With the sealing array complete, the pervasive stench of decay hanging over Laoya Hollow seemed to lessen.
Fear still gripped every villager, but the unnatural chill in the air had noticeably receded. For a fleeting moment, even the clean scent of mountain earth returned.
The villagers scrambled back to their homes, dragging children and elders. Only the cramped safety of locked doors and shuttered windows offered any comfort.
He Zhang-shi, utterly broken, was hauled away by two farmwives and locked in an empty woodshed near the communal hall.
Wang Yan's face was ashen. Each step felt heavy, unsteady. Despite the noon heat, a deep chill clung to him.
Forcing his spirit to channel the blood-ink sigils, and absorbing the cat demon's final, desperate backlash, had drained him to the core. Needles of pain jabbed deep within his skull; a persistent buzzing filled his ears. His eyelids felt like lead weights, blurring his vision.
"Master..." Li Ke clung tightly to his arm, his young face etched with worry. He could feel the tremor running through Wang Yan's muscles.
"It's... nothing... Help me back... To the hall..." Wang Yan's voice was a hoarse rasp, thick with exhaustion.
Back in Old Huang's inner room, Wang Yan barely managed to avoid collapsing onto the hard kang bed. He forced himself into a cross-legged position. From his simple pack, he retrieved a few sticks of calming incense.
Lighting them, he placed them in an old earthenware bowl on the edge of the kang. Thin trails of fragrant smoke began to curl upwards.
"Ke'er..." he murmured, eyes closed, "Recite... the Three Purities Heart-Guarding Mantra... Help me... find stillness."
"Yes, Master!" Li Ke knelt immediately before the kang. He took a deep breath, focusing, then began the unfamiliar, complex syllables. Though his recitation was halting at times, it carried an odd, anchoring power:
"The Great Way is formless, birthing heaven and earth...
The Great Way is without emotion, turning sun and moon...
The Great Way is nameless, nurturing all things...
Heart clear as ice, unshaken though heaven falls...
Amidst ten thousand changes, remain serene; spirit calm, breath still..."
Over and over, the mantra's peaceful cadence echoed in the simple room. Its soothing rhythm gently eased the jagged pain in Wang Yan's spirit. He felt his depleted mind, like a parched riverbed, greedily soaking up the tranquility the chant offered. Nerves, stretched taut as steel wire, slowly began to unwind...
Finally, Li Ke's voice grew faint and distant. Wang Yan's rigid posture softened; his shoulders slumped slightly.
His breathing deepened and grew heavy. A tidal wave of exhaustion crashed over him, pulling him under before he could even adjust his position. His head lolled against the cold, hard wall of the kang, and he sank into a profound sleep.
Pale yellow light shifted across the room as the afternoon waned.
Li Ke watched his master sleep, noting the deep furrow between his brows and the faint streak of dried blood at the corner of his mouth.
Heartache for his teacher filled the boy's eyes. Moving with utmost care, he climbed onto the kang, unfolded an old padded jacket, and gently draped it over Wang Yan.
Finished, Li Ke felt his own limbs turn to lead. He shuffled to the far end of the kang, sat with his back against the wall, and tried to mimic his master's posture, intending to keep watch.
But exhaustion was a heavier master. Before long, Li Ke too had curled up on the worn reed mat and fallen into a deep sleep.
Wang Yan awoke with a jolt. Piercing dawn light streamed through a crack in the paper window, striking his eyes.
Sharp awareness flooded back. The crushing fatigue was gone, replaced by a near-overflowing sense of restored strength – like a dry pond refilled by a mountain spring. His mind felt clearer than it had in years.
It was daylight outside...
A jolt of alarm hit him: he'd slept straight through from noon yesterday to dawn today! Over fifteen hours of defenseless slumber in this strange, besieged village. A profound sense of vulnerability washed over him.
He stretched his stiff neck, his gaze settling on the sleeping form nearby. Li Ke was deeply asleep too, curled awkwardly, a faint frown of worry still creasing his brow even in dreams.
Complex emotions stirred in Wang Yan: lingering unease, deep gratitude, but above all, a fierce protectiveness. He reached out a calloused hand and gently smoothed Li Ke's hair.
The touch stirred the boy. His eyelids fluttered, then opened, blinking in confusion. Recognition dawned, and he scrambled upright. "M-Master! You're awake?!" His small face was etched with concern.
Wang Yan withdrew his hand, the tenderness replaced by sober gravity. "Yes. Rested. I am well now." He held Li Ke's gaze intently.
"Ke'er..." Wang Yan began, his voice low. "This evil... it is unlike anything we've faced."
Li Ke straightened immediately, tension and focus sharpening his features. This level of detail was unusual; his master usually shielded him.
"Far more dangerous than what we encountered... in Li Village... two years ago." Wang Yan's eyes were heavy. He named the fear buried deep in Li Ke's heart: the White Corpse of Li Village!
"Your grandfather (before the change)... was a good man. If the villagers had known how to defend themselves... if panic hadn't let it break in and feed... With your Uncle Ye's (Crippled Wang) skill and preparation... it could have been different. Difficult, yes, but not..."
Wang Yan's voice trailed off, unable to voice the brutal outcome. "...Alas."
[Li Ke's Flashback: Uncle Ye... the one who always limped, who laughed and ruffled my hair... dead!
Dead in that cursed, stinking village! His staring, lifeless eyes haunted my nightmares ever since! And now Master tells me... it could have been won? A storm of feelings seized me—terror, and a sudden, sharp surge of anger!]
Remembering the blood-soaked horror, pain flickered in Wang Yan's own eyes. He sighed, then his expression hardened, his gaze locking onto Li Ke's.
"Therefore!" he stated, his voice sharpening. "Against this cat demon... I cannot do it alone!"
"I need help! Help I can trust!"
Wang Yan leaned forward slightly, an immense weight settling into the space between them.
"Ke'er!" His voice held the boy fast.
"You are no longer a child! It is time!"
"Before... I kept you shielded. I wanted to protect you... for as long as I could."
"But this time... I cannot!"
"The lives of us, master and disciple... The lives of every soul in Laoya Hollow...
All of it...
Hangs in the balance!"
"Ke'er! You must help me!"
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
In the cool dawn light, only their eyes spoke.
Wang Yan's gaze held no trace of doubt, only absolute seriousness. It was an entrustment. A recognition of his disciple's readiness, forced by desperation.
Li Ke's chest heaved! The horrors of Li Village still fresh, this new, crushing responsibility pressed down!
The boy's face flushed crimson, his breathing ragged. Fear, fierce excitement, a desperate need to prove himself, and the terrifying weight of consequence – all warred in the depths of his clear eyes.
Finally, he snapped his head up! His jaw clenched tight. He offered no grand words, no boasts. He simply looked his master – the man he revered – straight in the eye,
And gave one firm, decisive nod.
That wordless vow carried the solemn weight of mountains.