Chapter 12: The Dragon Shield’s Fine Tune and a Prisoner’s Silent Fear
Dawn broke soft over the Spirit Spring, the mist curling above the water like smoke. Lin Yue knelt by the edge, his palms upturned, focusing on the dragon qi that hummed in his dantian. After last night’s scare with the poisoned disciple, he’d woken before first light—determined to strengthen his dragon qi’s defensive power. Not just a flimsy shield, but something that could protect others, too.
Long Xuan’s voice filtered through his mind, patient as ever: “Don’t just shape the qi—listen to it. Feel how it vibrates. Match that vibration to the spring’s qi, and the shield will hold longer.”
Lin Yue closed his eyes. He visualized the weaved qi in his dantian—the blue dragon qi wrapped in golden spring qi—and pulled a thread of it upward. Last night, the shield had flickered, unstable. Today, he took his time: letting the golden qi settle around the blue core, adjusting the tension like a weaver fixing a loose thread. When he opened his eyes, a palm-sized shield glowed in his hands—brighter than before, its edges smooth, no longer flickering.
He held it up, testing it with a finger. The shield resisted, firm but not rigid—like a layer of hardened silk. “Better,” he murmured. Not enough to stop a Black Robe Enforcer’s blade, but enough to block a dart. Enough to buy time for a disciple to run.
“Progress, but not perfection,” Long Xuan said. “Good. Perfection breeds carelessness. Slow improvement breeds resilience.”
Lin Yue nodded, letting the shield fade. He reached for the cloth pouch of Dragon-Boosting Tea, only to pause when he heard footsteps. Xiao Yu was walking toward him, her scout’s cloak slung over one shoulder, a frown on her face.
“He’s awake,” she said, before Lin Yue could ask. “The poisoned disciple. Master Liu says the antidote worked—his qi’s still weak, but he’ll recover. But the prisoner… Elder Mu’s been questioning him for an hour, and he won’t say a word. Not even about when the Enforcers are coming.”
Lin Yue stood, brushing grass from his robes. “Let’s go see him. Maybe… maybe I can get him to talk.”
Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow. “You? How?”
Lin Yue hesitated. He didn’t know, exactly. But there was something about the prisoner—something in the way he’d frozen when Lin Yue’s dragon qi flared last night. Fear, not just of capture, but of the codex. “I have a feeling he’s scared of the Shadow Sect more than he’s scared of us. Maybe if he thinks we can protect him… he’ll talk.”
The dungeon was colder than Lin Yue remembered, the stone walls dripping with damp. The prisoner—still in his black cloak, his hands bound with qi-suppressing ropes—sat huddled in the corner of his cell, his face hidden in his hood. Elder Mu stood outside the bars, his expression frustrated.
“He won’t even tell us his name,” Elder Mu said, stepping aside to let Lin Yue and Xiao Yu approach. “Says Lord Xiao will kill his family if he talks.”
Lin Yue knelt by the bars, his voice calm. “I know Lord Xiao scares you. But if you don’t tell us when the Enforcers are coming, we can’t stop them. And if we can’t stop them… Lord Xiao will kill us all. Your family included.”
The prisoner’s shoulders tensed. He didn’t look up, but his hands tightened into fists.
Lin Yue leaned closer, his voice dropping. “I have the Azure Dragon Codex. The same codex Lord Xiao wants. If we work together, we can stop him. We can protect your family. But we need your help.”
The prisoner finally lifted his head. His face was gaunt, his eyes red from lack of sleep. “You can’t stop Lord Xiao,” he whispered. “He’s at Core Formation Stage. He has the Azure Dragon Pearl. Even with the codex… you’re just a boy.”
“I’m not just a boy,” Lin Yue said. He held up his hand, letting a small shield of dragon qi glow. “And I’m not alone. The disciples are training. We’re getting stronger. But we need time. Tell us when the Enforcers are coming. Please.”
The prisoner stared at the shield, his lips trembling. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Three days,” he whispered. “The Enforcers will attack in three days. At midnight. They’ll come through the western woods—there’s a hidden path, only the Shadow Sect knows about it.”
Elder Mu’s eyes widened. “A hidden path? Why didn’t we know about this?”
“The woods shift,” the prisoner said. “Illusion magic. Only someone with a Shadow Sect token can see the path.” He pulled a small, black token from his pocket—shaped like a dragon’s head—and slid it through the bars. “Take this. It’ll let you see the path. But be careful—the Enforcers have dark qi beasts with them. Wolves. They track qi.”
Lin Yue picked up the token. It was cold, like metal left in the snow. “Thank you. For trusting us.”
The prisoner shook his head. “I’m not trusting you. I’m trusting that you’ll kill Lord Xiao. For my family.”