Chapter 47 — The Talisman Painter Who Guards the Village

The Figure in the Dark

A strange noise woke Diệp Sương in the middle of the third watch, a soft creak of the door hinge, too small to be wind, too intentional to be imaginary.

She lay still, eyes open in the darkness, ears straining to listen. The noise came not from her room, but from the direction of the warehouse near the observation station - where she and Thanh Việt had just hidden their luggage in preparation for the next morning's trip, including a package of documents wrapped in oilcloth.

Heart pounding, Diệp Sương quietly crawled out of bed, quickly put on a robe, clutching a stick of ink and a small piece of cloth in her hand, which she always kept at the bedside - a self-defense habit she kept since the night she saw Chúc Nghi Lam secretly copying notes.

*

Outside in the dark hallway, there was no light, only the crescent moonlight filtering through the narrow window, enough for her to recognize a figure moving very quickly, very low, near the warehouse area.

She didn't have time to think; she only had time to knock on the door of Thanh Việt's room next door, whispering urgently. "There are people! In the warehouse!"

Thanh Việt jumped up almost immediately, accustomed to the alarm reflex after four months of guarding the border, grabbed the long sword standing next to the bed, and rushed out of the room just a few breaths later.

The two of them ran towards the warehouse, the sound of their footsteps echoing in the quiet night, waking up a few soldiers nearby. When they arrived, the warehouse door had been pried open, the wooden lock was broken and lying on the ground.

*

"In here!" Diệp Sương shouted and rushed in, waving a light talisman to clearly illuminate the dark space inside.

The light flashed just in time for her to see a figure dressed in black, without any badge or identification, crouching next to a pile of luggage, his hands rummaging quickly through each bag.

The stranger turned around in surprise, only for a second of hesitation before rushing straight through the narrow back window, the decisive movements of a well-trained person, not an ordinary petty thief.

"Chase!" Thanh Việt shouted loudly, rushed out through the main door, and quickly circled to the back of the warehouse.

*

Diệp Sương ran after him, her heart beating rapidly. As she ran, she quickly drew a simple talisman on a piece of cloth and threw it toward the fleeing figure, hoping that the energy trace would help track him for at least part of the way.

But the stranger moved too quickly, weaving through the jagged rocks outside the city walls with a terrifying proficiency, as if he had carefully studied the terrain in advance. Vệ Chinh, just in time to run from the other direction to block the way, swung his stick to strike horizontally, only hitting the stranger's shoulder before he dodged, counterattacking and knocking him down onto the hard ground.

"Vệ Chinh!" Diệp Sương shouted, rushing to help him up, while Thanh Việt continued to chase him a short distance before the figure disappeared completely into the desert darkness, leaving no trace other than a few faint footprints on the sand.

*

"Are you okay?" Diệp Sương asked, her voice shaking with worry as she examined the bruise on Vệ Chinh's shoulder under the torchlight brought by the other soldiers.

"Just bruises, no broken bones," Vệ Chinh replied, grimacing and forcing a smile. "That guy is much stronger than I thought, his attacks are very professional, not like the usual border people."

Sầm Nguyên Trạch, having just been awakened, ran over immediately after hearing the whole incident, his face darkened with anger and anxiety.

"Check your luggage now," he ordered firmly. "See if anything was taken."

She bent down to pick up the piece of black cloth that had fallen where the intruder had just escaped, rubbing it gently between her fingers, her eyes becoming cold. "This fabric is not a primitive textile from the frontier," she commented. "This is the type of fabric used for high-end camouflage uniforms, usually only seen in well-trained reconnaissance teams of the royal court, or of forces rich enough to bribe such people."

"You mean this guy isn't just a petty thief who happened to pass by," Diệp Sương said, her voice trembling slightly.

"That's right," Sầm Nguyên Trạch replied, his face even more serious. "This is someone who was sent, had a clear purpose, knew exactly what to look for and where to look."

