Chen Yao leaped up and brought her staff down in a chop, the bamboo rod whipping the air as it smashed toward the ground. When its tip was three inches from the earth, the soil suddenly turned over in a crooked gash, as though some invisible thing had raked it fiercely, leaving behind a trench of uneven depth.
Chen Wuya's gaze sharpened, and the smile at the corner of his mouth vanished instantly.
He crouched down and ran his fingertips along the mark. The crumbs of soil were slightly damp and felt sticky, unlike ordinary dirt. Without betraying a thing, he withdrew his hand and lightly wiped it on his trouser leg.
"Dad, look!" Chen Yao pointed at the mark on the ground. "Did I hit too hard?"
Chen Xuan came over as well, frowning as he stared at it. "But this pattern... it looks a little like the claw marks Old Wu Tou mentioned on the wall yesterday."
Before his words had faded, the courtyard gate creaked open. Leaning on a jujube-wood cane, Old Wu Tou walked in, panting heavily. Fine sweat beaded at his temples, and his face was bluish pale.
"Chen boy." He lowered his voice. "Li Family Village lost another cow this morning. The mark on the wall inside the pen was deeper than the last two, and black fluid was even seeping from it. None of the village dogs dared go near the cattle pen's entrance."
Chen Wuya slowly rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping over the old man's soles. Several dark red fragments were lodged in the seams of his shoes, carrying the scent of rotting leaves. They were certainly not the sort of soil found at the foot of the southern hills outside the village.
"You saw it yourself?" he asked.
"I