The road narrowed as they approached Fengqi Village.
A cold fog hung low, the air thick with the smell of burnt grain. The fields were barren — no movement, no sound but the creak of their saddles.
Zhen Yu slowed his horse. "It's too quiet," he murmured.
Liang Hu scanned the surroundings. "Even the crows won't land here."
At the edge of the village, they were met by wary eyes. Faces peeked from behind half-shuttered doors, and when the riders entered, people hurried to close them.
The streets were empty. There was a kind of darkness — not seen, but felt.
Mei Lian's crimson gaze swept over the thatched roofs. Her fingers signed beneath her cloak:
They know. They're hiding something.
Zhen Yu nodded once. "Then we'll find out what."
They stopped at the old shrine near the center of the village — its altar blackened with soot, coins scattered across the floor, melted into strange, glimmering lumps.
A hunched elder emerged from the shadows, his face lined deep with fear.
"Travelers," he rasped, bowing low. "You shouldn't be here. Leave before nightfall."
Zhen Yu stepped forward. "What's happening in this village?"
The old man's hands shook. "It's… it's the river. We offer gold, but it always wants more. Anyone who refuses—"
He stopped, his throat tightening. Behind him, a child began to cry, quickly silenced by her mother's hand.
Liang Hu frowned. "Gold? In a place this poor?"
The elder nodded weakly. "We dig it from the stream. But the more we offer, the more it hungers. Last night, three were taken."
Mei Lian's eyes darkened. Her fingers moved slowly.
A monster that feeds on desire. Greed.
The wind hissed through the shrine, and the coins on the altar rattled as though something beneath them moved.
"We are here to help," Zhen Yu said. "Let us stay tonight. We will find a way to end this."
At noon, over a meager meal, Mei Lian described what they were facing.
Her fingers signed quickly, sharp and deliberate.
Appearance: A bloated, translucent leech called Jīn Zhì with veins of liquid gold coursing through its body. Wherever it crawls, treasures turn to rot.Power: Drains both wealth and life force, leaving its host obsessed with more, more, more until nothing remains.Symbolism: Greed appears beautiful — golden — but feeds by emptying everything.Weakness: It cannot cling to those who willingly let go of possessions.
Liang Hu grunted. "So we fight it with poverty?"
Mei Lian looked at him; her silence was answer enough.
By dusk, the river's glow was visible from the hills.
It shimmered gold — unnaturally so, as if sunlight still lingered beneath its surface long after night had fallen.
Zhen Yu drew his sword. "Stay close."
They descended to the water's edge. The current was slow, heavy — thick as molten metal.
Then, from the reflection, something rippled.
A form rose — a golden leech, long as a horse, its body glistening with coins and melted jewellery fused into its flesh. Its many mouths opened and closed along its sides, whispering voices that weren't its own.