Shadowwwing

65. With Friends Like These...

It didn’t take long before Jiang regretted accepting the thief’s offer. Not because she tried to betray him or anything – just because of the smell.

He hadn’t felt entirely comfortable running along the rooftops in the dark, but compared to the stench of the tight labyrinth...

64. The Best Laid Plans

Jiang wished he could have said he reacted with calm composure, but that would have been a lie.

As it was, he barely had the presence of mind to snatch the comb from the drawer as he flailed backward and scrambled to his feet before lunging toward the door. Behind him, the merchant bellowed...

63. Breaking and Entering

The lingering chill of the Qinghe night was a different beast entirely from the clean, sharp cold of the mountain passes. Down here, in the maze of narrow streets and leaning tenements, the air was thick and heavy, tasting of coal smoke, salt, and the collective grime of a thousand unwashed bodie...

62. Resolution

Jiang slept in short, restless bursts, the city’s constant murmur a grating noise that kept pulling him back from the edge of true sleep. It was a long way from the quiet hush of a forest, and despite the relative comfort of the bedding and the security of a locked door, Jiang found himself mis...

61. Power Corrupts

The heavy thud of the tavern door closing behind him felt less like an escape and more like being ejected into a different kind of danger. Jiang stood for a moment on the grimy cobblestones, letting his eyes adjust to the deepening gloom of early evening. The oppressive warmth and the thick, sour...

60. A Currency of Talent

The Broker’s question hung in the air for a long moment as Jiang thought. What was he offering? 

Service, really. The closest equivalent Jiang could think of was trading a meal at a tavern for a few hours of work, but he didn’t really know how well that concept transferred...

59. The Broker's Game

Han pushed the door open and stepped through without hesitation. Jiang followed, the opulent quiet of the waiting room giving way to a space that was just as luxurious but far more practical.

The office was larger than he’d expected, the same dark, polished wood lining the walls, but unli...

58. Behind Closed Doors

Han didn’t wait for an answer, turning on his heel and plunging back into the churning river of the city. Jiang hurried to keep up, finding the experience of navigating the crowd on foot infinitely more difficult than watching it from a wagon. He was no longer an observer but a part of the oppr...

57. Salt and Stone (Start of Book 2!)

It might have just been his impatience, but it felt like the final approach to Qinghe was a slow crawl. What had been a single track through the thinning woods widened into a road of packed, rutted earth, then again into a broad causeway paved with immense, uneven flagstones. The fresh forest air...

56. The Weight of Shadow

The air, for the first time in what felt like weeks, carried a different kind of chill – not the sharp, dry bite of the high mountain passes or the damp, clinging cold of the deep forests, but a softer, more humid coolness that tasted faintly of salt and distant, unseen waters. Qinghe, Han had ...

55. New Definitions

Jiang led Han away from the main yard and the bustle of laughter and conversation, wandering almost aimlessly in search of a quiet place to talk. The noise faded quickly, replaced by the low murmur of the wind and the distant, mournful howl of a wolf – a sound that still made the hairs on Jiang...

54. Scars and Suspicions

The walk back to the caravan was shorter than the pursuit, or at least it felt that way. Jiang moved on autopilot, slipping through the trees, bow heavy in his hands. He felt… tired. There was a bone-deep weariness weighing him down, like the arrow he’d fired had taken some part of him with i...

53. Killers Don't Walk Away

There was no time to plan.

Fortunately, Jiang was great at thinking on his feet – though he doubted the rest of the guards would agree with his actions. Fortunately, they were too slow to stop him.

The glint of steel at the woman’s throat was a razor’s edge between life and deat...

52. Nothing But Prey

“Kaelen,” Han greeted the man blocking the path with a flat voice devoid of its usual cheer. The crossbow was still in his lap, but his hand hadn’t moved to lift it. A deliberate stillness. “Can’t say I was expecting to see your ugly mug again. Thought your kind kept to the city gutters...

