Today’s rain fell shorter than yesterday’s lingering storm, leaving behind a damp chill that clung to the mountain air.
Ji Yuan shivered as he pulled on the threadbare tunic abandoned by the traveling merchants, layering it beneath his straw-woven rain cloak. From yesterday’s fragmented conversations, he’d gathered it was early spring—the cold made sense, though neither rainfall had carried the soft persistence of seasonal drizzle.
He’d awoken late to find the rain already ceased, dusk creeping over the peaks. Descending the slippery trails in fading light would be suicidal. Without the merchants’ fire tonight, the darkness promised teeth-chattering cold.
"Ah..."
His sigh hung like mist as he retreated behind the crumbling mountain deity statue, clutching frail hopes for tomorrow’s sunlight to aid his clouded vision. The red fox that once shared this shelter had vanished without a trace.
Alone, anxiety coiled in his gut. Surely the tiger demon he’d tricked yesterday wouldn’t return so soon?
A sudden clamor shattered his uneasy doze—human voices echoed up the muddy trail.
Ji Yuan straightened on his moldy straw mat, pulse quickening. Could travelers truly frequent this crumbling shrine daily? Not spectral puppets? No—the thud of boots carried weight. Don’t panic.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Nine figures navigated the treacherous path, their blades and steel-capped staff glinting dully in the gloom. Rain had plastered the lone woman’s practical combat garb to her frame as she cursed the mud clinging to her boots.
"Laugh while you can, Iron Ox!" She kicked sludge from her heel. "We’re all drowned rats here!"
The staff-bearer’s chuckle died as their leader—a swordsman with eyes sharp as winter stars—gestured ahead. "The mountain temple. Move swiftly."
Their squelching footsteps quickened.
From his hiding place, Ji Yuan watched their wary approach. The leader’s gaze swept the charcoal-stained flagstones where merchants had warmed themselves, then lifted to the statue’s shadowed recess.
"Vagrant?"
The staff-bearer’s thunderous voice rattled Ji Yuan’s skull: "Alone here, beggar?"
Ji Yuan scratched his temple, sensing the rhythmic breathing of trained martial artists. Survival demanded honesty.
"Just me," he answered, swallowing a sarcastic retort.
The woman arched an eyebrow. "Braving tiger-cursed peaks while blind?"
Ji Yuan hunched his shoulders in feigned misery. "My guides abandoned me. Even knowing the danger..." Let pity take root.
The star-eyed leader made a subtle gesture. Murmurs rippled through the group: "His eyes... like jade frosted with rime."
When the staff-bearer boomed, "We’ll drag you down after slaughtering that beast," Ji Yuan’s stomach lurched.
"You hunt the tiger?"
"HA!" The man slammed his staff, sending vibrations through the floor. "That man-eater’s haunted these slopes too long! We answer Ning’an County’s call—heroes’ duty demands it!"
Nods and proud affirmations circled like vultures.
Ji Yuan’s blood turned to ice.
These moths fly straight into the inferno.