Chapter 30: Visitor

Bai Heng stared at the scratches on the leaf for a long time.

They were very faint marks, as if drawn casually. She could not tell if they were characters or symbols. 

Yet since the leaf had been deliberately placed under a stone deep inside the rock cave, it could not have been an accident.

Who had left it?

When had they left it?

Bai Heng carefully recalled her movements over the past few days. 

She left the cave every day to wander the mountain forest, sometimes for half a day or more. 

If someone had entered while she was away, it would not have been difficult.

However, she had left a very faint trace of her aura at the cave entrance. 

Ordinary wild beasts would not dare approach. 

Anyone who could enter without alerting her must at least possess awakened intelligence.

Was it a spirit creature from the mountain?

Or—someone from the village?

Bai Heng stored the leaf in her knowledge sea. 

She neither destroyed it nor touched it again. 

She simply continued as usual—going out during the day and returning to the cave at night, as if nothing had happened.

Several more days passed, and no other objects appeared inside the rock cave.

Still, every time Bai Heng returned, she would first sweep the cave with her divine sense to confirm everything was as it should be before settling down to rest.

One afternoon, she encountered someone in the mountains.

The person was carrying a bundle of firewood and walking slowly along the forest path. 

It was an old woman with graying hair, back hunched, moving at a very slow pace.

It was Old Widow Wu.

Bai Heng crouched behind a bush under a pine tree and remained still. 

She kept a faint layer of the Heavenly Fox Concealment active, suppressing her aura until it was nearly undetectable.

When Old Widow Wu was about five or six zhang away, she suddenly stopped.

She set down the firewood on her back, straightened up, and looked around.

Then she turned her head and glanced toward the bush where Bai Heng was hiding.

The glance was light and casual, as if sweeping the area randomly. 

But Bai Heng saw clearly that the old woman’s gaze had lingered on her hiding spot for roughly two breaths.

After that, Old Widow Wu withdrew her gaze, picked up the firewood again, and continued forward.

Her steps remained slow and her posture hunched, no different from any ordinary old woman her age.

Bai Heng stayed motionless behind the bush.

Only after the old woman’s figure had disappeared at the end of the forest path did she slowly stand up.

Those eyes.

The look in those eyes just now was definitely not something an ordinary old woman should possess.

Bai Heng did not follow her.

She simply committed the scene firmly to memory, then turned and headed in another direction.

Several more days passed, and a stranger arrived in the village.

It was a young man in his early twenties, wearing a slightly worn cyan cloth scholar’s robe and carrying a book chest on his back. 

He looked like a student heading to take the imperial examinations. 

He said he was on his way to the prefectural city for the autumn exams and wanted to stay in the village for a few days.

The village chief arranged for him to stay in an empty house next to the scholar surnamed Chen.

The empty house had originally belonged to an elderly man who had died the previous winter. 

The villagers had cleaned it up, making it barely habitable.

The young man introduced himself as Xu Cheng. He spoke politely and conducted himself with proper manners. 

During the day he studied inside the house, and in the evening he would stroll around the village and chat with the locals.

Bai Heng had observed him from afar several times.

There were no spiritual power fluctuations. His movements were scholarly and frail. He truly appeared to be a student.

However, his eyes would occasionally reveal a sharpness when scanning his surroundings that did not quite match a scholar’s demeanor. 

That sharpness would disappear in an instant. 

Had Bai Heng not been paying close attention, she would have missed it.

Another spy?

Or was he really just a passing scholar?

Bai Heng did not rush to any conclusions. 

She simply added this person to her list of individuals to watch.

The scholar surnamed Xu stayed in the village for three days. 

On the morning of the fourth day, he left. 

Before departing, he thanked the village chief and left a few copper coins for the family whose house he had borrowed, calling it payment for lodging.

The villagers all said the young man was sensible and would surely pass the examinations with high marks in the future.

Bai Heng crouched on the mountain, watching the cyan figure walk along the mountain path into the distance until it gradually disappeared into the morning mist.

She withdrew her gaze and thought no more of it.

Life continued as usual.

