Chapter 81 - 62 : Behind him (2)

Chapter 81: Chapter 62 : Behind him (2)

A deer.

Ethan followed quietly, careful not to disturb the deer before he was close enough to make the final move. The animal kept its head down, tearing at the wet grass, occasionally lifting its head to listen before returning to feed.

Ethan waited until it settled again. Then he moved. His body surged forward.

For an instant, the forest seemed to slow around him. The movement of the deer’s ears, the droplets clinging to the grass, even the slight turn of its head all seemed strangely clear as Ethan crossed the remaining ground. The deer finally noticed him. Its head snapped up, and its body tensed to run.

Too late.

Ethan reached it in the next heartbeat, one hand catching firmly around its neck before it could bolt. The animal kicked violently, but his grip held it in place. Ethan drew his short dao with his other hand and ended the struggle with a single swift cut.

The deer went still.

Ethan lowered it carefully and looked at the body for a moment. His breathing had barely changed. That was getting easier.

Ethan crouched beside the deer and opened one of the containers that had survived the escape. He collected the blood carefully, stopping once it was filled enough for what he needed. He set it aside and looked over the carcass. There was still plenty of meat left.

Ethan carried the animal farther from where he’d caught it before preparing what he could. A carcass left in the open could draw attention, and there was no reason to make his path any easier to follow. Once he had taken what he needed, Ethan moved on.

Ethan ate some of the meat as he travelled, wrapping the rest and securing it for later. It wasn’t particularly good, but after everything that had happened, he wasn’t in the mood to be picky. He finished what he had and continued on.

Later, Ethan found a secluded spot beneath an overhanging rock and settled down to cultivate. He placed the blood beside him, closed his eyes, and let his breathing settle before guiding his Qi through his meridians.

The Blood Seed responded almost immediately. The blood beside him began to change as his Qi drew it into the familiar process of refinement, and a gentle warmth gradually spread through his body as Living Blood took shape within him.

Ethan let the process unfold naturally, maintaining a steady flow of Qi as the Blood Seed refined the blood. He continued until he felt he had recovered enough, then gradually brought his cultivation to an end.

When he finally opened his eyes, the emptiness left behind by the previous night’s battle had faded considerably.

Ethan glanced at the remaining blood. There wasn’t much left, but it was enough to keep him going for now. He gathered what remained and rose to his feet.

For a moment, his thoughts drifted back toward the city. He had spent a long time there, earning money, cultivating, experimenting, and slowly figuring out what his new life demanded of him. Now that he was standing here with no reason to return, the thought of going back felt strangely distant.

Ethan looked toward the road.

He had already seen what waiting there could cost him. Until he understood what the Azure Cloud Sect wanted and had something more reliable to protect himself with, returning would accomplish little. For now, going back wasn’t an option. Too much had changed, and Ethan had already stepped too far away from the life he’d been living there. Whatever came next, he would have to find a way forward without returning to what he’d left behind.

Ethan adjusted the short dao at his waist and continued deeper into the forest, deliberately keeping away from the route the sect cultivators had taken during the pursuit. He had no way of knowing whether they had returned to the city, searched the river, or extended their search farther into the surrounding woods. He only knew that moving back toward any of those places would make little sense.

So he kept going, leaving the familiar roads behind and putting more of the forest between himself and the city. Several hours passed before the landscape began to change. The trees grew denser in some places and opened up in others, while patches of rocky ground broke through the roots and occasionally forced Ethan to slow his pace.

From time to time, he stopped and extended his awareness through the surrounding forest. Nothing unusual reached him, so he continued. He checked again later.

Still nothing.

With each quiet stretch of forest behind him, the immediate danger felt a little farther away.

Yet Ethan found himself checking his surroundings more often than before, extending his awareness almost without thinking whenever the forest grew quiet around him. Before yesterday, he had mostly used it to find things; to locate animals, sense cultivators, or understand what was nearby. Now he found himself using it just as often to make sure nothing was following him.

He noticed the change, but there was little he could do about it. After what had happened, staying aware was simply part of moving forward.

Near evening, the light beneath the trees began to fade. Ethan noticed the change and glanced up through the branches. The clouds had gathered overhead, slowly swallowing what remained of the daylight.

A cold drop landed on his cheek.

Ethan wiped it away and continued walking. Another struck his shoulder, followed by several more that slipped through the leaves above. The dampness soon spread across his clothes, and the forest around him grew quieter beneath the steady patter.

Ethan glanced at the ground. Water was beginning to collect between the roots, turning the soil soft beneath his feet. He could still move, but each step was becoming less certain. Then the rain came down harder. Within minutes, the last dry parts of his clothes were soaked through. He pulled his collar closer and kept moving as the forest disappeared behind the curtain of rain.

Ethan sighed.

"Of course."

He extended his awareness through the surrounding forest, checking for any nearby presence that might make stopping here dangerous. Nothing stirred nearby. The rain continued to fall around him, and through the blurred curtain of water, Ethan caught sight of something between the trees.

A structure.

Ethan changed direction and pushed through several trees before stopping.

An old temple stood among the forest.

