The next morning, the snow had stopped.
But the cold hadn't.
Thin sunlight dripped through the gray clouds above Broken Soul Mountain as Fang Xi moved through the courtyard with quiet purpose. Beside him, Chen Zhi walked slower than usual — his shoulders tense, eyes flicking toward every shadow.
"What if it's still there?" he muttered. "The jackal. What if it followed us?"
"It didn't," Fang Xi replied. Calm. Flat. Final.
"But—"
"It only mimics. It doesn't chase."
A lie. Partial, but sufficient.
Elder Gan didn't appear at the gate today. Just a sleepy servant disciple who waved them through without a word.
A small group had already departed toward Zone A. Zhao Min and his two cronies marched east, laughing about "skinning their first real kill."
Fang Xi and Chen Zhi headed back toward Zone B — retracing the path they'd taken the day before.
The forest was different now.
Not louder — quieter.
As if it remembered what had happened.
Fang Xi moved with precision, noting every broken branch, every track in the snow, every faint scent of old blood. The wind carried whispers again — not voices this time, but memory.
Chen Zhi held his axe tightly.
They reached the ridge split an hour later. The clearing where the Azure Cloud disciple had died lay untouched, save for the blood now frozen into red-black veins across the snow.
The body was gone.
"Recovered. Someone made it back."
"But the jackal remains."
He turned to Chen Zhi.
"Light the lantern. We'll flush it out."
Chen hesitated. "Shouldn't we wait? Tell someone?"
Fang Xi's eyes narrowed just enough. "If we return empty-handed two days in a row, we'll be removed from duty. No contribution points. No food priority. Back to kitchen scraps."
He let that sink in.
Then added: "And Elder Gan may assume we fabricated the sighting."
Chen's grip on the lantern tightened.
"…Fine."
Minutes later, they moved into the lower gulch, lantern raised, rope tied between them — Fang Xi in front, Chen Zhi behind.
The fog thickened here. Trees were twisted, bent low as if bowing under unseen weight. Birdsong had vanished. Only the crack of their boots on frozen earth echoed in the stillness.
Then it came.
A crunch.
To their left.
Followed by… breathing.
Slow. Wet. Animal.
Chen Zhi froze.
The jackal stepped from the mist.
It stood still — too still. Its mouth was open slightly. Tongue dark purple. Its eyes shimmered again — not bright, but oily. A low whine escaped its throat.
Then:
"Zhi…"
It spoke his name.
Chen Zhi screamed and threw the lantern. The flame burst as it hit the jackal's side — flames licking briefly across its fur, causing it to yelp and stagger back.
Fang Xi didn't move.
He watched.
Chen Zhi raised his axe and charged, panic driving him forward.
"Now."
Fang Xi stepped sideways — not far, but just enough.
The jackal lunged.
Its jaws missed Chen's throat by inches, scraping across his shoulder instead. Blood sprayed. Chen fell, shrieking.
Fang Xi's knife moved.
Not toward the jackal.
Toward its eye.
The blade sank deep — once, twice. The jackal snarled, snapped blindly, then staggered back. Black blood poured down its snout.
Fang Xi followed.
One last thrust.
The knife pierced the soft spot beneath its jaw.
It collapsed, twitching, then stilled.
Silence returned.
Only the sound of Chen's ragged breathing remained.
Minutes later, they sat beside the jackal's corpse.
Fang Xi had already wrapped Chen's shoulder with strips torn from his own robe. The bleeding had stopped — mostly.
"You… saved me…" Chen whispered, eyes wide with pain.
Fang Xi looked at him, then down at the beast.
"I didn't plan to," he said softly.
Chen blinked. "Huh…?"
"I was going to let it maim you. Maybe even kill you. I could've said it happened too fast to stop."
Silence.
Fang Xi's voice was calm — factual, like stating the weather.
"But then it spoke your name again. And I realized something."
"…What?"
Fang Xi stood.
"I still need you."
They dragged the jackal's corpse back through the forest, blood trailing behind them.
When they returned to the southern gate, Elder Gan was there this time.
He raised an eyebrow at the wound, then at the beast.
"First-tier mimic?" he asked.
Fang Xi nodded. "Attacked when we disturbed its nest."
"Mm." Elder Gan knelt to inspect the eyes. "Still glowing. Killed clean. You'll both receive merit points. Possibly even a medicinal ration."
Chen Zhi smiled weakly.
Fang Xi did not.
His eyes never left the forest.
"This is only the first."
"They'll start noticing soon."
"But by the time they wonder what I am — I'll already be beyond them."