Lin Du stood in front of Su Li's door, staring at that closed portal for a long time without moving.
Wind blew through the bamboo grove, rustling the leaves. Moonlight filtered through the gaps, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
"Host." The trash can's voice came from his robe, tinged with concern. "Are you okay?"
Lin Du didn't answer.
He just stared at that door, his mind replaying Su Li's final words over and over:
"Those eyes—they looked exactly like your brother's."
Impossible.
There was no way Lin Zifan could be connected to the heart seed.
Three years ago, their mother traded her life for his freedom. That golden heart was proof.
But why would Su Li lie?
What was his purpose?
"Host." The trash can called again.
Lin Du took a deep breath and turned to walk back.
"I'm fine." He said. "Just thinking about something."
"What?"
"Thinking about Su Li's words." Lin Du said. "He said there's a black heart in Enforcement Hall. Said the black-robed man's eyes looked exactly like Lin Zifan's."
"Do you believe him?"
Lin Du shook his head.
"No." He said. "But he has no reason to lie. What would he gain?"
The trash can fell silent.
Lin Du continued: "If what he said is true, then there really is a heart seed in Enforcement Hall."
"The second one?"
"Maybe." Lin Du said. "Or maybe another one."
He paused.
"Tomorrow, I need to go to Enforcement Hall."
---
The next morning, Lin Du got up early.
He pushed open the door and found Lin Zifan already standing there.
"Brother?" Lin Du blinked. "You're here again?"
Lin Zifan looked at him, his gaze complicated.
"You went to see Su Li last night?"
Lin Du's heart stirred.
"How do you know?"
"Someone saw you." Lin Zifan said. "In the middle of the night, someone walking toward the bamboo grove."
Lin Du was silent for two seconds.
"You're still having someone watch me?"
"Not watch." Lin Zifan said. "Protect."
Lin Du looked at him and didn't speak.
Lin Zifan sighed.
"Let's talk inside."
---
They entered the room and closed the door.
Lin Zifan sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Lin Du.
"What did Su Li tell you?"
Lin Du thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth.
"He said that five years ago, he saw a black-robed person at the back gate of Enforcement Hall, carrying a black heart."
Lin Zifan's pupils contracted slightly.
"A black heart?"
"Yeah." Lin Du said. "He said that heart was still beating. The next day, he was punished with wall-facing meditation."
Lin Zifan was silent for a moment.
"Why did he tell you this?"
Lin Du looked at him and said slowly:
"He said that black-robed person's eyes looked exactly like yours."
Lin Zifan froze.
"What?"
"He said those eyes looked exactly like yours." Lin Du repeated.
Lin Zifan's expression changed.
Grew very dark.
"You believe him?"
Lin Du shook his head.
"No." He said. "But I'm thinking about one thing."
"What?"
"If what he said is true, then there really might be a heart seed in Enforcement Hall."
Lin Zifan fell silent.
Lin Du continued: "The second heart seed is marked at Tianxuan Sect's inner sect. Enforcement Hall is in the inner sect."
He looked at Lin Zifan.
"Brother, in all your years at Enforcement Hall, have you ever noticed anything unusual?"
Lin Zifan thought for a long time.
Then he slowly said:
"There is one thing."
Lin Du's heart stirred.
"What?"
"Three years ago, not long after your dantian shattered, someone died in the Enforcement Hall dungeon."
Lin Du froze.
"Who?"
"Don't know." Lin Zifan said. "No file, no record, not even a name. All I know is that he was an outer disciple who got caught for some offense. He was locked up for two days and then died."
"How?"
"Officially, he took his own life." Lin Zifan said. "But I saw the body. It didn't look like suicide."
Lin Du stared at him.
"Didn't look like what?"
"Didn't look like suicide." Lin Zifan said. "There was a hole in his chest. Very small, like something had burrowed out from inside."
Lin Du's pupils contracted sharply.
A hole in his chest.
Burrowed out from inside.
Just like Zhou Yuan, just like Zhang Gui.
"Where was he buried?" Lin Du asked.
Lin Zifan shook his head.
"Don't know." He said. "The body was disposed of the same day. They said it was to prevent disease."
Lin Du was silent.
Too coincidental.
Same cause of death, same way the body was handled, and the timing was right after the original owner's dantian shattered three years ago.
What if that heart seed had burrowed out of that person's body?
What if, after it came out, it had been hiding in Enforcement Hall all along?
"Brother." Lin Du suddenly spoke.
"Yeah?"
"Take me to see the Enforcement Hall dungeon."
---
The Enforcement Hall dungeon was darker and damper than Lin Du had imagined.
Narrow passageways lined with cells enclosed by iron bars. Oil lamps flickered on the walls, casting twisted, distorted shadows.
The air smelled of mold, mixed with rust and an indescribable stench of blood.
Lin Zifan led him deeper, all the way to the farthest end.
The last cell was larger than the others and more securely sealed.
The iron bars were twice as thick as elsewhere, and three locks hung on the door.
