Morning rose over Millstone City in soft gold, brushing rooftops and warming cold brick walls. Vendors opened shop, steam drifted from cooking pots, and the city returned to its humble rhythm.
It should have been peaceful.
But Wuya felt pressure in the air.
Soft.
Thin.
But growing.
He stood beneath the peach tree, eyes half-closed, listening to things only he could hear.
Footsteps far outside the walls—one pair, heavy, steady, purposeful.
Breath strong, controlled.
Aura faintly vibrating at the edge of his senses.
Not like the wounded wanderer from yesterday.
Stronger.
Sharper.
Disciplined.
And dangerous.
Xueyi stepped out of the house, tying her hair into a messy ponytail.
"Wuya… you're doing that thing again."
"What thing?"
"The thing where you stare at nothing and make me nervous."
He blinked.
"I'm looking at the sky."
"That's even worse!"
"You asked."
Xueyi huffed loudly.
"You never give normal answers."
But her expression softened as she stepped closer.
"…You feel something, don't you?"
He nodded.
"Someone is coming."
Her Moonveil Seal flickered faintly under her robe.
"That traveler from yesterday?" she whispered.
"No," Wuya said quietly.
"This one is strong."
Xueyi moved closer, gripping his sleeve.
"Is it dangerous?"
Wuya did not answer.
Because he didn't have to.
The air itself answered for him—tightening, sharpening like a blade approaching a sheath.
---
A Shadow Over the City
Tianhai came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands with a cloth.
He paused.
His expression—calm, gentle, mortal—twisted with a faint crease of concern.
"You feel it too," he murmured.
Wuya nodded.
Xueyi looked between them with growing alarm.
"Who is it?"
"A cultivator," Tianhai said.
"An actual one, not like the weak wanderer from before."
Xueyi swallowed.
"Strong?"
"Strong enough to be trouble."
Wuya tilted his head slightly.
"He's disciplined."
Tianhai's eyes sharpened.
"You sensed that?"
Wuya nodded without hesitation.
"He walks with steady weight. His breath is controlled. He has practiced combat breathing."
Tianhai frowned deeply.
"That level of awareness… Wuya, you must not let him see anything unusual."
"I know."
Xueyi clutched his arm.
"What if he sees your eyes?! You get all scary when you sense things!"
"I'll close them," he said.
"Close your eyes and walk into a wall?"
"…Maybe."
"Wuya!"
Tianhai stepped between them.
"Both of you, enough. When he enters the city, act normal. Completely normal. Do nothing strange."
Xueyi nodded.
Wuya nodded.
Tianhai sighed.
"And by normal, I mean truly normal—not your version of it."
Wuya blinked.
"…What's wrong with my normal?"
Xueyi answered instantly:
"Everything."
---
The Hunter Arrives
The cultivator entered Millstone City by midmorning.
Wuya felt him before he even passed the gates.
A sharp vibration rippled through the air—like a finger brushing across the strings of an ancient zither.
Not loud.
Not violent.
But precise.
This was a real cultivator.
A trained one.
He wore a travel-worn dark robe, a hood shadowing most of his face. A narrow sword hung at his waist, emitting faint spiritual resonance.
His steps were silent, but Wuya felt each one.
Thud…
Thud…
Thud…
Like a drumbeat echoing through his bones.
Xueyi's Moonveil Seal trembled against her skin.
She gasped.
"He's close!"
Tianhai muttered, "Stay calm."
Wuya let out a slow breath.
"He's looking for something."
"Yes," Tianhai said.
Wuya pressed a hand to his chest.
"For the scroll."
Tianhai's expression stiffened.
"You sensed that?"
Wuya nodded.
"His movements, his breath, his anger… they all focus on a single thought."
Xueyi whispered:
"He's dangerous, isn't he?"
"Yes," Wuya said calmly.
Xueyi's nose wrinkled.
"You're too calm!"
"You're too loud."
"I'm whispering!"
Wuya blinked.
"That's loud."
"Wuya!!"
