Mu Xuan did not return to his courtyard immediately.
After leaving the eastern corridor, he continued along the green-stone path that led toward the plaza before Heavenly Name Hall. His steps remained as calm and steady as ever, but within his meridians, the cold current had begun to stir in faint, subtle pulses.
At first, Mu Xuan had assumed it was merely an ordinary fluctuation.
But the farther he walked, the clearer the sensation became.
The force within him was not chaotic, nor was it violent. On the contrary, it felt as though something in the distance was quietly drawing it, little by little pulling his awareness toward a single direction.
The Name Inscription Plaza.
The place where he had stood before the Heavenly Name Stele yesterday.
Mu Xuan slowly lifted his head.
Above the black tiled roofs of the Mu Clan, the morning light had already spread more clearly. Only traces of early mist remained, clinging to the bases of stone pillars and the edges of corridors. Many people were already moving about the clan grounds, yet every time Mu Xuan passed by, the sounds around him seemed to fall silent for the briefest moment.
He had grown used to those gazes since the morning.
Only now, what occupied his mind was no longer the people of the clan.
It was the plaza ahead.
Mu Xuan continued forward.
When he passed the last row of stone pillars, the wide white plaza finally came into view.
Compared to the Name Inscription Ceremony, the place was far emptier now. There were no longer long lines of young disciples, no elders calling out names, no solemn atmosphere so heavy it suffocated the breath. Only a few stewards remained, inspecting the stone floor and the name patterns around the plaza, while two or three young disciples passed by before quickly leaving again.
At the center of the plaza, the Heavenly Name Stele still stood exactly as before.
Under the light of day, the ancient monument seemed much quieter than it had yesterday. Its surface was dark, and the faint ancient runes winding across it looked as though they had sunk back into shadow.
To the naked eye, nothing seemed unusual.
But the instant Mu Xuan stepped onto the plaza, the cold current inside his meridians trembled far more sharply.
He stopped at once.
His gaze slowly lowered to the stone floor before him.
This... was the exact place where he had stood yesterday.
At first glance, the plaza floor was still smooth and clean, with no cracks, no damage, and no trace of strange light. But in Mu Xuan's perception, something else existed there.
A hollow.
Not a hollow of matter.
But a stretch of name-intent that had once been touched... and then abruptly halted before it could be completed.
It was as if, upon an invisible slab of stone, heaven and earth had once intended to carve something there—only to forcibly stop midway.
Not erase it entirely.
Only stop.
And that act of stopping had left behind the faintest trace.
Mu Xuan's pupils contracted slightly.
Yesterday, heaven and earth truly had intended to inscribe his name.
It was only that, just before the final moment, it had chosen to abandon it.
The cold current within his body trembled again.
This time, the feeling was no longer simple attraction.
It was resonance.
As though the lingering remnant before the Heavenly Name Stele and the force within him were quietly answering one another.
Mu Xuan stared at that place for several moments before taking half a step forward.
The moment he did—
one corner of the name pattern engraved beneath the stone floor dimmed faintly.
Only for an instant.
So quickly that an ordinary person might have thought his eyes had deceived him.
But Mu Xuan had seen it clearly.
Not the entire plaza pattern.
Only a small portion, exactly where he had stepped closer, as if something invisible had brushed across it.
Mu Xuan immediately stilled.
The force within his body turned even colder.
At the same time, footsteps sounded from the other side of the plaza.
Mu Xuan turned his head.
A young woman in a light green dress was walking along the stone steps to the left, holding a thin register and a small book in her hands. When she saw him standing alone before the Heavenly Name Stele, her pace slowed slightly.
Mu Yurou.
She had not intended to approach, but the instant her eyes swept across the plaza floor, her expression changed ever so slightly.
Clearly, she had noticed that small disturbance as well.
Mu Yurou stepped closer and stopped a short distance away.
"What did you just do?"
Her voice was not loud, but it was very direct.
Mu Xuan looked at her.
"I did nothing."
Mu Yurou did not answer immediately.
Her gaze dropped to the stone beneath them, then lifted once more to his face.
