The morning in Snowflake Town was unusually quiet.
So quiet that it felt unnatural.
After breakfast at the inn, Red and Snow decided to investigate the town properly. Though it appeared ordinary, the strange "sands' whisper" outside the window the previous night and the unknown spiritual pressure had already alerted them that Snowflake Town was not as simple as it seemed.
Snow held her Hypnosis Staff. "Should we start at the outskirts of the town or go straight to the main street?"
Red narrowed his eyes. "The outskirts. The closer to the sea, the easier it is to hide things."
They began along a small northern path. The wind carried fine sea sand that fell like light snow around their feet. Yet something felt off. The wind's direction, strength, and rhythm were too uniform, almost as if it were controlled intentionally.
Snow frowned. "The sea wind… shouldn't be this regular."
Red picked up a handful of sand, letting it slip through his fingers. Each grain felt unusually light, yet no traces of spiritual power could be detected.
"Something strange is here," he said. "But it has no root."
They traced the northern path around to the western side, finally reaching the warehouse district at the edge of town. Normally, this area was bustling with cultivators trading herbs and sea goods, but today it was eerily empty.
Rows of wooden warehouses stood silently, their doors all shut.
Snow approached one of the doors and prepared to scan it with her spiritual perception.
Suddenly, her ears twitched. "Huh?"
Her awareness seemed to hit an invisible barrier and was swallowed without a sound. It was not blocked—it simply vanished.
Red tried the same. The result was identical. "It's like… something has been cut off."
"Cut off by what?" Snow asked.
"I don't know," Red replied, taking a deep breath. "But this is beyond what an ordinary town could do."
They continued to the town's central square. A large white stone stele stood in the middle, inscribed with:
"Snowflake Town, Peace Lasts Forever."
The characters were gentle, as if carved casually, yet Red stared at them for a long moment, sensing something almost alive in the strokes, a subtle rhythm as if the letters were breathing.
"Let's take a short rest," Snow suggested, patting his sleeve.
They sat on a bench beside the stele. Not far off, several cultivators walked past, their expressions blank and movements perfectly synchronized, as if guided by an unseen force.
Snow shivered. "Why are they walking… so neatly?"
Red's expression darkened. "Since last night, I've felt as though the whole town is being moved by some hand."
"Invisible… moving hand?" Snow whispered.
Red nodded. "Yes. But it's not malicious; otherwise, we wouldn't have slept through the night without incident."
"Then we can't detect it because it's too strong?"
"No," Red said calmly, analyzing. "It's because the hand doesn't want us to detect it."
They continued to explore the town but found no flaws, no traces of tampering. Spiritual energy was normal, the buildings were intact, and the people appeared ordinary. Not even a hint of demonic or malevolent energy could be sensed.
It was precisely this "too normal" quality that made it unsettling.
By evening, they returned to the inn.
The innkeeper was polishing the counter and greeted them warmly. "Tired from your walk today? Snowflake Town is simple. There isn't much to find."
Red and Snow exchanged a glance.
The words felt deliberately cautious.
Snow said softly, "We were just looking around."
The innkeeper looked up, smiling as warmly as before, the kind of warmth that tightened the chest rather than relieved it.
"Looking around is fine, of course. But remember this," he paused deliberately. "Some things, unseen, are safer than seen."
In that moment, though the inn was brightly lit, Snow felt the air suddenly chill.
Red answered lightly, "Thank you for the reminder."
Yet he was certain of one thing: Snowflake Town held secrets, and the invisible hand that guided the town was watching them carefully.