Lin Wan swallowed her tears. She forced herself to stand up again, her body trembling like a leaf in the wind. She looked at her bloody hands and then pulled her cloak tight.

*Inhale.*

She calmed her breathing down just a little bit. "I won’t let him catch me. I won’t go into a cage."

She pushed herself forward, walking as fast as her aching body allowed. The path ahead began to slope downward, leading toward a dark, noisy valley. She could hear the faint sounds of shouting, the clinking of iron cups, and the heavy stomping of boots.

A border town was just ahead.

Lin Wan’s heart gave a small spark of hope.

A crowded place meant she could hide her scent. She could blend into the mass of travelers and find a way to escape this nightmare once and for all.

She pulled her hood completely over her face, hiding her dark eyes and the burning black mark on her neck, and walked straight into the gloomy, shadowed valley.

....

The border town was a chaotic, lawless place.

It sat right in the deep ravine between the Middle Realm and the rugged territories of the Upper Realm. Tall, ugly stone buildings were crammed together under the dark cliffs. The streets were filled with mud, trash, and hundreds of rough-looking beastmen.

There were giant rogue rhinos carrying heavy crates, sleek leopard mercenaries with sharp daggers at their belts, and shady merchants selling illegal spirit crystals.

Lin Wan kept her head lowered as she walked down the noisy street. She kept her hands hidden inside her large, dark cloak.

*Inhale.*

The air here smelled awful. It was a thick mixture of cheap liquor, roasting meat, and dirty sweat.

But to Lin Wan, this awful smell was a blessing. It was so strong that it completely masked her own sweet jasmine scent.

"Weiwei," Lin Wan whispered, her lips barely moving under her hood. "Can we teleport now? We must be fifty miles away by now."

[We are exactly fifty-two miles away, host,] Weiwei answered, her voice sounding very tight. [But the spatial lines in this valley are incredibly unstable. There are too many high-tier arrays overlapping here. If I try to force a teleportation right now, the spatial tear might rip your human body into pieces. We need a quiet, indoor space with less spiritual interference. Find a room.]

Lin Wan nodded slightly. She looked around the dirty street until her eyes locked onto a large, three-story wooden building.

A crooked wooden sign hung above the door, reading: ’The Black Hog Tavern’. Large bursts of laughter and loud shouting echoed from inside.

It looked dangerous, but it was exactly what she needed, a crowded, dark place to hide while Weiwei prepared the system bridge.

Lin Wan pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped inside.

The tavern was completely packed with people. The air inside was thick with gray smoke from tobacco pipes. Dozens of large wooden tables were covered in spilled ale and large platters of greasy meat.

No one paid any attention to a small, cloaked figure slipping into the dark corner near the back wall.

Lin Wan sat down at a small, empty table in the shadows. She pulled her hood further down, making sure her face was completely invisible. Her stomach let out a loud, hollow growl.

She hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday afternoon, and her body was completely exhausted from her period cramps and the long run.

*Swallow.*

She silently swallowed her saliva as she watched a waiter carry a giant platter of fried river fish past her table.

She wanted to buy food, but she was too terrified to pull out her glowing gold spirit cards. If these greedy mercenaries saw that much wealth on a lone female, they would rob her blind before she could even take a bite.

"Just wait a little longer," Lin Wan whispered to herself, pressing her hand against her aching belly. "Once the system stabilizes, we can go home. We can eat all the fresh food we want."

Suddenly, the loud shouting at the table next to her caught her attention.

Three large leopard mercenaries dressed in fine, expensive wolf furs were sitting together, slamming their heavy iron cups onto the table. Their faces were grim, and they were speaking in hushed, terrified whispers.

Lin Wan leaned slightly closer, her ears straining to hear their words over the tavern noise.

"Have you heard the news from the high courts?" the largest leopard mercenary asked, his voice shaking slightly. "The Imperial Palace in the Upper Realm is completely bleeding. Prince Cassian’s older brothers claimed he was assassinated during the border raid last week. They were already celebrating their claim to the throne."

