"I figured," Cattaleya said with a crooked grin. "You don’t look like the mercenary type. More like wandering swords and ancient mysteries."

She gave Meng Bai a wink that made him flush and look away, flustered.

As the moon climbed higher, the group began to settle once more. The strange aura of the siren had dissipated, leaving behind the scent of brine, ash, and mystery.

Lin Mu still kept his eyes on Cattaleya.

No ordinary traveler, no passing warrior.

She was from elsewhere—another world, perhaps even another realm. But for now, she was here.

And whatever secrets she held, Lin Mu would uncover them. In time.

"So what are you guys looking for here?" Cattaleya asked as she spun another marble between her fingers.

"Hunting as well," Lin Mu said. "But not beasts. An ancient sect."

"Oh?" Her brow rose with curiosity.

"I’ll explain," Elyon said, stepping in. "Perhaps our goals might align."

A few minutes later, he finished laying it all out.

The moment he did, the muscular woman’s eyes lit up with wild delight.

"My, my! Hunting for evil sects and a mystic tree?" Cattaleya laughed. "That’s right up my alley!"

She grinned wide then, and for just a moment, her canines—sharper than they should’ve been—glinted in the moonlight.

Lin Mu said nothing.

But inwardly, he made a note.

Cattaleya was dangerous... and fascinating.

As the campfire crackled softly and the stars continued their quiet vigil over the sea, Cattaleya rested her hands on her hips, facing the small group of cultivators who’d so far only half accepted her presence.

"Well," she said with an impish smile. "Why don’t you just hire me?"

The flicker of her eyes glinted like the reflection of the moonlight on a blade. "I’m a bounty hunter. A good one. You’ll be getting more than your merit’s worth. If you’re hunting down a corrupted sect tied to an ancient evil tree? Trust me—you’re going to need every bit of help you can get."

Meng Bai blinked. "You’re offering to join us? Just like that?"

Cattaleya tilted her head. "Let’s not play coy. I was tracking those beasts already, and now I find out you’re hunting the ones who may have released them. I want in. You want muscle and skill. I want a challenge."

There was a long pause. The wind shifted slightly, bringing with it the salty tang of the Blackbone Sea.

Daoist Chu furrowed his brows and glanced toward Elyon. That one glance said everything. It was caution wrapped in concern, layered beneath centuries of battle-hardened wisdom.

Elyon nodded subtly.

He understood the meaning clearly. They couldn’t just let a stranger walk in without doing their due diligence. No matter how sharp her smile was.

"Alright," Elyon said, stepping forward, "then let’s treat this like an actual hiring process. You’ve made your pitch, but if you want us to take this seriously, I need references."

"References?" Cattaleya raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "You want a résumé?"

"Call it what you want," Daoist Chu said. "If we can verify some of your past missions, it’ll help us trust you."

"Fair enough." She reached into her pouch and pulled out a small token engraved with a symbol—two fangs crossing over a crescent moon.

Elyon took it, his brows raising slightly. "This... is from the Bonefang Mercenary Exchange. I thought they only issued these to verified contract bounty hunters."

"They do," she said, crossing her arms smugly. "And I passed their entrance test blindfolded."

"I’ll verify this," Elyon said, stepping aside. He sent out a subtle spirit transmission to one of his connections. After a few moments, he received a confirming pulse.

"She’s legit," he said aloud. "Registered and tagged under the name Cattaleya Duskthorn. Verified for five Tier 5 captures and one Tier 6 extermination."

Daoist Chu let out a low breath.

While Elyon continued, "You’re a lot newer than I thought. But those are impressive ranks for someone so recently entered into the scene."

"Fresh blood still has bite," Cattaleya grinned.

"But there’s still one thing we’re all wondering," Daoist Chu continued. "Your strength."

The flicker of flames caught in her eyes as she smirked wider, looking from one face to another. "You really want to see?"

Elyon folded his arms. "We’ll need to know if you can hold your own."

She rolled her shoulders once, then stepped a few paces away from the fire so the group could see her clearly under the open sky.

"Well, I suppose I should warn you all first." She winked. "You might get a little scared."

Meng Bai gulped, unsure if she was joking or not.

Elyon gave a casual shrug. "We’ll manage."

Lin Mu, standing quietly nearby, gave no reaction. His expression remained placid, unreadable—but in his heart, Elyon was already chuckling.

’She thinks this is going to scare us? She doesn’t know Lin Mu at all. The only one who’d scare her... is standing ten feet away.’

Cattaleya drew in a breath, and then—

Boom.

A shockwave of pressure rolled out from her body as she released her full aura. The night air thickened almost instantly. Vital essence, dense and ancient, surged from her like a rising tide, sweeping out with unrelenting force.

The ground beneath her cracked slightly from the sheer density of the force.

Daoist Chu remained steady, though his sleeves rippled with the pressure. Elyon’s brows twitched slightly as he instinctively brought his own energy to bear to anchor himself.

Meng Bai staggered back a step, a line of sweat trickling down his brow. His breathing caught in his throat as his spiritual defenses strained against the invisible weight now pressing down on him.

But Lin Mu?

Lin Mu did not flinch.

He stood as still as ever, his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on her like a needle aimed at a pulse point.

It wasn’t that he didn’t feel it. Quite the opposite.

His body, his very bones, were reacting to her presence. The surge of vital essence stirred the hidden tide in his own blood, threatening to rise up in tandem.

But he held it down.