Chapter Two: A Taoist and a Cat

The rooftop wind tugged at Mei Zhu Yu’s sleeves as he regarded Wu Zhen. Lanternlight flickered faintly below them, but here, suspended between heaven and earth, the world felt oddly hushed.

Wu Zhen tilted her head, amber eyes narrowing like a cat’s. “You followed a spirit, did you? Or were you just curious to see me disgrace myself at Lefang?”

Mei Zhu Yu’s lips curved faintly, but he said nothing. Instead, he reached into his sleeve and drew out a small copper mirror etched with runes. Raising it, he angled the glass toward the air beside Wu Zhen.

There it was again the pale, gaunt spirit, its mouth opening in a silent scream. In the reflection, it flared brighter than moonlight, visible at last.

“Ah,” Wu Zhen murmured, her voice low with amusement. “So you do see them.”

His dark eyes met hers. “And so do you.”

The moment lingered, taut as a bowstring. For years Wu Zhen had hidden this side of herself, even from her closest companions. Yet here stood a stranger who peeled back her mask with a single gesture.

Wu Zhen broke the silence with a grin, masking her unease. “Well, aren’t you clever, Taoist prodigy. What now? Do you plan to banish me along with the spirit?”

Mei Zhu Yu’s expression remained unreadable. He murmured a chant, and the copper mirror flared, drawing the spirit toward its surface. The thing shrieked soundlessly as it was absorbed, leaving the night still once more. Mei Zhu Yu lowered the mirror, sliding it back into his sleeve.

“I do not banish people,” he said evenly. “Only demons.”

Wu Zhen barked a laugh, her voice echoing against the tiles. “Careful. I’m not sure which side of the line I fall on these days.”

She expected him to falter, to recoil at the implication of demonic power. But instead, Mei Zhu Yu studied her with that same calm, almost detached gaze.

“You carry something,” he said quietly. “Something that doesn’t belong to mortals. And yet, it hasn’t consumed you.”

Wu Zhen’s smirk faded just a little. “Sharp eyes, Taoist. But perhaps too sharp for your own good.”

Before Mei Zhu Yu could reply, the air around them thickened. A chorus of whispers rose, icy and discordant, as if dozens of voices pressed against the veil of the world.

Wu Zhen straightened instantly. Her golden eyes flared. “More of them.”

From the shadows between rooftops, shapes began to crawl spectral figures, distorted and restless. Their faces were blurred, their limbs jerking unnaturally as they surged toward the two.

Wu Zhen cracked her knuckles, the demonic energy within her stirring eagerly. “Finally. Something to sink my claws into.”

She leapt forward with feline grace, her robes billowing like wings. With a sweep of her arm, golden talons of energy erupted, slashing through the nearest spirit. It wailed and disintegrated into fragments of light.

Mei Zhu Yu moved as well, his chant flowing like water, each word a thread of power. Sigils glowed around his fingers, forming a radiant barrier that repelled the shrieking phantoms.

The battle unfolded like a dance Wu Zhen striking fast and wild, Mei Zhu Yu steady and precise. Where her claws shredded, his incantations bound; where her laughter rang, his silence grounded.

Within moments, the last spirit dissolved into mist. The rooftops fell quiet again, only the night breeze whispering through the tiles.

Wu Zhen exhaled, brushing dust from her sleeves. “Not bad, Taoist. You almost kept up.”

Mei Zhu Yu adjusted his robe, unfazed. “You are reckless. Had I not been here, you would have been overwhelmed.”

She grinned, leaning closer with mischievous spark in her eyes. “Oh? Concern already? Careful, Mei Zhu Yu, or I might mistake you for someone who cares whether I live or die.”

For the first time, something flickered in his gaze quick, fleeting, like a spark under ice. He turned away before she could catch it fully.

“The disturbance is unusual,” he said instead. “So many restless spirits gathering at once. Something stirs in Chang’an.”

Wu Zhen leaned back on her heels, eyes glinting. “Well then, lucky for Chang’an it has me. And now, it seems, you.”

Their eyes met, and though no words passed, an unspoken agreement formed in the stillness between them.

Whatever was awakening in the shadows of Chang’an, they would face it together.

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