Shen Lian walked along the dirt road at noon. Her slow steps caught the villagers' attention almost immediately. A man carrying a basket stopped and looked at her. "Why is she still here?" he whispered. Another villager quickly glanced around before saying, "What does she want this time?" An old woman pulled a child closer to her. "Don't stare. Just stay inside." A few people hurried out of the road as Shen Lian came closer. Even the children who had been playing nearby became quiet and watched her from a distance.
From beneath a broken cart near the edge of the main road, Xu Yang watched her enter the village. His body lay still, paws tucked neatly beneath him, tail wrapped in a loose coil. To any passing glance, he was merely another stray seeking shade from the merciless sun. His ears twitched once before flattening slightly. Why is she here? No... not her. Of all people, why did she have to come here?... His heart began beating faster. He pressed his paws against the ground and tried not to move. Stay calm. She hasn't noticed me. I'm just a cat. Just a stray cat. Don't look at her. Don't do anything strange...
Shen Lian did not glance left or right, yet nothing escaped her awareness. The butcher's knife paused mid-cut, the children's laughter faded into an uneasy silence, and an old woman held her prayer beads tighter without even realizing it. Shen Lian continued walking as if none of it mattered. Her eyes remained calm, but she seemed to notice every small change around her.Shen Lian paused mid-step. Her gaze slowly shifted toward the broken cart, toward him.
Xu Yang did not move. He met her eyes. For a moment, his mind went completely blank. She saw me. No, maybe she didn't. Don't move. Don't even blink... His ears wanted to flatten, but he forced them to stay still. His tail tightened slightly around his body as he tried to look as ordinary as possible. Why is she looking here? Did she sense me? Stay calm, Xu Yang. If you panic now, she'll know something is wrong...
Shen Lian gave a small smirk. "How curious." she murmured.A clay jar beside the cart suddenly cracked with a soft sound. Xu Yang felt a strange pressure settle over him. It was quiet and controlled, but sharp enough to make his fur stand slightly. He knew exactly what she was doing. She was testing him.His heart beat faster, but he forced himself to stay calm. Don't react. If she sees even the smallest sign of fear, I'm finished...Xu Yang slowly opened his mouth and let out a long yawn. He stretched his jaw, his pink tongue showing for a moment, then half-closed his eyes as if he couldn't care less about her. He turned his back to Shen Lian and calmly began licking his paw.
Somewhere behind Shen Lian, a pile of firewood suddenly fell with a loud noise. A child nearby got scared and started crying. His mother quickly picked him up. "It's okay. Don't cry," she said, holding him close. An old man looked at the fallen wood and shook his head. "First the dogs started barking, and now this..." Another villager looked at Shen Lian and whispered, "Bad luck. Strange things have been happening since she came." "Keep your voice down," another man warned. "What if she hears you?" The villagers went back to their work, but they kept looking at Shen Lian from time to time.
Shen Lian laughed softly. "Not mortal," she whispered. Xu Yang kept licking his paw without stopping. "Not demon," she continued. There was a short silence. "Not beast." Xu Yang's tongue stopped for just a moment. Her eyes became sharper. Then, as if nothing had happened, Shen Lian continued walking.The pressure suddenly disappeared. The children slowly went back to playing, though they were quieter than before. Xu Yang kept grooming himself until Shen Lian was out of sight. Only then did he stop. The fur along his back stood up, and his whole body became tense.
Inside the village inn, Shen Lian sat at a table near the window. From there, she could see the well in the middle of the village. The innkeeper saw her and quickly walked over. "My lady, welcome. We have rice wine, fresh bread, and—" "Tea." Shen Lian said. The man quickly nodded. "Yes, tea. Right away." He bowed and hurried toward the kitchen.
Shen Lian placed her hands on the table. For a moment, she looked like an ordinary traveler who had come to rest. Then she took a compass from her sleeve. The old bronze compass was dark and worn. Its glass was cracked, but the needle inside was still moving quickly. It did not point north. It did not point south. It did not point in any normal direction. The needle suddenly stopped. It pointed toward the broken cart. Toward the cat. Shen Lian's expression darkened. "The seal weakens." she murmured.The tea arrived. The innkeeper set the cup down with trembling hands, spilling a few drops onto the table. "Leave," Shen Lian said without looking at him. He left.
Outside, a farmer was arguing with his neighbor near the fields. "I told you, that water is for my crops!" he shouted. His neighbor pointed at the canal. "Your crops already got enough. Move your channel back!" Nearby, children ran around the well and chased each other. "Catch me if you can!" one boy shouted as another ran after him. Two old women sat beside the well and talked quietly. "I think this winter will be colder than last year," one said. The other shook her head. "You say that every year." They both laughed. None of them noticed the strange change in the air above the village.
None of them heard the faint sound in the sky, like a string being pulled and released. Xu Yang did. He crouched on a rooftop across from the inn, keeping his body low against the tiles. His ears moved as he listened. From there, he could see the inn window, the table inside, and the old compass in Shen Lian's hand. That compass... Why is it pointing toward me? Can it really sense me?... Xu Yang narrowed his eyes. If she knows what the compass can find, then I can't stay here. I need to leave before she learns what I really am...
He closed his eyes for a moment. Suddenly, everything around him disappeared. He saw fire around his body and thick chains holding him down.Then he heard voice. "Erase him." Xu Yang's claws dug into the roof tiles, and he quickly opened his eyes. Panic led to mistakes... Mistakes led to exposure. Exposure led to death. I can't die...
