By morning, the fire was ash and the road was quiet again.
Too quiet.
No birds. No insects. Even the wind seemed hesitant, as if the land itself was listening.
I rolled my shoulders. "They know we noticed."
Lin Xueyi nodded. "Which means they'll either retreat… or tighten the net."
"Guess which one I'm hoping for."
She didn't answer. She was already scanning the terrain.
The road narrowed as we moved into the foothills. Stone markers lined the path—old, cracked, half-buried. Most travelers wouldn't give them a second glance.
I stopped.
"These aren't memorials," I said.
Xueyi crouched, brushing dirt from one. "Formation anchors."
I grinned. "Good eye."
Someone had embedded a mobile suppression array across kilometers of road. Subtle. Slow-acting. Designed to dull perception, not crush it.
Predators didn't want prey to panic.
They wanted them tired.
I stepped deliberately onto the marked path.
The air thickened.
Qi circulation resisted slightly, like breathing through cloth.
Xueyi frowned. "It's affecting even you?"
"Barely," I replied. "But that tells us how strong the net is."
I closed my eyes.
And listened.
I didn't sense Qi.
I sensed intent.
Fear. Greed. Anticipation.
Dozens of heartbeats hidden in the hills.
I opened my eyes, smiling.
"Oh," I said. "They're confident."
An arrow flew.
Not aimed at me.
At Xueyi.
I twisted, intercepting it midair with two fingers.
The arrowhead pulsed—soul-marked.
I crushed it.
The hills exploded with movement.
They came in waves.
Martial artists in varied garb—rogues, mercenaries, fake wanderers—but all moving with trained coordination.
Levels ranged from Mid Foundation to Early Core Formation.
This wasn't a band.
This was a harvesting ground.
Xueyi moved first.
Her sword traced a crescent of pale light, severing three attackers before they realized she'd drawn.
I stepped forward into the suppression field.
And released myself.
I didn't break the formation.
I reinterpreted it.
The array fed on uniform Qi flow. On predictability.
So I changed mine.
Breath irregular. Circulation inverted. Steps off-beat.
The pressure vanished.
The anchors cracked.
"Impossible—!" someone shouted.
I blurred.
A spear thrust—too linear.
I caught it, twisted, and folded the technique into a joint-lock that disarmed three men in sequence.
A blade descended from above.
I didn't look.
I felt the angle, rotated my wrist, and let his own momentum carve him out of the air.
Blood splashed warm.
Efficient.
A man in black robes finally stepped forward.
Core Formation.
Eyes sharp. Expression calm.
"You're Li Shen," he said. "You shouldn't be here."
I tilted my head. "And yet."
He exhaled. "Kill them cleanly," he ordered. "The woman first."
His mistake.
Xueyi's aura flared.
Cold. Furious. Controlled.
She vanished.
The man barely had time to turn before her blade pierced through his shoulder, pinning him to a boulder.
She stood behind him, voice icy.
"Say that again."
The rest broke.
Hunters became prey.
They ran.
I didn't chase.
Instead, I walked to the pinned man.
He glared at me. "Do you know who you've offended?"
I knelt.
"No," I said. "But I'm about to learn."
I placed two fingers against his chest and read his circulation.
Not memories.
Patterns.
Affiliations.
Routes.
I smiled.
"That's interesting," I said softly.
Xueyi looked at me. "What is?"
"This isn't a sect operation," I replied. "It's a market."
The man stiffened.
I chuckled.
"Someone's buying geniuses in bulk."
I stood and knocked him unconscious.
The hills were silent again.
This time, truly.
Xueyi sheathed her sword. "This changes things."
"Yes," I agreed. "Now we're not just hunted."
I looked down the road—toward the hidden valleys beyond.
"We're walking into the supply chain."
A new system line appeared.
[Hidden Network Exposed — Talent Trafficking Ring]
Status: Partial Map Acquired
Next Trigger: Source Node
I cracked my knuckles.
"Looks like we're going shopping," I said.
Xueyi smiled grimly.
"For answers," she corrected.