The arrival of the Daren was not something the Zhou Village expected. Certainly not after more than a decade of silence from the capital.
Once, long ago, a circuit governor, the Daren, had come through with scrolls and scribes, gathering census records, adjusting land tax quotas, and issuing minor legal rulings from his lacquered seat beneath the shrine. But that had been three governors ago. Since then, war, famine, and the creeping abandonment of the western territories had left villages like Zhou to fend for themselves.
And truth be told, they preferred it that way.
So, when the new Daren rode through the outer rice fields with soldiers at his back and banners fluttering behind him, it was as if the heavens themselves had sent a thunderclap to disrupt the calm.
He was young. That was the first surprise.
Barely into his twenties, with straight posture, pristine robes in the faint green of spring jade, and the faint trace of ink on his sleeves. His wife followed in a modest palanquin, a boy of four cradled in her lap, wide-eyed and drowsy from the travel. They came with only twenty or so guards, no more than necessary to deal with the bandits on the road, but even that small number felt like a parade to the villagers who lined the square in hushed curiosity.
As the village head, Zhou Cunzhang, stood at the gate to meet him, his hammer still hanging from his belt. He didn't bow deeply, but he nodded with the weight of someone who had survived many winters and didn't need to be impressed.
"Welcome to Zhou Village, Daren," he said simply, not cowering under the prestige of the other man.
The young man dismounted with a practiced ease, nodding in return. "Zhou Cunzhang. I've heard your name in the war records. Blacksmith, yes? Decorated twice?"
"Once," Zhou said. "The other was for surviving something I shouldn't have."
The Daren's smile flickered, but it remained polite. "I've been appointed to restore census order in the border territories. Banditry is down, which is a welcome change, but coordination has fallen apart. I'd like your help organizing a ledger of families, resources, and able-bodied laborers. There won't be any new taxes this year, not until the courts get the proper number of villagers. However, between the two of us, I would start saving now. The kingdom has been hit hard with war, plagues, and famine, and everyone must do their part for the betterment of the Daiyu Kingdom."
Zhou Cunzhang gave a grunt that could have meant agreement…or nothing at all. The Daren narrowed his eyes at the lack of enthusiasm, but until he knew what he was getting into, he would be cautious.
They began their work that afternoon. Scrolls were opened, names etched carefully into bamboo slips by the Daren's wife, who had chosen to assist rather than observe idly. The villagers filed in one by one. Some were eager, but most were wary of the outsiders. The guards who had escorted the governor posted themselves at the entrance of the square and by the gates, watching for threats that hadn't existed in years.
By the third hour, a quiet panic rippled through the gathering.
The boy was missing.
Gone.
Without a sound, without a trace. One moment he was nestled in a basket of linens beside his mother, and the next… he simply vanished into thin air.
Chaos threatened to crack the stillness. The Daren barked orders as soldiers fanned out through the square, the woods, and the animal pens. Zhou Cunzhang kept his voice steady, trying to get the Daren's attention, trying to call for calm, but he was simply ignored.
The panicked voice of the mother was like nails on a chalkboard to the rest of the villagers.
If it was one of the soldiers, sure, there would be a body to find, but a child? The child would be safer in the woods than anywhere else in the world.
After all, the witch didn't touch children.
As if to confirm their thoughts, a single cry rang out near the western edge of the trees.
The guards arrived first, their swords drawn and their hearts pounding, expecting the worse.
What they saw stunned them all.
A massive wolf, standing almost shoulder level with the guards, stood at the edge of the trees, its golden yellow eyes piercing through the guards as if looking for someone in particular.
It took a few seconds for them to get past the sight of the wolf and to the child clinging to the thick ruff of its neck, giggling softly.
The moment was almost surreal.
The boy, with mud on his knees and sap and leaves in his hair, patted the wolf's head like it was a village dog. He looked unharmed and happy. Not even scared despite being on a beast that sent fear into the hearts of grown men.
The wolf simply stood there, patient, unthreatening, even though every inch of its frame was built to kill.
The nearest guard lunged forward, his sword pointing forward at the wolf's exposed neck. However, before he could get to his target, Zhou Cunzhang grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. "Don't," grunted the village head.
"He has the governor's son—"
"And if you so much as touch that wolf," Zhou Cunzhang replied coldly, "you'll be dead before your body hits the ground."
The other guards hesitated, looking at their captain for what they should do next.
However, it wasn't lost on the captain that the villagers moved with strange unity, placing themselves between the soldiers and the creature, forming a wall without speaking a word.
Shaking his head, the captain held the line.
The Daren arrived last, his weeping wife in his arms. He saw his son first. Then the wolf. Then Zhou Cunzhang, who was holding back one of his guards.
There was a pause of silence where no one knew what to do next. Letting out a long sigh, Zhou Cunzhang approached the wolf and child. Holding out his hand, he smiled at the body. "Come on, little one. D—Shadow has other things to do."
Everyone knew that the wolf's name was Shadow, but they had a private name for it, one that they refused to get back to the Witch.
After all, what was a Witch without her Demon?
The boy looked at the man before sticking out his bottom lip like he was about to cry. "None of that now," Zhou Cunzhang scolded softly. "Otherwise, your dad is going to think that Shadow is upsetting you."
The child nodded before slipping off Shadow's back, laughing as Zhou Cunzhang lifted him into his arms.
There wasn't a single scratch on the boy. Not a bruise, not a cut, not even a stubbed toe.
Quickly, Zhou Cunzhang passed the child back to his father without a word before nodding a thanks to Shadow. It wasn't the first time that a child toddled away from the village and into the mountain, and it wasn't the first time that Shadow brought them home.
The Daren clutched his son tightly, visibly shaken as he stared at the wolf. "That wolf—" he started, only to be quickly cut off by Zhou Cunzhang.
"Is not yours to command," Zhou Cunzhang said, his eyes narrowing at the younger man. "And not something you want to make an enemy of."
"I don't understand. What sort of village lets a wild animal walk freely?" whispered one of the guards as the Daren contemplated having the wolf killed anyway.
"A wise one," Zhou Cunzhang replied, never taking his eyes away from the Daren. "And one that survives because we live as one with the mountains. We don't bother the wolves, and they don't bother us."
"You mean the stories are true?" the Daren asked, lowering his voice.
Zhou Cunzhang looked at him for a long moment. Then said evenly, "I understand what you're trying to do. You're young. Earnest. Ambitious. You don't want to be stuck out here in the western wastelands for the rest of your career. You think this is punishment. But for us… this is home. And I will not let you destroy the fine balance that keeps us safe."
The Daren's mouth thinned. "Do you really think you could stop me if I demanded its head?"
Zhou Cunzhang scoffed at the other man's arrogance, but he didn't flinch. "Me? No. But I do know this. If you or your men so much as look sideways at that wolf, you will die an incredibly painful death. You and everyone with you. That, I swear. Be grateful that your son is alive and well, and move on."
The silence that stretched between the two men was thick with tension.
The Daren looked down at the boy in his arms. The village head wasn't wrong. His son was alive and safe.
He exhaled slowly. "You have my gratitude," he said at last, inclining his head just slightly. A nobleman like him would never bow to a country bumpkin.
"If you are ready, let's continue with the census," grunted Zhou Cunzhang, already turning around and heading back toward the meeting hall. He didn't wait for any reply.
However, the Daren didn't argue.
Not because he understood or agreed with the village head, but because he felt the shift in the air. A shiver went down his spine as he sensed that the mountain was listening. Watching. Judging.
That evening, when they departed, the Daren bowed his head low once to the trees, only to be rewarded with a safe journey to the next village.