Darkness.
Trees surrounded Marcus. Massive trunks stretching into nothing. The Primeval Forest.
A sound behind him. Clicking. Like teeth chattering. Getting closer.
He turned.
Jaws lunged at his face.
Marcus jerked awake. His heart hammered. Sweat soaked the thin mat beneath him.
Knocking at the door.
He stood. His legs shook. The nightmare clung to him.
The door opened. A different maid. Older. Her expression was neutral.
She held a tray. Breakfast. Steam rose from soup. Fresh bread beside it.
In her other hand black robes. Merchant robes. The Black Seal Trade Association insignia stitched in silver.
"One hour." Her voice was flat. "Lady Xue waits in the main hall."
She left. The door stayed unlocked.
Marcus stared at the merchant robes.
Not slave rags. A disguise.
What was she planning?
He ate. The soup was incredible. Rich flavors that belonged in expensive restaurants. The bread was fresh. Warm.
His last gourmet meal had been on the cruise. Right before everything went to hell.
Marcus bathed in cold water. Dressed in the merchant robes.
Perfect fit. Again.
He picked up his backpack. Gun. Magazines. Letter. Everything still there.
The walk to the main hall felt like walking to execution.
Each step made the slave seal pulse. A warning.
Marcus reached the entrance.
The seal flared.
Hot needles pierced his spine. His knees buckled. His body folded into a deep bow without his command.
He fought it. Muscles strained. His mind screamed. Stand up. Stand up damn it.
Nothing.
The trigger was automatic. Bow in owner's presence. The seal overrode everything.
Sweat beaded on his forehead. His arms shook from the effort of resisting.
"Rise."
Lady Xue Lian's voice. Laced with qi.
The lock released. Marcus's body snapped upright. Dizziness washed over him. The qi drain echoed in his bones.
He tried to speak. His jaw clamped shut. Pain bloomed behind his eyes.
The seal had muted him.
Xue Lian sat on a raised chair. No veil today. Her face was perfect. Flawless skin. Sharp cheekbones. Golden amber eyes that held no warmth.
She studied him. Silent. Evaluating.
Thirty seconds. A minute. Marcus couldn't move. Couldn't look away. Couldn't speak.
She threw something.
His hand shot up. Caught it. Not his choice.
A token. Black jade with silver inlay.
Name: Lin Mo
Age: 27
Occupation: Class 3 Merchant
A fake identity.
Why?
Xue Lian gestured. A guard appeared beside Marcus. Foundation Establishment speed.
The guard grabbed him. Lifted him.
They flew.
Qi winds whipped Marcus's face. He sensed nothing but the guards' movements flickered. Neutral qi propelling them like invisible jets.
Twenty minutes in one guard's face paled. Qi exhaustion from carrying a mortal.
"Switch." Another guard took over. Seamless handoff.
Xue Lian led effortlessly. Golden Core cultivation provided endless reserves. But even she conserved energy. Gliding on ambient air qi.
Five guards flanked them. All Foundation Establishment. All carrying weapons Marcus couldn't identify.
A massive building appeared ahead. The Black Seal Trade Association headquarters. Ten stories tall. Wide as city blocks.
Markets teemed around it. Stalls. Shops. People shouting.
Behind the building a dock. Dozens of flying ships.
Workers swarmed. Loading cargo. Unloading. Some ships rose into the air. Others descended.
They landed on one ship. Medium sized. Cargo already loaded.
Workers knelt as Xue Lian approached.
One figure stood out.
Four meters tall. Green scaly skin. A shell-like hump on his back. Blue eyes in a reptilian face.
Turtle folk.
"Captain Xuan Ao." Xue Lian's voice was cold. "I'm leaving this merchant in your care. He goes by Lin Mo now. Use him as needed."
The turtle captain bowed. "Of course Lady Xue."
She left. Flew to another ship.
Xuan Ao turned to Marcus. Grinned. Rows of sharp teeth showed.
"How are you doing friend?"
Friend?
Marcus's jaw unlocked. The mute command lifted.
"What's your name?" Xuan Ao asked.
Marcus opened his mouth. "Mar..." A sharp pulse clamped his jaw mid-word.
The seal's restriction. No true name.
Pain bloomed behind his eyes. Seal fatigue from resisting.
