Morning came, but the birds did not.
Xu Yang noticed the silence before he opened his eyes. He lay curled on the wooden windowsill, tail tucked close, body still in the perfect imitation of a sleeping cat. Pale sunlight filtered through the paper window, warming his fur yet the warmth felt wrong, as though the day had arrived without permission.
There was no birds and rooster.The village was awake… but pretending not to be.
His ears twitched.Footsteps passed outside slow, cautious.A door creaked open then shut quickly.
Whispers replaced conversation.
Fear had not faded overnight. It had deepened. Xu Yang stretched lazily, playing his role. His spine arched, paws extended, claws catching briefly on wood before he settled again.
From the courtyard below, two women spoke in hushed tones. "The lantern was lit again," one whispered. "At the shrine?" the other asked. A pause. "Yes. And the ground was disturbed. Like something had been dragged."
Xu Yang's tail stilled.His entire body went quiet in an instant. " Dragged?" he repeated under his breath. A slow blink.
Then he said ."Why is it always dragged?" he muttered. His ears angled slightly downward as he processed it. I leave a shrine for five minutes and suddenly it becomes a crime scene. A pause. Was I the "something"? Or is there a separate category of problems I haven't unlocked yet? His claws flexed lightly against the wood. " I really need better hobbies," he added quietly.
The second woman shivered. "We should ask the elder. This is not normal."
Nothing here is normal, Xu Yang thought.
He lowered his head onto his paws and closed his eyes, pretending disinterest. But he was listening.
By midmorning, routine returned but like a body recovering from fever. People avoided the shrine path. A villager at the edge of the path hesitated, pulling a child back.
"Don't go there," the man said firmly.
The child frowned. "Why? It's just an old shrine." The man lowered his voice. "Old shrines remember things people don't."
The child went quiet immediately after that.
Xu Yang paused in the grass, ears twitching slightly. " That's not helpful," he muttered under his breath. He stepped forward carefully, eyes on the broken structure ahead.
"So now I'm a 'thing old shrines remember,'" he added quietly. "Great. That's new."
A pause. He glanced at the empty path behind him. " Can someone please explain what I actually did here?" he asked no one in particular. Xu Yang slipped away when no one watched. He moved through tall grass, silent as drifting ash, until the abandoned shrine came into view.
Daylight revealed its decay.Cracked stone.
Warped wood.Faded talismans clinging to the doorway like molting skin.
Yet the air around it remained wrong.
Xu Yang sat at the base of the steps.
The urge to change tugged beneath his ribs.
" Stop that," Xu Yang muttered under his breath. His fingers tightened slightly against his knees. "I'm not transforming again just because the atmosphere feels dramatic."
A pause. He glanced up at the shrine, expression flat. "And I really hope this isn't one of those 'the place calls to you' situations."
His tail flicked once, annoyed. "If it is, I'm ignoring it. Just so we're clear." He leaned back slightly, staring at the cracked stone steps. " Also," he added quietly, "why does every important place I find look like it should come with a warning sign?" A faint breeze moved through the broken doorway.
Xu Yang didn't move. " Yeah," he said after a moment. "Still ignoring it."
he studied the soil.Something had tried to leave footprints and failed. His ears flattened. A presence lingered nearby. He can that Demonic aura. Xu Yang didn't look up immediately.
…Of course there is. His thoughts slowed, careful and precise. I came here for silence. I got company instead.
A pause. At this point, I should stop being surprised. It's clearly a pattern.
His gaze stayed on the broken ground.
Something is watching. Or waiting. Or both.
A faint tension built in his chest. If I turn too fast, I confirm I noticed it. If I don't, I get ambushed. Great options. He exhaled slowly through his nose. Just stay calm. If it wanted to attack, it already would have.
He did not look up immediately. A cat that stared at empty branches invited suspicion. Instead, he turned slowly, as if distracted by a drifting insect. Golden eyes met his from the shadows above.
A man lounged along a thick tree branch as though he had always belonged there.
Blue hair spilled loosely over his shoulders, catching fragments of sunlight between the leaves like shifting water. His features were sharp but relaxed, carrying an effortless confidence that didn't match the stillness of the forest around him.
Wolf ears rested atop his head dark-tipped, alert even while he reclinedHe wore the appearance of a scholar at first glance. A long, clean robe in muted tones of white and pale grey, layered neatly and tied with a simple sash at the waist. The fabric was smooth and well-kept, without excess decoration, the kind of attire meant for reading halls and quiet academies rather than forests.
