The lantern did not return, but Xu Yang could not forget it. The next morning, he woke before Lin Chen and spent most of the time watching the village from the courtyard. Nothing looked different. People opened their doors, smoke rose from the kitchens, and merchants began moving along the road as usual. Still, Xu Yang's ears kept turning toward every sound. When a cart creaked nearby, he looked up. When a chicken suddenly flapped its wings, his head snapped toward it. Even a child running past the gate made his tail twitch.
Lin Chen noticed after a while. He crouched beside Xu Yang and reached for one of his front paws. "What's wrong with you today?" he muttered. "Did you step on a thorn?" Xu Yang immediately pulled his paw back and jumped onto the low wall. Lin Chen stared at him. "You weren't this nervous yesterday." Xu Yang turned his back to him and stared toward the fields. Someone looked, he thought. And didn't look away. His ears lowered slightly.
Lin Chen leaned against the wall and looked at him. "Are you hiding something?" Xu Yang's tail stopped moving. He slowly turned his head and stared at Lin Chen. Don't ask questions like that. Lin Chen smiled when Xu Yang only blinked at him. "Right. I forgot. You're a cat." He reached up and rubbed Xu Yang's head. "You probably just want breakfast." Xu Yang's ears lifted at once. Food. That was a much better subject. He jumped down and followed Lin Chen toward the kitchen. Lin Chen laughed. "See? I knew it." Xu Yang walked beside him with his tail raised. At least one problem in this village still made sense.
By noon, the village had become noisy. People moved between the houses, children played near the well, and several villagers stood together talking in low voices. Xu Yang was lying beneath a tree when he heard someone speak. "Did you hear? Old Chen swears he saw a shadow standing upright near the fields last night." Xu Yang's eyes opened. Another villager looked doubtful. "You mean a cultivator?" "No, no. Too small." Someone laughed. "Probably drunk." "Old Chen doesn't drink." "Then he was tired."
Xu Yang slowly lifted his head.He went still for a second. Again?... His eyes narrowed. What is this now? A new problem?... His tail flicked once in annoyance. Can they leave me alone for five minutes? Just five...He lowered his head onto his paws, but his ears remained pointed toward the villagers. First it was the shrine.Then talismans. Then cultivators then Heaven apparently "noticing."...His ears angled slightly back. I'm starting to sound like a list of village problems instead of a living thing. His tail moved again. At this point I should start charging for appearances...He shifted slightly, uncomfortable.I didn't even go to the fields...
That night, Xu Yang didn't wait for everyone to fall asleep. The strange lantern from the previous night was still bothering him, so he decided to check the village perimeter before going back inside. He slipped out quietly and kept close to the darker parts of the road, moving past the fields and checking the trees one by one. Everything seemed normal.Xu Yang slowly relaxed. Maybe nothing going to happen tonight... Then he smelled fox scent and he froze.His ears lifted, and he looked toward the trees. He glanced around once before jumping into a nearby tree.He climbed higher and pressed himself against the trunk, hiding among the leaves.
A few moments later, "You are still alive?" the fox demon said mildly. Xu Yang's claws dug into the bark. What kind of greeting was that? He stared down at the man, trying to decide whether he should run or answer. Finally, he lowered his voice. "Why?" Xu Yang said, his voice tight. "Do you want me to die?" The fox demon tilted his head slightly, as if the question was mildly inconvenient. A strand of silver hair slipped beside his face, and he calmly brushed it back. "I don't want you to die," he replied simply. He looked at Xu Yang for another moment before adding quietly, "But someone else does." Xu Yang went still. His tail tightened around the branch.
Xu Yang tightened his grip on the branch and looked around the clearing. There was no one else. At least, no one he could see. "So what," he said slowly, "you're just here to watch?" Fox demon smiled."I'm here to make sure it doesn't happen too early." Xu Yang stared at him."That is also not comforting." The fox demon shrugged lightly. "Comfort was never part of the arrangement." Xu Yang frowned. "What arrangement?" The fox demon didn't answer. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the village, his expression becoming slightly more serious. "I won't force you down," he continued. "But I will stay until you either leave... or slip."