"Lin Mo." The words came out hoarse.
"Good to meet you Lin Mo. I'm Xuan Ao of the Xuanjia Clan." The turtle's grin widened. "Rest in that cabin. We'll talk after we're airborne."
Marcus walked to the cabin. Sat on a wooden bench.
Why had Xue Lian given him to this ship captain? Hidden his slave status? Dressed him as a merchant?
Unless she needed him somewhere she couldn't be seen owning property.
The ship lurched. Rose smooth. Almost no vibration.
They were flying.
Marcus watched through a window as Tianluo City fell away. Buildings became dots. Walls became lines.
Freedom. Almost. Except for the seal in his bones.
---
Hours passed.
The door opened. Captain Xuan Ao ducked through. His shell scraped the doorframe.
"How are you settling in?"
"Fine."
Xuan Ao pulled something from a storage pouch. A fruit. Pearl blue. Smooth.
"Deep Sea Fruit. Xuanjia Clan specialty." He offered it. "For you."
Marcus took it. Surprised. Cultivators didn't gift slaves.
"Thank you." Marcus stored it in his backpack.
He pulled out a chocolate bar. One of his last three.
"Trade?"
Xuan Ao's eyes widened. "What is it?"
"Chocolate. From my homeland."
The turtle took it. Sniffed. Nostrils flared.
"Sweet. Rich."
"Try it."
Xuan Ao bit through the wrapper. Chewed. His eyes closed.
"Brother Lin Mo this is incredible. Do you know how to make it?"
"The recipe? Yes."
"This would sell for a fortune. Mortals would love it."
Marcus filed that away. Income. If he ever got free.
Xuan Ao's eyes fell on the gun barrel poking from Marcus's bag.
"What's that?"
The seal twinged. Scanning for betrayal.
"A weapon from my homeland." Marcus kept his voice neutral. "For protection."
The seal let it pass. He exhaled relief. Pushing further might trigger full mute.
"May I see it?"
Marcus pulled out the submachine gun.
Xuan Ao held it carefully. Turned it over.
"No qi. No formations. Just metal."
"It fires small projectiles. Very fast."
"Mortal weapon. Clever." Xuan Ao handed it back. "Your people are resourceful."
Marcus liked him. Straightforward. Curious. No cruelty.
"Where are we going?"
Xuan Ao hesitated. "Shangyuan City. We arrive tomorrow morning."
---
Night fell.
The crew gathered on deck. Twenty workers. Captain Xuan Ao. Marcus.
They ate. Drank. Sang songs Marcus didn't know.
For the first time since the cruise Marcus felt almost normal.
The full moon rose. White light painted the deck silver.
Marcus leaned against the railing. Let himself relax.
When Xue Lian had released the mute command that morning something in his chest had loosened. Like a knot untying. The relief had been physical. Real.
He wondered what else the seal controlled that he didn't know about.
A mistake.
The moonlight vanished.
Darkness swallowed everything. Complete. Unnatural.
Laughter echoed. Female. But wrong. Like multiple voices layered over each other.
Marcus jerked upright. Saw nothing.
"What the fuck?"
The system panel flashed.
High Level Female Cultivator Detected
Name: Han Yinqiu
Age: 280
Cultivation: Golden Core Stage 1 (Yin-Attributed Core)
Affiliation: Silence Lotus Yin Sect
Spirit Root: 1st Grade (Yin Affinity)
Talent: Cultivation (Ordinary)
Favorability: N/A
A figure materialized from shadow.
Female. Dark robes. Veiled. But her eyes. Amber green eyes that didn't blink. Didn't move like human eyes should.
She tilted her head at an angle that was too sharp. Too far.
"Breathing." Her voice was silk over razors. "Living. Warm." She inhaled deeply. "Your blood sings. Yang like summer sun. I want to drink it."
Her tongue flicked out. Too long. Forked at the tip.
Not human. Something wearing human skin.
Her hand shot forward. Grabbed Marcus's throat. Lifted him one-handed.
He couldn't breathe. Her fingers were ice against his skin.
"I'll start with your eyes. They hold the most qi."
The deck erupted with light.
Formation lines blazed green across the wood. A trap.
Han Yinqiu's head snapped toward the formations. Her neck twisted further than bone should allow.
