Chapter 4: Shadows Stir in Golden Silence
The morning mist clung gently to the peaks of Qingmei Mountain, veiling the world in silver as bells from the inner sect chimed softly in the distance. Disciples moved about the grounds, their laughter echoing faintly. Yet, beneath this calm… the mountain stirred.
Luo Qingshen sat beneath an ancient spirit tree near the back of the sect, a wooden broom in hand as he swept fallen petals from the courtyard. A quiet smile played on his lips—unbothered, unnoticed. To the others, he was just a new outer disciple, reserved and polite.
But the mountain knew better.
Without intent, his presence had subtly begun to twist the flow of qi around Qingmei. The Spirit Veins pulsed with unnatural clarity—too clear, too vibrant. Several cultivators found their breakthroughs unnaturally smooth that week. No one questioned it.
Except one.
Elder Mingyan stood atop the northern observatory, his eyes narrowed as he traced the convergence lines. "The mountain breathes too deeply," he muttered, voice barely louder than wind. "As if something old… has awakened."
Far below, Luo lifted his gaze. Just for a moment.
His crystalline eyes—usually dull with pretense—flickered with divine gold before dimming again. He could feel it. Someone was watching.
In the shadow of the trees lining the outer sect wall, a figure cloaked in black and deep red stood still, unmoving. Even birds avoided his presence. A raven mark glowed faintly on the back of his hand—The Black Vow. A secret order that hunted lost gods.
The stranger didn't approach. Not yet. He only watched.
Later that afternoon, as Luo carried fresh water from the well, a girl bumped into him.
"Ah—sorry!" she said, her cheeks reddened as she stepped back. She looked about his age, with short-cut brown hair and soft features. Her robes bore no emblem—perhaps a medicine gatherer or inner disciple's assistant.
But what caught Luo's attention… was the faint shimmer that danced across her fingertips as she reached to steady him.
She paused, blinking up at him. "You feel… strange," she whispered. Not with fear. With wonder.
Luo's smile deepened, calm and unshaken. "I've been told that."
Night fell. The stars above Qingmei burned brighter than usual, as if recognizing a presence they thought long sealed.
And far beyond the mountain, across the poisoned rivers of the Eastern Wilds, a message traveled by raven.
"He stirs."