Or what remained of one. Its wooden doors hung crookedly from their hinges. Moss covered much of the stone walls, while vines had spread across the roof. Part of the roof had collapsed entirely, but one section remained intact enough to keep the rain out.

Ethan gave the faded carvings around the entrance a quick glance as he approached. The symbols were too worn to make out, and he couldn’t tell what the temple had once been dedicated to. Whatever god or spirit had once been worshipped here, it had long since been forgotten.

As he stepped inside, the smell of damp wood and dust filled the air, while the rain sounded louder against the remaining roof. Ethan looked around before extending his awareness through the temple.

Nothing living.

It would have to do.

Ethan gathered what dry wood he could find beneath the surviving part of the roof. There wasn’t much, and some of it was still damp from the moisture that had seeped into the temple, but he found enough pieces to work with. He arranged them together and coaxed a small flame to life.

The fire struggled at first, sending up a thin curl of smoke before the wood finally caught. Ethan leaned closer as the flame steadied, its warmth slowly reaching his cold, damp hands. He held them near the fire for a moment, then let the heat spread over his sleeves and face while the rain continued to drum against the roof outside.

Warmth spread through the immediate darkness.For a while, he simply sat beside the fire and let the warmth sink into him. After a few moments, Ethan unwrapped the remaining meat and began to eat.

The meat cooked slowly over the fire, its smell gradually filling the abandoned temple. Ethan watched the flames for a while, listening to the rain outside. He turned the meat once more and waited until it was ready before taking a bite. The warmth settled into his stomach, easing some of the emptiness he had been carrying since the chase.

He ate quietly, letting the fire crackle beside him while the rain continued outside.

For several minutes, Ethan simply sat beside the fire and let his thoughts quiet down. He didn’t cultivate or think about his experiments, nor did he concern himself with where he would go next. For once, there was nothing he needed to do. Outside, the rain continued to fall.

Ethan’s gaze drifted toward the old altar in the corner. He found himself looking at it without really knowing why, tracing the worn carvings with his eyes as though there were something there worth figuring out. Dust covered the stone, and whatever prayers had once been spoken there were long forgotten.

For a moment, he wondered how many people had once sat in this same place. Then he caught himself and looked back at the fire, more interested in the flames than in where his thoughts had been heading.

His life had changed too quickly for him to spend much time wondering about strangers who had lived here for who knows how long ago.

Ethan leaned back against the wall, his gaze lowering. The Azure Cloud Sect had noticed something about him. After everything that had happened, He understood that much.

What he couldn’t tell was how far this had gone, or where they would take it from here.

That uncertainty was what bothered him most.

He needed to be more careful from now on. Not because he was afraid, but because yesterday had shown him what could happen when he assumed he had enough control over a situation.

Ethan glanced at the short dao at his waist. It was useful at close range, but against cultivators who could shape and release Qi, a weapon alone wasn’t enough. He needed a proper technique, something that could turn what he already possessed into something he could actually rely on in a fight.

That was something he would have to work out.

Just not tonight.

His body had recovered, but the exhaustion was still there. For now, the fire, the shelter, and a few hours of rest mattered more.

Ethan’s gaze settled on the flames.

Then his attention returned to the damaged journal. Ethan pulled it from his clothes and opened it again. The pages were worse than he remembered, but not everything had been lost.

Here and there, fragments of his writing remained readable; short observations, rough notes, pieces of thoughts he had once considered important. He carefully separated the pages that could still be salvaged and set them aside. They weren’t much, but they were enough to remind him of what the journal had once contained.

The rest was beyond saving.

Ethan held one of the ruined pages over the fire. For a moment, he hesitated. Then he let it fall. The edge caught first. A small flame crawled across the damp paper, slowly consuming the blurred lines of his writing. Ethan watched as the remaining words darkened, curled, and disappeared into ash.

One page followed another.

He didn’t say anything this time. When the last piece had burned away, Ethan looked at the small pile of salvaged pages beside him. He folded them carefully and kept them close. The weight in his eyelids grew heavier by the moment. His vision softened, the firelight blurring at the edges until his eyes finally slipped shut.

Ethan’s breathing gradually settled into a steady rhythm as he entered a light meditative state. Rather than simply sleeping, he guided his Qi through his meridians, allowing his body to recover while his awareness remained faintly connected to the world around him. Every so often, that awareness spread beyond the temple, brushing against the surrounding forest before returning to him.

Nothing stirred nearby.

Ethan continued cultivating, letting the steady rhythm of his breathing and the quiet rain carry him deeper into meditation.

But before Ethan could fully settle into cultivation, his awareness brushed against something in the distance.

His eyes opened.

A presence. Far away, but unmistakable. His expression became sober as he waited, keeping his attention fixed in that direction. The presence remained, moving steadily through the forest. Then another appeared, farther to the side.

Ethan’s expression tightened.

Both were moving toward him. His hand settled around the short dao as he listened to the rain falling beyond the temple. He didn’t move. He simply remained still, waiting to see whether the two presences would change direction.

They didn’t.

They kept coming.

Ethan’s fingers tightened slightly around the dao. So even after putting the forest between himself and the Azure Cloud Sect, they had still managed to find his trail.