They walked until the sun was high.
No one talked much. The river meeting hadn't been a fight, but it left the same aftertaste as blood: proof that someone could reach them, measure them, and leave without being touched.
Pei Xun kept the lacquer slip hidden. He didn't say what else was written on it, but Shen Lu saw the way his jaw tightened when he thought Shen Lu wasn't looking.
Gu Li kept glancing at Shen Lu's right wrist like he could see the mark through cloth.
Tang Ye stayed close to Yue, quieter than usual. Yue's ears kept flicking, always listening, always judging distance.
Xie Han looked calm again, which meant he was planning something.
Helian Feng led without slowing.
By late afternoon they reached a stretch of broken ground where old stone posts stuck out of the earth like rotten teeth. No road, no town, just wind and rock and thorn scrub.
Helian Feng stopped behind the largest post and finally spoke.
"We change how we travel," Helian Feng said.
Pei Xun muttered, "Again."
Helian Feng didn't react. "New rules."
Gu Li's voice was stern. "Good."
Tang Ye blinked. "What rules."
Helian Feng looked at Shen Lu first. "You don't show anger. Not in public. Not around strangers. Not when someone provokes."
Shen Lu's jaw tightened. "I wasn't showing it."
Helian Feng's eyes stayed cold. "You were."
Shen Lu wanted to argue. He didn't. He forced a slow breath.
The flame inside him pulsed once, then settled.
Helian Feng continued, gaze shifting to the group as a whole. "No repeat patterns. We don't always seek rivers. We don't always avoid towns. We don't always travel at night."
Pei Xun's brows rose. "So… we become random."
Helian Feng nodded once. "Yes."
Xie Han smiled thinly. "Finally."
Gu Li frowned. "Random wastes energy."
Helian Feng's voice stayed flat. "Energy is cheaper than a cage."
Gu Li didn't argue.
Helian Feng looked at Tang Ye. "You stop being the loudest person in every room."
Tang Ye looked wounded. "That's my skill."
Helian Feng's gaze didn't soften. "Use it less."
Yue's voice slid into Shen Lu's mind, smug. He's right.
Tang Ye sighed. "Fine."
Helian Feng looked at Pei Xun. "You write two lies instead of one."
Pei Xun muttered, "I'm already doing that."
Helian Feng nodded once. "Good."
Then Helian Feng looked at Xie Han. "You stop enjoying this."
Xie Han smiled. "No."
Helian Feng stared at him for a long moment, then said, "At least stop showing it."
Xie Han's smile thinned. "Fine."
Helian Feng turned back to Shen Lu.
Shen Lu's throat tightened, waiting.
Helian Feng's voice dropped a fraction. "And you don't separate from me."
Shen Lu's chest went tight. "That's not a rule. That's a leash."
Helian Feng's eyes narrowed. "It's survival."
Shen Lu's anger rose, hot and sharp, and his flame warmed in response like it loved the taste.
Shen Lu caught it in time and forced it down, breathing slow, face blank.
Then he said, quieter, "They're using your debt to reach me. If I stay near you, it's easier."
Helian Feng's voice was cold. "If you leave me, it's easier to take you."
Silence.
Shen Lu hated that he couldn't find the clean answer.
Gu Li cut in, stern and practical. "Enough. We can argue later. Right now we need distance."
Pei Xun nodded. "And a place to sleep that isn't predictable."
Tang Ye looked around. "Where are we even going."
Helian Feng's gaze lifted to the west. "A border market."
Pei Xun frowned. "You just said we don't always avoid towns."
Helian Feng's reply was simple. "We won't avoid this one."
Gu Li's eyes narrowed. "Why."
Helian Feng's voice stayed flat. "Because too many eyes is cover."
Xie Han smiled faintly. "I like too many eyes."
Helian Feng ignored him and started walking again.
Shen Lu followed, throat tight.
As they moved, Yue's voice slid into Shen Lu's mind, quieter than usual.
Thunder isn't trying to own you.
Shen Lu thought back, bitter: Then why does it feel like it.
Yue's tail-flick of thoughtfulness came through his tone. Because you hate needing anyone.
Shen Lu didn't answer.
The sun dipped.
Wind cooled.
Ahead, somewhere beyond the broken stone posts, a border market waited. A place full of strangers, noise, money, and new lies.
And behind them, the rumor slip was still out there, teaching buyers how to test Shen Lu's face.
So Shen Lu made a decision while he walked.
He would learn to have a face that didn't answer.
Even when his blood did.