sentries cried out, retreating in terror, but the corruption spread swiftly. In a matter of moments, tendrils of black qi started lashing from Pei Zhen's form, piercing their armor.

Within moments, they too began to twist, shrieking as their humanity melted away. Li Wei stepped back, gathering his qi around him. "So this is the idol's hand in mortal flesh…"

The ground at the lake's edge split open. Water surged upward, twisting into a vast column. At its heart writhed something serpentine and colossal, its shiny scales translucent, its eyes blind yet piercing.

Li Wei planted his staff before him. "By Heaven's Seal and the Forgotten Names, I bind thee!"

[Heaven's Fifth Ward – The Celestial Abyssal Lock]

Rings of golden light burst from his feet, anchoring into the earth. Chains of radiance shot forth, wrapping around the water-serpent's form. It thrashed, screaming in a voice that tore at the fabric of thought.

But the binding wavered. His staff trembled; the pearl embedded in its tip flickered erratically.

"Too… strong," he hissed. The corrupted Pei Zhen lunged from within the torrent, claws raking toward Li Wei's throat.

Instinct took hold. Li Wei drove his staff forward, impaling the grotesque creature clean through the chest. For a heartbeat, time held still. The serpent froze mid-writhe. Pei Zhen's face flickered briefly, rage giving way to sorrow. "Free… me…" he whispered.

Li Wei's jaw tightened. "May your spirit find rest where your body could not." He twisted the staff. A surge of azure fire consumed the young adjudicator, burning away flesh and darkness alike.

The serpent's scream faded into a hiss, retreating into the lake's depths. The water fell still once more. Only the scent of scorched iron and rain remained.

Li Wei stood alone amid the ruin, his robes soaked, his expression unreadable. He gazed upon the lake, where faint ripples glimmered with crimson light.

"The serpent withdraws," he murmured. "But not in defeat. It seeks another vessel." He raised his staff, pressing its butt into the mud. A pale sigil spread across the shoreline, a ward against the vile qi's return.

When he turned back toward the road, dawn's first gray light was breaking across the horizon.

He spoke softly, to no one in particular: "The seal breaks, the Council is falling, and Heaven's debt comes due. I have little time left to find its true head."

Far beneath the still waters of the lake, something subtle stirred

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