The last Guild transport vehicle rumbled away from Hongxing High, carrying the final few shaken students home.
The school was now a cordoned-off crime scene, buzzing with investigators and Hunter Guild officials.
Deep below, in the sterile silence of the breached facility, a patch of darkness on the high, vaulted ceiling seemed to deepen, to congeal.
It detached itself, falling without a sound and landing in a perfect crouch amidst the wreckage of Hanjin Tian's office.
The figure straightened, a man clad in garments that seemed to drink the light. He was Mudan Xin, and he moved with the silent grace of a predator surveying its territory.
His eyes, sharp and miss-nothing, scanned the room. The shattered door, the scorch mark on the floor where Hanjin had fallen, the precise, almost surgical takedown of the guards outside.
A slow, impressed smile spread across his face, partially hidden by his short white beard.
"What a pleasant surprise," he mused, his voice a low rumble.
"Such thoroughness. Such... flair." He picked up a sliver of the frozen door, watching it melt in his grasp.
"Let's go. I'm eager to see her reaction to the news."
With a leap that defied physics, he dissolved back into the shadows clinging to the wall and was gone.
---
The Kalmas farmhouse was an island of tranquility in a sea of televised chaos.
On the screen, news anchors spoke in grave, excited tones about the "Hongxing High Horror" and the "mysterious vigilante intervention."
"...authorities confirm the Grinning Fox was involved, once again saving countless lives..." the reporter said, her voice buzzing from the set.
Yuhon, freshly showered and wearing comfortable home clothes, finished recounting the events to his parents. He described the fight, the takedowns, the cover-up.
"And you're sure you left no trace?" Aoqi asked calmly, sipping her tea.
Her expression was one of mild interest, as if he'd just described a particularly challenging weeding session.
"Positive," Yuhon said. "I broke all the cells. My uniform's fine. The spatial pocket is safe."
Zerkon let out a booming laugh, slapping his knee. "That's my boy! 'I'm the consequence!' Ha! I love it! Did you see their faces?"
He mimed a guard's shocked expression, his own features contorting into a comical mask of terror.
"Zerkon, dear, inside voice," Aoqi chided gently, not looking away from Yuhon.
"And you used the Scarlet Thunder on the executive? Efficient. A little flashy for my tastes, but it gets the point across."
"It felt right," Yuhon said with a shrug.
"Of course it did," Zerkon said, beaming with pride.
"The strong respect the strongest! And you showed them who's the strongest! Now, who's hungry? All this talk of consequences and shattered doors has made me crave spicy noodles!" He lumbered toward the kitchen, humming a cheerful tune.
Yuhon looked at his mother. "They'll be suspicious. The Guild, I mean. The Fox was there too conveniently."
Aoqi set her cup down with a soft click. "Let them be suspicious. Suspicion is not proof. You acted to protect your own. That is a justification that requires no further explanation. Now, go help your father with the chili oil before he uses the entire jar again."
---
Across town, in the lavishly decorated living room of the Xin family estate, a different kind of tension was brewing. The same news report played on a massive screen.
Mei, having given her own clinical, detailed account, was now curled in an armchair, a blanket around her shoulders.
Her father, Byul, a man with a kind face and a calming water-attribute aura, was handing her a cup of hot chocolate. Her mother, Lara, paced like a caged tiger, her crimson fire aura making the room feel several degrees warmer.
"This is unacceptable!" Lara fumed.
"A Grey Fog cell under a school! They're getting bolder! And that Hanjin Tian... I should have scorched him myself if I had the chance!"
"Calm yourself, daughter," a voice said from the head of the room. Guild Master Sarah Xin sat regally on a plush sofa, her eyes fixed on the screen.
"Anger is a cloud to judgment. The Fox handled it. Messily, but effectively. The students are safe. That is what matters."
"Perhaps if certain bodyguards were more attentive, he wouldn't have had to," Sarah said, a subtle barb in her tone.
A shadow deepened in the corner of the room, and Mudan Xin stepped out of it as if parting a curtain.
"Are you talking about me, my love?" he asked, a roguish grin on his face.
Sarah didn't even flinch at his sudden appearance. She merely arched an eyebrow.
"Oh, you're here. And I recall a certain shadowy figure who was on duty when my granddaughter was gassed and kidnapped. Your usefulness is currently ranking slightly below a potted plant, my dear husband."
Mudan snorted, pretending to be wounded. "Ah! Don't mention those! In the previous encounter he just showed up, beat those pests, and vanished. A one-man show, no room for the supporting cast!"
He dramatically clutched his chest. "But! You won't believe what I've discovered this time. Are you ready to hear? It's juicy."
Sarah's eyes glinted with intense curiosity, but her expression remained stoic. "Of course I'm ready. I've been waiting for a proper report for weeks. Out with it."
