The village was small enough that the whole place could be crossed before finishing a cup of tea.
That was precisely why they decided to stay.
The soldiers needed supplies.
The horses needed rest.
And after several days on the road, even the cultivators had no objection to sleeping beneath a proper roof.
Han Tianci had other plans.
The prince sat opposite him in the courtyard, legs crossed, back straight, trying desperately to follow his breathing.
"Slowly."
The prince inhaled.
"Not like that."
He stopped.
"Too fast?"
"Too forced."
Han Tianci tapped two fingers against his own chest.
"Forget about controlling the breath. Let it settle first."
The prince nodded.
He closed his eyes again.
Inhale.
Exhale.
The courtyard became quiet.
Han Tianci watched him for a while before speaking again.
"Your body is tense."
The prince loosened his shoulders.
"Don't loosen everything."
The prince opened one eye.
Han Tianci sighed.
"You're thinking too much."
"I'm trying to cultivate."
"That's the problem."
The prince looked genuinely confused.
Han Tianci shook his head.
"Again."
The prince obediently closed his eyes.
A short distance away, Tian Tian was lying beneath a tree.
He had one hand behind his head.
The other held a wine bottle.
He looked completely useless.
A village girl passed along the road.
Tian Tian sat up.
"Miss."
She stopped.
He smiled.
"Where are you going?"
"Home."
"Good place."
She hurried away.
Tian Tian watched her leave.
Then got up and followed.
Two cultivators immediately grabbed him.
"Senior Tian."
"I am only going for a walk."
"You've been walking toward the village girls for days just give it a rest."
"Why?"
"I enjoy village scenery."
"Drag him back."
"I saw a very beautiful tree."
"There isn't a tree over there."
Tian Tian looked toward the village.
"...Then perhaps I was mistaken."
They dragged him back.
Tianci didn't even turn around.
"Leave him."
The two cultivators stopped.
Tian Tian smiled.
"See?"
Han Tianci continued.
"Let him wander."
The monk brightened.
"Good brother."
"He'll eventually get slapped and come back sulking."
Tian Tian's smile disappeared.
The two cultivators grabbed him again.
"Senior Tian."
"Let go."
"No."
"Traitors."
They dragged him toward the courtyard.
The prince opened his eyes.
"Senior Tian seems to enjoy village life."
Han Tianci gave him a look.
"Don't learn from him."
Tian Tian sat down beneath the tree again and took another drink.
"Too late."
By evening, the soldiers returned from the village market carrying sacks of grain, vegetables, dried meat, blankets, and firewood.
The inn had been filled quickly.
The prince was given the best room.
The generals and cultivators took the remaining rooms.
The servants crowded together downstairs.
Outside, the temperature dropped.
The cold came suddenly.
By midnight, frost had formed along the windows.
The village became silent.
No dogs barked.
No chickens stirred.
Even the river seemed quieter than usual.
Above the rooftops, the moon slowly turned red.
A blood moon.
The yin gathered.
It seeped through the village lanes like cold water.
Something moved near the river.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Pale figures crawled from the reeds.
Some had long fingers.
Some had swollen bodies.
Some dragged themselves along the ground without making a sound.
The river demons had been released.
They had waited for this night.
The strongest yin.
The blood moon.
A village full of sleeping mortals.
Easy prey.
One demon reached the first house.
Then stopped.
Its head slowly turned toward the inn.
Another demon appeared behind it.
Then another.
They smelled something.
Not blood.
Not fear.
Something worse.
Killing intent.
The demons froze.
Inside the inn, Han Tianci opened his eyes.
Across the courtyard, Tian Tian also stopped drinking.
The six cultivators were awake.
None of them spoke.
The demons felt it.
The blood moon gave them strength.
The river gave them courage.
But the people inside that inn—
had killed things far more terrifying than them.
The first demon slowly backed away.
Another turned.
Then another.
Within moments, the entire group was fleeing toward the river.
Too late.
Tian Tian stepped outside.
His wine bottle was still in his hand.
He looked toward the fleeing figures.
He sighed.
"Since you came all this way..."
He set down the bottle.
His fingers closed around his staff.
The instant it touched the ground—
golden light spread through the village.
The demons stopped.
Their faces changed.
Tian Tian smiled gently.
"Why leave?"
The staff descended.
BOOM!
The nearest demon crashed into the dirt.
Golden light wrapped around its body.
"Recite."
The demon screamed.
Tian Tian struck again.
"Recite."
Another demon was dragged from the river.
"Recite."
The village trembled.
Yet not a single house was damaged.
Not one sleeping villager woke.
The demons were beaten into the courtyard one after another.
Some cried.
Some begged.
Some tried to crawl back toward the river.
Tian Tian calmly dragged them back.
"Sit properly."
A demon sobbed.
"Please..."
"Good."
The monk raised his staff.
"Begin."
The demons began reciting Buddhist scriptures through their tears.
One forgot a line.
The staff descended.
"Again."
Another cried louder.
"Again."
The whole night passed like that.
Golden light.
Buddhist scriptures.
Crying demons.
And the occasional sound of Tian Tian drinking his wine between lessons.
Inside the inn, everyone slept peacefully.
The prince dreamed of cultivation.
The soldiers dreamed of warm beds.
Han Tianci slept with one arm beneath his head.
Nobody knew that outside—
the river demons were being forced to cultivate.
By dawn, not one dared approach the village again.
Tian Tian sat beneath the same tree.
His staff rested beside him.
The demons sat in neat rows before him, exhausted and trembling.
He took a final drink.
"Tomorrow."
The demons looked horrified.
Tian Tian smiled.
"Continue."
Several demons quietly began crying again.