The first attack did not come in the open. It came quietly, without fanfare—like a snake slipping into a sleeping camp.
It was the third night since the rain began in Ironvale City. Li Fan was meditating in the quiet courtyard of the Moonshadow Inn when the wind shifted. He opened his eyes to find the lanterns swaying unnaturally, shadows stretching in ways they should not.
From the darkness emerged three figures, faces hidden beneath lacquered masks carved with snarling beasts. Their robes bore no insignia, yet the way they moved spoke of disciplined training. Assassins.
The first lunged, twin blades flashing with a faint green hue—poison. Li Fan tilted his head and the strike missed by a breath. His hand shot out, fingers like iron, shattering the assassin's wrist before a word could be spoken.
The second struck from behind, but Li Fan was already moving, his qi flowing like molten steel. A burst of force rippled through the courtyard, scattering tiles and forcing the attacker to roll away, cloak smoldering from the heat.
The third assassin did not attack. Instead, they spoke. "Li Fan of the Nine Cauldrons… you've been judged." The voice was cold, practiced. "If you will not restrain yourself, the world will do it for you."
Before he could respond, all three leapt back in unison, vanishing into the rain.
Wen Rourou burst into the courtyard moments later, her sword half-drawn. "I felt the surge—what happened?"
"They weren't here to kill me," Li Fan said slowly, eyes narrowing. "They wanted me to know they could come and go without being seen."
By dawn, word of the attack had already spread through Ironvale. But the story was twisted: some claimed Li Fan had attacked government envoys; others swore he'd destroyed half the inn in a drunken rage. No two accounts were the same, but every version painted him darker than before.
At the same time, patrols on the city gates began to turn away travelers with ties to Li Fan. Merchants who once sought his protection now crossed the street to avoid him.
That afternoon, an official decree was posted in every district:
> All practitioners displaying excessive, uncontrolled force within Ironvale's walls are subject to investigation and containment under the Martial Balance Act.
Though it did not name him, everyone knew who it meant.
That night, Li Fan sat alone, turning the events over in his mind. The assassins. The rumors. The decree. This was no random act—it was the opening move of something larger.
"They've drawn the first blade," he murmured to himself. "Now… I will see whose hand holds it."
Far away, in the council chamber of the Azure Court, Lord Meng poured himself a cup of wine and allowed a thin smile to curve his lips. "The snare is set," he said. "Now we wait for the beast to struggle."
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