Birds and Beasts, Return to Your Posts

Startled, He Lingchuan let his hand slip, and the remaining half of the scallion root dropped to the ground. "What does that have to do with us?" "Domestic monsters stirring up trouble is one thing. The greatest peril lies to the north." At these words, Mozhe Niansheng and Wu Shaoyi both grew tense, speaking almost in unison: "The demon kingdom!" Bordering Great Yuan to the north was indeed the demon kingdom. The original He Lingchuan had loved listening to storytellers. While he might not have known much about national affairs, he had heard plenty of bizarre tales and strange theories, many of which mentioned the northern demon kingdom. A nation established and governed by humans was called a mortal realm, whereas one founded and ruled by monsters was naturally a demon kingdom. Humans and demons had been entangled since antiquity—humans slaying demons, demons devouring humans, an endless cycle. When humans founded nations, they could gather strength from all corners to fend off monsters. Especially after mastering the use of origin power, isolated monsters were even less a match for mankind. Thus, the demon race also banded together, learning from humans to establish realms of their own. There were quite a few demon kingdoms in this world. Great Yuan bordered one directly to its north, which happened to be nearly the mightiest in the world: the Beijia Kingdom. The people of Yuan, however, simply referred to it as the northern demon kingdom. Great demons possessed exceptionally long lifespans, so the reigns of demon kingdoms often far outlasted those of mortal realms. The northern demon kingdom had existed six hundred years ago and stood firm to this day, whereas the land beneath He Lingchuan's feet had already changed masters several times. Yet exceptions existed for everything, and the descent of the Emperor's Flowing Dew often shattered the norm. "Every time the Emperor's Flowing Dew appears, violent upheavals rock the demon kingdom, inevitably spilling over into neighboring lands," He Chunhua said with a frown. "The crocodile demon of Xianling Lake fled south into Yuan territory and stirred up trouble here precisely because the demon kingdom changed rulers. With its internal affairs having shifted so recently, this sudden encounter with the Emperor's Flowing Dew will likely plunge them into even greater chaos." Just as they were speaking, someone arrived outside to report, "My lord, Kuzhu County has delivered an invitation." He Chunhua took the letter and skimmed it. "Send word back that we will definitely be on hand tomorrow morning to bolster them." Once the messenger left, He Yue asked, "Bolster them? Are they performing a Daoist ritual or holding a sacrificial rite?" "With the Emperor's Flowing Dew fallen, demons are growing restless. Tomorrow morning, Kuzhu County will issue a notice to govern demons," He Chunhua replied solemnly. "As an official appointed by the royal court, it is my duty to assist." Madam Ying walked over and said, "I just heard that a village fifteen li away was attacked this morning. An avian demon broke into a house and snatched a child." He Lingchuan chimed in, "This afternoon in Shuanghe Town, someone was attacked by a mongoose and lost two toes." "And that's near the densely populated Woling Pass, to say nothing of remote areas," Mozhe Jingxuan sighed. "The descent of the Emperor's Flowing Dew does not bring only blessings." "That is precisely why Kuzhu County must draft a proclamation of benevolence to drive away evil demons—reasoning with them first, warning the newly awakened monsters not to act wildly. If they refuse to listen, the next step will be force of arms." He Chunhua stood up. "Everyone, get to bed early tonight. We set out before the first cockcrow." *** The following morning, the Auxiliary Army arrived at Fengling Ferry right on schedule. The common folk were already waiting there to watch the spectacle. The Magistrate of Kuzhu County led the local gentry forward to greet He Chunhua with polite pleasantries. Before long, the hour of the dragon, third quarter, arrived. The Kuzhu County Magistrate ordered five fat pigs, fifteen roosters, and nine baskets of live fish to be brought and set down by the water's edge. He then stepped onto a great boulder at the ferry crossing, unfurled an official document, and began reading aloud. His voice alone was neither loud nor clear, sounding somewhat raspy. Yet the moment he spoke, the State Token at his waist shone with