By the time Lu Xingchen reached home, night had fully fallen.

Dawnlight Town was small. From one end to the other took no more time than brewing a cup of tea. His house stood on the eastern edge of town, beside a blacksmith's forge. An old locust tree grew by the gate, and from its trunk hung an ever-burning lamp—one his mother lit so he would see the light when he came home.

Tonight that light felt especially warm.

He pushed open the courtyard gate. Before he could call out, Mother, Father, I'm home, a figure already rushed out.

"Xingchen! Where have you been? I've reheated dinner three times!" His mother's voice trembled with tears as she pulled him inside. "Look at your face—so pale. Were you showing off again?"

Lu Xingchen smiled and patted her hand. "I'm fine, really. I just went into the woods to check on that spirit vein disturbance."

"The woods?" His father's voice came from the stove, low and stern. "That forest hasn't been safe lately. You know that. Last night your mother saw black shadows prowling outside town."

Black shadows.

Lu Xingchen's heart jolted.

He thought of the night before. More than a dozen shadowfolk in a ring, as if performing some ritual. Who—or what—was the "point of light" they had trapped? And that shadowfolk man who had appeared out of nowhere to save him… A man of the Shen family? The Shen clan of Shadowvale?

The clan of Shen Yuan, chairman of the shadowfolk council—one of the most powerful men in all the shadow lands?

"Xingchen?" His mother's voice pulled him back. "Where did you go just now? Come eat."

"Oh. Right." He pushed the tangle of thoughts aside and sat down at the table with a smile.

The meal was simple—a plate of stir-fried greens, a bowl of steamed egg, pickled radish, and a small dish of braised pork. His mother always said meat had to be saved, set aside for him to grow strong. But tonight the braised pork was clearly half again as much as usual.

He ate with his head down, yet his mind kept circling back to last night.

What had those shadowfolk been doing? Was the trapped "point of light" a living person, or some spirit vein anomaly? And the man who had saved him—why had he done it? Why would a man of the Shen family bother with such a thing?

"What are you thinking about?" His father sat down across from him, gaze searching. "Something on your mind?"

Lu Xingchen set down his chopsticks. After a moment's thought, he decided to tell the truth. "Father, I ran into shadowfolk in the woods."

His mother's face changed at once.

"What happened?" His father's voice sank, brow knitting tight. "Did they find you?"

"No… Well, yes, they found me, but—" Lu Xingchen dragged a hand through his hair, unsure where to begin. "There were more than a dozen shadowfolk in the forest surrounding something. Then one of them… saved me."

"A shadowfolk saved you?" His father's eyes narrowed. "Which one?"

"I don't know. He wouldn't give his name. But the others called him 'a man of the Shen family.'"

The atmosphere at the table froze solid.

The Shen family.

The oldest shadow clan of Shadowvale—a noble house that had existed long before the council was formed. Shen Yuan, current chairman of the shadowfolk council, was one of theirs.

"You're sure?" His father's voice dropped very low. "He really saved you?"

"Really." Lu Xingchen nodded. "When those shadows tried to take me, he appeared. A few words from him and they scattered."

His father was silent a long time. His mother gripped his hand tight, eyes reddening.

"Xingchen," his father said at last, voice heavy, "first thing tomorrow morning, you're coming with me to the Light Spirit Hall."

"The Light Spirit Hall?" Lu Xingchen blinked. "Father, it's not like I've never been there—"

"This time is different." His father cut him off. "The Hall has a mission for you."

Lu Xingchen stared. "What mission?"

His father and mother exchanged a look, complex and unreadable.

"The spirit veins have been wrong lately," his father said. "Not just the woods near Dawnlight Town—the whole continent. The Light Spirit Hall has already sent people to investigate, but they can't find the cause."

"So?"

"So they've decided to select young light spirit wielders from across the land to take part in the investigation." His father looked at him, worry and something else tangled together in his eyes. "You're the only one from Dawnlight Town who was chosen."

Lu Xingchen opened his mouth and found he had nothing to say.

He had been born with the light spirit constitution, but in the Hall's tests his talent ranked only middling. Over the years he had learned basic arts from the elders and run errands for the town, but he had never imagined being formally assigned a mission.

"Father, I—"

"I know you're afraid." His father sighed. "But some things can't be avoided by hiding. The shadowfolk won't stay away because you leave them alone. The spirit veins won't stop shifting because people you love are involved."

His mother nodded gently beside him, tears still shining in her eyes. "Xingchen, I know you're frightened. But you won't be alone. Go. Do what you're meant to do. Just promise me you'll come home safe."

Lu Xingchen was silent a long time.

He thought of that night twelve years ago—his mother throwing herself in front of him, raising a barrier of light spirit power before his body. He had been too young then to understand what light spirit power was. He only knew his mother had been bright, bright enough to pierce the whole world.

Later he learned that light had been bought with her life.

She had lived. But from that day on, her health had never been the same.

"…I understand," he said softly. "I'll go."

That night he slept poorly. His dreams were nothing but that black forest, those faceless shadows, and those bottomless eyes.

Early the next morning, his father took him to the Light Spirit Hall outside town.

Dawnlight Town's Hall was small—little more than a shrine housing the memorial tablets of light spirit wielders past. But today several people stood in the open ground before the shrine, all dispatched from the central Hall.

Leading them was a white-bearded elder Lu Xingchen recognized: Elder Zhou of the Light Spirit Hall.

"Lu Xingchen." Elder Zhou's voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable authority. "From this day forward, you are formally conscripted for the spirit vein investigation. Your destination is the capital. You depart in three days."

Lu Xingchen bowed. "Yes."

Elder Zhou nodded and drew a jade pendant from his sleeve. The stone was warm and translucent, glowing with a faint light in the sun—the mark of the Light Spirit Hall.

"This belonged to your father in his youth," Elder Zhou said. "I'm returning it to you now. Keep it on your person. Never let it leave you."

Lu Xingchen took the pendant. The moment his fingers touched the warm jade, heat spread from his palm through his whole body. He looked at his father. His father's gaze was complicated, as if recalling something long buried.

"Father, this is—"

"A token from my younger days," his father said quietly. "Wear it. It will protect you."

Lu Xingchen hung the pendant around his neck and pressed it to his chest.

Elder Zhou gave a few more instructions, then left with the others. Only Lu Xingchen and his father remained in the clearing.

"Xingchen." His father spoke suddenly, his voice softer than usual. "This mission… may take you into Shadowvale."

Lu Xingchen's heartbeat skipped.

Shadowvale. Shadowfolk territory.

"I'll be careful," he said.

His father was quiet a moment, then reached out and clapped his shoulder. "That shadowfolk who saved you… whoever he is, remember one thing."

"What?"

"In this world, there is no kindness without reason." His father's gaze was deep. "He saved you. He had a reason. Find out what it is—but be careful."

Lu Xingchen nodded.

In three days he would set out for the capital.

Morning in Dawnlight Town came heavy with mist. He shouldered a simple pack and stood at the town gate, looking back once.

His mother stood in the doorway with a small bundle, waving. His father's silhouette moved at the stove, as if preparing breakfast.

The ever-burning lamp still glowed, warm through the fog.

I will come back, he told himself silently.

Then he turned and stepped onto the road to the capital.

He did not know that the moment he turned, not far away in the tree shadows, a pair of bottomless eyes watched him go.

"…The capital."

The man murmured the words, then vanished without a sound into the morning mist.