The metropolis woke screaming.

A tremor rolled beneath the stone avenues of the Iron Gate District as if the very earth recoiled in alarm. Lanterns swung wildly from bronze hooks, lighting the still-dark dawn in feverish waves. Merchants peered from shuttered windows as guards surged in panicked formations, vendors clutched their chests as the ground shook beneath their feet.

Somewhere, a child cried. Elsewhere , a hawker muttered. "Behold! A great evil has stirred…"

Though he could not know how right he was.

Inside the Grand Ledger Hall, main headquarters of the Oolong Group. An oppressive silence weighed on the assembled elites.Steward Huo stood before the great jade table, his expression carved in stone.

He scanned the sea of faces before him. The assembly consisted of merchants, enforcers, accountants, district magistrates that were each awaiting his decree with bated breath. There was a faint tremor of embarrassment rippled through the chamber.

The steward did not raise his voice, yet every man present felt the sting of failure.

"Li Wei breached the serpent vault," Huo said, though his tone made it sound more like an accusation than a statement. "He infiltrated the deepest layer of this district, past the wards, past the shadows, past the eyes of those who should have seen him."

Several officials bowed so low their foreheads nearly touched the jade floor. "And," Huo continued, lifting one finger, "he escaped with the ledger. The ledger of Blood Contracts"

A murmur of shock swept through the room. "That ledger contains the names of…?"

"Yes," Huo replied. "All of them."

Silence.

The officials shifted uneasily. If those records reached the wrong hands, the Oolong Group would be exposed. This would not merely result in their corruption, but the repurcussions would effect their lineages for generations.

Huo slammed his hand onto the jade table causing the jade cracked, making the most seasoned enforcers flinch. "What do you think happens," Huo hissed, "when a man steals not gold, not treasures, but the very foundation of our power?"

The residents within the hall had remained silent. Han Zhuo knelt, still bearing the faint bruise at his throat from Li Wei's earlier strike. Though he showed no pain, the humiliation burned in his eyes.

Huo's gaze slid to him. "You fought him directly. Report."

Han Zhuo lowered his head. "He is young," he said, "but his cultivation is very bizarre. The man's Dao is neither conventional, not orthodox. Flexible qi, evasive footwork, explosive momentum. His techniques are neither clan-based nor sect-based."

Huo's brows tightened, while Han Zhuo continued. "He fought to protect a woman and child. The same woman we registered three months ago under the name Tang Li."

Multiple officials stiffened as Steward Huo's expression darkened. "So the girl was bait after all…"

Han Zhuo swallowed once. "He told me 'those who abandon children are unworthy of life.' He fought like a man who has abandoned his restraint. He did not seek triumph, the man only sought to escape."

"A soldier's mindset," murmured a scribe. "No—" countered a merchant, "a cultivator driven by something."

Huo raised a hand causing the chamber to fall silent.

"Li Wei…" he repeated slowly, rolling the syllables like poison on his tongue. "A ghost in mortal form."

Then he straightened. "It matters not. Every ghost bleeds when found."

He turned to the gathered captains.

"Lock down the eight outer districts. Send envoys to the inner courts. Sweep the markets, the alleys, the rooftops. No one leaves the metropolis without a full inspection. Shut the gates. Seal the spirit arrays. Any unregistered cultivator will be detained for questioning."

A gust of collective fear swept through the chamber, as several captains exchanged glances. closing the city was an extreme measure. One only invoked such orders in times of rebellion or invasion.

Han Zhuo bowed. "What of the woman?"

Huo's stare hardened into ice. "She and the child must be retrieved. Alive."

"As for Li Wei…." The steward smiled faintly. "Bring him to me alive as well. I want to extract from him every method, every technique, every secret he used to breach our defenses."

Han Zhuo nodded, "And if he refuses?"

Steward Huo's voice flattened. "Kill him."

When the sun finally broke over the horizon, its first rays illuminated a metropolis in turmoil. Soldiers blocked bridges as formation guards studied pedestrians with harsh apprehension, while spiritual scanners blinked at every gate.

Distant horns sounded the city-wide lockdown, as ordinary merchants muttered. "Is it war or a revolt?" A seasoned trader whispered, "A massacre? No… this feels like a hunt."

And he was right. Oolong banners unfurled across the Iron Gate District, their crimson silk snapping in the morning wind. The group was no longer hiding their intentions.

Beneath a tangle of abandoned storage houses in the outskirts of the Orchid Terrace District, Li Wei crouched beside a hidden storage alcove, his cloak wrapped around Tang Li's shoulders.

She still trembled, though she tried to hide it.

"Brother Wei…" the girl whispered, "will they chase us forever?"

Li Wei didn't answer at first. He lifted the ledger, turning its pages. Each name etched into the spiritual parchment pulsed faintly, while living souls linked to their entries.

At least four hundred entries, all tied to the Oolong Group. Indentured children and sold families. Villages forced into debt through forged contracts.

