Chapter 2: The Ancient Temple's Broken Scroll

Torrential rain lashed down, the wooden tiles of the abandoned shrine creaking under the pounding impact. Xiaoxue huddled beneath the main beam, her fingers white-knuckling around the cold copper coin in her hand. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. From the deep shadows, a pair of eyes burning with ghostly blue flames stared out, the gaze carrying a hunger that felt like it could pierce through skin and devour the soul directly.

She held her breath, quickly shoving the coin into the hidden pocket inside her collar. In the harsh, sickly-white flash of lightning, she got a good look at the owner of those eyes. It wasn’t some common ghoul or demon. It was a woman dressed in plain white monk’s robes.

The doors to the inner hall were half-open, the air thick with the scent of old paper and sandalwood mixed together. Xiaoxue stepped inside and realized the space wasn’t as empty as it looked from the outside. In the corners, massive piles of bamboo slips and ledgers were stacked up. Kana moved to the desk before the main altar, where a single lamp with blue glass flames sat. The light was dim and yellow, stretching their shadows into long, thin shapes.

Xiaoxue looked around, catching sight of a massive landscape scroll hanging on the wall. The mountains wound through the painting, rivers crossing over each other. It looked freeform, but every single curve and bend corresponded perfectly to the geographical layout of Kyoto.

Xiaoxue stopped abruptly, her voice raspy but clear. She smoothed the letter out on the desk, pointing at the last three characters written on the back. These weren’t code; they were written in plain ink, the handwriting scrawled and desperate, radiating a profound sense of finality.

Xiaoxue’s heart clenched. Those three words pointed straight to the Amaterasu Zero Archive, the historical black hole that the authorities had buried and covered up. She looked up at Kana, complex emotions flickering in her eyes—the thrill of uncovering the truth warring with the fear of unknown dangers.

Kana spoke slowly, her gaze dropping to the way Xiaoxue clutched her collar, the corner of her mouth lifting in a faint, subtle curve. She didn’t ask for the coin. Instead, she pulled a small lamp from her sleeve. The blue fire flickered, illuminating her pale, refined face.

Warning bells rang in Xiaoxue’s head. This wasn’t an ordinary oil lamp. The flame was a rare blue-purple, seeming to reflect the deepest desires of a person’s heart. She forced down the cold nausea rising in her chest, slowly unclenching her fists, though her fingers remained poised, ready to draw a blade or run at a moment’s notice.

Xiaoxue looked up, her stare boring into Kana. She stood up, walked to the desk, and tapped a specific mark on one of the ledgers. It looked like an ordinary number—“3-7”—but to Xiaoxue, it represented the goods handover point between the Third Ward of the Eastern Market and the Seventh Alley of the Western Market.

Connecting this to the path of blood traces she’d traced earlier, she realized instantly. This ancient temple was the Blood Covenant’s secret node for washing dirty money. The incense and candles were just a smokescreen. The real transaction involved those bloody chips that couldn’t see the light of day.

Kana stepped back, giving Xiaoxue space. Xiaoxue picked up the letter; the paper was so fragile it felt like it would shatter if she looked at it wrong. She unfolded it carefully. It was filled with twisted Blood Covenant cipher. The characters looked like dancing snake shadows, intricate and complex, dizzying to look at.

Xiaoxue took a deep breath, accessing every scrap of memory. She compared the Sanskrit on the coin with the cipher on the paper. Her brain raced, breaking down and reassembling each symbol in her mind, forging new meanings.

Kana seemed to see through Xiaoxue’s confusion and explained proactively. Her steps were light, leading Xiaoxue toward the inner sanctum. They passed several side rooms, faded lanterns hanging at the doors, swaying elegantly in the wind. Xiaoxue slowed her pace, her fingertips lightly brushing the wooden pillars. She felt a pulse coming from the metal inside, like the heartbeat of some slumbering beast.

