Life in the village don't change overnight, it moves slow, like the river after rain, steady and unwilling to rush for anyone. Even with a stranger in their midst, folks still woke at dawn, still tied oxen to plows, still shouted at lazy sons to fetch water or chop firewood. But beneath it all, whispers ran like little streams under the soil.

Shen Yu became part of that rhythm, though never fully. The first few days, he worked quietly, never complaining, even when given the hardest jobs. Old Guo, maybe testing him, told him to help repair the east fence, the one that had collapsed last winter. Yun was nearby, tying bundles of straw, and he saw it with his own eyes Shen Yu lifted heavy logs like they weighed little, his sleeves rolled up and sweat glistening but his face calm, too calm for someone not used to farm work.

One villager muttered, "That man's hands ain't farmer's hands, look at them, no cracks, no scars, no dirt." Another replied, "Then how come he works faster than us?" They argued a bit, but no one dared ask Shen Yu directly.

At meal times, he never ate much. Just rice, sometimes a bit of soup. The children teased each other saying maybe he was a ghost, only pretending to eat. One bold boy, Huzi, even poked his arm when he passed. Shen Yu just smiled at him, faint, not angry, and Huzi ran back to his friends, embarrassed but laughing.

Yun kept noticing things. One afternoon, when he was carrying buckets from the well, he saw Shen Yu standing under the old cedar tree. The man was staring at the mountains in the distance, lips moving slightly, whispering something Yun couldn't hear. When Yun came closer, Shen Yu turned and said, "The stars hide behind those peaks until night falls. Do you ever watch them come out?"

Yun scratched his head, awkward. "I… sometimes. Not really."

"Hmm," Shen Yu said, then smiled, but not the smile of someone joking. More like someone who knew a secret and didn't tell.

In the evenings, when villagers gathered by the fire, Shen Yu often sat with them but spoke little. When pressed, he answered politely, about roads and towns he had seen, about merchants and markets, but always vague, never saying exactly where he came from. The younger men teased him, saying, "Surely you must have a wife waiting somewhere?" He only shook his head, not denying, not agreeing. That made them laugh but also made some uneasy.

Yun, though, couldn't help feeling watched. Not in a bad way, but in a strange way. Shen Yu's eyes sometimes lingered on him, like he was studying him, or maybe comparing him to someone else. Yun pretended not to notice, but when he lay in bed at night, he thought about it too much. Why me? I'm nothing special.

Three days later, Shen Yu helped Grandma Mei carry water. She was too old to lift the bucket herself, but she always insisted she could manage. Shen Yu appeared suddenly and said, "Let me." He carried the bucket with one hand, no effort. Grandma Mei smiled, but her eyes were sharp. She leaned closer and whispered, too soft for others but Yun happened to be passing and heard a little: "You shouldn't be here yet… but maybe the time is sooner than we thought."

Yun froze. He didn't know if those words were meant for Shen Yu, or if Grandma Mei was simply muttering her old nonsense again, but he saw how Shen Yu's smile didn't falter, though his eyes flickered just once.

That night, Shen Yu walked the village alone, under the moonlight. Yun couldn't sleep and followed a little distance, keeping to shadows. He saw Shen Yu stop near the riverbank, tilt his head back, and stare at the sky for a long time. His lips moved, chanting maybe, or praying, Yun couldn't tell. Then, suddenly, he bowed toward the heavens. Just once, but it was enough to make Yun's heart beat faster.

The next morning, Shen Yu acted like nothing happened. He fixed a broken door for Auntie Lin, played dice with the children, and even laughed a little when Liang joked about his dull robe. But Yun couldn't forget the sight by the river.

The village had accepted Shen Yu as a guest, maybe even as a helper. But Yun, though he never said it, felt deep inside that this man was not here by accident. And somehow, in a way Yun couldn't explain, Shen Yu's path and his own were already tangled together.

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