Qin Yun still went hunting in the mountains every day, sometimes bringing his little sister Qin Yu along.

Lin Lan continued to bring food for Qin Yun and wait for him at the village entrance.

The few Qi Condensation spies continued heading into the mountains or going to town every few days to meet with someone.

Old Widow Wu continued to live quietly and went to gather firewood in the forest behind the village every few days.

Bai Heng continued wandering the mountain forest during the day and returning to the rock cave to cultivate at night.

Everything appeared normal.

Yet Bai Heng knew that some things were quietly changing.

One day, she went to the forest where the mountain god temple was located once more.

She did not approach closely, only circling the area from afar and observing carefully with the Heavenly Fox True Pupil.

The temple remained as dilapidated as ever, with no visible changes. 

However, there were a few suspicious marks on the ground in front of the temple.

It looked as though someone had stood there for a long time. 

The soil beneath their feet had been slightly compacted, then washed by rain, leaving only very faint outlines.

Bai Heng memorized the location.

Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly heard footsteps in the distance.

Someone was coming.

She retreated silently deeper into the bushes and completely concealed her aura.

The footsteps grew closer. 

A moment later, a figure emerged from the forest path, walked up to the mountain god temple, and stopped.

It was Old Widow Wu.

She was not carrying firewood today, only a small cloth bundle in her hand. 

She stood in front of the temple, looked around, then pushed open the creaky temple door and went inside.

Bai Heng remained still, watching from afar.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Old Widow Wu came out. 

The small cloth bundle she had been carrying was gone, replaced by another one that looked slightly fuller.

She closed the temple door and turned to leave.

When she passed the bushes where Bai Heng was hiding, her steps paused for a brief moment.

Then she continued forward without looking back.

Bai Heng crouched deep in the bushes, completely motionless.

Only after the old woman’s figure had disappeared into the forest did she slowly stand up.

She walked to the front of the mountain god temple and swept it lightly with her divine sense.

There was nothing unusual inside the temple, except for a small cloth bundle now sitting in the corner behind the statue. Inside the bundle were several pieces of dried rations, a small packet of salt, and a few copper coins.

It looked like supplies prepared for someone.

Prepared for whom?

Bai Heng did not touch the bundle. 

She simply memorized its position and quietly withdrew.

The rock cave was quiet at night as always.

Bai Heng lay on the dry leaves, half-closing her eyes as she sorted through the information she had gathered these past days.

Old Widow Wu was definitely not an ordinary person. 

The glance she had given in the mountains that day, and the way she had paused in front of the mountain god temple today, both proved that she had long been aware of Bai Heng’s presence.

Yet she had done nothing.

She had neither driven her away, nor given any warning, nor attempted to make contact.

She had simply glanced over occasionally and paused in certain places, as if confirming something.

What was she confirming?

Bai Heng thought of the leaf that had suddenly appeared in the cave. 

She had never been able to decipher the scratches on it. 

But now, she wondered whether it had been some kind of signal.

A warning?

A probe?

Or—a kind reminder?

Bai Heng opened her eyes and looked out into the night.

There was a moon tonight. 

Moonlight slanted in through the cave entrance, spreading a patch of clear glow across the ground.

She slowly stood up, walked into the moonlight, and raised her head to look at the silver disk in the night sky.

Moonlight poured down, coating her snow-white fur with a faint silvery sheen.

She closed her eyes and began circulating the Heavenly Fox Moon-Drawing Art.

Strands of cool moonlight power flowed into her body, merging with her demon power and circulating slowly through her meridians. 

The coolness and tranquility gradually settled her scattered thoughts.

No matter who Old Widow Wu really was, and no matter what was hidden behind this village, the only thing she could do right now was continue waiting.

Waiting for those people to reveal more flaws themselves.

Waiting for herself to grow stronger.

Moonlight flowed like water, quiet and steady.

Outside the rock cave, the night was deep.

The mountain forest was silent, disturbed only occasionally by the night wind rustling through the leaves.

In the distance, in the small courtyard beside the old pagoda tree, a single lamp burned for a long time before finally going out.