"Then why did the name pattern beneath the plaza just dim?"
Mu Xuan remained silent for a moment.
He could not explain something he himself had only just begun to understand.
Seeing that he did not answer, Mu Yurou did not press him. She merely closed the register in her hands and said in a low voice,
"This place has been strange since morning."
Mu Xuan's eyes sharpened slightly.
Mu Yurou continued,
"The stewards responsible for the plaza said that the formation markings around the central area have dimmed twice already. It wasn't serious, but they couldn't find the cause."
"They thought it was only lingering aftereffects from yesterday's Name Inscription Ceremony."
Mu Xuan looked again toward the hollow before him.
"Perhaps something really was left behind."
Mu Yurou heard that and her gaze deepened.
"You know what it is?"
"Not clearly," Mu Xuan replied shortly. "I can only sense it."
Mu Yurou fell silent for a few breaths.
Then she said, "Since this morning, you're the only one who's approached and made the formation react."
That sentence caused the air between them to grow heavier.
Mu Xuan did not deny it.
He knew Mu Yurou was not a foolish person. If she had seen what just happened, then forcing a clumsy denial would only make the matter more suspicious.
Fortunately, she did not continue pressing him.
She only turned to look at the Heavenly Name Stele and said slowly,
"Ever since yesterday, this plaza has felt... unsettled."
"But no one could explain why."
Mu Xuan lowered his eyes slightly.
Now he understood what that unease was.
Because this place still carried the trace of an unfinished inscription.
And that unfinished trace... was clearly connected to him.
Just then, from the right side of the plaza, a young disciple in gray passed by carrying a stone box in his arms. He was probably one of the clan members assigned to help clean up after the Name Inscription Ceremony. At his waist hung an identity jade token inscribed with delicate name patterns, its faint light flowing in a stable rhythm.
He moved quickly, eyes lowered to the path, completely unaware that he had stepped directly into the hollow before the Heavenly Name Stele.
The instant his foot came down—
the jade token at his waist dimmed.
The faint light along its inscribed name patterns immediately became unstable, weakening in a flash.
The young disciple jolted so hard he nearly dropped the box in his hands.
"What—?"
The moment his voice rang out, several nearby stewards turned at once.
One of them shouted sharply,
"Stop!"
The disciple's face turned pale. He immediately lowered his head to look at the jade token at his waist, only to see the light across it flickering irregularly, as though the name pattern inside had been disturbed by something unseen.
Mu Yurou frowned.
Mu Xuan, meanwhile, stared fixedly at the ground beneath the disciple's feet.
As expected.
The hollow before the Heavenly Name Stele was not merely something that existed in his perception. It could truly affect things that carried ordinary name-intent.
A steward hurried over and snatched the jade token from the disciple's waist to inspect it. After only a few breaths, even his expression became unsightly.
"The name pattern's been disturbed."
"How could this happen?"
The young disciple immediately stammered,
"This disciple... this disciple doesn't know! I was only passing through!"
The plaza, which had been quiet moments ago, now drew a few more gazes from the edges.
Mu Xuan watched as those looks slowly shifted from the jade token to the central area before the Heavenly Name Stele, and his heart sank slightly.
If they were allowed to keep staring here, the matter would only be investigated more deeply.
And he could not let that hollow remain there in plain sight for everyone to discover.
The cold current within his meridians trembled, as though waiting for a command.
Mu Xuan did not hesitate any longer.
He stepped forward.
Mu Yurou turned toward him, a trace of wariness passing through her eyes.
"What are you doing?"
Mu Xuan only gave a short reply.
"Don't let anyone get closer."
The moment the words left his mouth, he lowered his awareness toward the hollow in front of him.
Unlike when he had tried to force the Mu Clan's introductory method yesterday, this time he did not try to guide the current along any formal pathway. He simply allowed the cold force inside his body to brush lightly against the unfinished remnant of name-intent.
The instant the two touched—
an icy sensation spread through his consciousness.
It did not hurt.
But it was incomparably clear.
It felt as though he had just touched a half-written character, one that still retained the chill of heaven and earth.
