The return to the garrison was tense—a ride filled with glances over shoulders, quickened breaths, and the sense that the forest was watching them. When the gates slammed shut behind the small team, the soldiers on duty straightened instinctively, sensing that something had gone wrong.
Scout Yao strode directly toward the command tent. "We report to Commander Feng. Immediately."
Li Wei followed alongside him, his pulse pounding with the memory of the girl's expressionless eyes and the way she had spoken—calm, precise, deadly.
Inside the command tent, Feng and General Han were already waiting, maps strewn across the table, officers clustered like anxious crows. The moment Li Wei's group entered, Feng's gaze sharpened.
"Report."
Yao bowed stiffly. "Commander, we found the ridge. We found… evidence."
Han frowned. "Evidence of what?"
Lin answered with a hollow voice. "A hidden entrance carved into the stone. A passage behind a concealed door."
The tent erupted into murmurs.
"A hideout?"
"A tunnel system?"
"Impossible!"
Feng raised his hand sharply. "Silence."
He stepped closer, voice low. "Describe exactly what you saw."
Li Wei inhaled slowly. "The cliff face has been carved. Perfect lines. A false stone door. Someone used precision tools—metal, not stone."
Han scowled. "The tribes don't have such tools."
Li Wei's expression hardened. "I know."
The implication was clear.
Feng's face darkened. "So the traitor-general builds tunnels beneath our ridge? Hiding places? Trap routes?"
Yao nodded. "More than that, Commander. There were tracks. Three sets. One very light—child-sized—but deliberate."
Han scoffed. "Children? Surely you mis—"
"No." Li Wei cut him off. "We met her."
The tent fell silent.
"Her?" Feng asked.
Li Wei nodded. "A girl. Hooded. Controlled. Not… normal. She moved like a trained assassin. Eyes like ice."
Han slammed the table. "A child assassin?!"
"She wasn't acting like a child," Lin whispered. "She didn't blink. Didn't tremble. Just delivered a message."
Feng's voice thickened. "A message?"
Li Wei met the commander's gaze.
"He said: 'If you enter the door, none of you will leave alive.'"
A chilling stillness filled the tent.
"And then," Li Wei continued quietly, "she said the Hunter-General hopes we open it."
Han cursed. "He wants to lure us into a deathtrap!"
Feng didn't move for several breaths. His eyes drilled into the map as if he could burn answers out of the ink.
Finally, he spoke.
"Prepare three runner teams. We alert Meng Tian's command immediately. If the Hunter-General is building his own network under our border, this is a threat to the entire northern defense."
The officers hurried out to fulfill the order.
Feng turned to Li Wei again. "You said he spoke to you before. He chose you. Why?"
Li Wei held back the shard of bronze in his tunic and instead said, "He knows I'm connected to someone here."
Mei Lin stiffened from the corner of the tent.
Feng's eyes narrowed. "Who?"
Li Wei didn't answer.
Mei Lin stepped forward. "Commander Feng… the Hunter-General knows me. And he knows I am under Meng Tian's orders."
Han snapped, "That traitor still hunts his former allies?!"
Mei Lin's jaw tightened.
Feng nodded slowly, his eyes flicking between Li Wei and Mei Lin. "So the Hunter-General knows Li Wei is valuable to you."
Li Wei felt the room's attention lock on him.
Han paced angrily. "If he knows about her connection to Meng Tian, then anyone she interacts with becomes a target. And this worker—this Li Wei—has already been marked."
"Enough," Feng barked. "Li Wei's skill is an asset. And his involvement with Mei Lin is something we must manage, not fear."
Mei Lin exhaled shakily but said nothing.
Feng stepped closer to Li Wei, lowering his voice. "I'm assigning you a guard detail. You don't move alone anymore. Not until we understand why the traitor-general wants you."
Li Wei almost laughed at the irony—once a slave who was watched to ensure he didn't escape, now guarded to ensure he didn't die.
But the system confirmed the choice:
[New Status: Protected Personnel (Temporary)]
[Increased Survival Probability: +18%]
For now, it was a shield.
Then Feng turned to Mei Lin. "You will stay near him. If the Hunter-General seeks contact, we must know."
Mei Lin flinched. "Commander, that puts him in more danger."
Feng shook his head. "No. It puts you both under our watch."
Han added grimly, "And if he's bait… he may draw the enemy out."
Li Wei inhaled sharply.
So that was the real reason.
He was valuable—yes.
He was skilled—yes.
But now he was also bait in a war of shadows.
The command tent emptied slowly, officers rushing to prepare the garrison, leaving only him and Mei Lin.
She approached him quietly. "Are you angry?"
He shook his head. "No. Just tired of being hunted."
Her lips curved into a bitter smile. "Welcome to the northern frontier."
She hesitated, then touched his sleeve. "Listen to me tonight. Don't wander. Don't sleep deeply. And if you hear anything strange—voices, scraping, footsteps—wake your guards immediately."
Li Wei nodded.
But behind her warning, he sensed something deeper.
Fear.
Mei Lin—sharp, unbreakable Mei Lin—was truly afraid.
"What's behind that door?" Li Wei asked softly.
She looked away. "A past I hoped never to face again."
Before he could ask more, a soldier ran up. "Li Wei! Guards are assigned to your quarters. Commander Feng wants you escorted immediately."
Li Wei nodded and followed him out.
As he left, Mei Lin whispered something he almost didn't hear over the wind.
"Don't open that door, Li Wei."
He paused and looked back.
"Ever."
He swallowed.
Then stepped into the cold night, flanked by guards.
The shadow war had begun.
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Teaser:
Night brings whispers across the garrison—footsteps where none should be, and a haunting message left at Li Wei's door.
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