The presence of a monster was always similar. A fishy yin energy, or a sensation like skin being scraped. But that day, what I felt at the village marketplace was different. It was like moonlight soaking into a spring night—clearly alien, yet not unpleasant.

I stopped my wandering of several days and stood at the edge of the market. As it was near closing time, people were packing up and leaving one by one, but one fortune teller remained in a corner of the market. Sitting neatly on a worn-out mat, she was muttering something to herself while folding and unfolding a paper-like object the size of a palm with her slender hands.

At that moment, a familiar sensation brushed down my spine. Ah, a monster.

However, there was no bloodlust that would make me grip my sword. Rather... it was an energy that steadied my breath. I couldn't help but watch her, unable to look away.

She had a small frame. Her height didn't even reach a grown man's shoulder, and her hair, glossy like fine silk, flowed down to her waist. Her skin, untouched by the sun, was white as snow, and her eyes were long and slanted like a fox's, yet not overly lewd. Even when she wasn't laughing, a smile seemed to linger at the corners of her mouth, and her eyes were so deep that one felt they might get lost looking into them.

To put it vulgarly, she had a face that could bewitch a man's heart. But the truly frightening thing was something else.

The yin energy flowing through her breath. She wore that energy naturally, which was so cleverly hidden that an ordinary human would likely never notice it in their lifetime. Like a well-fitted garment worn for a long time.

'She must have lived a thousand years.' It was an intuition. One that had never been wrong.

She glanced toward where I was standing and stopped her hands on the paper. The moment our eyes met, there was a brief silence. There was no surprise in that gaze. No caution, no hostility. Just a strangely gentle light, like a monster seeing a human for the first time.

That's when I knew. This spirit hadn't seduced me yet. No, she didn't even seem to have the intention to seduce. I swallowed a dry laugh and adjusted the talisman inside my sleeve. I've cut down countless monsters, but a first meeting like this was a first.

The market breeze brushed through her hair. Even without seeing a fox tail, I was certain. This encounter would not end normally.