Tianhai pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Children… please…"
---
The Cultivator Steps Into the Shop
The stranger walked straight through the city, ignoring shops and people like ghosts. His aura pressed faintly on the air—light enough that mortals didn't notice, but heavy enough that Wuya felt it like a hand on his chest.
Then—
The wooden door of Tianhai's shop slid open.
He stepped inside.
Wuya was near the counter.
Xueyi stood behind him.
Tianhai pretended to sort herbs on the shelf.
The cultivator scanned the room with sharp, hawk-like eyes.
"Shopkeeper," he said, voice low, calm, dangerous.
"I am searching for five thieves who passed through this region."
Tianhai didn't turn.
"What did they steal?"
"A scroll."
Tianhai poured grain into a jar.
"And what makes you think they came here?"
"Their tracks stopped at your city's edge."
His eyes narrowed.
"They may have tried to blend in here. I came to confirm."
Tianhai's voice remained steady.
"I have seen no such men."
The cultivator walked slowly, glancing around.
But Wuya felt what his senses were truly doing—sweeping the room, testing, probing.
Then the man paused.
His eyes shifted.
They landed on Wuya.
A heaviness pressed in the air.
Xueyi's heart thumped loudly against Wuya's arm.
But Wuya did not flinch.
The cultivator stared at him—a sixteen-year-old boy holding a bundle of firewood.
Wuya stared back.
Calm.
Quiet.
Unmoving.
The cultivator frowned slightly.
"…You."
Wuya blinked slowly.
"Yes?"
"Your presence…"
Xueyi clutched his sleeve hard, trembling slightly.
Wuya remained still.
"What about it?" he asked calmly.
The cultivator narrowed his eyes.
"It feels… odd."
Wuya did not blink.
"Is odd dangerous?"
The man paused.
"…No. Just unusual."
Xueyi whispered loudly:
"He's always weird. That's normal."
Wuya looked at her.
"That is contradictory."
"YOU'RE CONTRADICTORY!"
Tianhai threw a wooden spoon at Xueyi's head.
She yelped.
The cultivator blinked—confused.
Wuya spoke again, voice calm:
"Do the thieves look dangerous?"
The cultivator regained his composure.
"They are weak, but desperate. You should stay inside if you see any suspicious men."
Wuya bowed slightly.
"I will."
The cultivator studied him one last time.
But Wuya held his gaze without revealing anything—not fear, not awareness, nothing.
Just quiet.
Just mortal calm.
And eventually, the cultivator turned away.
"Thank you," he said to Tianhai.
Then he left the shop.
---
The Moment He Leaves
The door shut.
The cultivator's footsteps faded.
Tianhai slumped slightly.
Xueyi released Wuya's sleeve and collapsed onto a stool.
"Wuya," she gasped, "I thought he was going to stab you!"
"He thought I was strange," Wuya replied.
"BECAUSE YOU ARE!"
Tianhai sighed deeply.
"He is part of the Crescent Jade Sect—a small but disciplined sect from the southern hills. They are not harmless."
Xueyi frowned.
"Sect? Like a clan?"
"Similar," Tianhai said.
Wuya asked:
"Will more come?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"Depends on how important that scroll was."
Wuya let out a soft breath.
"…It felt important."
Tianhai's eyes sharpened.
"You sensed that too?"
"Yes."
Tianhai leaned back.
"Wuya… your senses are progressing too quickly."
"I can't stop them."
"Then you must control them," Tianhai said.
"Or you will reveal too much."
Wuya looked down at his hand.
"I'll try."
---
Night Falls — The First Crisis Deepens
The city dimmed under lantern light. Merchants closed their shops. Children returned home. Dogs barked at shadows.
Wuya sat silently on the porch, watching the dark road outside.
Xueyi sat beside him, hugging her knees.
"Do you think he'll come back?" she asked.
"Yes," Wuya answered.
"When?"
"Tonight."
She stiffened.
"What will he do?"
"Search more thoroughly."
"Will he find the scroll thieves?"
"No."
Xueyi blinked.
"Why not?"
Wuya pointed softly.
"They're running away on the eastern road."
Xueyi's jaw dropped.
"You can feel that?"
