Raizen walked casually, hands in his sleeves again, brushing past the hanging vines and glowing moss of the deep forest. His expression didn't change, but his mind was sharp—tracking every shift in the air.
He knew someone was following him.
Not from the sect.
Not one of his soldiers.
And not weak.
Footsteps were light—measured. Whoever it was knew how to hide their presence. But they didn't know how to fool him.
He kept walking.
One minute. Two.
Then he sighed and said aloud, "You can keep tiptoeing or show yourself. Either way, I'm not in the mood for games."
Silence.
Then a soft breeze carried a voice from behind a tree trunk.
"You don't act like a cultivator."
Raizen didn't turn around. "I'm not here to act. I'm just walking."
The voice laughed gently. A woman. Calm, with a tone that didn't match the forest. Too smooth. Too confident.
"You interfered with the Red Fang brothers. Killed or erased five of them. One vanished completely. That's bold."
Raizen blinked once.
"Bold?" he repeated. "Lady, that guy was about to ruin a girl's life like it was his birthright. I call it basic human decency."
A light step.
A woman stepped out from the shadows. Tall, cloaked in silver and green. Long twin braids down her back, blades strapped to each hip, and strange symbols etched into her gloves. Her face was half-covered by a sheer veil.
"Are you a rogue cultivator?"
Raizen tilted his head. "Is that your first question?"
"I'm curious."
"No," he said plainly. "I'm the kind of person who gets annoyed when weak people are bullied for fun."
Her brows lifted slightly. "That's rare around here."
Raizen narrowed his eyes. "I didn't ask for a lecture. You got a reason for watching me?"
She smiled. "You interest me."
"Try someone else."
"I might. But your energy's... hard to ignore."
Now Raizen turned slightly, his tone sharpening. "You followed me to what? Recruit me? Spy? Threaten?"
"I'm from the Luminous Wind Hall," she said, her smile not fading. "You probably know the name."
Raizen gave her a blank stare. "I don't."
She blinked. "Seriously?"
"I said what I said."
The woman's expression faltered for the first time. Then she covered it with a slight chuckle.
"You're odd."
Raizen crossed his arms. "Yeah? So is a guy with flaming eyebrows. What's your point?"
She looked at him, eyes scanning more seriously now. "You don't talk like anyone I've met. And that energy… there's void in it, isn't there?"
He didn't respond.
She stepped closer. "There haven't been any void cultivators since the Celestial Massacre. Not real ones."
"Maybe," Raizen said casually. "Maybe I'm a ghost."
She tilted her head, watching. "You're dangerous."
"I know."
Another pause.
Then she nodded. "I'll report nothing. Consider it a favor."
"I didn't ask for one."
"Exactly," she said. "Which is why I'll remember this moment."
Then she vanished—no ripple, no trace. Just gone.
Raizen remained still for a moment.
"…Weird woman," he muttered. "But I'll take it."
He continued walking, and the void around his feet shimmered faintly—responding not to danger, but to his growing awareness.
That encounter was nothing compared to what was coming.
And this world?
It was getting nosy.