The dull morning light filtered through the ever-present veil of ash hanging over Ash Crown City, casting a strange bronze hue across the landscape.
Even in daylight, the haze dimd the world, making torches and fla-lamps glow with an unnatural intensity along the cobbled streets and weatherworn roofs. In the Ember Hollow Hall, the finest inn of the city, the ash-muted dawn touched the edges of the courtyard where ng Bai sat in the garden, a half-eaten bowl of spirit fruits at his side.
Ashy, chirped lazily from the low-hanging branch of an ashwood tree, while the twin serpents Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang lay coiled beneath ng Bai’s robes, slumbering peacefully.
Little Shrubby lounged nearby on a pile of heated rocks, comfortably absorbing the ambient energy from the earth fla channels running beneath the building. The courtyard had beco a haven of calm, a rarity in a city frequented by rogue cultivators, rcenaries, and bounty hunters.
It was in this mont of tranquility that the tal chi at the front of the hall rang softly—a polite, respectful tone rather than a rushed alarm. Monts later, a servant in grey robes stepped into the courtyard, his pace swift and sure. In his hands, he held a small scroll bound with a silver cord—a clear sign of urgency and confidentiality.
He bowed low to Daoist Chu, who was seated under a shaded awning reading from a complex compendium of formation arrays.
"A ssage for you, honored sir," the servant said, voice low and deferential.
Daoist Chu accepted the scroll with calm hands and a gentle nod, severing the seal with a flicker of qi. The wax vanished instantly, and a soft pulse of spiritual essence revealed the encoded text inside. His eyes swept across the ssage swiftly but thoroughly. He said nothing, but a quiet gravity settled over his features.
ng Bai, ever perceptive to shifts in mood, stood from his place by the spirit fruit bowl and approached. "Is that from Lady Qin?" he asked, brushing off a faint layer of ash from his shoulder.
Daoist Chu nodded wordlessly and turned toward the Earth Fla Hall, where Lin Mu had been ditating for hours, absorbing elental energy for his Omnicore Ascendancy Technique.
ng Bai followed without needing to be asked.
The entrance to the Earth Fla Hall glowed faintly with a dull red light from the tempered fla conduits embedded in the stone. Daoist Chu raised his hand and knocked twice on the door, the sound echoing slightly in the enclosed corridor.
A pause. Then the heat abruptly dropped, the essence streams calming. The door slid open a mont later to reveal Lin Mu, robed in layered shades of black and grey tinged faintly with glowing red lines—an effect from hours of elental imrsion.
His hair was slightly tousled, a glimr of fire and earth essence still clinging to the ends, and his eyes held a deeper focus than usual.
He raised a brow. "Is there news?"
Daoist Chu handed over the scroll. "From Lady Qin, an informant. Just arrived."
Lin Mu accepted it and unfurled it, sending a strand of immortal sense to scan the encrypted script. The mont his eyes locked on the core contents, his brow furrowed.
"So it’s confird," he muttered. "They really are here."
ng Bai took a step forward, frowning. "Is there information about the bounty hunter Lady Qin ntioned?"
"Yes," Lin Mu replied. "The sa. According to this... they’ve been in the city for at least a month, possibly more. And they’ve been tracking the elders."
Daoist Chu’s expression remained neutral, but there was an edge to his voice. "And now we have their last known location. A small inn near the city’s eastern edge—out of the way, but not so secluded that it draws attention."
Lin Mu’s fingers curled slightly around the scroll. "Then let’s not waste ti. We should go check it out."
But Daoist Chu raised a hand to stop him. "Wait. You shouldn’t go."
Lin Mu turned his head slowly, brow raised in silent question. "And why not?"
Daoist Chu t his gaze evenly. "You’ve condensed your Sword Heart. That makes you... perceptible, Lin Mu. Perhaps not to the common rogue cultivator or even so peak-stage immortals, but a being like the Hooded Tracker? They’ll feel it long before you arrive."
ng Bai looked between them and nodded slowly. "He’s right. You give off a... presence now. Even when you’re trying not to."
Lin Mu exhaled through his nose, his thoughts racing. Since his breakthrough in the Sacred Grounds, he had noticed that the air itself sotis grew sharp when he stepped into a room. His sword intent was now so refined that suppressing it entirely had beco like holding back a tidal wave with a sieve.
"And soone like the Hooded Tracker would feel it like a blade to the neck," Daoist Chu said quietly.
"He’ll vanish," ng Bai added. "Slip away before we even knock on the door."
Lin Mu frowned, but his instincts didn’t disagree. He had spent enough ti among cultivators and warriors to understand the weight of Daoist Chu’s words. If the Tracker was anywhere near as skilled as the stories claid, then a wrong move would scatter the trail entirely.
It would be one thing if they were just running away physically, but if they used a Teleportation Talisman, it would get difficult to find them.
"Alright," Lin Mu said after a mont. "I’ll stay. You two check the place. I’ll be here and will rush over if things go wrong."
Daoist Chu gave a small, approving nod. "If we confirm anything, we’ll signal you imdiately."
ng Bai grinned slightly, his usual optimism returning. "We’ve got Ashy and the twins with us. We’ll be fine."
From the garden, Ashy chirped proudly, her dark plumage dusted with the ash shimring. Xiao Yin and Xiao Yang uncoiled from ng Bai’s robes and hissed softly, their tongues flickering as if tasting the air for danger.
"They might not be able to track long-range with all the ash in the air," Lin Mu said, "but close quarters? They’ll rip through anything."
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