Xu Yang suddenly felt like he had said something he should never have said. For one second, his own words echoed in his head. I've already died once. His eyes widened. What did I just say?...How did I casually say that out loud?... His entire body went still.Then came the worse question. Why did I say it like that was normal?... His ears flattened hard. Who says things like that casually? ...
Xu Yang looked away. Xu Yang, apparently. He internally recoiled.Absolutely not. We are changing this conversation immediately...
He quickly looked toward the trees and cleared his throat. "Anyway..." He rubbed one paw against the dirt, trying to look casual. "The weather is terrible." Yan Luo stared at him. Xu Yang avoided his eyes. "Very... wet."Xu Yang's ears twitched. He could still feel Yan Luo looking at him. "What?" he asked defensively.Yan Luo said nothing. Xu Yang quickly added, "You were talking about Heaven." He pointed one paw toward him. "Continue with that."
Yan Luo's mouth moved slightly, but he seemed to decide against teasing him. After a moment, he said, "I can break the directive." Xu Yang's head snapped toward him. "You can?" Yan Luo nodded once. "But," he added, "it will cost you." Xu Yang shifted closer despite himself. "What?" Yan Luo stepped toward him. "Heaven tracks you through resonance," he said. "Not power and form but eaning."Xu Yang's ears slowly lowered. "Meaning?" Yan Luo's eyes stayed on him. "You don't fully belong to this world."
A cold feeling moved through Xu Yang's chest. Yan Luo continued, his voice quieter now. "That's why they keep losing your trail. Your body can change. Your power can disappear. But something still connects you to this world." Xu Yang stared at him. He already knew the answer."Your memory." Yan Luo said quietly.Xu Yang went completely still. His claws pressed into the dirt. "Do you mean..." He swallowed. "I'll lose my memory?" Yan Luo did not answer immediately. He looked away for a moment, then back at him. "That memory makes you dangerous," he said. "It's also the loudest thing about you."
Xu Yang lowered his head and stared at his paws. His breathing slowed, but his heart beat harder. If I will loose memory, i would still be Xu Yang. But not entirely. "How much?" he asked. Yan Luo's expression became serious. "Enough that you won't remember why certain names feel heavy." Xu Yang's claws curled into the dirt. One name came to him before he could stop it. "Wang Xiao?" he asked softly.Yan Luo's gaze sharpened. "Yes."Xu Yang closed his eyes.
For a brief moment, the forest disappeared. He remembered sitting awake late at night, staring at a screen.He remembered reading chapter after chapter and getting annoyed whenever the story stopped at the worst possible moment. He remembered thinking, I could survive better than this idiot MC. Then he remembered the accident and darkness. And then waking up in a world that was never supposed to be his.Xu Yang opened his eyes slowly. His paw was still pressed into the dirt. He looked at Yan Luo, and something in his expression had changed. "No," he whispered. His voice was quiet, but firm. "You can't take that."
Xu Yang kept his eyes closed, and regret hit him hard. Why? Why did I not read more carefully?...His tail twitched against the dirt. Why did I keep skimming things?...Then another thought came to him. Why did I ever think I'd do better? He remembered what he had said earlier. I'd survive better... Xu Yang's face tightened. Really? Look at you now.Running through forests while negotiating with demons. Are you surviving better?...Xu Yang slowly opened one eye and looked at his dirty paws. He had no answer for that. No, Xu Yang. You're doing much worse. The MC at least knew he was the protagonist...Xu Yang looked at the ground again. I'm out here starving under rocks... His claws pressed into the dirt. Happy now? You wanted better? Congratulations. You got realism instead...
He rubbed his face with one paw and looked at Yan Luo. The joking look faded from his eyes. "Do it," Xu Yang said. Yan Luo stared at him. "You're insane." Xu Yang gave a tired shrug. "Probably." He lowered his eyes to his paws. "But if I keep running, Heaven wins." Yan Luo studied him for a few seconds, then raised one hand. "This will hurt." Xu Yang glanced at him. "Everything hurts lately." A faint smile touched Yan Luo's mouth, but it disappeared almost immediately. His fingers moved, and dark demonic power gathered around his palm. It was not wild or violent. Thin strands of power spread through the air and wrapped around Xu Yang's body before slowly moving toward his chest.
Xu Yang's body stiffened. "Wait..." His breath caught when the power touched the warmth inside him. Pain shot through his body and his claws dug into the dirt, breaking the wet ground beneath them. He tried to move, but his body would not listen. The pain reached his head, and something inside his mind suddenly began to pull. His memories. Xu Yang's eyes widened. No...Then scene flashed through his mind and then became unclear. A face he knew suddenly became difficult to remember then another memory slipped away. A name remained, but the person connected to it was gone.
Xu Yang tried to hold on, but he couldn't.