Xu Yang's ears twitched. He looked down at the ground beneath him. This demon wasn't attacking him, but somehow that made him even more suspicious. What does "slip" even mean?...Xu Yang cursed inwardly. He was getting tired of demons speaking like they already knew the ending of his life.
He released the branch and dropped down. His feet touched the ground lightly, and before the moonlight could catch him clearly, his body shifted. Black fur disappeared, his limbs stretched, and human skin replaced fur in the shadows.
Xu Yang straightened and brushed a few leaves from his sleeve before looking directly at the fox demon. His expression became carefully blank. "Why are you all following me?" Xu Yang asked.The fox demon didn't answer immediately. Instead, he leaned slightly against the tree and folded one arm across his chest. His long silver hair slipped over his shoulder as he looked at Xu Yang. "'All' is a strong word." he said lightly. Xu Yang's eyes narrowed. "So there are more?" the fox demon muttered. His smile widened just a little. "You noticed that quickly too." "I'm not blind." Xu Yang replied flatly.Xu Yang's tail flicked once in irritation. "That's not my fault." he said. The fox demon looked at him calmly. "Sometimes it is." he replied. Xu Yang stared at him. "That was unhelpful." The fox demon gave a quiet hum and looked toward the dark road.
Xu Yang followed his gaze for a moment before looking back at him. Something about this man was strange. He wasn't acting like an enemy, but he wasn't acting like a friend either. And somehow, Xu Yang felt like the fox demon knew much more about him than he was saying. Last time I checked, normal cats were supposed to worry about food and shelter, not mysterious demons... Xu Yang rubbed his forehead. "My life really has become ridiculous."His eyes returned to the fox demon. "Last time I checked," Xu Yang said, lowering his voice slightly, "normal cats don't get followed by multiple demons and cryptic conversations." The fox demon gave a soft hum, almost like agreement. His lips curved faintly. "Interesting. That was fast."
Xu Yang did not respond. The fox demon pushed himself away from the tree and stood straight. Moonlight caught the silver strands of his hair as they moved gently in the night wind. "My name is Qing Li," the fox demon said. "I travel with Wang Xiao." The name hit like a stone dropped into water. Xu Yang felt the ripple but still couldn't grasp why it mattered. "Ohh.i didn't asked for introduction.and I don't even know who are you talking about." Xu Yang said.
Qing Li studied him with open curiosity. He took a small step closer, and Xu Yang immediately stepped back. "That's strange," Qing Li said. Xu Yang frowned. "Why?" "Because you feel like someone he would remember," Qing Li replied. Xu Yang's chest tightened. He didn't know why those words bothered him, but something about them felt wrong. Before he could answer, Qing Li tilted his head slightly and looked at him more carefully. "You're hiding well. Even Heaven's threads slide off you." Xu Yang stiffened at once. "You shouldn't say that aloud." Qing Li smiled lightly. "Relax. I don't belong to Heaven."
He stepped closer and lowered his voice. "But someone used Heaven's tools here. I smelled it. Recently." Xu Yang watched him carefully. His fingers tightened inside his sleeves. So the strange feeling around the village wasn't just in his head. Someone really had been using Heaven's power here. He kept his face calm and said, "Then leave." Qing Li laughed softly. "I can't. Wang Xiao is already curious."
Xu Yang's thoughts stopped for a moment. Wang Xiao? The name echoed faintly in his mind, like something hidden behind fog. Where have I heard that...? He frowned and tried to remember, but the feeling disappeared before he could catch it. There was something familiar about the name, but he couldn't find a reason. His tail flicked once. Forget it. If I don't remember it, it's not important right now. He let the thought go and focused on the fox demon in front of him.
