The village did not talk about the fog.
That was the strangest part. People mentioned the weather in passing how damp it had been, how their joints ached but no one spoke about the shape in the mist, or the pressure that had pressed down on the land like an unseen palm. It was as if the memory had been… filed away.
Xu Yang noticed. He lay on the roof of Lin Chen's house, belly pressed against warm tiles, watching villagers move below. Their expressions were normal.
Xu Yang blinked slowly.
That's it? (...)
His tail flicked once against the tiles.
After everything yesterday… that's just… normal again? He narrowed his eyes slightly, watching the scene below as if waiting for it to reveal a second layer.
No panic. No warning. No screaming "something is wrong." Just… everyday life.
(...)
A faint, confused irritation rose in him.
I thought this world was dangerous.
His gaze drifted to the laughing woman again. I mean there was a dead chicken yesterday. That's not "nothing."
A pause. So what, is it just random? One unlucky animal and everyone else is fine? That's worse. That's unpredictable. (...)
His ears lowered slightly. Or am I overthinking it again? He let out a slow breath through his nose. Maybe I expected too much. Maybe this isn't the "start of doom" moment I thought it was. A brief silence.
Then, more reluctantly. Still… it doesn't feel right.
His eyes narrowed again, sharper now.
Something happened. I know it did.
He watched the children splash through puddles, laughing without care. And they don't even notice anything. A small, uneasy thought settled in his chest. It's just me who's aware of it. Xu Yang exhaled quietly.
A woman laughed while hanging laundry. A man argued about grain prices. Children chased each other through puddles left behind by the fog. Life continued.
This is wrong, Xu Yang thought.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the scene below. Yesterday something died without reason. Now everyone is acting like nothing happened. A slow, uneasy thought formed. That doesn't fit.
His tail twitched once against the tiles.
Either I misunderstood what happened… or they're used to things I'm not supposed to understand yet. A pause. Or they're pretending. That thought lingered longer than the others.
Lin Chen came outside carrying a basket. "I'm heading to the market road today," he said, glancing up at Xu Yang.
"Stay here, alright?" Xu Yang flicked his tail in response.
Lin Chen hesitated, then added lightly, "Try not to climb trees. You slipped last time."
Xu Yang's ears twitched. I didn't slip, he thought. I misjudged my body.
That was the mistake. His first real one.
He had forgotten just for a moment that he was not truly a cat. Lin Chen left.
Xu Yang stayed behind, unease coiled tightly inside him. The warmth in his chest pulsed faintly, irregularly. Since the fog, it hadn't settled properly.
He hopped down and padded toward the back of the house, where weeds grew tall and wild. Xu Yang exhaled slowly as the gate closed behind Lin Chen. " Finally," he muttered under his breath. The sound came out soft, almost relieved.
"Alone." He paused, then flopped down onto the ground with a tired weight he didn't fully understand yet. "I'm so tired…" A beat of silence.
His ears flicked slightly in the direction Lin Chen had gone. " That guy," he added quietly, "isn't that bad."His tail relaxed a little.
"I guess I can trust him… at least for now."
He stared at the spot where Lin Chen disappeared, then huffed softly. "Still talks too much though." A faint pause.
Xu Yang rolled slightly onto his side, letting the tension in his body loosen for the first time in a while. Maybe this world isn't trying to kill me every second. The thought was fragile.
That was when he felt it again.Xu Yang froze mid-step. Xu Yang didn't move.
But his thoughts were already racing.
I just said I was alone.
Someone stood at the edge of the weeds. A woman. She wore pale robes the color of early morning clouds, her hair bound neatly with a simple wooden pin. Her face was kind, unremarkable easy to forget.
She smiled when she saw Xu Yang.
"Oh," she said softly. "There you are."
Xu Yang's body screamed danger.
Who is she? His thoughts snapped instantly into focus, every muscle in his small body locking in place.
I've never seen her before. (...)
His tail stiffened without his permission.
Where did she come from? How did she even get here without Lin Chen noticing? (...)
His eyes tracked her carefully, trying to read anything movement, intent, flaw.
But there was nothing obvious.
No spiritual pressure crushed him. No killing intent pressed down.Only warmth.
Artificial warmth. She crouched slowly, careful not to frighten him. "You're a clever little one, aren't you?" Xu Yang did not move.
He lowered his head slightly, pretending shyness.
Don't come closer. The thought came sharp and immediate.
Please just stay away from me. (...)
His ears flattened slightly. I don't like this. I don't like how calm you are.
(....) His mind searched for escape routes without his body moving.
If I run, will I make it? If I stay still, will she lose interest? Neither option felt safe.
Why are you looking at me like that? A subtle discomfort grew in his chest. That's not how people look at something random in a village.
She tilted her head slightly, still smiling.
Xu Yang's thoughts tightened further.
Stop smiling. That's not reassuring. That's worse.
He lowered his body just a fraction, instinct telling him to shrink, to disappear.
I don't know what you are… but I don't want this interaction.
The woman extended her hand, palm open. On it lay a small piece of dried fish.
"I won't hurt you," she said gently. "I help things that wander where they shouldn't."
Xu Yang's claws dug into the dirt.
Xu Yang forced himself to step forward.
Just one step.He sniffed the fish, then took it carefully and retreated a short distance away.
The woman's smile deepened just a fraction too much."Good," she murmured. "You're obedient." Xu Yang swallowed.
She straightened and looked around the village. "This place is quiet,
Fragile. It would be a shame if something… unsettled it again." Her words were casual.
