The intoxicating, cold scent of his dark royal aura washed over her hood. The manticore crest on her neck began to throb with a wild, scorching heat, as if it were begging to respond to its master’s presence.

Cassian stopped walking. He turned his handsome head slightly, his golden eyes lingering on the group of cloaked figures standing in the shadow of the bears.

The guard captain quickly scrambled over on his knees, bowing his head to the dirt. "Your Highness! Is there something wrong? Did your tracking sense pick up anything?"

Cassian remained quiet for two agonizing seconds. He slowly raised his large hand, tracing the smooth gold ring on his finger. A slow, dark, and wicked smile touched his lips, though his eyes remained completely cold.

"Is the search airtight, Captain?" Cassian asked, his voice dropping into a dangerous, smooth purr that carried a terrifying chill. The sound sent a violent shiver straight down Lin Wan’s spine.

"Yes, Your Highness!" the captain answered quickly, sweat dripping from his nose. "We are checking every single carriage! Every tracking crystal is active! Not even a single fly can cross this border without our systems detecting their energy!"

Cassian let out a short, soft chuckle, a deeply addictive, predatory sound that made the air feel even heavier.

"Good," Cassian murmured, his golden eyes narrowing as they flicked directly toward the dark hood of Lin Wan’s cloak, though he did not move to lift it. "Because my sweet little buyer is hiding somewhere out there right now. She is shivering in the dark, thinking she can escape her master."

He leaned forward just a fraction of an inch, his voice dropping into a low, intimate growl that seemed meant only for her ears to hear.

"Let her play her little game for now. But I promise... the moment I finish purging my treacherous brothers from the palace courts, I will personally pull her leash. And I cannot wait to hear her beautiful voice beg when I finally lock her back in a cage of my own design."

Lin Wan held her breath so tightly her chest felt like it was going to burst. Her heart was pounding at a frequency that made her dizzy.

Cassian turned around smoothly, his magnificent black cape brushing past the edge of her cloak as he walked back toward his royal carriage. He stepped inside, the gold-plated door shutting with a heavy, final sound.

*BANG.*

The white winged horses let out a loud cry, leaping into the sky and pulling the carriage straight toward the high imperial palace towers in the distance.

The heavy pressure finally vanished from the gate, and the travelers let out a collective, trembling sigh of relief.

Lin Wan stood in the dirt, her body shaking violently as she took a deep, shaky breath under her hood.

*Gasp!*

She had crossed into the Upper Realm, but she wasn’t safe at all. She was now directly inside the lion’s den, and the hunter had just promised to never let her go.

...

The heavy obsidian gates of the Upper Realm finally closed behind her with a distant, terrifying thud.

Lin Wan let out a long, ragged breath that she felt like she had been holding for miles. She staggered forward a few steps, her knees shaking violently under her dark cloak.

The dirt streets of the capital city were massive, wide enough for ten royal carriages to drive side by side.

The air here was completely different. It did not smell like the muddy, cheap tobacco of the border town.

It was thick, heavy, and hot, saturated with the overwhelming, golden scent of high-tier spiritual energy. Everywhere she looked, giant stone structures decorated with gold banners towered into the clouds.

The street was a sea of powerful beastmen. Elegant phoenix merchants in glowing red robes walked past fierce dragon warriors carrying massive silver broadswords.

The sheer amount of raw power walking these streets was deafening.

*Ding.*

A soft, clear digital chime rang inside her head, and the constant red-alert buzzing finally stopped.

[The tracking crystals outside are dead, host!] Weiwei sighed, her digital voice sounding completely relieved for the first time in days. [The system shield is down to five percent, but it doesn’t matter anymore. The massive, overlapping divine auras of these high-tier citizens have completely masked your unique scent. To anyone scanning the streets, your presence is just a drop of water in a massive ocean. We did it. You are safe for now.]

Lin Wan let her shoulders drop, leaning against the cold stone wall of a nearby building. "Safe..." she whispered, her voice cracking. Her throat felt dry, and her hands were still covered in dried blood from the cavern floor. "We are really safe?"

[Yes, host,] Weiwei comforted her. [As long as you do not use your spirit cards or draw attention to yourself, Prince Cassian’s scouts will never be able to find your trail in this crowd. But you need to find a place to rest. Your body is reaching its limit.]

Lin Wan nodded weakly. She pulled her hood lower, keeping her eyes glued to the stone pavement as she slipped into the thick crowd, looking for the cheapest, most crowded corner of the lower capital.

High above the bustling streets, a magnificent royal carriage pulled by four white winged horses cut through the clouds. The carriage was completely silent, surrounded by a heavy, dark barrier that kept the outside world away.

Inside, Cassian sat against the plush crimson cushions. He had his long legs crossed, his large hands resting casually on his knees.

His slitted golden eyes were fixed on the glass window, staring down at the tiny, ant-like figures walking near the massive black border gates below.

*Inhale.*

He dragged the air deep into his lungs. The heavy, gold-embroidered collar of his imperial robe shifted slightly, revealing the thick veins pulsing on his neck.

