Chapter 8: The Spirit Spring’s Qi and a Shadow in the Night
The Spirit Spring was hidden in a small valley in the back mountain, surrounded by cherry blossom trees. The water was crystal clear, and when Lin Yue dipped his hand into it, he felt a surge of warm, pure qi flow up his arm. Long Xuan’s voice echoed in his mind: “This is good qi—gentle, not wild. Perfect for strengthening your meridians. But take it slow. Let the qi flow naturally, don’t force it.”
Lin Yue nodded. He sat cross-legged by the spring, closing his eyes. He followed the Azure Dragon Codex’s instructions, focusing on his dantian. He felt the spring’s qi drift toward him, like a soft breeze, and he pulled it into his body—slowly, carefully. The qi flowed through his meridians, soothing the soreness from the wolf bite, and settled in his dantian, mixing with his dragon qi.
It was slow work. After an hour, he felt only a faint increase in his qi—nothing like the jump he’d gotten from the Dragon-Boosting Pills. But he didn’t get frustrated. He knew rushing would only hurt him. He kept breathing, kept pulling in the spring’s qi, until the sun rose high in the sky.
Xiao Yu brought him lunch—steamed rice and dried meat—around noon. She sat beside him, watching as he ate. “How’s the training going?” she asked.
“Slow,” Lin Yue said, taking a bite of rice. “But steady. Long Xuan says forcing it would damage my meridians. I don’t want to risk that—not when we need every bit of strength we can get.”
Xiao Yu smiled. “Smart. My father always said patience is the most important part of cultivation. He used to tell me, ‘A tree doesn’t grow tall in a day. It takes years of sun and rain.’” She paused, her smile fading. “The scout team found something this morning. A Shadow Sect scout’s body, near the western gate. He had a message on him—written in code. We haven’t deciphered it yet, but Elder Mu thinks it’s about you. About the journal.”
Lin Yue’s hand tightened around his bowl. “They’re getting closer. We need to find a way to decode that message. Maybe my father’s journal has clues—he mentioned the Shadow Sect using codes in one of the entries.”
Xiao Yu nodded. “I’ll bring the message to you tonight. We can go through the journal together, see if we can find anything.”
That evening, Lin Yue and Xiao Yu sat in his room, the journal spread out on the bed, the coded message beside it. The message was written in a series of symbols—strange lines and dots that looked nothing like the characters Lin Yue knew. He flipped through the journal, stopping at a page where his father had written: “Shadow Sect codes use celestial patterns. Each symbol corresponds to a star. To decode, align the symbols with the night sky on the day the message was sent.”
“Celestial patterns,” Xiao Yu said, her eyes lighting up. “Tonight’s sky—there’s a meteor shower. The scouts found the body this morning, so the message was probably sent last night. Let’s go to the roof. We can use the stars to decode it.”
They climbed onto the roof, a blanket spread out beneath them. The night sky was clear, filled with stars, and a few meteors streaked across the dark. Lin Yue held the coded message up to the sky, aligning the symbols with the stars. Slowly, the symbols started to make sense—they were letters, spelled out in constellations.
“The boy has the journal. The Dark Dragon stirs. Send the Black Robe Enforcers to retrieve the codex. Lord Xiao will not wait.”
Lin Yue’s blood ran cold. The Black Robe Enforcers—he’d heard Elder Mu mention them. The Shadow Sect’s elite warriors, all at the late Foundation Establishment Stage or higher. They were coming for him. For the codex.
Xiao Yu grabbed his hand, her fingers cold. “We need to tell Elder Mu. Now. He needs to set up defenses. He needs to warn the other sects.”
Lin Yue nodded, but he didn’t move. He stared up at the stars, at the meteors streaking by. The Shadow Sect was getting bolder. They weren’t just watching anymore—they were attacking. And he was still too weak to stop them.
Long Xuan’s voice echoed in his mind, soft but firm: “Don’t despair. The Spirit Spring will strengthen your qi. The journal will give you knowledge. And you have friends—Xiao Yu, Elder Mu—who will stand with you. This is not the end. It’s just another step.”
Lin Yue took a deep breath. He stood, helping Xiao Yu to her feet. “You’re right. We tell Elder Mu. Then tomorrow, I train harder. I won’t let the Shadow Sect take the codex. I won’t let them release the Dark Dragon.”
They walked back to Elder Mu’s hall, the coded message clutched in Lin Yue’s hand. The night air was cold, but Lin Yue didn’t feel it. He felt a fire in his chest—a fire of determination, of resolve. He was still weak. He still had a long way to go. But he was ready. Ready to fight. Ready to protect the ones he loved.