Tamer Zhou knelt in the center of the formation room, head bowed, blood still drying on his sleeve.
The room was quiet. Too quiet.
Incense burned in tall bronze stands along the walls, their smoke curling upward in perfect, disciplined lines. Formation runes glowed faintly beneath Zhou's knees, cold and impersonal, recording every fluctuation in his spiritual state.
Fear did not lie in formations.
"Speak," Elder Shen Bao said.
His voice carried no anger. That was worse.
Zhou swallowed and raised his head. "The hound is dead."
A ripple moved through the room. Not shock. Annoyance.
"Explain," Shen Bao said.
Zhou took a breath. "The target was a spirit cow. Tier One. Production-grade. No known mutations. I had already disabled her when interference occurred."
"Interference," Shen Bao repeated calmly.
"A human male," Zhou said. "Young. Outer disciple clothing. No visible cultivation."
Shen Bao's eyes narrowed slightly. "A mortal killed your contracted beast."
"No," Zhou said quickly. "The cow did."
That earned him a sharper look.
"She should not have been capable," Zhou continued. "She was wounded. Drained. Her output had already dropped. But when the human appeared, she reacted."
"Reacted how?" Shen Bao asked.
Zhou hesitated.
"She moved," he said. "Like she was defending him."
Silence settled.
"That is not behavior consistent with garden stock," Shen Bao said.
"I know," Zhou replied. "That is why I withdrew when the patrol signal triggered."
Shen Bao tapped a finger lightly against the arm of his chair.
"You abandoned a contracted asset," he said. "And lost a trained hound."
"Yes."
"And you are alive."
"Yes."
Shen Bao studied him for a long moment. "Then something unusual occurred."
Zhou nodded. "Yes."
A second elder spoke from the shadows. Elder Liu Yin. Her voice was smooth, almost pleasant.
"You said the human had no cultivation," she said. "Are you certain?"
"I am," Zhou replied. "I checked. No qi circulation. No core. No concealment technique. He was empty."
That made Liu Yin lean forward.
"Empty how," she asked.
Zhou frowned. "Not blocked. Not damaged. Just… empty. Like a channel with nothing inside."
The formation beneath him pulsed faintly.
Truth confirmed.
Shen Bao's expression changed.
"Describe the milk," he said.
Zhou stiffened. "I did not collect it."
"But you sensed it," Liu Yin said softly. "Did you not."
Zhou's jaw tightened. "Yes."
"How?" Shen Bao asked.
"It was wrong," Zhou said. "Dense. Clean. The cow's body responded too quickly. As if stimulated by something other than force."
The room went still.
Liu Yin's eyes gleamed. "Naturally induced."
Zhou nodded once.
"That is not possible," another elder muttered.
"It is rare," Liu Yin corrected. "Not impossible."
Shen Bao leaned back slowly. "Where is the cow now."
"Escaped," Zhou said. "With the human."
"And the human," Shen Bao said. "Name."
"I do not know," Zhou admitted. "But he was wearing Azure Cloud Sect robes."
That drew attention.
"Azure Cloud expelled a hollow vessel last week," Liu Yin said thoughtfully. "A boy with complete meridians and zero retention."
Shen Bao's fingers stilled.
"Say that again."
"Hollow," Liu Yin repeated. "No storage. No contamination. No explanation."
The formation flared.
Recognition rippled through the room.
"No," one elder said quietly. "That is not possible."
Shen Bao stood.
"Divine Husbandry," he said.
The word settled like a curse.
Zhou's eyes widened. "That is a myth."
"So were hollow vessels," Liu Yin replied. "Until today."
Shen Bao turned toward a wall etched with names long since struck through.
"The last holder destabilized three sect markets and triggered a regional war," he said. "If this is genuine, we cannot allow it to mature."
Zhou's pulse quickened. "Orders."
"Investigate," Shen Bao said. "Quietly. No open mobilization. No noise."
Liu Yin smiled faintly. "If it is real, the beasts will gather to him on their own."
"And if it is not," Shen Bao said, "then a mortal disappears. No loss."
Zhou bowed deeply. "Understood."
As he rose, Liu Yin spoke again.
"Do not kill the cow," she said. "If possible."
Zhou froze. "You want her alive."
"Yes," Liu Yin replied. "She is evidence."
"And the boy," Zhou asked.
Shen Bao's gaze was cold.
"Alive if convenient," he said. "Dead if not."
Zhou bowed again and withdrew.
Far from the polished stone halls, Wang Lin sat beside a small fire, counting coin by firelight. Mei Niu watched the darkness beyond their camp, ears twitching, unease crawling up her spine.
She pressed a hand lightly against her chest.
Something was moving.
Not nearby.
But coming.