The youth hauling buckets and water was Dunn.
He wasn't tall, but he was sturdy, with tanned skin and fine scratches on his arms from labor. Seeing the Nightwatchers nearby, he didn't approach, nor did he hide.
He simply went about his work, occasionally glancing over before lowering his head to continue hauling.
Lu Yuan noticed his work habits.
Once a bucket of medicine was mixed, he would scan the plots to see which hadn't been treated yet and head over with the bucket without needing to be prompted. His application technique was good—gentle but thorough, leaving no spot missed and no medicine wasted.
He would carefully find the grey borers clinging to the undersides of the leaves and flick them off one by one.
For a sixteen-year-old, he possessed a steadiness that didn't quite match his age. He was calm and unhurried; after finishing a task, he would stand still for a moment to survey the overall progress and judge for himself where to go next.
Clearly, these were habits forged by a long period of independent living.
The grey-white text at the edge of his vision flickered.
【Detection Target: Dunn】
【An ordinary human. No, wait—his Sanity seems to be more resilient.】
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow at the decent evaluation from the grey-white text. Not bad at all.
Bol walked over and struck up a conversation with him.
In his capacity as a medicine deliveryman, Bol chatted about town affairs. Dunn's answers were brief and clear, responding to each question directly.
His voice wasn't loud, but every word was articulated clearly, without ambiguity or any attempt to curry favor.
The other person was at the far end of the herb fields.
Jurgen.
He was half a head taller than Dunn, somewhat thin, but with hard lines to his physique and broad shoulders. He had no excess fat.
A faint scar ran from below his left ear to his jawline; it had healed, but the mark remained.
The direction of the scar suggested the wound had come from the side and was very deep, nearly reaching his throat.
A short hunting knife was tucked into his waist, which he kept on him even while working in the fields.
The grey-white text flickered again.
【Detection Target: Jurgen (Eerie Transcendent)】
【Has stepped onto a transcendent pathway... A young hunter driven by hatred. Perhaps complete loss of control is his ultimate destiny.】
Lu Yuan froze as he read the text.
An Eerie Transcendent?
Jurgen had already stepped onto a transcendent pathway??
With a hint of curiosity, Lu Yuan watched him more closely. His work seemed no different from anyone else's.
However, Lu Yuan noticed something: while working, Jurgen's gaze would instinctively scan his surroundings.
Jurgen's movements were faster than Dunn's—somewhat rushed, as if he wanted to finish quickly to go do something else.
There was one detail.
While clearing insects, he swept a particularly large grey borer from under a silver leaf grass leaf. It was nearly double the size of the others, with dense greyish-green fuzz and an open mouthpart, looking as though it had gorged itself.
Jurgen paused.
He stared down at the insect for two seconds. Then, he crushed it under his foot.
An Eerie Transcendent.
As Lu Yuan looked at that line of grey-white text, many things clicked into place—the reason why Jurgen had been able to walk back alive from a brush with the eerie.
An eighteen-year-old hunter's son, living alone in a town on the edge of the ancient forest, had somehow stepped onto a transcendent pathway at an unknown time and in an unknown way.
With no one to guide him, no Nightwatchers system, no knowledge, and no training, he had groped his way forward on his own until today.
He was practically a genius.
Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze, not lingering on him for too long.
Midway through the morning, someone from town brought water and flatbread.
Everyone put down their work and squatted in the open space beside the herb gardens to eat.
Several elderly men huddled together, chatting about whose lamp oil had run low last night and whether the creek's water level was significantly lower than in previous years.
Lu Yuan also squatted on the ground and ate a few bites.
The flatbread was coarse but chewy, with the original flavor of the wheat. The water was drawn from the creek—cold, with a hint of sweetness.
Bol was chatting animatedly with several townsfolk. He could talk to anyone; he discussed hunting with the men and the weather with the women, making them laugh within a few sentences.
This was his talent. Lu Yuan had observed it many times; Bol possessed a natural social ease, a skill that was actually rarer among the Nightwatchers than combat prowess.
As he chewed on his flatbread, Lu Yuan used the break to scan the other young people in the herb fields. The grey-white text flickered for each of them, showing only basic, clean information.
By the end of the morning, the medicine had been delivered, most of the pest infestation had been handled, and the first impressions of the two candidates had been gathered.
No one knew what he was looking for.
As the work in the herb fields wound down, the townspeople who had been helping began to disperse.
Lu Yuan and Bol walked along the stone-paved path by the creek toward the base. Harold trailed behind, speaking in low tones with an old man carrying a bamboo basket; they were far enough away that their voices were muffled.
The afternoon sun filtered through the gaps in the canopy, casting patches of warmth onto the ashlar path. The creek flowed beside them, the sound of the water very soft.
After walking for a while, Bol spoke.
“Well?”
Lu Yuan didn't answer immediately. He walked a few more steps, his boots clicking on the stone, before speaking.
“Dunn is fine.”
Bol waited for the rest.
“Jurgen... has already stepped onto a transcendent pathway.”
Bol's footsteps faltered. He turned his head to look at Lu Yuan, his brow furrowing.
“How did you find out?”
“I can see some things others can't,” Lu Yuan said briefly.
