The two demonic cores sat on a stone slab in the center of Li Jian's tent, wrapped in three layers of talisman cloth. Even muffled, their glow pulsed through the fabric, slow and rhythmic, like a heartbeat. The air inside felt heavier for it.
Li Jian sat at the head of the low table. To his right: Elders Li Shuying and Li Gaozhong. To his left: squad leaders Li Ming, Li Xuan, Li Jingwen, Li Yuxin, and Li Tianhao. The tent flap was sealed. Two guards stood outside.
Li Shuying spoke first, voice low. "The cores are not dead. The qi inside them moves. I can feel it through the cloth. If we leave them exposed, they will taint the soil. If a cultivator absorbs them without preparation, they will taint the person."
Elder Gaozhong tapped his spear shaft against the ground. "Then we seal them properly and send them back to the clan archive with the next supply caravan. No one touches them until the High Elders examine them. This is not a matter for debate."
"Respectfully, Elder," Li Ming said, leaning forward, "we didn't bleed for these to sit in a vault." His eyes flicked to the wrapped cores. "We risked our lives in that valley. Two of our hunters have qi deviation scars from the adult bear's roar alone. If these cores can temper our meridians, even a little, we should use them now. While we're still in Shadow Wood. While the qi here is thick enough to buffer the backlash."
Li Xuan's jaw tightened. "And if they don't buffer it? If one of our younger hunters cracks his foundation trying to swallow bear corruption? What then, Brother?"
"Then we don't give them to the younger hunters," Ming shot back. "We give them to those who can bear it. To the vanguard. To those who've already walked the edge."
Li Jingwen, scout leader, frowned. "The bears we killed were adolescents and one adult. What happens when we face something that's been feeding on this qi for ten years? Twenty? We need every edge we can get. Ming's not wrong about that."
Li Yuxin, who'd been silent until now, shook her head. "Edges cut both ways. I've seen what demonic qi does to a cultivator who rushes it. Twisted meridians. Madness. The Gao family in the eastern branch tried this twenty years ago. They don't have an eastern branch anymore."
Tianhao, uncle to Li Jian and leader of the youngest squad, spoke carefully. "My boys aren't ready for cores. They're not ready for adult bears either. But if we waste time being afraid of everything in this valley, we'll leave with nothing but scratches and stories."
"Stories don't win wars," Ming said, voice rising. "Strength does."
"Glory doesn't matter if you're dead," Xuan snapped. "Or did you miss the part where that adult bear tore through two of its own kind like paper? You want to feed our brothers to something like that because you're impatient?"
"I'm impatient?" Ming shot to his feet. "You've been arguing retreat since we crossed into the valley! You flinch every time the mist moves! While you worry, the bears grow stronger. While you hesitate, the other clans pull ahead. The Li Clan will be eating dust because you're too afraid to take a risk!"
Xuan stood too, face flushed. "I'm afraid? I'm the one pulling wounded hunters back while you charge ahead looking for a bigger corpse to stand on! You think being the eldest means you get to gamble with everyone's lives for your own glory?"
"It means I have to lead!" Ming slammed his palm on the table. The cores pulsed brighter under the cloth. "It means I can't afford to be timid while our father bleeds himself dry keeping this clan alive! You want caution? Caution is what got the Zhao Clan wiped out last winter. They waited. They thought. And then the beasts came down from the mountains and—"
"That's enough."
Li Jian didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. The tent went still. Even the cores seemed to dim.