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Chapter 7 - Chapter 7: A Whisper Beneath the Shrine

Nights in Qinghe Village had never been this silent.

‎Not even during winter.

‎And yet, for the past two nights, the village shrine—the oldest structure in town—had begun to leak mist.

‎Not the ordinary kind. This one glowed faintly, too thick for fog, too spiritual for weather. It curled up from the shrine's stone base like incense from a broken censer.

‎And it only appeared at midnight.

‎Only when no one was watching.

‎Lin Wei watched it anyway.

‎He didn't approach.

‎He stood near the old prayer tree, just barely within range.

‎> Ding!

‎> [Mystic Phenomenon Observed: +1 Spiritual Sensitivity]

‎> [Passive Insight Triggered – "Shrine Seal Degradation: 8%"]

‎> [Linked Event Detected – Bound Beneath the Shrine: 9%]

‎He narrowed his eyes.

‎There was something down there. Something sealed. Something waking up.

‎Or worse... something no longer asleep.

‎The next morning, the village chief, Elder Huai, returned from a three-day trip with a stranger at his side.

‎The man wore ink-black robes stitched with golden thread and a ring of silver charms at his waist. His face was hidden behind a half-veil of folded paper talismans, and his fingers were stained with cinnabar ink.

‎A formation master.

‎Very few ever came this deep into the countryside. Lin Wei had only ever read about them in stories.

‎The man spoke little, but walked the shrine's perimeter with quiet authority, planting flags and whispering to stones.

‎And then, that evening, Lin Wei received a summons.

‎"You were there the night the beast attacked," said the chief, sitting in his hall with a cup of warm tea. "And Ping'er confirmed you helped her."

‎Lin Wei lowered his gaze. "I just did what I could."

‎"You've been calm through it all. Most boys would have panicked. Even the cultivator from the city arrived late."

‎A pause.

‎"The guest we brought," the chief continued, "is not only a formation expert. He's also attuned to karmic resonance."

‎Lin Wei's breath caught.

‎"So he asked to meet you."

‎The guest's name was Master Yunmo. He sat cross-legged on a woven mat beside a rotating disc etched with ancient script and a basin of oil.

‎He didn't raise his head when Lin Wei entered.

‎"Your karmic threads," the master murmured, "are unusually quiet."

‎Lin Wei stayed silent.

‎"Most threads buzz with need, regret, or hunger. Yours flow… like still water. Strange. Rare."

‎"I'm just a villager."

‎"No, you are not." Yunmo's fingers moved over the basin, and flames danced in response. "You have planted at least two karmic seeds—both active, one awakened."

‎Lin Wei's heart skipped.

‎> Ding!

‎> [System Alert: One of your karmic seeds has germinated.]

‎> [Location: East Ridge Orchard – Host unknown.]

‎"You healed something, or someone," Yunmo whispered. "And now, it is growing without you."

‎"What does that mean?"

‎"It means," Yunmo said softly, "fate has taken one of your gifts and redirected it. What it becomes… may not be yours to control."

‎That night, unable to sleep, Lin Wei followed his system map to the orchard mentioned.

‎The east ridge had always been quiet—an overgrown place with wild trees and abandoned storage huts. The land hadn't been used in decades.

‎But now…

‎> Ding!

‎> [Karmic Seed Detected]

‎> [Energy Signature: Unstable. Cultivation anomaly in progress.]

‎He found the tree easily.

‎An old peach tree, crooked and withered from age. Or it had been.

‎Now it pulsed faintly with golden light, and its bark had grown smooth—new.

‎And wrapped around its base… was a figure.

‎Small. Breathing slowly. Whispering in sleep.

‎Ping'er.

‎She was sleeping beneath the tree.

‎Lin Wei knelt beside her, gently placing a hand near her shoulder. No injuries. Just warmth. A faint pulse of spiritual energy surrounded her.

‎He focused.

‎> Ding!

‎> [You have located your Karmic Seed: Bound to Ping'er]

‎> [Effect: Minor Spiritual Affinity Unlocked – Target's fate altered]

‎> [New Title Acquired: "Unseen Mentor"]

‎Unseen… mentor?

‎The girl had begun cultivating—not by technique, not by teaching—but through contact with his karma.

‎And more than that… she was absorbing energy from the tree.

‎Or rather.

‎The tree was channeling energy through her.

‎> Karmic mutation in effect.

‎> Spiritual anomaly expanding. Estimated containment window: 3 days.

‎He pulled back, staring at the child—and the glowing tree—both asleep and dreaming.

‎My presence alone changed her fate.

The next day, villagers began whispering about the orchard again.

‎"Fruit returned."

‎"Trees regrown."

‎"Spirits of the land awakened."

‎None of them mentioned the glowing bark or the strange warmth. But Lin Wei knew what was coming.

‎Things were unraveling.

‎Fate didn't want him to stay quiet.

‎But he would.

‎Even now.

‎He just needed to learn how to stay invisible… even while saving lives.

‎That evening, the formation master drew a new seal beneath the shrine.

‎But when he placed the final talisman into the soil—it caught fire and disintegrated.

‎Yunmo froze. His hands trembled slightly.

‎Then, he stood and addressed the chief.

‎"The seal has fractured beneath," he said. "What's bound under this shrine… was never meant to stay forever."

‎> Ding!

‎> [Bound Beneath the Shrine: 11%]

‎> [Karmic Thread Expansion: 2 Active Seeds → 3]

‎> [Spiritual Affinity: Low Tier Unlocked]

‎> [Level 8 → Level 9]

‎That night, Lin Wei sat by the river again.

‎Not as a child.

‎Not as a lost soul.

‎But as something else now.

‎A whisper, quietly shaping the future of a village too blind to see what was awakening inside their homes, inside their shrine...

‎And inside him.

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