Shadowwwing

96. Borrowed Authority

After days in the clean, silent emptiness of the wilds, Jiang found Qinghe to be an assault on his senses. If anything, it was worse than the first time he’d arrived here – if nothing else, he’d advanced twice since then, and his senses were...

95. The Force of Nature

Zhang Shuren admitted to himself that he may have underestimated Jiang Tian.

When he’d first offered to teach the boy some basic fundamentals of Qi manipulation, he had expected frustration, resistance, perhaps even another bout of the boy...

94. The Dutiful Disciple

Zhang Shuren was the first to move. He gave the field of corpses a final, grim look, his expression a mask of cold duty. “I must inform the Sect of this development,” he said, his voice clipped and formal. “The use of these forbidden arts is...

93. The Harvest

Say what you would about Zhang, but he made for an excellent distraction. 

Jiang moved in a low crouch, using the chaos of the main fight as cover – though he probably needn’t have bothered. Zhang was a whirlwind of control...

92. An Alliance of Convenience

Zhang took a moment to reply, his eyes sweeping over Jiang’s battered form before returning to his face.

“Now, we negotiate,” the disciple said plainly. “This is something you would have learned had you remained at the Sect. Cultivat...

91. No Good Options

Zhang hadn’t expected Jiang to come quietly, not really. He’d expected a protest, perhaps a desperate justification, or even a foolish attempt at defiance. Someone willing to become a rogue disciple wasn’t likely to simply give up when confr...

90. The Sect's Hound

The terrain continued to change as Jiang moved further south. The ground was firmer here than in the marshes he’d crossed earlier, ridges of frozen earth pushing up through patches of snow. The vast open areas gave way to forest once again, the ...

89. Tools of the Trade

Jiang pushed open the warped door, the smell of resin and cut wood greeting him before the warmth of the brazier did. The little shop was cramped – half a dozen bows hung on the back wall, most of them plain hunting pieces, their strings slacken...

88. The Shape of a Shadow

Jiang moved south, ignoring the roads in favour of cutting directly through the wilds. At the speeds he was capable of moving now, it was actually faster going this way than following the winding paths.

As he went, he reflected on his attack...

87. The Hunter's Shadow

“So if you don’t want me dead, what do you want from me?”

The bandit leader’s question hung in the air for a moment as Jiang tried to decide how he wanted to handle this. His only real experience interrogating someone was wi...

86. The Hunt

The treeline broke on a slope of churned snow and trampled undergrowth. Jiang crouched low, drawing his cloak tighter against the wind. Below, half-hidden in the lee of a ridge, firelight flickered in the gaps of a ring of crude tents and lean-tos...

85. A Different Kind of Beast

The forest was quiet but for the steady crunch of boots on frost-bitten leaves.

Jiang moved easily, slipping between trees with the same unthinking grace he’d once used on the rooftops of Qinghe. It had been only a few weeks since he’d l...

84. Mortal Games

The Broker was reviewing manifests – a tedious but necessary part of his business – when the knock came. He frowned. It was too early for his scheduled appointments, and too late for any urgent morning business. “Enter,” he called, his voi...

83. A Clean Kill

Jiang stared steadily across the polished desk, meeting the Broker’s masked gaze without flinching.

“I’ll take the contract on Huo Jin.”

The Broker leaned back slightly, and Jiang could practically feel the satisfaction radiati...

82. Loose Ends

Jiang moved first.

He rolled off the desk, his boots hitting the floorboards in a low crouch. The motion gave him freedom of movement, but also brought him within reach of the thug he’d followed here. The thug, predictably, snarled and lun...

81. The Gravity of the Situation

Lin stared at Jiang, casually perched on the edge of the roof as he tracked the thug who’d just tried to jump him. She opened her mouth, a dozen scathing remarks about the stupidity of his plan fighting for release, but she bit them back.

...

80. The Direct Approach

The wind coming off the harbour had a wet, heavy chill that clung to the bones. Perched atop the roof of a storehouse a few hundred meters from the warehouse containing Liang Shen, Jiang shivered at the memory of the freezing bay water.

The ...

79. How It Always Starts

By the time the sun rose the next day, Jiang would have done just about anything to escape the awkward atmosphere. 

After he had completed the Pact and broken through, Old Nan’s brief foray into lucidity had rapidly faded into confusi...

78. Gifts and Burdens

Jiang stared at the old woman. He didn’t doubt her sincerity for a second – this clearly meant a lot to her. But he also wasn’t blind to the fact that she didn’t necessarily care what happened to him.

What she could be getti...

77. The Fortunate Fool

Author's note:

Finally, we get some explanation for things that have been happening in the background since chapter 10! Hope you enjoy!

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The fire crackled softly in Old Nan’s small hearth, the flames casting da...

76. An Undignified Affair

The ichor of the spirit beast was black and viscous, clinging to the steel of Zhang Shuren’s blade. Drawing a silk cloth from his spatial ring with a flicker of Qi, he cleaned it with a practised, methodical calm. 

He ignored the trem...

75. Abandon Ship

The freezing water surged into the hold with a deafening roar, slamming Jiang against the stacked crates. He pushed himself up quickly, sputtering and gasping as seawater flooded around his chest, icy tendrils stabbing at his skin. For a single, c...

74. Dawn's Fortune

The night air over the docks was cold and heavy, thick with the smells of salt, tar, and damp, rotting wood. From their perch on the tiled roof of a warehouse, Jiang and Lin had a clear, unobstructed view of the harbour. Lanterns cast long, waveri...

73. Hazard Pay

Lin leaned back against the wooden post of the noodle stall, idly twirling a chopstick through her fingers. Watching the street had gotten boring nearly half an hour ago, and while she wasn’t exactly worried Jiang would ditch her – he’d been...

72. Unorthodox Measures

Jiang blinked slowly, still processing Mistress Bai’s words when the door slid open again, admitting two familiar figures.

“Well, well,” Wei drawled, lingering in the doorway as if sizing Jiang up. “If it isn’t Jiang Tian, the este...

71. The Rules of Independence

Jiang exited the Leaky Kettle, fighting back a yawn. Surprisingly, he’d managed to nod off for an hour or so, which, ironically, only made him feel more tired. He glanced up at the rooftops across the street, spotting Lin leaning against a chimn...

Announcement - Chapter delay

Hey everyone – just a quick heads-up that tomorrows chapter is going to be delayed. I had a minor medical emergency over the weekend that threw off my schedule. Nothing serious, but it means I didn’t quite manage to get the chapter ready in ti...

70. The Price of Information

The Broker clapped sharply, breaking the tension that had settled over Jiang at the thought of his new goals.

“I’m glad to see that we have managed to clarify matters – it makes this next stage so much simpler.”

He leaned back ...

69. Nice

Stepping back out onto the street, Jiang’s stomach grumbled irritably, a pointed reminder that he hadn’t eaten since yesterday. Between exhaustion and hunger, exhaustion could wait a bit longer.

Han had said the Broker wouldn’t be in f...

68. The Tools At Hand

Despite the early hour, the Leaky Kettle was already lively, voices raised in boisterous laughter echoing from inside. Lin hesitated near the entrance, shooting Jiang a look that said quite plainly she thought this was a terrible idea. He ignored ...