*

Diệp Sương and Thanh Việt hurriedly searched through each bag in the warehouse, their hearts still pounding. Luckily, the oilcloth-wrapped document package was still intact where it had been hidden—not in the main luggage bag, as the stranger seemed to have thought, but sewn shut in the lining of the old robe Diệp Sương wore every day. The caution she had shown suddenly made her feel lucky.

"They didn't get anything," he breathed, his voice still shaking. "But they knew we were carrying important documents. Otherwise, no one would have bothered to break in the night before we left."

"That means," Thanh Việt said, his voice heavy, "that someone, perhaps one of the Khâm Vân Ti group that just left, or someone they hired, knew our schedule, even knew what Chúc Nghi Lam gave you the night before."

A heavy silence enveloped the group of people standing in the middle of the cold night yard. Diệp Sương looked around - Sầm Nguyên Trạch with a hard and alert face, Vệ Chinh still grimacing from bruises, other soldiers quietly increasing patrols around the border - and a cold feeling, not because of the night wind, crept throughout her body.

*

While everyone was still busy cleaning up the scene, Diệp Sương quietly separated from the crowd and rushed towards the rock crevice near the observation post where the small creature was still recuperating, her heart tightening for fear that the intruder might have passed by there, causing more panic.

Arriving there, she was relieved to see the animal still lying still in the familiar rock hole, its eyes wide open and alert as it looked at her, but there was no sign that anyone else had been nearby. She gently stroked the animal's gray scales, whispering comfort to both it and herself.

"Maybe I should release you sooner than expected," she said softly, looking at the wound that was almost completely healed. "This place is no longer as safe as before, for both you and me."

The animal gently rubbed its head against her hand, a gesture of trust that made Diệp Sương's heart both warm and aching, knowing that the moment of parting, whether late or early, would not be easy.

*

The next morning, when the sun had just risen, the whole Tiêu Sa Pass was abuzz with talk about last night's break-in. Little Tơ, hearing the news, rushed to find Diệp Sương, hugged her, her voice trembling. "Are you okay? I heard that some bad guys are coming..."

"I'm okay," Diệp Sương reassured, rubbing her head, even though her heart was still in shock. "Don't worry, there is General Sam and everyone here to protect you."

Mr. Mười Khoan also came, his face full of worry on behalf of the whole Diêm Cốc village. "Are you still going?" he asked. "After what happened last night, maybe we should reconsider."

Diệp Sương looked at him, then at Thanh Việt standing next to him, their eyes meeting with the same unwavering determination. "I have to go," she replied, her voice more certain than ever. "Because of what happened last night, I see more clearly that we cannot delay any longer. The longer we wait, the more dangerous it becomes for everyone here."

The morning wind blew across the Tiêu Sa Pass, bringing with it the last cold breath of the night before, but in Diệp Sương's heart, a new fire of determination had been lit, stronger than any fear that stranger could spread.

*

That morning, Sầm Nguyên Trạch decided to postpone his departure for another two days, enough time to select a group of the most elite soldiers to escort Diệp Sương and Thanh Việt on the first journey, until they exited the most dangerous area around the pass.

"I can't go with you all the way," he said, his voice low with helplessness. "The responsibility of guarding the border does not allow me to leave. But I will send an escort to Lam Thủy Town, and carefully instruct every guard station along the way to keep an eye on you two. Two days, enough for me to arrange everything properly, also enough for anyone still lurking around here to be wary of the guard force I will strengthen."

"Thank you, general," Thanh Việt said, bowing his head in gratitude. "We will not forget this grace."

Sầm Nguyên Trạch waved his hand, his eyes turned serious. "Don't be too quick to thank. Take care of yourself, and when you get to Tông Vân Các, don't trust anyone easily, not even the most familiar faces. Last night's people proved that the danger now doesn't just come from the monsters outside the crack anymore." Diệp Sương nodded, remembering every word, feeling like the burden on her shoulders seemed to be much heavier after a sleepless night, but with it came a new fierceness, as sharp as a blade that had just been honed through the danger she had just gone through.