It was not my kill, Aryan said simply. "Claiming it would be a violation of the hunter's code."
Dev let out a derisive laugh. "'The hunter's code?' Listen to him, Leila. He talks the talk, but he hasn't walked the walk. Codes are earned with blood and sweat, not learned from a scroll."
"All knowledge begins in books," Aryan replied without looking at Dev. "It is only validated through practice."
His calm, logical retort silenced Dev once more. Leila's eyes narrowed further. The boy was a stone wall. Every question, every probe, was met with a perfectly reasonable, yet utterly unrevealing, answer.
She set aside the pelt and picked up the spiritual core. It was a marble-sized orb of solidified Qi, shimmering with a faint, shadowy light. "You fought it well," she admitted. "Your footwork is reactive but undisciplined. Your sword skills are rudimentary. But your control of Qi... that is another matter. That finger technique you were about to use. I have never seen anything like it. It is not a technique taught at any of the local academies."
This was the heart of her suspicion. This was the anomaly she could not explain.
Aryan met her gaze. He had anticipated this question. "My family was fortunate enough to acquire a damaged manual from a traveling merchant years ago. It contained the principles of a single, incomplete technique. I have spent years trying to reconstruct it."
It was a perfect lie, woven from threads of truth. It explained the technique's uniqueness and his proficiency with it, while revealing nothing about its true origin. It also painted a picture of a diligent, intelligent young man from a minor family that had a stroke of luck—a plausible and non-threatening backstory.
Leila considered his words, her head tilted slightly. The story was plausible. Such things did happen. Forgotten or damaged manuals from fallen sects were occasionally found and sold in the back-alley markets of larger cities. It would explain how a boy from a small town could possess such a deadly skill.
"You are a diligent student, then," she said slowly. "And a lucky one."
"Diligence is the only thing a person can truly control," Aryan replied.
For the first time, a flicker of something other than suspicion appeared in Leila's eyes. It was a faint glimmer of respect. She had spent her life in the forest, a place where diligence and preparation were the only things that separated the living from the dead. This boy, whatever his secrets, understood that fundamental truth.
She finished her work, storing the valuable parts of the cat in sealed leather pouches. The three of them sat in silence for a while, the only sound the faint, rhythmic whisper of the forest outside their sheltered camp.
"This sector is under our patrol," Leila said finally, her tone shifting back to one of official command. "Your unauthorized hunt here is concluded. You will remain with us until morning. We will then escort you back to the Verdant Veil. Consider this a warning."
Aryan simply nodded his assent. He closed his eyes, not to sleep, but to cultivate. He drew the wild Qi of the forest into his body, the Supreme Immortal Scripture silently beginning its work of purification and refinement. He appeared to be resting, a compliant and harmless captive.
But beneath his calm exterior, his mind was a silent, whirring calculator. [Operational Status: Changed from 'Independent Field Test' to 'Asset Under Observation']. [Primary Objective: Information gathering and survival]. He had fed them a plausible narrative and survived their initial scrutiny. His individual power was growing, but the encounter had provided a crucial data point: he was a powerful amateur in a world of seasoned professionals. This was an unacceptable inefficiency.
He felt the subtle shift in the air as Dev took up a watch position in the trees above, his hostile gaze a physical weight. Aryan did not care. He was a prisoner, yes, but the camp was also a classroom. And he was a very diligent student. He would watch, he would listen, and he would learn. And when the morning came, his operational parameters for dealing with them would be updated.