Chapter 58: Too Close

The tremor did not return that night.

That did not stop half of Blackstone from talking about it.

Lin Yuan remained outside for several minutes after the shaking ended.

Nothing had fallen.

No lanterns had gone out.

Gao Rui’s unfinished storage shed still stood.

Across the road, Qiao Ren held a lantern while staring at the ground as though it might explain itself.

Fang Yu stepped away from Blackstone Inn.

"Any damage?"

"Not that I can see," Lin Yuan said.

Several guests had gathered behind her.

One of them looked toward the western road.

"Was that from Red Cliff?"

Lin Yuan glanced at him.

"If I knew that, I would’ve written it on the notice board already."

The man accepted that answer reluctantly.

Lin Yuan checked the stable next.

The Ironhoof Beasts were restless.

One stamped against the floor while another pulled at its tether, but the stable’s calming effect was already settling them.

Lin Yuan ran a hand along the nearest beast’s neck.

Its muscles remained tense beneath his palm.

"Easy."

The animal snorted.

Nothing seemed injured.

That was enough for tonight.

When he returned to the tavern, Xiao Lan was putting the bowls back on the shelf.

"Everything fine?"

"So far."

Su Mei came downstairs.

"Should we wake the guests?"

"If they slept through it, let them enjoy their talent."

Xiao Lan looked toward the ceiling.

"I don’t think anyone slept through that."

"Then the problem solved itself."

Neither of them argued.

Lin Yuan went upstairs later than usual.

Sleep took longer to arrive.

He had spent weeks hearing stories about the west.

Strange beast movement.

Tremors.

Empty hunting grounds.

Collapsed earth.

Now the floor beneath Wandering Cloud Tavern had moved.

It still told him nothing about the cause.

But Blackstone was no longer outside the story.

The next morning, Lin Yuan made a quick round of Central Blackstone.

The tavern was undamaged.

The courtyard wall showed no new cracks.

The stable remained intact.

Blackstone Inn had lost one clay cup after it fell from a shelf.

Fang Yu presented the broken pieces to him as though reporting a major casualty.

Lin Yuan looked down at them.

"Terrible."

"I’ll add it to expenses."

"Now it’s worse."

Fang Yu ignored him and returned inside.

Gao Rui’s builders had already resumed work.

Lin Yuan stopped beside the rented plot.

"You’re continuing?"

Gao Rui looked up from a stack of timber.

"The shed didn’t fall."

"Good observation."

"Should I stop because the ground shook once?"

"Depends whether you enjoy owning a flat pile of wood."

One of the builders looked between them.

Gao Rui pointed toward the unfinished roof.

"Keep working."

The builder wisely said nothing.

The tremor had caused no real damage, but it changed people’s plans anyway.

Two westbound merchants delayed their departure.

A hunting group decided to wait for more news before leaving.

Several travelers gathered around the notice board.

Lin Yuan added one line beneath yesterday’s warning.

Minor tremor felt in Blackstone last night. No damage reported.

He considered adding more.

There was nothing more to add.

By midmorning, the road began moving again.

Travelers ate breakfast.

Wagons arrived from the east.

Someone argued with Qiao over the price of rope.

For a while, Blackstone looked almost ordinary.

Then three cultivators appeared from the west.

They were on foot.

All three were dusty, and one carried a torn pack over his shoulder.

None looked injured.

Lin Yuan noticed them because they stopped at the notice board before entering the tavern.

The tallest read both notices.

Then he looked toward Wandering Cloud Tavern.

"Owner Lin?"

Lin Yuan was carrying a tray toward a table.

"After I put this down."

The man waited.

A minute later, Lin Yuan approached.

"Food?"

"Yes. And information."

"Food is easier."

The cultivator smiled tiredly.

"We came past Red Cliff this morning."

That changed things.

Lin Yuan led them to an empty table.

Su Mei brought tea.

Once the three had something to drink, Lin Yuan sat across from them.

"What happened?"

The tallest man rubbed dust from his sleeve.

"The damaged section got worse overnight."

Lin Yuan’s attention sharpened.

"How much worse?"

"The crack beside the road is several steps across at its widest point now. Loose stone keeps falling into it, and we still couldn’t see the bottom."

"You heard the underground sound again?"

The man nodded.

"Stone cracking. Same as before."

One of his companions added,

"And the Ashfang Wolf dens nearby are empty."

Lin Yuan looked at him.

"Both?"

"Two that we passed."

"Fresh tracks?"

"Only old ones."

The tallest man lifted his cup.

"We didn’t stay long."

"Good."

That earned Lin Yuan a surprised look.

"You don’t want to know what’s down there?"

"I want to know."

Lin Yuan leaned back.