His old life flashed through his mind.He was in his room and reading late nights. The unfinished story. A black-robed figure standing at the end of a chapter. Xu Yang reached for the memory, but it kept moving farther away. "Stop..." he whispered. Yan Luo's expression tightened. "I can't." Another memory disappeared. Xu Yang's paw lifted weakly from the ground. He tried to grab at something that wasn't there. He knew he was losing something. He just couldn't understand what it was anymore. His breathing became uneven, and his claws scraped uselessly against the dirt.
His strength suddenly gave out.
Xu Yang collapsed onto the ground, shaking as the dark strands slowly faded from his body. Yan Luo staggered back and caught himself against the ravine wall. He took several deep breaths before lowering his hand. "It's done," he said quietly. "You're quieter now." Xu Yang stayed where he was. His breathing slowly returned to normal, but something still felt wrong. He pressed a paw against his chest. The warmth was still there.He frowned and tried to remember what had been there. Nothing came. "What did I lose?" Xu Yang whispered. Yan Luo looked at him but said nothing. Xu Yang's ears lowered.
Yan Luo looked away. "You won't know until it matters." The ravine shuddered beneath them and small stones rolled down the wall, and Xu Yang lifted his head as dust fell onto his fur. He blinked through it and stared at Yan Luo, still breathing unevenly. "That," he said weakly, "is possibly the worst answer I've ever heard." Yan Luo said nothing. Xu Yang pushed himself up slightly, but his front legs trembled and he quickly steadied himself against the ground. "No, seriously," he muttered, his voice rough. "That sounds terrifying on purpose." He rubbed his chest with one paw, feeling the warmth still moving beneath his fur.He still looked shaken, but there was more focus in his eyes now. "You removed something from me." Yan Luo's jaw tightened faintly. "I broke a path." he corrected. Xu Yang blinked once. "That somehow sounds worse."
Another tremor moved through the ravine. Dust slipped from the cracked stone overhead, and Xu Yang's ears twitched as he looked up. A small piece of rock landed beside his paw. He quickly moved it away with one paw and looked back at Yan Luo. "Tell me exactly what that means." he said, more serious now.Yan Luo exhaled slowly and lowered his hand. The last traces of demonic power around his fingers faded into the air. "It means," he said, "Heaven was following something in you too easily." Xu Yang stared at him. "Following me?" Yan Luo nodded.
Xu Yang's ears lowered. "And you thought the answer was to cut something out of me?" "I didn't cut it out." Yan Luo crouched beside him and looked toward Xu Yang's chest. "I broke the connection before Heaven could use it." Xu Yang looked down at himself as if expecting to find a missing piece. He touched his chest again. "So I still have it?" "Not in the same way." Yan Luo's eyes moved toward the dark passage behind them. "Heaven can still sense you. It just can't follow the same path." Xu Yang swallowed and slowly pulled his paw back. "So I made Heaven lose my trail?" "For now." Xu Yang stared at him. "You really like saying things that make me feel worse."
Yan Luo gave him a tired look. "You're still alive." Xu Yang lowered his head. "That is becoming a very low standard."He tried to stand, but his legs gave a small shake. Yan Luo reached out and caught him before he slipped back onto the dirt. Xu Yang looked at the hand holding him, then at Yan Luo. "I'm fine." "You're shaking." "That's because I'm fine very badly." Yan Luo almost smiled, but he quickly looked away and helped him sit against the stone wall.
Xu Yang rested his head on cold rock and closed his eyes for a second. His body still felt weak, but his mind was slowly becoming clearer. "You said Heaven was following something in me," he said. "What was it?" Yan Luo did not answer immediately. Xu Yang opened his eyes and watched him. "Was it my power?"Yan Luo shook his head."My body?" Yan Luo shook his head again."Then what?" Yan Luo looked at him. "The way you were connected to this world." Xu Yang frowned. "I don't understand." "You weren't supposed to be here the way you are now." Yan Luo looked towards sky then at him."Something about you doesn't fit the path Heaven recorded."
Xu Yang's fingers curled against the dirt. "And the thing you broke?" he asked. Yan Luo looked at him briefly. "It was the easiest way for Heaven to find you." Xu Yang stared blankly at him. "So you made it harder." Yan Luo nodded."Yes." Xu Yang rubbed his forehead with one paw. "By taking what?" Yan Luo's gaze flicked toward him briefly. "Not who you are.But perhaps… a piece of how you were meant to be found."Xu Yang stared blankly. "That is still incredibly concerning."
Far above, Heaven's pull slipped, failed to find purchase, and quietly retracted. Wang Xiao stopped reading his book. His fingers remained between the pages as he stared at the same line without reading it. The strange sensation that had been following him for days was gone.He slowly lowered the book and looked toward the distant mountains. "Strange." he murmured. He waited, but nothing returned.Wang Xiao closed the book and rested it beside him. His expression remained calm, but his eyes stayed on the horizon for a little longer.
