Chapter 48: What the Road Brought Back

The morning after the gathering, Blackstone looked tired.

Empty bowls covered two tavern tables.

Several wagons had already departed west in groups, while others were preparing to leave for Green River City.

Outside Qiao’s shop, a stack of empty crates waited beside the wall.

Duan He’s door was open, but the man himself was nowhere in sight.

Lin Yuan found him asleep in a chair inside.

He quietly stepped back outside.

Wandering Cloud Tavern wasn’t much better.

Su Mei was counting what remained in the kitchen.

"Rice is low."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Vegetables?"

"Low."

"Meat?"

She looked at him.

"Very low."

Xiao Lan placed a nearly empty jar on the counter.

"Tea."

"Also low?"

"Almost gone."

Lin Yuan looked around the tavern.

Yesterday had been profitable.

Today was going to be expensive.

At least they had ten days before the next gathering.

A larger supply order could solve most of the problem.

For the moment, though, Blackstone could manage without him.

After breakfast ended, Lin Yuan left Su Mei and Xiao Lan in charge and returned to his room.

The gathering had consumed nearly the entire previous day. The days before it had been spent preparing space, handling customers, and dealing with arriving merchants.

He had cultivated when he could, but never for long.

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged.

The tavern’s Qi Gathering effect surrounded him.

Since the Middle Spirit Grade enhancement, cultivation here had become noticeably more efficient.

Blackstone’s spiritual environment was still only Faint, but Wandering Cloud Tavern gathered what was available around it.

Lin Yuan slowed his breathing and circulated his inherited technique.

Qi flowed through his meridians.

Steady.

Familiar.

He had practiced the same circulation countless times.

The technique had carried him this far, and even at Qi Refining 9, it continued to strengthen his foundation.

But the closer he moved toward the peak, the clearer its limit became.

There was nothing beyond Qi Refining within the technique.

Lin Yuan continued circulating.

Cycle after cycle, his Qi settled more firmly.

The three Qi Nourishing Pills he had already taken had helped. So had the improved cultivation environment inside the tavern.

Neither could replace time.

Two hours later, Lin Yuan opened his eyes.

His cultivation hadn’t advanced a layer—there was nowhere higher to go within Qi Refining—but his Qi had grown a little denser again.

The peak of the ninth layer was still some distance away.

For now, that was enough.

Lin Yuan went outside with his sword.

He spent a short time practicing beyond the courtyard.

The transitions he had learned from his spar with Lu Feng no longer felt as awkward as they once had. His movements connected more naturally, and he needed less thought to change from one attack into another.

He didn’t push further.

There was still work waiting for him.

Lin Yuan sheathed his sword and headed back.

For several hours, Blackstone had managed without him.

That might have been one of the most useful changes of all.

Su Mei and Xiao Lan could handle the tavern.

Fang Yu handled the inn.

Qiao and Duan handled their own businesses.

Blackstone no longer stopped functioning whenever Lin Yuan stepped away.

He was halfway back to Wandering Cloud Tavern when shouting came from the western road.

Not panicked.

Urgent.

Several people near the notice board turned.

Lin Yuan did the same.

Three cultivators were approaching from the west.

Two walked.

The third was supported between them.

All three were covered in dust.

One had dried blood across his sleeve.

Lin Yuan didn’t recognize the injured man himself, but he recognized the scar beneath his left eye.

His gaze immediately shifted toward the notice board.

Seeking Han Bo

Lin Yuan moved toward them.

"Han Bo?"

The injured man’s head lifted.

"Who are you?"

"Lin Yuan. This is Blackstone."

Han Bo looked past him.

His eyes settled on the tavern, inn, shops, and wagons.

Relief crossed his face.

"We made it."

One of the men supporting him gave a tired laugh.

"Barely."

"Inside."

Lin Yuan led them toward Wandering Cloud Tavern.

Su Mei saw their condition and immediately cleared a table.

Xiao Lan brought water.

Han Bo drank slowly.

His left leg had been wrapped tightly, and one arm hung stiffly against his side. His two companions looked exhausted, but all three were conscious and able to speak.

Lin Yuan waited until they had caught their breath.

"Your family is looking for you."

Han Bo froze.

"My family?"

Lin Yuan pointed through the window toward the notice board.

Han Bo stared at the paper for several seconds.

"I’ve been gone that long?"

"Nearly two weeks, according to the notice."

One of his companions gave a tired laugh.

"Feels longer."

Lin Yuan sat across from them.

"What happened?"

Han Bo drank again before answering.

"We met the hunting group."

"Beyond Blackstone?"

"Two days west."

That matched the notice.

