Chapter 6: Frostfang Ambush
The dawn crept slowly across the mountain, its pale light brushing the snow-draped trees in hues of silver and blue. Mei Lian awoke to the low crackle of embers and the quiet rhythm of Shen's sword slicing through the morning air.
He was training—each movement precise, every step a silent whisper across the snow. His blade danced like wind, then froze mid-motion like ice. Mei Lian watched him, mesmerized. There was a kind of serenity in his form, but it masked the violence his sword could unleash at a heartbeat's notice.
She sat up. The pact's lingering warmth still pulsed gently in her chest, a tether to something beyond herself.
He noticed her watching and sheathed his blade. "You're up."
"I didn't dream," she said. "First time in years."
"That's the pact. Your spirit's no longer carrying everything alone."
She nodded slowly. "It's strange. But… comforting."
They broke camp without a word, both sensing a subtle shift in the wind. The mountains, once silent and still, now felt watchful.
As they descended into a narrow forest pass, the stillness broke.
A low growl echoed from the treetops.
Shen's hand dropped to his hilt instantly. "Frostfangs."
Mei Lian felt her pulse spike. "What are they?"
"Spirit wolves. Bred to hunt cultivators by scent. Their bite carries spirit-freezing venom."
"Can we outrun them?"
"No. We fight."
The first wolf leapt from the trees like a blur of white death—fangs bared, eyes glowing a pale, unnatural blue. Shen's sword flashed, severing the beast mid-air in one clean arc.
Three more emerged behind it.
Mei Lian ducked a slash of claws, drawing her short blade, though it felt laughably small beside Shen's. One wolf lunged at her side—she rolled away, then called to the flicker inside her.
The flame.
It answered.
A ribbon of crimson energy burst from her palm—not fire exactly, but something warmer, purer. It struck the wolf square in the chest, halting it mid-lunge. Its body convulsed, then disintegrated into snowflakes.
Shen gave her a sidelong glance. "Your flame's awakening."
"I didn't think—I just reacted."
"Good. Do it again."
The battle grew wild. The wolves circled with maddening speed, snapping and lunging. Shen moved like a storm—elegant, deadly. Mei Lian fought at his side, her flame instinctual but untrained. She shielded him from behind, and when one wolf nearly caught him off-guard, she thrust her blade into its throat.
The pact pulsed.
They moved as one.
When the last wolf fell, silence returned, broken only by their heavy breaths and the slow melting of spirit-wolf remains.
Shen wiped his blade and turned to her. "You've improved."
"I wasn't thinking. It just… happened."
"That's the flame guiding you. But don't grow overconfident. Instinct isn't enough."
He knelt beside one of the wolves and retrieved a crystal shard from its chest. It glowed with cold energy.
"The Frostfangs were summoned. Tracked to us deliberately."
"By who?"
Shen stood, face darkening. "Only one sect breeds them now—The Heavenly Sky Pavilion."
Mei Lian's hands clenched. "They found us."
"They won't stop now," he said. "You're no longer just a girl with a strange mark, Mei Lian. You're becoming a threat."
She felt it too. Something inside her had shifted—not just her spirit, but her path. This wasn't survival anymore.
It was war.
Shen turned to her. "We need to reach Crimson Hollow before the moon turns. There's someone there who might have the answers we need."
She met his gaze. "And if they don't?"
"Then we carve our own answers. With fire and steel."