Yi Shuyuan paid no mind to Hui Mian's shriek. Instead, he reached out, opened the window wide, and secured it with the Wind-Fixing Hook.
Rumble...
The distant rolls of muffled thunder might have felt faintly oppressive to ordinary people, but Yi Shuyuan sensed something different.
The many changes between heaven and earth often held subtle information, and celestial phenomena were especially so. This thunder seemed more like a prelude to something, though not necessarily something human.
After his master startled him, Stoneborn saw the window opened wide and looked outside too. He no longer watched Chi Qinghu's party disappearing into the distance, but gazed at the distant sky alongside his master.
"Master, something sounds wrong with that thunder."
Yi Shuyuan looked down at Stoneborn, who was leaning on the windowsill.
"Oh? Then tell me what's wrong with it."
Stoneborn thought for a moment before speaking.
"The thunder sounds muffled, hidden in the clouds without revealing itself. It lingers, with a hint of restlessness. Perhaps some great fiend is about to emerge, but its presence is obscure, leaving the currents of heaven and earth churning in agitation! If my instinctive guess is right, that means the fiend is either exceptionally good at hiding and can evade heavenly tribulation, or it hasn't been born yet."
Then Stoneborn added another remark.
"But it should be in that direction. What the Heavenly Dao senses can't be wrong. Master, am I right?"
Yi Shuyuan nodded lightly, though he still offered an explanation.
"You're broadly correct. But based on my experience contending with heavenly tribulation, hiding well enough to evade it isn't truly possible. Tribulation can manifest, and it can also change form. You might evade it for a time, but not for a lifetime."
As he spoke, Yi Shuyuan had already begun divining on his