Tsem’s pursuer loped after him, powerful hind legs pushing off against a tree trunk as it leapt over a fallen branch. Tsem didn’t know what species the big cat was, but its unique white and black hair made it clear it was no mundane animal; the noxious tang of its internal qi just confirmed its nature. A demonic beast.

  Tsem backed up quickly, feet desperate to carry him away. He knew he should turn and run, but fear locked him in place, forcing him to stare into the slitted eyes of his stalker. A few more steps, and his heels locked against a log. Moss scraped against the backs of his legs on the way down, and mud seeped unpleasantly into his worn reed pants as he landed.

  Tsem could do nothing. By his best guess, he was nine parts bone, one part skin—maybe another part shame. Even if he was just a peasant, he had always imagined himself fighting to the bitter end, like a true warrior cultivator. Instead, he was shaking in a puddle of mud, too scared to do anything. Perhaps the magistrate back in his old village was right after all. Ancestry did always show. Tsem’s line, farmer’s all, were about the furthest you could get from the heroic cultivators of stories.

  The magistrate’s logic was the kind every peasant heard at some point. His parents had made great efforts making sure he never bought into it, and when the chance to head to the southern continent, the frontier, came, they’d jumped at it. With a newfound life in their eyes, they’d spoken of the opportunity on offer, of how anyone, not just the great clans, could lay claim to resources so long as they put the work in. They hadn’t spoken of the frontier’s dangers. Perhaps they’d never been informed, perhaps they had. Regardless, they hadn’t even made it to their destination before they became victims of the frontier…just like he was about to be.

  The striped cat didn’t look in any hurry to deal the telling blow as it circled around him, keeping a mere arm’s length away, warm breath pressing against his skin, sending fresh tremors of fear and anticipation. Not knowing when it would strike was the worst. There was a small knife in Tsem’s pocket—if only his limbs would stop shaking. No weapon could get him out of this, but perhaps the beast would at least feel compelled to end things quickly.

  A strong tang filled the air again, though far less noxious, and the cat looked up in a sudden panic, too late to avoid the flurry of spear thrusts that followed. A young man, clad in furs and tanned leathers, pursued the beast, jabbing at it with his spear in a controlled, practiced fashion. The cat moved side to side, searching for an opening, but the cultivator presented none. It slowly took on wounds, a scrape across its ribs, a tear through its ear.

  The cat seethed, staring at the blood hitting the ground. Its eyes looked manic. Tsem watched in horror as hind legs tensed with the telltale signs of qi. It leaped at his savior with such strength, he thought nothing could stop it. The boy didn’t back down though, filling his own shoulders with qi and meeting the charge head-on, hand pressed against its neck. The cat’s movement came to a stop in the air, its jaw working to find flesh. Instead, the spear flashed straight through the cat’s body, emerging, covered in blood, from its back.

  The corpse hit the ground with a thud, and Tsem realized he was still planted on his butt. He hurriedly moved, bringing his knees under him. Then with a mighty gasp to bring air into his lungs and memorized words on his lips, he plunged his forehead right into the mud. “My family and I are shamed to inconvenience you and honored beyond words to be deemed worthy of saving by one so great. Thank you.”

  The boy, probably only a year or two, Tsem’s senior, looked around in a panic, the stoic warrior from a moment ago suddenly gone. “Your family! Are they nearby? Were they chased by other star panthers?”

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  Tsem realized his error and hastily waved his hands, pushing his head further into the ground. “Please, do not concern yourself, my family is dead a fortnight now.” Honestly, he was confused. Even if this cultivator was nearby, it was not his duty to be concerned over him, much less his family. He wasn’t of the Meiryu clan who had failed in their caravan’s protection, and even they had turned tail when demonic beasts had overrun the group.

  The cultivator continued to defy expectations as he propped his pack and spear against a nearby tree and plopped down on the ground beside Tsem. “Please sit up.” The boy gently gripped Tsem’s shoulder, pulling his forehead from the muck. “Speak to me like a brother. You may call me Da Kanuk or just Kanuk.”

