Chapter Fifty-Two: The Unseen Gaze
Morning light streamed through the stone house's lattice window, gilding the rim of the Clay Jar with warm gold.
Chen An crouched beside the Vegetable Plot, his fingertips brushing over the tender green leaves of the Little White Cabbage. Dewdrops rolled down the veins, refracting into tiny rainbows. He drew in a deep breath, the fragrance of soil mingling with the Pure Qi of grass and trees as it entered his nostrils—this should have been a peaceful morning, yet an inexplicable chill crept up his spine.
He whipped around!
The courtyard gate was tightly shut, the barrier shimmering with a faint silver light. Beyond the fence, the vegetation was lush, but not a soul was in sight.
"An illusion?" Chen An frowned, unconsciously pinching off half a leaf. This was already the third time today. Earlier, while pounding medicine, he had clearly felt a shadow move beside the stone mortar. Just now, while drawing water, it had seemed as though something had swept across the reflection in the well. Yet every time he cautiously investigated, there was nothing but the lonely sound of the wind.
The afternoon sun had heated the Clay Jar until it was scorching. Chen An sat on a wooden stump, kneading a lump of clay, the material warm and pliant against his palms. He was intently smoothing the rim of the clay vessel when his ear suddenly twitched—
"Rustle... rustle..."
A nearly inaudible scraping sound came from beyond the courtyard wall, like a snake's belly sliding through the grass, or sharp claws scraping across stone.
He sprang to his feet!
Chen An's gaze flashed like lightning as he swept toward the source of the sound. His eyes were so sharp they seemed capable of piercing the gently swaying thicket of brambles.