The night in Qingyun Village was unusually quiet, broken only by the occasional chirp of insects from the grass.
Lin Heng strolled home at an easy pace, carrying a steaming bowl of wild vegetable soup. He had just borrowed a bit of salt from the old lady next door and was already thinking about giving his four furry little ones a late-night snack.
"Heh heh, if they go to bed with full stomachs tonight, maybe they won't make a racket in the middle of the night…"
—Wrong. Very, very wrong.
The moment Lin Heng pushed open the courtyard gate, a low growl, deep enough to rattle bones, tore through the night from the direction of the backyard.
"Wooo—"
The sound carried a strange blend of metallic scraping and beast's roar, like a demon god roused from slumber. Not far outside the courtyard wall, the panicked shouts of cultivators followed in quick succession:
"Retreat! Fall back!"
"What is that thing?! The spiritual pressure— it's going to crush me—!"
Lin Heng froze for a moment, then peeked his head out — not a soul in sight. On the ground, there were several patches of water, though it was impossible to tell if they were from rain… or cold sweat.
"That's odd. What were they doing in the village at night, and why'd they leave in such a hurry?" He shook his head and carried the bowl inside.
Inside, the four pets were already sitting neatly in a row.
The big black dog lay on the ground, giving its tail a casual flick — the murderous aura outside vanished instantly without a trace.
The gray cat lazily licked its paw, a flash of red glinting in its eyes before disappearing.
The old turtle was tucked into its shell, a faint hairline crack along the surface slowly sealing shut.
The bird, Jiji, fluttered its wings, a scrap of what looked like ordinary grass clamped in its beak — but it was, unmistakably, the remains of a cultivator's spirit talisman.
Lin Heng noticed none of these details, only smiling as he said, "Well now, all lined up waiting for dinner, huh?"
Meanwhile, at the village entrance, the unlucky cultivators from earlier were still trembling.
"Did you see it? Behind the dog's shadow — there was a giant beast! Eyes glowing completely red!"
"Don't talk nonsense, I saw a cat, and behind it… it was like an endless sea of night!"
"You're both wrong! It was a turtle! When its shell moved, time itself stopped!"
"Forget it! Whatever it was, it's not something humans can handle."
Little did they know, those so-called "demon gods" were at that very moment quietly gathered around a wooden table, waiting for Lin Heng to ladle out meat soup into their bowls.
—
Later that night, in a tavern on the other side of the village, a veiled woman sat silently, listening to the shophand's exaggerated tale:
"Terrifying, miss — a demonic beast rampaged over in Qingyun Village tonight, scared dozens of cultivators right off!"
The woman's fingers tapped lightly against the table, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Qingyun Village… interesting."
Her gaze seemed to pierce through the night, toward that secluded little courtyard —
where a mortal young man was happily serving soup to his pets.