Merin walks through the tunnel, his steps steady, his presence anchoring the group as darkness presses in from all sides.
The others follow close behind, lanterns casting narrow cones of light across jagged stone.
Ye Wen keeps pace at Merin's side.
"Lord," he says quietly, "you shouldn't have come with the entire team."
From behind, Li Yan snorts.
"Why shouldn't we?"
Ye Wen glances back.
"Because a full Divine Guard team led by a lieutenant will make everyone here vanish," he says.
"They'll disappear before we can ask a single question."
Ye Ran answers coldly.
"They don't need to answer here," he says.
"They'll sing like canaries in our prison."
Merin does not slow.
"Ye Wen," he says calmly, "don't worry."
"Nothing will happen."
The tunnel widens slightly, then narrows again, twisting downward.
Old support beams creak overhead.
Water drips from cracks in the ceiling.
Their lantern light reveals marks on the walls.
Arrows.
Symbols scratched into stone.
Crude signs pointing deeper.
The mine market.
They pass through a small cavern where abandoned carts lie overturned, their wheels half-rotted, metal rims rusted to flakes.
Another tunnel opens beyond it.
Then another cavern.
Each one is larger than the last.
The air grows colder.
Heavier.
The darkness thickens, swallowing sound.
They advance, lanterns held high, boots crunching over gravel and broken rock.
Time stretches.
Distance blurs.
Then, far ahead, something changes.
A glow appears at the end of a tunnel.
Not yellow.
Not white.
Green.
Faint at first, then brighter with every step.
Mist creeps along the ground, pale and slow-moving.
They emerge from the tunnel into a vast cavern.
The ceiling disappears into shadow.
And within the hollowed space stands a town.
Buildings of stone and wood cluster together, streets winding and uneven.
Lanterns burn with green fire, hanging from poles, doorways, and chains strung between structures.
The light flickers through drifting mist, giving everything a ghostly, unreal hue.
Figures move within the haze.
Shadows pass behind papered windows.
Voices murmur, distant and distorted.
The mine market spreads before them, hidden deep beneath the earth.
Merin steps forward.
The lantern light bends.
And unseen eyes begin to watch.
Merin leads them forward.
As they approach the edge of the town, the ghostly mist surges toward them, no longer drifting but rushing like a living tide.
It wraps around their legs.
Their waists.
Their faces.
Shouts erupt behind him.
"What is this?"
"I can't see anything."
"It's going into my mouth."
"Me too, my tongue—it's freezing."
Ye Ran's voice cuts through the panic.
"Everyone, calm down."
The noise behind Merin abruptly dies.
He does not turn.
His gaze remains fixed ahead.
He looks down.
A thin layer of ice crawls across the stone street beneath his boots.
He looks up.
A figure steps out of the mist.
The man seems unreal, his outline wavering like frost in moonlight.
He pulls back his hood.
A pale face emerges, sharp and cold, eyes like frozen lakes.
Li Yan speaks from behind.
"Lieutenant, looks like someone came to welcome us."
The man's lips curl faintly.
"I did not come to welcome you," he says.
"I came to stop you, Captain Li Yan."
Li Yan raises an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"You know my name, but I don't know yours."
"That feels like a disadvantage."
Ye Wen's voice tightens.
"He is Xue Bing," he says.
"One of the three managers of the market."
Li Yan nods.
"Oh," he says lightly.
"Manager Xue."
Xue Bing inclines his head in a shallow bow.
"Yes."
Li Yan spreads his hands.
"But Manager Xue, I don't think you can stop us from entering."
Silence falls.
The temperature drops further.
Frost spreads along the walls.
Figures begin to emerge from the mist, silhouettes forming a loose circle around them.
Behind Merin, Blood Qi ignites.
Weapons hum.
Breaths shorten.
Conflict teeters on the edge.
Merin finally speaks.
"Do you really want to fight?"
Xue Bing meets his gaze.
"We don't have to," he says.
"Leave."
Merin's skin flashes with bronze light.
The ground explodes beneath his feet.
The frozen stone shatters as he vanishes with a thunderous crack.
He reappears directly in front of Xue Bing.
Xue Bing reacts instantly, ice surging into his palm as he tries to retreat.
Too slow.
Merin's hand closes around his neck.
He lifts him from the ground.
Xue Bing claws at Merin's wrist, ice spreading through the contact, frost racing up Merin's arm.
Bronze Blood Qi flares brighter.
The ice stops.
Cracks.
Fails.
Merin turns his head slightly toward the town.
"I have a deal for all of you," he says calmly.
