By dawn, Lin Wuyin was walking alongside the caravan.
No announcement. No fanfare.
One of the guards spotted her out of the corner of his eye and froze, his spear wavering.
She didn't speak.
She simply walked a few steps behind Bai Yujin's wagon, her cloak dusty, face unreadable. Her presence was like mist—impossible to grasp but impossible to ignore.
Bai Yujin, naturally, acted as if this were expected.
She didn't look back, didn't call out.
But her lips curved faintly.
And in the quietest, briefest moment, she opened her fan and flicked it once toward the rear.
A gesture that meant: welcome.
---
By midday, the convoy had reached a bend in the road, winding along the edge of a misty ridge. The guards were more alert than usual. Rumors of bandits still lingered in the air, and several wagons carried rare silk bolts—precious cargo for the Bai family trade routes.
Inside her wagon, Bai Yujin was seated at a low table. The cushions were soft, the air perfumed. She poured herself a cup of tea, fingers elegant and practiced.
A shadow passed outside.
The flap opened.
Lin Wuyin stepped in.
Silent.
Yujin poured another cup without missing a beat. "I was wondering when you'd come."
Wuyin didn't sit. She stood near the entrance, eyes flicking across the wagon's interior.
Too many blind spots. Too few exits.
"Is this how you travel?" Wuyin asked.
"With style," Yujin replied. "And silk."
Wuyin's eyes narrowed. "That's how you die."
Yujin looked amused. "Is that a warning?"
"It's a fact."
Wuyin finally moved forward, stepping lightly, gracefully. She glanced at the teacups, then looked directly at Yujin.
"I'm not your guard."
Yujin tilted her head. "You're not?"
"No." Her voice was cool. "I'm just here until the next town."
"Of course," Yujin said, sipping her tea. "So you've only risked your life twice for a complete stranger because you're bored."
Wuyin didn't answer.
Yujin's fan opened again with a snap. She tapped it against her lips. "I've met blades who kill for silver, warriors who kill for sects, and fools who kill for pride. You don't seem like any of those."
"I'm none of them," Wuyin said simply.
"Then what are you?"
Wuyin was quiet for a long moment.
Finally, she answered, "A mistake."
Yujin's breath hitched—but just for a heartbeat.
"…Is that what you were told?" she asked softly.
Wuyin didn't answer. Her gaze was distant.
Yujin set the fan down.
"Do you know what I was told when I was five?" she said.
Wuyin looked back.
"That I was born with too much cunning. That a woman should be gentle. That merchants are to smile and bow and bend like reeds."
She smiled without warmth. "I suppose I never learned how."
Wuyin studied her.
This girl…
She wore silk and perfume like armor.
She fought with words instead of fists—but the sharpness was the same.
---
The wagon jolted suddenly.
Outside, a whistle rang through the air.
Wuyin's head snapped up.
"Ambush."
Yujin was already standing, unruffled. "You're very observant."
Wuyin moved to the flap.
Two figures blurred past the trees. Fast. Skilled.
She caught a glimpse of black-and-red robes.
Not common bandits.
Cultivators.
She leapt from the wagon in one fluid motion, landing on the packed earth just as the first attacker reached the perimeter.
Steel met steel.
Wuyin's blade was not drawn—but her dagger flicked out like moonlight, carving across the man's throat in a single clean arc.
The second one reached her. He was stronger.
He struck with a wide sweep of a hooked spear, twisting it mid-air.
Wuyin ducked under it, slid close, and shoved a throwing needle into his shoulder.
He screamed—but she silenced him with a twist of her palm, breaking his neck.
She didn't blink.
More came from the trees.
Yujin's voice called from behind her: "Don't kill all of them!"
Wuyin paused only long enough to look back. "Why?"
"Interrogation."
Wuyin sighed.
She spun, slashing another blade-wielding attacker across the leg and pinning him to the ground.
The fight was over in less than a minute.
When the last body hit the dirt, Wuyin turned back.
Yujin was already outside her wagon, perfectly composed.
She stared down at the wounded man.
"Well, well," she said. "Not local. Look at his crest."
Wuyin crouched beside him, wiping blood from her blade. "You know it?"
"Flame Serpent Cult," Yujin said calmly. "They've been encroaching on this route for the last two seasons."
Wuyin raised an eyebrow.
Yujin's fan fluttered open again. "What? Did you think I only sold silk and jewelry?"
She stepped past the groaning man, her eyes glinting.
"No. There's profit in information."
---
Later, when the dead were burned and the wagons resumed movement, Wuyin sat atop one of the carts, watching the road.
Bai Yujin joined her.
Wuyin looked at her sideways. "You're not afraid of death."
"No," Yujin murmured. "But I am afraid of losing things before I understand them."
She looked at Wuyin with a gaze full of unspoken meanings.
"I'd like to keep you around."
Wuyin stared at her.
And for the first time in years, she felt… uncertain.
Not of the road.
Not of her blade.
But of what came next.