The palace was already awake, thrumming with its usual morning chaos. Servants darted through the corridors, balancing trays of steaming tea and silk-wrapped parcels, their footsteps echoing sharply against polished marble. The air smelled of jasmine incense and freshly brewed tea, mingling in a way that made Li Mei's stomach rumble despite the adrenaline prickling at her spine. Somewhere, a courtier laughed—a bright, artificial sound that seemed too loud for so early in the day.
Li Mei moved carefully through it all, her mind darting ahead like a hawk tracking prey. Today is different, she thought, the tingle at the base of her skull making her shiver. Trouble. It's coming. And it's coming for me.
Then her system pinged, sharp and insistent.
(Alert: Faction Mission Detected. Objective: Retrieve enchanted artifact from palace archives without detection. Reward: +700 XP, Magical Skill Upgrade, Faction Trust +10.)
Li Mei froze mid-step, narrowly avoiding a tower of scrolls being carried by a flustered eunuch. "Ah—sorry!" she muttered, her voice trembling slightly as her brain struggled to process. Enchanted artifact. Retrieval. Without detection. She pressed her fingers to her temples. "Probably… napkins?" she whispered, a nervous habit she hadn't even noticed forming over the past few weeks. When in doubt… napkins. Or noodles. Sometimes both.
Why does it always have to be the archives? she thought miserably. Why can't the faction ever want something simple? Like a cup of tea from the kitchen? No, it's always "retrieve the dangerously enchanted object from the heavily warded death maze."
A shadow fell across her path.
"Good morning, little maid."
Li Mei didn't need to look to know who it was. Jianyu. His presence had a way of bending the air around him, like smoke shaped into silk robes, eyes glinting with secrets she wasn't meant to uncover.
She turned slowly, forcing her face into a mask of calm. "Good morning, Lord Jianyu," she said, trying not to betray the panic still thrumming in her veins.
He smiled, the sort of smile that made it impossible to tell if he was amused, curious, or dangerous. "A mission, is it?" His voice was smooth, velvet-dark, but it carried the kind of threat that made one want to obey even before understanding why. "Discretion… and danger?"
How does he always know? Li Mei thought. Does he have his own system? Read minds? Is he even human?
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Her lips betrayed her anyway. "Discretion… danger… survive… maybe… noodles too?"
Jianyu's expression flickered—amusement mixed with something like concern. He stepped closer, and the warmth radiating from him made her suddenly acutely aware of her own heartbeat, thumping loud in the quiet bustle of the palace around them. The faint scent of sandalwood and night-blooming flowers clung to his robes, dizzying in the sudden intimacy of his presence.
"The archives," he said softly. Not a question.
Li Mei's stomach sank. Of course he knows. Probably knows what she's supposed to retrieve. What she had for breakfast. The very thoughts she was thinking.
"I should go," she said quickly, forcing her voice into casual normalcy before he could offer to help—or worse, supervise. "Lots of… maid things to do. Dusting. Sweeping. Definitely not… breaking into heavily warded magical archives."
A twitch at the corner of Jianyu's mouth betrayed a quiet amusement. "Naturally. Though if you should find yourself near the eastern corridor, I've heard the wards there are… temperamental in the morning light. The western approach might prove more accommodating."
Li Mei blinked. Helpful advice? A test? With him, it's always impossible to tell.
"Thank you," she said carefully, filing the information away. Eastern corridor: bad. Western: maybe less bad. Got it.
As she turned to leave, his voice followed her like a shadow. "Do try not to cause too much chaos, little maid. Though I suspect that's rather like asking the sun not to rise."
Heat rose to her cheeks. Chaos? She's capable of subtlety and professionalism… mostly.
Her system pinged again.
(System Note: Historical chaos incident count: 47. Probability of mission completion without incident: 23%. Suggestion: Embrace the chaos.)
Li Mei groaned quietly and adjusted her path toward the western corridor. I hate this system. I hate it so much.
The palace archives rose before Li Mei like a fortress of forgotten knowledge. She paused at the massive wooden doors, carved with dragons and phoenixes that seemed to twist in the sunlight. Mother-of-pearl inlays caught the light in dizzying patterns, almost hypnotic. Beautiful. Intimidating. Magical.
Okay. You can do this, she whispered to herself. You've survived social disasters, culinary catastrophes, and that one time with the exploding teapot. This is… a slightly scarier version of all of those.
She pushed the doors open. The scent of old parchment and magic hit her instantly—sharp, dusty, and faintly electric. The archives stretched like a labyrinth, shelves twisting and turning with little regard for logic. Some books and scrolls floated gently in midair, suspended by preservation spells, while dust motes danced lazily in the thin shafts of light from high windows.
Everywhere, wards shimmered like delicate spiderwebs of light.
Her system erupted.
(Ding! System Notification: Magical Ward Detected. Probability of triggering alarm: 68%. Recommended action: subtle magic, careful navigation.)
