Chapter 14 – Speed Kills

Lin Yue stepped into Rat Square, letting the familiar stench of piss and decay wash over her. The usual night predators lurked in shadows, watching but keeping their distance. She puffed out her chest, projecting confidence she didn’t quite feel.

“Admit it—that righteous prick fairy terrified you.” Shadow spiraled through the air. “But hey, you conned a spirit stone and walked away free! Total win in my book. Why so worked up?”

The laugh burst from Lin Yue’s chest, tension draining from her shoulders. The temple district sat far behind them now, its pristine walls and self-righteous cultivators nothing but a distant memory.

Shadow zipped past her face. “We could hunt down more souls? I mean, I was hoping you’d slaughter everyone in that temple—imagine the haul!”

Lin Yue frowned, mind racing through calculations. One spirit stone plus a single soul counted as decent progress. Nothing compared to the massacre, but the press of ‘starving’ to death was pushed back. The real question nagged at her—how many souls did she need to master the manual and complete the binding?

Master Yan Ruixian loomed in her thoughts like a circling vulture. If she collected too many souls, would he simply confiscate them all? Or could she set some aside specifically for the Sable Script ink making?

The manual had been clear—soul flavor mattered for the ink. Different deaths created different resonances.

A full arsenal would serve better than rushing in half-prepared.

Lin Yue kicked a broken bottle across the filthy cobblestones. “These soul flavors the manual mentions—can you actually taste the difference?”

Shadow twirled mid-air. “Wondered when you’d ask about that. Yes, each soul carries its own distinct essence. And yes, they maintain their unique qualities while stored. I can even extract specific flavors for your ink-making needs.”

“But?”

“Once I digest them, they lose their individual properties. Food is food, after all.”

Lin Yue pointed at Shadow’s bloated form. “And you get bigger with each meal.”

Shadow shrank back, coiling tight. “Don’t mention that! Master Yan will strip me of souls again. The pain, the agony, the loss—”

“I’m sure you don’t like losing souls, but cut the act.” Lin Yue crossed her arms. “You’re not fooling anyone with the pathetic routine.”

Shadow’s red eyes flared. “Tch. Fine. You’re sharper than most.” He stretched back to his normal size, dropping the wounded tone. “So what’s the plan then, oh clever one?”

Lin Yue tapped her fingers against her thigh, recalling the manual’s instructions about soul-infused ink creation. Innocent souls produced the strongest protective scripts—which sucked since she needed shields more than anything. The single pure soul Shadow had collected from the temple wouldn’t stretch far… or would it?

How many defensive things could she make with the ink from one soul? Fuck, she needed to go back to the inn and learn more from the manual.

“Damn.” Lin Yue kicked another bottle across the square. “Using an innocent’s soul for protection feels wrong, anyway.”

Shadow perked up. “Having moral qualms? That’s new.”

Lin Yue scanned the dark corners of Rat Square. “The manual said criminal souls work best for attack talismans. Those would be easier to find.”

“And more fun to collect.” Shadow bobbed in the air.

Lin Yue moved across the filthy street. Master Yan had stripped Shadow of the Tiger Gang souls—probably just to remind the parasitic dragon who held his leash. She wouldn’t have cared, except now it felt like he robbed her, instead of Shadow.

The streets grew narrower as she ventured deeper into the city’s bowels. Ramshackle buildings leaned against each other like dying men, their foundations rotting in the perpetual sewage that leaked from the sewer. The stench of unwashed bodies and festering wounds drifted from the alcoves.

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Sunken eyes tracked her movement. Skeletal hands clutched tattered robes. Disease-ridden beggars huddled in doorways, too weak to even beg. Perfect hunting ground for souls—if she could stomach it.

Two men blocked the narrow path ahead. The taller one brandished a splintered club while his companion pulled a rusted knife.

“Bingo!” Shadow spun excited loops through the air. “Fresh customers!”

