The Legendary Journey in My Heart

The scorching summer air was thick with the scent of damp earth from the rice fields. In the distance, occasional dog barks broke the afternoon silence. I leaned against the ancient locust tree at the village entrance, enjoying the rare breeze that rustled the leaves, lulling me into a nap.When I woke up, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the branches, shining directly onto my face, making it hard to open my eyes. A dull headache lingered as I squinted at the blinding light piercing through the leaves. Something felt off, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it."Come on, it's your turn!"A few of us were gathered under the big tree, practicing with some "martial arts manuals" we had borrowed from Old Man Yu's house. Each of us wielded wooden swords, hacking and stabbing at straw dummies and wooden figures. Before long, we were all drenched in sweat, panting heavily."This is so boring!" Zhang Yi threw his wooden sword to the ground and shouted, "What a useless manual! It's just the same moves over and over, stabbing at straw men!"Honestly, I agreed. The repetitive motions, coupled with the sweltering heat, made it unbearable. I stopped, wiped the sweat off my forehead, and glanced at Lu Xi. Unlike us, he was still diligently following the instructions in the book, practicing every move with focus, seemingly enjoying himself."Hey, don't you find this boring?" I poked Lu Xi with my sword."Huh?" He paused, looking up. "Not really. Maybe I'm just slow at understanding it, so I need more time to figure it out...""Help! There's a monster!"A sudden, frantic scream shattered the summer's stillness.We turned toward the sound and saw Da Xiong, the son of the village's apothecary owner, sprinting into the village. Zhang Yi rushed up and grabbed him. "What happened? What monster?"Da Xiong was a mess—his clothes were torn, streaked with blood, and his face was filled with terror. He was shaking, barely able to form words."A monster… a demon…!""Speak clearly! What kind of demon?" Zhang Yi pressed."A cat demon! Yes, a cat demon! It attacked us and stole our goods! My father… my father and the others… they're all dead!"Da Xiong collapsed onto the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.The three of us exchanged glances. A cat demon? None of us had ever heard of such a thing before."What do we do now?" Zhang Yi turned to Lu Xi and me, hoping we had a plan."Let's take him home first and then find the village chief," I decided. That seemed like the best course of action. Lu Xi and I helped Da Xiong to his feet and supported him home while Zhang Yi ran off to inform the village chief.Da Xiong's house was in the center of the village. His father, an apothecary, often took him into the mountains to gather herbs. Every so often, they would travel with a few other villagers to Baiqi City, where they traded their herbs and local specialties for supplies.Once home, Da Xiong slowly calmed down and recounted what had happened.This time, just like any other trip, they had gathered herbs and mountain goods, then set off to Baiqi City with a few young men from the village. On their way back, as they passed through Wildcat Mountain, a group of large wildcats suddenly appeared and pounced onto their goods, refusing to leave.Among them was Er Xiong, a strong, muscular young man who had trained in martial arts for a few years. He grabbed a wooden staff and swung at the wildcats. But they were quick. With a few agile leaps, they dodged his attacks and even bared their fangs in what looked like a mocking sneer.Just as Er Xiong was about to strike again, four or five humanoid cat demons emerged from the forest. They stood as tall as men, with feline faces, lean bodies, and sharp claws. Two of them wielded pitchforks, while one had golden fur, distinct from the others, who were black.The golden-furred demon let out a sharp cry and swung its pitchfork, signaling the others to surround the group. Realizing they had no chance to flee, the villagers exchanged glances and braced themselves for battle.Er Xiong was the first to strike. He slammed his staff at one of the black-furred demons, who raised a claw to block, but Er Xiong's sheer strength sent it flying several meters away.Seeing this, the others felt a surge of confidence. "They're not that tough after all!" Er Xiong yelled, and the rest joined the fight.Da Xiong and his father faced off against one of the black-furred demons wielding a pitchfork. This one was fiercer than the others, but Da Xiong's father, having trained in swordsmanship in his youth, quickly engaged it in battle. Before long, the demon was covered in wounds and collapsed.The other black-furred demons also fell one by one.Just as they thought they had won, the golden-furred demon suddenly lunged at Da Xiong's father and struck him hard with its pitchfork. Blood splattered as he crumpled to the ground."Father!" Da Xiong screamed and rushed to his side.The others immediately attacked the golden-furred demon, but it was faster and more intelligent than the rest. It dodged effortlessly, and even when hit, the strikes seemed to do little damage.In a desperate move, Da Xiong picked up his father's sword and stabbed at the demon's back. To everyone's surprise, the blade pierced straight through. The golden-furred demon let out a final cry and collapsed.Relieved, they tended to the wounded, believing the battle was over.But as they were about to continue their journey, a brilliant golden light flashed behind them. Before they could react, two villagers fell dead, their bodies slashed open.The golden-furred demon had revived!With a single strike, it sent Er Xiong flying. Before he could even get up, the demon leaped onto him and ended his life with a swift blow.Now, only Da Xiong and his wounded father remained.Da Xiong gripped his sword tightly, trembling. The demon lunged at him, and he barely dodged, but its claws still left deep gashes on his arm.The pain made him hesitate for a moment. In that instant, the demon raised its pitchfork for a killing blow.Before it could land, his father suddenly tackled the demon, pinning it down. "Run! Don't look back!" he shouted.Da Xiong froze. He wanted to fight, but his father's desperate voice rang out again."You can't kill it! It has nine lives! Even if you strike it down, it will revive! Just run!"Realization struck Da Xiong like a thunderbolt. That golden flash earlier—it was the demon resurrecting!With no choice left, he clenched his teeth, dropped the sword, and ran for his life.That was when he stumbled into the village and found us.By the time he finished his story, the sun was setting. Lu Xi helped clean his wounds and guided him to rest. The village chief arrived soon after. I recounted the events, watching his expression turn grim—not with shock, but with an unreadable concern."I see," the chief finally said. "Zheng,"—he looked at me—"and you two, Zhang Yi and Lu Xi, don't spread this around. We don't want unnecessary panic. We need to confirm what's happening first.""But if we don't warn people, won't more villagers be in danger?" I questioned."I'll tell them that there are bandits around. That should be enough to keep them cautious." He hesitated, then sighed. "I'll handle it."As he turned to leave, he paused again."Zheng, you three… could you…" He stopped himself, shook his head, and muttered, "Never mind."As we watched his figure disappear into the twilight, I couldn't shake the feeling that something bigger was at play."It seems like the village chief wanted us to do something," Zhang Yi said. "Should I go after him and ask?""Forget it," Lu Xi said kindly. "He didn't say anything for a reason. He must have his difficulties."After Lu Xi spoke, Zhang Yi remained silent. The three of us sat in Da Xiong's living room, enveloped in silence. It was during this quiet time that I could reflect on what Da Xiong and the others had gone through. First, there were the cat demons—why had they appeared? Second, the cat demons could revive. Third, it seemed that after reviving, they were much stronger. Did the cat demons truly have nine lives, getting stronger with each resurrection?A dozen questions filled my mind. I turned to the others for their thoughts, but after some discussion, we all shook our heads in confusion."We don't know. We can ask someone," Zhang Yi suddenly jumped up, as if he had thought of something."Right! How did I not think of that?" At Zhang Yi's suggestion, I realized the best person to ask in the village would be Old Yü, who had a house full of books and was the one we borrowed the "martial arts manual" from."Alright, let's go now. Lu Xi, stay here with Da Xiong. Zhang Yi and I will go to Old Yü's house to ask about this."I had no idea that this was just the beginning of our legendary journey.