Chapter 72: When the Flow Reversed

Morning brought the investigation team west again.

By now, their departures had become familiar enough that few people stopped to watch.

Surveyor He carried her instruments, Shen Yao kept the wooden case strapped across her back, and Zhao Wei walked with the three Association cultivators near the front.

Their plan was straightforward: compare more exposed sections and improve the map rather than push deeper north.

Lin Yuan watched them pass the western platform before returning to the tavern.

Breakfast still needed serving.

Whatever lay beneath Red Cliff could wait for people whose work involved unstable ground and buried stone.

His own problem was keeping a crowded dining hall fed.

For the next few hours, Blackstone behaved normally.

Wagons moved through the caravan yard. Gao Rui’s workers shifted crates into storage. Near the general store, Qiao spent far too long arguing with a merchant over the price of lamp oil.

By midday, the tavern had finally begun to quiet.

Lin Yuan was preparing broth for the evening when the familiar sensation returned.

Spiritual Qi thickened around him.

He stopped stirring.

Yesterday’s fluctuations had lasted only a few breaths.

This one strengthened much faster.

Qi moved through the tavern strongly enough that Lin Yuan could feel it brushing against his cultivation without deliberately sensing for it.

A shout came from outside.

He set down the ladle and stepped into the dining hall.

Several cultivators had already noticed the change. One sat with his eyes closed, trying to understand the sudden increase, while another had moved toward a window.

Xiao Lan stood beside one of the tables.

"Again?"

"Stronger this time."

Harness bells erupted from the caravan yard.

A merchant shouted for help.

One of the pack beasts near the outer tethering posts had reared hard enough to tear a wooden stake loose from the packed ground. Its owner caught the rope, but the animal jerked forward and dragged him several steps.

Another violent pull tore the rope from his hands.

The beast bolted.

People scattered from its path.

Instead of charging toward the buildings, it turned east through the open stretch beside the caravan yard.

Lin Yuan moved immediately.

Qi flowed into his legs.

At Peak Qi Refining, the distance closed quickly.

He caught the loose rope as the beast passed.

The sudden pull dragged him half a step before he planted his feet.

The Ironhoof beast snorted and fought against the rope.

"Easy."

It ignored him completely.

Lin Yuan changed his grip and allowed the animal some forward movement rather than trying to stop it by force.

A nearby cultivator hurried over.

Together, they guided the beast away from the road and toward the enhanced stable.

Its resistance gradually weakened as they drew closer.

Breathing remained heavy, but the stable’s Calming effect took the edge off the panic.

The owner caught up moments later.

"Is it hurt?"

Lin Yuan looked over the animal.

"I don’t see anything wrong."

"It never acts like this."

Several beasts still in the yard were restless as well, though none had broken free.

Then the spiritual Qi shifted again.

The sudden density faded.

Within moments, Blackstone felt normal.

Lin Yuan loosened his grip on the rope and handed it back.

"Replace the stake before tying it there again."

The merchant looked at the broken piece of wood still attached to the rope.

"Already planning to."

"Good."

By the time Lin Yuan returned to the tavern, people were already talking about Red Cliff.

Xiao Lan was putting cups back in place.

"Anything broken?" he asked.

"One spoon fell."

"Serious."

"I saved it."

"Then we’re fortunate."

She smiled and went back to work.

Lin Yuan focused inward.

The Territory Core responded.

Territory Spiritual Environment Change Detected

Current Spiritual Environment: Faint Spirit

Temporary Spiritual Qi Fluctuation Detected

Blackstone’s spiritual grade remained unchanged.

Whatever had passed through the settlement had been temporary.

Cultivators had felt it clearly, while the spirit beasts reacted much more strongly.

Yet the ground had stayed still.

That pattern was becoming difficult to ignore.

The investigation team returned earlier than expected.

Afternoon light still covered Blackstone when the western bell rang.

Lin Yuan stepped outside and saw six familiar figures approaching along the road.

Everyone appeared uninjured, although their expressions suggested the survey hadn’t gone smoothly.

Wu Jian came out of the Association station as Zhao Wei reached the settlement.

"You’re back early."

"We got enough for today," Zhao Wei said.

Shen Yao was already looking toward the caravan yard.

"Did another fluctuation reach Blackstone?"

"It did," Lin Yuan answered as he joined them. "Strong enough to frighten the beasts. One broke loose."

"Any ground movement?"

"None that I felt."

Shen Yao exhaled slowly.

"Same on our side."

They moved into the Association station.

Only one map came out this time.

