Twilight Shadow Sect was… peaceful.
For once.
No explosions. No flying cultivators. No flaming eyebrows.
Even Lin Fan was quiet.
Too quiet.
"What's he doing?" Han Li whispered.
"Tinkering," Yun Xi replied, peeking into the alchemy station.
"With what?"
"I don't know. But the cauldron has legs now."
"It has what now?!"
Before Han Li could panic properly, a knock echoed at the front gate.
Not the "angry enemy elder" kind of knock.
A polite, businesslike knock.
Tok. Tok. Tok.
Front Gate
A pudgy man in merchant robes stood nervously under a straw umbrella, two guards behind him, and a cart filled with scrolls, spices, and strange glowing items.
"Greetings, honorable sect!" he called. "My name is Lu Zheng. Traveling merchant and information broker!"
"...Why are you shouting?" asked Xue Rong, appearing behind him.
"Because your sect sign says 'Knock or Shout.' I was obeying protocol!"
Shen Mo appeared atop the gate with a yawn.
"You're early."
"I heard you embarrassed Blazing Sun Sect. Naturally, I had to come see who had the guts—and buy you dinner."
Shen Mo raised an eyebrow. "You're here to trade?"
"Trade, offer a job, and sell some information."
Inside the Main Hall
Over tea (and some of Lin Fan's spicy pickled spirit beans, which burned one of the guard's tongues), Lu Zheng unrolled a map.
It showed the surrounding region in detail, with symbols marked in red.
"See this area here? Bandits," he said.
"We don't do bandits," Shen Mo replied.
"Not the usual kind. These are rogue cultivators—ex-Blazing Sun disciples who were kicked out for, ahem, being too creative with fire."
Lin Fan perked up. "Oh? My people?"
"No," Shen Mo said. "Bad people. Focus."
Lu Zheng tapped a spot on the map. "There's a village nearby that's been losing harvests and protection money. They can't afford a major sect's fee."
"So you came to us?"
"You're rising. You're odd. And more importantly—" he leaned in, "—you've got a reputation for turning trash into talent."
Shen Mo tapped the table lightly.
"Payment?"
Lu Zheng smiled. "Fifty low-grade spirit stones and this."
He slid a small, aged scroll across the table.
"What is it?" Yun Xi asked.
"A fragment. Found near the ruins of the Black Sky War. I couldn't read it, but it matches old sect inheritance styles."
Shen Mo glanced at the symbols.
They hummed faintly in his palm.
His smile faded… just slightly.
"Accepted."
[System Notification:]External Mission Accepted: Cleanse rogue cultivators, Protect Grain VillageMission Difficulty: ★★☆
Rewards: 50 spirit stones + Inheritance Fragment
Reputation Potential: Regional BoostSect Morale: +5
New Trait Detected: "Black Sky Fragment" – Bound to Shen Mo
That Evening
The disciples gathered around a campfire. Lin Fan was poking at his "walking cauldron," which now made strange chirping noises.
Yun Xi was studying the fragment by firelight. "Some of this script is… weirdly familiar."
Xue Rong practiced his breathing techniques by balancing a boulder on his head.
Han Li brought tea for everyone, grinning proudly. "We're doing a real mission tomorrow!"
"Try not to die," Shen Mo said helpfully.
"You'll protect me, right?"
"I'll bury you properly."
Elsewhere, in a quiet forest cave…
A figure in tattered robes stared at an empty pedestal where another fragment once lay.
"So… it's been found again."
The figure turned, eyes glowing faintly gold.
"Let's see who touches it next."