The prisoner tent was guarded by two Earth Profound cultivators and surrounded by a detection formation that would alert the entire camp if anyone with a cultivation base above the Nascent Profound level crossed its boundary. Yun Che watched it for two days from his ridge, noting the guard rotations, the formation's pulse frequency, and the brief instant when the shift changed and the formation reset itself — a window of perhaps three heartbeats when the tent was vulnerable.
Three heartbeats. He could work with that.
On the third night, during the third watch blind spot, he descended from the ridge and crept into the camp. The southern perimeter was unmanned for its seven-minute window, and he crossed it without incident. The camp was quiet — most soldiers were asleep, the cultivators meditating or drinking. He moved between tents like a ghost, his dark robes blending with the shadows.
The prisoner tent was exactly where he'd expected. Two guards, both Earth Profound Level One — twins, judging by their identical faces and synchronized breathing. The formation crackled softly in the night air, a web of pale blue light that encircled the tent.
He waited.
The shift change came at precisely the expected time. The night guards stepped back, the morning guards stepped forward, and for three heartbeats, the formation flickered and died.
Yun Che was inside the tent before the third heartbeat ended.
The prisoner looked up from the darkness. She was young — younger than him — with silver hair that caught the faint light of the dying formation and eyes that were the pale gold of a hunting cat. Shackles of profound iron bound her wrists and ankles.
'You're not one of the guards,' she said. It was not a question.
'No.'
'Then you're either here to rescue me or kill me. Which is it?'
Yun Che knelt and began working on her shackles with a lockpick he'd fabricated from a profound ore spike. 'That depends. Who are you, and why are they keeping you alive?'
The silver-haired girl smiled — a sharp expression that suggested she was far more dangerous than her small frame implied. 'My name is Lingxi. And they're keeping me alive because I know the location of the Dragon God's legacy.'