"I don’t want to find out by falling into it."

The man laughed.

"Fair."

"What about the road?"

"Still usable if you’re careful. Loaded wagons should slow down before the damaged section."

"And if another tremor hits?"

The cultivator glanced toward the west.

"I wouldn’t want to be standing there."

That was enough.

Whatever the cause, the reports from around Red Cliff were getting worse.

The three ordered food and stayed nearly an hour.

By the time they finished, other travelers had already begun asking questions.

Lin Yuan didn’t bother stopping them.

The truth would spread.

Unfortunately, so would everything else.

By early afternoon, someone had added spiritual light to the story.

Qiao entered the tavern soon afterward.

"I heard there’s an ancient ruin near Red Cliff."

"No one who actually saw the fissure reported one."

Qiao considered that.

"Yet."

Lin Yuan looked at him.

"Go check."

Qiao immediately changed the subject.

"What’s for lunch?"

Lin Yuan returned to the kitchen.

He had expected danger to make people cautious.

It did.

He hadn’t expected rumors of danger to attract a completely different kind of traveler.

That became obvious later in the afternoon.

Two unfamiliar cultivators arrived from the east.

Neither asked about rooms.

Neither ordered food.

They went directly to the notice board, read the warning, then entered Wandering Cloud Tavern.

One approached Lin Yuan.

"Where’s the fissure?"

"Near Red Cliff."

"How far from the road?"

"Beside it."

"Anything found inside?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

"No."

The man’s expression brightened anyway.

"Anyone explored it?"

"Not that I know."

His companion smiled.

"We’ll take a look."

Lin Yuan studied them.

"You came here because you heard about the road damage?"

"We heard there might be something underground."

"From who?"

"A caravan."

Of course.

Lin Yuan glanced toward the door.

"The people who actually saw it found broken ground and darkness."

"That’s enough."

Apparently it was.

The two bought water, then continued west before sunset.

Qiao watched them leave from outside his shop.

"Brave."

"That’s one word."

"Curious?"

"Another."

Qiao looked at him.

"What word were you thinking?"

Lin Yuan returned toward the tavern.

"Customer."

Qiao laughed behind him.

By evening, Central Blackstone had settled again.

The new reports changed the mood, but they did not stop business.

A westbound merchant delayed his journey.

Two eastbound travelers chose to stay the night.

Gao Rui decided not to send cargo toward Red Cliff until more information arrived.

Meanwhile, people still ate dinner, rented rooms, bought supplies, and argued over prices.

Blackstone had become a place where travelers stopped not only for food and rest, but to learn what waited farther along the road.

Lin Yuan wasn’t sure when that had happened.

After dinner, he helped Xiao Lan clean the kitchen.

Su Mei handled the remaining customers.

Later, Lin Yuan stepped outside with a cup of tea.

The air had cooled.

Lantern light covered the front of Wandering Cloud Tavern and reached partway across the road.

Blackstone Inn still had several lit windows.

Gao Rui’s construction site had gone dark.

A pair of travelers stood near the stable speaking quietly.

Everything looked ordinary.

Lin Yuan took a drink.

Movement appeared at the western edge of the lantern light.

He lowered the cup.

At first, he thought it was a dog.

Then a lean, grey-furred Ashfang Wolf emerged into the lantern light.

Lin Yuan’s hand moved toward his sword.

The wolf wasn’t stalking anything.

It was running hard.

Its breathing came loudly enough for Lin Yuan to hear before the beast reached the road beside the tavern.

Dust coated its fur.

A dark patch marked one rear leg.

Someone near the inn noticed it.

"Beast!"

A cultivator reached for his weapon.

"Wait," Lin Yuan said.

The Ashfang Wolf slowed for only a moment.

Not because of them.

Its head turned west.

Its ears flattened against its skull.

Then the ground gave a faint vibration.

Lin Yuan felt it through his boots.

The wolf reacted instantly.

It sprang forward and ran straight east.

It passed Blackstone without attacking anyone, crossed beyond the lantern light, and disappeared down the road.

Several people remained with weapons half-drawn.

Qiao came out of his shop.

"What was that?"

"Ashfang Wolf."

"I know what it was."

Qiao looked east.

"Why did it run through here?"

Lin Yuan didn’t answer.

Another faint vibration moved through the ground.

This one lasted only a moment.

Then everything became still.

Lin Yuan looked into the darkness beyond the western road.

For weeks, the strange reports had remained somewhere beyond Blackstone.

Last night, Blackstone itself had finally felt one of the tremors.

Tonight, one of the beasts from the west had fled straight past his door.

He still didn’t know what was happening near Red Cliff.

But it was getting harder to call it distant.