The embers in the hearth had cooled to ash by the time Han Li stirred again.
Morning light pressed through the gaps in the shutters, pale and thin as rice paper. The air inside his hut was still warm from the night before, but it smelled faintly of plum blossom — a ghost that made it harder to think of anything but her.
He rose, washed quickly in the wooden basin, and checked the baskets hanging from the rafters. Winterroot was running low, and the System's quiet nudges about "Qi Purifier stock levels" had been getting harder to ignore.
Outside, the frost still clung to the ground where the sun hadn't reached, crunching under his boots as he headed toward the forest. The woven basket hung at his hip, swaying with each step.
The Root Sense hummed faintly in his chest, tracing those invisible threads again — Mianhua's steady warmth to the east, the restless burn of Lanfen somewhere not far behind him. He didn't have to look to know she was moving.
If she wanted to follow, he'd let her.
The deer path curved ahead, sunlight catching on icicles that dripped slow and cold from the branches. Behind him, the rhythm of his own footsteps was joined by another set — light, quick, and entirely too careless to be accidental.
"Enjoying the view?" he asked without turning.
A pause, then Lanfen's voice, light but edged: "How did you know?"
"Because you're not nearly as invisible as you think."
She came up alongside him, hands tucked into the sleeves of her fur-lined cloak. Her cheeks were pink from the cold, eyes glittering with challenge. "Maybe I wasn't trying to be invisible."
"That," Han Li said, plucking a winterroot bud from a drift, "I believe."
Her gaze flicked to his basket. "That doesn't look like much. Planning to starve this winter?"
He smirked. "Planning to live longer."
Her lips pursed, but before she could answer, the forest went quiet. Too quiet.
Han Li's Root Sense flared — a sharp pulse in the undergrowth ahead. Not human. Heavy. Predatory.
He shifted his weight, setting the basket down silently. "Stay close," he murmured.
Lanfen frowned, following his gaze toward the snow-shadowed thicket. "What is it—"
A flash of mottled gray lunged from the brush, snarling — a rock-fanged lynx, shoulders as high as Han Li's chest. Its eyes glowed faintly with wild qi, breath steaming in the cold.
It went for Lanfen.
Han Li moved without thought. The new stance flowed through him like water — pivot, plant, guide. His arm caught hers and yanked her sideways just as the lynx's claws tore furrows in the ground where she'd stood.
She gasped, colliding against him, and he was already stepping forward.
The Combat Instinct skill made the world sharp and slow. He saw the twitch of muscle before it pounced again, angled his body so its momentum slid past. His palm struck its flank, qi flaring — not enough to kill, but enough to jar its rhythm.
The lynx staggered, hissed, and tried again.
Han Li drew on the stance's turning root, grounding himself in the frozen earth. When it leapt, he pivoted, hooking an arm around its neck and slamming it sideways into a tree. The crack of impact sent a tremor through the bark.
The beast yowled, then limped into the trees, vanishing as quickly as it came.
Silence settled back over the path. Han Li released the breath he'd been holding.
Lanfen was staring at him, eyes wide, cloak skewed from the sudden movement. "You…" She trailed off, then laughed — breathless, a little wild. "You're dangerous."
"So I've been told."
Instead of stepping back, she stepped forward, her hands coming up to rest lightly on his chest. "And you saved me."
"I wasn't about to let you be lunch."
"Mm." Her gaze lingered on his mouth. "Then consider this… thanks."
Her kiss was quick, heated, and over before he could answer — though the Root Sense certainly did, a warm pulse of approval.
[Side Quest Progress: 82%. Emotional Resonance spike detected.]
She pulled back, eyes still glinting. "Next time, maybe I'll save you."
Then she turned and walked ahead of him on the path, hips swaying just enough to suggest she knew exactly the effect she was having.
Han Li picked up his basket, hiding his smirk. "We'll see."