Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Hunter woke up to pain.

Not the sharp kind. Not the immediate "something is stabbing me" kind. The deep kind. The "your body is filing a formal complaint about recent management decisions" kind. The kind that suggested every cell in his body had unionized and gone on strike.

His shoulder throbbed. His meridians felt like someone had taken steel wool to them. His dantian was empty, a hollow void where his qi should be. Even his hair hurt, which seemed excessive but his body was apparently committed to the bit.

He opened his eyes. Immediately regretted it. Sunlight stabbed through his retinas like personal attacks.

The voice was small. Familiar. Very close to his ear.

Hunter turned his head. Mistake. Everything spun. The cave ceiling became the floor became the ceiling again. His stomach threatened revolution.

Mei’s face swam into focus. Those too big eyes. That serious expression. The doll clutched in one hand.

"You’ve been asleep for three days," she said matter of factly, like she was reporting the weather. "Han said you might die. Qiu started a betting pool. I bet you’d live. I won two copper."

"That’s nice," Hunter croaked. His throat felt like sandpaper. "Glad my survival is profitable."

She held a waterskin to his lips. He drank. It was the best water he’d ever tasted, which said more about his current state than the water quality.

"How do you feel?" Mei asked.

"Like I split my soul into pieces and then fought a wind squirrel while bleeding from seven different wounds."

"Eight wounds. I counted."

"That makes it better, thanks."

She set the waterskin aside. Sat cross legged next to his mat. Just staring. Not saying anything. The intensity was uncomfortable.

"What?" Hunter asked.

"You kept your promise. You won."

"No." Her voice was very firm. Very certain. "You won. You made copies of yourself and killed the alpha and protected everyone and kept your promise."

Something in her tone made Hunter’s chest tight. This was building to something. He could feel it. The way you could feel a storm coming before the first raindrop fell.

"I want to stay with you."

There it was. The storm.

"Kid, you can’t stay with me. I’m a bandit. Sort of. Accidentally. The point is, this isn’t a good life for a seven year old."

"Seven and a half year old. You need stability. Safety. A normal childhood with normal things. Not living in a cave watching people fight spirit beasts."

"My mother is dead." Mei’s voice didn’t change. Still flat. Still calm. Like she was stating a mathematical fact. "The village is gone. I have no family. Nowhere to go. But you’re here. And you kept your promise. And you make me feel safe."

Hunter’s throat closed. This was too much. Way too much. He’d barely woken up and already emotional devastation was happening.

"There are people who can take care of you better than I can. Families. The ones who are leaving. They’d take you in. Give you a real home."

"I don’t want a real home." Mei’s hands clenched around her doll. First sign of emotion since the conversation started. "I want to stay with you."

"Mei, I don’t know what I’m doing. I barely know how to take care of myself. I’m making everything up as I go. Yesterday I split my soul into pieces because I ran out of better ideas. That’s not responsible adult behavior."

"Three days ago," she corrected.

"You saved everyone. That’s responsible."

"You kept your promise. That’s what matters." She looked down at her doll. Smoothed its hair with one small hand. "My mother promised to keep me safe. She did. Until she couldn’t. Then you promised to win. You did. You kept your promise. So I want to stay with you and make a promise back."

Mei looked up. Met his eyes. Something in her expression made Hunter’s instincts scream warnings. This was bad. This was very bad. This was about to change everything.

"I promise to follow you. To stay with you. To be loyal to you. Forever."

The words hung in the air like they were made of something heavier than sound. Like they had weight. Substance. Reality bent around them.

Then everything went wrong.

The air shimmered. Mei started glowing. Not metaphorically. Actually glowing. Soft golden light radiating from her small body like she’d swallowed the sun and it was trying to get out.

"MEI?!" Hunter tried to sit up. His body disagreed violently. Pain exploded through his shoulder. He fell back with a grunt.

The glow intensified. Mei gasped. Her eyes went wide. Not with pain. With shock. With something happening inside her that shouldn’t be possible.

Then Hunter felt it. Through his spiritual sense. Through that connection to qi that cultivation gave him. Mei’s body was changing. Energy was flowing into her. Into someone who shouldn’t have been able to hold energy because mortals couldn’t hold qi. That was the rule. That was the foundation of the entire cultivation system.

The glow faded. Mei sat there, breathing hard, looking at her hands like she’d never seen them before.

"What..." she whispered. "What was that?"

Then Luna’s voice exploded in Hunter’s head. Not her usual playful tone. Excited. Almost manic. Like she’d been waiting for this moment and it had finally arrived.

[LUNA] ◈◈◈ SYSTEM ALERT ◈◈◈

[LUNA] CONGRATULATIONS! (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧

[LUNA] YOU’VE UNLOCKED: THE SHADOW LEGION

[LUNA] CUMULATIVE REWARD PROCESSING COMPLETE

[LUNA] NEW FUNCTION AVAILABLE

[LUNA] PREPARE FOR EXPOSITION DUMP ♥

"What." Hunter’s voice was flat. "What did you just do to her."

