In the pitch-black night, the occasional cry of an owl and distant barking of dogs echoed together. This was an environment unfamiliar to city kids—a moonless night, dark as ink.
The sky was dark, the earth was dark, and the mountains were even darker. Amid all this darkness, someone suddenly appeared outside Shaolin Temple, pressing her back to the wall like a secret agent. She slowed her breathing, put on a serious face, and whispered with great flair: "Command center, this is Snake, I've reached the target base entrance..." But she could only hold the cool pose for three seconds before bursting out laughing: "Okay, this is actually pretty fun!"
That's right—it was Jill Young, unable to sleep in the middle of the night, just wandering over to Shaolin for a stroll. She didn’t have any prophetic powers and had no clue what the Eternal Sky Cult folks were up to. She was simply feeling inexplicably restless, and somehow thought a lap around Shaolin might help. To her, it was no different than getting up to cook noodles in the middle of the night—no big deal. So, she told no one, just left a note and quietly climbed over the wall.
Sure enough, as soon as she arrived at Shaolin, her restlessness vanished and she started to find the whole thing amusing.
Sometimes, sneaking out for a stroll while everyone else is asleep feels pretty awesome. Under the thick cover of night, some hidden 'sneaky gene' gets activated. Your eyes get sharper, your steps lighter, and your gaze just naturally drifts toward low walls, lit windows, or eggs hanging from beams. You might not actually steal anything, but you can’t help but fiddle with stuff—the secret thrill mixed with a racing heartbeat is just impossible to describe—Wait, who called the cops?!
Anyway, Shaolin isn’t exactly close to Harveston County, but it’s not that far either. With Jill Young’s speed, she reached the gate in no time. Normally, if she just reported to the reception monk at the entrance, given her reputation after thrashing Shaolin’s ranks for fun, it wouldn’t be hard to get that little kid to come out and meet her.
But who could blame her for suddenly discovering the joys of being sneaky? The moment her back pressed against the temple wall in full spy mode, a new idea popped into her head: She’d already cleared the Shaolin Temple ‘dungeon’ once—so even if she got caught, there was no real danger. She was just here to kill time anyway, so why not play a stealth game for real?
"Command center, prep now—countdown from ten seconds." She pressed an imaginary earpiece and made a dramatic report, then got ready. Shaolin’s security was tight—even for fun, you had to take it seriously. Ancient clothes had one major flaw: they weren’t form-fitting, just tubes hanging off you. If the waist fit, the chest was too tight; if the chest fit, the waist was too loose. Walking around all floaty like that, how could you not make noise?
Waist—tighten.
Pant legs—roll up above the knees, tighten.
Shoes and socks off—tossed straight into my portable space.
Grab a hair tie, pull my hair into a ponytail—much tidier now.
I bounce up and down a bit. Yep, much quieter this way. In the martial world, sharp senses come from inner power. When you’re channeling energy, you’re super aware, but most of the time, it’s just average. Unless you’ve got endless power, you’re not always on high alert. As long as I don’t leak energy or go full turbo, it’s hard for martial artists to pick me up.
Control room, I’m ready. Countdown from three. 3, 2, 1—let’s go!
Silent as a shadow, Jill Young vaults up. One hand on the roof tiles, Olympic high-jump style over the wall, landing smooth. With her ultra-refined senses, every move—hand on tile, foot on ground—is quiet as a cat.
Low footsteps echo as a pair of patrol monks stroll by. Their lantern sways closer, then drifts away, shadows dancing. The two monks mutter and joke, totally oblivious. Once they’re gone, a head pops out from behind the wall—big eyes scan the mysterious temple, sparkling with excitement: “This is seriously fun!”
Shaolin Temple’s security is tight. Even top-tier martial artists would trip alarms—otherwise, the library would’ve been looted centuries ago.
But for Jill Young, who’s burning with the spirit of play, every challenge is just another level to beat.
With senses dialed up, she darts from shadow to shadow, moving through patrol blind spots. Corners, pillars, bushes, fences—everything’s cover. Roof-hopping is boring; this is a game, not a cheat code. Every successful sneak is a thrill. And as time passes, she gets way better at it. Normal play isn’t enough—if you’ve got imagination, you’ve gotta use it.
“Easy! I can just sneak through like thiiis...”