Morning in Willow Brook was noisy.
Again.
At this point Tianlian was convinced the village ran on chaos instead of food.
Today's chaos started with Mei barging into his room without knocking—something she'd perfected through years of practice.
"Lian'er, wake up!"
He groaned into his pillow. "I'm awake. Spiritually."
"You're drooling."
"That's part of my cultivation method."
She poked his cheek. "You don't cultivate."
"…Details."
With the patience of someone raising a particularly annoying stray cat, Mei dragged him out of bed and shoved a warm bun into his hands.
"Eat."
He stared at the bun like it owed him money.
"I'm twelve. Why do I feel like a tired office worker already?"
"Because you sleep too late."
"No, Mei… that's called training arc preparation."
She blinked. "What arc?"
"Never mind. You wouldn't get it."
---
Village Errands (aka forced side quests)
After breakfast, Mei handed him a basket of herbs from his father.
"Take these to Auntie Lan. She's making pain medicine."
Tianlian raised an eyebrow. "Why me?"
"Because she said you never help around the village."
"That's slander. Completely true slander."
Mei pushed the basket into his arms anyway and marched beside him.
The walk through the village was loud and messy. Vendors shouted prices. Dogs barked at absolutely nothing. One kid ran past screaming, holding a frog like it was a divine artifact.
Mei looked around with a soft smile.
Tianlian scanned everything with the calm calculation of someone searching for hidden side quests.
Then he felt it—
A faint pulse.
A twitch in the air.
Very similar to the weird energy in the stream yesterday.
He stopped mid-step.
Mei bumped into him. "What?"
Tianlian narrowed his eyes. "Something's off."
Mei followed his gaze toward a small abandoned shrine near the path. Most villagers ignored it by habit—it was old, cracked, half-covered in vines.
But today?
A faint ripple danced across the air.
Like heat haze.
But colder.
Mei shivered. "It feels… chilly."
"You feel it too?"
She nodded.
That alone made Tianlian raise an eyebrow.
Interesting. She's more sensitive than other villagers.
He filed that away for later.
"Let's not go near it," Mei whispered.
He shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. After errands. Then maybe I'll poke it."
"Lian!"
"What? Investigating suspicious supernatural phenomena is important future protagonist training."
Mei smacked his arm with the basket.
---
Auntie Lan's Shop (NPC level: high)
Auntie Lan's house always smelled like herbs, smoke, and disappointment. Tianlian handed her the basket and prepared to leave immediately.
But Auntie Lan grabbed his wrist.
"You," she said, narrow-eyed. "Stop running away."
"I don't run—"
"Yes you do. You disappear like a ferret."
"…Can't argue with that."
She shoved another pouch at him. "Give this to Elder Jing at the east field."
Tianlian stared at the pouch.
"I'm not a courier, Auntie."
"You are now."
Mei snorted. "Just go."
He sighed and stuck the pouch in his sleeve.
"Fine. But if I evolve into a delivery boy, I'm blaming everyone here."
---
East Field Troubles
The east field was quiet—too quiet. Elder Jing was supposed to be here gathering animal feed.
Tianlian frowned.
"Where's the old man?"
Mei cupped her hands around her mouth. "Elder Jing!"
No response.
They walked deeper into the field until they found him—
staring at a patch of earth like he had just seen a ghost.
Elder Jing turned slowly. "Kids… don't come closer."
Mei froze. "What happened?"
Tianlian stepped beside him anyway.
"What's that smell?" he muttered. "Metallic… like lightning?"
The earth in front of them was scorched.
Circular.
Perfectly shaped.
Too precise to be fire.
Too unnatural to be lightning.
Mei swallowed. "Did a beast attack?"
"No beast leaves burn marks shaped like a bowl," Tianlian said, squatting down.
He touched the edge—
and felt it.
That same ripple of energy.
Same "signature" as the shrine.
Same as the stream.
A pattern.
Systematic.
Like an invisible thread connecting all three places.
His eyes narrowed.
Okay. That's suspicious. And very interesting.
"You kids shouldn't stare," Elder Jing said shakily. "The heavens are acting strangely."
Tianlian stood up, brushing dirt off his hands.
"Maybe. Or maybe something else is moving around."
Mei tugged his sleeve. "Lian'er… don't say scary things."
He shrugged. "It's only scary if you're weak."
"Lian!"
"…Sorry. That came out cooler in my head."
Elder Jing sighed. "Your father will want to hear about this."
Tianlian already knew that.
But his mind was somewhere else.
If the stream, shrine, and field were connected…
Then something had awakened recently.
Something subtle.
Something ancient.
And he could feel it.
That wasn't normal for an ordinary village kid.
Which meant—
He wasn't ordinary.
(Mei wasn't either, based on earlier.)
---
Back to the Shrine (bad decisions 101)
After delivering the pouch, Mei wanted to return home.
Tianlian didn't.
"We should check the shrine," he said.
"No," Mei said immediately.
"It'll be quick."
"No."
"You can wait far away?"
"No."
"…I'll give you my bun tomorrow morning."
"No—"
"…With the sweet red bean filling?"
Mei froze.
Tianlian smirked. "Thought so."
Mei groaned. "You're the worst."
"I try."
---
They approached the shrine again.
This time, even Tianlian felt a chill run down his spine.
That ripple from earlier…
Now it pulsed.
Slow.
Steady.
Like a heartbeat.
He stood a few feet away, analyzing it.
Mei hid behind him. "Lian'er… don't touch it."
"Relax. I'm not dumb."
He touched it.
Mei screamed. "LIAN!"
His palm met the air—
not the wood.
The air.
A thin barrier—cold, shifting—blocked his hand.
Like touching a bubble that refused to pop.
His pulse quickened.
What the hell…?
Mei grabbed his shirt, trembling.
"Lian'er, let's go. Please."
He slowly pulled his hand back.
"…Okay. We're leaving."
He wasn't scared.
Just thoughtful.
Something was happening.
Something big.
Something spreading across the village.
And only he—and weirdly, Mei—could sense it.
That meant one thing:
This world's power system wasn't hiding from him anymore.
It was calling.