The sect was having a calm morning.
Wei Feng was teaching Moonchick to play dead.
Han Li was planting a "healing herb garden" (half of which was actually spice grass Lin Fan had mislabeled as "medicinally explosive").
Yun Xi was drawing a new formation on a cliff wall.
Xue Rong was trying to stop a boulder from rolling down the mountain. Again.
All was well.
Until—
Clang.
A single sound echoed from the gate.
Metal striking metal.
But it wasn't an attack.
It was… a call.
A challenge.
At the Front Gate
Shen Mo stood before it, arms folded.
A lone figure waited outside. Cloaked in gray. Unarmed. He carried a single leather-bound scroll on his back and wore no emblem of sect or family.
But Shen Mo recognized the aura.
It was faint—but sharp. Cold. Familiar.
"...Blade Sect," Shen Mo whispered.
"You know him?" Yun Xi asked, having appeared behind him.
"No. But I know the style. Only assassins trained in the Phantom Blade Pavilion walk like that."
"But that sect was destroyed decades ago."
"I know," Shen Mo said darkly. "Because I helped destroy it."
The Stranger's Message
The man removed his hood.
He was in his late twenties. Pale-eyed. Scarred down one cheek.
And his gaze was fixed only on Shen Mo.
"Master Shen Mo," he said calmly. "Or should I say… 'Silent Thorn'?"
Everyone froze.
Han Li dropped a watering can. Lin Fan stopped mid-munch. Moonchick clucked like she felt incoming drama.
"I haven't heard that name in a long time," Shen Mo said.
"And yet," the man replied, "your legend lives in the underworld."
He slowly unrolled the scroll and placed it on the ground.
"I bring a contract. Issued in your name. One you never fulfilled."
Shen Mo didn't move.
"It says: 'The last traitor of the Phantom Blade Pavilion… must kill the first.'"
"I never signed that," Shen Mo said. "I don't honor contracts made after I left."
"Then perhaps… we fight for it."
"Or you walk away."
The man smiled faintly.
"I was sent here expecting death. I only came to see if the stories were true. That the coldest killer of the Pavilion had turned… into a sect master with a pet chicken."
Moonchick squawked in offense.
"Tell your employer," Shen Mo said, "that I buried my name with the Pavilion. And if they try to dig it up again…"
He let a sliver of demonic qi slip from his palm.
The grass at his feet wilted.
The wind died.
Everyone in the sect shivered.
Even the assassin stepped back.
"...I'll remind them what I buried with it."
[System Notification:]
Hidden Past Exposed (Passive Flag Triggered)Threat Level Adjusted: "Shen Mo – Unknown Tier"
New Title Rumor: "Silent Thorn Reborn?" spreading among underworld informants
Moonchick's Aggression: +2Han Li's Respect: +10Lin Fan: "...Did anyone else forget he was terrifying?"
That Night – Rooftop
Shen Mo sat alone under the stars.
Yun Xi joined him.
"You okay?" she asked.
"I thought I left it behind," he said.
"You did. But the world never forgets monsters."
"What about reformed monsters?"
"Weirdly… they get fans."
They sat quietly for a while.
Then Yun Xi smiled slightly.
"Also, Moonchick wrote a threat note and pecked it into the assassin's boot."
"...She's really becoming one of us."