They broke camp before the sun had fully risen, urgency replacing the previous day's careful pace once Mei Lin confirmed Elder Bo's fever had climbed higher overnight despite her best efforts. He drifted in and out of consciousness now, muttering fragments of old memories that made little sense to anyone but himself, his weathered face pale and slick with sweat beneath the stretcher's thin cloth covering."We need to move faster," Mei Lin said, her earlier calm finally cracking at the edges. "If the fever climbs much higher, I don't know what else I can do for him out here."Xie Yan nodded grimly, adjusting his grip on the stretcher, pushing the pace as fast as the terrain and Elder Bo's fragile condition would allow. His mother walked close behind, offering water whenever they paused, her own exhaustion clearly mounting but never once suggesting they slow down for her sake.It was Lu, unexpectedly, who first noticed the danger."Someone's tracking us," he said quietly, during a brief

They walked through the night without stopping, taking turns carrying Elder Bo's stretcher, none of them willing to voice the fear that had settled over the group since the masked figure's departure. Xie Yan's arms ached with exhaustion by the time the sky began to lighten again, but the thought of resting felt impossible with his mentor's breathing growing shallower with each passing hour."We're close," Mei Lin said as the first hints of dawn broke over the eastern ridgeline, her voice hoarse from a full night without sleep. "Another few hours, if we keep this pace."Xie Yan nodded, too tired to trust his voice, and adjusted his grip on the stretcher's worn handles. Beside him, his mother walked with the same grim determination she'd shown since they'd fled the outpost, her earlier exhaustion replaced by something harder, more resolute, the look of a woman who had decided fear could wait until there was time to properly feel it.[Host condition: significant fatigue detected. Recomme

The next morning brought clear skies and the particular, focused energy of people preparing for a journey with no fixed return date. Xie Yan spent the early hours gathering supplies alongside Mei Lin, checking and rechecking gear that would need to last them through unfamiliar territory, while Elder Bo directed preparations from his bed with the same careful authority he'd shown through every lesson of the past three months.His mother found him near the Sanctuary's supply stores, packing a small bag of dried provisions with hands that hadn't quite stopped shaking since the outpost."You're really leaving," she said, though it wasn't really a question."I have to," Xie Yan said, not looking up from his work. "You heard what Elder Bo's letter described. If there's even a chance I can stop more of this from happening to other people, I can't just stay here pretending I didn't learn what I learned.""I know," she said, and something in her voice made him finally look up properly. She did

Madam Ren's map led them along a winding route that avoided major roads and sect territories entirely, cutting instead through forested hill country and small farming villages where strangers passed through often enough not to draw suspicion. They traveled for eight days in relative peace, falling into an easy rhythm that reminded Xie Yan, in quieter moments, of the disciplined routine Elder Bo had built at the Sanctuary.Feng proved more capable than his youthful eagerness initially suggested. He handled a blade with decent, if unrefined, skill, and his enthusiasm for learning meant he absorbed every piece of advice Mei Lin offered without complaint, practicing forms diligently during their evening camps even after a full day of travel had left the rest of them ready to simply rest."You remind me of someone," Mei Lin told him one evening, watching him run through a basic sword form by firelight."Who?" Feng asked, not breaking his concentration."Someone I traveled with once, a long

They ran until the village's rooftops disappeared behind the tree line, lungs burning, the sound of pursuit fading gradually into the ordinary quiet of forest and wind. Xie Yan finally allowed himself to slow once they'd put a solid distance between themselves and Millbrook, checking behind them repeatedly for any sign the compromised villagers had given chase."I don't think they're following," Mei Lin said, breathing hard, her sword still gripped tight despite the apparent absence of immediate danger. "Whatever controls them, it doesn't seem designed for pursuit beyond the village's boundaries."Feng bent double, hands on his knees, catching his breath after the desperate sprint. "Those people," he said between gasps. "Are they going to be alright? We just left them there, controlled, and that masked thing still watching over all of them."Xie Yan felt the question land heavy in his chest, an answer he didn't fully have and hated not having. "I don't know," he admitted. "I don't kno