The valley had been peaceful—until the crows came. Dozens of them, black as midnight, circled overhead like vultures. Xiao Mei tossed a rock at one, scowling. "Bad omens. Even the birds here are rude."
Li Wei tightened his grip on the ancient phoenix sword, its rusted edge glinting dully. "We should head back. Elder Bai said storms are coming."
"Since when do you listen to Elder Bai?" Xiao Mei grinned, but her smile faded as a low horn echoed through the cliffs.
Five figures emerged from the mist, their black cloaks emblazoned with storm-cloud sigils. The leader, a hulking man with a scarred face, leveled a spear at Li Wei. "Hand over the relic, boy. This doesn't have to end in blood."
Li Wei stepped back, his mind racing. How do they know about the sword? Xiao Mei whispered, "Run or fight? Your call, talented one."
"Fight," Li Wei said, surprising himself.
The clansmen attacked. Li Wei's movements were clumsy at first, the sword heavy in his untrained hands. But then—it happened. The blade hummed, guiding his wrist into a fluid arc. He disarmed the first warrior, then the second. Xiao Mei gaped. "Since when are you a swordsman?!"
"Luck!" Li Wei lied, panic rising as the blade's energy surged.
The leader lunged, his spear aimed at Li Wei's heart. The phoenix sword jerked upward on its own, parrying the strike. A voice, faint and cold, slithered into Li Wei's mind: "Kill him."
Li Wei froze. Whose voice was that? The hesitation cost him. The leader's fist slammed into his ribs, sending him crashing into the cliffside.
Xiao Mei screamed, grabbing a loose rock and hurling it at the leader. "Hey, ugly! Try someone your own size!"
The distraction worked. Li Wei scrambled up, but the sword trembled violently, resisting his grip.
As the clansmen closed in, Xiao Mei's eyes darted to the runes carved into the nearby stones. "Li Wei! The symbols—they're a trap mechanism! Strike the rock beside the leader's foot!"
Li Wei didn't question it. He slammed the sword into the ground. The runes flared blue, and the cliffside shuddered. Boulders broke loose, forcing the Black Cloud warriors to retreat.
"How did you know that?!" Li Wei panted.
Xiao Mei shrugged, but her hands shook. "Lucky guess."
Back at the hut, Elder Bai inspected Li Wei's bruises, his expression unreadable. "You survived a Black Cloud ambush with a rusty sword. Quite… fortunate."
Li Wei avoided his gaze. "Xiao Mei helped."
The elder's voice dropped. "That blade is more than a relic. It chooses its wielder. Be careful it doesn't consume you."
That night, Li Wei dreamt of Zhao Tian standing in a field of ashes, the phoenix sword dripping blood. "You cannot hide from what you are," the vision hissed.
He woke to Xiao Mei shaking him, her face pale. "You were muttering in your sleep. Something about… phoenixes and shadows?"
Li Wei forced a laugh. "Maybe you're rubbing off on me with your creepy rune talk."
The Black Cloud Clan retreated, but their threat lingered. Li Wei's secret danced on the edge of exposure, the sword's hunger growing alongside Xiao Mei's suspicion. And far darker shadows stirred—whispers of a phoenix, waiting to rise from ash.