[Outside Prince Zhan's Manor • A Dim, Long Alley]
Night had completely fallen. The bustle of Zhanchuan City gradually faded, leaving only the wail of the evening wind whistling through the narrow lanes.
"Quick! Keep up!" Chu Yuning's face was cold as stone. Behind him followed several elite soldiers, paired off and leading two massive hounds. These dogs were specially trained in the military to track enemy spies; their sense of smell was extraordinarily keen.
He pulled a moon-white hairband from his sleeve—he had just taken it from Auntie Mei. It still carried the faint, elegant scent of the herbs Huo Xi used daily, along with her soft, lingering presence.
"Go!" Chu Yuning held the hairband to the hounds' noses. The two dogs spun in circles restlessly, letting out low, rhythmic barks before suddenly lunging against their leashes, sprinting toward a remote path in the West District market.
As he followed close behind, Chu Yuning couldn't help but curse under his breath. That Shadow Blade usually acts as sharp as a ghost. How can he be so brainless the moment it involves this girl? Rushing out without a direction—does he plan to flip the entire city upside down to find her?
Looking toward where the hounds vanished, a flash of unease crossed his eyes. Since these spies dared to move, they must have been fully prepared. Shadow Blade, in his current "Prince Zhan" attire, was nothing more than a glaring target in the shadows.
[West District Market • A Chaotic Corner]
Simultaneously, on the other side, Shadow Blade stood at the very corner where Huo Xi had disappeared.
He was still wearing the incomparably noble purple-gold python robes, but his eyes beneath the mask burned with a fiery red. Passing civilians were forced back by the near-physical aura of slaughter radiating from him; no one dared look the "Prince" in the eye.
He didn't have hounds like Chu Yuning, but he possessed the "scent" of a top-tier Shadow Guard—a sense honed through twenty years in the world of darkness.
He walked slowly, his gaze sweeping over every inch of the ground like a hawk. Suddenly, his footsteps halted near a stone crevice by a drainage ditch.
There, lying quietly, was half of a shattered piece of wood.
Shadow Blade dropped to one knee, his hand trembling as he reached out. His fingertips were stained with the murky water on the ground as he picked up the fragment. Tracing the jagged, incomplete character for "Zhan" (Prince Zhan's insignia) on the plaque, his breathing completely fractured.
This was the manor's entry/exit plaque. It was the item he had watched her take with his own eyes.
"Huo Xi..." His voice was so hoarse it was barely recognizable. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to strip away the chaotic scents of the marketplace to find that one trace of her.
"Woof! Woof!"
The sharp barks tore through the deathly silence. Chu Yuning arrived like a gale, leading his men with the thunder of hooves and boots. The moment the two hounds saw Shadow Blade, they were so intimidated by his overwhelming aura of bloodlust that they skidded to a halt, whimpering and backing away.
Chu Yuning reined in his horse, looking down at the "Prince" kneeling on the ground, radiating the atmosphere of the abyss. His eyes flashed with a complex emotion—irritation.
"Shadow Blade!" Chu Yuning dismounted, his voice carrying a rare edge of fury. "Have you lost your mind? Running through the market dressed like that—do you want everyone watching the manor to spot you?"
Shadow Blade didn't look back. His nails dug deep into his palms, blood dripping from between his fingers onto the broken wood.
"She... vanished here," Shadow Blade's voice rasped like sandpaper, devoid of life.
"I brought the military hounds." Chu Yuning took a deep breath, unfurling the moon-white hairband. "You're usually so shrewd; why has your brain failed you now? Charging out without a single clue—do you think you're an immortal with a divine eye?"
Chu Yuning signaled the soldiers to let the hounds sniff the crevice where Shadow Blade had stood.
"Woof!" One of the hounds seemed to sense something and let out a sharp, prolonged howl toward a derelict private school in the northwest outskirts.
Shadow Blade's expression shifted violently. The wood in his hand was nearly crushed to powder.
"Northwest... that's a hidden outpost on the edge of town." Chu Yuning's face darkened as he quickly remounted, shouting to his men, "Everyone, listen up! Seal the northwest gate! No suspicious person is to leave!"
He turned to Shadow Blade, who was finally rising. "Stop acting like a madman! The hounds found the direction; we can still catch them. Shadow Blade, find your calm. If you lose your head now, who is going to bring her back?"
Shadow Blade stood tall, the purple-gold robes snapping in the cold wind. He tucked the broken plaque into his chest with a tenderness reserved for a priceless treasure. Then, he lifted his head.
The eyes behind the mask were no longer their usual black; they were stained with a terrifying shade of crimson.
[City Outskirts • Hidden Cell of the Derelict School]
The shock of cold water splashed on her face jolted Huo Xi awake. She opened her eyes to see rotting wooden beams and choking dust. The air was thick with the lingering scent of blood and mold.
Three men in black stood before her like mountains, their eyes glinting with malice behind their masks.
"Awake?" The leader grabbed her hair, his grip so brutal it stole her breath. "Little girl, I don't have much patience. So, answer the questions truthfully. Is Chu Yuning making hidden weapons capable of blowing things up?"
Huo Xi's eyes welled with tears from the pain, but she shook her head frantically, her voice trembling but urgent. "I... I don't know... I'm just a servant in the inner court who buys herbs. I rarely even see the Third Young Master... his needs are handled by the outer court boys. How could I know such secrets?"
The three men whispered among themselves, sensing her genuine terror. "Boss, she doesn't look like she's faking. Did we grab the wrong person?"
"Damn it. We finally got a woman who can enter the inner court. Is she really useless?"
Listening to them, Huo Xi's heart hammered against her ribs. Ignoring the tears on her face, she scanned the dim room for any chance of escape.
Suddenly, her gaze froze on the dirt floor three paces away. There lay a dust-covered, sky-blue pouch—it must have been torn from her waist during the struggle.
The drawstring had loosened, and the redwood tag—the one with the slanted, clumsy characters for "Shadow Blade"—lay quietly in the dust.
Shadow Blade...
The moment she saw those two words, her eyes filled again. It was her only anchor. Ignoring the rope burning into her wrists, she fought to move her chair toward the pouch, desperate to touch it even with just a fingertip.
"What are you moving for!" A spy noticed her, stomping over rudely. He followed her gaze to the floor and let out a cold laugh, slamming his boot down on the sky-blue pouch.
"A raggedy pouch? Is it worth all this longing?" He ground his heel down, and the redwood tag let out a faint, desperate creak in the dirt.
"No... please... give it back..." Huo Xi screamed hoarsely, her tears falling like a broken dam.
In that moment, she didn't pray for rescue; she wasn't even afraid of death. She was simply heartbroken. That was her last piece of devotion to "Shadow Blade," and it was being trampled under an evil man's foot.