The scent of expensive sandalwood hung heavy in the air. Han Sen opened his eyes, his vision swimming as he tried to focus on the carved cedar ceiling. He wasn't on the cold lab floor anymore. He was lying on a bed of silk so soft it felt like a cloud.
He tried to sit up, but a sharp, biting pain flared in his chest. It felt like a hot needle was threading through his ribs.
[HP: 3/10]
[Status: Stabilizing. Recommendation: Minimize physical movement.]
A soft rustle came from the corner of the room. Han Sen's hand immediately moved toward the invisible weight on his shoulder. Nixi was there, her feathers warm against his neck. She let out a quiet, reassuring trill.
"You're awake," a voice said.
Han Sen turned his head. Sitting in a high-backed chair near the window was Zhao Ling. She was no longer the pale corpse he had stitched back together. Her skin was the color of fresh cream, and her eyes were a deep, intelligent amber.
She didn't look at him with the pity he usually received from high-level cultivators. Her gaze was heavy and focused: the look of someone trying to solve a complex puzzle.
"My father wanted to put a hundred guards outside this door," she said. She leaned forward, the sunlight catching the gold embroidery on her sleeves. "I told him it would be useless. A man who can sew a soul together wouldn't be stopped by mere steel."
"I'm just a Level 1 alchemist," Han Sen said. His voice was a dry rasp. "Steel works just fine on me."
Zhao Ling didn't blink. She reached for a small, iron-bound chest on the table and slid it toward the bed. "My father keeps his word. Inside are the records of the Heavenly Beast Sect and the Abyssal Lion. There is also a map of the Cinder Peak's hidden vales."
Han Sen opened the chest. The smell of old parchment and dragon-ink filled his nose. He picked up a scroll, his fingers tracing the seal of the Heavenly Beast Sect.
"There is something else you should know," Zhao Ling said. Her voice dropped to a low, serious tone. "The Sect is not just looking for a Lion. They are looking for a thief. They believe someone stole the Phoenix's heart before the mountain collapsed."
Han Sen's hand tightened on the scroll. The tension in the room shifted instantly. He could feel the weight of Zhao Ling's gaze on his shoulder, exactly where the invisible Nixi was perched.
"They have sent a 'Huntsman' to Willow Creek," she continued. "A Level 55 Beast Tamer. He carries a compass that vibrates when it detects Divine Mana."
Han Sen looked at his 3 HP. If a Level 55 tamer found him in this bed, the fight would last less than a second.
"Why are you telling me this?" Han Sen asked.
Zhao Ling stood up. She walked to the door, then stopped and looked back over her shoulder. "Because my soul still feels the touch of your threads. I don't know what you are, Han Sen. But I know that if you die, a part of me will probably go back into the darkness."
She left the room without another word. The heavy door clicked shut, leaving Han Sen alone with the scent of old paper and the flickering shadow of a new threat.
He looked at Nixi. The little bird's feathers were standing on end, her eyes fixed on the door.
[Warning: High-Level Mana Detection detected within 500 meters.]
[The Compass has found a signal.]
Han Sen grit his teeth and swung his legs over the side of the bed. The silk felt like a trap. He needed to leave the manor, find a way to mask Nixi's soul-vibration even further, and prepare for the Huntsman.
The first arc was over, but the hunter had already entered the woods. Han Sen reached for his tattered cloak, his eyes cold and analytical.
"Let him come," Han Sen whispered. "I have a few million points left to spend on a trap."