The man lay on the cold courtyard ground, trembling so hard his teeth clattered.
His lantern had rolled away, flame shaking like it wanted to flee as well.
Lin Feng stood beside him, calm as ever.
"If those spirits followed you," he said lightly, "you must have done something very interesting."
The man shook his head quickly.
"I—I swear I didn't! I was just passing the old forest road when something grabbed me from behind. I ran—kept running—and the marks… they just appeared!"
Lin Feng lifted the man's injured arm again. The circular burns still pulsed faintly.
[SYSTEM]
Mark Type: Residual Hunter's Echo
Effect: Targets bearer
Removal Difficulty: High
Risk of death: Elevated
Lin Feng released the arm.
"Hm. Troublesome. But fixable."
The man blinked, startled.
"S-Senior… you know how to fix this?!"
"No." Lin Feng shrugged. "But I know how to fix things I don't know how to fix. Very different skill."
The ghost child floated closer, tilting its head curiously at the man's wounds. When it got too close, the marks glowed harsher and the ghost flinched away.
Lin Feng tapped his chin.
"Hostile to ghosts… interesting."
The man gulped.
"P-Please… don't let me stay… if I stay, those things will come back. I-I should go before I cause trouble—"
"You already caused trouble," Lin Feng said pleasantly. "Leaving now would only complicate the pattern."
"…Pattern?"
Lin Feng helped the man stand.
"You brought hunters. Leaving without removing the marks will bring them back. They'll chase you through the forest, the village… and eventually back here. Very circular problem."
The man turned pale.
"Then… then what do I do?"
Lin Feng pointed to the cracked lantern on the altar.
"Stay. Someone here wants to meet you."
The man turned slowly—
and froze when he saw the Chained Woman standing under the lantern, motionless, chains coiled like cold serpents.
His knees buckled.
"S-S-Senior… is that… is she…?"
"Yes. Sect Elder," Lin Feng said casually. "Temporarily unpaid."
The Chained Woman gazed at the injured man.
Her chains rattled once.
A small, deliberate sound.
Lin Feng understood the meaning instantly.
"Ah. She says you can stay until dawn. After that, she'll decide if you qualify for the mountain's hospitality."
The man looked ready to sob again.
But he nodded.
"…I… I'll stay…"
He sank against the courtyard wall, exhausted.
---
Night deepened.
Fog swirled.
The mountain groaned softly, as if adjusting its posture after centuries of stillness.
The ghost child drifted around the man, watching him curiously but keeping distance from the marks.
Lin Feng sat on a broken step, examining the injured arm once more.
"Sect business requires clarity. What were you doing in that forest?"
The man hesitated, then whispered:
"I was… searching."
"For what?"
"For… silverleaf root. My daughter is sick. Fever won't break. The herbalist said silverleaf is her only chance… so I went alone."
Lin Feng raised a brow.
"So you wandered into a cursed forest at night."
"I-I didn't mean to! I lost track of time…"
"Congratulations," Lin Feng said. "You now qualify as an honorary idiot."
The man didn't even deny it.
Lin Feng leaned back, gaze drifting toward the deeper ridge where the spirits had fled.
Something was out there.
Something strong enough to make Phantom Pulse ghosts flee like frightened rabbits.
[SYSTEM]
Unknown presence detected.
Cultivation: immeasurable
Status: dormant
Advice: avoid provoking.
Lin Feng smiled faintly.
"Noted."
The night wind pushed a thin sheet of mist across the ground.
It curled around the man's feet—
and the marks on his arm pulsed again, reacting.
The ghost child shot backward in fear.
The Chained Woman's chains rose sharply.
Lin Feng placed a hand on the man's shoulder.
"You're not sleeping tonight," he said calmly. "If the marks flare too brightly, every spirit in a mile radius will come for you."
The man trembled.
"What… what should I do?"
Lin Feng set him upright against the nearest beam.
"You sit. You breathe. And you don't die. That's an order."
The man nodded furiously.
The ghost child settled beside Lin Feng.
The Chained Woman stood guard like a silent statue, chains hovering just above the stones.
And Lin Feng watched the mountain darkness, waiting.
Not afraid.
Not anxious.
Not even tense.
Just… curious.
Because whatever had awakened deep within Broken-Soul Peak—
—it had noticed the marked man.
But more importantly—
—it had noticed Lin Feng.
---