A folded outer coat draped lightly over his shoulders, its edges embroidered with subtle, flowing patterns that only became visible when the light shifted. Even the way he wore it felt careless but precise, as though he could not look disordered even if he tried.
His posture remained relaxed on the branch
He did not speak. Did not move.
He only watched. Xu Yang looked away first.
A cat noticing a stranger was normal.
After a moment, Yan Luo chuckled softly.
"So cautious," he murmured. "You're making this too entertaining, little cat."
Xu Yang flicked his tail once annoyance, nothing more and walked back toward the village. Behind him, Yan Luo's voice drifted through the leaves. "The shrine remembers you," he said lightly. "Even if Heaven pretends not to."
Xu Yang did not pause but his shadow wavered. Xu Yang's thoughts tightened instantly. Who was that now? A pause.
Wolf demon? Fox demon? Do demons just rotate appearances depending on mood?
His ears flicked back slightly.
Why does every demon I meet act like they already know me? I don't even know me.
A faint irritation built under the surface.
What did I do in this world's past life to deserve a full-time audience? His tail twitched once. Can they not schedule encounters? Is there no system for this?
A beat. "Today Xu Yang is available for random supernatural meetings between noon and sunset."
He exhaled quietly through his nose.
That one… didn't feel hostile. That bothered him more. Worse. He sounded like he was observing me, not threatening me.
A pause. Xu Yang's gaze shifted slightly forward. And what does "the shrine remembers you" even mean? I was there for like five minutes. His expression tightened.
I really need fewer cryptic people in my life.
A final, reluctant thought settled in:
Or I need to stop being the thing they're all interested in.
By afternoon, whispers had spread.
A hunter swore forest animals had changed their paths. A farmer claimed his ox refused the shrine road. A child insisted the black cat had been sitting at the shrine steps staring at the door. Xu Yang pretended not to hear.
He lay beneath a cart in the shade, eyes closed.But he felt the way gazes lingered now.
Near sunset, the hunter returned. Xu Yang watched through half-lidded eyes as the man knelt near the house and buried a loop of rope beneath loose soil. A simple snare
For a cat. Xu Yang's tail curled tighter.
From the banyan tree, Yan Luo observed.
"Efficient," he murmured. "Cruel. Very mortal." His gaze shifted to Xu Yang.
"Now what will you do?"
The shrine lantern flickered to life.
In daylight. Villagers saw it. Gasps echoed through the street. Someone shouted for the elder. The hunter reached for his spear.
Xu Yang rose slowly. The snare lay just ahead. He stepped toward it. Then deliberately placed his paw inside the loop.
The rope snapped tight.Shouts erupted.
"Why isn't it struggling?"
"Don't touch it!"
"It's an omen!"
Dust lifted from the ground.It spiraled around Xu Yang, slow and deliberate.The rope fibers trembled and tightened. Loosened then tightened again.
The hunter staggered back. "I didn't touch it!"
Above the shrine door, faded talismans darkened. Ink bled through paper, characters warping into shapes no one could read.
Only Xu Yang understood.
His chest burned.
The whisper did not pass through his ears. It pressed directly into his mind vast, cold, patient. The rope snapped Like thread worn thin by time. The villagers fell back in terror.
"It broke by itself!"
"It's cursed!"
"Stay away!"
Xu Yang did not run.
He stood where he was as dust settled.
The wind stopped. The talismans stilled.
The lantern flame straightened. For one fragile moment, the world pretended nothing had happened. Then a child began to cry.
That sound shattered the silence.Villagers fled, dragging one another away.
Doors slammed. Bolts slid into place.
Within breaths, the street was empty.
Xu Yang slowly lowered his paw onto the earth. He did not return. From the banyan tree, Yan Luo watched in silence, golden eyes reflecting the shrine's cold light. "Heaven has seen you," he murmured. "And it never forgets."
Xu Yang did not look back. Xu Yang's thoughts went quiet for a moment.
Then he thought "Of course it has."
A pause. So I'm officially on "Heaven's attention list" now? That's great. That's just great. His tail flicked once, slower this time.
I didn't even apply for this. I didn't sign anything. I didn't even get a warning notification. A faint tension settled in his chest. "Never forgets" sounds like a threat dressed up as a rule. His ears angled slightly back. I was just trying to survive. That's it. That's literally all I've been doing since I got here. A pause. And somehow that's enough to get noticed by Heaven. His claws pressed lightly into the ground.That's either extremely bad luck… or this body itself is the problem.
That night, every dog in the village howled at once. And the shrine lantern did not go out.