"Clever little merchant." Her laughter was that layered wrongness again. "Your mistress prepared for me."
She threw Marcus aside like garbage.
He hit the deck face first. His nose crunched. Blood poured. Pain exploded through his skull.
Han Yinqiu drew her sword. Black blade that seemed to drink the light around it.
"Shadow Lotus Sword Art."
Yin energy poured from the blade like living smoke. It formed into a massive sword. Twenty meters long. The air around it froze.
She brought it down on the formation.
The green lines screeched. Metal tearing. The formation held but barely.
Black lightning erupted from the deck. Struck Han Yinqiu's back.
She didn't scream. She laughed while her flesh burned. The smell was putrid. Sweet and rotten at once.
Marcus scrambled toward his bag. His hands shook. Blood from his nose made everything slippery.
He grabbed the SMG. Fumbled a magazine. Loaded it.
The formation shattered like glass.
Eight cultivators appeared in flashes of light. Surrounded Han Yinqiu.
Lady Xue Lian stood at their center. Golden Core cultivation radiating from her like heat. Her face was calm. Cold. Ready.
Seven Foundation Establishment cultivators flanked her. Swords drawn. Formation talismans ready.
Marcus recognized two of them. The guard who'd carried him that morning. A young woman who'd smiled at him during dinner.
"Elder Han." Xue Lian's voice cut through the chaos. "This ambush ends here."
"Does it?" Han Yinqiu's neck cracked as she turned her head. "One Golden Core. Seven Foundation whelps. Poor odds little merchant."
Silence stretched.
Then Han Yinqiu moved.
She didn't run. She flickered. Reality bent around her.
She appeared beside the young woman cultivator.
The woman raised her sword. Too slow.
Han Yinqiu's hand plunged into her chest. No resistance. Like pushing through water.
The woman's eyes went wide. Her mouth opened. No sound came.
Han Yinqiu pulled her hand out. Held the woman's heart. Still beating. Blood pumped from it in spurts.
She brought it to her mouth. Bit down.
The crunch echoed across the deck.
Marcus's stomach heaved.
The woman's body collapsed. Empty. Used.
"Delicious." Han Yinqiu's forked tongue licked blood from her lips. "Who's next?"
The remaining six cultivators attacked as one.
Xue Lian moved like lightning. Her sword met Han Yinqiu's blade. Golden Core versus Golden Core.
The impact sent a shockwave across the deck. Wood splintered. The air itself rippled.
Two Foundation cultivators flanked left. Energy blades cutting arcs of blue light.
Han Yinqiu's free hand swept out. Yin energy formed into chains. They wrapped around one cultivator's neck.
He clawed at them. His skin turned black where they touched. Frostbite spreading.
His eyes froze solid. His mouth opened in a scream that became ice crystals.
The chains tightened.
His head separated from his body. Cleanly. The stump was crystallized. No blood.
The body stood for a moment. Then shattered into frozen pieces.
Marcus's hands wouldn't stop shaking. He pressed himself against the cabin wall.
This wasn't a fight. This was slaughter.
The guard who'd carried Marcus that morning charged. His halberd glowed with fire qi.
He thrust at Han Yinqiu's back.
She spun. Caught the halberd with her bare hand. The fire qi died instantly.
"Bold." She smiled. Too many teeth. "I like bold."
She pulled him close. Kissed his forehead.
Where her lips touched his skin turned gray. Ash. It spread.
His scream was cut off as his throat became dust.
His entire body crumbled. Just ash on the wind.
Three dead. In seconds.
The remaining four cultivators hesitated. Fear breaking through their training.
Xue Lian pressed her attack. Her sword was a blur. Each strike carried Golden Core power.
But Han Yinqiu matched her. Deflected. Countered.
They were too evenly matched.
"Your subordinates die while you dance with me." Han Yinqiu's laugh was madness. "How does that feel?"
Xue Lian's face stayed calm but Marcus saw it. A tightness around her eyes.
When she'd commanded him to rise that morning he'd felt warmth spread through his chest. Brief. Gone in a moment. But real.
Now watching her fight he felt nothing. Just cold.
Was that the seal? Or just fear?
One of the remaining cultivators threw formation talismans. Dozens of them. They exploded into nets of binding qi.
Han Yinqiu was caught. For a moment.
