The next morning arrived with a kind of quiet that felt earned.
Not the fragile quiet that came before something broke.
Not the tense quiet that meant people were waiting for the next problem to appear.
This was different.
Steady.
Lan Yue noticed it the moment she stepped out into the corridor.
No shouting.
No strange emotional surges.
No distant explosions.
She stopped walking.
"…That is suspicious," she said.
Zhao Lingxi, walking beside her, glanced at her briefly. "Peace is suspicious."
"In this sect, yes."
They continued forward.
The courtyard came into view.
Disciples moved through their routines.
Training.
Talking.
Eating.
Normal.
Lan Yue narrowed her eyes slightly. "It is too normal."
Zhao Lingxi said nothing.
Lan Yue crossed her arms. "I do not trust this."
"You are waiting for something to happen."
"Yes."
"Nothing is happening."
"That is the problem."
Zhao Lingxi's lips curved faintly. "Noted."
Lan Yue huffed softly and kept walking.