(Warning: Multiple ward layers detected. Suggested route mapping in progress…)
(Alert: Three scholars detected on the second level. Current stealth rating: Adequate. Do not sneeze.)
Do not sneeze? Really? Li Mei bit back a laugh that would have been louder than the threat warranted.
She took a careful step forward. The nearest ward pulsed in response, aware of her presence. It wasn't hostile—yet—but it was watching, waiting, judging.
Closing her eyes, Li Mei reached inward for the quiet place where her magic lived. It felt like sunlight tangled with static electricity, warm and alive. She let it flow through her fingers, brushing against the ward like a tentative whisper.
Hello, she thought, feeling ridiculous. Just a humble maid, passing through. No harm. Just… me.
The ward considered her. Pulsed. Dimmed slightly. One down. Only… about five hundred more to go.
She pressed on, tracing her fingers along shimmering runes marking each boundary. Some wards responded to coaxing, like persuading a stubborn cat to move off the favorite chair. Others needed firmer touches, careful redirection that made them forget she was there.
One especially stubborn ward wrapped around her wrist like a glittering handcuff. Three minutes of gentle negotiation later, it released her with a soft hum.
I negotiate with magical security systems now, she muttered under her breath. What has my life become?
Floating quills drifted past, their feathered ends trailing silver light, leaving a faint sparkle in the air. Soft orbs bobbed along the ceiling, illuminating the corridors without drawing attention. Oddly comforting, in a tense, nerve-fraying sort of way.
She advanced carefully, heart hammering whenever footsteps echoed nearby. Twice she ducked behind a shelf as scholars' voices droned over ancient texts. Once, a floating scroll bumped her shoulder, nearly toppling before she caught it.
This is fine, she told herself. Everything is fine. Totally professional. Competent. Calm. Not panicking at all.
(System Update: You are approximately 15 meters from target artifact. Ward density increasing. Probability of detection: Rising to 74%.)
Wonderful. Just… wonderful.
The next corridor ahead shimmered differently. The air itself felt thicker, almost liquid with magical energy. Wards weren't just visible—they pulsed like solid barriers of light, dense and menacing.
Li Mei swallowed. Okay. Deep breath. You've got this. Slowly, carefully… like dancing across a frozen pond without cracking the ice.
Each step required finesse, coaxing, subtle gestures of intent. Her fingers brushed against the runes, a gentle pressure, a quiet plea, a careful reshaping of energy until the barriers parted enough for her to slip forward.
The hum of magic pressed against her ears, each pulse of the wards synchronized with her heartbeat, making her hyper-aware of every movement, every breath. A single misstep could set the entire archive screaming.
But Li Mei didn't falter. Not yet.
Li Mei rounded a final corner and froze.
The corridor ahead was unlike anything she had seen in the archives. The air hummed with raw magical energy, so thick it made her skin tingle. Wards layered upon wards shimmered and pulsed, weaving patterns that seemed almost alive. She could feel them watching, weighing, judging.
And there, in the center, on a pedestal of white jade carved with spiraling dragons, rested the artifact.
A crystal orb, delicate and perfect, no bigger than her fist. Its light shifted slowly through colors like a rainbow trapped in ice—blue to purple to silver to gold, over and over, mesmerizing and dangerous.
That's it, she breathed. That's the artifact.
Her heart hammered, every nerve screaming caution. She took a careful step forward, and immediately, the air seemed to tighten around her. Every ward in the corridor pulsed simultaneously, as if sensing the very act of her moving closer.
(System Notification: Multiple wards reacting. Probability of detection: Critical.)
"Oh no," she whispered, stomach twisting.
Her fingers hovered over the pedestal, trembling slightly. She could almost hear the orb calling to her, a faint hum that resonated with the deepest part of her magic. Careful. Gentle. One wrong move…
Li Mei exhaled slowly, letting her magic flow outward, soft and coaxing. She traced invisible patterns, communicating with the wards without touching them directly, whispering through intention. The layers of defensive light flickered and hesitated, uncertain whether she was friend or intruder.
Please… just let me take it and leave, she muttered under her breath, almost laughing at herself for sounding like a thief pleading with the locks.
A quill floated past her ear, leaving a streak of silver light. Her pulse spiked, hands trembling just slightly as she adjusted her focus. The orb glimmered brighter, reflecting her anxious gaze.
One careful step. Then another.
She reached out, fingertips brushing the smooth surface of the jade pedestal. The wards flared—sudden, bright, threatening to overwhelm her senses.
(Alert: Magical Alarm Triggered. Probability of immediate containment: 95%.)
Her stomach lurched, and her breath caught. Every protective spell in the corridor reacted, pulsing violently around her. The crystal orb glowed with intense light, shadows stretching and twisting across the floor like living things.
Li Mei froze, hand inches from the artifact, heart hammering in her ears.
This is it.
The pulse of magic surged like a tidal wave, and everything hung on the knife-edge of chaos.