Qingxi Village. Night.
The night was deep, and ink-black clouds blotted out what little starlight there was.
A burst of frenzied, piercing barks shattered the dead silence of the remote fishing village.
"Village Chief! The shadow looked like someone from Wang Family Village! He fled in that direction, too!"
Two or three villagers holding rusty fish spears and raising torches high stumbled over to Village Chief Wang Yuechi, panting as they loudly reported.
In the firelight, their faces were all deathly pale.
Wang Yuechi's brow furrowed. "Did you get a clear look?" he demanded in a low voice. "Before he fled, did he get anywhere near our old well?"
"Absolutely not, Village Chief!" one of the villagers swore, slapping his chest. "He had just gotten within ten paces of the well platform when our village dogs started barking. He didn't even touch the well's edge before he hopped the wall and ran!"
