Hidden deep inside the tangled heart of the forest, the two men settled into stillness. Every heartbeat slowed, every breath measured, as they waited for the patrol’s rhythm to fracture.
Soon a solitary figure appeared, a snake demon in an emerald gown, basket swinging lightly from arm as though were no more than a village herbalist searching for moss.
Her power barely brushed the first tier of the Earthly Immortal Realm, and paid the shadows around little mind. Jared’s gaze sharpened. “She’s the one.”
One subtle tilt of Jared’s chin was all the signal Flaxseed needed. They sprang together, two blurs flickering between trees. Jared flashed in behind the woman and struck the base of neck with a knife-hand blow.
The emerald basket toppled; the demoness sagged with a muted groan and slipped into darkness.
Flaxseed caught before hit the ground, then hauled the limp body into a thicket so dense even moonlight hesitated to enter. He gave cheek a brisk slap.
“Up you get,” muttered, coaxing consciousness back into eyes.
The moment woke, terror gleamed in pupils. She drew breath to scream, Flaxseed clamped a hand over mouth before the sound was born. His voice dropped to a razor’s edge.
“No noise. Try it, and the next thing you feel will be cold steel where it hurts most.”
The threat, simple, brutal, unmistakable, drove every thought of protest from mind. She nodded so hard the emerald pins in hair rattled.
Jared shot Flaxseed a withering look-some habits, it seemed, the old rogue would never outgrow.
Flaxseed removed his hand but kept his stare locked on the captive. “Answer a few questions and you walk away intact. Lie, and my blade will make certain you remember me forever.”
“W-Who are you? What do you want?” Her voice trembled like a reed in floodwater.
“Our names don’t matter,” Jared said coolly. “Tell me, was the Lord of Greenscale Gorge killed by Blackwind Stronghold?”
She hesitated, then gave a tiny nod. “Y-Yes… He… He died horribly.”
“And what is Crimson Coil Sect planning in response?”
“Our leader has summoned every expert in the sect. We’ll march on Blackwind Stronghold for blood. Greenscale Gorge and Crimson Coil Sect share one lineage, his death cannot go unanswered.”
“Who else is willing to side with you? Any outside powers?”
She shook head. “None. The other factions are either tied to Blackwind Stronghold or too frightened of the fallout to help us…”
Hearing this, Jared’s brow tightened.
That isn’t what I expected…
Could the old massacre have involved only Blackshade Demon Palace and Blackwind Stronghold?
Unable to hold back, Flaxseed blurted, “Then tell me, what do you know about the extermination of the Flaxseed clan twenty-eight centuries ago?”
The serpent-woman froze, forked tongue slipping back behind lips as confusion dimmed the lantern-green of eyes.
“I‘ve never heard of any Flaxseed clan,” whispered, each word trembling with uncertainty. “I’m new to the sect. The old stories mean nothing to me…”
Jared and Flaxseed traded a silent look beneath the wavering torchlight, disappointment glittered there, brief and sharp as broken glass.
Whatever answers they had hoped to pry from mind would not be found tonight.
“Just one last question,” Jared said, calm yet relentless. “Where is the Crimson Coil Sect’s sect leader now?”
“High on Serpentcoil Mountain,” the woman replied. “He remains in closed-door meditation, pushing for third tier of Earthly Immortal Realm. Give a few days, then the gates will open.”
Jared inclined his head. “That‘s all we need. Let‘s move…”
Flaxseed lingered, scratching the stubble along his jaw. “We’re just… Letting walk away?”
The serpent-woman stood shackled by a faint shimmer of Jared’s energy, eyes lowered in mute terror.
Flaxseed hadn’t faced a woman in far too long, his own companions had remained behind in level three, and this hard, hungry world had offered little relief since.
“What are you thinking?” Jared asked, voice suddenly edged with frost.
Flaxseed twirled his dagger. “A quick jab or two, no witnesses…”
“No.” Jared’s refusal cracked like flint. “Kill and the whole mountain will swarm. We need stealth, not chaos.”
“What if I make it look painless?” Flaxseed pressed, half joking, half desperate. Jared stepped away, cloak snapping. “Release her, or I cut you loose.”
With a defeated sigh Flaxseed tapped the serpent-woman‘s temple, knocking unconscious instead of dead.
She crumpled soundlessly to the moss. Together the two men vanished into the trees, their disappointment swallowed by the night.