Back in the ravine, Xu Yang slowly pushed himself up. His legs still felt weak, and he had to place one paw against the stone wall to steady himself. Yan Luo watched him without saying anything. Xu Yang took a careful breath and looked toward the narrow path leading out of the ravine. "I'll survive," he said, more to himself than to Yan Luo. Yan Luo studied him with something close to respect. "You're walking toward something worse than death."
Xu Yang smiled. "I always do." He took one step and nearly slipped. Yan Luo reached out, but Xu Yang quickly caught himself. "See?" Xu Yang muttered. "Still alive." Yan Luo lowered his hand. "Barely." Xu Yang glanced at him. "You really know how to encourage someone." Yan Luo turned away. "This is the last time I interfere like this." Xu Yang nodded. "I know." Yan Luo paused, then added quietly, "If you ever remember him… it means Heaven failed." Xu Yang frowned slightly. "Remember who?" Yan Luo looked back at him, but his expression gave nothing away. "You'll understand when you need to."
Xu Yang's ears lowered. "I hate that answer too." Yan Luo said nothing. The next second, his figure disappeared into the trees.
Xu Yang watched the place where Yan Luo had been standing. He stayed there for a few seconds before his body finally gave in to exhaustion. He curled into himself beneath the stone overhang, tucked his paws close, and slowly closed his eyes. The cold ground pressed against his fur, but he was too tired to care. His breathing became slow as sleep pulled him under. He did not notice the faint mark that flickered briefly at the center of his chest. A sealed symbol. One of nine.
Xu Yang returned to the village at dawn. Mist clung low to the fields, curling around the mud paths and half-rotten fences as if trying to hide the place from the world. Roosters crowed sleepily. Somewhere, a woman scolded a child for running barefoot.Xu Yang walked along the edge of the road, his paws sinking slightly into the damp soil. He looked toward the familiar houses and let out a quiet breath. "Finally, I'm back." he said in his mind. "Now I can eat all day." His stomach growled loudly. Xu Yang stopped walking and looked down at it. "You heard me."He padded through the grass in his cat form, keeping close to the edges of the road. His fur was duller than before, streaked with dust that never quite washed out.
Xu Yang paused near the familiar courtyard. The wooden gate was crooked. One hinge squeaked when the wind pushed it open. He stared at it for a second before slipping through the gap.The smell of cooked grain drifted from the kitchen. Xu Yang's ears immediately lifted. His tail rose a little. "Food." he thought with sudden hope. "Real food." He jumped onto the low wall and looked toward the kitchen window. A figure moved inside. His friend was awake already. "Ah, there you are!" Lin Chen called when he noticed him. Xu Yang froze on the wall. Something warm moved through his chest before he could stop it. He's like a friend, I guess... His ears twitched. At least he gives me food... His tail flicked once, slow and relaxed.
Lin Chen came out of the kitchen carrying a small bowl. The moment he saw Xu Yang properly, his smile disappeared and his eyebrows pulled together. "Where did you run off to?" He put the bowl down beside the wall and reached for him. Xu Yang watched the hand coming toward him. A hand reached out, rough and warm, rubbing behind Xu Yang's ears without hesitation. Xu Yang leaned into it automatically, then caught himself and stilled. "You disappeared for days," the man muttered. "I thought a fox spirit finally got you." Xu Yang's ears twitched.A fox spirit... what is fix spirt?! They are all Demons here ...
Lin Chen looked over his fur and frowned. "You're covered in dirt again." He brushed a little dust from Xu Yang's back with his palm. "Did you sleep outside?" Xu Yang immediately turned his head away. Don't ask. Don't ask...Lin Chen sighed and picked up the bowl. "Come on. You must be hungry." Xu Yang's head snapped back toward the food. Lin Chen laughed quietly. "I knew it." Xu Yang hopped down and followed him inside without hesitation.
He circled the yard once, deliberately casual, before settling near the doorway.
As the sun rose higher, the village slowly became busy. Merchants pushed their carts along the road, children ran between the houses, and people gathered around the well with buckets in their hands. Xu Yang lay in the shade near the courtyard, half asleep as he watched them. A traveling cultivator stopped at the well and asked for water. He wore plain robes, nothing that would draw attention, but Xu Yang noticed the talisman hanging from his waist. It looks new...The moment Xu Yang took a breath, the talisman gave a faint pulse. His ears moved and he immediately turned his head away and pretended to lick his paw.
