Seven Cats Descend from Heaven Mountain

The Seven Cats Descend the Mountain uses the supernatural premise of human souls inhabiting cats to tell the story of seven orphans raised by their master. By day, they are seven wild cats; by night, they return to human form. On their master's orders, they descend the mountain to investigate a dry well at the Shen estate. But not long after their master is buried behind the temple, the bells ring. Seven copper bells ring at once, driving them from the snowy ridge all the way back to Liangzhou. The well contains no water, only souls extracted through soul-transference arts. And Mr. Yan, who pushed someone down the well years ago, is now stuffing living people into cat skins. Zhouxing was once the youngest child of the Shen family. Her master changed her name, and the bells took her memories. All along the way, she denies that the name "A Heng" belongs to her. Each of the six cats has a distinct temperament and old wounds: one will only believe drunken words, one has to draw a talisman before killing, and one divides a hard biscuit more fairly than anything else. As they evade the bells' pursuit, they piece together the rest of their master's unfinished warning: "Do not grow attached." When a soul grows attached, it spills out of its vessel, and that is exactly what Mr. Yan is waiting for. The novel weaves together the northwestern snowstorms and soul-transference arts to trace a path through memory, identity, and repayment. Only those who dare to keep walking after daybreak deserve to be called Zhouxing.