Something stirred in her heart. This structure wasn’t just for supporting the building. It looked more like it was designed to seal or store some massive energy.

The voice was gentle, like a morning bell and evening drum, yet it carried an undeniable authority. Xiaoxue jerked her head up, rain dripping from her hair. She didn’t back down. Instead, she calmly assessed the other woman. The woman’s toe tapped the ground, and she landed lightly on the shrine’s decaying wooden platform. Her aura was stable, an invisible force keeping the rain and mist at bay.

Xiaoxue knew this wasn’t just some old temple abbot. The aura on the other woman was crisp and heavy, completely different from the bloody stench of Kyoto’s dark alleys.

Xiaoxue finally spoke, her voice raspy but firm. She hadn’t dropped her guard. In fact, she took a step forward, crossing into the safe zone Kana had implicitly marked. This move wasn’t a sign of weakness; it was to get closer and sense the flow of spiritual energy on the other woman. Kana didn’t stop her; she just nodded slightly, a flash of surprise crossing her eyes.

She realized the woman before her wasn’t some weak creature who’d fainted in fear. She was a lone wolf, driven into a corner, and now baring her fangs.

Kana’s voice remained gentle, but it was laced with sharpness. She moved aside to open a path, pointing toward the continuous curtain of rain behind the shrine. Beyond the rain, an ancient temple built into the mountain was faintly visible, its flying eaves and crossed braces emerging from the thunder. Xiaoxue didn’t stand up immediately. She narrowed her eyes, observing the shadow at Kana’s feet.

In the shadow, countless tiny spiritual threads seemed to be intertwined. They didn’t point to Kana herself but extended downward, into the wet stone steps that the rain was washing over.

Before Xiaoxue could ask, Kana cut her off. She casually pulled out a thin booklet and pushed it toward Xiaoxue. The cover was worn, exposing the yellowed pages inside. Kana pointed to one page, indicating that Xiaoxue should read it herself. Xiaoxue took the booklet, her fingertips lightly grazing the rough texture of the paper.

Her eyes sharpened. Her previously lazy posture vanished, replaced by the intense focus of a hunter locking onto prey.

Xiaoxue said softly, a hint of playfulness in her tone. She flipped through a few pages and noticed that every transaction was followed by a string of tiny, almost invisible markings. These weren’t decorations; they were some kind of encrypted symbols. Xiaoxue leaned into the light, carefully identifying the symbols, a complex model forming rapidly in her mind.

She realized that these seemingly random records of incense and candle sales actually corresponded to the freight routes of every shop in Kyoto’s various wards.

The two walked side by side into the ancient temple, the copper bells at the eaves making a crisp sound in the wind. They passed through winding corridors; snow had accumulated under the eaves into thick white blankets, cracking with a *crunch* underfoot.

Xiaoxue sharply noticed that while the temple looked dilapidated on the outside, the internal structure was abnormally sturdy. Especially those wooden pillars that looked like they’d collapse at any moment—inside, they were inlaid with a dark red metal that gave off a faint, warm scent.

The thunder outside grew fiercer, lightning tearing through the night sky and illuminating the dark corners of the hall. Xiaoxue’s fingers tapped lightly on the letter, the rhythm speeding up, as if performing some ancient ritual. Kana stood silently to the side, not interfering, but her gaze never left Xiaoxue’s back.

In that instant, Xiaoxue seemed to see a different world, a world made of numbers, codes, and conspiracies. Cold and cruel.

Xiaoxue’s answer was short and sharp, hitting the core of the issue. Kana let out a light laugh; the sound was startlingly clear amidst the thunder and rain. She raised her hand. The violent rain seemed to be guided by some force, gradually weakening into fine, dense threads that no longer soaked their clothes.

Taking advantage of this, Xiaoxue looked up at the half-visible temple, her decision already made. Whether it was a trap or salvation ahead, she had to enter that temple.

