They did not stop running until the forest thinned into broken stone and scrub.
The ravine opened suddenly, a long scar cut into the earth where water once flowed with force. Now it was dry, its sides jagged and uneven, scattered with loose rock and thorny growth. Wang Lin slid down first, boots scraping stone, then turned to help Mei Niu descend more carefully.
She landed unsteadily but upright, breathing hard.
"They will search the camp," she said. "Then fan out."
"How long?" Wang Lin asked.
"Hours," she replied. "Not days."
He nodded. That was enough.
They moved along the ravine floor, keeping to shadows, following the shallow curves where sightlines broke and sound carried poorly. The air here was cooler, the scent of damp stone stronger. Wang Lin felt it distinctly now, the way temperature and texture resolved more clearly against his skin.
Chimera Body.
Stage One.
It was not strength. Not yet.
It was awareness.
They found a shallow alcove where the ravine wall bowed inward, half concealed by hanging roots and broken shale. Wang Lin tested the stone, pressing his palm flat against it. Solid. No hollow echo.
"Here," he said.
Mei Niu nodded and sat, back to the wall, eyes closing briefly as she gathered herself. Her breathing slowed and steadied. The bond between them hummed faintly, not demanding attention, simply present.
Wang Lin knelt a few steps away and closed his eyes.
"I need to understand what changed," he said.
Mei Niu opened one eye. "You want to try now."
"Yes."
She studied him carefully. "Do not force it."
"I will not," he replied.
He settled into a sitting position he remembered from the manuals he had memorized but never practiced. Back straight. His hands resting loosely on his thighs. Breathe slowly and evenly.
For three years, this had been nothing more than an exercise in frustration.
Now, something answered.
He focused inward.
There was still no qi pool. No gathering point. No sensation of accumulation. Instead, there was a response. A readiness along his skin, his muscles, his nerves. When he breathed in, the air felt heavier, not because it entered him, but because it brushed against him more completely.
He exhaled slowly.
The pendant warmed faintly.
Information surfaced, not as words, but as understanding.
Chimera Body Stage One did not draw in energy.
It conditioned the vessel.
Skin, fascia, nerves, all attuned to receive and transmit. His body was learning how to survive what would come later.
Wang Lin opened his eyes.
"I cannot cultivate like they do," he said quietly.
Mei Niu shook her head. "You were never meant to."
"That is not comforting," he said.
"It should be," she replied. "Because you will not break the way they do."
He considered that.
"When I focus," he said, "I can feel changes. Subtle. Like my body is remembering something."
She nodded. "It is aligning. You are becoming compatible with what passes through you."
"What about danger?" he asked. "Will this help me fight?"
"Not yet," Mei Niu replied honestly. "But it will help you endure."
That mattered more than he liked to admit.
He stood and tested his balance. The ground felt different beneath his feet, each pebble registering clearly. He took a careful step, then another. His movements were smoother, not faster, but more precise.
"I can move better," he said.
"Yes," Mei Niu agreed. "You waste less effort."
A sound echoed faintly above them.
Both froze.
Voices carried from the ravine rim, distant but distinct. Cultivators. Calm. Methodical.
"They are spreading," Mei Niu whispered. "They know we ran."
Wang Lin looked around the alcove. "Then we cannot stay."
"No," she said. "But we can mislead."
She pushed herself to her feet, moving with care, then crouched and pressed her palm to the stone. Her eyes closed, brow furrowing as she focused.
"What are you doing?" Wang Lin asked.
"Breaking a pattern," she replied. "Hunters follow signs of stress. Fear. Flight."
Her tail flicked once.
"I will give them something louder."
She stepped out into the ravine and dragged her fingers along the stone, letting her energy leak deliberately, just enough to leave a trail. She winced slightly, but kept going for several paces before stopping.
"That will hurt you," Wang Lin said.
"Not much," she replied. "And not for long."
She returned to the alcove and shook her head. "Now you."
