Chapter 702: Bait

Morning came to Elaris, but the quiet atmosphere that usually accompanied the early hours was nowhere to be found. Instead of the soft sounds of villagers beginning another ordinary day, the town had erupted into chaos. Doors were opening one after another, footsteps echoed through the streets, and groups of villagers gathered outside their homes, speaking in hurried voices as they tried to understand what was happening. Some people looked frightened, others looked excited, and many looked as though they had barely slept at all. The rumor had spread throughout the town during the night, passing from one person to another until it had become impossible to determine where the original story had even begun.

Liam had discovered the cause of the town being trapped.

That was the first part of the rumor.

The second part was even more unbelievable.

People were saying that Liam had somehow discovered a way to remove whatever had trapped Elaris for the last fifteen years. Some villagers claimed he had already found the mechanism responsible for the dome. Others said he had discovered a weakness in it. A few were even convinced that the strange outsider had somehow found a way to destroy the barrier completely.

But there was one final part of the rumor that had truly sent the village into an uproar.

Liam had supposedly found a treasure.

A treasure hidden beneath Elaris.

A treasure that had brought cultivators to the village twenty years ago.

A treasure that had supposedly caused the battle fifteen years ago.

A treasure that people had searched for throughout the years without ever finding.

The rumor had grown with every person who repeated it.

Some claimed Liam had found an ancient artifact.

Others said it was a mountain of gold.

Some believed it was a cultivation treasure capable of granting unimaginable power.

Nobody actually knew what it was.

That did not stop the villagers from imagining it.

People poured out of their houses, desperate to see what Liam had discovered. Some hurried toward the center of the village. Others moved toward the road leading out of town, as though they expected the invisible dome to disappear at any moment. A few elderly villagers stood outside their homes with tears in their eyes, whispering prayers at the thought that their fifteen-year imprisonment might finally be coming to an end.

Children ran through the streets, repeating the rumor without understanding its meaning.

“Mr. Liam found the treasure!”

“He’s going to free us!”

“Does that mean we can leave?”

The entire village had been shaken.

And Liam watched all of it from inside his house.

He stood near the window with his arms folded across his chest, his expression calm despite the chaos outside. The morning sunlight entered through the window and illuminated his face, but his attention wasn’t on the villagers running through the streets.

His eyes were active.

Aether Sight allowed his vision to penetrate through the walls of the surrounding houses. He could see people moving inside their homes, see villagers rushing to gather whatever belongings they thought they might need, and even see several people staring toward his house from behind curtains.

But Liam wasn’t interested in them.

His vision moved farther.

Through one wall.

Then another.

His gaze passed through the buildings separating him from the far side of the village until it finally settled on a familiar figure.

Eldric.

Liam’s expression didn’t change.

He simply watched.

He didn’t blink.

He didn’t move.

He didn’t even breathe noticeably differently.

He waited.

The entire purpose of the rumor was to force Eldric’s hand, but Liam knew better than to assume the man would immediately react. Eldric had survived fifteen years without exposing himself. A careless man might rush toward the treasure the moment he heard someone had found it, but Eldric wasn’t careless.

He would think.

He would analyze.

He would wonder who started the rumor.

He would question whether Liam actually possessed the information he claimed to have.

And most importantly, he would need to decide whether the risk of investigating the rumor was worth exposing himself.

Liam was waiting to see which decision he made.

Seconds passed.

Then a minute.

Nothing.

Liam remained completely still.

Irina stood several steps behind him, watching his back. She understood what he was doing, though she didn’t interrupt him. She knew Liam was waiting for Eldric to move.

Then it happened.

The door to Eldric’s house opened.

Liam’s eyes sharpened.

Eldric stepped outside.

The village elder closed the door behind himself and stood there for a moment.

He looked around.

His face appeared calm.

Almost too calm.

But Liam was watching everything.

The slight stiffness in his shoulders.

The way his eyes moved across the village.

The brief pause when his gaze reached the cluster of villagers near Liam’s house.

The tiny tightening around his mouth.

To an ordinary person, Eldric looked completely composed.

To Liam, it was obvious.

He had heard the rumor.

Eldric slowly began walking.

Liam watched every movement.

The village elder didn’t approach the crowd. He didn’t ask anyone what had happened. He didn’t announce anything. Instead, he simply walked through the village while occasionally glancing toward different streets.

He was searching.

Not for Liam.

Not for the villagers.

For something else.

Liam’s lips slowly curved upward.

“You took the bait.”

Irina looked toward him.

Liam turned away from the window.

“Let’s go.”

He moved toward the door.

“If we want to find the source of this dome, we have to follow him now.”

His voice was quiet but firm.

Irina didn’t immediately answer.

Liam reached the door and placed his hand on the handle.

Then he stopped.

Something felt wrong.

