The notice arrived before dawn.
Not delivered. Not announced. Just sitting on the corner of the table like it had always belonged there.
Tianlian noticed it while reaching for water.
Plain paper. Civic stamp. No seal.
He stared at it for a few seconds, then sighed.
"…Wow. You guys don't waste time."
Mei leaned over his shoulder, still half-asleep.
"What is it?"
He slid the paper toward her.
> TEMPORARY RESIDENCY REVIEW
FOLLOW-UP REQUIRED
NON-URGENT
She read it twice. "…That sounds polite."
"Yeah," Tianlian said. "That's how they get you."
He folded the paper once. Then again. Thought about it. Finally tossed it into the dying embers of the hearth.
The paper curled. Blackened. Vanished.
Mei stiffened. "You're just… burning it?"
"Mm. If I acknowledge it, I'm agreeing to be convenient."
"That's not how rules work."
"That's exactly how rules work," he replied. "They just don't say it out loud."
She hesitated. "So what now?"
He pulled on his outer coat, movements unhurried.
"Now we leave before someone remembers they wanted to ask me questions."
"…Leave?" Her eyes widened. "Just like that?"
"Just like that," he said. "If I stay, I become a note. If I go, I become a delay."
Silence hung between them.
Mei looked around the room, then back at him. "…Where?"
He thought for a moment.
"West," he said. "Far enough to be annoying."
She exhaled slowly. "You're serious."
"Unfortunately."
She grabbed her pack anyway.
They left Willow Brook as the sky lightened, before the streets fully woke.
No one stopped them.
That alone confirmed Tianlian had made the right call.
.....
The road west of Willow Brook looked normal.
That was already annoying.
It was narrow, uneven, old enough that grass was trying to reclaim it. Stones shifted underfoot. Cart tracks faded in and out like whoever passed through didn't stick to one path.
Nothing screamed danger. Nothing screamed welcome. Just… neutral annoyance.
Tianlian stepped onto it anyway.
Three steps in, he stopped.
Mei almost bumped into him.
"What?"
He looked down. Then ahead. Then down again.
"…This feels picky."
Mei blinked.
"Picky?"
"Yeah." He shifted his weight slightly. The ground didn't react. "Like it cares how you walk."
She frowned.
"That's… not a thing."
"It is today."
He took another step, lighter. The faint resistance under his foot eased.
"…Okay," he muttered. "So that's how it's going to be."
Mei watched him.
"You're saying the road—"
"—is annoying," he cut in. "Yes."
They kept going.
Willow Brook faded faster than expected. A few bends later, the village didn't feel far—just irrelevant. The air felt thinner, sharper, like it had less patience for mistakes.
Mei rubbed her arms.
"It's colder."
"It's not," Tianlian said. "You're just more noticeable here."
"…That's worse."
---
An hour later, a cart lay overturned by the roadside. One wheel snapped clean through. No blood. No bodies. Just drag marks that went the wrong direction.
Mei slowed.
"Bandits?"
Tianlian crouched, staring at the axle. He didn't touch it.
"…No."
He nudged the broken wheel with his foot. The ground dipped—barely.
He stepped back immediately.
A second later, the earth collapsed where the cart had been, opening into a shallow sinkhole lined with jagged stone.
Mei sucked in a breath.
"That almost—"
"—yeah," Tianlian said. "Someone got impatient."
He looked ahead.
Now that he was watching, the problem spots revealed themselves. Dirt too smooth. Tracks ending too neatly. Places that looked convenient.
He walked around all of them.
No attacks came. That somehow made it worse.
---
By midday, three cultivators argued at the roadside. Their robes were faded, travel-worn, symbols half-erased by time.
They stopped talking when Tianlian and Mei approached.
One squinted.
"Where are you headed?"
"West."
"That's not helpful."
"It's accurate."
The man studied Tianlian, clearly trying to feel something—pressure, qi flow, anything.
He found nothing.
His expression soured.
"You shouldn't be on this road without protection. Turn back."
Mei inhaled to speak.
Tianlian shook his head slightly.
"We'll be fine."
The second cultivator snorted.
"You don't even cultivate."
"Not loudly," Tianlian said.
Silence.
"…What?" the first man snapped.
"Nothing," he replied. "We'll stay out of your way."
He walked past them.
For half a second, the air tightened. Mei felt it. Like something considering whether to grab them. Then it let go.
"…Wait," the man said, uncertainty creeping in. "The road ahead collapses. Randomly."
"I know," Tianlian said. "It hates being rushed."
The three cultivators exchanged looks.
By the time they turned again, Tianlian and Mei were already farther down the path, steps light, spacing uneven.
Mei leaned closer.
"…What was that?"
"Curiosity," Tianlian said. "And a warning."
"Are they strong?"
"They think too much," he replied. "That usually gets people hurt."
---
They stopped before sunset. Tianlian picked a spot that looked uncomfortable—uneven ground, exposed roots, no obvious shelter.
Mei stared at it.
"Here?"
"Yeah." He didn't explain.
That night, the wind bent around them instead of cutting through. Insects avoided the fire. Something heavy moved deeper in the forest—then changed its mind.
Mei lay awake.
"Lian'er… does it feel like everything's watching us?"
"Mm."
"That's not comforting."
He stared at the sky.
"It's fine. Watching isn't acting."
"…Yet."
At dawn, Tianlian stood while the fire died.
He didn't circulate anything. Didn't focus. He just stood there.
The road ahead felt slightly easier.
Which immediately annoyed him.
"…Great," he muttered. "Now it's paying attention."
Mei groaned, pulling her blanket tighter.
"…Yeah. This is definitely going to be a pain later."