The cold current in his body trembled, then naturally drew that lingering remnant toward itself.
There was no violence.
No display.
Only within Mu Xuan's perception, the invisible hollow before him gradually began to thin.
Like a droplet of water being absorbed into a shard of black ice.
Standing beside him, Mu Yurou's expression slowly changed.
She could not see the full process the way Mu Xuan could, but she could clearly feel one thing—the formation patterns beneath the plaza were gradually stabilizing.
The light that had dimmed moments ago was returning to normal.
Even the jade token in the steward's hand was no longer flickering.
Everything happened in only a few breaths.
By the time Mu Xuan slowly withdrew his awareness, the hollow before the Heavenly Name Stele had faded to the point where it could barely be sensed anymore.
Meanwhile, the cold current within his meridians had grown slightly thicker.
Only by the tiniest amount.
But enough for him to know he had been right.
The lingering remnant left behind in the plaza truly could be drawn into his body.
One steward nearby lifted his head and frowned.
"Strange..."
"It was clearly still—"
He did not finish speaking, because the light on the jade token had already returned to full stability. The young disciple holding the stone box had gone stiff with fear, bowing his head repeatedly and apologizing, though he clearly did not understand what he had done wrong.
Mu Yurou looked at the plaza floor a moment longer before turning back to Mu Xuan.
Her eyes were no longer the same as before.
Not frightened.
But grave.
"What did you just do?"
Mu Xuan stood there, his expression as calm as ever.
"I already told you. I only came to take a look."
Mu Yurou watched him for several breaths.
Clearly, that answer was not enough.
But she did not ask further.
Because she understood one thing very well—if Mu Xuan was truly connected to the abnormality of this plaza, then this was no longer a minor secret among the younger generation.
After a while, she finally said in a low voice,
"You shouldn't stay here much longer today."
Mu Xuan looked at her.
Mu Yurou continued,
"If the formation patterns fluctuate again, the Steward Hall will definitely report it upward."
She did not say who "upward" referred to.
But both of them understood.
The main hall.
The elders.
Perhaps even Mu Zhengcang himself.
Mu Xuan gave a slight nod.
"I know."
After saying that, he did not remain any longer.
He turned and left the plaza, his steps just as calm as when he had arrived. Only now, something inside him had changed.
The plaza before the Heavenly Name Stele truly had retained a remnant from yesterday.
And that remnant... only he could sense so clearly.
No.
To be more precise—
only the cold current within him could truly resonate with it.
Which meant that from the moment his name had failed to appear on the Heavenly Name Stele, a trace of that event had truly remained between heaven and earth.
It had never disappeared.
It had only been waiting for him to return.
Mu Xuan walked past the stone steps outside the plaza. Before he had even reached the next corridor, an old and low voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
"So, you went there after all."
Mu Xuan's steps slowed.
He could not mistake that voice.
The white-haired old man beneath the Mu Clan grounds.
Mu Xuan did not turn back, nor did he stop completely.
His expression remained unchanged, as though nothing had happened.
A few breaths later, the old voice sounded again.
"So you've seen what was left behind."
The cold current within Mu Xuan's meridians trembled faintly.
He kept walking until he had left the plaza behind.
Then the old voice sank lower.
"If you've already understood part of it..."
"Then come down."
The final three words fell into his consciousness like a stone sinking into still water.
Mu Xuan walked the rest of the corridor in silence before finally stopping beneath the shadow of a tall stone pillar.
The morning sunlight still filled the Mu Clan.
Distant voices could still be heard far away.
On the surface, everything resembled an ordinary morning.
But Mu Xuan knew that since the day of the Name Inscription Ceremony, every event had begun linking itself into a single line.
The eyes from the main hall.
The cold current within his body.
The hollow before the Heavenly Name Stele.
And the old man beneath the earth.
None of it was meaningless.
Mu Xuan slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again.
The depths of his gaze gradually settled, until only a thin layer of cold composure remained.
It seemed that some things could no longer be allowed to remain delayed.
Without any further hesitation, he turned and walked toward the path leading down into the deepest place beneath the Mu Clan grounds.