> "I really just want a job with food and lodging. Nothing else."
— Lin Zhou, a mortal forced to become the world's most stable factor
---
The midday sun baked the streets until they radiated heat. The air carried the aroma of grilled skewers, drifting together with the shimmering haze.
Lin Zhou lowered his gaze to his mud-caked cloth shoes, then looked up and saw the archway bearing the words "Spirit Herb Street." His eyes lit up instantly.
This was the Empire's most famous Spirit Herb Street. Every shop here either sold medicinal herbs or alchemy ingredients. Even the lowest-level odd-jobs worker here would have food to eat, a bed to sleep in—much better than the dilapidated temple he'd been squatting in these past few days.
> "A spirit herb job is perfect… no fighting, no cultivation, just digging, planting, and fertilizing. The safest way to get by."
He headed for the nearest shop—"Azure Spirit Herb Store"—and was about to knock on the door.
"Wait a second!"
From the shop next door, a youth dashed out, almost tripping over a pile of drying herbs.
The boy had messy hair, pale skin, and carried an old, patched-up herb hoe bag on his back. To be honest, he looked even poorer than Lin Zhou.
"You're here to apply for an odd-jobs position?!" The boy's eyes sparkled.
Lin Zhou paused. "Yeah… do you provide meals?"
"Hold on!" The boy darted back inside, then reappeared almost immediately, grabbing Lin Zhou by the wrist. "Come to our shop! My name's Xiao Li! We provide food and lodging, and there's spirit herb soup every day!"
"…Aren't you afraid of me?" Lin Zhou asked suspiciously.
"What's there to be afraid of?" Xiao Li tilted his head, looking genuinely puzzled.
Lin Zhou hesitated. "Lately… everyone who sees me kneels."
"Then maybe you look like some big-shot young master. Got a background?"
Lin Zhou: "???"
---
[Spirit Herb Store · Back Courtyard]
Lin Zhou sat beside the firewood shed, holding a steaming bowl of spirit herb soup. The fragrance of herbs lingered around his nose. It had been far too long since his stomach felt this warm.
Xiao Li squatted beside him, chewing on a stalk of grass, staring at him without blinking.
"What did you used to do? Cultivator?"
Lin Zhou shook his head.
"You from a wealthy clan?"
Another shake.
"Awakened a spirit root yet?"
Still no.
Xiao Li went quiet for a moment, then leaned closer, his brows knitting slightly.
"…Weird. Your aura is really quiet, but it makes the back of my neck feel cold."
Lin Zhou blinked. "What?"
"Never mind! Maybe I'm just hungry." Xiao Li suddenly grinned and popped a roasted bean into his mouth. "Anyway, you're my big brother now!"
Lin Zhou's chest gave a faint tremor—it had been far too long since anyone had smiled at him so openly.
> Everyone else avoided his shadow, avoided his cough, even avoided the sound of his footsteps.
Only this boy clapped him on the back and called him "big brother."
---
[Across the Street · Sky Dome Surveillance Array]
High above, an invisible floating formation hovered in the air.
Inside, more than a dozen Enforcement Division officials stared at a divine mirror, its surface flickering with images of Lin Zhou and Xiao Li.
"Target has entered the Spirit Herb Store," the lead inspector said gravely. "No anomalies… for now."
"For now?" A younger officer frowned.
"Pull the spirit field data."
The technician's face paled. "Sir… detecting faint spatial-temporal fluctuations, matching the anomaly from the 'West River Collapse' three months ago."
Gasps filled the chamber.
"It's him?!"
The inspector didn't answer. He simply gave a low order: "Activate the star-grade monitoring protocol. Notify Lord Xinglan."
---
[Above the Sky · Star Observation Platform]
Silver starlight bathed the high platform.
Li Xinglan stood at the center, her silver-white enforcement robe pooling on the ground like frost. Her eyes were cold as the constellations as she stared into the divine mirror.
In the mirror, Lin Zhou was kneeling in a spirit field, planting herbs, while Xiao Li hummed an off-key little tune beside him.
Li Xinglan spoke slowly. "It's him?"
"Yes, my lady," the inspector replied. "Mortal physique, no spirit root, no causal lines. But—"
"But," she finished for him, "wherever he appears, the waters stir."
The vice-captain hesitated. "And the boy? He seems to have a faint sensitivity to the target's presence."
Li Xinglan glanced at Xiao Li, silent for three breaths.
> "Do not touch him."
The air turned icy.
"But if he's an anchor point—"
"I said," her voice was sharp as a cold blade, "do not touch him."
---
[Evening · Under the Spirit Herb Store's Eaves]
The sunset painted half the sky gold. Lin Zhou sat leaning against the eaves, while Xiao Li munched on roasted beans.
"Big brother, you really don't want to consider cultivating? Even without a spirit root, there are herbal methods to help. At least you'd get stronger."
Lin Zhou smiled faintly. "I just want a peaceful life. If I truly am a harbinger of trouble, I should move even less, so I don't cause it."
Xiao Li didn't quite understand, but grinned brightly anyway. "Then we're brothers for life!"
Far away in the high sky, Li Xinglan's voice drifted on the wind:
> "If the day comes when he takes action… I will move first."