I Only Wanted to Stay Unseen, Until...

"…" Chen Mave jolted, her pupils dilating as she stared at the Tracer Bee. It took her a moment to process what this meant. Her voice cracked as she shouted, "Senior Sister Sil! Didn't you swear Pay Ling couldn't possibly escape your maze array?! Why's he not in the canyon anymore?!"

Chen Haunt, who had been soothing Sil Deshah, snapped his head up. "What did you say?!"

"Brother, look at the Tracer Bee!" Chen Mave hurriedly cast a spell to halt the bee, her voice rising in panic. "The canyon's paths are covered by the maze array—I'd get lost down there. I meant to let the bee lead, but it's flying south! That means Pay Ling's not in the canyon!"

"How's that possible?!" Before Chen Haunt could reply, Sil Deshah gasped, her face pale. "The child formation alone is beyond his cultivation strength and experience—never mind the maze array outside! He's from a low clan. Didn't we all see how clueless that clan heir, Pay Honine, was when he joined the outer sect? His clan brother Pay Honine, that clan's heir, got played by a nobody like Sun Elaine! How could Pay Ling break my arrays?"

She eyed the bee skeptically, her voice tinged with doubt. "Maybe your Tracer Bee's gone out of control?"

"Don't talk nonsense if you don't get it," Chen Mave snapped, her face darkening. Her cultivation strength wasn't high, but she had invested heavily in that bee. "This bee's cost my clan a fortune, and it's never failed us!"

Sil Deshah opened her mouth to retort, but Chen Haunt pressed her shoulder, silencing her. His face was dark, his expression grim as he barked, "Enough! Junior Brother Hwong, take Mave and check what's going on down there."

"The bee's never failed us, and we've seen the power of Junior Sister Sil's array skills. This could mean Pay Ling didn't escape—maybe he chucked his robe out in despair, and some beast carried it south."

"Better go there to check."

He said it calmly, but his heart pounded with a bad premonition. Something was wrong—terribly wrong.

That dread feeling soon proved right. Hwong Hyun and Chen Mave returned from the canyon, their faces grim. "Senior Brother Chen, Pay Ling's gone from the array," Hwong Hyun reported. "I found a fresh footprint by the creek outside—size matches, likely his."

Before he could finish, Cheung Joer'tin's face twisted with fury. He rounded on Sil Deshah, his voice sharp and accusing. "Didn't you swear he couldn't escape?! We trusted that and came up to set the array—look what happened!"

Sil Deshah's eyes glazed over, her face pale with shock. "What… this is impossible!"

"Impossible?" Hwong Hyun said icily. "Do you think Junior Sister Chen and I would joke about this?"

"Enough words. Sheathe your tongues, all of you!" Chen Haunt cut in, his voice firm and commanding, steadying the chaos. "That brat is new to the sect, but he's got secrets. Forget the rest—just that sword art he used in the array before. We all saw it. Let alone the Pay clan, even the outer sect's Pavilion of Myriad Arts might not have many techniques to match it."

He paused, his expression darkening as he continued. "Probably had some luck before joining the sect. Otherwise, a fourth-layer from a backwater like Deerspring—how could his body be that tough?"

"Fleeing the child formation's a shock to us, but it's still not fully impossible…"

Chen Haunt glanced at the sky, his mind racing. "Good thing it's hours till midnight. Let the bee lead—we'll catch him and bring him back."

"Senior Brother Chen, that punk's scared witless," Hwong Hyen added. "He's not daring to head back to Lothgar City—instead, he's running deeper into the mountains. We need to move fast before he stumbles into some demon beast territory and messes things up."

After a quick plan, they split into two groups: Hwong Hyun and Cheung Joer'tin took Chen Mave to hunt Pay Ling, while Chen Haunt and Sil Deshah stayed behind to recover. Each group was given a Televoice Dao Fulu for communication in case of emergencies.

No matter how urgent the situation, the activation of the array hinged on Chen Haunt and Sil Deshah at midnight. If they ran out of energy now and couldn't control the banner later, it would spell disaster.

Hwong Hyen and Cheung Joer'tin didn't waste any time. With Chen Mave synced to the Tracer Bee, they followed Pay Ling's trail. Thanks to their earlier sweep—wiping out demon beasts like the Fire-Eyed Cyan Apes—no dumb beasts slowed them down. Their progress remained brisk.

The only slowdown came from Chen Mave. Her fourth-layer cultivation strength dragged the group's speed, but since she was the one synced to the bee and Chen Haunt's kin, they gritted their teeth and bore it.

Half an hour of hard trekking later, the bee was still flying ahead. Hwong Hyun cursed under his breath, "Sil Deshah's really unreliable. If that brat took any hit while breaking the array, he couldn't have gone this far."

"Sil Deshah's array skills are solid," Cheung Joer'tin countered, shaking his head. "She's a standout among Array Peak's disciples. I tested her maze myself—three days and nights, every trick, and I gave up. For Senior Brother Chen, she wouldn't slack. Pay Ling's the odd one. When we catch him, no mercy."

"At this point, even if we can't bring him back pristine, as long as he's breathing, it's better than him fleeing again."

Hwong Hyen nodded. "Got it—"

Before he could finish, Chen Mave yelped, "Huh!"

They tensed, immediately alert. "Did you spot him?!"

"The bee's hit a natural enemy—it won't go further," Chen Mave said, her voice rattled. "Did you bring the map? What's around here that scares the bee?"

"Scared?" Hwong Hyen and Cheung Joer'tin exchanged puzzled looks. "The map's with Senior Brother Chen—we rushed out without it. But I don't recall anything significant on this route until we reach the Man-Faced Spider's territory."

Near that spider, any strong beasts either fled when sensing the Foundation Stage aura of the monstrous creature or ended up as its meal.

Chen Mave blurted out, "We're not near its territory, are we?"

"No way," Hwong Hyen said, shaking his head. "I've tracked the distance—we're nearly a hundred miles from its hunting edge. Jarl Drainwood said it won't shift its range lightly. It left the depths of Lothgar for safe egg-laying—it won't stray far from the nest."

Cheung Joer'tin frowned. "Maybe a snake or bug spooked it. Ignore it—tell us where the bee stopped. We'll check for Pay Ling's tracks over there."

"Alright!" Chen Mave nodded, about to lead them to where the bee had halted. But before she could take a step, Hwong Hyen's ears twitched slightly. "Wait! I heard something!"