Naked Sword Art

The hidden passage sloped downward beneath the ruined courtyard.

At first it seemed like an ordinary escape tunnel, but after walking several dozen steps the corridor split. Then it split again, and again.

The underground passage soon revealed itself to be far larger than either of them expected.

Stone walls stretched in every direction, forming twisting paths that bent sharply or doubled back upon themselves. Narrow intersections opened into other corridors, each nearly identical to the last.

It was a labyrinth.

The Song Clan had clearly prepared this place long before the attack ever came.

If enemies managed to discover the bunker entrance, they would become hopelessly lost before ever reaching the civilians hiding within.

Xun Wei stopped walking.

Her grey eyes slowly swept the dark corridors around them.

"...A maze," she said softly.

Xiao Hei sniffed the air, her nose twitching.

"Mn. I can smell them."

Without hesitation she began walking down one of the corridors. Xun Wei followed silently behind her.

Their footsteps echoed faintly against the cold stone walls as they moved deeper into the labyrinth.

Every so often Xiao Hei would pause at an intersection, sniff the air, then turn down another path. Sometimes she doubled back entirely before choosing a different direction.

To anyone else the maze would have been impossible to navigate, but Xiao Hei’s senses were far sharper than any human’s.

Xiao Hei’s ears perked.

"Found them."

They turned one final corner.

At the end of the corridor stood a massive pair of iron doors embedded in thick stone.

The doors were reinforced with heavy locking bars and layered sealing formations carved into the frame. Whoever built this bunker had spared no effort in protecting the people inside.

"There they are."

Xiao Hei stepped forward, rolling her shoulders.

"Should I break it?"

Her claws flexed slightly as Qi gathered around her arms, but before she could strike—Xun Wei raised a hand.

"Wait."

Xiao Hei paused.

"You have a better idea?" she asked.

Xun Wei stared calmly at the sealed door.

"...Mn."

—

Inside the cellar, the atmosphere was tense.

Thousands of Song Clan civilians had gathered together beneath dim lantern light.

Elderly men. Women holding their children. Servants and injured guards.

Everyone had heard the war horn earlier, and that horn could only mean one thing, reinforcements had arrived.

"They should be here any moment now," one man said nervously.

"Yes... yes, they must already be fighting the invaders above," another replied.

A woman clasped her hands together in prayer.

"Thank the heavens. We’re going to be safe."

Relief slowly began to spread through the room.

Then—

Knock... Knock... Knock

A soft knocking sound echoed against the massive cellar doors.

Everyone froze.

A calm voice spoke from the other side.

"Open the door. Reinforcements have arrived. Is everyone alright?"

For a moment the room remained silent.

Then the entire cellar erupted into cheers.

"They’re here!"

"The army has arrived!"

"We’re saved!"

Some people began crying in relief.

Several of the younger men hurried toward the locking mechanisms on the door, pulling back the heavy metal bars that sealed it shut.

But among the celebrating crowd...

One old man remained seated.

His body was frail. His skin pale with sickness. He was the former Patriarch of the Song Clan.

He slowly raised his head.

"Old Song Ju, did you hear that? They came back for us!" his attendant said happily. But he didn’t share her excitement, because something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

His cloudy eyes narrowed.

With effort, he extended his senses outward, past the crowd, past the thick iron doors, and into the corridor.

For a moment... he sensed nothing. Only darkness, but the darkness felt strange.

Eerie.

As if the space itself had been swallowed by something unnatural.

The old patriarch’s breathing slowly grew uneven.

He groaned, ’This feeling, this darkness, what does it mean?’ he wondered.

But then he saw it—Inside that darkness... he saw something that nearly stopped his weak heart.

He saw eyes.

Cold, merciless eyes. The eyes of a killer, the eyes of a beast—a crouching tiger. The eyes of death.

It was filled with so much killing intent it made his soul tremble. A presence that felt less like a human...and more like a demon wearing human skin.

’A... Devil...’

His hands began shaking. His attendant eventually noticed.

"What’s wrong?" she asked.

He didn’t have time to explain because in that same moment he saw that the civilians were already unlocking the door.

"No, stop them! Don’t open that door!"

The old patriarch forced himself to stand.

"STOP!"

But his frail voice was drowned out by the cheering crowd.

The final locking bar slid free, he was too late.

The moment the door cracked open, the entire room fell into a chilly silence. No one needed to see who was behind that door. They could feel it. And it felt like Death.

The men opening the door were the first to fall.

Blood splattered across the stone floor.

Then the screaming began.

Xun Wei stepped over the collapsing bodies like a passing ghost, her sword held loosely in her hand. Each movement was simple and precise—one strike, one life.

Meanwhile, beside the previous Patriarch, his head attendant frowned as she glanced back toward the other guards gathered behind her. Several of them were Core Realm cultivators, while a few had reached the Profound Realm. Only she herself stood at the Divine Realm.

As Xun Wei continued walking deeper into the cellar, the attendants prepared to move, but just as they were about to charge—the previous Patriarch grabbed the head attendant’s wrist.

"You’re no match for that girl."

The attendant froze.

She was surprised to hear such words. Even though Xun Wei was emitting a Divine Realm aura, she still appeared to be nothing more than a young girl.

Yet...

Every instinct in her body was already warning her not to approach her. So when the old Patriarch spoke, she understood immediately.

The old man slowly reached into his robes and removed a unique pill.

The moment the attendant saw it, her eyes widened.

"Patriarch, you can’t—!"

But before she could stop him, the previous Patriarch had already swallowed it.

"There is no other way."

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