Chapter 88: It Was Never Yours

Shen looked at the broken fitting for several seconds before telling Liam it was useless. Lin moved closer, and the man quickly added that he meant the fragment, not the case. Liam remained beside the table, watching his face while the screwdriver rested across his palm. He had already learned enough about Shen to dislike explanations that became more specific only when someone looked ready to hit him.

“Then show me something useful.”

“The lower cupboard. There’s a flat wooden box.”

Lin opened it himself. Inside were small metal fittings, rolls of faded cloth, and several sheets covered in drawings. He brought the whole box to the table and placed it beside the case. Shen immediately pointed toward one of the sheets, but Liam kept it where both of them could see it.

“Explain before we touch anything.”

Shen shifted against the cabinet. The reflected binding still held his arms against his body, though the lines had begun losing some of their sharpness. Liam noticed and moved farther from him. One use of Reversal remained. He didn’t intend to spend it because they had become comfortable standing beside someone who had just tried to restrain them.

“The case has two sets of fittings,” Shen said. “One contains the weapon. The other connects to the wielder.”

“The second one was yours.”

“Yes.”

“And the broken piece?”

“Part of the original closure.”

Liam looked between the drawing and the exposed wood. The original metalwork followed the shape of the lid, while Shen’s additions crossed through it toward the plate they had disconnected. Even without understanding the marks, he could see where newer cuts had been made to fit the extra pieces. The man hadn’t simply attached something to the outside. He had damaged what was already there to make room.

‘Then left us a piece of it like a fucking invitation.’

“Can you repair it?”

“Enough to transport the sword. A proper restoration would require—”

“Transport it where?”

Shen stopped.

Lin leaned against the counter, folding his arms.

“That was a simple question.”

For the first time since they entered, Shen looked genuinely reluctant to answer. He had admitted to preparing Lin as a replacement body more easily than he seemed willing to discuss where he intended to take the sword. Liam set his phone beside the drawing, keeping the recording running.

“Start with what you planned to do after taking him.”

“Keep him here until the transfer settled.”

“And then?”

“I was supposed to wait for instructions.”

“From the thing inside him?”

Shen nodded.

Liam looked toward Lin. The man’s expression had become very still.

There hadn’t been another teacher waiting somewhere to welcome him. No final test after which he would receive the rest of his inheritance. Shen had intended to put something inside his body and wait for it to start giving orders.

“Fix the case,” Lin said.

They didn’t release Shen. He explained the drawings from the floor while Lin removed the additions one piece at a time. Liam examined each exposed section before they continued, using Material Analysis to check what the man claimed against what the materials actually did. It couldn’t tell him whether Shen was lying. It could tell him when a supposedly harmless strip still conducted energy toward the place where the sword would rest.

They found two Shen hadn’t mentioned.

After the second, Lin placed the strip beside his shoe.

“Anything else?”

Shen told them about a fitting beneath the hinge.

Liam waited until it was removed before speaking.

“You’re making this take longer.”

“I forgot.”

“No, you hoped we would.”

The replacement closure came from the flat box. It was older than Shen’s additions, with worn edges and marks that matched the drawing more closely than the broken fragment did. Liam checked it before allowing Lin to fit it into place. The work took nearly an hour, most of which involved removing the damage Shen had caused rather than doing anything impressive.

By the time they finished, the case looked much as it had when Lin first brought it to the warehouse. The difference was beneath the lining.

[Object: Weapon storage case.]

[Detected property: Spiritual isolation.]

[Containment boundary: Continuous when closed.]

[Condition: Worn. Requires inspection after use.]

Liam read the last line carefully.

“Close it.”

Lin lowered the lid and fastened it. Nothing moved. Liam examined the closure again, then the hinges, checking whether the boundary remained continuous when pressure was applied to the corners. It did.

That still left the part neither of them wanted to do.

Lin looked at him.

“Ready?”

Liam moved the screwdriver into the air beside the table, keeping it close enough that he could recall it immediately. He left the cape at rest. Trying to hold everything ready at once had nearly given him a headache the last time, and he preferred being able to concentrate over looking prepared.

“Keep your hand on the wrapping.”

Lin opened the case.

The sword appeared in his grip a moment later.

The screwdriver sent a sharp feeling of resistance through the connection, and Liam steadied it before it could move backward. The blade remained still, but the pressure in the room changed enough that Shen raised his head from the floor. His eyes fixed on the weapon with an expression Liam hadn’t seen from him before.

Hope.

Liam stepped into his line of sight.

“Look at me.”

Shen’s gaze flicked upward. His breathing caught, and he looked away.

Behind Liam, Lin lowered the sword into the case without touching the bare metal. The blade trembled once against the lining. Liam watched the marks at Lin’s wrist until his fingers left the covered grip, then nodded.

“Shut it.”

The lid came down.

Lin fastened the closure.

For a few seconds, nobody spoke. Liam held the screwdriver steady while examining the case again. The boundary remained intact. Inside, the remnant was still present, still contained within the damaged weapon, but the faint activity reaching beyond it no longer extended through the case.

[External spiritual transfer: Not detected.]

Liam let out a slow breath.

