Chapter 5 – The Disgraced Heir
The courtyard of the outer disciples was unusually quiet that morning. A fine mist clung to the training grounds like the breath of a slumbering dragon. Li Wei sat cross-legged beside the koi pond, trying to absorb the chaotic essence stirred by last night's forbidden scroll awakening. The Heavenly Vein Ignition Technique still pulsed faintly in his dantian like a lit ember wrapped in velvet, restrained but unquenched.
Yu Long lay coiled loosely around his wrist, sunning himself.
"Your veins are no longer those of a commoner," the lizard said in a low mental hum. "But even so, you'll need more than bloodlines and luck to survive what's coming."
Li Wei opened his eyes, a grim smile pulling at his lips. "Then it's a good thing I never relied on luck."
A bell tolled three times in the distance—sect announcement hour. Within minutes, disciples were pouring toward the central plaza where a large notice board had been erected. Li Wei walked slowly, still feeling the strange ripple of qi throughout his meridians.
At the board, the usual crowd of outer and inner disciples buzzed with anticipation.
"Looks like they're posting this month's mission scrolls and sect challenges."
"Hey, that trial in Blackwood Gorge's back—no thanks, I like my head on my shoulders."
Li Wei was about to turn away when a sharp voice pierced the chatter.
"Who dares post the name of that failure on the outer disciple board again?!"
Heads turned. A tall figure stood near the edge of the square, robes rustling like caged thunder. His face was proud and cruel, his fingers resting on the hilt of a thin sword. He was Wei Han—an Inner Disciple from the Storm Pavilion Hall. Known for his vicious duels and connection to Elder Ma Qian, Wei Han was not one to be crossed.
Li Wei followed his gaze to the board. A fresh parchment mission request was nailed awkwardly over older scrolls. The name scribbled in red ink at the top read:
> Assigned Task: Escort Cultivator Lin Xue to the Crystalbone Caves.
Posted by: Lin Clan. Disguised status. No formal sect authority.
Escort reward: 200 contribution points.
Underneath, someone had added in scrawl:
> Accepted: Outer Disciple Li Wei.
A ripple of tension cut through the crowd.
"An escort mission for a disgraced heir? Lin Xue is still alive?" whispered someone.
Wei Han's eyes burned holes into the parchment. "She has no right to be here—she was expelled! And that nobody dares bind his name to hers?"
Li Wei stepped forward. "It's still a sect task, isn't it?"
Wei Han turned slowly. "You must enjoy dancing on the edge of rules, orphan. But let me warn you—whoever walks with traitors will be judged a traitor too."
Yu Long hissed quietly inside his sleeve.
"He's baiting you. Let it go."
Li Wei bowed just enough to be courteous. "If the sect wishes me to withdraw, I will. But until then, I will fulfill the mission."
Wei Han stared at him for a long moment before turning away. "Then you can die beside her."
--
Later that afternoon, Li Wei stood beneath the vast cavern mouth that led into the Crystalbone range. Sharp wind howled through its ribs like the cries of old spirits. And waiting in the shadows was the mission's strange employer.
She wore gray travel robes, her hair hidden beneath a black veil, but her presence was unmistakable—a quiet authority clung to her like a second skin.
"Are you Li Wei?" she asked, her voice low but clear.
"Yes."
She stepped forward, offering a sealed token—one that bore the faded insignia of the Lin Clan, once one of the six noble houses in the Eastern Reaches. Li Wei took it respectfully.
"I thought the Lin Clan dissolved," he said.
"It did," she replied. "But some of us remember."
Silence stretched between them before she continued. "I'm only going into the first three chambers. I need to retrieve something left behind when… when I fled."
"What should I expect inside?" Li Wei asked.
She gave him a wry smile. "Memories. And monsters."
---
Inside the Caves
The first chamber was filled with calcified vines and shattered bone lanterns. Ghostly blue crystals lined the walls, giving off enough light to see the outline of what must once have been a clan training hall.
"I trained here when I was seven," she said suddenly. "My uncle taught me the Song of Shifting Blades. He died the next day—burned alive by the one who stole our heirloom technique."
Li Wei kept silent.
In the second chamber, something moved.
"Qi beast," Yu Long whispered.
It was shaped like a dog but bone-white and twice the size. A skull mask covered its face, with black smoke leaking from its ribs.
Lin Xue drew two short blades from her sleeves. "You take the left. I'll bait it."
The battle was swift, but not easy. The bone beast moved erratically, fading in and out of view as it leapt through the crystal shadows. Li Wei timed a strike through its shifting form, flaring his qi mid-swing to pierce the illusion. Lin Xue caught its final charge and drove both blades into its throat.
When it collapsed, she looked at him differently.
"You're not like the others."
Li Wei exhaled. "I've had practice being underestimated."
She looked at him again. "So had I."
The third chamber was eerily quiet.
It looked like a burial vault. A massive stone table lay cracked in the middle, and around it floated strips of old silk calligraphy, suspended midair by pure residual qi.
Lin Xue approached one of the scrolls and reached out.
A voice boomed through the room.
"You are not the heir. You forfeited your blood rights."
A projection surged from the scroll—a phantom elder in full Lin Clan armor.
"I came to reclaim the soul key," Lin Xue said. "Not for myself—for the future of the East."
The phantom paused. "And who stands with you?"
She turned to Li Wei.
He stepped forward. "I am Li Wei. Sect disciple. Escort. And if she's seeking justice, I will stand with her."
The ghost examined them both, and then the air shimmered.
A fragment of jade slowly descended from the air and landed in Lin Xue's palm.
The chamber sighed as though released from duty.
On the way back, Lin Xue was quiet. Just before parting at the outer gates, she handed Li Wei a folded silk slip.
"If you ever find yourself hunted by the sect," she said, "go to Mount Ebonveil and light this. They'll come for you."
He took it without a word.
"And Wei Han," she added, "was once a guest of my family. Tell him: snakes remember the hands that tried to cut them."
With that, she disappeared down the forest road.