"There were eight of us after we joined them."

Lin Yuan waited.

Han Bo’s expression tightened.

"The first few days were normal."

"Then?"

"The beasts disappeared."

Lin Yuan’s attention sharpened.

He had heard that before.

Empty hunting grounds.

Abandoned territories.

Han Bo continued.

"We moved farther north looking for tracks. Thought maybe the herds had shifted."

"How far?"

"Past Red Cliff."

Lin Yuan’s expression changed slightly.

"What did you find?"

"Tracks."

"What kind?"

Han Bo looked at one of his companions before answering.

"Clawed. Large enough that none of us wanted to meet whatever left them."

The report from the western patrol immediately returned to Lin Yuan’s mind.

A huge partial footprint.

Tracks leading north.

"Did you see what made them?"

"No."

Han Bo answered immediately.

"But we heard something."

Lin Yuan leaned forward slightly.

"What?"

Han Bo frowned, searching for the right words.

"Not a roar."

One of his companions spoke instead.

"Like stone breaking."

"Where?"

"Under us."

Lin Yuan looked at him.

"The ground shook?"

"Once."

Han Bo nodded.

"Then again later, farther north."

"How strong?"

"Strong enough that we stopped arguing about whether to leave."

That was probably wise.

"What happened after that?"

"We headed back south."

Han Bo rubbed his injured leg.

"We ran into Ashfang Wolves."

"How many?"

"Too many."

"Were they hunting?"

Han Bo shook his head.

"Running."

Lin Yuan went quiet.

"They didn’t stop for us," one of his companions said. "We were just in their path."

The group had scattered during the encounter.

Han Bo and the two men with him escaped south.

The others hadn’t returned to their meeting point.

"You don’t know what happened to them?"

"No."

Han Bo looked down at the table.

"We waited as long as we could."

With his injuries, staying in the area any longer would only have created another problem.

"How did you get back?"

"Slowly."

They had avoided the deeper western hunting grounds, circled south, and rested whenever Han Bo’s leg became too painful.

Eventually, they found an older trail leading toward the main road.

From there, they followed it east.

Lin Yuan sat quietly for a moment.

Han Bo hadn’t discovered the cause, but his story matched too closely with what the patrol had found to ignore.

Han Bo leaned back in his chair.

"If you’re thinking about going north, don’t."

"I’m not."

Han Bo studied him.

Lin Yuan meant it.

Blackstone had just begun growing properly.

Chasing something capable of frightening large numbers of spirit beasts away from their territories wasn’t bravery.

It was stupidity.

"Good," Han Bo said.

Lin Yuan stood.

"Rest."

Han Bo looked toward the notice board again.

"Can you send word to Green River City?"

"The next eastbound caravan can carry it."

Han Bo exhaled.

"Tell them I’m alive."

"I will."

Fang Yu arrived from the inn a short while later.

She looked at the three injured cultivators.

Then at Lin Yuan.

"No rooms."

"Anything opening?"

Fang Yu checked her record book.

"One guest is leaving before sunset."

Han Bo shook his head.

"We can wait."

"You can rest here until then," Lin Yuan said.

Fang Yu nodded.

"I’ll hold the room when it opens."

"Thank you."

She returned to the inn. ℴ

Lin Yuan stepped outside.

Several travelers had already gathered near the notice board.

Word traveled quickly in a place where everyone watched the same road.

Lin Yuan removed Han Bo’s missing notice.

Then he took a fresh sheet of paper.

He thought for a moment before writing.

WESTERN ROAD NOTICE

Main Road Remains Passable

Unusual Spirit Beast Movement Continues

Avoid Traveling North of Red Cliff

Travel in Groups

He pinned it beside the gathering notice.

A merchant stopped to read it almost immediately.

"More trouble?"

"More information."

The merchant looked west.

Then at the notice announcing the next gathering.

"Is that still happening in ten days?"

"Yes."

"Good."

The merchant returned to his wagon.

Lin Yuan remained beside the board.

His thoughts briefly returned to the cultivation session that morning.

Qi Refining 9 had once felt strong enough for a lonely roadside tavern.

Blackstone was no longer only a lonely roadside tavern.

Blackstone now had employees, an inn, shops, and merchants planning their journeys around it.

Travelers depended on its rooms, food, water, and information.

Lin Yuan looked west.

Then back toward Wandering Cloud Tavern.

He had no intention of chasing whatever was happening beyond Red Cliff.

But more people were coming to Blackstone now, and more of them depended on the western road.

If the situation continued to worsen, Lin Yuan wouldn’t need to go looking for a reason to get involved.

Protecting Blackstone would be reason enough.