Bol opened his mouth, then closed it again. After two seconds, he slapped his forehead as if remembering something.
“I almost forgot, you do have that knack.” He took a breath, his tone becoming more serious. “An Eerie Transcendent... According to the rules, this situation should be reported back to the branch first for Kraus to decide.”
He paused and glanced at Lu Yuan.
“But you're the team leader this time. You decide how to handle it.”
Lu Yuan nodded. “I understand.”
He thought for a moment and added, “Give me the copper box. I'll find some time this afternoon to test both of them individually. I'll also take a walk around town to see if there are any other suitable prospects.”
Bol fished the palm-sized copper box from his satchel and handed it over.
Lu Yuan took it. The copper box was heavier than expected and felt cold to the touch. Its surface was engraved with several shallow inscription sealing patterns. He tucked the box into his shirt against his chest, where it was invisible from the outside.
The two of them said no more. The base was just ahead.
...
Afternoon.
Bol stayed at the base to help Harold organize the medicinal inventory and continue overseeing procurement. Lu Yuan left the base alone and walked along the creek toward the town center.
The town wasn't large; it took less than half a cup of tea's time to walk from the north end to the south.
The afternoon sun shone on the ashlar roofs, casting a warm, greyish light.
The creek cut through the middle of the town. The moss on the stone bridge glowed bright green in the sunlight, and a few elderly men sat on stone blocks by the bridge, chatting quietly.
A woman was turning herbs on a bamboo tray by her door, occasionally waving her hand to shoo away small flying insects.
By the creek, two children squatted on rocks, throwing pebbles into the water. The plunking sound of the stones hitting the water echoed rhythmically.
The pace here was completely different from the Bronze City.
Lu Yuan walked along the creek, passing several young people resting after their work. As his gaze swept over them, the grey-white text at the edge of his vision habitually flickered.
【Detection Target: Gubo Town Resident】
Just that one line, with no follow-up. The same was true for the second person.
Normal people. The vast majority of the people in this town were normal.
Lu Yuan continued walking. As he crossed the stone bridge, he scanned two more youths hauling goods at the bridgehead. The grey-white text again showed only a single line of basic information—clean, with nothing special.
He had already scanned everyone in the herb fields this morning; there had been nothing unusual.
Now he was checking to see if there were any omissions in town.
So far, there were none.
Then, he noticed a girl.
Further downstream by the creek, a woman was squatting by the water washing herbs, accompanied by a girl of about fourteen or fifteen.
The girl's hands were submerged in the creek, scrubbing the herbs one by one. Her movements weren't fast, but her technique was meticulous; she would give the mud at the roots of each herb an extra scrub, then neatly stack the clean herbs in a nearby bamboo basket.
As Lu Yuan passed by, the grey-white text flickered.
【Detection Target: Gubo Town Resident】
【Detected weak perception fluctuations...】
An extra line.
Lu Yuan's pace slowed for half a beat. He didn't stop, but his gaze lingered on the girl for two extra seconds.
The girl didn't notice his gaze; she kept her head down, continuing to wash the herbs.
Lu Yuan didn't approach her to talk.
He committed the information to memory and continued forward.
She wasn't within the scope of this mission.
He would just record it and report it to Kraus when he returned.
Next to the stone monument in the town center, the door to the Mayor's house was open.
As Lu Yuan approached, the Mayor was sitting in a chair by the door with his pipe between his fingers. Seeing Lu Yuan, he tilted his chin, signaling for him to come over.
“Sit.” The Mayor brought out a cup of water from the house and handed it to him.
Lu Yuan took it and had a sip. The water was cold, with a slight bitterness from steeped herbs.
The two of them chatted for a bit about the medicinal herbs. This year's silver leaf grass quality was fine, but the yield was down twenty percent due to the pest infestation, and the supply of bitter-root vine was also tight.
The Mayor spoke concisely.
Then, the conversation took a turn.
“The forest hasn't been very peaceful lately.” The Mayor took a puff from his pipe and exhaled a thin trail of smoke. He squinted toward the tree line across the creek.
“The hunters are reporting that more animals are fleeing the ancient forest. It's not a normal migration; the deer herds retreated from the deep forest to the outskirts a month earlier than usual, and some groups have even run onto the open ground near the town.”
He paused.
“When animals run out, it means something inside is coming out.”
Lu Yuan didn't interrupt, waiting for him to continue.
“It's happened before—every few years there's a bit of trouble. But the frequency is much higher this year, and it's starting early.” The Mayor took the pipe from his mouth and gave it a half-turn in his hand. “I've mentioned it to Harold, and he said he'd keep an eye out. But he's the only one at the base, and he's getting on in years.”
He looked at Lu Yuan, his tone blunt.
“When you go back, could you help mention it to the branch? The people in town don't have any proper gear. If something really comes out of the forest, torches and hunting knives won't be much use.”
Lu Yuan nodded. “I'll pass the word along.”
The Mayor didn't bother with excessive politeness. He nodded, put the pipe back in his mouth, and the conversation naturally shifted back to this year's silver leaf grass harvest.
Lu Yuan made a mental note of the matter.
Rate on N.U.