"Now!" Xue Lian's sword glowed white. Pure qi condensed into the blade.
She thrust.
The sword pierced Han Yinqiu's shoulder. Went clean through.
Han Yinqiu smiled.
"Finally." Her hand grabbed Xue Lian's wrist. "Now you're close enough."
Yin energy flooded from her palm. Black. Oily. It crawled up Xue Lian's arm like living rot.
Xue Lian's eyes widened. She tried to pull back.
The yin poison was already spreading.
A massive energy sword crashed down from above.
Not aimed at Han Yinqiu. Aimed at the ship.
The hull cracked. Metal screamed.
"If I can't have you." Han Yinqiu's eyes glowed. "No one gets you."
She released Xue Lian. Vanished into shadow.
The ship tilted. Alarms screamed.
Marcus grabbed the railing.
The ship was falling.
Two hundred meters. Three hundred. Accelerating.
He braced.
Impact.
The world exploded into noise and pain.
Marcus flew forward. Slammed into the cabin wall. His left shoulder crunched. Bone grinding against bone.
Darkness took him.
---
Pain woke him.
His shoulder hung wrong. Each breath was knives in his ribs.
Blood everywhere. His face. His hands. The merchant robes were soaked red.
Wreckage surrounded him. Splintered wood. Twisted metal. Bodies.
Captain Xuan Ao lay twenty feet away. Not moving. His shell was cracked.
Above Marcus two figures still fought.
Xue Lian and Han Yinqiu. Moving slower now. Both injured. Both bleeding.
Black veins crawled up Xue Lian's arm. The yin poison spreading.
Marcus's right hand found the SMG. Still there. Half a magazine left.
His vision blurred. Blood loss. Shock. Dying.
These bitches were killing each other and he was bleeding out in the wreckage.
He raised the gun. His arm shook so badly he could barely aim.
The seal hummed. Distant. Weak.
A suggestion pushed into his mind. Drop it. Protect your owner.
His finger froze on the trigger.
No.
Marcus pushed back. Willpower against qi compulsion.
The seal crackled in his bones. Resisting hurt. Felt like his skeleton was cracking.
But his finger moved.
He pulled the trigger.
The SMG roared. Fifteen rounds. Tracers lit the night.
Both women dodged. Barely.
Han Yinqiu's eyes found Marcus. Widened. "A mortal?"
The distraction was enough.
Xue Lian's sword found Han Yinqiu's chest. Pierced her core.
Han Yinqiu screamed. Her body flickered. Then she was gone. Fled into shadow.
Xue Lian dropped from the sky. Landed hard.
She swayed. The black veins covered half her body now.
Marcus's vision darkened. The gun slipped from his hand.
Darkness took him again.
---
Voices pulled him back.
Distant. Worried.
Marcus opened his eyes. A ceiling. Wood beams.
He moved his left arm. No pain.
The door opened. Captain Xuan Ao ducked through. His shell was bandaged but he was alive.
"Brother Lin Mo. Finally."
Marcus sat up. His shoulder was healed. Just faint scars remained.
"Where are we?"
"Shangyuan City. We crashed three miles outside the walls." Xuan Ao's expression was grim. "We lost three brothers in the fight. Two more died from injuries after."
Five dead. Not seven. But still.
"And Lady Xue?"
Xuan Ao's jaw tightened. "Poisoned. Extreme Yin poison from a Golden Core cultivator. It's in her meridians. Her blood. Her core."
"How long?"
"Days. Maybe a week." Xuan Ao met his eyes. "We've tried every antidote. Nothing works."
Marcus's chest went cold. "What happens if she dies?"
"The association collapses. We're not strong enough without her. Other factions will tear us apart."
"No." Marcus's voice was flat. "What happens to me?"
Xuan Ao frowned. "You're not a merchant. Are you?"
"I'm a slave. The seal." Marcus touched his chest. "It's tied to her life isn't it?"
Understanding dawned in Xuan Ao's eyes. "Most advanced slave seals are. Master's life ends. Seal activates. Stops the slave's heart."
Marcus felt the world tilt.
When she'd released the mute command he'd felt warmth in his chest. When he'd resisted her suggestion to drop the gun the seal had crackled in his bones.
The seal wasn't just control. It was a link. Life to life.
If Xue Lian died the seal would kill him.