The bamboo swayed like silent sentinels as Lin Xuan melted deeper into the shadows. His new body still felt foreign—too light, too fragile—but the Venom Thorn Gu wriggling in his aperture was already beginning to knit strength into his meridians. A faint green glow pulsed beneath his skin, then faded. Rank one, initial stage. Barely a spark compared to the inferno he once commanded.
He crouched low, breath steady, eyes tracking the approaching voices.
"...that useless dog Lin Xuan must be dead by now. Ran off with Elder Third's manual like he actually had talent." The speaker's tone dripped with mockery. Lin Xuan recognized it instantly—Lin Hao, the second son of the Lin Clan's second elder. Sixteen years old, rank one middle stage, favored for his mid-grade aptitude. In the old Lin Xuan's memories, this boy had been the one to push him into the wolf pack's territory after framing him for theft.
Three figures emerged from the mist: Lin Hao in fine azure robes, a jade sword at his hip; two clan guards at rank one initial stage, spears in hand. They carried spirit lanterns that cast pale blue light, illuminating the trampled grass where Lin Xuan had fought the serpent.
Lin Hao kicked at the serpent's corpse. "Look at this. Some low-rank beast got torn apart. Probably that coward tried to hunt and got eaten instead." He laughed, the sound grating. "Saves us the trouble of dragging his body back."
One guard knelt, examining the wound. "Young master, the cut is too clean. Looks like it was done by hand. And the gu core is missing."
Lin Hao's smile faltered. "Missing? Then someone else is here." His eyes narrowed, sweeping the darkness. "Show yourself, rat. Or do you prefer to die hiding like the trash you are?"
Lin Xuan remained motionless. His mind raced, calculating. Three opponents. Two weaklings, one slightly stronger. He had no offensive gu beyond the Venom Thorn, which could only inject paralyzing poison through skin contact. His spiritual essence was pitiful—enough for one or two weak moves before exhaustion.
Direct confrontation was suicide.
But he didn't need to win. He needed time. And information.
He let a twig snap underfoot.
The group whirled toward the sound. Lin Hao drew his sword in a flash of azure light—clearly a low-grade mortal weapon infused with a trace of metal path gu essence.
"There!" Lin Hao barked.
The guards charged forward, spears thrusting. Lin Xuan waited until the last moment, then rolled sideways, letting the first spear gouge the earth where his head had been. He sprang up, slamming his palm into the guard's wrist. The Venom Thorn Gu activated instinctively; a thin green thread shot from his fingertip and pierced the man's skin.
The guard screamed, arm going rigid as paralysis spread. He dropped like a felled tree.
The second guard hesitated—only for a heartbeat, but that was enough. Lin Xuan seized the fallen spear and drove it upward, catching the man under the ribs. Not deep enough to kill, but enough to drop him wheezing.
Lin Hao snarled. "You're supposed to be dead!"
Lin Xuan straightened, blood dripping from the spear tip. His face remained calm, almost bored. "Disappointing. I expected better from the 'genius' of the Lin family."
Rage twisted Lin Hao's features. He circulated his qi; a faint wind gu stirred the air around his blade, sharpening it into a razor edge. "I'll carve your tongue out for that!"
He lunged.
Lin Xuan didn't meet him head-on. Instead he sidestepped, letting the sword whistle past his cheek, close enough to draw a thin line of blood. In the same motion, he grabbed Lin Hao's trailing sleeve and yanked hard—using the boy's momentum against him.
Lin Hao stumbled forward. Lin Xuan's knee slammed into his gut, forcing air from his lungs. As Lin Hao doubled over, Lin Xuan pressed two fingers to the back of his neck.
"Venom Thorn."
The green thread pierced skin. Lin Hao convulsed, qi circulation breaking. He collapsed to his knees, sword clattering to the ground.
Lin Xuan stepped back, breathing lightly. The fight had lasted less than thirty breaths. His new body was exhausted, meridians burning, but alive.
He crouched before the gasping young master. "Tell me. What happened after I 'died'? Did the clan send anyone else to search? Any news from Azure City?"
Lin Hao spat blood, glaring up with hatred. "You… you're not him. The real Lin Xuan was a coward. Who are you?"
Lin Xuan's lips curved. "Someone who remembers every slight. Every humiliation. Every debt."
He reached into Lin Hao's robe and pulled out a small cloth pouch. Inside: three low-grade spirit stones, a basic healing pill, and—most importantly—a tiny jade slip.
Lin Xuan crushed the slip between his fingers. Information flooded his mind.
The Lin Clan had declared him dead. No search parties beyond this cursory sweep. Better yet, the stolen manual had been labeled a minor crime; no bounty, no pursuit from higher powers. The clan was currently distracted—rumors of a rank-three gu beast awakening in the nearby Blackcloud Mountains, drawing attention from the city's major families.
Perfect. Chaos was the best fertilizer for growth.
Lin Xuan looked down at Lin Hao, whose lips were turning purple from the venom. "You wanted to kill me once. Consider this repayment—with interest."
He pressed his palm to Lin Hao's forehead.
The Venom Thorn Gu surged, injecting the last of its toxin straight into the brain. Lin Hao's eyes rolled back. He slumped, lifeless.
Lin Xuan rifled through the corpses quickly—more spirit stones, a few minor gu refinement materials, and the jade sword. He kept the stones and materials, left the weapons. No need to carry traceable clan property.
He wiped the blood from his hands on Lin Hao's robe, then stood.
The forest was silent again, save for the whisper of bamboo.
"One step," he murmured. "The Gu Dao is long, but every mountain begins with a single footprint."
He turned toward the deeper parts of the forest, where wild gu were said to gather near a small spirit spring. His aperture ached for more. His soul demanded more.
The Spring Autumn Cicada had given him a second chance.
This time, he would not waste it on petty clan squabbles.
He would devour the world itself if that was what it took.
To be continued...