Morning dew dripped from the eaves, and the air in the courtyard was so fresh it felt like you could wring water from it.
Lin Heng sat cross-legged at the doorway with a bowl of hot porridge in his hands, enjoying the sight of the cat chasing butterflies, the bird pecking at grain, and the old turtle basking in the sun — ah, life should always be this leisurely.
The little fox he'd picked up yesterday was curled up by his feet, fast asleep.
"Hey, little one, no nightmares last night, right?" Lin Heng reached down to scratch its chin. The fox flicked its tail back in an instant, still asleep.
Just then, a commotion broke out at the entrance of Qingyun Town — the sound of horse hooves and urgent shouting.
Several hunters ran into town. "Bad news! The Wild Boar King's come down the mountain! Close the gates!"
The Wild Boar King was no ordinary boar — its tusks could flip a millstone, and its hide was so thick even crossbow bolts couldn't pierce it.
The townsfolk panicked, even hauling out the door panels to block the way.
Lin Heng was just about to help move things when a muffled thump sounded from outside the woods.
Everyone turned to look — that boar, twice the height of a man, was already lying on the ground, hot air puffing from its nostrils as if its soul had been scared clean out of its body.
On its neck were three neat, almost invisible bloodlines.
No one noticed that up on a nearby rooftop, Hei Tuan retracted its claws, licked its fur, and lazily leapt down to perch on Lin Heng's shoulder.
Lin Heng patted it. "Meow? Where'd you go just now? …Forget it, let's go see if the boar tripped itself."
The townsfolk stared in disbelief — tripped itself? And slit its own throat in three lines?
---
Before that matter could settle, trouble cropped up again in the afternoon.
Down at the southern riverbank, a few out-of-town merchants had docked several small boats. By midnight, half the goods on the boats had been stolen. Furious, the merchants suspected the townsfolk and threatened to cause trouble.
Lin Heng normally wouldn't have cared, but when he saw a child nearly shoved into the river by one of the merchants, he rushed over to pull the kid back.
He had barely reached out when — boom — a half-man-high wave rose from the river, slapping the merchants straight back onto their boats.
From the shore, all anyone saw was a turtle slowly tucking its head back in, ripples still shimmering across its shell.
Lin Heng gratefully patted Lao Zhong's back. "Good thing that wave saved the kid… must've been the river god's blessing."
Lao Zhong blinked slowly and went back to blowing bubbles in the water.
---
That evening, Lin Heng took the little fox to the northern tavern for a drink, picking up a few small fish for Hei Tuan along the way.
But just as he sat down, a commotion erupted outside — someone had released a five-colored venom bee, buzzing into the tavern in wide arcs. The bee was the size of a fist, and anyone it stung would either be poisoned or faint on the spot.
The tavern was thrown into chaos. Tables and chairs overturned, soup and wine splashing everywhere.
Just as the venom bee reached Lin Heng, a flash of emerald streaked by — Jiji shot forward like an arrow, pecking the bee mid-flight, then carried it out the window and dropped it into the river.
All Lin Heng saw was it flying back to perch on his shoulder, beak already reaching for the peanuts in his bowl. "Hey, don't steal food."
An old wanderer nearby stared at Lin Heng, swallowing hard. "Brother… is that bird of yours a phoenix in disguise?"
Lin Heng beamed. "What phoenix? It just likes peanuts."
---
By the end of the day, a new rumor was spreading through Qingyun Town:
— Lin Heng was the heir of a reclusive grandmaster, guarded by four divine beasts.
And Lin Heng himself? He was happily cooking wild boar soup in his kitchen, wondering what dish to add for his pets tomorrow.