Going outside was a calculated mistake.
Lin Ye knew it the moment he crossed the building's threshold. Huo'an's air wasn't hostile, but it was watchful. Every step felt recorded somewhere he couldn't see. His body protested immediately: a sharp stab in his side, a brief dizziness that forced him to stop and brace against the nearest wall.
—Too soon —he muttered.
—Too visible —Su Yanlin corrected, walking beside him with an easy stride—. But necessary.
Yan Mo had deliberately stayed behind. "So it looks like your decision," he'd said. Lin Ye wasn't sure whether to thank him or curse him.
The street was alive. Merchants shouting, apprentices running errands, cultivators exchanging quick glances that slid toward him and away again. No one pointed. No one approached. That was the unsettling part.
—I don't like this —Lin Ye said—. It's like walking with a note taped to my back.
—You do have one —Su Yanlin replied—. No one just knows yet what it says.
They advanced a few more meters before someone broke the unspoken distance.
—Are you Lin Ye?
The voice was young, a little unsure, but clear. Lin Ye turned carefully. In front of him stood a boy about his age, maybe a year younger, dressed in simple messenger clothes. He had no notable aura—barely any cultivation at all. Body Refinement at best.
But he held a wooden tablet with both hands as if it were a shield.
—Depends —Lin Ye replied—. Who's asking?
—My name's Tao Wen —the boy said—. I work for the information runners' guild… well, "work" is a generous word.
Su Yanlin watched him curiously.
—And what do you want with him? —she asked.
Tao Wen swallowed.
—To deliver this —he said, extending the tablet—. And… to thank him.
Lin Ye frowned and took it. It wasn't an official record. Nor a contract. Just a hastily written note in common ink.
"Thank you for not running when the passage closed. My sister made it out alive."
Something tugged lightly at Lin Ye's chest. Not pain. Something else.
—I don't remember that —he admitted.
—You didn't have to —Tao Wen said quickly—. It was during the East Market incident, months ago. Everyone ran when the seal collapsed. You stayed just long enough to open a way through.
Lin Ye closed his eyes briefly. A blurred memory tried to form, then dissolved before completing itself. Another gap.
—I'm glad it worked —he said at last.
Tao Wen smiled, relieved.
—I heard what happened to you —he continued—. And I thought that… well, someone should tell you that not everything you do is wasted.
Su Yanlin looked away, feigning disinterest.
Lin Ye handed the tablet back.
—Thank you —he said—. Truly.
Tao Wen hesitated a second longer.
—If… if you ever need anything —he added—. Information, rumors, safe routes. I'm not strong, but I know how to listen.
Lin Ye looked at him carefully.
No power.No obvious ambition.Just… a willingness to stay.
—That may be more useful than you think —he replied—. Stay alive.
Tao Wen nodded vigorously and hurried away, as if afraid someone might see him standing too close.
Su Yanlin watched him disappear into the crowd.
—That boy —she said—. It's not good for you to keep him close.
—I know —Lin Ye replied—. That's why I didn't ask him for anything.
She raised an eyebrow.
—And yet, he'll come back.
Lin Ye didn't answer.
They continued walking slowly until they reached a small plaza where a group of cultivators murmured around a notice board. Lin Ye didn't approach, but the Eye of the Threshold caught fragments of conversation.
"…the Shen House is applying pressure…""…they say there's covert imperial oversight…""…if the problem grows, someone will pay…"
Su Yanlin spoke quietly:
—Local tensions are aligning. Not because of you alone… but you're the visible point.
Lin Ye rested a hand on the stone railing, breathing carefully.
—Then I'll have to stay visible —he said—. Without provoking… but without disappearing.
—That's exhausting —she commented.
—I already am —he replied, with a tired smile.
On a nearby rooftop, a figure watched the scene closely. No emblems. Their presence was faint but steady. They took mental note of Tao Wen, of Su Yanlin… and of the way Lin Ye paused before crossing certain points.
—Interesting —they murmured—. He doesn't accumulate power. He accumulates people.
The figure withdrew without a trace.
Back in the plaza, Lin Ye felt a faint chill.
—Su Yanlin —he said—. Do you think people come to me because I'm useful… or because I'm dangerous?
She looked at him for a moment before answering.
—Right now —she said—, because they don't know the difference.
Lin Ye nodded slowly.
As they headed back, an uncomfortable certainty settled in his minD