  Just Kanuk?! Tsem had never imagined that a cultivator would want to speak with him as an equal, much less as a brother. His father had promised his family that things would be different on the frontier, but he was dead, and those promises had been made to him for work he never got to do. “T-Tsem”. He muttered, feeling uncertain.

  “Good to meet you Tsem.” Da Kanuk reached back, patting the fallen demonic beast--—the star panther—Tsem reminded himself, making note of the name. “This is my first time going on a hunting trip alone.” The cultivator continued. “You would be doing me a big favor if you kept me company. At least for tonight—we should celebrate our victory after all.”

  Our victory!? Tsem had no idea where this cultivator had gotten that idea from, but his stomach told him not to argue.

  Da Kanuk did most of the work butchering the star panther. It was a rough job, but it was clear he had done it before. Soon enough, the sky was darkening, and their meal rotated on a spit over the fire, its warmth bringing with it the feel of the hearth in his old home.

  With the darkness, the call came again, nothing he could actually hear, but rather an urgent tugging at his heart. Tsem had no idea what the tug was, but every night since his parents had died, every night alone in the wilderness, it called to him. It didn’t have the same feeling as qi, but it was powerful, something primal. He knew, instinctively, that it was coming from the top of the mountain that loomed over them.

  “You feel it to.” The words came as a surprised whisper from across the fire. “You feel its tug.”

  “What is it?”

  Da Kanuk stood, handing Tsem a portion of cooked star panther. “Nobody knows. Only a few people can even sense it. In my clan, only my father and one of the elders feels the call.” He sat down, biting into his meal. “We’ve taken to calling it the fool’s whisper.” He grinned. “You know; on account of everyone who’s died on the mountain.”

  Tsem took a bite of his own meal. He felt a deep sating run through his body as if he had just eaten a full festival meal rather than a single bit. A moment later, a strong impulse came over him. He wanted to slink down on all fours and pounce at the cultivator from across the fire. His hands had already tensed into claws before he realized what was happening.

  He'd been a fool. Even he’d heard that demonic beast meat carried some residual will. He closed his eyes quickly, picturing himself and his core. The will bashed against him over and over, a wave seeking to batter itself into him. In his mind’s eye, Tsem stumbled around with each assault, but with each impact, he mustered his sense of self, and eventually, the panther’s will just dissipated. He slowly opened his eyes, realizing with some embarrassment that he was drenched in sweat.

  Da Kanuk stood there, watching him patiently, no judgement in his eyes at Tsem’s weakness. It was bizarre, totally unlike the cultivators he knew. That Da Kanuk wasn’t charging him years of debt for saving him was already strange. Sitting with him at a fire like this was ludicrous. The clans where Tsem came from would have killed him where he stood for even implying he was the equal of their lowliest disciple.

  Tsem drifted back into the conversation again, his curiosity about the pull on his heart—the fool’s whisper—was too insistent for even an attack on his will to overpower. “You’ve never tried to find out what it is?”

  Da Kanuk snorted, and his powerful lungs blew smoke towards Tsem who waved it away with an arm. “I’ll find it.” He claimed. “One day I’ll be strong enough to make my way past every beast in this forest, and I’ll answer the call.”

  Tsem frowned at himself, lowering his head. “Da Kanuk. Thank you for this. You saved my life. If there is anything I can do to repay you…”

  “Come hunt with me tomorrow.”

  Tsem lifted his head in surprise. “I’m not a cultivator, and I’ve never even hunted mundane beasts. Surely, I would only slow you down.”

  Da Kanuk let out a hearty laugh. “Then I’ll teach you to hunt.”

  Tsem shook his head. “I was useless against the star panther. I couldn’t even control my own body.”

  Da Kanuk gave him a lopsided grin. “All the more reason. You’ve got something to prove to yourself.”

  Tsem couldn’t help but return the grin even if part of him felt terrified just at the thought of hunting demonic beasts. He did have something to prove. His parents had chosen to move to the frontier, despite the risks. They’d told him they wanted to give him a better life. Tsem had to honor that. He had to prove that their words weren’t false. That he could stand on his own feet.