Chapter 25: A Shadow Behind the Flame
(The narrow alleys of Shan Yuan remain thick with fog. The clash of knives and swords has faded, but the air still reeks of danger.)
🧒 Lu Zhen (kneeling, breathless):
— "That was just one of them… but there's an army behind him…"
💀 Gu Tang (glancing at the rooftops):
— "I feel like we're the prey here… not the hunters."
🔊 Xiao Feng (calmly):
— "They're pulling us back… like into a slow trap."
🐱 Shilià (still with the group, sniffing the air with sharp instincts):
— "I smell something... old. Dark. Not familiar, but... disturbing."
💭 Xiao Feng (thinking):
"She always talks about scents... but this time it's different. Her face is pale."
(A distant clink echoes from the end of the alley. Soft, synchronized footsteps approach—unseen but deliberate.)
🔊 Gu Tang (serious tone):
— "I won't let them ambush us again."
(Shilià quietly drifts a few steps back, unnoticed. The fog thickens around her small frame.)
🐱 Shilià (whispering, almost to herself):
— "Why here... why now...?"
🧒 Lu Zhen (to Xiao Feng, whispering):
— "Is she okay? She flinched for a second..."
🔊 Xiao Feng (concerned):
— "Shilià? What's wrong?"
(She forces a faint smile, but her eyes remain locked on the mist ahead.)
🐱 Shilià (softly):
— "I just… felt like the one who's been chasing me… is finally here."
💀 Gu Tang (dry smirk):
— "Then pity the one chasing her..."
🌀 System Alert:
> [Quest path shifted: Unknown threat proximity detected.]
[Life Flame Signature: Unstable]
(Xiao Feng gazes up at the swirling fog above. It's thicker than ever, and something—or someo
ne—is drawing near...)
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🔥 End of Chapter 25