The air in the mine tunnel felt cooler, but Qin Feng's blood was boiling with a newfound heat. He stood over the remains of the Shadow Rat, the spirit core in his hand pulsing with a faint, rhythmic light. For the first time in his life, he didn't feel like a prey animal hiding in the dark. He felt like a hunter.
He quickly pocketed the mid-grade spirit stones, hiding them in a secret lining of his rugged vest. In the slums, showing that much wealth was a death sentence. To the world, he needed to remain the "lucky trash" who found just enough to survive.
[DING! Quest Updated: 'The Hidden Provider'] Objective: Return home without revealing your true wealth to the supervisors. Reward: Skill Book - 'Ghost Step' (Basic).
Qin Feng wiped the sweat and monster blood from his pickaxe. Easier said than done, he thought. He knew Foreman Zhang wouldn't just lick his wounds. Men like him were like hyenas; they only attacked when they had the pack behind them.
As he emerged from the dark maw of the mine, the evening light was a deep crimson. Standing at the exit was not just Zhang, but three other men. One of them wore a different uniform—a dark teal robe with a silver mountain emblem.
An Outer Disciple from the Azure Sky Sect, Qin Feng realized, his heart sinking.
"There he is! That's the thief!" Zhang barked, pointing a bandaged finger at Qin Feng. "He hid his cultivation to assault a sect-appointed foreman! He must have stolen some forbidden pills from the City Lord's treasury when he took that traitor woman!"
The man in the teal robe, a cold-faced youth named Zhou, stepped forward. His aura was sharp, cutting through the dusty air. He was at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining—a realm Qin Feng couldn't hope to match yet.
"Qin Feng," Zhou said, his voice like cracking ice. "A miner jumping two levels in a night is unheard of. Hand over your storage bag and submit to a meridian search. If you've stolen sect resources, the punishment is the loss of both your hands."
The other miners gathered in the distance, whispering in fear. A meridian search was a brutal process that could leave a weak cultivator crippled for life.
"I haven't stolen anything," Qin Feng said, his grip tightening on his pickaxe. "I simply broke through a bottleneck. Is it a crime to be lucky?"
"In this city, luck belongs to the strong," Zhou sneered. He raised a hand, and a flicker of teal Qi began to gather around his fingers. "Surrender, or I will take what I want from your corpse."
Suddenly, a voice echoed in Qin Feng's mind, colder and more regal than any sect disciple.
"Do not fight him head-on, fool. His Qi is unstable, focused entirely on his sword-hand. If you use the resonance of our bond, you can disrupt his flow."
Ye Chen was watching again. Qin Feng felt a sudden chill in his lower dantian, a wisp of violet energy that wasn't his own, but a gift from his wife.
"When he strikes, move toward his shadow. I will give you a moment of 'Frost Pressure'," she commanded.
Zhou lost his patience. "Die!" He lunged forward, his hand forming a piercing claw of Qi aimed at Qin Feng's chest.
At that exact micro-second, the temperature around Qin Feng dropped to absolute zero. A thin, invisible layer of frost coated the ground. Zhou's foot slipped—just a fraction of an inch—but it was enough.
Qin Feng didn't retreat. He moved into the attack, stepping into Zhou's shadow just as Ye Chen had directed. He swung his elbow with the full weight of his Fifth Layer strength, augmented by a sudden surge of violet cold.
CRUNCH.
The blow caught Zhou right in the ribs. The teal-robed disciple gasped, his Qi shattering like glass. He tumbled across the dirt, gasping for air as a thin layer of rime frost began to spread across his chest, slowing his heart.
Zhang and his lackeys stood frozen. They had expected a slaughter, but their "protector" from the sect was now shivering on the ground, his face turning blue.
"You... what did you do?" Zhang stammered, backing away.
Qin Feng stood over the fallen disciple, his eyes dark. "He tripped. The mines are slippery this time of year, didn't you know?"
He looked at Zhang, and for a moment, his eyes flashed with a hint of violet light—a reflection of the Empress's soul. Zhang let out a yelp of pure terror and turned tail, running back toward the barracks without looking back.
Qin Feng didn't linger. He knew Zhou would recover, and when he did, he would bring more than just himself. He sprinted toward the Outer Slums, his breath coming in short, frozen puffs.
[DING! Quest Completed!] [Reward: Skill Book 'Ghost Step' acquired! Automatically learning...] [Relationship Bonus: Ye Chen's Soul Stability +1%]
He reached the shack just as the twin moons began to rise. He burst through the door and immediately bolted it behind him.
Ye Chen was sitting on the floor, her face paler than usual. Blood was trickling from her nose. Using her power to help him through the bond from such a distance had taken a heavy toll on her shattered meridians.
"You're back," she whispered, her eyes fluttering.
Qin Feng rushed to her side, pulling the mid-grade spirit stones and the beast core from his pocket. "I got them. And I stopped him."
"You were... reckless," she coughed, leaning against his chest. "But your form wasn't entirely terrible."
Qin Feng didn't argue. He sat behind her, placing his hands on her back. "The System said I can absorb your pain. Let's do it again. I have enough Qi now to take more."
[WARNING: Repeated 'Purification' in a 24-hour period will cause severe strain to the Host.]
"I don't care," Qin Feng growled at the golden screen. "Do it."
As the black toxins began to flow into him once more, Qin Feng felt his newly learned 'Ghost Step' technique vibrating in his legs. He wasn't just a miner anymore, and she wasn't just a prisoner.
They were becoming a single, deadly weapon.
"Ye Chen," he whispered as the violet and gold energies swirled around them in the dark shack. "They're going to come for us. The sect, the City Lord... everyone."
She leaned her head back against his shoulder, her icy breath tickling his neck. "Then let them come, husband. I haven't killed a Sect Leader in a very long time. I'm starting to miss the feeling."