Lin Wan’s heart skipped a beat. *Cassian.* Hearing his name made the black crest on her neck throb with a sharp, stinging pain.

"They celebrated too early," the second mercenary chimed in, leaning forward. "The royal soul-lamp inside the ancestral temple just flared back to life last night. It didn’t just light up, it exploded with a blinding golden fire! The elders say his fractured core has been completely healed by a miracle."

"If that monster is truly alive, anyone who stood in his way is a dead man," the third leopard said, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. "You know how Prince Cassian is. He doesn’t take prisoners. He doesn’t compromise. He decimates entire bloodlines until there is nothing left but ash. Whoever helped him recover is going to be a god... and whoever crossed him is already in hell."

Lin Wan felt a cold shiver run down her entire spine.

*Gasp.*

Her breath caught in her throat. Her hands began to shake violently under her cloak. She was the one who had healed him.

Her high grade human female energy had fixed his broken core during that wild night. She didn’t feel like a god at all, she felt like she was standing right at the gates of hell.

"Weiwei," Lin Wan whimpered in her mind, her eyes wide with absolute panic. "Did you hear that? His core is fully healed. He is unstoppable now."

[I know, host,] Weiwei replied, her digital voice tightening. [My backend diagnostic is at eighty percent. Just give me ten more minutes. Do not move. Do not draw any attention to yourself.]

Suddenly, the temperature inside the entire tavern dropped instantly.

The warm, smoky air turned completely freezing cold. The loud laughter and shouting of the mercenaries died down within a single second.

The entire building went dead silent, so quiet that you could hear the grease dripping from the roasting meats onto the fire.

Lin Wan’s skin went completely goosebumps cold.

Right above her collarbone, the manticore crest burned with an intense, agonizing heat. It felt like a white-hot blade was digging into her flesh.

*Gasp!*

She bit her lower lip hard to prevent herself from screaming out in pain.

Outside the tavern, the bright afternoon sky suddenly turned pitch-black, as if a giant, dark cloud had completely swallowed the sun.

A massive, suffocating wave of heavy spiritual pressure descended upon the valley. It was a cold, dark, and terrifyingly familiar aura. It swept over the wooden building like a physical wave, making the thick wooden beams creak and groan under the weight.

*Thud!*

*Thud!*

The heavy front doors of the tavern were suddenly blasted open, splintering into small pieces of flying wood.

Two tall figures stepped through the dust into the tavern. They were dressed from head to toe in magnificent, midnight-black iron armor that did not reflect a single shred of light.

Their faces were hidden behind terrifying iron visors shaped like snarling monsters, and long, black capes flowed behind them. They carried massive golden spears that hummed with destructive energy.

They were Prince Cassian’s elite shadow scouts from the highest Upper Realm.

The mercenaries in the tavern instantly dropped their cups, some of them sliding off their chairs onto their knees, their faces pale with pure terror. No one dared to breathe.

One of the shadow scouts stepped forward, his golden spear smacking against the muddy floorboards with a loud, metallic ring.

*Clang!*

"By order of the supreme Imperial Prince Cassian," the scout’s voice echoed through the silent tavern. It was a cold, metallic sound that carried an absolute command. "A rogue female has fled from the border city. She is small, delicate, and carries the unique scent of jasmine. Anyone harboring her or hiding her presence will be executed on the spot. Their entire clan will be decimated."

Lin Wan’s heart pounded so hard against her ribs she was terrified the guards would hear it.

*Inhale.*

*Inhale.*

She tried to control her breathing, but the sheer terror was making her dizzy. The pheromones inside her body were reacting to her fear, trying to leak out through her skin.

The second shadow scout raised a large, glowing purple crystal tracking device into the air. The crystal began to vibrate slightly, spinning around as it tried to lock onto any trace of high-grade female energy in the room.

The scout began to walk down the aisle between the tables, his heavy boots clicking loudly against the wood.

*Click.*

*Click.*

He was walking directly toward the dark corner where Lin Wan was sitting.