"Yes."
"How?!"
Wuya tilted his head.
"They're afraid. Fear is loud."
Xueyi shivered.
"You're scary."
"You're loud."
"You're SCARY!"
Tianhai opened the door.
"Both of you, inside."
They obeyed.
Tianhai closed the door and whispered:
"He's coming back."
---
A Visitor in the Night
The cultivator returned after sunset.
But this time, he did not walk openly.
He approached like a predator—silent, calculating, patient.
His footsteps made no sound.
His breathing was controlled.
His aura was restrained to almost nothing.
Almost.
Wuya sensed him instantly.
"He's at the courtyard wall."
Xueyi covered her mouth.
Tianhai stood in the center of the room, expression darkening.
"He's testing us."
The cultivator paused outside the courtyard, listening—probing for any hint of Qi.
Tianhai suppressed his aura fully—dropping himself into the realm of mortals.
But Wuya's senses remained awakened.
The cultivator moved toward the wall.
Wuya whispered:
"He wants to enter."
Xueyi grabbed his sleeve harder.
Tianhai whispered back:
"Do not speak. Do not move. Let me handle this."
The cultivator stepped into the courtyard.
The peach tree trembled slightly—even its roots sensed danger.
Wuya's breath slowed.
Xueyi's seal flickered under her clothes.
The cultivator's voice echoed softly:
"Strange aura… I know I sensed something here…"
He walked slowly around the courtyard, inspecting everything with the instincts of a trained hunter.
Then—
He paused before the peach tree.
A faint pulse of Wuya's awakened presence brushed against him.
He frowned sharply.
"What is this…?"
He reached out to touch the tree.
Wuya stepped forward without thinking.
Xueyi gasped.
Tianhai's heart dropped.
The cultivator turned sharply.
"You."
Wuya stood alone beneath the tree—quiet, calm, unafraid.
"You again," the cultivator said slowly.
"Your presence… resonates with this place."
Wuya blinked.
"I live here."
"That is not what I mean."
Wuya remained silent.
The cultivator stepped closer.
"Boy… what are you?"
Silence.
The night wind froze.
Xueyi trembled behind the door.
Tianhai gripped the edge of the counter—ready to intervene and end this man's life if necessary.
But Wuya answered calmly:
"I'm just a boy."
The cultivator's eyes narrowed.
"You're lying."
Wuya tilted his head.
"Why would I lie?"
"Your aura—"
"I have none."
The cultivator paused.
He looked again.
Indeed—there was no Qi. No meridian flow. No spirit movement.
Wuya appeared completely mortal.
But then why…?
The cultivator frowned deeply.
"…My mistake."
He stepped back slowly.
"I will return tomorrow to question the rest of the city. Be cautious. Thieves are dangerous."
Wuya bowed faintly.
"Yes."
The cultivator left the courtyard.
The door closed behind him.
The silence was crushing.
---
After the Crisis
Wuya turned to Tianhai.
"Father."
Tianhai walked forward slowly.
"…You handled that well."
Xueyi ran to Wuya and hugged him tightly, shaking.
"I thought he'd KILL you!"
Wuya rested a hand gently on her back.
"I won't die."
"You don't know that!"
"I won't die."
She sobbed quietly.
Tianhai placed a hand on Wuya's shoulder.
"Wuya."
"Yes."
"You must be more careful. You cannot confront cultivators yet."
"Yes."
"And do not speak truths that reveal your awareness."
Wuya nodded slowly.
"I understand."
"Good."
Tianhai looked outside.
The night wind carried warning.
"That man is persistent," he murmured.
"He will stay. He will search. He will return."
Wuya said nothing.
Xueyi whispered:
"Are we safe?"
Tianhai closed his eyes.
"For now."
But Wuya felt something else.
He felt—
The cultivator's aura moving through the city.
His determination sharpening.
His suspicion growing.
His senses reaching toward Tianhai's home again.
Wuya whispered:
"…He doesn't believe us."
Tianhai turned sharply.
"What?"
"He will come again."
"When?"
Wuya's eyes darkened.
"Tomorrow morning."