Chapter 85 - 65 : Rumors or Lies ?

Chapter 85: Chapter 65 : Rumors or Lies ?

Ethan pulled his hood lower, letting the shadow cover most of his face, then stepped out from the trees. He entered the settlement without drawing attention. Nobody stopped him. A few people glanced his way, but their attention quickly returned to their own conversations.

Ethan kept walking.

He didn’t approach anyone or ask questions. Instead, he stayed near the edges of the small gathering places, moving slowly whenever voices carried through the night. Whenever a conversation rose above the others, he let himself drift a little closer, listening without making it obvious that he was listening.

For now, he only needed to hear what people were saying.

As Ethan walked along one of the settlement’s narrow streets, the sound of voices drifting from a small gathering nearby caught his attention. Several people had gathered around a small fire, their conversation carrying through the quiet night.

Ethan slowed his steps slightly, letting himself pass close enough to hear without making it obvious that he was listening.

"...I’m telling you, it’s him."

The man’s voice carried a little too much confidence for someone making a guess.

"You don’t even know what he looks like."

Another man gave a short scoff, shaking his head as though the first speaker had already said enough nonsense for one night.

"I know enough."

"Enough for what?"

The question came with a faint laugh. A few people around them chuckled as well, though one or two seemed more interested in hearing where the argument was going.

"The Azure Cloud Sect is looking for some demonic cultivator using blood ."

Ethan slowed.

A man’s voice answered.

"Blood cultivator?"

There was a noticeable shift in his voice. The casual interest from a moment ago had disappeared, replaced by something more cautious.

"That’s what I heard."

"I heard it was some forbidden technique."

"With Blood?"

"Something like that."

A woman lowered her voice.

"Keep it down."

She glanced around the gathering as she spoke, almost instinctively checking the people nearby.

"Why?"

"What if he’s nearby?"

Someone gave a nervous laugh.

"Here?"

"Why not?"

The laughter stopped as another voice joined them.

"They said he was taking blood from animals."

"Animals?"

The question came quickly, almost incredulously.

"Animals and spirit beasts too, I heard."

"I heard he was seen around the villages closest to the city."

A man scratched his chin, thinking for a moment before speaking.

"Wasn’t he there when those people disappeared?"

"That’s what people are saying."

"Then it was probably him."

"Probably?"

The word came with a doubtful edge.

"I bet it’s him" said with a small voice

The older man sitting nearby shook his head.

"Nobody knows that."

His voice was calm, but firm enough to quiet the younger voices around him.

"But the sect is searching for him."

"Exactly."

Ethan remained in the shadows listening as the conversation continued.

"They said he ambushed one of the sect people."

"Ambushed?"

The man who spoke leaned forward, his eyebrows rising.

"Can he even do that? That’s the sect’s disciples we are talking about here!"

"Definitely did, he turned back on them."

The speaker lifted one hand as if insisting there was no room for argument.

"Why would he do that?"

"He’s a demonic cultivator."

"So?"

"So who knows what people like that do?"

Another man leaned closer.

"I heard the sect cultivator nearly died."

"Nearly?"

The man’s voice rose slightly, and he looked toward the others as though hoping someone would confirm what he had just heard.

"That’s what I heard."

"I heard he killed him and took all his blood."

"Took it?"

The man repeated the words slowly, his face twisting with disbelief.

"Drained it."

A few people murmured.

Ethan’s expression hardened. He had injured the man, but he had never killed him, talk less of draining him of his blood. The rumor had already twisted what happened into something completely different.

Yet the story was still changing. Before Ethan could make sense of the previous claim, another voice spoke.

"I heard the cultivator escaped them twice."

"Twice?"

"That’s what they say."

"He escaped the Azure Cloud Sect twice?"

"Apparently."

A few people murmured among themselves. One man shook his head slowly, while another gave a low whistle under his breath.

Then someone lowered his voice.

"I heard he slaughtered a whole village."

"Hmm."

