Peace never lasted long in Shi Mu's life.
The day after reclaiming herself, she awoke to faint sounds outside her door—too soft to be a knock, too deliberate to be wind.
Footsteps.
Pacing.Pausing.Moving again.
She sat upright on the bed, her senses sharp.
Grabbing the charm from her bedside, she crept toward the door.
She pressed her ear against the wood.
Silence.
Then—
A whisper.
So faint it barely reached her.
"You opened the door once… Will you open it again?"
Shi Mu flung the door open.
Empty hallway.
No one.
She checked every window, every entry point. Nothing had been tampered with. No trace of movement. No physical evidence.
But in the corner of the hallway rug—
Mud.
Two small prints.Not fresh, but recent enough to still dampen the floor beneath them.
Not large enough to be Fu Yunshen's.
Back in her room, her system activated automatically.
[System Notification]
Residual Spirit Signature Detected – Identity Unknown
Path Type: Incomplete Entry / Memory-Seeking
Intent: Non-Malicious
Recommendation: Passive Observation
Brotherhood Value +270 (Intrusion Resisted + Observation Initiated)
Current Total: 13,220 / 1,000,000
Shi Mu sat down and lit a single flame under her incense holder.
She wasn't afraid.
But she was curious.
"Who are you?" she asked the empty room.
The flame flickered.
Once.
Then again.
Then stopped.
The rug dried on its own.
The hallway stilled.
But something remained.
Not harmful.
Not hostile.
Just… waiting.
For what?
She wasn't sure.
But this time, she wouldn't open the door too quickly.
Not without understanding who—or what—stood on the other side.