“Come with us, girl.” The tall thug tapped his club against his palm. “Nice and quiet-like.”

Lin Yue gripped her knife handle. “No. Shadow, pop their heads off.”

“What? No way.” Shadow drifted lazily overhead. “Handle these mortals yourself. You’re a cultivator now, remember?”

The men lunged forward. Lin Yue’s heart hammered—but everything moved like they were underwater. The club swung past her face in slow motion, disturbing the air in visible ripples. The thug’s movements stretched out, giving her endless time to simply step aside.

“Welcome to a whole new world of perception!” Shadow cackled above the frozen tableau. “Poor mortals can’t keep up with a cultivator’s speed. Fun, isn’t it?”

Lin Yue reached out, driving her knife deep into the first man’s neck. Blood sprayed in a warm arc in front of her face, but she slipped past it. The metallic scent filled her nostrils.

She pivoted behind him as he stumbled, jamming the blade up into his kidney. The steel sliced through cloth and flesh with practiced ease.

The second thug blinked stupidly, frozen in the cultivator-enhanced moment. Lin Yue darted behind him before he registered movement.

The knife plunged into his kidney as well. His muscles tensed under the blade. She reached up and yanked the steel across his throat in one fluid motion, opening a crimson smile.

She jumped back and reality snapped back to normal speed. Blood pooled toward her feet, soaking into the packed dirt.

“What the—” The words stuck in Lin Yue’s throat as she stared at her handiwork.

Shadow swooped down, eagerly slurping up the wisps of light that rose from the corpses. His serpentine form swelled.

A woman’s scream pierced the night. Footsteps pounded against stone as people fled the alley. The remaining beggars stared at Lin Yue with dead eyes, accepting death as inevitable.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!” Shadow writhed through the air in ecstasy.

Lin Yue glanced down at her new black silk robes. Not a single drop of blood stained the fabric—she’d moved too fast for the spray to reach her. The bodies sprawled in their own crimson pools at her feet, already cooling in the night air.

“What the hell was that?” Lin Yue stared at her steady hands.

Shadow drifted down beside her. “You’re a cultivator now. Your mind and body process everything faster than mortals can even think. Their movements might as well be frozen in amber.”

“And other cultivators?”

“They’ll move just as fast—or faster. You need to get stronger before taking them on.” Shadow coiled through the air. “Much stronger.”

Lin Yue peered down the dark alley. Distant shouts echoed off the walls. Time to move before anyone investigated the screams. She stepped around the bodies, avoiding the blood-soaked dirt.

The knife felt heavier in her hand. She’d killed before—slit throats for vengeance, stabbed hearts for survival. But this... this had been different. The way they’d moved in slow motion while she darted between them like a ghost. The absolute control.

The ease of it all.

Was this what being a serial killer felt like? A sociopath?

Lin Yue wiped the blood from her knife on one of the comatose beggars, the crimson staining their already filthy rags. The question nagged at her mind—was she becoming a monster? Did killing so easily make her evil?

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. The time for moral debates died along with her two left-hand fingers in that marketplace years ago. Survival meant getting hands dirty. Besides, the thugs had chosen their path just as she chose hers.

“Look who’s having an ethical crisis.” Shadow swirled around her head.

Lin Yue slipped her blade up her sleeve. The cultivation path ahead promised more violence, more death. Master Yan’s mark burned against her skin—a constant reminder that hesitation meant weakness. Weakness meant death.

“Fuck it.” Lin Yue muttered. “If being a good person means dying in a gutter, then I choose survival.”

Shadow preened. “Excellent choice!”

The last of her tears had dried up years ago, along with any illusions about fairness or justice. The world ran on power. Now she finally had a taste of it.

Lin Yue aimed them toward another alley down the street, one she knew a gang would be guarding to control the local drug market. “Let’s find more souls. I need to get stronger.”

“That’s my girl!” Shadow swooped through the air. “Finally embracing your true nature.”