Her fingers lowered.
The remnants of the defensive formation had already dispersed into stray qi, dissolving into the night without leaving a trace.
Lianhua pressed lightly against the window frame.
The latch yielded without resistance.
No creak.
No disturbance.
She stepped inside.
The talisman followed.
The room was dimly lit by a single oil lamp resting on a small wooden table beside the bed. Shadows stretched long and uneven across the walls. The air inside felt heavier than the air outside—thick with stagnant spiritual energy that had not circulated in hours.
The moment her feet touched the floor—
She turned.
Not toward the bed.
Not toward the door.
Toward the far corner.
Her eyes settled there immediately.
Curled tightly against the wall, half-submerged in shadow, lay a creature the size of a large dog.
A lizard.
Its body was coiled in on itself, tail wrapped close, head tucked inward. Pale scales caught the faint lamplight—off-white, marked with faint irregular streaks along its spine.
It was not moving.
But it was not dead.
Spiritual energy clung to it—dense, uneven, wrapped around its body like a second skin. It did not circulate properly. It did not refine itself through meridians or structured flow.
It simply lingered.
The creature was unconscious.
Lianhua's gaze sharpened slightly.
"So," she said quietly.
At her side, the talisman reacted at once—tilting more sharply, its runes activating with greater clarity the closer she stood.
Signal confirmed.
She stepped forward.
The spiritual energy surrounding the lizard pulsed faintly—unstable, as if it had been hastily gathered or forcibly condensed.
"…Residual overflow," she noted calmly. "Not structured cultivation."
Her divine sense brushed lightly against the creature.
There was no concealment now.
No masking formation within the room.
Only a heavy accumulation of unrefined energy wrapped around an unconscious body.
She studied the scales more closely.
Faint irregularities along the surface.
A density beyond that of an ordinary beast's hide.
Her expression remained unchanged.
"The blood signature matches," she said quietly.
Not speculation.
Verification.
She stood in the center of the room—composed, controlled.
The talisman hovered steadily at her side.
The lizard remained curled in the corner, breathing shallowly but steadily.
For the first time since Jinshi City—
She stood before the source.
—
The fox burst from the hidden exit of the Night Market like a streak of silver wind.
Stone shattered beneath its paws.
Air cracked in its wake.
It did not look back.
It leapt.
Roof to roof.
Tile to tile.
Shadow to shadow.
Its illusion blurred with speed as it dashed across River M's skyline, its tail slicing through the night like a pale comet.
Something is breaching the formation.
The thought rang sharp and cold in its mind.
Moments earlier—
Inside the auction compound—
Just as the jade container had been secured—
A faint tremor brushed against its divine sense.
Subtle.
Distant.
But unmistakable.
One of the defensive talismans placed on the lizard—
Had triggered.
Not broken.
Triggered.
Then—
The advanced defensive formation tool it had personally imprinted—
Sent a feedback pulse.
A touch.
Something pressing against the barrier.
From the inside—
Or the outside.
It had not paused to confirm.
It had moved immediately.
And the moment it moved—
So had the one watching it.
Behind the fox—
A shadow streaked across the sky.
Fast.
Controlled.
Not bound to rooftops.
Airborne.
So you were waiting.
The pursuer had assumed the fox would flee after the auction.
Instead—
The fox was racing back.
Its paws barely touched each surface before launching again.
It cut sharply left.
Then right.
Then dropped low—
Sliding between buildings before vaulting upward once more.
Behind it—
The air compressed.
A figure descended slightly, adjusting their trajectory.
Matching its path.
Not closing the distance recklessly.
Not rushing.
Simply… following.
Calm.
Measured.
The fox's eyes narrowed.
Sixth layer.
No lesser cultivator could track it through layered illusion and relentless speed.
It leapt across a wide street.
Landed.
Pushed off again.
Its mind raced faster than its body.
If the breach was external—
Someone had found the room.
If internal—
The lizard had awakened.
If someone had entered—
They were either very confident—
Or very foolish.
Another pulse flickered across its senses.
Stronger this time.
The fox's heart tightened.
Its speed increased.
The air screamed around it.
Behind—
The airborne figure finally accelerated.
Pressure expanded outward.
Killing intent unfurled like a silent net cast across the night.
"So you noticed," a voice echoed faintly over the rooftops.
The fox did not respond.
It dropped abruptly—
Vanishing into a narrow alley—
Then phased through a window in passing—
Emerging from the opposite side without losing momentum.
Behind it—
A violent burst of wind shattered the wall it had passed through.
The pursuer did not hesitate.
They were not careless.
They were not impatient.
They were confident.
The fox leapt higher now.
Higher than before.
Reaching the outer district.
The inn was close.
Another feedback pulse.
Stronger.
The advanced formation tool vibrated sharply within its mind.
There was sustained contact now.
Someone was actively pressing against the barrier.
Testing it.
Not smashing.
Testing.
That meant knowledge of formations.
Not brute force.
The fox's eyes turned cold.
Don't break it.
It vaulted over the final row of rooftops—
The inn came into view.
Windows dark.
Still.
But—
Above it—
A faint distortion in the air.
Someone hovering.
The fox did not slow.
It launched forward—
And at that exact moment—
The pursuer behind it surged.
Wind roared.
A crescent blade of compressed air tore through the night toward the fox's back—
The chase was over.
The interception had begun.