Night did not fall gently over the northern garrison. It descended like a predator, quick and silent, smothering the camp under a blanket of cold darkness. Torches struggled against the wind; the flames guttered like the breaths of dying men. Soldiers patrolled in pairs, each gripping weapons with white-knuckled tension. The ridge's shadow loomed over them all like a warning carved in black stone.
Li Wei walked between two guards toward the workers' quarters. The men assigned to him—Qin soldiers hardened by frost and fear—kept twitching at every sound.
"You hear that?" one whispered.
"That… scraping?"
Li Wei heard it too. Low. Barely audible. A faint skimming along wood, like nails or metal dragged lightly against a surface. The wind swallowed it quickly, but the sound returned again—closer.
"It's the trees," the other guard muttered. "Just the wind."
"No tree makes that noise."
Li Wei remained silent, but a shiver crawled across his spine. The Hunter-General was not a creature of superstition—but he moved through shadows as if the night itself parted for him. What if the scraping was a warning? A test? A presence?
He touched the bronze shard hidden beneath his robe.
Warm.
Uncomfortably warm.
The guards ushered him into a small storage hut temporarily converted into a guarded shelter. Inside were a cot, a bucket of water, and a small oil lamp whose flame shook even without a breeze.
The guards took positions outside.
Li Wei sat on the cot, inhaling deeply. He should rest—but sleep felt impossible. His mind replayed the encounter from earlier: the girl with the deadened eyes, the perfect stone door, the Hunter-General's chilling message.
"Tell the woman in the shadows that I found her… and I found you."
Why him?
Why now?
The system hummed faintly, offering no comfort:
[Threat Level: High]
[Enemy Activity Detected: Near proximity]
[Advice: Maintain vigilance]
As if he needed the reminder.
A soft sound at the door made him tense.
Not footsteps.
Not wind.
A paper-thin tap.
Then another.
Then… silence.
Li Wei rose slowly, stepping toward the door, but he didn't open it. Instead, he whispered, "Who's there?"
No answer.
He waited.
Still nothing.
After a long breath, he cracked the door open an inch.
A single scrap of parchment lay on the ground, pinned beneath a small twig.
His heartbeat thundered as he took it inside and unrolled it.
A crude map was drawn in charcoal—simple lines, circling the ridge, leading toward the hidden door. And at the very bottom, scrawled in slanted writing:
"She lied."
Li Wei felt his breath seize.
She?
Mei Lin?
Or… the girl?
Before he could analyze further, the guards outside muttered sharply.
"Who goes there?!"
"Hold your ground!"
Li Wei rushed outside.
Two guards stood with weapons raised—pointed at a shadowy figure near the storage hut.
Mei Lin.
Her hair was windblown, breathless, eyes wide—not with fear, but urgency.
"Let me through!" she snapped. "Commander Feng assigned me."
The guards hesitated only a moment before lowering their weapons.
"Enter."
She pushed past them and grabbed Li Wei's arm before he could speak.
"Someone left that," she hissed, eyeing the parchment in his hand. "Did you open it yet?"
"Yes."
She cursed under her breath. "You shouldn't have."
Li Wei frowned. "Why would someone say you lied?"
Mei Lin exhaled shakily. "Because the Hunter-General loves mind games. And because whatever he wants you to think—he'll bend truth and falsehood until they are the same poison."
Li Wei stepped back. "Do you deny it?"
She stared at him for a long moment—the wind whipping strands of hair across her face.
Then she said quietly, "I told you the truth. But I didn't tell you everything."
Li Wei's chest tightened. "Then what did you leave out?"
Mei Lin looked around, lowering her voice. "Not here. Too exposed."
She gestured to the guards. "Inside. Now."
Once inside, she closed the door firmly. The guards waited outside, murmuring uneasily.
Mei Lin turned to him.
"I was not just the Hunter-General's student," she said. "I was his successor."
The words hit Li Wei like a stone.
"What?"
Mei Lin swallowed. "Before he betrayed Qin… he chose me to carry on his legacy."
Li Wei stared, stunned. "But you serve Meng Tian."
"I do now," she said quietly. "Because the Hunter-General's legacy was built on blood. On cruelty I couldn't accept."
She met his gaze.
"He wanted me to join him when he deserted. I refused."
Li Wei understood.
The Hunter-General hadn't just marked Mei Lin.
He had felt betrayed by her.
"And now," Mei Lin whispered, "he sees you as something else."
"What?"
"A replacement."
Li Wei froze.
"A successor he intends to mold. Or capture." Her voice cracked. "Or break."
Silence pressed in.
Li Wei shook his head. "That's impossible. He doesn't even know who I am."
"He knows enough," she said. "He watches everyone I contact. And you… you're different, Li Wei."
"He thinks you could be shaped into something… dangerous."
Li Wei felt the bronze shard pulse against his chest.
The system whispered:
[Enemy Interest: Increasing]
[Warning: Targeted Recruitment?]
He clenched his fists. "What does he want with me?"
Mei Lin's eyes shone with something like fear.
"He wants you to open that stone door."
"Why?"
"Because the moment you do, you'll step into his world. A world where the rules of the Qin army no longer protect you."
She leaned closer.
"That door is not just a tunnel. It's a test. A lure. And behind it is a place he wants you to see."
Li Wei exhaled. "Then I won't go."
Mei Lin shook her head. "He'll make sure you eventually must."
Li Wei stiffened. "What does the paper mean? 'She lied?'"
Mei Lin's expression hardened.
"It means," she said quietly, "that he wants you to distrust me."
"And is he wrong?" Li Wei whispered.
Pain flickered across her face.
"I never lied about my loyalty," she said. "But I did lie about my past."
She dropped her gaze.
"And the truth is… I helped design those tunnels."
Li Wei's breath caught.
The silence between them was cold and suffocating.
Outside, the wind howled and footsteps echoed—too many footsteps.
A guard banged on the door. "Li Wei! Mei Lin! Commander Feng needs you both! A new message arrived from the ridge—it's urgent!"
Mei Lin stiffened.
Li Wei glanced at the parchment again.
"She lied."
He folded it slowly.
"We go," Li Wei said. "But this isn't finished."
Mei Lin nodded, pain tightening her features.
"No," she whispered. "And the worst part is… it's only just beginning."
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Teaser:
A midnight messenger arrives drenched in blood—carrying news that will shake the entire garrison to its core.
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