bright radiance. Today was cloudless and fine, with the bright sun hanging high. He Lingchuan watched as an ethereal wisp of cyan mist gathered in the air above Fengling Ferry. Looking closer, he saw that this cyan mist emanated from the commoners and local militia of Kuzhu County below, as well as from the Auxiliary Army under He Chunhua's command. The yang energy was vigorous and potent. The Magistrate of Kuzhu County suddenly let out a sharp incantation shout: "Duo!" The sound wave blasted in all directions, rocking the sea of trees into an endless tremor and churning the waters of the Hongchuan River into rolling surges, as though massive whirlpools and swift currents stirred beneath. He Lingchuan did not pay close attention to the exact words being recited; he only knew it was all ornate parallel prose, with rigid symmetry and melodious cadence. His only doubt was whether birds and beasts that had turned into monsters could actually understand it. It seemed to demand a rather high level of literary education. Forget monsters—even he could barely grasp some of the vocabulary. In any case, He Lingchuan translated it in his mind: Kuzhu County was warning the newly transformed monsters in the vicinity not to run wild on the villagers' lands, and above all, not to eat humans. Only then could demons and mortals live in peace. Furthermore, the mountain and water spirits were to enforce their duty of restraining all birds and beasts—each guarding their own domain. Whoever neglected their duties would be stripped of their posts, forfeiting all offerings and origin power. The longer he chanted, the thicker the cyan mist above Fengling Ferry grew. When the Kuzhu County Magistrate finished the final resounding words, he ignited the document and hurled it toward the river's surface ahead. The cyan mist in the sky suddenly plunged downward, sweeping over the burning paper with a whoosh. In that instant, the document disintegrated into a spray of sparks. As the two met, the cyan mist burst into flames, dyeing half the sky crimson. Only then did He Lingchuan make out what it was—the colossal phantom of a Qingyuan. It was two hundred feet long with a wingspan of three hundred feet. Once tempered by fire, it transformed into a blazing kite enveloped entirely in flames. Letting out a soul-shaking cry, it swept across the mountains, forests, and river surface. Wherever it passed, nothing failed to catch fire—woods, earth, stone, and water alike were all engulfed. The scenic green mountains and clear waters where everyone stood turned into a world of blazing fire in the blink of an eye. Beasts immediately fled from the woods, flocks of birds took to the air, and fish leapt from the water, all terrified out of their wits. Yet after circling once, the fire kite soared into the clouds and vanished. The great fire over Fengling Ferry died out at once, leaving behind not even a wisp of smoke. He Lingchuan looked closely and saw that a small tree twenty feet away, which had just been burning, remained completely intact from its branches to its leaves. The Kuzhu County Magistrate shouted, "Birds and beasts, return to your posts at once!" He repeated the command thrice, his voice booming across the wilderness under the empowerment of the State Token. Miraculously, the animals seemed to understand. Turning around, they lumbered slowly back to their original positions. Only two massive bears strolled out, opening their bloody maws to let out deep roars at their surroundings. Seeing this, the nearby commoners scrambled back a couple of steps in fright. These creatures were simply terrifying. Yet the two giant bears did not attack anyone. They merely nodded to the magistrate, each taking a fat pig in its jaws. Standing nearly twenty feet tall, their bodies were sleek and glossy with thick fur, massive beyond mere broad shoulders and thick waists. Even fat pigs weighing nearly four hundred jin were scooped up with effortless ease. He Yue said in a low voice, "Generally, the first to step forward and take the offerings are the local mountain spirits. This indicates they have accepted the Kuzhu County Magistrate's proclamation." Afterward, they would have to carry out their duties properly. With the mountain spirits taking the lead, monsters from the woods came forward to claim their share. A pack of wolves worked together to drag off a pig, several weasels snatched chickens, and to He Lingchuan's utter bafflement, a large flock of mountain goats strolled out of the woods and