His hands tightened, Four hundred lives stolen on paper.

Tang Li watched him anxiously. "You're angry," she whispered.

Li Wei exhaled slowly.

"Yes. But anger is not the blade I travel with."

He closed the ledger and reached into his sleeve.

From it, he drew the emerald compass, its jade needle flickering with soft luminescence.

He tapped the compass center causing the needle to spin, before coming to a halt.

Tang Li leaned closer. "What is it pointing to?"

Li Wei smiled faintly. "Hope."

She blinked. "The direction of our next ally."

He stored the compass, lifted Tang Li, and stood.

"Come," he said. "We cannot linger. The Oolong Group will search this area soon."

Tang Li tightened her grip around his neck. "Brother Wei… thank you."

Li Wei paused. "You owe me no thanks," he said. "But keep your courage close. I cannot protect you if you fall prey to fear."

She nodded bravely. "I won't."

He exhaled.

"But Brother Wei?" she added. "Are you… going to fight again?"

Li Wei's eyes hardened. "Yes," he whispered. "but this time, we control the terms."

He stepped into the alley shadows adn vanished.

Back in the Grand Ledger Hall, Steward Huo knelt before a cloaked figure entering through the central doors. It was the chief magistrate, he was a man whose presence dwarfed even Huo's authority.

Tall and Straight-backed. Robes lined with gold filaments of ancient design, his voice was smooth and cold. "I heard one of our ledgers had been stolen."

Huo bowed deeply. "Chief Magistrate Yun, the thief's identity is known. An outsider. A cultivator of unknown origin."

"Unknown?" Yun echoed. He raised a brow. "Honestly, how can you allow an unknown cultivator to slip through your deepest defenses, steal your most damning records, and vanish with prisoners under your protection?"

Huo flinched. "Magistrate, I—"

Yun raised a hand. "I did not come to listen to excuses. I came because the Chancellor demanded a report. The ledger contains names tied to… sensitive individuals."

Several merchants stiffened on the spot.

The magistrate extended one hand, "Show me his face."

Han Zhuo stepped forward, producing a painted likeness he had memorized from their encounter. The magistrate studied the depiction of Li Wei in a starving-village disguise, eyes calm, posture relaxed yet attentive and alert.

"Hmm," Yun murmured. "Sharp eyes. Calm demeanor. Too young to be a rogue cultivator… too polished to be a backwater mercenary."

He handed the portrait back to Han Zhuo. "This boy is not a standard threat. You will not capture him with this poultry brand of soldiers. You will not corner him with flimsy formations. If he infiltrated once, he may infiltrate again."

Huo bowed. "What do you suggest, Magistrate?"

The magistrate smiled faintly. "It is simple."

He turned toward the doors. "Make him come to us."

The room exchanged puzzled glances. "How?" Huo pressed.

Magistrate Yun raised two fingers. "Spread word across the metropolis. Announce that all remaining captives will be executed at dusk if not returned with the stolen ledger."

Huo froze.

Even Han Zhuo stiffened.

"Magistrate," an official stammered, "that would ignite public outcry—"

"Good," Yun said. "All the better to draw him out."

Huo swallowed. "Li Wei will surely come."

"Oh yes," the magistrate said quietly. "He will. Because men like him will protect the weak. They will always choose the path that leads to their own suffering."

He turned.

"Announce it."

Town criers stepped onto balconies.

Patrols shouted the decree at intersections.

Rumors flared like wildfire.

"The Oolong Group is greatly displeased!"

"They will execute all prisoners at dusk!"

"A cultivator stole their ledger and now they're demanding reparations in blood!"

Crowds gathered in outrage, some muttering about revolt. Others were opting to surrender.

This was the perfect storm.

The trap was set.

On the far edge of the city, hidden beneath a stone bridge, Li Wei halted mid-step.

Tang Li looked up. "Brother Wei…?"

Li Wei slowly lowered her and the boy to the ground.

His compass glowed a sickly gold.

An unusual hue.

He listened for any commotion above him, through the stone archway.

A town crier's voice echoed "—remaining prisoners, have been labeled as accomplices in the theft-"

Tang Li paled.

Li Wei's jaw clenched breifly, before he laughed softly.

Tang Li flinched at the sound. It wasn't the laugh of a carefree youth, nor the confidence of a strategist. It was the laugh of a man who had long since abandoned fear.

Li Wei rose, his expression shifting into something cold and sharp as a blade in winter. "So that is your hand, Steward Huo."

He looked down at Tang Li. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

She nodded instantly. "With my life."

Li Wei placed the emerald compass in her hands. "Hold this. No matter what."

"Where are we going?" Tang Li blinked.

Li Wei stepped into the sunlight, the wind catching his garments, The young master's eyes burned. He lifted his chin toward the distant jade towers of the Oolong headquarters.

"To the hornet's nest…""

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