"This is it." Lin Zifan said.
Lin Du stood at the entrance and looked inside.
The cell was empty.
Just a stone bed covered with blackened straw.
A small window in the wall, sealed with iron bars.
"This is where that person died?" Lin Du asked.
"Yeah." Lin Zifan said. "When they found him, he was lying on that bed. A hole in his chest. The blood had already dried."
Lin Du walked in and crouched by the stone bed.
He closed his eyes and focused.
Something was there...
Very faint, very light, like a wisp of smoke about to disperse.
But he recognized that aura.
It was exactly like Zhou Yuan's heart.
"Bro Bin." He called silently.
"I feel it." The trash can's voice came. "It's the heart seed's aura. Very faint, but definitely there."
Lin Du opened his eyes.
The heart seed really had been here.
Three years ago, it burrowed out of that person's body, and then—
Then where did it go?
He stood up and walked around the cell.
When he reached the wall, he suddenly stopped.
On the wall, a character was carved.
Very small, very shallow—if you weren't looking carefully, you wouldn't notice it at all.
It was the character "Hate."
Lin Du's pupils contracted slightly.
"Brother." He called out.
Lin Zifan walked over and followed his gaze. He froze too.
"This is..."
"That person carved this before he died." Lin Du said.
He stared at that character, his mind racing.
That person had been possessed by the heart seed, eventually drained dry as the seed burrowed out of him.
Before dying, he carved this character.
Hate?
Hate who?
Hate the heart seed?
Or hate this world?
"Host." The trash can's voice suddenly rang out. "Have you considered something?"
"What?"
"That person's body was disposed of. But the heart seed is still here."
Lin Du nodded.
"I know."
"Where could it be?"
Lin Du was silent for a moment.
Then he slowly said:
"Maybe it's already found a new host."
---
Coming out of the dungeon, Lin Du walked in silence.
Head down, mind racing.
Three years ago, the heart seed burrowed out of that person.
Three years ago, Zhou Yuan's cultivation skyrocketed, his personality changed drastically.
Three years ago, the original owner's dantian shattered.
These three things happened in the same year.
There had to be a connection.
"Brother." Lin Du suddenly spoke.
"Yeah?"
"Three years ago, besides Zhou Yuan, was there anyone else whose cultivation suddenly skyrocketed?"
Lin Zifan thought for a moment.
"A few." He said. "But nothing obvious."
"Nothing obvious?"
"Yeah." Lin Zifan said. "A small increase in cultivation is normal. Unless someone jumps a whole major realm like Zhou Yuan, it's hard to tell."
Lin Du was silent for two seconds.
"Was there anyone who suddenly became very low-key three years ago?"
Lin Zifan blinked.
"Low-key?"
"Someone who used to be very active, then suddenly stopped talking, stopped going out, like they'd become a different person."
Lin Zifan thought for a long time.
Then he slowly said:
"There is one person."
Lin Du's heart stirred.
"Who?"
"Liu Ruyan."
---
Liu Ruyan, inner sect disciple, Foundation Establishment level three.
Three years ago, she was one of the most active people in the inner sect. She participated in every mission, every event.
But one day three years ago, she suddenly disappeared.
Not literally disappeared—she just stopped participating in anything, stopped interacting with anyone.
Every day, she came and went alone, like a shadow.
"Why?" Lin Du asked.
"Don't know." Lin Zifan said. "Some say it was heartbreak, some say it was cultivation problems. But nobody knows the real reason."
Lin Du was silent for a moment.
"Where is she now?"
"In the back mountain." Lin Zifan said. "There's a small cottage. She lives alone."
Lin Du turned to leave.
"Wait!" Lin Zifan chased after him. "You're going now?"
"Yes."
"What if it's dangerous?"
Lin Du stopped and turned back to look at him.
"Brother, do you trust me?"
Lin Zifan froze.
This was the third time he'd asked this question.
The first was when he decided to investigate the heart seed.
The second was before he went to see Su Li.
The third was now.
"I do." Lin Zifan said.
Lin Du smiled.
"Then let me go."
---
The small cottage in the back mountain was hidden in a grove of trees.
Lin Du walked up to the door. Just as he was about to knock, a voice came from inside.
"Come in."
A woman's voice, very soft, very calm.
Lin Du pushed open the door and walked in.
The room was simple. One bed, one table, one chair.
A woman sat on the chair.
Twenty-five or twenty-six, delicate features, dressed in plain white robes.
But her eyes—
Those eyes held nothing.
Not coldness, not sadness, not despair.
Nothing at all.
Like a dried-up well.
Lin Du looked above her head.
There, a heart floated.
Black.
Pure black.
Exactly like Zhou Yuan's heart.
That heart was beating.
Very slowly, very heavily. With each beat, the surrounding light dimmed a fraction.
"You're here." Liu Ruyan said.
Lin Du looked at her.
"You knew I was coming?"
Liu Ruyan smiled.
A faint smile, but with an indescribable strangeness.
"I've been waiting for you for three years." She said.