He glances back without releasing his grip.
"Ye Wen," he asks, "what's the name of the shop?"
Ye Wen snaps out of his shock, pride straightening his spine.
"Lord," he says loudly,
"It's called the Dark Hound Store."
Merin looks back toward the market.
"Bring me the owner of the Dark Hound Store," he says,
"And I return Manager Xue Bing."
His fingers tighten.
Xue Bing struggles harder, breath hitching.
The mist churns.
And the market listens.
Minutes later, Merin and his team emerge from the tunnels.
The owner of the Dark Hound Store is bound tightly and draped across a horse, unconscious and gagged.
No one follows.
No one interferes.
The mine market retreats into silence as they ride away.
They return to the city under the cover of night.
Near the Divine Guard building, Merin reins in.
"Li Yan," he says calmly, "take him to the prison."
The prison stands beside the Divine Guard compound, its iron gates already opening.
Li Yan nods and signals his men.
Ye Wen steps back.
"Lord, I will take my leave."
Merin inclines his head.
Ye Wen disappears into the street.
Merin and the rest of the team head toward the Divine Guard entrance.
They slow.
Then stop.
Commander Di steps out from the building.
Beside him are two lieutenants, three captains, and five figures in white robes embroidered with a golden lotus.
Golden Lotus Sect.
Merin's gaze flicks over them once.
His team steps aside immediately, forming a clear path.
"Commander Di," his men say in unison, bowing.
Merin inclines his head.
"Commander."
Commander Di's eyes linger on Merin.
"How is the case progressing?"
Before Merin can answer fully, movement surges at the street's end.
A carriage rolls in.
Several empty horses.
Divine Guards are riding in escort.
Merin answers evenly.
"It's going alright."
Commander Di nods, tension carefully masked.
"Inform me later."
He turns and moves on.
The Golden Lotus Sect follows.
Commander Di enters the carriage first.
After him steps a young woman, her figure slender, posture composed, her face hidden behind a white veil.
An elderly woman follows, leaning lightly on a carved staff.
The rest mount the waiting horses.
As the convoy prepares to move, the carriage curtain lifts.
Commander Di leans out.
"Merin," he calls, "come with us."
Merin does not hesitate.
He turns to his team.
"Wait before beginning the interrogation," he says.
"And inform my family."
"Yes, Lieutenant."
A nearby Divine Guard dismounts at a signal from one of the lieutenants.
Merin swings up onto the horse with practised ease.
The convoy begins to move.
Hooves strike stone.
The carriage rolls forward.
Merin guides his horse into position beside them.
The night swallows the sound as they ride.
----------
Diexin arranges the dining table carefully, setting each dish she cooked with deliberate precision.
She adjusts the placement of plates, nudges bowls a finger's width, straightens chopsticks, then changes them again.
Her hands tremble.
She exhales, closes her eyes, and takes a slow breath to steady herself.
She wonders why she is nervous.
This is not the first time she has cooked for a man.
She remembers Shen Ling.
Back then, her hands were steady.
Her heart was calm.
She had not feared rejection.
Her Yu Family stood above the Shen Family, and Shen Ling could not afford to displease her.
More than that, she had believed he could never leave her.
Being with her brought him power, legitimacy, and advantage.
Only now, in retrospect, does she see the truth.
Their relationship was transactional.
She refused to look closely enough to notice.
Had she done so, she might never have been betrayed.
Now everything is reversed.
She has nothing.
Not even her real name.
She lives behind a borrowed identity, dependent on a future she is still trying to secure.
And she must win Merin over.
In this relationship, all power rests with him.
Just as Shen Ling once won over her, she must now win over Merin.
The difference is that she will not betray him.
She will not leave him with nothing.
She waits.
Minutes pass.
A cold breeze slips through the window, stirring the curtains and making the lamp flame sway.
Footsteps approach outside.
Her heart jumps.
She stands, smoothing her clothes, certain it is Merin.
The door opens.
Housekeeper Chen steps inside.
Her expression falters.
"Housekeeper Chen?" she asks.
He inclines his head.
"Apologies, Madam," he says gently.
"The Lord will not be returning tonight."
Her face falls.
Sadness seeps into her voice despite her restraint.
"Why?"
"Commander Di summoned him," Housekeeper Chen replies.
Relief replaces the ache, subtle but immediate.
At least it is not her.
She nods.
Housekeeper Chen bows once more and leaves, closing the door behind him.
Diexin stands alone in the quiet room.
The table is full.
Steam rises softly from untouched dishes.
She looks at the food.
And for the first time that night, she does not know what to do next.