Cattaleya's presence was one that couldn't be cloaked by simple cultivation tricks.
Lin Mu knew enough of body cultivation to recognize that her body didn't just contain strength—it was strength. The way her muscles coiled and unwound when she walked, the way her feet sank just a fraction deeper into the stone, the way her shadow flickered in ways it shouldn't.
He didn't push. Not yet.
They were companions for the moment, and some secrets didn't need to be unraveled at the start of a journey. He would know when the time was right.
And perhaps… she would tell him herself.
They continued moving down the canyon path, the light dimming with each step into the crooked gorges. Elyon led the group, his senses wide and sharp, flanked by Daoist Chu who had already begun setting up his tracking talismans in preparation. Meng Bai walked near Cattaleya, trying to converse, though she gave him brief, almost cryptic replies.
