I want to tread the heavens

The night was cool and still, with two moons hanging in the sky. Under the old locust tree in the courtyard, the starlight and thunder had just subsided, and the aftershocks of spiritual energy vibrations still lingered in the air.

Fa Cai lay sprawled beside the stone table, its grey fur gleaming like satin in the moonlight. Unlike usual, it didn't yawn or gnaw on the table corner; instead, its eyes were closed, its body trembling slightly, and it emitted intermittent low growls, as if struggling against something unseen. Beneath its amber eyelids, its eyeballs darted rapidly, its pupils contracting and dilating intermittently.

Ling Xiao stopped, looking at it worriedly: "Uncle Rong, make it rich..."

Uncle Rong wiped the broken sword, his gaze calm: "The bloodline inheritance of the Howling Moon Wolf is merging with its intelligence. This is a critical juncture of transformation; no one else can help it, it can only rely on itself to get through it."

Suddenly, Fa Cai abruptly opened its eyes! In that instant, its pupils were no longer purely beastly, but flowed with a radiance like liquid mercury, deep and sharp, carrying an ancient wisdom that transcended time. It shook its head, its gaze focusing on Ling Xiao, and a clear, warm, yet slightly naive thought, like a stone thrown into water, directly struck Ling Xiao's mind—

"Pain...so many...shiny...bones...run..." The thoughts were fragmented, mixed with broken images: an ancient moonlit night, a wolf pack hunting, the trajectory of stars, and a strong attachment to Ling Xiao and Uncle Rong.

Ling Xiao was startled and blurted out, "Get rich? Did you say that?"

Fa Cai tilted its head, a hint of confusion flashing in its silvery eyes, before conveying a clearer emotion: "Hungry...want to eat...braised pork...if you don't give it to me...I'll steal it..." It even included a blurry image of it secretly hiding Guo Xiaohu's shoes.

Ling Xiao was both amused and exasperated, but inwardly overjoyed. It had worked! Fa ​​Cai had truly gained sentience. Although he couldn't speak yet, he could communicate through thought, and even retained his gluttonous and mischievous nature.

Uncle Rong managed a rare smile, but deliberately kept a straight face: "Looks like it's done. But this brain of his is probably still full of meat and troublemaking."

Fa Cai seemed to understand, and bared his teeth at Uncle Rong in dissatisfaction, conveying a sense of resentment that "the old man is bad and won't give me meat to eat," which made Ling Xiao laugh out loud.

After the joke, Ling Xiao squatted down, looked intently into Fa Cai's eyes, placed the Starfall Compass in front of it, pointed to the pointer that pointed to the void, and slowly and clearly conveyed his decision using a mixture of thought and words:

"Fa Cai, we're leaving. Leaving this place, leaving this old land, to a very, very far place, a place with stars but great danger. We might go hungry, we might get hurt, we might even die on the way. Do you... want to come with us?"

The fortune-telling creature's ears perked up instantly, and the playful glint in its silver eyes vanished. It lowered its head and sniffed the compass; the familiar, stellar scent that stirred its blood told it the significance of its contents.

It raised its head, and without any hesitation, took a step forward, licked Ling Xiao's hand hard with its warm tongue, and then pressed its furry head heavily into Ling Xiao's palm.

A resolute and unquestionable will, like a vow, crashed into Ling Xiao's mind; simple, yet weighing a ton:

"Where is home...where am I?"

"Bite to death... the bad guy who bullied you..."

"Don't... leave me behind."

Accompanying the thought were countless images of it standing in front of Ling Xiao, the warmth they shared in the dry well, and its resolute determination to break through the enemy even at the cost of its own injury.

Ling Xiao's eyes welled up with tears, and he hugged it tightly: "Okay! I won't leave! We'll go together!"

Uncle Rong watched from the side, his grip on the broken knife tightening. This small courtyard, this old soil—that's all he could take with him.

The next morning, Guo Xiaohu, carrying a small bundle and with red eyes, slipped into the courtyard. He had heard about the changes that had taken place in the family in the past few days and had a vague feeling that Brother Xiao might be leaving.

"Brother Xiao..." Guo Xiaohu looked at Ling Xiao, who was practicing his martial arts, his voice trembling with tears. He put his bundle on the stone table, from which rolled out several still-warm meat buns, a packet of malt candy, and a small dagger that he had secretly sharpened for a long time. "I... I heard from Granny that you're going to cultivate in a very far place. Are you never coming back?"

Ling Xiao stopped what he was doing, looking at his chubby friend with whom he had been beaten and blamed since childhood, and felt a pang of sadness. He picked up a meat bun and stuffed it back into Guo Xiaohu's hand: "Xiaohu, Jiutu is too small. There are some things I have to do, and some places I have to go."

Guo Xiaohu's tears fell in a steady stream as he clutched the steamed bun without saying a word.

At this moment, Fa Cai strolled over, nudged Guo Xiaohu's belly with his head, conveying a confused thought that "Don't cry, meat buns are delicious," and then snatched a bun away.

Guo Xiaohu, tickled by the rubbing, wiped away his tears, looked at Fa Cai, then at Ling Xiao, and suddenly shoved the small dagger into Ling Xiao's hand. He puffed out his chest and shouted, "Brother Xiao, you can go now! I know you, Uncle Rong, and Fa Cai aren't ordinary people! I... I won't be lazy anymore, I'll practice hard! When I become powerful, I'll go find you on that star... star region you mentioned! I'll protect you then!"

The vow was childlike, yet spoken with utmost seriousness, his chubby face full of stubbornness.

Ling Xiao took the dagger and nodded emphatically: "Okay! I'll be waiting. I'll take this dagger with me. And don't you dare slack off. If you still can't beat me next time we meet, I'll have Fa Cai steal all your snacks."

Fa Cai, holding a steamed bun in his mouth, wagged his tail at Guo Xiaohu with a smug look on his face.

Guo Xiaohu burst into laughter through his tears and nodded vigorously: "It's a deal!"

As the sun rose, it cast long shadows of the three boys (a man and a wolf). One was about to embark on a journey to the stars, while the other remained in their homeland. But the promise they made at that moment, like a seed, was buried deep in the dust of their old home.

In the morning breeze of the courtyard, the sorrow of parting was washed away, leaving only anticipation for the future. Fa Cai squatted at Ling Xiao's feet, its silver eyes gazing at the horizon, where its new hunting ground would be.