Master Swamp Leech had moved twice in the past week, though the movements themselves did not raise suspicion. He had visited two separate locations known for their dense accumulation of decaying qi, likely gathering materials for his own cultivation.

The man preferred isolation, and his presence at the gathering suggested that whatever Lady Rot Rose had planned was significant enough to pull him away from his preferred environment.

Daoist Snake Face on the other hand, was not within the sect at all. He had been away for a few months on some private matters that Han Yu could not figure out.

Mistress Love Wine, however, was another matter entirely. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Han Yu had more difficulty tracking her, which in itself was telling. Her movements were erratic, fluid, and often masked by layers of misdirection. Several jiangshi reported her presence in different places at overlapping times, which meant she was either deliberately obscuring her trail or using techniques that interfered with observation.

Han Yu narrowed his eyes as he processed those impressions.

’She knows how to hide,’ he thought.

That alone placed her above many others.

And then there was Lady Rot Rose.

Han Yu found nothing.

Not a trace.

No movement, no indirect signs, no shifts in behavior among those connected to her. It was as if she did not exist within the network at all. For someone of her stature, that absence was more alarming than any visible activity.

He exhaled quietly.

"She’s careful," he muttered.

The jiangshi network was vast, but it was not omniscient. There were limits, and Lady Rot Rose clearly understood them.

His thoughts drifted briefly toward Mistress Love Wine, and he felt a faint tension settle in his shoulders.

’That succubus,’ he cursed internally.

The memory of their first meeting was still fresh in his mind.

She had closed the distance between them in a way that no one else dared, her presence overwhelming in both aura and intent. Her voice had carried a softness that concealed sharp edges, and her gaze had lingered just long enough to be unsettling.

Han Yu had found himself on guard from the very first moment, not because she had shown hostility, but because she had not.

That was what made her dangerous.

Her charm was not merely physical. It seeped into the mind, influencing perception, lowering defenses, and creating openings where none should exist. Even seasoned elders had faltered in her presence, and Han Yu had seen firsthand how easily she navigated conversations that would have turned hostile for others.

Despite that, their relationship had remained functional.

They had engaged in trade, exchanged resources, and even cooperated on certain matters where their interests aligned. She had never directly opposed him, and she had never crossed the line into open hostility.

Still, Han Yu trusted her less than most.

Charm was a weapon, and she wielded it better than anyone he had encountered.

The week passed quickly.

Meng Jueyan completed the preparations with her usual precision, presenting him with everything he would need for the gathering. The robes were immaculate, their design balanced between authority and restraint.

The gifts were selected with care, each one tailored to the known preferences of the recipients without revealing too much of Han Yu’s own resources. When the time finally came, Han Yu descended from his peak.

At its base, Meng Jueyan stood waiting alongside a small group of disciples who had earned his trust over the years. They were not part of his inner circle, but they were reliable enough to represent him in external settings.

The air carried a quiet tension.

Everyone present understood the significance of this journey.

Han Yu’s gaze moved over the group before settling on Meng Jueyan.

"You will come with us part of the way," he said.

She nodded.

"I understand where I must stop."

There was no hesitation in her response.

While her status within the sect had risen far beyond that of a normal slave, the boundaries still existed. A gathering of Legacy Disciples was not a place where she could stand openly. Even if no one dared to question her presence directly, it would still draw attention that Han Yu preferred to avoid.

He valued her too much to expose her unnecessarily.

The group began their journey soon after.

With Han Yu’s current cultivation, distance had lost much of its meaning. What would have taken weeks in the past now required only a day. The land beneath them blurred as they moved, the terrain shifting from the familiar structure of the sect’s domain to the more unstable regions beyond it.

Four hundred kilometers to the north, the environment began to change.

The air grew heavier, tinged with a faint metallic scent that clung to the senses. The ground itself seemed darker, as if it had absorbed something over time. The closer they came to their destination, the more pronounced these changes became.

Good Well Town came into view gradually.

The name carried a strange irony.

There was nothing particularly good about the place, and whatever well it had once been known for no longer defined it. The settlement sat atop an underground aquifer that connected to minor tributaries branching from the Blood River. Over time, the influence of that connection had seeped into the land, altering it in subtle but undeniable ways.

The soil was rich in Blood Qi.

For cultivators of the sect, that was beneficial.

For ordinary mortals, it was something else entirely.

Han Yu’s eyes swept over the town as they approached.

The people who lived there bore the marks of long exposure to that environment. Their skin carried faint patterns of red veins that pulsed just beneath the surface, visible even from a distance. Their eyes held a deeper hue, the pupils tinted with a crimson shade that gave them an almost unnatural appearance.

They moved through their daily lives as if nothing was unusual.

To them, this was normal.

Generations had lived under these conditions, adapting in ways that would seem disturbing to outsiders. Their bodies had changed, their resilience shaped by the very energy that surrounded them.

The commoners among them were not cultivators, yet they were no longer entirely ordinary either.