章節 12: Flying Fox
編輯: EndlessFantasy Translation
Leaving the canyon, Little Tian looked as if it had found what it liked. It harassed those things that flew in the air, crawled on the ground, and swam in the water. It would flee from those that were strong and killed those that were weak. The only thing that it was friendly with was the Demon Toads.
Wutian was cautious, and Little Tian was powerful. So they watched each other's back during the journey and had gone without incident.
The Fire Cloud Clan had been busy for the past two months. Ever since Huoshi brought back the news, the Fire Cloud Clan had almost dispatched all of its disciples to search the river. But days had passed, they had still not found the emblem or Wutian's body.
At last, the master of the Fire Cloud Clan, Huo Zhenren, joined hands with ten great elders. Using supernormal knowledge, they vaporized the river. They also dissected all the aqua monsters, but still found no sign of the emblem.
Huo Zhenren was furious. He chided Huoshi, then headed to Dragon Village. It had been over two months now; vegetation had covered the dilapidated village. Yet, there were no monster beasts around, not even a single insect. It was just quiet.
Just as everyone was bewildered, an elder used a technique and finally revealed what had actually happened before.
Beneath the vegetation-covered ground outside the village buried a dozen skeletons of old and young men and women. It was a mass burial site.
Why?
Give me back my life!
In the air above the grave, grievances lingered around, telling their sorrow and hatred. Hideous faces were roaring, howling, and crying, so no monster beasts had dared to come close.
"Is this what you have done, Huoshi?"
Huo Zhenren stood high above in the sky, draped in a red robe. His face was rosy, and even his hair and beard were of the same color. He looked like a flame with a majestic vibe and was unfathomable.
His cold voice was filled with tremendous authority. Huoshi stood in front of him and dared to make a sound. He kept his head low and was in fear.
"Once returned to the clan, you are to stay in isolation to reflect on yourself and make self-reproach in the Flaming Mountain." He had an overpowering voice, which was the dignity of a leader.
Everyone sucked through their teeth. Apparently, the Flaming Mountain was not a very pleasant place.
"Huoshi might have acted a little recklessly. But it should be beyond-reproach. He did that for the good of the clan. I urge you to hand him a lighter punishment." A middle-aged man petitioned.
"He is arrogant and domineering, indiscriminately killing the innocents. It was you all who spoiled him. The emblem is important, but not as crucial as the clan's good name. If this thing leaks out, what would the world think? Would the other villages that trust us willing to entrust their young to the Fire Cloud Clan?"
Huo Zhenren had the ultimate say in the clan. His eyes exuded a fearsome sense of authority, so powerful that it looked like a pair of sun. No one dared to have direct eye contact with him.
"My brother, why don't you allow Huoshi a chance to redeem himself? The Yan Clan is going to hold a recruitment campaign in two months. Let Huoshi bring some men to intercept those young boys and bring back those with the physique to make them our own."
The middle-aged man was burly, draped in dazzling golden armor. He was the vice-master of the clan, Huoshi's uncle, the clan master's younger brother. He was the only person who dared to argue with Huo Zhenren.
"The vice-master has a point. Whatever wrong Huoshi has done, it was for the clan with good intention. Why don't you, Clan Master, be more lenient this time and allow him a chance to redeem himself? Liuyan, you are at fault, too. So, you followed him."
An old voice came from afar as a beam of colorful divine light flashed across the sky and stopped in midair. As it was gushing with a rainbow, it was hard to make out what was within. But judging by how substantial his energy was, this person should be more powerful than the other two.
Just when Liuyan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, she glanced at Huoshi, bit her lips, and nodded her agreement.
"You must accomplish the mission this time, Huoshi. Otherwise, someone shall replace you as the young clan master," said Huo Zhenren after a while of silence.
Huoshi shuddered, his face turning pale. This familiar yet strange figure always meant what he said, and Huoshi had never doubted it.
"I will not let you down," said Huoshi respectfully.
He felt sad for himself. Because of his identity, he was prestigious and a bright star in the eyes of others. In reality, he was tired of such a life. He had to be always on his guard, he dared not relax for even one moment.
Someone had long been eyeing the position of the young clan master. He could not make a mistake. Otherwise, he would fall from his prominent position and never recover again.
"My younger brother, issue an arrest warrant. Wutian has betrayed our clan, stolen the secret book, and killed our men. He is heinous and lacking in conscience. Whoever could furnish the information of his whereabouts will be rewarded five hundred Essence elixirs. Whoever captures him alive will get five thousand Essence elixirs. As for the grieving souls here, they are at your disposal. Don't leave behind any evidence."
After saying this, Huo Zhenren left in a trail of fire.
"Be careful, Liuyan." The old voice came from inside the rainbow. Then it rose and disappeared into the sky.
Others faded in streams of light and left, leaving behind the golden-armored man, Huoshi and Liuyan.
"I am seeing such resentful, grieving souls for the first time. Looks like I can test my newly acquired plaything on them." The golden-armored man waved his hand. A glow appeared on his brow, then a shadow shot out and stopped in midair.
It was a black flag the size of a palm. There were many complicated engraved characters on it. They looked like swimming tadpoles with a cold, ghastly vibe, extremely horrifying.
