Two disciples entered the library, talking casually.
"Did you hear? The man the Sect Master brought in escaped."
"I heard. How does someone just vanish like that? Right under everyone’s noses too."
"I know, right? The Sect Master has been..."
They paused.
A figure lay sprawled across the floor between the shelves.
"Senior Sister!"
They rushed over, kneeling beside the unconscious girl. One of them checked her pulse and breathing while the other scanned the surroundings for threats.
"She’s okay," the first girl confirmed, sighing in relief. "Just unconscious."
The other girl tapped her shoulder.
"What?"
She looked up. The girl was pointing at the shelves behind them.
"Was the library always this... empty?"
"What are you talking about?"
The first girl turned to look around the library. Her eyes widened.
Entire sections of shelves stood nearly empty. Gaps littered every row. What had once been a repository filled to capacity now looked barren and hollow.
"Oh no," she breathed. "I think we’ve been robbed."
She shot to her feet.
"Contact the Elder immediately!"
...
A few minutes later.
Three girls knelt before the Elder and Sect Master in the main hall. The two who had discovered the scene, and the one who had been unconscious earlier.
Their heads were bowed low, their bodies trembling.
"...and when we entered the library, we found Senior Sister Lin unconscious on the floor," one of the girls reported, her voice shaking. "Upon further inspection, we noticed the library had been raided. Many shelves were nearly empty."
"I can confirm this," the other girl added.
The previously unconscious girl suddenly slammed her forehead against the floor.
"Sect Master! This disciple failed in her duties! I allowed an intruder to incapacitate me and steal from our sect!" Her voice cracked. "Please punish me!"
Sun Lihua, the Moonlight Maiden, sat in her elevated seat, her fingers pressed against her temple. She let out a long, exasperated sigh.
"Rise," she said flatly. "All of you. You’re dismissed."
The three girls looked up, surprise flickering across their faces.
"Sect Master?"
"I said you’re dismissed."
They kowtowed quickly. "Thank you for your mercy, Sect Master!"
Then they scrambled to their feet and hurried out of the hall, the doors closing behind them with a soft thud.
Now only the Sect Master and the Elder remained.
Silence lingered for a moment before Sun Lihua spoke.
"What do you think?"
The Elder clasped her hands behind her back, her expression troubled.
"It must be quite the capable individual," she said slowly. "They managed to decipher my formation without me noticing. And they escaped the area despite our heightened security."
She paused.
"Whoever did this is no ordinary thief."
Sun Lihua nodded. "Who do you think it could be?"
The Elder hesitated. "The only person I know capable of such a feat would be... the Sage of Azure Cloud."
"But..." Sun Lihua began.
"But she wouldn’t do such a thing," the Elder finished.
Sun Lihua sighed. "Besides, I would have sensed it if it really was her."
She leaned back in her seat, rubbing her temples.
"Is this sect cursed?" she muttered. "First we lose our disciple, and now this."
Wait.
Disciple?
Her eyes snapped open.
She remembered how Cipher had disappeared right under everyone’s gazes.
Her expression hardened.
It had to be him.
He had a spiritual sea. If he really knew what he was doing - if his awakening wasn’t accidental as she had foolishly assumed - then it wouldn’t be far-fetched to believe he could decode the Elder’s formation.
A slow smile spread across her face.
If he really could decode an Elder’s formation, then his mental cultivation was quite advanced. Such talent...
She had to have him.
"Elder," she said, her voice sharp.
"Yes, Sect Master?"
"Intensify the search for the escapee. And reinforce our security. Double the patrols if you must."
The Elder bowed. "It will be done."
She hesitated.
"What about the stolen manuals, Sect Master? Should we attempt to track them?"
Sun Lihua waved her hand dismissively. "It’s no matter. We have the master copies stashed away. We should be able to repopulate the library soon enough."
The Elder still looked worried. "But Sect Master... what if our Moonlight Sect methods are leaked? If outsiders learn our techniques..."
"Don’t worry about that," Sun Lihua interrupted calmly.
The Elder looked at her in confusion.
Sun Lihua’s smile turned cold.
"The thief might not have such intentions. And besides..."
She stood, her robes flowing around her.
"Who dares to cultivate my Moonlight Sect’s methods?"
The Elder’s eyes widened slightly as understanding dawned.
That made sense.
The Moonlight Sect’s techniques were notoriously specific and sophisticated. Requiring a particular physique, a particular mindset, and most importantly, personal guidance from an expert to avoid deviation.
Anyone foolish enough to cultivate them without help would suffer the consequences.
The Elder nodded deeply. "Understood, Sect Master."
...
The wooden shack, a few days later.
The Heavenly Demon sat at the table, surrounded by chaos.
Hundreds of manuals lay scattered around her. Some were spread open, their pages bent and worn. Others had been flipped through so many times that papers had begun falling out. Stacks of books towered precariously on every available surface.
Crumpled papers were scattered all over the floor.
Her expression was severe, her brow furrowed in intense concentration as she pored over yet another manual. Her eyes scanned the pages rapidly, absorbing information at a pace that would have made most scholars dizzy.
She felt it. She was extremely close to discovering something.
She spread a bunch of books across the table and began inspecting them side by side, comparing passages and cross-referencing techniques.
A log of wood floated toward her from the corner of the room. Her qi wrapped around it, compressing and reshaping it with ease. The wood smooshed and flattened, fibers realigning until it became a stack of rough papers.
She placed one sheet of paper on the table and began writing.
Her brush moved carefully as she gathered her thoughts and formulated a new theory.