The morning smelled of frost and smoke as Li Wei fastened his cloak and stepped into the chilling dawn. The garrison was already awake—soldiers drilling, scouts packing, workers whispering nervously about the masked intruder seen the night before. The entire fort had shifted into a thin, controlled panic.
Today, Li Wei would return to the ridge where scouts disappeared and a traitor-general had spoken his name.
Three men waited for him near the stables:
• Scout Yao — lean, hawk-eyed, quiet.
• Scout Lin — sturdy, calm, with a scar across his jaw.
• Soldier Peng — younger, nervous, gripping his spear too tightly.
Captain Shen handed Li Wei a rolled map and a narrow bone whistle.
"Blow this if you're surrounded," Shen said. "If you can't blow it… throw it. Someone will hear."
Li Wei nodded, tucking it away.
Mei Lin watched from the side, arms crossed, eyes sharp with unspoken warnings. Her presence tugged painfully at his chest—an anchor in a place where everything felt like a shifting shadow.
"Stay with them," she said quietly. "Don't wander."
Li Wei rubbed his thumb over the hidden bronze shard she'd given him. "I'll come back."
"You'd better," she muttered, though her voice cracked slightly.
The gates opened, and the small team set out toward the northern ridge.
The Trail of the Missing
They rode until the garrison shrank behind them. Frost still clung to the grasses, and the forest ahead loomed like a dark lung. The scouts slowed their horses as they approached the ridge path.
"So this is where they vanished?" Yao asked.
"Yes," Li Wei answered.
Yao scanned the area with a veteran's gaze. "No bodies. No drag marks. No fires. Strange."
"Too strange," Lin muttered.
The group dismounted and proceeded on foot.
The ridge path was narrow and treacherous, carved by wind more than by men. As they ascended, the wind wailed through the cliffs like a mourning voice. The watchtower appeared again—lonely, battered, half-rotted.
It felt emptier today.
More… hollow.
Peng whispered, "It feels like we're being watched."
He wasn't wrong.
Yao knelt. "Footprints. From last night."
Li Wei exhaled sharply. "The masked man?"
"No…" Yao said. "These are lighter. Smaller. Someone else was here after you left."
Li Wei's heartbeat quickened. "Show me."
The scout pointed to faint impressions—three sets of tracks:
• One light and quick, avoiding loose stones
• One heavier, dragging something
• One… child-sized?
Peng cursed. "A child? What child wanders the frontier?!"
Li Wei frowned. "It's not a child. Those steps are too steady. Purposeful."
Lin added, "Someone trained to move lightly."
They followed the tracks deeper along the ridge—toward a cluster of twisted trees that grew like claws gripping the cliffside.
There, the tracks abruptly stopped.
As if the people… vanished into thin air.
Yao tapped the ground. "No breaks. No slips. No sign of climbing. It's like they walked into the stone."
Li Wei crouched, pressing his palm against the cliff face.
Cold. Smooth.
Too smooth.
Stone shouldn't be this polished.
And then he saw it—a hairline gap running vertically along the cliff wall.
A seam.
"Stand back," Li Wei said.
He pressed harder… and the stone shifted.
A thin layer cracked open, revealing—
A door.
A hidden stone door.
Lin inhaled sharply. "A tunnel?"
"No," Li Wei breathed. "A hideout."
A secret entrance carved into the ridge itself.
He reached forward to push—
When the system pulsed sharply:
[Danger Detected — Immediate Threat]
[Retreat Recommended]
Li Wei froze. "Back."
The others stiffened.
"Why?" Peng whispered.
Yao had already drawn his dagger. "Something inside?"
Li Wei didn't answer. He stepped back slowly—
But a soft voice suddenly floated from behind them.
"You shouldn't touch that."
They spun around.
A figure stood at the ridge path—not the Hunter-General, but someone much smaller. Lean. Hooded. Wearing a cloak woven with dark feathers.
Li Wei's breath hitched.
A young girl—maybe thirteen or fourteen—stood watching them calmly.
But her eyes—
Were cold.
Too cold for a child.
Peng stammered, "Who—who are you?!"
The girl tilted her head. "You're searching for the missing scouts."
Her voice was emotionless.
Yao whispered, "Careful. She's not normal."
The girl's gaze settled on Li Wei—and a faint, unsettling smile curled on her lips.
"You're the one he marked."
Li Wei held her stare. "Who is 'he'?"
She blinked once. "My master."
"The Hunter-General?" Lin rasped.
She nodded.
"And he said…"—her eyes glimmered—"…if you came searching again, I should give you a message."
Li Wei's throat tightened. "What message?"
The girl stepped closer, whispering so softly he almost missed it:
"If you enter the door… none of you will leave alive."
Silence fell, heavy and suffocating.
Then she added a second sentence.
Quiet.
Almost gentle.
"But he hopes you open it anyway."
The wind howled across the ridge, scattering frost like ash.
Yao cursed softly. "We have to go. Now."
Li Wei looked at the hidden door.
Then at the girl.
Then at the scouts.
The Hunter-General had known Li Wei would return.
He had left bait.
And a warning.
The girl stepped back, vanishing into the trees with unnatural grace—like a shadow slipping under another shadow.
Li Wei's decision came fast.
"We withdraw," he said. "This isn't a scouting mission anymore. It's a trap."
They retreated quickly down the ridge, not daring to look back. Every tree felt like it held eyes. Every gust of wind carried phantom footsteps.
By the time they reached the horses, Peng was shaking. "We're reporting this. Immediately."
"Yes," Yao agreed. "Commander Feng must hear everything."
Li Wei mounted the horse, gripping the reins tightly.
The system pulsed again.
[Threat Level Increased]
[New Entity Identified: Hunter-General's Disciple]
[Warning: You have drawn the enemy's attention]
As they rode back toward the garrison, Li Wei closed his eyes briefly.
He was no longer dealing with a rogue killer.
He was dealing with a strategist.
A leader.
A mastermind with disciples, tunnels, and plans buried deep beneath the frontier.
And worst of all—
The Hunter-General wanted him to open that door.
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Teaser:
Commander Feng's reaction to the hidden door will shift the entire garrison—and force Li Wei to choose a side in a shadow war.
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