Her meaning was not.
Then, quieter, almost frustrated. I just wanted a normal "alone time." Is that too much to ask?
Xu Yang lowered his head and ate slowly.
deliberately. He did not rush. Did not show hunger. The woman watched him for a moment longer, then nodded to herself.
"Stay safe," she said, turning away. "Strange things are drawn to cats like you."
She walked away.
Xu Yang did not breathe until she disappeared beyond the trees.
The fish lay half-eaten.Xu Yang stared at it, then retched. The warmth in his chest flared painfully, then dimmed.
His mind went blank for a second.
I hate today. (...) He stared at the fish again. I almost died twice, got "found" by a smiling unknown woman, and now I'm supposed to just sit here like a normal cat?
(....) His tail flicked sharply.
This world has terrible pacing. A faint, bitter thought followed. At least in novels, the danger waits until chapter three. He shook his head slightly, trying to physically reset his thoughts.
Also what was that? "There you are"?
His ears flattened. There I was doing WHAT exactly? Existing illegally? A pause.
Then a dry realization hit. I'm not even good at hiding. I'm just small. That's my entire stealth strategy.
He buried the rest of the fish deep in the dirt and paced in tight circles. Heaven had not come to punish him.It had come to check.
And it had found him… acceptable.
That terrified him more than hostility ever could.
Later that afternoon, trouble arrived from another direction. A scream echoed from the eastern edge of the village.
Xu Yang bolted instinctively then stopped himself. Don't stand out. (...)
But the scream came again. Lin Chen wasn't back yet. Xu Yang followed at a distance, staying hidden among fences and shadows.
A small crowd had gathered near the old granary. At its center stood a boy no older than twelve collapsed on the ground, shaking violently. His eyes were rolled back, mouth foaming slightly. A man knelt beside him, panicked. "He just fell! He was fine!"
An older villager whispered, voice trembling, "Could it be… possession?"
The word sent a ripple of unease through the crowd. Xu Yang felt it immediately.
This was not Heaven. This was something else.Thin, Hungry, Opportunistic.
A low-level demon fragment, drawn by the thinning caused by Xu Yang's arrival and the fog that followed. It clung to the boy's shadow, half-formed and desperate.
Xu Yang's heart pounded.If it feeds, it will grow.If it grows, Heaven will intervene.If Heaven intervenes.Xu Yang moved without thinking. He darted forward, weaving through legs, and leapt onto the boy's chest.
Gasps rang out. "Hey get that cat off him!"
Xu Yang hissed sharply, claws digging just enough to anchor himself not enough to break skin. He focused inward.
Just for a heartbeat. The warmth surged.
Xu Yang pushed it outward not as power, but as disruption. The shadow screamed.
Not aloud inside Xu Yang's mind.
It tore free and fled, dissolving into nothing.
The boy went still Silence fell. Then breathing.
The boy's eyes fluttered open.
"What… happened?"
someone whispered.
Xu Yang immediately sprang away, tail puffed up, and bolted toward the nearest wall. He scrambled up and vanished onto a roof, heart racing.People stared, stunned.
"…That cat," someone said slowly. "It jumped on him."
"Maybe it scared the sickness away?"
"No, that's nonsense."
But doubt had been planted.
Xu Yang crouched on the roof, chest heaving.
What just… I had done? His mind replayed it in fragments movement, instinct, sudden tension, the split-second decision to jump.
Why did I jump? His tail twitched sharply against the tiles. There was no plan. No analysis. Just reaction. A pause.
His breathing slowed, but his thoughts didn't.
That's dangerous. (....) A colder realization followed. I can't keep acting on instinct like this. (.....)
He pressed one paw lightly against the roof tile, grounding himself. It wasn't your fault… he thought, almost automatically, as if correcting his own panic. It wasn't "you" deciding carefully. It was panic. Instinct.
A beat. Then he said in mind.I almost got myself exposed again. His ears angled back slightly.have to be careful now. His gaze lowered toward the village below.
Not just careful. Controlled.
A faint tension returned, but steadier this time. This world reacts faster than I do. That means I can't afford to move first unless I understand everything. (...)
He swallowed. Next time… I think first. I act second. (....)
That night, Lin Chen returned later than usual. "You won't believe what people are saying," he said as he set down his basket. "They think a cat chased away a demon."
Xu Yang stiffened. Lin Chen glanced at him, then laughed. "Don't worry. They didn't mean you."
Xu Yang forced himself to relax.
…Haha. A very dry thought slipped through his mind. Unfortunately that was me. (...)
His tail gave a tiny, betrayed twitch.
Of course it was me. A pause. Why is my life like this? (....)
His ears angled slightly as Lin Chen continued talking, but his mind had already wandered. I got reincarnated, turned into a cat, got told I have nine deaths, and now I'm accidentally a village rumor hero.
A faint, exhausted thought followed. Who exactly decided I should be a "demon-chasing cat"? I don't remember signing up for side quests. (....)
His gaze flicked toward Lin Chen.
Also… I didn't "chase" anything. I panicked and moved. That's not heroism. That's survival instinct with bad timing.
He exhaled slowly. If this keeps going, they'll start expecting me to do it again.
A pause. Please don't.
Lin Chen sighed and sat down. "Still… strange times." Outside, far beyond the village, something unseen shifted its attention.
In a quiet village, a cat hid his claws
and Heaven and demons both brushed past him,unaware that this was only the beginning.