My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

But no one answered.

He knocked three more times.

"Knock knock knock".

Still, no one answered.

The Taoist priest lowered his hand, stood at the door, and waited for a while.

Then he turned around and walked towards Amu's house.

His footsteps were very light, making no sound on the ground, and the hem of his Taoist robe fluttered gently in the wind, as if it were being supported by something.

Amu's heart skipped a beat.

He quickly closed the door, bolted it, and peered out through the crack.

The Taoist's figure grew closer and clearer.

His face was illuminated by the moonlight; it was very white, a clean, jade-like white.

His eyes were bright, a calm brightness, like the light of water in a deep pool.

Amu pulled his sister behind him and whispered, "Don't make a sound, don't open the door. It might be an evil spirit."

His sister stumbled a couple of steps as he pulled her along, and bumped into the edge of the stove.

She didn't cry or scream; she just looked up and stared into Amu's eyes.

"Brother, he's not a bad person." Her voice was soft, but her tone was firm.

Amu frowned.

"How do you know? Evil spirits can disguise themselves as humans. Have you forgotten what Granny Li said?"

The younger sister shook her head.

"It's not an act. I can feel it. There's a very comfortable feeling about him, like...like a celestial being."

She paused here, as if searching for the right words.

"Brother, I've never felt this way before. Just seeing him standing there makes me feel calm. Those things outside are afraid of him."

Amu did not speak.

He knew his sister had this ability.

She has heightened senses; she can hear sounds others cannot and see things others cannot.

Sometimes she would sit at the door and suddenly say, "Someone's coming!" and a little while later someone would actually walk over from the other end of the alley.

Sometimes she would touch a stone and say, "This stone is bad, there's something inside."

Amu threw the stone away. Later, he heard that the stone was a ruined artifact made by a sorcerer, and that a wisp of remnant soul was sealed inside it.

She never misjudged.

But this time it's different.

This time it's a person, not a stone, not a voice, but a living, breathing person.

A stranger wearing a Taoist robe knocks on the neighbor's door, is refused entry, and walks towards their house.

The human heart is much harder to fathom than a stone.

Even if he is not an evil spirit, even if he is a human, he could still be a bad person.

He might come in and steal things, he might hit people, he might take away his mother's medicine, he might sell his sister.

Amu had seen such people before; he had heard cargo owners talk about them when he was moving goods outside.

In the city, a family's daughter was lured away by a stranger and never returned.

He can't take that risk.

He gripped the latch tightly and didn't let go.

Footsteps came from outside the door.

It was very light; it reached their door and stopped. Then there was a knock.

"Knock knock knock." Three knocks, very lightly, very politely.

It wasn't a hurried, forceful pat; it was a tentative, hesitant knock.

Amu did not move.

"Knock knock knock." Three more knocks.

Amu still didn't move.

He pushed his sister back a little, making her stand behind the stove.

The younger sister didn't move; her eyes were still fixed on the door, on the sliver of moonlight shining through the crack, and on the blurry shadow in the moonlight.

"Brother," she spoke again, her voice a little louder than before, "I think I should open the door."

Amu turned around and looked at her. "What did you say?"

The younger sister bit her lip, as if she was struggling with herself.

Her hands gripped the hem of her clothes so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Her face was even whiter, as white as paper, but her eyes were very bright, as bright as two stars.

"I don't know why, but I just feel that if I don't open this door, I will lose something very important in the future."

Her voice trembled slightly, but she spoke each word clearly.

"Brother, you have to believe me."

Amu looked at her, looking into her eyes.

There was pleading, anxiety, and something else he had never seen before, something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

His hand loosened for a moment, then clenched again.

Footsteps sounded outside the door again.

It's not going in, it's going out.

The man waited for a while, and when no one answered, he turned to leave.

The hem of the Taoist robe swayed briefly in the crack of the door, and the bluish-gray shadow receded into the distance.

My sister couldn't hold back.

She pushed Amu's hand away, ran over, unlatched the door, and opened the door.

A cool night breeze blew in, making the ashes on the stove fly up.

Moonlight shone in from outside the door, spreading a thin layer of silver frost on the ground.

The Taoist priest had already walked several steps away, his back to them, his gray-blue robe fluttering in the night wind like a flag.

The younger sister stood at the doorway, her hand on the doorframe, and called out to the retreating figure, "Please come in and rest."

Amu tried to pull her up, but couldn't.

The door is already open, the words have already been spoken, and there's no going back.

He stood behind the door, his hand on the latch, ready to close it at any moment.

His eyes were fixed on the Taoist's back, on his shoulders, on his hands, and on his feet.

As soon as he turns around, as soon as he shows any sign of something amiss, he closes the door, shuts it tightly, and never opens it again.

The Taoist priest stopped in his tracks.

He didn't turn around immediately; he stood there with his back to them for a few moments.

Then he slowly turned around.

The moonlight shone on his face, illuminating his calm eyes and the slightly upturned corners of his mouth.

He smiled, a smile that wasn't deep, but it was genuine, like the first ray of sunshine on a spring day—not scorching, but warm.

"Thank you very much."

Amu looked at him, at his eyes, at his smile, and suddenly realized that his sister was right.

This person is not a bad person.

He couldn't explain why, but he just knew.

Amu came out from behind the door, stood next to his sister, and blocked her way.

He was still clutching the talisman tightly in his hand.

He looked at the Taoist priest, his throat moved, and he spoke.

"Where did you come from, Taoist priest? Where are you going?"

Ye Qingfeng looked at him, at his wary, somewhat nervous eyes, at the talisman he was clutching tightly in his hand, and at the little girl peeking out from behind him.

He didn't rush to answer; he simply stood there, letting the moonlight shine on him and allowing them to see him clearly.

"I came from the mountains and am heading towards the city. I'm passing through your area, and it's getting late. I'd like to find a place to rest."

His tone was calm, without urging or flattery.

Amu remained silent for a while.

He looked at the Taoist's clothes; they were old, faded from washing, but very clean.

He looked at the Taoist's hands; they were long, clean, and without calluses, unlike those of someone who did manual labor.

He looked into the Taoist's eyes; they were bright and calm, as if they could see through a person's thoughts.