Xu Yang turned away. "You didn't see me." Qing Li gave a quiet laugh. "I saw enough," he replied easily. Xu Yang stopped and glanced back. Qing Li pointed toward the village. "And I saw this." His eyes moved toward the houses. "You're attached." Xu Yang said nothing. He didn't like how quickly Qing Li had noticed that. Lin Chen was just a human who gave him food and a safe place to sleep. That was all. At least, that's what Xu Yang kept telling himself. Qing Li's expression softened slightly. "That makes you dangerous to yourself."
Xu Yang opened his mouth to answer, but footsteps suddenly came from the path. He turned his head quickly. A lantern appeared between the trees, slowly getting closer. Xu Yang's ears lifted. Someone was coming. Qing Li glanced toward the path, then back at Xu Yang. "Your friend?" he asked quietly. Xu Yang looked again and recognized the familiar figure. Lin Chen.Before Xu Yang could say anything, Qing Li disappeared. There was no sound or flash of light. One moment he was standing there, and the next, he was gone. Xu Yang stared at the empty space. His heart started beating faster. Where did he go? He couldn't even feel his aura anymore.
Lin Chen stepped out from the trees, holding the lantern in one hand. He looked around before calling, "Little one?" Xu Yang turned toward him. He wanted to answer. He wanted to say that he was fine, but when he opened his mouth, the only sound that came out was, "Meow." Xu Yang froze. Lin Chen looked at him. Xu Yang looked back. Inside, Xu Yang wanted to scream. Seriously? Now?...Lin Chen frowned and looked around the trees. "I thought I heard someone talking." Xu Yang quickly shook his head. "Meow." Lin Chen scratched his head, still looking unsure. "Don't wander so far." He walked over and picked Xu Yang up. Xu Yang relaxed against his arm, though his eyes stayed on the dark trees. Qing Li was nowhere to be seen.
Xu Yang followed him back without arguing. He glanced over his shoulder one last time before the trees disappeared behind them. He still couldn't understand why the name Wang Xiao felt familiar. But he pushed the thought away. He had enough problems already. From the treeline, unseen, Qing Li watched them go. "So that's how it begins." he murmured.
Far away, near a river of slow-moving molten fire, Wang Xiao stood on a broken cliff of black stone. Heat rose from the river in steady waves, making the distant view shake and blur.Wang Xiao stood near the edge without moving, his dark robes shifting slightly in the hot wind. He looked down at the river and watched the molten fire move slowly between the rocks. There was no clear pattern in it, yet he kept watching as if he could see something hidden beneath the surface.
After a while, Wang Xiao finally spoke without turning around. "Qing Li found something." A faint movement came from behind him. Someone had been standing in the shadows where the heat made the air hard to see through. "You're late," a second voice said lazily. "As usual." Wang Xiao didn't react. He continued watching the river. "I wasn't looking for urgency," he replied. The person behind him gave a quiet laugh. "And yet," he said, "it keeps finding you."
Wang Xiao's eyes moved slightly. He wasn't looking at the river anymore. His gaze followed a faint ripple of information moving through the unseen threads around them. Something had changed. He could feel it, but he couldn't see the full picture yet. "Report," he said simply. The voice behind him became more serious. "Qing Li confirmed Heaven's residue in a mortal region," he said. "But that's not the interesting part."
Wang Xiao slowly raised his hand and let a small piece of black stone fall from his fingers. It disappeared into the molten river below. "What is?"The other figure stepped out of the heat distortion slightly. His face was still hidden, but his voice was clear. "There's something there that Heaven is... not correcting." Wang Xiao's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes narrowed slightly. "Not correcting," he repeated softly. "Yes," the voice replied. "And Qing Li thinks it's already noticed us back." Wang Xiao lowered his hand and looked toward the distant horizon. So it had noticed them. That meant Qing Li wasn't simply watching something unusual. Someone or something had started watching back. Wang Xiao's fingers slowly tightened inside his sleeve. Then he turned his gaze back toward the molten river, as if seeing further through it than surface heat. "Then it's no longer just observation," he said quietly.