51. Shadows Stirring

Elder Lu Heng took a slow sip of his tea, the fragrant steam of the high mountain blend doing little to soothe the faint, persistent throb of irritation behind his temples. It had been a… trying few days. First, the boy, Jiang Tian, had vanished. Slipped away from the Sect like smoke through a ...

50. Taking a Stance

Threads of Qi turned endlessly in Jiang’s dantian, racing through his pathways as he cultivated. The more pathways he cleared, the more he realised how they formed a complex structure, winding through his whole body in a way that was more than the sum of its parts.

It also highlighted how...

49. Proper Instruction

To Jiang’s surprise, things weren’t quite as awkward as he’d feared.

In fairness, a large part of that was thanks to Han—the man seemed determined to bridge the distance between Jiang and the rest of the caravan, using humour and exaggerated stories to gently prod people into seeing...

48. Big Bad Cultivator

They didn’t travel far after the attack.

The wounded were loaded into the rear wagons and laid out on bedrolls with whatever spare blankets could be found. The dead, of which there were three, were wrapped in canvas and lashed to the flat top of the rear-most cart. No one said anything ab...

47. Instinct

Jiang hit the ground hard, knees bending deep to absorb the impact. His boots skidded slightly on the churned snow, but he didn’t fall. The third spirit beast was already on him, jaws wide, lips peeled back from yellowed teeth. It lunged, too fast to think. Jiang twisted, right hand snapping th...

46. A Dangerous Road

Before the echo of the howls had faded from the air, the caravan was swinging into motion. “Positions!” Han roared, his voice cutting through the sudden flurry of shouts and creaking wood. “Riders, secure the flanks! Archers, to your posts! Everyone else, stay in the wagons, weapons ready!�...

45. The Joys of Conversation

The pre-dawn cold had a different bite away from the mountain’s shadow. Out here, with only the low stone wall of the trading post to blunt its edge, the wind swept sharp and clean across the courtyard. Jiang pulled his cloak tighter, the thick wool a welcome barrier, though the chill didn’t ...

44. The Company You Keep

Jiang examined the trader’s post as he got closer, squinting through the icy breeze that seemed to specifically be trying to dry out his eyeballs. 

He hadn’t really known what to expect. Liǔxī had occasionally hosted some passing merchant caravans, but they were infrequent and ge...

43. Footsteps in Snow

The road to Qinghe began as a frozen ribbon cutting through snow-laden fields and thick, silent woods. Jiang hadn’t even made it a full hour beyond the village before his legs reminded him that, cultivator or not, winter travel was still winter travel.

His journey down the mountain from t...

42. A Token Effort

Jiang looked down at the pile of supplies on the counter and wished he wasn’t quite so socially incompetent.

He’d intended to mention his financial status straight away, but Old Lao had already been asking him what he needed, and he’d just started listing things off. Then, he...

41. Grown Up Problems

The inn was so bright and warm that Jiang actually stopped in the entrance in surprise, until a few of the patrons cursed at him and he remembered he was letting all of the warm air out.

Even then, the complaints had been mostly good-natured. It was… not quite confusing, but definitely un...

40. The Lightest Step

Jiang picked his way down the narrow track winding away from the Sect, boots sinking into the crust of last night’s snow. Every step carried him further from the sprawling halls and carved stone courtyards, and with it, something inside him uncoiled. The mountain air, sharp with frost, bit at h...

39. Rash Decisions

“—if you truly believe a servant’s tavern gossip from three weeks ago warrants an expedition, then I’m afraid your time here has taught you nothing.”

Jiang stood rigid in the middle of Elder Lu’s study, arms tense at his sides. The walls felt closer than they were. Paper screens...

38. Boiling Point

Jiang slipped through the door to the kitchens and closed it behind him, dropping his makeshift ‘technique’ with a huff. He was slowly getting better at using it, but it still wasn’t quite at the point that he was even sure it was worth the time. 

Granted, it was making enough of...