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Chapter 8 - Chapter 8: The Mask Returns

The morning came with ash-colored clouds rolling over Qinghe like a slow tide.

‎The orchard was blooming again.

‎Not just one tree. Five. Ten. A whole row of trees that had been dead for years now swayed with green leaves and early fruit each carrying faint spiritual warmth.

‎The villagers celebrated. Called it a blessing from the old spirits. Burned incense. Hung charms.

‎But Lin Wei knew better.

‎> Ding!

‎> [Spiritual Mutation Detected – Area Karma Influenced by Host: 23%]

‎> [Ping'er's Affinity: Early Spiritual Sensing → Mid Spiritual Sensing]

‎> [New Karmic Thread Manifesting]

‎The girl who once ran barefoot through the streets was now meditating under the peach tree.

‎Eyes closed. Breathing steady.

‎Absorbing without guidance. Growing without foundation.

‎And at the center of it all… his silent ripple.

‎That afternoon, the masked cultivator returned.

‎Not in robes this time, but in a merchant's tunic, face partially exposed—no mask, only a red string tied to one ear and a flute hanging from his back.

‎Lin Wei spotted him immediately, weaving through the market, chatting with Auntie Nuan, smiling like an old friend.

‎> Ding!

‎> [Recognized Aura Signature: Unmasked Variant Detected]

‎> [Spiritual Disguise Active – Origin: Unknown Sect]

‎> [Intent: Observation – passive engagement]

‎Same man. Different mask.

‎The System confirmed what Lin Wei already suspected.

‎The man wasn't hunting him. Not yet.

‎But he was watching—like someone waiting to see what rose to the surface when no one stirred the water.

‎By evening, the man had set up in the old teahouse, playing music.

‎Soft. Melancholic. Harmless.

‎Most thought he was a bard.

‎But Lin Wei watched him change notes when certain people passed. Faster for the chief. Slower for the merchant. Oddly sharp when Mei Lan walked by.

‎And when Lin Wei passed?

‎Silence.

‎> Ding!

‎> [Behavioral Marking Detected – Identity Suppression Test]

‎> [Your passive field has disrupted his spiritual rhythm. You are now a node of interest.]

‎So he knows I'm not ordinary, Lin Wei thought. But not how. Not yet.

‎The question was—should he do something about it?

‎Or stay still, and let fate move around him?

‎That night, it wasn't the system that whispered to him.

‎It was Ping'er.

‎She came to his hut with her hands behind her back and a peach blossom tucked in her hair.

‎"Big brother Lin," she said, "the tree said something in my dream."

‎Lin Wei blinked. "The tree?"

‎"It said... I have to give you this." She held out her hands.

‎A single fruit. Golden. Not yet ripe.

‎But it glowed faintly with energy.

‎> Ding!

‎> [You have received a Minor Karmic Fruit.]

‎> [Effect: Passive stat increase based on unseen consequence. Randomized outcome.]

‎He gently accepted it, and she smiled.

‎"I don't know what it does," she said, "but I feel like it *belongs to you."

‎Later that night, while the village slept, Lin Wei sat beneath the stars and looked at the fruit.

‎He didn't eat it yet.

‎He held it and thought.

‎Not about power. Or system tricks.

‎But about what kind of person he was becoming.

‎The System pinged.

‎[Path Evolution Detected]

‎Your karma has grown beyond prediction. As your nature deepens, a path begins to shape itself.

‎Choose how you wish the world to feel your ripple.

‎You may now select a Passive Cultivation Persona:

‎1. Fated Ghost –

‎ You will become legend whispered of but never seen. All growth favors concealment, long-term influence, and karmic mystery.

‎2. Gentle Hand –

‎ You bend the world gently with action so subtle it becomes unconscious. Those you aid passively gain talents, allies, or fate-bound events.

‎3. Veiled Flame –

‎ When you move, you burn. When you act, the world recoils. Your passive power fuels critical shifts—rare but overwhelming.

‎Lin Wei stared at the three.

‎Fated Ghost. Gentle Hand. Veiled Flame.

‎All of them powerful. But only one felt right.

‎He wasn't trying to disappear forever. Nor to explode like a hidden weapon.

‎He wanted to nudge the world from the shadows.

‎Quietly. Patiently. Without names or thanks.

‎> Choice Confirmed: Gentle Hand

‎> You now leave passive blessings in areas you linger.

‎> When karma accumulates past threshold, hidden events may trigger nearby.

‎> Passive Trait Gained: "Threadweaver's Calm" – Insight improves when multiple threads connect in secret.

‎The next day, something strange happened.

‎A young man collapsed in front of the shrine. A visitor—his robes marked from the outer province sect, his skin pale, eyes unfocused.

‎He had been possessed.

‎Or something close.

‎Master Yunmo arrived within minutes, eyes wide, talismans fluttering in hand.

‎"What's wrong with him?" Mei Lan asked.

‎Yunmo frowned. "Something inside him is trying to climb out."

‎The man convulsed.

‎And as he writhed, he pointed at Lin Wei.

‎"You..." he gasped, "You left a door open... in the orchard…"

‎> Ding!

‎> [Hidden Event Triggered: Karma Overgrowth – Echo Tree Has Drawn Something Ancient]

‎> [Bound Beneath the Shrine: 14%]

‎> [Risk Threshold Exceeded. Nearby entities may now sense karmic radiation.]

‎Lin Wei stood still.

‎Everyone looked at him but no one accused him.

‎Just a moment of silence, broken by Master Yunmo's whisper:

‎"Then it begins."

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