Back in the village, Xu Yang lay curled on a roof beam of the storage shed, his tail wrapped tightly around his body and his eyes half-closed. From there, he could see most of the village. Mud paths crossed between the houses, grain was spread out to dry, and thin smoke rose from the breakfast fires. Children ran through the streets while the older villagers carried water and worked around their homes. Everything looked normal. But the flow was wrong. People were looking around more often. Conversations stopped whenever someone unfamiliar walked past. Even the dogs had started barking at empty spaces before whining and hiding behind their owners.
Xu Yang slowly opened one eye. He watched a man in plain robes walk past the well, then looked toward another stranger standing near the village gate. Three. He had counted three strangers before noon. All cultivators. Low-level, poorly disguised, and pretending to be ordinary travelers. One carried a sword that was badly hidden beneath his clothes. Another had a talisman hanging from his belt. The third kept looking toward the fields instead of the road. Heaven is spreading nets, Xu Yang thought. Not pulling yet. His tail flicked once. They were watching, testing, waiting for something to happen.
Lin Chen noticed the change too, though he understood it differently. He was repairing a broken fence near the courtyard, pulling a loose piece of wood into place. He wiped sweat from his forehead and glanced toward the road. "Bad times," he muttered. "Too many cultivators lately. They only come when trouble follows." Xu Yang looked at him from the roof. Lin Chen hammered another nail into the wood. "I don't like it." Xu Yang flicked his tail again but said nothing.
That afternoon, Qing Li returned. Not openly. Xu Yang noticed him before he actually saw him. There was a small change in the air near the edge of the village, like a reflection that didn't match what stood behind it. Xu Yang waited until Lin Chen turned his back, then jumped down from the roof and slipped behind the storage shed. He glanced around once before moving toward the fields. He pretended to chase a mouse until the houses were far enough behind him. Then he stopped beside an old mulberry tree. "You can come out." he said quietly.
Qing Li stepped from behind the tree as if he had been there the whole time. His long silver hair rested over his shoulders, and his golden eyes held the same calm look as before. "You didn't run," Qing Li observed. Xu Yang crossed his arms. "I didn't need to." Qing Li smiled faintly. "Confidence or resignation?" Xu Yang gave him a tired look. "Neither. You're drawing attention." Qing Li lightly brushed a leaf from his sleeve. "I'm redirecting it," he corrected. "If I'm here, Heaven assumes I'm the anomaly." Xu Yang frowned. "That's dangerous." Qing Li shrugged. "I'm used to it." Xu Yang looked at him for a moment. Of course he is. Why does every powerful demon I meet say things like that?
They walked together along the dry irrigation ditch, keeping enough distance between them that they didn't look like friends. Dry grass brushed against Xu Yang's legs as they moved. Qing Li occasionally looked toward the village, while Xu Yang kept checking the fields. "Your village is about to be tested," Qing Li said lightly. Xu Yang stopped walking. "How?" Qing Li also stopped and looked back at him. "Small things." He counted them on his fingers. "Lost livestock. A spirit beast wandering too close. A cultivator offering protection." Xu Yang's face became serious. "And if they find nothing?" Qing Li's gaze sharpened. "Then they'll create something."
Xu Yang looked toward the village. Lin Chen was still working near the house. A child was carrying a bucket near the well. Everything looked peaceful. Too peaceful. "How soon?" he asked. Qing Li's expression changed slightly. "Soon." Xu Yang sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I really hate that word." Qing Li smiled. "You should get used to it." Xu Yang looked at him. "That's not helpful." "I know."
That night, it happened. A scream tore through the village. Xu Yang's eyes opened instantly. He had been resting near the roof when the sound came from the eastern fields. Firelight flickered between the houses. Villagers rushed outside, shouting and grabbing whatever they could find. Lin Chen ran out holding a wooden tool in one hand. "Everyone stay back!" he shouted. Another roar shook the ground.
Xu Yang jumped from the roof before anyone could notice him. His body shifted while he ran, black fur disappearing as his form changed. He vanished into the shadows before the villagers could see what happened.A huge spirit boar crashed through the crops. Its body was larger than any normal beast, with twisted horns and rough patches of dark skin. Its eyes glowed unnaturally as it smashed through the fields. Villagers screamed and ran toward the houses.