devoured over a dozen fish and two chickens right in front of everyone. "Wait a second, goats eat meat too? Or do goat demons eat anything?" Wu Shaoyi whispered, "Nothing strange about that. A traveler from the Western Regions once told me that in their customs, mountain goats are illusions conjured by wicked fiends." Birds also descended from the sky, taking fish from the baskets. It was a massive flock, their fluttering wings stirring up gusts of wind. Ordinary birds would never dare approach humans so closely. Only the water remained quiet. He Chunhua stepped forward and asked, "The Water Spirit didn't come?" "The Water Spirit of this stretch of the Hongchuan River likely fell during the battle at Woling Pass not long ago," the Kuzhu County Magistrate sighed. "Its spirit tablet was shattered, leaving the divine seat vacant. We need a new Water Spirit." With that, he ordered the soldiers to carry the remaining live offerings over to Wuxin Pool, not far away. That was a lagoon, set well away from the main shipping channel. He Lingchuan followed them over and saw soldiers step onto a wooden pier, shoving the live offerings into the water while keeping only one fat pig behind. The originally calm pool water suddenly began to boil. From time to time, massive fins and maws breached the surface, disappearing back under before onlookers could clearly discern their full forms. Whirlpools of all sizes opened across the pool. He Lingchuan now understood that water monsters were fighting below. Sometimes bubbles rose to the surface, and sometimes what rose was blood! Dark red or murky green blood. He asked He Yue, "Could the previous Water Spirit here have been killed by our old acquaintance?" He Yue gave a wry smile. "Most likely." The giant crocodile had joined the battle at Woling Pass at Hong Xiangqian's invitation. Though an amphibious monster, its true home ground was naturally the water. The original Water Spirit of the Hongchuan River had been officially ordained by the court and stood in opposition to the rebel army; the crocodile demon naturally could not tolerate it. That brute was truly ferocious, having slain at least two Water Spirits. And yet it had been driven out of the northern demon kingdom. Thinking of this, He Lingchuan felt a twinge of fascination. He wondered if those legendary, colossal demons he had heard of from storytellers truly existed in the northern demon kingdom. He Chunhua also turned his head and chimed in softly, "Kuzhu County's original mountain spirit was not that pair of black bears." "Was the original mountain spirit killed too?" He Lingchuan clicked his tongue. "Serving as a mountain or water spirit around here really is a high-risk profession." "No, it didn't die. It was a striped tiger." He Yue asked in surprise, "Then why didn't it show up today?" That seemed improper on such an important occasion. Mountain and water spirits were meant to help local officials maintain stability while demonstrating their dominion over the territory, thereby cowing newly awakened demons from making trouble. The grand spectacle the Kuzhu County Magistrate had orchestrated earlier with the fire kite—drawing on the State Token and expending vast amounts of origin power—was precisely intended to knock down the arrogance of those clueless young monsters, letting them know the might of humanity so they would not dare feed on people. This was not only for the authorities and humanity, but also to ensure the spirits' own future rule went smoothly. For that reason, mountain and water spirits typically cooperated enthusiastically. "Rumor has it that it stepped down and left for the northern demon kingdom." He Lingchuan asked curiously, "Why?" "You'd have to ask the beast yourself." He Chunhua smiled faintly. "Though if you ask me, a hidden dragon will not stay in the abyss forever." As they spoke, the turmoil in Wuxin Pool gradually subsided. Many ripples and occasional tall fins appeared on the surface, suggesting that many of the aquatic creatures had already departed. Just then, a massive blackfish swam toward the shore. Keeping its head—as large as a woven basket—facing the magistrate, it remained completely still. He Lingchuan noticed numerous wounds scarring its body. The Kuzhu County Magistrate asked it, "Are the other water creatures yielding to you?" The giant blackfish nodded up and down. "Are you willing to assume the seat of Water Spirit and ensure the safety of vessels crossing at Fengling Ferry?" The giant blackfish nodded once more.