“Good. Leave it closed.”

The screwdriver returned to his palm so quickly that he nearly dropped it.

‘Yeah. I don’t like it either.’

He put it away before the relief made him careless.

The binding around Shen weakened enough for him to move his fingers while Lin was gathering the manual. Liam noticed first and stepped away from the counter. Lin followed his gaze, then crossed the room and took hold of Shen’s wrist before the man could lift his hand.

There was no dramatic struggle.

Whatever Shen could do through his prepared equipment, he wasn’t physically close to Lin.

“We need to decide what happens to him,” Liam said.

Lin looked down.

“I have ideas.”

“Pick one that doesn’t leave us hiding a body.”

That earned him an unpleasant glance, but Lin didn’t argue. They had the stolen belongings, photographs of the room, and a recording of Shen admitting he had entered the apartment and taken the case and manual. Explaining the rest would be difficult. Explaining a burglary was much simpler.

Lin made the call.

While they waited, Liam photographed the remaining drawings and the equipment Shen had used. He kept the disconnected pieces separate from the case, then watched Lin turn through the manual until he reached the darker pages.

“Don’t tear them out.”

“I know.”

Lin’s answer came quietly enough that Liam looked up. The anger hadn’t disappeared, but it was no longer looking for the nearest thing to break. He placed a blank sheet between the original text and the additions, closed the book, and set it beside the case.

When the officers arrived, Shen suddenly became very interested in describing the matter as a disagreement over ownership.

Lin showed them the messages arranging the original handover.

Then he played the part of the recording where Shen admitted taking the items from his apartment.

Liam gave his account, provided his contact information, and kept the explanations limited to things the officers could examine. Shen had stolen the case and book, left an address, and attacked when confronted. The broken cabinet and scattered contents of the shop weren’t difficult to find.

By the time they were allowed to leave, the streetlights had come on.

Shen remained inside with the officers.

Lin carried the closed case to the Bentley himself.

Liam stopped for food before driving him back. Neither had eaten since before training, and the smell from the paper bag made him realize how much of the afternoon he had spent running on water and irritation. They sat in the parked car with the case secured behind them while Lin looked down at the untouched sandwich in his hands.

“You can eat,” Liam said.

“I’m thinking.”

“You can do both. I’ve seen people manage it.”

Lin finally unwrapped it.

A green panel appeared while Liam reached for his drink.

[Combat EXP Gained: 120.]

[Level: 4 (308/500)]

[Main Mission: Reach Level 5.] [Incomplete.]

He dismissed it after checking the number. The fight was over, the case was closed, and he still had one use of Reversal left if the evening became worse. For now, he wanted to finish eating without another inheritance trying to kill somebody.

Lin spoke before he managed that.

“You knew there was something wrong with the book.”

“I knew some pages were different.”

“You could have left it there.”

Liam looked at him. There were several answers he could give, including the fact that Red still wanted the system inside him. None would improve the atmosphere in the car.

“You were standing beside me with the sword. I had a reason to keep asking questions.”

Lin took another bite, chewing slowly before lowering the sandwich.

“He told me the previous owner saw potential in me.”

Liam remained quiet.

“I thought…” Lin stopped, then looked through the windshield. “It doesn’t matter.”

It clearly did.

Liam remembered how pleased the man had looked when asked to teach him. He liked being the person who knew more, the person with something valuable to offer. Being chosen by a powerful predecessor must have suited him perfectly.

Shen had understood that.

“The technique you used against me was real,” Liam said.

Lin turned slightly.

“The strength is yours. Whatever he intended to do with it.”

For a while, the only sound inside the car came from traffic passing outside. Then Lin finished the sandwich and folded the wrapper into a small square.

“Next session. Same time.”

Liam glanced at him.

“You’re still charging me in bruises?”

“You still move your foot too far.”

He laughed despite himself and started the engine.

Clara opened the apartment door before he reached for his key. She looked at his face, then caught his arm and pulled him inside far enough to inspect the rest of him. Liam let her check until her fingers reached the shoulder that had only recently stopped hurting.

“I’m fine.”

“You said that after training too.”

“This time nobody threw me.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“That isn’t the same thing.”

“No. It isn’t.”

He put his keys down and told her what had happened, starting with the stolen manual and finishing with Shen remaining at the shop. Clara listened without interrupting until he mentioned the attempt to use Lin’s body.

Then she looked toward his bag.

“The sword isn’t here?”

“No. Lin has the closed case.”

“Good.”

Liam sat beside her, suddenly aware of how tired he was. She leaned against him after a moment, her hand settling over his wrist rather than searching for another bruise.

“You helped him again.”

“Apparently, it’s becoming a habit.”

“Do you trust him?”

Liam thought about the manual in Lin’s lap, the closed case behind them, and the way he had insisted on another training session instead of saying thank you.

“More than I did.”

Clara nodded and rested her head against his shoulder.

His phone vibrated on the table.

The message was from Lin.

A photograph showed the case closed inside a cupboard. Beneath it was a single line.

I’m not opening it.

Liam looked at the message, then typed his reply.

Good. Bring the mats next time.

For tonight, that was enough.