Chapter 9 – The Road to the Hollow Library

  The road stretched long and winding through the dense forest, the towering trees casting elongated shadows under the pale morning sun. The further they traveled, the quieter their surroundings became. Willow Hollow was far behind them, and with it, the simple, uneventful life Shen Mu had spent years maintaining.

  Li Mei walked ahead, her movements purposeful yet cautious, her keen gaze sweeping the path ahead for any signs of trouble. Wei Jin trailed slightly behind her, his fingers hovering near the hilt of his sword, ever prepared for a fight that had yet to come. And in the center of it all, Shen Mu strode with hands clasped behind his back, his steps steady and unhurried.

  The weight of unseen gazes pressed against him. They were being followed.

  “You noticed them?” Li Mei asked, her voice low.

  Shen Mu nodded slightly. “Since the last mile.”

  Wei Jin exhaled sharply. “I hate this. If they’re going to attack, they should just get on with it.”

  “They won’t,” Li Mei said. “Not yet. They’re watching, waiting for something.”

  Shen Mu hummed in agreement. Their pursuers weren’t ordinary bandits or sect enforcers. They were patient. Calculating. That made them dangerous.

  The Hollow Library wasn’t just a place of knowledge—it was a vault of forbidden truths, a place shrouded in secrecy. If someone wanted to stop them from reaching it, they had to be prepared for worse than just wandering assassins.

  The wind shifted, carrying the rustle of leaves from behind them. Subtle, but enough.

  “We’ll set camp soon,” Shen Mu said. “And see who wants to visit us in the night.”

  Wei Jin grinned. “Finally.”

  As the sky darkened, they found a small clearing surrounded by thick trees, a natural barrier against unwanted intrusions. Li Mei knelt by a pile of dry twigs and struck flint against steel. The fire crackled to life, sending a warm glow over their weary faces.

  Wei Jin dropped his pack onto the ground and exhaled loudly. “Feels good to rest.”

  Shen Mu sat on a nearby log, his gaze flickering toward the trees. He wasn’t looking at the fire. He was listening. The world spoke in ways most didn’t hear—patterns in the rustling leaves, the way the wind carried whispers that didn’t belong.

  “They’re still there,” Li Mei muttered, her fingers lightly tapping against the handle of her dagger. “Closer now.”

  Wei Jin flexed his grip on his sword. “Should we ambush them?”

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  Shen Mu shook his head. “No need. They’ll come when they think we’re vulnerable.”

  Wei Jin scoffed. “And what if they don’t?”

  “They will,” Shen Mu said simply.

  Night settled, draping the forest in deep shadows. Their campfire flickered, the flames barely illuminating the edges of the clearing. The atmosphere was tense, but not oppressive. Not yet.

  Wei Jin sat cross-legged, absentmindedly sharpening his sword. “So, what’s the plan when they attack?”

  Li Mei smirked. “We kill them.”

  Shen Mu didn’t respond immediately. His gaze was fixed beyond the firelight, where the darkness thickened unnaturally. The silence had stretched too long.

  Then, the air shifted.

  A whistle cut through the night—a dagger, slicing toward his throat.

  Without so much as blinking, Shen Mu tilted his head. The blade missed by a hair’s breadth, embedding itself into the trunk of a tree behind him.

  Wei Jin shot to his feet. “Bastards—”

  Shadows moved. Fast.

  Figures emerged from the darkness, clad in dark robes, their weapons gleaming under the moonlight. No war cries. No shouts. Just swift, efficient movements.

  Li Mei was the first to react. Her dagger flashed, intercepting the first attacker mid-lunge. Wei Jin followed a breath later, his blade clashing against another assailant’s curved sword.

  Shen Mu remained still.

  The closest assassin, sensing an easy kill, lunged at him. The blade’s path was perfect—clean, precise, unavoidable.

  Then, it wasn’t.

  The assassin stumbled. Just slightly. Just enough.

  A moment of imbalance. A miscalculation. A failure where there should have been none.

  Wei Jin’s sword struck true, ending the fight before the attacker could recover.

  The remaining enemies hesitated. They had noticed. Something was wrong.

  Shen Mu exhaled. “Now they understand.”

  The assassins fled into the night.

  Wei Jin paced near the fire, running a hand through his hair. “That was too easy.”

  “They were testing us,” Li Mei muttered, wiping her blade clean. “Feeling us out.”

  Wei Jin turned to Shen Mu, his eyes narrowing. “And what the hell did you do?”

  Shen Mu simply smiled. “Nothing they can explain.”

  Li Mei studied him for a long moment before shaking her head. “Whatever it was, it worked.”

  Shen Mu turned his gaze toward the dark treetops. The real enemy hadn’t shown themselves yet. This was just a prologue to a larger game.

  The Hollow Library awaited. And with it, the answers he didn’t yet know he needed.