The sound came quietly from one of the listeners, neither fully believing nor dismissing it.

"Trust me that’s what I heard."

"From who?"

"My cousin’s friend."

"So you don’t know."

"I know what I heard."

Another person scoffed.

"People say anything these days."

"I heard the same thing."

"He drained everyone."

The words settled over the group.

Ethan’s fingers slowly curled. The conversation moved from one rumor to another, each one adding something new to the story. Some sounded like distorted versions of things that had actually happened, while others had nothing to do with reality at all.

He knew he should have left by then, but he remained where he was, listening as the rumors continued to spread from one person to another.

Then the stories became uglier.

"I even heard he was looking for young pure girls."

"What?"

Several voices reacted at once.

"That’s what someone told me."

"You’re making that up."

"I’m not."

"Then who told you?"

The man hesitated.

"...Someone."

A few people laughed nervously. One man shook his head while another muttered something under his breath.

Another voice immediately interrupted.

"Forget that nonsense."

The older man shook his head.

"The Azure Cloud Sect wouldn’t let someone like that keep running forever."

"They’ll catch him."

"I hope so."

"Me too."

Ethan stood quietly. He had come here looking for information, and he had gotten it. Just not the kind of information he had hoped to find.

He looked down at his clothes. The people didn’t know him. They knew a story. And from what he gathered, that story was beginning to take shape around a few details: a pale young man in the early Qi Refining stage who traveled alone, usually dressed in dark clothes, though sometimes brown. He carried a sword, or perhaps a short blade, and he used blood.

That was enough.

The details were already changing, but the important parts remained. People now had something to look for.

Ethan slowly turned away from the gathering.

He understood something then. The sect didn’t need everyone to know his face. They only needed enough people to recognize the description.

Before leaving, Ethan decided he needed to change his clothes.

Buying another set from one of the stalls was the obvious choice, but it was also the kind of thing that could leave a trace. A shopkeeper might forget most customers, but a stranger buying clothes soon after rumors of a pale young cultivator began spreading was something worth remembering.

Ethan wasn’t going to make things that easy for anyone. He left the gathering and continued down the street, keeping his hood low. Most of the shops were already closing for the night, their doors pulled halfway shut as their owners prepared to leave.

Near the end of the street, he spotted a small clothing shop with its back entrance opening into a narrow alley.

Ethan passed it once without slowing. Checked for any presence inside with his Blood perception. A few moments later, he slipped into the alley.

The back door was not fully closed. He pushed it open just enough to slip through. Inside, the shop was quiet. Bundles of folded clothes were stacked along the walls, while several wooden racks stood between the front and back of the room. No one was there.

Ethan moved quickly.

He took a plain set of inner clothes and an outer robe from one of the nearby piles, choosing a color that would not stand out. He folded his old clothes and tucked them away before changing.

Within a short while, the clothes that had helped form the description spreading through the settlement were no longer on him. He pulled the new robe into place and lowered the hood.

Then he waited.

Voices drifted faintly from the front of the shop. Someone moved outside the building, followed by the sound of a door opening somewhere along the street. Ethan remained still until the noise passed. Only then did he slip back through the rear entrance.

He entered the alley wearing a different set of clothes and walked away without looking back. By the time anyone would noticed the shop had been disturbed, Ethan would have already gone far beyond the settlement.

The old clothes were gone from sight, and with them went another part of the description people had been given to remember.

Ethan pulled the new robe around himself and looked back toward the distant lights. The talisman had been one problem. Now there was another. The tracking talisman required been within a certain range to find him, while a person only needed to recognize him.

Ethan turned away from the settlement and continued into the darkness, his steps steady even as a quiet weariness settled over him. He had spent the last few days worrying about being found, only to realize that the problem had taken another shape. It was no longer just about someone finding him. Now, someone only needed to recognize him.

Ethan let out a slow breath and kept walking. Every time he dealt with one problem, another seemed to take its place. He was beginning to find that tiring.