Several exposed sections had already been marked along the known route north of Red Cliff.

Shen Yao placed a finger near the junction they had discovered earlier.

"Until today, most of the flow we recorded through these channels moved north."

Lin Yuan remembered.

"That changed?"

"During the stronger fluctuation, yes."

Her finger traced south along the map.

"For several breaths, the movement reversed."

Wu Jian frowned.

"Toward Red Cliff?"

"Through the sections we could measure, yes."

Lin Yuan thought about the sudden increase in Qi around Blackstone.

"And possibly farther east."

"We can’t prove that part yet," Shen Yao said. "Too much of the structure is still buried."

Surveyor He placed her notes beside the map.

"From the times we could compare, what we recorded near Red Cliff seems to line up closely with what Blackstone felt."

"Closely enough to matter?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Yes. Not closely enough to calculate anything useful."

Zhao Wei leaned against the edge of the table.

"The important part is that the flow isn’t fixed in one direction."

Shen Yao nodded.

"Yesterday it drew north. Today, part of the movement came back south."

"Why?"

"We don’t know."

She tapped one of the channels.

"Pressure changing inside a damaged water system can force flow backward for a while. Spiritual Qi isn’t water, but the comparison is useful."

Lin Yuan understood.

"So the extra Qi around Blackstone may have been part of that same pulse."

"Possibly. The direction and timing make that more likely, but we haven’t traced the channels anywhere near Blackstone."

Wu Jian studied the map.

"Does that mean the structure itself is failing?"

"We don’t know what normal operation looked like," Shen Yao replied. "Without that, we can’t call this failure."

Lin Yuan preferred that answer.

Surveyor He pointed toward another exposed section.

"We confirmed something else today."

"More channels?"

"Branches."

Several marks spread away from the main known route before turning back toward the same general direction.

Shen Yao adjusted the map.

"We’ve been thinking of this as a line because that’s all the exposed sections showed us."

Zhao Wei tapped two of the new marks.

"Now it looks more complicated."

Lin Yuan studied the pattern.

"A network?"

"Part of one, maybe."

"How large?"

Shen Yao gave him a look.

"Still asking questions I can’t answer."

"Worth trying."

A faint smile appeared before she returned to the map.

Zhao Wei straightened.

"We’re changing the plan again."

Wu Jian looked over.

"Stopping the survey?"

"Stopping the daily push north."

"We have enough evidence to send a stronger report back to Green River," Zhao Wei continued. "Until they decide what support to send, we’ll focus on sections we’ve already confirmed."

Surveyor He nodded.

"There’s plenty left to measure without walking into worse ground."

"And if another pulse happens?" Lin Yuan asked.

Shen Yao glanced toward the western window.

"We record exactly what changes."

News spread before dinner.

Most travelers only heard that another spiritual fluctuation had reached Blackstone and that the investigation team had returned early.

That was enough to produce theories.

Someone suggested an underground spirit vein.

Another claimed an ancient formation was waking up.

By dinner, one traveler was already telling people that a hidden cultivation inheritance might appear near Red Cliff.

Qiao eventually found his way into the tavern.

"I heard there’s an inheritance."

Lin Yuan continued arranging bowls on the counter.

"If I knew where an inheritance was buried, I probably wouldn’t be standing here preparing dinner."

Qiao considered that.

"So you don’t know."

"That’s usually what that means."

The answer seemed to disappoint him, but at least he left without starting another rumor.

Lin Yuan returned to the kitchen.

Information from the Association took days to confirm.

Rumors needed only one meal.

By nightfall, the caravan yard had settled.

The Ironhoof beast that broke loose earlier rested near the enhanced stable. Its owner had replaced the damaged tethering stake with a thicker one.

Lin Yuan stood outside after the dining hall quieted.

Spiritual Qi around Blackstone had already returned to its usual state. Without knowing what had happened earlier, nobody would have guessed that the settlement had experienced such a strong fluctuation only hours before.

He opened the Territory Core.

Territory Spiritual Environment

Grade: Faint Spirit

Temporary Spiritual Qi Fluctuation Detected

Nothing else appeared.

That wasn’t surprising.

The Core could register changes inside his territory, but it offered nothing about what lay beyond Blackstone.

For that, the Association was still piecing together maps, exposed channels, and broken stone.

Lin Yuan looked west.

Until yesterday, most of the known flow had moved north.

Today, for the first time, part of it had reversed.

Whatever the source of the disturbance, Blackstone had felt the same pulse as the survey team far to the west.