Mudan chuckled, stroking his white beard. "Haha! Now, now. Don't you think information of this caliber is too valuable to give out for free?"
A low growl emanated from Lara. Byul gently put a hand on her arm. Mei subtly pulled her blanket higher, her eyes darting between her grandparents. She knew this dance.
Sarah's smile was dangerously sweet. "Mudan. We are married. We share a bank account. We raised a child together. What could you possibly want?"
Mudan's eyes lit up. "The special liquor. The one from the frozen region up west you have locked in your bottom cabinet. The one you said I couldn't have until our next anniversary."
Lara, Byul, and Mei simultaneously began edging away, slowly retreating to the far corner of the room like crabs sensing a tidal wave.
Sarah's sweet smile didn't move, but a flicker of crimson fire danced at her fingertips.
"You want me to bribe my own husband for information about our granddaughter's safety?"
"One glass," Mudan bartered, holding up a finger. "Just a taste! For the soul!"
"Isn't that a bit small for such grand news?" Sarah's voice was deceptively soft.
The temperature in the room spiked. Sarah's crimson aura flared, pressing down like a physical weight.
Mudan's own shadowy aura rose to meet it, not contesting it, but swirling around it, creating a bizarre spectacle of oppressive heat and chilling darkness in the middle of their expensive living room.
The standoff lasted precisely five seconds. Sarah let out a long-suffering sigh, and the auras vanished.
"Fine. One. Glass."
Mudan's face fell. "Just one? Not even a—" He didn't get to finish.
THWACK.
The sound of Sarah's open palm connecting with the back of his head echoed through the room. It wasn't a hard slap, but it was loud and utterly humiliating.
"Aiya!" Mudan yelped, rubbing his head.
"The. Information. Now." Sarah hissed, a tiny wisp of smoke curling from her hair. "Or I will use your favorite shadowy cloak as kindling."
"Okay, okay! Calm down, dear, calm down! You're so violent these days," Mudan grumbled, but he was chuckling.
He loved this game. Lara, Byul, and Mei finally breathed a sigh of relief and crept back to their seats.
"Alright," Mudan began, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
"So, I was in the ceiling—excellent acoustics, by the way—and I saw the whole thing. The Fox was magnificent. Took down those guards like they were paper targets. Used a bit of ice, a bit of lightning, impeccable martial arts. Flawless."
"We know this part," Sarah said, impatient. "The Guild report said the same."
"Ah!" Mudan said, holding up a finger. "But the Guild didn't see what happened next. After he called it in, he went back into that office. And then... he changed."
"Changed how?" Lara leaned forward.
"He... shrank."
The family stared at him. Mei's analytical mind was whirring.
"He took off the mask," Mudan continued, his eyes wide with drama.
"The hoodie vanished into some spatial pocket. And the physique... the muscles... just... deflated! Like a balloon! And there, standing in the middle of all that carnage, was that scrawny farm boy from Mei's class! Yuhon Kalmas!"
Silence.
Complete, utter silence.
Byul's jaw was slack. Lara's eyes were wide as dinner plates.
Mei's hot chocolate halted halfway to her mouth, her brain attempting to reconcile the image of the shy, kind boy who sat next to her in history with the terrifyingly efficient vigilante who had haunted her investigations.
Sarah Xin was the first to speak. Her earlier impatience was gone, replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated avarice. It was the look of a dragon that had just found a mountain of gold it didn't know existed.
"Yuhon Kalmas..." she breathed, a slow, terrifying smile spreading across her face.
"The Grinning Fox... is a fifteen-year-old farm boy who lives thirty minutes from here."
She started to laugh, a low, rich sound of utter triumph. "Oh, this is perfect. This is better than perfect!"
She stood up, her regal presence filling the room. "Forget the glass, Mudan. You can have the whole bottle."
Mudan's eyes lit up. "Really?!"
"On one condition," Sarah said, her smile turning sharp.
"We pay a visit to the Kalmas farm tomorrow. A friendly, neighborly visit. To check on the poor boy after his traumatic ordeal."
Lara looked wary. "Mother, is that wise? If he's gone to such lengths to hide his identity..."
"Precisely!" Sarah clapped her hands together.
"It's the perfect cover! We're just a concerned Guild Master and her family checking on a student. We'll bring a fruit basket. We'll be utterly charming. And we will see just what kind of soil grows such a fascinating little plant."
Her eyes gleamed with ambition and amusement. "This is going to be so much fun."
---
In their cozy farmhouse, miles away, Yuhon Kalmas sneezed violently.
"Bless you, son!" Zerkon called from the kitchen. "Probably all that dust from the shattered concrete!"
Yuhon nodded, rubbing his nose. He had a strange, inexplicable feeling that a very different kind of disaster was heading his way.