He looked over his shoulder.

Irina wasn’t following him.

She was still standing in the middle of the room.

“Lina?”

She didn’t respond.

Liam’s brows furrowed.

“Irina?”

She slowly lifted her eyes toward him.

There was something different in her expression.

Not fear.

Not doubt.

Determination.

Irina took a small step backward.

“Listen, Liam.”

Liam remained near the door.

“What?”

“I can’t follow you.”

His eyes narrowed.

For a moment, he didn’t understand.

Then Irina spoke.

“I have to go help Mira.”

Silence.

Liam stared at her.

Irina’s expression hardened.

“I can’t stand knowing she’s still in that house.”

Liam’s brows drew together.

“Irina…”

“I mean it.”

Her voice was quiet, but there was an unmistakable emotion underneath it.

Anger.

Not anger toward Liam.

Anger toward the situation.

Anger toward Eldric.

And most of all, anger at herself for leaving Mira there in the first place.

“I can’t just walk away,” Irina continued. “We know what he’s doing to her. We know she’s being abused. We know she’s being kept in that house like a prisoner. And now we’re supposed to leave her there while we chase Eldric?”

Liam’s expression became serious.

“We don’t know that Eldric is going exactly where he activated the mechanism.”

Irina didn’t answer.

“He could be going somewhere else,” Liam continued. “He could realize he’s being followed halfway there and turn around.”

Irina looked away.

“If you go to Mira now and take her out of that house, Eldric will notice.”

Liam’s voice remained calm, but there was more urgency in it now.

“If he realizes we’re watching him, everything changes.”

Irina looked back at him.

“We’ve spent all this time trying to understand how to expose him. Right now, we’re finally getting the opportunity.”

Liam stepped away from the door.

“If Eldric reaches the place where he activated the mechanism and realizes someone is following him, he’ll know we’re onto him. If you remove Mira from the house before we have evidence, he’ll know something is wrong.”

Irina’s lips pressed together.

“And then?”

“Then we lose our leverage.”

Liam’s gaze hardened.

“We lose the one thing keeping him comfortable. Right now, Eldric thinks he’s safe. He thinks nobody knows what he’s doing. He thinks the village still belongs to him. That’s why he’s willing to move.”

Irina remained silent.

“If you take Mira away now,” Liam continued, “Eldric will know something has changed. He’ll become more careful. He’ll hide whatever evidence he has. He might abandon the place entirely. We may never find anything that can implicate him.”

Irina’s eyes became colder.

“I know.”

Liam paused.

“Then you understand why you shouldn’t go.”

Irina shook her head.

“No.”

Liam stared at her.

She took another step toward him.

“I understand why you’re asking me to stay.”

Her voice softened.

“But I can’t.”

Liam didn’t speak.

Irina looked toward the window.

Outside, the village continued moving in every direction. People were still talking about the rumor. Eldric was somewhere out there, following the bait Liam had carefully placed for him.

And somewhere inside that village was Mira.

A woman who had done nothing to deserve what had been done to her.

Irina’s hands slowly curled into fists.

“I already know what you’re going to say. You’ll tell me that we need patience. You’ll tell me that we need evidence. You’ll tell me that if we act too soon, Eldric will disappear and we’ll lose everything.”

She looked directly into Liam’s eyes.

“But I’ve already watched her suffer.”

Liam’s expression softened slightly.

“Every time I think about those scars on her wrists, I keep wondering how long she’s been living like that.”

Irina swallowed.

“She barely even looked at us. She was terrified of making a mistake. Even when she greeted us, she looked like she was waiting for someone to punish her.”

Her voice became quieter.

“I can’t leave her there anymore.”

Liam looked at her for a long moment.

He understood.

That was the problem.

He understood exactly why she wanted to go.

And because he understood, he didn’t try to physically stop her.

Irina took a breath.

“I’m sorry.”

Liam remained silent.

“I’ve already made up my mind,” she said. “I won’t watch that woman suffer for another hour.”

Before Liam could say anything else, Irina stepped toward him.

She passed him.

Her hand reached for the door.

The handle turned.

The door opened.

Morning light spilled into the room.

Irina stepped outside.

Liam didn’t move.

He simply watched her walk away.

For several seconds, he remained standing in the doorway.

They had planned everything carefully.

Liam would follow Eldric closely.

Irina would stay farther behind, making sure they didn’t get any surprises and stepping in only if something went wrong.

It had been a simple plan.

A two-person operation.

But now the plan had changed.

Irina had chosen to help Mira.

And Liam couldn’t blame her.

He understood the reason.

Still, as he watched Irina disappear farther down the street, Liam’s expression slowly became serious.

Now it was only him.

He turned his eyes toward the direction Eldric had gone.

The village elder had taken the bait.

And Liam had no intention of letting him escape.