They waited until dusk to leave the barn.
Not because Wang Lin wanted to, but because Mei Niu insisted. The bond had eased her pain, strengthened her body, but exhaustion still clung to her muscles. She moved carefully, every step measured, ears twitching at every unfamiliar sound.
"We cannot stay," she said again, adjusting the simple cloak Wang Lin had fashioned to hide her horns and ears. "But we cannot rush either."
He nodded.
The forest did not feel the same anymore.
Wang Lin noticed it the moment they stepped outside. The air carried more information. Subtle shifts in scent, faint disturbances in sound. He could not explain it, but he could sense when something had passed through recently, when the silence felt wrong.
Chimera Body.
Stage One.
He did not like how quickly he was getting used to it.
They traveled by narrow paths, avoiding the main road. Mei Niu leaned on him when the ground grew uneven, her steps still unsteady. Each time she stumbled, the thread between them tightened slightly, a shared awareness that made him adjust before she even spoke.
It was unsettling.
And useful.
Dustfall Town appeared just before nightfall.
Low stone walls. Flickering lanterns. The smell of smoke, cooked grain, and unwashed bodies drifted on the wind. Mortals and cultivators mingled here, a place too insignificant for sect protection and too useful to be ignored.
Mei Niu stopped at the edge of the trees.
"You go alone," she said.
"I thought we agreed," Wang Lin replied.
"We agreed that you would listen," she said calmly. "And I am telling you that if I enter the town, someone will notice. Even hidden."
He did not argue.
"Stay here," he said. "If anything feels wrong, leave immediately."
She looked at him. "And you."
"I will be careful," he said.
She hesitated, then nodded.
Wang Lin took one container.
Only one.
The smallest.
Even hidden beneath cloth, he could feel its density. The spiritual pressure was faint but unmistakable, like a held breath.
Too much.
He moved through the town with his head down, senses alert. He passed vendors hawking cheap talismans, guards leaning against walls, cultivators in travel-worn robes who looked just alert enough to be dangerous.
He stopped at the third apothecary he saw.
The first two had laughed him out the door.
"You want to sell milk," one had said, barely glancing at the container. "Tier One milk is barely worth storage."
This one was different.
The shop was narrow and clean, shelves lined with jars and scrolls. An old man sat behind the counter, eyes sharp despite his age.
"State your business," the man said.
Wang Lin set the container down gently. "I want to sell this."
The old man sighed. "If it is cow milk, I suggest you try the market."
Wang Lin loosened the cloth.
The glow bled through.
The old man froze.
Slowly, carefully, he reached out and lifted the container, his fingers trembling just slightly. He held it up to the lantern light, eyes narrowing as he examined the liquid within.
"This," he said slowly, "is not possible."
Wang Lin said nothing.
The old man inhaled sharply, then placed the container down with deliberate care, as if it might explode.
"Where did you get this?" he asked.
"I found it," Wang Lin replied.
The old man barked a short laugh. "You expect me to believe that."
"I expect you to tell me what it is worth," Wang Lin said.
The man studied him closely now, gaze sharp and calculating.
"Grade Three," he said at last. "From a Tier One beast. That alone makes it rare."
He paused.
"But this density," he continued, voice lowering, "is clean. No chemical residue. No formation strain. This was produced naturally."
Wang Lin felt his stomach tighten.
"Price," he said.
The old man named a number.
Wang Lin nearly lost control of his expression.
It was more money than he had seen in his entire life.
"I will buy it," the old man said quickly. "Quietly."
"Quietly," Wang Lin echoed.
The man nodded. "If I report this quality, it will draw attention. Attention brings questions. Questions bring sects."
He slid a small jade token across the counter.
"If you have more," he said, "do not bring them here. Bring them to this mark."
Wang Lin hesitated.
"Why help me?" he asked.
The old man's expression hardened. "Because I was a beast tamer once," he said. "And because I left."
He pushed the money across the counter.
"Leave town before dawn," he added. "You have already been noticed."
Wang Lin wrapped the container again and tucked the money away carefully.
Outside, the town felt different.
Eyes lingered longer. Conversations paused when he passed. A cultivator near the gate glanced at him twice.
Too much.
He did not look back as he left.
Mei Niu was waiting where he had left her, tension written into every line of her body. She relaxed only when she saw his face.
"You were followed," she said immediately.
"Not directly," Wang Lin replied. "But we have a problem."
He showed her the jade token.
She stared at it, then at the money.
"This changes things," she said.
"Yes," Wang Lin agreed. "And not in a safe way."
Far away, in a place of polished stone and living beasts, an elder frowned at a report that should not exist.
Grade Three.
Tier One.
Naturally produced.
"Find the source," he said quietly. "Before it becomes a problem."
The hunt had begun.