Xu Yang landed behind a wall and watched the beast for a second. Not summoned. His eyes narrowed. Guided.He could see them now. Faint lines of probability moved around the beast, almost impossible to notice. They pulled its path toward the houses whenever it turned. Xu Yang clenched his fists. Someone was pushing it. Heaven? Or someone using Heaven's tools? Either way, the result was the same. If he killed the beast here, Heaven might notice him. If he did nothing, people would get hurt. Xu Yang looked at the frightened villagers and clicked his tongue. Of course. There was never an easy choice."Fine," he muttered. "Let's do this the annoying way."
He stepped into the field and threw a small stone toward the beast. It struck the ground beside its hoof. The boar turned immediately. Xu Yang ran. The beast roared and charged after him. Xu Yang glanced back and saw the horns coming closer. "A little faster would be nice!" he shouted, jumping over a fallen cart. The boar smashed through it behind him. Wood flew everywhere. Xu Yang ducked and kept running. He didn't fight. He only stayed close enough to keep the beast following him.
The path ahead led toward the old ravine. Good. Just a little farther.
Behind him, the beast roared again. Xu Yang looked back. It was gaining on him. "You're very fast for something that ugly." He jumped over a ditch and landed hard on the other side. His foot slipped for a second, but he caught himself and kept moving. The beast followed without slowing.Then Qing Li appeared near the village. He stepped into the road and pointed toward the western fields. "It's heading that way!" he shouted.
The villagers immediately turned and followed his direction. A few cultivators ran after them, weapons already drawn. Qing Li watched them go before disappearing into the darkness again.Xu Yang reached the old ravine path. He could see the pit ahead. It had been dug months ago to catch wolves, but no one had used it in a long time. He slowed just enough to make the beast believe it was catching him. The boar lowered its head and charged.Xu Yang jumped sideways at the last moment.
The boar missed him completely. Its front legs went straight into the pit. Its body crashed forward, and the force of the fall broke its neck. The beast went still.
Xu Yang stood a few steps away, breathing hard. He stared at the body, then looked back toward the village. No one had been hurt. The faint threads around the beast slowly disappeared. Xu Yang let out a breath and rubbed his face. "That was too close."
By the time the villagers arrived, they only saw the dead spirit boar at the bottom of the pit. They quickly began talking about how lucky they had been. Someone claimed the old trap had saved the village. Another person said the beast must have wandered in by accident. A cultivator arrived late, looked into the pit, and clearly seemed disappointed that the problem had already been solved.Qing Li stood farther away beneath the trees, watching Xu Yang carefully. "You're good at minimizing damage," he said. Xu Yang looked at him and wiped dirt from his sleeve. "I'm good at surviving." Qing Li studied him for a long moment. "That won't be enough." Xu Yang met his gaze. "It has to be."
Far away, beneath dark banners hanging from the walls, Wang Xiao stood before his master in the Demon Palace. The large hall was quiet, with only the sound of the wind moving through the open doors. Wang Xiao stood calmly with his hands behind his back while the Demon Clan Head looked down at him from the raised seat. "The eastern provinces are unstable," the Demon Clan Head said calmly. "Heaven is moving pieces again." Wang Xiao lowered his head slightly. "Qing Li is already there."
"Mm." The Demon Clan Head's eyes narrowed slightly. He watched Wang Xiao for a moment before asking, "And what do you feel?" Wang Xiao was quiet. His fingers moved slightly inside his sleeve. He had felt the strange pull for days, but now it was almost gone. What remained was harder to explain. "A loss," he said quietly. "As if something I was meant to meet is avoiding me." The Demon Clan Head smiled faintly. "Then it will not avoid you forever."
Wang Xiao lifted his eyes but said nothing. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, or why the thought of finding it felt so familiar. Still, the words stayed in his mind as he turned and walked out of the hall. Back in the village, Xu Yang curled beside his friend's hearth, pretending to sleep.