A tiny, flickering line of green light sparkled across her vision, the digital interface struggling against the heavy spatial runes in the walls.

[Three minutes until midnight, host,] Weiwei whispered, her electronic voice dropping into a tense, muffled frequency. [The internal guard energy signatures outside the corridor are starting to shift. The vanguard warriors from the outer gates are already moving up the grand staircase for the rotation. Captain Jarek is preparing to use his command token. Get ready to move the moment the lock releases.]

Lin Wan slid off the high bed, her bare feet touching the thick fur carpet without making a single sound. She moved toward the heavy ironwood doors, standing just two feet away from the thick wood.

She could feel her heart hammering a frantic, erratic rhythm against her ribs, so loud that she was terrified the guards outside might hear it.

She looked down at her hands, taking a deep, slow breath to steady her lungs.

She had to succeed. If she failed tonight, Cassian would never let her see the light of day again. He would tighten the leash until she couldn’t breathe at all.

Suddenly, a strange, deep vibration hummed through the jade walls. The faint, purple glowing lines of the spatial isolation array woven into the stone began to flicker wildly, turning from a steady glare into a weak, dying spark.

*Click.*

The heavy ironwood lock turned with a sharp, clean snap.

Lin Wan didn’t hesitate for a single second. She reached out, her fingers wrapping around the cold brass handle, and pushed the heavy door open just enough to slip her small body through the gap.

The long jade corridor outside was completely empty. The two massive, black-armored warriors who usually stood like stone statues on either side of her door were gone, their heavy footsteps echoing faintly from the far end of the hallway where the grand staircase was located.

The air in the corridor felt cold and fresh, free from the suffocating weight of Cassian’s personal domain.

"Turn left, host!" Weiwei’s voice sparked in her head, urgent and sharp. "The western corridor linen closet is thirty paces away. Move quickly. The barrier will reset in less than four minutes."

Lin Wan stayed low, keeping her back pressed against the smooth jade wall as she glided through the shadows. The floorboards here were made of polished stone, freezing cold against her bare feet, but she ignored the biting chill.

Her eyes scanned every dark corner, her ears straining for the sound of marching boots or the heavy clank of armor plates.

She reached the end of the hallway and found a small, narrow door carved from pale cedar wood—the linen closet Jarek had mentioned.

She opened it quickly and slipped inside, pulling the door shut behind her. The small space smelled of dried lavender, clean cotton, and soap. Feeling around in the dark, her hands brushed against a pile of coarse, rough fabric. It was a servant’s gray cloak, made of thick, heavy wool designed to hide the shape of the wearer.

She pulled the cloak over her shoulders, pulling the large, deep hood far forward over her face until her chopped dark hair and pale features were completely hidden in the shadows.

She found a pair of simple, soft cloth shoes left at the bottom of the shelf and slid her cold feet into them. They were slightly too large, but they would protect her feet from the sharp mountain stones.

"The rotation is almost finished," Weiwei warned, her interface flashing a weak yellow light. "The grand spatial array is starting to pull energy from the core again. You have two minutes to reach the servants’ staircase, host. Exit the closet and take the narrow door behind the silk curtains to your right."

Lin Wan stepped out of the closet, her movements disguised by the loose, flowing gray fabric of the cloak. She crossed the wide hallway, her heart lunging into her throat as she heard a deep, booming voice echo from the main staircase.

"Internal security rotation complete! Secure the Sovereign’s chambers!"

The vanguard guards were returning to their posts.

Lin Wan ducked behind a massive, heavy crimson silk curtain hanging against the wall. Her fingers searched the stone behind the fabric until she felt the iron handle of a small, hidden utility door.

She pushed it open and stepped through, closing it gently behind her just as the heavy, rhythmic thud of the guards’ boots returned to the main corridor.

She found herself standing at the top of a narrow, steep spiral staircase made of rough, unpolished gray stone. This was the servants’ path, used by the low-tier kitchen staff to carry firewood and water to the upper levels without disturbing the royal family. It was dark, illuminated only by a single, flickering oil lamp placed every twenty steps.

Lin Wan began her descent, her cloth shoes making a faint swishing sound against the stone steps.

*Swish.*

*Swish.*

The air became colder and damper the further down she went, carrying the strong scent of roasting animal fat, woodsmoke, and stale ale from the kitchen wing below.

Her stomach gave a violent, painful twist at the smell of the grease, a sharp wave of morning sickness rising in her throat. She had to stop, leaning her forehead against the damp stone wall as she fought down the urge to vomit.

"Lin Wan, you can’t stop here," she muttered to herself, her fingers digging into the rough stone until her nails ached. "Move. If you stay here, he will find you."

She forced her legs to move, continuing down the winding stairs until she reached the bottom. The staircase ended in a small, narrow pantry filled with large sacks of flour and barrels of salted fish. A heavy wooden door led directly out into the rear courtyard of the kitchen wing.

She peered through a small crack in the wood. The courtyard was dark, filled with piles of chopped firewood and empty crates.

A single low-tier beastman servant, possessing the large ears of a badger, was leaning against a stack of wood, sleeping soundly with an empty clay jar of ale in his lap.

Lin Wan slipped out of the door, her gray cloak blending perfectly with the dark shadows of the courtyard. She glided past the sleeping servant, her movements light and silent, heading straight for the low stone wall that marked the outer boundary of the kitchen sector.

Beyond the wall lay the open mountain paths—a wild, rocky wilderness that surrounded the imperial peak, entirely cut off from the protected luxury of the inner palaces.

She climbed over the low wall, her hands scraping against the rough stone, and dropped down onto the damp, muddy earth on the other side.

The moment her feet hit the mountain path, the pale green light of Weiwei’s interface in her mind gave a sudden, violent shudder. A sharp, high-pitched ringing sound vibrated through her ears, making her stumble forward onto her knees.

*Ring.*

"Weiwei?" Lin Wan cried out in her mind, her hands clutching her head as a wave of intense dizziness washed over her. "What’s happening? Weiwei!"

[Host... the... the grand array... it has reset...] Weiwei’s voice was breaking apart, filled with heavy static and digital distortion. [The spatial... locking... mechanism... it’s expanding... the lingering pressure from the king’s mark... on your neck... it’s reacting to the boundary... I... I can’t hold the connection...]

"No, wait!" Lin Wan panicked, her fingers digging into the wet mud of the path. "Don’t leave me, Weiwei! I don’t know the way!"

[System error... critical interference... entering... safe... mode...]

With a final, dying spark of red light, the digital interface vanished completely from her vision. The comfort of the system was gone. The space, her healing pills, her gold cards, and her guide were entirely locked away behind an iron wall of spiritual interference.

Lin Wan was completely alone in the dark.

She stood up slowly, her body shivering violently as the freezing mountain wind ripped through the fabric of her gray cloak.

The air up here was thin and bitter cold, carrying a thick, dense fog that rolled over the craggy rocks like a sea of white milk. She could barely see two feet in front of her face.

She looked back toward the inner citadel.

The white jade palaces of the Supreme Sovereign loomed high above the clouds, their golden roofs glowing with a faint,

mocking light under the purple sky.

Somewhere inside that massive fortress, the ironwood doors of her bedroom were sitting empty.

How long would it take for Cassian to return?

How long before he walked into the room, saw the spilled spirit stones on the carpet, and realized his little buyer had run away?

The thought of his golden slitted eyes turning cold with lethal fury sent a wave of pure terror straight down into her soul core. If he caught her out here, in the wild mountain paths, he wouldn’t just lock her in a room.