[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-dawn-walker":3,"chapter-dawn-walker-dawn-walker-chapter-70":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Dawn Walker",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1836932,2443,"Chapter 70: The Underground Rule","dawn-walker-chapter-70",70,"\u003Cp>---\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girls looked like they were about to cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elena sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her anger softened just slightly, but her authority did not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He returned,\" she said quietly. \"He came back from purgatory alive. Do you know what that means.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tray girl nodded rapidly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It means he is strong.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elena shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It means he is tired,\" she corrected. \"It means his mind has not fully come home yet, even if his body has.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her gaze sharpened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do not disturb him today,\" she ordered. \"No questions. No gifts. No sneaking near his door to listen like you are spies for the City Lord.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The comb girl looked offended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We were not listening.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elena lifted the broom a fraction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The comb girl immediately became respectful again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, Auntie Elena.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elena pointed down the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go to your work,\" she said. \"Kitchen. Laundry. Courtyard. Anywhere except here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girls hesitated, clearly suffering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But what if he calls for us,\" the tray girl asked, voice hopeful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elena’s mouth twitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If he calls,\" she said, \"I will call you. Until then, pretend he is a sleeping dragon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flower girl blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Dragons are... cute when sleeping,\" she whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elena’s broom tapped the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>TAP.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flower girl fled immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The others scrambled after her, disappointed faces turning into hurried feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>TapTapTapTap!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elena watched them go, then turned her gaze toward Sekhmet’s door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her expression softened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You stubborn boy,\" she murmured. \"Come home alive, then immediately become everyone’s problem.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shook her head once, then walked away, broom in hand, muttering threats about chores and discipline that sounded suspiciously like love disguised as fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hours passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dawn House settled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fuss calmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The servants kept busy. The kitchen returned to its rhythm. Laundry piles marched like armies. The courtyard was swept until it looked like it had never met dirt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet remained inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rested, as promised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He ate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drank water even though it did nothing for the hunger that lived deeper than thirst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared at his status window until the numbers stopped feeling like lies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He listened to Bat Bat chatter and realized, with mild horror, that the bat had learned to gossip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Girls outside,\" Bat Bat whispered at one point. \"Many girl.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They were told to leave.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat nodded solemnly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They leave,\" it said, then added, \"They come back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet stared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You do not know that,\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I scout,\" it replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet rubbed his temples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stop scouting my servants.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat puffed up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Scouting is my job,\" it declared, then added in a quieter voice, \"Also funny.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet did not answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the truth was, his mind was not calm at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city’s walls did not remove his hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Civilization did not fix the bloodlust creeping under his skin like a second heartbeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ba - dum... Ba - dum...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It returned again as the sun fell and night approached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It returned with a quiet cruelty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By evening, he could feel it in his throat. The heat. A dryness. A longing that no amount of bread could satisfy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat on his bed with his hands folded, trying to breathe slowly, trying to pretend he was normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I do not feed,he thought,I will lose control in my own house.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was unacceptable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not with servants around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not with Elena.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not with Lily possibly returning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not with the city full of people who did not deserve to become accidents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He needed a place where blood belonged to violence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A place where feeding would not be a crime against innocence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mind reached for an old memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The underground market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A place Uncle Ben had taken him once when he was ten. Sekhmet barely remembered details. He mostly remembered the smell of spices, metal, smoke, and fear disguised as bargaining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He remembered Uncle Ben’s hand on his shoulder, heavy and warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do not stare,\" Uncle Ben had said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why,\" Sekhmet had asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because if you stare,\" Uncle Ben replied, \"someone will decide you are worth selling.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet smiled faintly at the memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Now let them try.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought was cold, and it alarmed him how easily it came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Night deepened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The house quieted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The servants went to sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lanterns dimmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dawn House became still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was when Sekhmet moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dressed in dark clothing, pulling the nightmare-grade coat over his shoulders. He left Bat Bat in the room for half a second—then paused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat stared at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You go,\" Bat Bat said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet narrowed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How do you know?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat lifted its tiny chin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I smell hunger,\" it said proudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet exhaled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine,\" he muttered. \"But you follow my orders. No pee. I am going to the underground market.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat looked personally attacked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No pee,\" it repeated, offended. \"In underground. I pee only if tactical.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet stared at it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That sentence is wrong in many ways,\" he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat flapped onto his shoulder anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let’s go,\" it said, cheerful like this was a fun outing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet left his room silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corridors of Dawn House were dark, but familiar. He moved like a shadow, stepping past sleeping guards without waking them. His body was too light now. Too controlled. He could have walked through a battlefield without making sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slipped out into the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold air greeted him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Woooo...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city at night was different. Less noise, more whispers. Less light, more watchful eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sekhmet moved along rooftops and narrow alleys, guided by instinct and old memory. He did not want anyone to notice where he was going. Not yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bat Bat sat on his shoulder like a red badge, hard to hide, but the night helped. The bat tucked its wings tight and stayed quiet, surprisingly disciplined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They reached a narrow street behind an abandoned spice warehouse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a stone door there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unmarked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two men stood in front of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were not guards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were the type of men who acted like guards because it gave them permission to be cruel.\u003C\u002Fp>",1014,"2026-06-09T06:31:32.937Z",1,"novelbin.me","f587b79ae39bce993c4e9be64fbd50aa83e052731c4d8558dc757afc03998969","dawn-walker-chapter-6","dawn-walker-chapter-69",359,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdawn-walker-cover.jpg"]