"Qinghe?" Shen Yue's eyes narrowed. "That backwater mortal town?"
"We believe so. But the region is vast, and the Young Lord possesses no cultivation to track. If he's being hidden or shielded—"
"Find him," Shen Yue interrupted. "I don't care how many operatives you deploy. I don't care what resources you use. The original legacy cannot be lost. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Elder."
"He's all we have," she continued, and her voice cracked slightly with genuine emotion. "The last pure bloodline. If the factions take control—if someone like Zhao Feng or Mu Chen becomes Heavenly Demon—everything his father built will be corrupted. The balance will shatter."
The Shadow operatives knelt in unison, fists over hearts.
"We will find him," they said in synchronized voices. "Or die trying."
Shen Yue nodded, dismissing them with a wave.
They melted back into shadows, vanishing as silently as they'd appeared.
