Unexpected Footsteps, Unwelcome Echoes

Rain had come again to Mudvale—not as a storm, but a soft mist that clung to the soil like a second skin. Shen had grown used to the damp. It softened the ground for his hoe, fed the root systems of his crops, and gave his little valley a kind of dreamlike quality. Yet today, something felt…off.

Yue felt it too.

She had woken up bristling, ears twitching and tail fluffed like a broom. Shen had barely stepped outside his hut before she bolted into the underbrush, vanishing in a blur of silver fur.

He watched her go with a sigh. "Don't start a war with a squirrel again."

She didn't answer. The forest stayed still, aside from the soft patter of drizzle on leaves.

Shen turned back to his tasks. His plan today was simple: weed the east row, check the irrigation trench, and maybe try building the second compost pit. The soil, rich and dark from days of rain, welcomed his fingers. Farming was beginning to feel… right. Natural.

A far cry from the stone courtyards and cruel lessons of the sect.

He was elbow-deep in mud when Yue returned—drenched and muddy but alert. She paced in a tight circle, then growled softly, eyes locked eastward.

"…What is it?" Shen murmured.

Footsteps.

He didn't hear them at first. But slowly, steadily, the squelch of boots against soaked grass approached.

Yue growled louder. Shen stood up, grabbing his axe from the post.

A figure broke the tree line—a young man, maybe Shen's age, cloaked in tattered hide and limping. A rough bow was strapped to his back, and a crude bandage covered his thigh. He looked exhausted, wary, and surprised to see Shen just as much as Shen was to see him.

"You're…" the stranger breathed. "You're… living here?"

Shen didn't answer immediately.

"Who are you?" he asked instead.

The young man raised his hands slowly, wincing. "Lan. Just Lan. I'm from the village northeast of here. I… I was hunting."

"Got into a fight with your prey?" Shen asked, nodding to the wound.

Lan grimaced. "Something's changed in the forest. The normal beasts—they've gotten more aggressive. Something powerful moved in. It's spooking everything. I wasn't chasing it—I was after a boar—but even that was half-feral. Got me good."

He swayed.

Shen hesitated, then gestured to the shaded rock near the field. "Sit. I have broth. Don't pass out on my dirt."

Lan gave a weak laugh and stumbled over. Yue trailed behind him, eyes narrowed.

The fire crackled under the iron pot as Shen stirred in chopped tubers and dried herbs. Lan sat cross-legged on the packed earth, watching silently. His expression was cautious but calm.

"You sure this place is yours?" Lan asked after a while. "These fields—this land's been abandoned since before I was born."

Shen didn't look up. "No one's come to claim it."

Lan tilted his head. "That's true. But if someone does?"

"I'll make it official. After my first harvest, I'll head into town. Speak to the magistrate. Buy the deed."

Lan whistled softly. "Not many cultivators care to farm."

"I'm not many cultivators."

Silence stretched.

"…Your fox is staring at me."

Shen glanced down. Yue sat like a furry statue, pupils slit, tail flicking. She was pressed so close to Lan's side he could probably feel her breath.

"She doesn't trust you."

Lan chuckled. "She's... unusual. Not ordinary, is she?"

Shen shrugged. "She's mine."

Yue yipped as if in agreement.

"…Don't steal anything."

"I'm injured and starving. I'll steal a carrot, not your qi technique."

Shen paused. "You know I'm cultivating?"

Lan shrugged. "Saw the way you moved earlier. How your field feels… clean. Controlled. I've been around enough rogue cultivators to tell."

"…And you?"

"I've got no fancy technique. Just a bit of body training. Enough to hunt, until the forest turned hostile."

Yue finally moved—only to swat Lan's boot off his foot.

"Hey!"

"She does that."

By nightfall, Lan was resting on a bundle of straw beside the hut. Shen had offered to help rebind his wound; Lan accepted, though warily. Yue supervised with suspicion.

They sat in silence, listening to the crickets.

"You know," Lan said, voice low, "people from my village… they avoid this valley. Say it's cursed. But I found you here, tilling dirt, feeding… her." He glanced at Yue again, uncertain.

"She's not a pet," Shen said.

Yue yipped in agreement.

"…You're serious about staying, then?" Lan asked.

Shen looked out at his field. Even in the dim starlight, the rows were visible—neat, orderly, hopeful.

"I am."

Lan lay back, closing his eyes. "Then you should know: that beast in the woods… it's not natural. Stay alert. I'll head back to the village in the morning—need to report this. I'll be back in a day or two. If you're still here, I'll bring something useful. Maybe news."

"…Thanks."

Lan smiled faintly. "Not many people would offer food to a stranger. Even fewer would let them rest nearby. You're weird, Shen."

"So I've been told."

After Lan fell asleep, Shen sat by the fire, Yue curled on his lap. His system blinked softly.

[Bond Strengthened: Yue + Shen]

[Farming Skill +1 – Level 7 Reached]

[Trait Revealed: Soil Whisper – Further cultivation possible via land nurturing]

He leaned back against the tree, watching stars peek between drifting clouds.

Mudvale, once silent and abandoned, now had visitors. Maybe not all bad.

But something still stirred in the forest.

And Shen wasn't sure peace would last forever.

Not that it mattered.

He would fight if he had to.

He would protect what was his.

And he would grow.

Even if it meant starting with mud.

[End of Chapter 6]