[LUNA] I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING (◕‿◕✿)

[LUNA] SHE TRIGGERED IT

[LUNA] SWORN OATH DETECTED

[LUNA] SINCERE INTENT CONFIRMED

[LUNA] HEAVENLY CONTRACT FORMED

[LUNA] WELCOME TO FACTION MANAGEMENT!

"Luna. Explain. Now. Before I have a panic attack."

[LUNA] OKAY SO (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧

[LUNA] REMEMBER ALL THOSE MISSIONS YOU COMPLETED?

[LUNA] SAVE THE VILLAGE, PROTECT REFUGEES, DEFEAT ALPHA, ETC?

[LUNA] REWARDS HAVE BEEN ACCUMULATING

[LUNA] BUILDING TOWARD MAJOR SYSTEM UPGRADE

[LUNA] CONGRATULATIONS: UPGRADE ACHIEVED

[LUNA] YOU NOW HAVE ACCESS TO THE SHADOW LEGION FUNCTION

Hunter stared at the cave ceiling. Processed this information. Failed to process this information. His brain had reached capacity and was now just making dial up internet noises.

[LUNA] THE SHADOW LEGION

[LUNA] YOUR PERSONAL CULTIVATION FACTION

[LUNA] VERY PRESTIGIOUS

[LUNA] VERY PROBLEMATIC FOR YOUR WHOLE "I DON’T WANT TO BE A BANDIT" THING ♥

"I don’t want a faction."

[LUNA] MEI SWORE THE OATH

[LUNA] HEAVENLY CONTRACT ACCEPTED

[LUNA] SHE’S NOW OFFICIALLY MEMBER #1 OF THE SHADOW LEGION

[LUNA] ALSO SHE’S BODY REFINING LEVEL 1 NOW

[LUNA] YOU’RE WELCOME

Hunter looked at Mei. She was still staring at her hands. Flexing her fingers. Testing her new strength with the cautious movements of someone who’d suddenly discovered they could accidentally break things.

"I feel different," she said quietly. "Stronger. Like there’s something warm inside me now. Something that wasn’t there before."

"That’s qi," Hunter said weakly. "You’re a cultivator now. Somehow. Despite being seven years old and this making no sense."

"SEVEN AND A HALF. The point is, this shouldn’t be possible. Mortals can’t cultivate. That’s the rule. You need talent. Potential. Something you’re born with. You can’t just decide to be a cultivator and have it work."

[LUNA] NORMALLY, YES (◕‿◕✿)

[LUNA] BUT THE SHADOW LEGION CHANGES THAT

[LUNA] ANYONE WHO SWEARS SINCERE OATH TO YOU

[LUNA] GETS SYSTEM ASSISTANCE

[LUNA] BODY REFINING LEVEL 1 AUTOMATICALLY GRANTED

[LUNA] TALENT BARRIERS REMOVED

[LUNA] CULTIVATION PATH OPENED

[LUNA] IT’S LIKE A STARTER PACK

[LUNA] CULTIVATION FOR DUMMIES

[LUNA] IMMORTALITY MADE EASY

[LUNA] BUY NOW AND GET FREE SHIPPING ♥

[LUNA] THIS IS AMAZING

[LUNA] DO YOU KNOW HOW RARE THIS IS?

[LUNA] FACTIONS THAT CAN GRANT CULTIVATION TO MORTALS?

[LUNA] TOP TIER SECT STUFF

[LUNA] HEAVEN DEFYING TREASURE STUFF ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel_fіre.net

[LUNA] "START A RELIGION" LEVEL STUFF

"I don’t want to start a religion!"

"Who are you talking to?" Mei asked.

Right. He was doing it again. Talking to Luna out loud like a person having a very public mental breakdown. In front of a child. A child who could now cultivate.

Hunter looked at Mei. At the seven-year-old girl glowing faintly with new cultivation energy. This changed everything.

His chest felt tight. From the weight of what had just happened.

Outside the cave, he could hear the camp waking up. People going about their lives, completely unaware of what was about to happen. He needed to tell them. Had to explain that their weird savior who’d killed a spirit beast while bleeding from eight wounds could now turn mortals into cultivators through soul-binding contracts.

That conversation was going to go great. Absolutely great. No way it would cause panic or fear or people running away screaming.

"Come on," Hunter said, forcing himself to stand despite every cell in his body filing formal complaints. "We need to tell everyone what just happened."

Mei took his hand. Small fingers wrapping around his. Trusting in a way that made his throat close. "They’re going to think you’re amazing."

"They’re going to think I’m insane."

Hunter took a breath. Steadied himself. Prepared for the moment when his already complicated life became exponentially more complicated.

Together, they walked toward the cave entrance. Toward sunlight. Toward the reactions and questions and chaos that awaited.

Toward the Shadow Legion’s first day.

And Hunter had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

But when had that ever stopped him