The Seal's Disturbance

Bai Lu moved through the forest with calculated speed, her mind turning over the evidence left behind. The lifeless body. The remnants of disturbed energy. The ritual that had been performed in secrecy.

Someone was playing a dangerous game.

She paused at the base of a towering cliffside, her keen senses picking up the faint traces of lingering qi. It was faint—almost deliberately concealed—but she had trained too long and too well to overlook the presence of something unnatural.

She placed a hand against the rock face, closing her eyes as she let her spiritual sense expand.

Then she felt it.

A presence—not of the living, but of something older. Faint whispers of energy clung to the stone like echoes from another time. It was not malevolent, but neither was it benign. It was watching. Waiting.

Bai Lu's brows furrowed.

This was no ordinary disturbance.

She traced her fingers along the rock, feeling the etchings of faded carvings beneath her touch. Symbols worn by time, yet still pulsing with a forgotten power.

A seal.

And someone had tampered with it.

Her grip tightened. Whoever had performed that ritual had been meddling with something far beyond their understanding. The question was—had they succeeded in breaking it?

She stepped back, scanning the surroundings. The night air was still, but she could sense the weight of something lingering just beyond the veil of the physical world.

Something had stirred.

And she wasn't sure if it had gone back to sleep.

Bai Lu exhaled, suppressing the unease curling at the edge of her consciousness. Whatever had been done here, she needed more information before acting. If this was tied to the imperial court's movements—or worse, to Wang Shi's past—she had to uncover the truth before it was too late.

A flicker of movement in the distance caught her attention. A shadow.

She wasn't alone.

Without hesitation, she vanished into the trees, her figure blending seamlessly into the night. Whoever was watching… they would not catch her off guard.

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