The pavilion's interior was a void of shadow and starlight, its walls draped in black silk that seemed to drink the light. Floating orbs, each pulsing like a dying star, cast faint glimmers across the floor, revealing patterns of interlocking runes that shifted with every glance. Jian Feng stepped forward, the Nine Serenities Jade humming at his back, its spirit silent but watchful. The air was heavy, not with spiritual energy but with the weight of unseen eyes, as if the Court of Dust and Ashes itself judged his every breath.
At the pavilion's heart sat the Veiled Star Marquis, his form half-shrouded in a cloak that shimmered like a starless night. One eye was hidden by a patch that swirled with cosmic light, a nebula trapped in cloth. The other, golden and piercing, fixed on Jian Feng with an intensity that made his Golden Core tremble.
"You're the boy Heaven can't stop blessing," the Marquis said, his voice low and laced with amusement. "Jian Feng, Core Formation, bearer of the Nine Serenities Jade. A mortal in the Court of Dust and Ashes. Tell me, why does the Ministry of Karmic Ledgers send you to me?"
Jian Feng's grip tightened on the sword's hilt, though he kept his hand still. The Court's rules echoed in his mind: Speak no falsehood, draw no weapon, trade no favor without a witnessed oath. One wrong word could bind his soul—or worse.
"They didn't say," he replied, his voice steady despite the chain tightening around his core. "Only that I must find you."
The Marquis leaned forward, his eye narrowing. "Heaven never acts without purpose. You're a Debtor, boy. Your soul is a ledger, and every blessing is a chain. How many do you carry now?"
Jian Feng's breath caught. He could see them—ethereal Debt-Bonds weaving through his Golden Core, some thin as gossamer, others heavy as iron. The newest, born from the jade sigil that granted him entry, pulsed with a cold, starlit glow. He didn't answer, but the Marquis's smirk suggested he already knew.
"Bold or foolish," the Marquis mused, rising from his seat. His cloak rippled, the air around him bending as if reality itself bowed. "The Ministry wants something from me, and you're their coin. I can guide you to your first debt—the Stolen Constellation Pearl, hidden in the Vermillion Bird Legion's vaults. But my price is steep."
Jian Feng's heart pounded. The Vermillion Bird Legion—a celestial force under the Ministry of Stellar Alignment, guarding the cosmic pathways between realms. Stealing from them was no mere heist; it was a declaration of war against the heavens.
"What price?" he asked, his voice low but firm.
"A favor," the Marquis said, his golden eye glinting. "Sworn on your Debt-Bonds, to be called when I choose. Refuse, and the Court will mark you as an oathbreaker."
The air grew colder, the orbs dimming. Jian Feng felt the chains in his soul pulse, a warning of the heavens' impatience. Refusing meant a Tribulation—lightning to shatter his core, or a fate worse than death. But swearing a favor to a disgraced Heavenly General was a chain of its own, one that could bind him for centuries.
"I need more than words," Jian Feng said, his mind racing. "Prove the Pearl is worth the risk."
The Marquis chuckled, a sound like breaking glass. "Clever boy. Very well." He extended a hand, and a jade tablet materialized, etched with a constellation that pulsed with faint starlight. "Perform the Star-Thread Divination, and see the Pearl's truth for yourself. But beware—the Court sees all, and so do the heavens."
Jian Feng took the tablet, its surface cold against his skin. The spirit of the Nine Serenities Jade stirred. "A ritual," she whispered. "It binds you closer to the Ledger."
He knew the risk. A ritual would amplify his Debt-Bonds, making him a beacon to the Ministry's enforcers. But he needed answers. He knelt, placing the tablet on the floor, and drew a drop of blood from his fingertip—a tether to his soul's ledger. With a breath, he traced the constellation's lines, whispering words the sword's spirit fed him: "By star and chain, reveal the debt's heart."
The tablet flared, and a vision flooded his mind: a pearl glowing with the light of a thousand stars, locked in a vault of crimson flame. But another image flickered—a cloaked figure watching from the shadows, bearing the seal of the Ministry of Karmic Ledgers.
The vision shattered. Jian Feng staggered, a new chain snapping into place around his core. The Marquis's eye gleamed. "You see it now. The Pearl is your first Tear of Heaven. Swear the oath, or leave empty-handed."
Before Jian Feng could reply, a voice cut through the pavilion—a woman's, sharp and cold. "Marquis, you deal with dangerous pawns."
A figure stepped from the shadows, her robes embroidered with silver chains. A Clerk of the Karmic Ledgers, her eyes glowing with the same starlit hue as the crane's message.
Jian Feng's blood ran cold. The heavens were closer than he thought.
To be continued…
Who is the mysterious Clerk, and what does she want with Jian Feng? Can he outwit the Marquis and the Ministry in the deadly game of the Court? Drop a comment and follow Jian Feng's path through a cosmos of debts and destinies!