Pursuit [II]

The mist thickened around Yu YongTian, swallowing the path ahead in a ghostly shroud. Each step he took was soundless, his robes barely disturbing the eerie silence that clung to the air. He had followed Shen YiJun's trail into this forest, but now, the man was nowhere to be seen.

Pausing, he flicked his crimson fan open, its lacquered surface gleaming under the pale light that filtered through the canopy above. With a single, deliberate motion, he whipped the fan forward, sending a sharp gust of wind slicing through the mist. The dense fog parted like silk being unraveled, revealing a clearer path ahead, but still, no sign of Shen YiJun.

His voice rang out, steady yet edged with something unreadable. "Shen YiJun."

Only his voice echoed back. Yu YongTian frowned slightly but went silent. Instead, he listened for the faintest shift in the wind, the rustle of a leaf, the breath of another presence hidden within the mist.

A sudden, loud voice shattered the stillness. "Palace Lord! Palace Lord! Wait for me!"

Yu YongTian's fan stilled just short of his lips his as he turned. Ling You's small form emerged from the fog, bounding forward with an urgency that sent his long, bushy tail whipping behind him.

Yu YongTian raised a single brow. "Hurry up."

Ling You, panting slightly, leaped up onto Yu YongTian's shoulder with ease. His gleaming blue eyes glared at him accusingly.

"What?" Yu YongTian asked lazily, his tone holding the faintest note of amusement.

Ling You scoffed. "You forgot about me! You left me to be torn apart by those smelly humans!"

Yu YongTian gave a slow, dry "Oh," as if realizing it only now. Then, just as indifferently, he added, "Be more careful next time."

If Ling You were human, his face would have turned red from sheer rage. His tail bristled, his small frame trembling with barely contained frustration. His voice wavered as he turned his head away, refusing to acknowledge Yu YongTian any further.

Yu YongTian sighed, reaching up to stroke Ling You's soft fur in a calming gesture. "Fine. I apologize." His voice, though laced with amusement, held sincerity within its depths.

Ling You sniffed and turned his back on him, though not completely. Yu YongTian observed him with narrowed eyes, knowing that look all too well.

"Come on, help me track down Shen YiJun." His voice lowered, a hint of persuasion threading through it.

Ling You refused to look at him.

Yu YongTian exhaled through his nose, his patience thinning. "What do you want?"

As if waiting for this moment, Ling You slowly turned, his expression smug and knowing.

Yu YongTian's gaze darkened in realization, and before Ling You could even voice his demand, he shook his head firmly. "No."

Ling You immediately turned away again, his tail flicking in irritation.

Yu YongTian's fan snapped shut with a sharp click. "Ling You," he warned, but he was only met with silence.

The corner of his eye twitched, pointing at Ling You. "Fine... but later" he gritted through his teeth.

Ling You grinned victoriously before leaping off his shoulder. "This way." He bounded ahead, his movements swift and fluid as he led Yu YongTian deeper into the forest, his smile never ending followed by satisfied chuckles.

Yu YongTian followed with a heavy sigh, his fan tapping against his palm. "Annoying beast. Aren't you ashamed of blackmailing you master? Where else do you find someone as kind as me nowadays. Yet you only know how to—"

The complaints faded when they reached a part of the forest untouched by mist. Now, the air thrummed with the sounds of rustling leaves, the distant call of birds… and something sharper. It was the whistle of a blade slicing through air.

Yu YongTian's gaze sharpened as he stepped into the clearing. Before him, Shen YiJun moved like a spectral blur, his sword cutting arcs of silver through the air as he clashed with Jiu Lian.

The nine-tailed fox, no longer in her human form, darted around him with deadly grace, her claws glinting under the fractured light.

Yu YongTian did not move. He stood, watching with unreadable eyes, his fan held idly in front of him.

He noticed Shen YiJun's swordsmanship… had improved. There was a precision to his strikes, an efficiency that spoke of long years tempered by discipline and something colder. Something relentless. Yu YongTian's gaze tracked every movement, every shift of Shen YiJun's stance, noting how he never faltered, never hesitated.

Then, in one final strike, Shen YiJun drove Jiu Lian back. She stumbled, her form flickering before she shifted once more, her human body collapsing to one knee.

"Surrender," Shen YiJun's voice rang out, unyielding. "Or I will kill you."

Yu YongTian's expression did not shift, but deep within his gaze, something flickered. Kill? That was a word that had never passed Shen YiJun's lips before.

Yu YongTian smirked, his eyes colder than earlier, as he shut his fan slowly. Then, with a smooth motion, he slid one hand behind his back while the other rested lightly on his stomach, the fan poised between his fingers.

Step by step, he made his way toward Shen YiJun, his presence effortlessly weaving into the moment as if he had been there all along.

Yu YongTian's steps were slow, deliberate, as he closed the distance between himself and Shen YiJun. His half-smile was dark, unreadable, the kind that made the weak tremble and the strong wary. His robes, deep as the abyss, swayed slightly with each step, the hem dragging along the damp earth of the mist-laden forest. Before him, Jiu Lian lay on the ground, writhing in pain yet holding herself together with remarkable resolve.

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End Note

"Even in the stillness , every step echoes with purpose."