Chapter Nine Part Three
He shook his head in disbelief.
"Elder, that is not normal."
Elder Mo did not respond.
Li Shan pressed on.
"And then… there was light."
His eyes gleamed.
"Not qi-light. Something… different."
Zheng's blood ran cold.
Li Shan bowed again.
"This disciple fears…"
He hesitated, as if reluctant.
"…that the servant may possess a forbidden artifact."
The words dropped like poison into the room.
Forbidden artifact.
Elder Mo's fingers stilled.
The temperature seemed to fall.
Zheng forced himself to speak.
"I don't have anything."
Li Shan's smile widened.
"Of course. A servant wouldn't understand what he carries."
Elder Mo's voice cut through them both.
"Enough."
Li Shan immediately bowed.
"This disciple only speaks for the sect's safety."
Elder Mo stood.
His robe swayed like mist.
He walked toward Zheng's bedside.
Zheng tensed.
Elder Mo looked down at him.
Not with cruelty.
Not with kindness.
With something worse.
With interest.
"Zheng Wen Te…"
His voice was quiet.
"If you are hiding something…"
A pause.
"…you will not survive long in this sect."
Zheng's mouth went dry.
Elder Mo's gaze shifted briefly toward Li Shan.
"And if others believe you are hiding something…"
His voice deepened.
"…they will tear you apart before I even decide what you are."
Li Shan's eyes flickered with satisfaction.
Zheng's chest tightened.
This was not Earth.
Here, weakness was not pitied.
It was hunted.
Elder Mo turned away.
"I will have your spirit root tested at the next outer gathering."
Zheng's breath caught.
Tested?
Elder Mo spoke as if sealing fate.
"If you are ordinary, this ends."
Then—
"If you are not…"
He did not finish.
He simply walked toward the door.
Li Shan followed, bowing.
But just before leaving, Li Shan glanced back.
His smile was thin.
A promise.
Zheng lay frozen in bed.
Pain still burned through his body.
But deeper than pain was something else.
Fear.
Not of beasts.
Not of labor.
But of attention.
Because the orb was still warm beneath his sleeve.
Still pulsing softly.
And somewhere deep inside…
that whisper remained.
Waiting.