In the twilight ruins of the Clan Chief’s Royal Study Library, perched atop the Hanz Clan Estate’s crumbling tower, Shirley Quinn stood like a vision carved from moonlight, her raven hair rippling in the cool evening breeze, catching the fading dusk in silken waves. Her snow-white skin glowed faintly, her curves accentuated by the flowing, gossamer robe that clung to her lithe figure, exuding an effortless grace that made Lordi Payne’s breath hitch for a moment. Barefoot, she stepped lightly over shattered stone and splintered wood, her movements fluid, almost ethereal, leaving a faint, elegant fragrance that teased Lordi’s senses as he trailed behind her.
Ruru Rosa, with her sharp eyes and coiled energy, and Cade Barret, broad-shouldered and vigilant, flanked their captain, the newly formed Thorn-Cide Squad moving in sync as they scoured the desolate library for traces of the elusive Treasury House.
After a thorough search, Shirley halted at a crumbled corner of the tower, her delicate brow furrowing as she surveyed the ruins—shelves toppled, scrolls scattered, the air thick with dust and faint spiritual residue. She signaled her squad to rest, her voice smooth yet edged with frustration. "Jorge Blue didn’t lie," she murmured, her voice a velvet whisper, lips parting in frustration. "The Treasury House isn’t here." Her stunning face darkened, her emerald eyes narrowing as she folded her arms, the motion accentuating her curves beneath the gossamer robe.
A slow, tantalizing sigh escaped her as her fingers traced the edge of an ancient tome, nails grazing the leather like a lover’s tease. "This makes no sense," she purred, her hips swaying as she paced—each step a hypnotic rhythm. "Our sect squads have searched everywhere—the Water Lily Lake, the Ancient Stone Well, the Martial Arts Arena, the Ancestral Shrine, even the Hanz Stronghold’s Main Hall... and now this Study Library."
She bit her lower lip, a flicker of irritation dancing in her smoldering gaze. "Nothing."
"Could the Hanz Clan truly be so... unpredictable?" Her voice dropped to a sinful whisper, breath hot with intrigue."Defying logic, hiding their treasures beyond the six natural hubs where the earth veins converge?"
A slow, wicked smile curled her lips. "Mmm... how delightfully devious."
Cade Barret, ever the dutiful strategist, straightened, his deep voice respectful but firm as he addressed her. "Captain Quinn, this is indeed unexpected. From what I’ve observed along our path, the six hubs—where spiritual energy pools like rivers into lakes—are the only logical places for a Treasury House. Every other site, from the mountain woods to the outlying buildings, remains untouched, intact." His brow creased, his calloused hand gesturing toward the horizon where the estate’s peaks loomed.
Seeing Ruru and Lordi’s puzzled looks, he pressed on, his tone methodical, like piecing together a puzzle. "Before this mission, I reviewed Hughie Wing’s preparations. His name was on the sect’s borrowing list for the Gloomwater Phantom Lily Array’s building records, meaning he and his doomed squad knew exactly where to scout. Common sense dictates they’d have searched these six hubs systematically, just as we have, before venturing elsewhere." His voice dipped, a flicker of unease betraying his stoic demeanor.
Ruru Rosa’s pretty face twisted into a frown, her voice sharp and tinged with irritation, her hands on her hips as she leaned forward, her violet curls bouncing. "Yeah, I get it, Cade, but that’s what’s so damn weird." Her once icy demeanor cracking as unease crept in. "Hughie Wing, with his Eighth Layer strength, and his squad of weaker sect comrades—they wouldn’t have survived scouring all six sites. Whether they hit the Ancestral Shrine on the peak like us or the Ancient Stone Well in the rear mountain like Captain Quinn did, something should’ve wiped them out. No way Hughie could escape back to the holy sect after hitting all those spots."
Her eyes darted to the shadows beyond the ruins, as if expecting a wraith to lunge, her tone laced with the restless energy of a cultivator who’d seen too many comrades vanish. "They’re gone, erased, like the ten others who disappeared in the cherry blossom grove before we even arrived."
Cade sighed, his broad frame slumping slightly, his voice heavy with reluctant speculation. "Could be... they got stupidly lucky and stumbled onto the Treasury House’s trail just by wandering?" His words lacked conviction, his dark eyes scanning the ruins, searching for a clue in the scattered debris, his mind grappling with the improbability of such fortune in a place so steeped in malice. He rubbed his jaw, the stubble rasping under his fingers.
Shirley didn’t respond immediately, her gaze distant, her delicate fingers tapping against her arm as she pondered.
"Or perhaps..." Her voice was a sultry murmur, dripping with dark intrigue as she ran a delicate finger along the curve of her own collarbone. "This estate wasn’t always so... lethal."
Her emerald eyes smoldered like poisoned jade, flickering with something dangerous. A shadow caressed her flawless face as she turned to her squad, her raven hair cascading like liquid midnight over her shoulders, tousled by the teasing breeze.
"It’s changing," she breathed, her lips curling into a wicked smile. "Growing more sinister... more ghoulish... with every drop of blood spilled." Her tongue flicked out, tracing the edge of her teeth as if savoring the thought. "Every cultivator who dies here... every scream swallowed by these cursed halls... only feeds it."
She stepped closer, the air around her thick with the scent of iron and desire. "The mountain drinks their essence," she whispered, her voice a sinful promise. "The more blood soaks into its soil... the stronger its scourge curse becomes."
A low, throaty laugh escaped her—a sound like silk over steel. "Mmm... can you feel it?" Her fingers trailed along the stone wall, nails scraping lightly, as if coaxing out its secrets. "The hunger? The need?"
She turned back to them, eyes half-lidded, lips parted in a pantomime of suffocating. "This place... it thrives on death. And soon... it will crave ours too."
Her tone held a quiet dread, the weight of a survivor who’d lost her entire Suicide Squad at the Ancient Stone Well, her Ninth Layer cultivation barely saving her from its horrors. The words hung like a death knell, sending a prickle of fear down everyone’s spine. And Lordi’s ignorance of the scourge curse amplifying the chill.
Lordi’s heart thudded, his battered body tensing as he caught the trio’s wary glances, their expressions grim. He’d already tasted the estate’s malice—ghostly wraiths, demonic arrays pulsing with bloodlust—but Shirley’s theory painted a darker truth. Nearly ten cultivators had vanished in the Cherry Blossom Grove before their squads arrived, and Shirley’s Suicide Squad had been annihilated, leaving her as the sole survivor. If her guess held, the Hanz Clan estate wasn’t just dangerous—it was a living curse, feeding on death, its horrors intensifying with each fallen soul.