Kana had been sitting silently to the side, observing Xiaoxue’s moves. Now, the ice in her eyes thawed slightly, replaced by a look of approval. Xiaoxue’s analysis was precise and incisive. She had not only seen through the ledger’s disguise but also exposed the temple’s true nature as a money-laundering channel.

This extreme insight into the chain of profit was the manifestation of Xiaoxue’s golden finger, and the capital that allowed her to survive and counter-attack in these chaotic times.

Kana looked at Xiaoxue, a compassionate smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. She knew that once this path was taken, there was no turning back. The wind outside grew howling, as if countless vengeful spirits were wailing. Xiaoxue gripped the copper coin tightly, her knuckles white, making her decision.

No matter how dangerous the road ahead, she would dig up the truth, rebuild her commercial empire, and also settle the score for her missing partner.

Kana spoke slowly, her tone filled with a hint of sorrow. She stood up, walked to Xiaoxue’s side, and her gaze swept over the ledgers, finally landing on the copper coin in Xiaoxue’s hand. Xiaoxue didn’t hide it. Instead, she placed the coin on the table, next to the ledgers.

Kana extended a finger and gently touched the variant Sanskrit on the back of the coin. Her fingertip trembled slightly, as if recalling a past that was too painful to look back on.

Kana’s voice was low, as if squeezed from the depths of her throat. She peeled back a thin layer of gauze covering the coin, revealing a letter tucked underneath. The paper was yellowed, the edges blackened with soot, clearly rescued from a fire. Xiaoxue leaned in immediately, her eyes greedy and urgent. She knew the content on this paper might hold the truth she’d been searching for, or it might be the key to her life or death.

Kana warned her at the end, her voice light as a sigh. Xiaoxue took a deep breath, put away the coin, and turned toward the entrance of the main hall. She didn’t look back, just nodding firmly. Outside, the rain was lessing, but the bloody smell in the air was growing heavier. Xiaoxue pushed open the wooden door; the cold wind hit her face. She squinted, looking toward the Kyoto city in the distance, which appeared even darker under the moonlight.

Kana asked, a thread of probing in her tone. Xiaoxue shook her head, rain running down her nose. She pointed to the inner pocket on her chest, where the copper coin and a half-phrase of code regarding the Old Dynasty and the New Order were hidden. Kana’s gaze lingered on that thin layer of fabric for a moment, then turned to the darkness shrouded by rain and mist behind her.

The woman’s face was cold and clear, her brows carrying a tranquility beyond the mortal world, yet hidden in those deep blue eyes was a sharpness that made one’s heart palpitate.

"Since you’ve seen me, Master, there’s no need to shiver and tremble here anymore."

"The surface records are incense and candle income; in and out daily, not a single fraction off."

"I am Kana, daughter of the Asano Clan, and the current abbot of Seiyū-ji Temple."

"Seiyū-ji Temple appears to be a place of quiet cultivation, but it is actually the hub of Kyoto’s intelligence network."

"Your partner came here before he disappeared."

"He left a message. Only you can decode it."

"If I were the enemy, I would have struck by now."

"But the hidden code maps to the flow of goods."

"This isn’t a good place to shelter from the rain."

"You’ve gone farther than I expected."

"I’m afraid, but fear doesn’t buy a way to live."

"This is a ‘Red Copper Soul-Lock Stake’."

"The road ahead has many dangers, Master. Tread carefully."

"Abbot, what are these..."

"Are you not afraid?"

"Investigate the archives."

Suddenly, a shadow flickered on a distant roof, vanishing quickly. Kana’s gaze followed it, a chill flashing in her eyes that was hard to notice, but she didn’t make a scene. She watched the silhouette of Xiaoxue leave, let out a soft sigh, turned back to the desk, closed the double-headed ledger, and locked it in the drawer.

The ancient temple returned to a deathly silence. Only the blue-flame glass lamp continued to burn fiercely in the darkness, illuminating this land shrouded in shadow.