The little flag enlarged in the wind. In just a moment, it had grown to as large as three feet. The frosty air of the flag became even more intense. The land within three hundred square feet below it had formed a layer of frost. The air felt chilly.
The golden-armored, middle-aged man looked like a god of war, divine and authoritative. No one could have imagined he would use such an evil thing. The faces of Huoshi and Liuyan were filled with shock and puzzlement. Obviously, they had not expected this.
Using the souls of the dead to feed the article was against the heavenly law. If the news leaks out, whoever used this method would be disgraced and condemned. It might also implicate the Fire Cloud Clan.
The flag had blocked off half of the sky. With sunlight unable to penetrate, the space below looked like the nether realm, ghastly and scary.
"Harvest!"
As the man in golden armor shouted quietly, beams of dark light shot out of the black flag, snaring the dozen grieving souls in the air and pulling them back into the little flag. The grieving howled with the grieving air rising to the sky as they struggled to escape. The flag glowed brighter and engulfed them inside.
"Sacrifice!"
He tapped a finger in the air, then a mysterious mark appeared. As the mark was infused with the flag, a ghostly face appeared on the flag. When the ghostly face saw those grieving souls, its eyes brightened up. Those grieving souls would be its gourmet, and he wanted to enjoy it to the fullest.
The ghostly face looked like a demon. It opened its mouth, sucked a grieving soul, and chewed a few times. Then, it poked its blackish tongue out and licked its lips in enjoyment.
It sucked with its mouth again. This time, there was a mini storm devouring dozens of grieving souls at once.
As the ghostly face gradually faded, the middle-aged man in golden armor waved with his hand. The dark light rapidly retracted back into the tiny flag. When sunlight sprinkled down again, driving away the cold air, warmth returned to the land.
The tiny flag then rapidly shrank, turned into a beam of dark light, and disappeared into the brow of the middle-aged man.
"Your father is a man of his word. Remember that, Huoshi. You must not make any mistake this time. Otherwise, not even I can help you," said the man in golden armor. He then faded into a beam of golden light and disappeared into the horizon.
Wutian was lying on a rock in the forest, gazing through the canopy of the towering tree at the clear blue sky above. He thought of his parents, whom he had never met before, wondering where they were.
He was in an ancient forest. Giant trees that not even three or four persons could curl around were all over the place. Old vines that curled around the giants were as thick as a bucket, their roots intertwining like the pythons.
Dried twigs and rotten leaves covered the forest floor with a rotten smell filling the air. Because of the lack of sunshine at the bottom, the place was dim and humid.
"Caw!" Little Tian jumped onto the rock and stood erect. It waved its forelimbs and cawed as if it was saying something.
Looking on for a while, Wutian still could not figure out what it wanted to say.
Communicating with it is so damn hard.
Little Tian thought it might as well jump down from the rock, then glanced back once every three steps, meaning 'follow me.' Now Wutian got it and followed it from behind to see what this little thing was up to.
After going for a while, a wall of rock appeared ahead. It was not very tall, but extremely steep. Not an easy feat if he thought of climbing it. As they came under the cliff, Little Tian pointed to the peak above with some more gesturing, meaning "we will go up there!"
Wutian gazed up at the cliff that was so smooth. There was nowhere that he could get a good grip with his hands. It was a challenge for him. To Little Tian, it might be very simple and easy. But there was nothing that Wutian could do.
Little Tian knew what he was thinking and rolled its eyes. It pointed sideways, then jumped in a direction.
An hour later, they came to the other side of the cliff. Unlike the first one, this side of the cliff had rows of trees grow on it, much like a staircase that led to the top.
"Caw!" Little Tian hopped onto Wutian's shoulder and pointed up, looking impatient. It was telling him to climb.
Could it be that there was something precious at the top? Thinking of this, Wutian planted his feet on the ground, then lunged up to grab a tree. Like an ape, he agilely swung from one tree to another and reached the top of the cliff in just over ten breaths.
Wutian's eyes brightened up when he saw the scenery. It was incredibly beautiful.
Flowers of different colors covered the ground. A mesmerizing scent of the flowers floated in the air, making him feel as if he was in heaven.
Pine trees and bamboo grew on both sides of the cliff, attracting swarms of birds to nest here. There were hundreds of species with different colors, sizes, and shapes. The chirps and tweets combined and made a beautiful symphony.
It was incredible that such a beautiful place existed in the middle of the jungle.
But this picturesque scenery seemed to mean nothing to Little Tian. Probably the place was no different from a desolate wilderness in its eyes. It went past the flowering shrubs to the other side. It drooled as its eyes stared ahead.
It puzzled Wutian. So he went over. Little Tian turned around, made an indistinct sound as it pointed down with its front limbs, signaling him to climb down. Wutian was struck dumb. But he still did what he was told and climbed over.
"That-That's a Flying Fox?" Wutian exclaimed in surprise.
Three hundred feet away, on a small open field, rested a white monster beast. It measured around half-a-meter long, appearing like a dog, but its mouth was pointed with wings on its back. Its limbs were short but strong.
The creature had white fur, smooth as silk. Its eyes were akin to black pearls, glittering with unique liveliness.
"What is this place? Why is there a Flying Fox here?" Wutian mumbled to himself. Flying Foxes were rare. According to the record on the parchment, Flying Foxes should have gone extinct during the ancient times. Basically, they were a forgotten extinct species.
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