Inside the inn, Shen Lian slowly looked toward the window. Her eyes found him almost at once. Their eyes met. This time, Xu Yang did not pretend. She saw me... So this is what being "confirmed" feels like... If I turn away now, it looks like I'm running. If I stay, it means I admit she found me. His tail flicked once. Either way… she's already decided I exist. He let out a quiet breath. Fine...
He held her gaze for several seconds. Shen Lian did not look away instead she smiled. "So you were watching me." she said quietly. Xu Yang's ears twitched,but he said nothing. Shen Lian tilted her head and looked at him carefully. "You're not afraid enough to run," she said. "But you're not careless enough to come closer either." Xu Yang narrowed his eyes. She really is troublesome. Shen Lian touched the compass with her fingers. "Interesting!" she said. "You noticed it too, didn't you?" Xu Yang's tail flicked again. Shen Lian smiled. "Don't worry. I won't follow you."
He finally turned and walked along the roof, his tail held high and his steps calm. Shen Lian's fingers tightened around the compass. The needle shook, then began spinning wildly. "For something that should not exist," she murmured, "you are remarkably calm." She watched him disappear across the rooftops. Then she looked down at the compass. "But calm or not..." She pressed her thumb against its cracked surface. "You are connected to this place." The needle shook again. Shen Lian's smile faded. "And if I'm right, you're not the only thing hiding here." She closed her hand around the compass. "If it awakens now," she whispered, "the heavens will notice."
Xu Yang jumped down into an alley behind the inn and landed without a sound. He kept his head low as he walked. "Yes." he muttered,"Just a normal cat doing normal cat things." He glanced at a basket of vegetables. "Definitely not involved in any cosmic-scale misunderstandings." A woman nearby didn't look at him twice. Xu Yang relaxed a little. "Good. This is acceptable behavior." He took two more steps, then suddenly stopped.
Something was happening above. Clouds began to gather even though the sky had been clear. A faint ripple moved across the blue, so small that someone could mistake it for a trick of the light. Xu Yang stopped. He didn't look up. His tail went completely still. "No. I refuse to be emotionally involved with the sky." He slowly moved forward again, pretending nothing had changed. "It's probably just weather," he told himself. Another step. Then he said, "Bad weather. With opinions." His ears flattened slightly. He kept walking. "If Heaven is looking, I'm busy being irrelevant. Please accept that." He resumed walking. Behind him, the ripple faded. For now.
Inside the inn, Shen Lian stood and pushed the chair back. She placed a coin on the table. The innkeeper stared at it, then quickly looked up at her. "Miss, you paid too much." he said nervously. Shen Lian glanced at him. "Keep it." The innkeeper hesitated before bowing his head. "Yes, Miss. Thank you." He watched her walk away, then quietly picked up the coin. "Who exactly did I just serve...?" he muttered under his breath.
Outside, villagers glanced at Shen Lian, then quickly looked away, instinctively avoiding prolonged attention. She walked toward the well. The compass needle spun faster with every step. Shen Lian's expression remained calm, but her fingers tightened around the cracked bronze compass.
Xu Yang watched from the alley, keeping his body low and his ears slightly back. Great. She's coming this way. Of course she is... Because apparently hiding as a cat wasn't complicated enough. Now an ancient compass has decided to make my life even worse... He glanced around, searching for somewhere to hide, but the square was too open. Running would only make me more suspicious. Staying still felt even more suspicious. Okay... stay calm. I'm a cat. Cats are normal. Ancient magical compasses pointing at cats are also apparently normal...
The compass needle spun faster. Xu Yang's eyes narrowed. Wait... Don't tell me that thing can actually sense me. He slowly lowered his head and pretended to sniff the ground. Maybe if I look completely uninterested, she'll lose interest too. Yes. That's a solid plan. Very believable...Shen Lian took another step. The needle suddenly stopped, pointing not at the ground, but straight toward the alley where the black cat stood watching her.
Xu Yang froze. His ears went stiff. Oh, come on... Seriously? He wanted to turn around and walk away, but even that felt too obvious. So he stayed where he was, pretending that the most dangerous woman in the village was not staring directly at him.
Shen Lian's fingers tightened slightly around the compass. There... Her eyes slowly moved toward Xu Yang. That's not a demon signature... Her gaze sharpened. The compass didn't waver. It insisted. Shen Lian's eyes narrowed slightly. So why are you reacting to it? Or… why does it react to you? She studied Xu Yang more carefully now.
Xu Yang felt a chill run through him. She knows something. Maybe not everything, but enough to be dangerous. Don't panic. I can't panic. Running now will confirm her suspicion. Hiding will probably do the same. And pretending to be an ordinary cat is getting harder by the second. Fantastic. I've survived seals, demons, Heaven, and whatever that fire was. Apparently, my greatest enemy is a woman with a broken compass...He slowly lifted his head and met Shen Lian's eyes. For a moment, neither of them moved. Xu Yang tried to look bored. I'm just a cat. A completely harmless cat. There's nothing strange. Please look somewhere else. Just for five seconds...
Xu Yang and Shen Lian stared at each other across the crowded village square. No one else noticed. A child ran between them, laughing. A woman argued over the price of grain. Life continued.The compass in Shen Lian's hand cracked. A thin fracture split the glass from edge to edge.Shen Lian smiled.