Chapter 277: “You’re too comfortable,” They left at dusk.
It wasn’t just the Verdant Willow Sect. Word had spread too fast. Caravans were already lining up, small groups forming, pretending they weren’t part of the same rush. Everyone had a reason. Escort duty. Trade. "Coincidence." Nobody said the truth out loud.
Althea walked with her hood up, simple coat, sword at her waist. She didn’t look like an Earl anymore, but she still moved like one. People made space without knowing why.
Lucian stayed in the scholar look. Grey robes. Satchel. Glasses. Mild aura. He looked like someone you’d ignore until you realized the people around him were acting weird.
Elara stayed close, polite, careful, and just guarded enough to show she wasn’t fooled by him.
Their sect leader walked ahead, not rushing, not lagging. Just letting the road accept her pace.
At the north gate, the caravan was already moving in waves. Merchants with carts. Beast riders. Cultivators walking in groups, talking quietly. A few wore bright robes like they wanted to be seen. Others dressed plain, hiding their sect marks.
Althea scanned faces with the same focus she used for noble meetings. Who leads. Who follows. Who’s watching too much.
Lucian scanned differently. Not with suspicion. With recognition. He watched the way people held themselves, the way energy moved through them, the way they looked at relics hanging from belts like trophies. It wasn’t interest. It was like he was reading a book he wrote a long time ago and forgot.
They took their place in the middle of the caravan.
Elara leaned in slightly. "Do you always travel with an Earl."
Lucian looked at her. "Do you always ask questions like that."
Elara’s lips twitched. "Only when I feel like I’m walking beside a problem."
Althea cut in without looking at either of them. "You’re both walking beside a problem."
Lucian said, "Fair."
The sect leader glanced back once. "Less talking. Watch the sides. People follow crowds when they want cover."
It wasn’t an order shouted. It was a reminder. The Verdant Willow disciples straightened immediately.
They moved out.
At first, it was simple. Road. Pace. Occasional checks. The caravan split into smaller lines when the path narrowed, then merged again when it widened. People traded gossip like it was currency.
A man in brown robes kept pointing ahead, talking too loud.
"I heard the Trial zone has a lake that reflects your future. If you look into it, you see how you die."
Someone beside him snorted. "You’ll die the moment you take one step inside. That’s the future."
A girl with twin braids, clearly trying to impress someone, said, "My cousin went last cycle. He came back with a spirit sword that could cut through formations. He said the ruins speak at night."
Another voice answered, "That’s just your cousin’s guilt talking."
Laughter spread in small pockets.
Then the talk shifted. Always shifted.
The key.
"What did it look like?" a Free-Lance man asked, leaning on his spear.
"No one knows," a Sunhawk disciple answered. "They said it was a piece of star-iron, shaped like a leaf."
"I heard it was a flame seed," another said. "A little ember that doesn’t go out."
A Silent Sister walking behind them said nothing, but her eyes moved like she was memorizing everyone’s words.
Althea listened without reacting. She hated rumors. Rumors were knives.
Lucian listened and didn’t correct anyone. His face stayed calm, like all of it was both ridiculous and familiar.
A few women kept looking at him.
Not just Elara. Others. A couple of Verdant Willow disciples. A merchant girl walking near a cart. Even a Sunhawk woman turned her head twice as they passed.
It wasn’t just his face. It was the blank feeling around him. That weak aura that didn’t match his calm. Like a quiet man wearing a cheap mask and somehow making the mask look expensive.
One of the younger Verdant Willow disciples drifted closer, pretending she wasn’t.
"Senior Scholar," she said softly, eyes bright. "Are you really from the archives."
Lucian glanced at her. "That’s what they say."
She smiled. "You don’t look like the scholars I’ve met."
"What do I look like."
She hesitated, cheeks warming. "Like you don’t belong anywhere."
Althea heard it and rolled her eyes.
Elara stepped between them without a word. Her smile was polite, but her eyes were warning.
The disciple retreated fast.
Lucian didn’t seem bothered. He kept walking.
Althea leaned closer to him, voice low. "Your disguise is working too well."
Lucian answered, "It’s just a robe and glasses."
Althea stared at him. "Don’t act innocent."
Lucian sighed. "I’m not doing anything."