"What," he asked.
"Stand where I stood," she said. "Focus on me. On the bond."
He did.
The thread tightened instantly, awareness sharpening. He could feel the direction she indicated, the false trail she had laid.
"Now walk away from it," she said. "Slowly."
He did.
As he moved, the strange sense of presence along his skin intensified. He felt something brush past him, like water flowing around stone. His awareness bent, not hiding him, but smoothing his imprint.
He stopped, heart pounding.
"That," Mei Niu said softly, "is how you survive until you are stronger."
They moved again, deeper into the ravine, then climbed out through a narrow fissure hidden by brush. Above, the forest opened into rough terrain dotted with low trees and wind carved stone.
They traveled until dusk, then farther still, stopping only when Mei Niu's steps faltered.
"We rest," she said.
They found shelter beneath an overhang where the rock slanted outward, creating a natural canopy. Wang Lin set a small barrier of stones and brush while Mei Niu settled against the rock.
"You should eat," he said.
She nodded and accepted the simple food he offered, chewing slowly.
After a time, she spoke again.
"In the old stories," she said, "Divine Husbandry was not just about production."
Wang Lin looked up.
"It was about balance," she continued. "Those who held it were not warriors. They were anchors. When sects pushed too far, beasts gathered to them because they were safe."
"That sounds like a target," Wang Lin said.
"Yes," Mei Niu replied. "Which is why they were destroyed."
He stared into the dimming light. "Then why did it return."
She hesitated. "Because something in the world has become unstable again."
The words lingered.
He closed his eyes briefly. "I do not want to be a symbol."
"You already are," she said gently. "To me."
That made him open his eyes.
She met his gaze steadily. "You gave me a choice. That alone makes you different."
He nodded once.
Later, when the light had fully faded, Wang Lin focused again, this time standing, moving slowly through simple motions. Not techniques. Not forms. Just controlled steps, careful shifts of weight.
He could feel where his body resisted, where tension lingered. When he adjusted, the resistance eased.
Mei Niu watched quietly.
"You learn quickly," she said.
"I had three years of watching others do it," he replied. "I learned what not to waste."
She smiled faintly.
As night settled fully, Wang Lin felt it.
A pull.
Not toward Mei Niu, but outward.
He paused, senses extending through the bond, through the subtle awareness along his skin. Something in the distance stirred, faint but distinct.
Another presence.
Beast.
Wild.
Curious.
He turned toward the darkness.
"Someone is near," he said quietly.
Mei Niu's ears twitched. "Not a hunter," she said after a moment. "Different."
The presence lingered, then withdrew slightly, as if reassessing.
"Should we move," Wang Lin asked.
"Not yet," she replied. "Let it decide."
They waited.
Minutes passed.
The presence returned, closer this time, cautious but unafraid.
Mei Niu inhaled slowly. "Spirit wolf," she said. "Tier Two."
Wang Lin's pulse quickened. "Dangerous."
"Yes," she said. "Also lonely."
He looked at her.
"She feels the bond," Mei Niu continued. "Not ours specifically. The absence of chains."
The presence paused at the edge of his awareness, then stepped forward enough that Wang Lin could sense her clearly now. Strong. Wary. Scarred.
Watching.
"Do not move," Mei Niu whispered. "Let her see you."
Wang Lin remained still, breathing slow, open rather than tense.
The presence shifted again.
Closer.
Then stopped.
A voice spoke from the darkness.
"Human," it said. "You smell wrong."
Wang Lin swallowed, then answered evenly. "I am told that often."
A pause.
Then a low, surprised sound that might have been a laugh.
"You carry beasts," the voice continued. "But you do not bind them."
"No," Wang Lin replied. "I do not."
Silence stretched.
"I want to see," the voice said at last.
Wang Lin did not move.
Mei Niu's hand brushed his arm lightly, a silent reminder.
Cultivation had begun.
Not with power.
But with choice.
And the world was already responding.