Three days had passed since the encounter with the shadow boar. The sky, sometimes heavy, sometimes clear, watched over their silent march through hills, rocky paths, and cold rivers. Yun Lue, still pale, walked with caution. Her wound was healing, but the shock of the beast lingered in her eyes.
The group had slowly found a rhythm. Each evening, Chen trained them: observation, endurance, breathing, listening to the world.
— "A cultivator doesn't just meditate or strike," he repeated. "He lives. He feels. He senses. He anticipates."
Hei Tian listened. He noted every detail, every breath, every silence. But while he was attentive, he knew he didn't yet understand everything. There was still something missing between seeing… and reacting.
There had been a mistake during the fight. A hesitation. He thought about it often.
Then, on the morning of the seventh day, as they crossed a final ridge, the city appeared.
It rose like a mirage of stone and smoke: modest, walled with rough rock, bordering a vast agricultural plain. Smoke drifted lazily from rooftops. Figures bustled in the distance, pulling carts, shouting in the markets. Bells rang, deep and distant.
— "This is Lin'an," Chen announced. "Frontier city. Not very big, but you can eat, sleep, and disappear here."
— "It's beautiful…" Mu Liang whispered.
— "It's… noisy," Yun Lue muttered, tugging slightly at her sleeve. Her tone was sharper than usual, but her gaze lingered briefly in the grey spirals of smoke.
Hei Tian said nothing. His eyes scanned the city. The walls, the gates, the guards. He searched for what was wrong, even if nothing stirred. He sensed something. That reflex hadn't left him since the village.
As they passed through the gates, a crowd swallowed them. Shouting vendors, begging children, weary onlookers, old men sleeping on the steps. The air was thick with a raw smell of dried fish, leather, dust, and sweat.
In a corner of an alley, Hei Tian saw a man sitting on the ground. His gaze was blank, fixed, staring at the sky. No one spoke to him. Passersby avoided him without a word.
A dried red stain spread across his sleeves.
Hei Tian looked away. This city is dangerous.
Chen didn't slow down. He cut through the crowd in silence and led them to a quieter alley. At the end, an old wooden door.
He knocked.
A woman opened it. Hunched, weathered, eyes sharp as a crow's.
— "Back again, you scoundrel?"
Old Chen replied, "Still alive. These three are with me. They need a roof."
She let them in. The musty smell greeted them like a blanket. The inn, ancient, had been emptied. Only the skeleton remained: a few beds, some washbasins, a storeroom, silence.
— "Don't let them wander the streets alone too much, especially at night. The city's gotten far more dangerous lately, so be careful."
Yun Lue swayed slightly. Hei Tian supported her with a discreet gesture. She said nothing, but briefly lowered her gaze. He noticed her fingers trembling slightly.
With a quick, almost invisible movement, he slipped a small dried fruit from his pocket into her palm. He didn't say a word.
Just a gesture. And sometimes, that was enough.
— "Rest now," Chen said. "Tonight, we talk."
---
Night slowly draped its veil over Lin'an. Lanterns lit one by one. In the streets, cries faded. A strange calm settled.
Chen returned from a short outing.
— "The news is out. A sect will be arriving here in a month. Open recruitment."
A shiver ran through the children.
— "Which one?" Yun Lue asked.
— "The Purple Lightning Sect. Minor, but old. They don't joke around. They test willpower, foundations, perseverance. So even if your talent isn't the highest, you must endure. If you fail… no one will pick you up."
— "Can we… try?" Mu Liang asked.
Chen looked at Hei Tian. For a long time.
— "You can. But it's up to you to want it. I won't go."
Hei Tian raised his eyes.
— "I want to."
Yun Lue flinched. She didn't speak at first. Then, almost reluctantly:
— "Me too."
Mu Liang nodded.
— "I… don't want to run anymore."
Chen observed them. Then sighed. There was, briefly, a pride in his eyes he hadn't shown in a long time.
— "You have one month. One month to find yourselves. After that, it's between you… and them."
He turned to leave, but added one last sentence, softer:
— "And Hei Tian… remember this. Watching is good. But sometimes… you must strike without thinking. Think too much, and you fall. Hesitate too long, and you lose."
Hei Tian lowered his gaze.
He understood.
He always understood.
But this time… he also felt he had something to prove.
In the shadows, his eyes rose to the city. The noise. The rooftops. The lights.
He did not yet know his path.
But he would walk it—
even if it meant carving it through the unknown.
---