A slow, deeply wicked smile spread across his breathtakingly handsome face. His eyes locked onto a tiny, dark-cloaked figure slipping behind a group of large bear merchants near the alleyways.

"Master," a low, raspy voice echoed from the dark corner of the carriage floor. The shadow beast messenger slowly materialized, its red eyes glowing with hesitation. "Our scouts have finished scanning the lower gate. The tracking crystals did not flash. Should we order a manual street-by-street search of the lower sector?"

Cassian did not turn his head away from the window. His smile grew wider, his sharp white teeth catching the dim light inside the carriage.

"No," Cassian murmured, his voice a deep, smooth purr that carried a dark, terrifying warmth. "There is no need."

The shadow beast tilted its head, confused. "But Master... the female... she could be escaping deeper into the markets."

"Did you see her shivering, shadow?" Cassian asked softly, his golden eyes glowing with a predatory fire. "She was hiding right behind those fat bears. Her little hands were clutching her cloak so tightly her fingers were turning white. She was terrified I would look down."

The shadow beast gasped slightly. "She was there? Right under your feet? Why did we not seize her, Your Highness? One word from you, and the vanguard would have pinned her to the dirt."

Cassian finally turned his head, his expression turning incredibly cold, aristocratic, and ruthless.

"Because a panicked prey tastes bitter, shadow," Cassian whispered, his voice dropping into a dangerous, dark tone. "She thinks her little trick worked. She thinks she is clever for running straight into my capital. Let her think she is safe. Let her breathe for a few days."

He leaned back against the cushions, a dark chuckle escaping his throat.

"I have three treacherous brothers to slaughter first," Cassian continued, his fingers tapping a slow, lethal rhythm against his knee. "The palace floors are dirty, and I must clean my house in blood. I do not have the time to properly toy with her right now. But when my throne is secure, and my hands are completely free..."

He looked back out the window, his eyes narrowing with an absolute, possessive hunger.

"...I will have all the time in the world to break my little buyer. Let her enjoy her illusion of freedom while it lasts."

By the time night fell over the capital, the sky turned a deep, gloomy purple.

Lin Wan stood in front of a small, crooked wooden building tucked away in the poorest, most crowded slum of the lower city.

The sign above the door was faded, reading ’The Drunken Goat Tavern’. The air around the building smelled heavily of cheap ale, roasted fat, and stale sweat. It was dirty, loud, and perfect.

She walked inside, her head lowered. The tavern floor was covered in sawdust, and rough, low-tier beastmen were slamming wooden cups against the tables.

Lin Wan walked straight to the counter, where an old, heavy-set goat-female with curved horns was wiping a glass with a dirty rag.

"I need a room," Lin Wan said, her voice small and muffled under her hood. She reached into her pocket and pulled out three common silver coins she had found in her old pouch—not her high-grade spirit cards. "The smallest one you have."

The old goat-female snatched the silver coins with a greedy hand, biting one of them to check its weight. She looked at Lin Wan’s small, cloaked figure with a look of pure indifference.

"Attic room. Top of the stairs," the old woman grunted, throwing a rusty iron key onto the counter. "Don’t make noise. Don’t cause trouble. If you bleed on my sheets, I’ll throw you into the street."

"Thank you," Lin Wan whispered.

She grabbed the key and practically flew up the creaking wooden stairs. She climbed all the way to the third floor, finding a small, narrow door at the very end of a dark hallway.

She unlocked it and stepped inside.

The room was tiny. The ceiling was sloped so low she could barely stand up straight. There was nothing inside but a small wooden basin for water, a cracked mirror, and a narrow bed with a thin, rough straw mattress.

Lin Wan locked the door behind her, sliding the rusty bolt into place.

*Thud.*

The moment the lock clicked, her strength completely vanished. She dropped to her knees on the hard floorboards, her dark cloak spilling around her like a pool of shadow. Her body began to shake violently from pure, delayed exhaustion.

She crawled weakly toward the small bed, dragging her tired, aching limbs onto the rough mattress. Her period cramps were still throbbing in her lower belly, and her feet were covered in blisters.

But as she pulled the thin, scratchy blanket over her shoulders, she let out a shaky, relieved breath.

*Inhale.*

The room was cold, and the loud, drunken shouting from the tavern below filtered through the floorboards.

But to Lin Wan, it felt like a sanctuary. Cassian was a prince. He lived in a golden palace surrounded by thousands of servants. He would never look for a runaway female inside a filthy, low-tier kitchen slum.

"We did it, Weiwei," Lin Wan whispered into the darkness, her eyelids growing incredibly heavy as she curled into a tight ball. "He doesn’t know. We are safe."

Inside her mind, Weiwei did not answer. The system was already entering a deep sleep mode to recharge its depleted energy reserves, leaving the small attic room completely silent.

Lin Wan closed her eyes, completely unaware that from the highest peak of the imperial citadel, a pair of burning golden eyes was already watching the tiny, flickering light of her tavern window through the dark city fog.