The cultivator drank the water and thanked the villagers. "Is there a place to stay nearby?" he asked. An old villager pointed toward the road. "The next town is half a day's walk." The cultivator nodded. "Thank you." He stayed only a short while before leaving the village. Xu Yang watched him disappear down the road, his tail slowly curling around his paws. The man was gone, but the strange feeling remained. It lingered along Xu Yang's back like someone had brushed a hand over his fur. He lowered his head. Heaven doesn't look directly, he reminded himself.It lets others glance for it... His ears twitched. "Very clever." he muttered under his breath.
That night, Xu Yang waited until the village had gone quiet. The last lamp in Lin Chen's house went out, and even the dogs had stopped barking. Xu Yang slipped through the gate and padded across the empty fields. He kept low until the houses were far behind him, then disappeared into a stand of trees where the moonlight barely reached the ground. He looked around before taking a slow breath. "Finally." His body changed. Black fur faded from his skin, his small body stretched, and his bones shifted until he was standing on two legs again.
Xu Yang exhaled shakily and placed one hand against a tree to steady himself. His demon form felt weaker. Not physically. It was something deeper, as if a small but important part of him had been peeled away. He stared at his hands and slowly curled his fingers.Sharp claws pushed from his fingertips.He watched them for a few seconds before letting out a quiet breath. "Good. At least these are still here." He flexed his fingers again. "I can adapt." he murmured to the darkness.
Xu Yang frowned and shook his head. "Don't think about it." He closed his eyes and pulled his aura inward.The nearby leaves stopped moving, and even the insects seemed to ignore him. Xu Yang opened his eyes and looked around. "Not bad." He shifted back into his cat form before the sky began to lighten and quietly returned to the village without being noticed.
Days passed. Xu Yang settled into a simple routine.Sometimes he followed Lin Chen to the fields and slept beneath a tree while Lin Chen worked. Lin Chen would occasionally look over and shake his head. "You really know how to enjoy yourself." Xu Yang opened one eye from the shade. Lin Chen laughed and looked at the field and then back at him.Xu Yang's tail flicked once.
At night, Xu Yang listened from the rooftops or beside the old village wall while the elders talked. Most of their conversations were about ordinary things, but lately the same rumors kept coming up. "They say the Demon Capital sealed its borders again," one elder said. Another man lowered his voice. "I heard a great demon passed through the eastern provinces." Someone else leaned closer. "Did they say who it was?" The old man scratched his chin. "The name was Wang... Wang something."
Xu Yang's ears lifted and he stared toward them."Wang Xiao!" another villager whispered.The group became quieter. "That's right. Wang Xiao.They say even the heavens favor him."Something stirred in Xu Yang's chest.He froze for a second and pressed one paw against it. It wasn't a memory. There was no face, no scene, no name attached to the feeling. Just a strange pull that disappeared almost as quickly as it came. Xu Yang frowned and shook his head. "Nope." He curled tighter against the wall. "Don't know him." He closed his eyes. But he didn't remember anything about Wang Xiao.
Far away, on a road lined with black stone markers, Wang Xiao walked in silence. His robes moved lightly in the night wind. Beside him walked a tall man with sharp eyes and a fox's tail that was barely hidden beneath his outer robe. The fox demon glanced at him. "You've been distracted since yesterday." Wang Xiao continued walking. "The pull is gone," he said at last. "But something remains."
The fox demon raised an eyebrow. "That sounds inconvenient." "It is." Wang Xiao's answer was calm. He stopped beside one of the stone markers and looked east. There was nothing unusual in the distance, only dark mountains beneath the night sky.
"Someone interfered." Wang Xiao said. The fox demon's smile faded. "Can you tell who?" Wang Xiao shook his head in denied and his fingers rested lightly on the edge of his sleeve. "But they paid for it." The fox demon studied him. "Do you intend to investigate?" Wang Xiao looked toward the east once more. "Not yet." He started walking again.His companion followed, but the fox demon glanced back at him. "You sound curious." Wang Xiao did not look over. "I am."
Back in the village, Xu Yang woke suddenly in the middle of the night. His eyes opened at once.He sat up,ears flattened as he listened.The house was quiet. Lin Chen was still asleep. Xu Yang slowly climbed down from his sleeping place and moved toward the window. A faint smell drifted in through the gap.He sniffed once and immediately pulled his head back. "That's not from here." he thought.Xu Yang crept closer to the window and looked outside.The village was dark and fields beyond the houses were covered in thin mist. At the far edge of the village, beyond the fields, a single lantern burned. Xu Yang stared at it. No one stood beside it. No house was nearby. The lantern simply hung there, swaying in the wind.
Xu Yang's tail slowly lowered.He stayed at the window, watching it without moving. "Who put it there?" he whispered. The lantern continued to sway. Xu Yang waited. Nothing happened. Then the flame suddenly went out. The darkness closed in again. Xu Yang slowly lowered himself away from the window, his heart pounding. He looked back toward the sleeping room and then at the dark window. This place is pretending to be safe, he realized. And Heaven was very patient.