“Shut your trap and deal with these buggers first,” a sergeant snapped. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’d taken a fancy to our dear captain.”
The remainder of the troops snickered before focusing on their enemies, who were less than fifty paces away.
“You guys take care of the small fries,” Feng Ming yelled. “I’ll take care of the big one.” As they approached, the opposing forces held out long spears in an effort to impale them mid-charge. A veritable wall of shields came up behind them, and they were all covered in vicious spikes.
Feng Ming snorted and stomped his foot, which caused a large pillar of earth to come out from beneath him, propelling him upward and over the shield line. Archers tried to stop him mid-flight, but all arrows missed him due to a strong breeze that happened to blow at the right moment. A few threw spears, but those that hit him broke due to faulty construction. As Feng Ming landed, he grabbed his spear and began attacking the leader wantonly. The large creature could only grit his teeth and unleash one saber art after another.
On the battlefield, several other freakish strokes of luck occurred. The soldiers accompanying Feng Ming noticed their armor shifting unusually, avoiding lethal strikes one after another. Their enemies’ blades shattered on first contact, clearly a manufacturing defect that had not been corrected through proper tempering of their blades. Sometimes the soldiers even slipped in pools of blood, only to find out that they had avoided a lethal blow, which was then absorbed by another enemy fighter.
“It’s better to be lucky than good,” Feng Ming always told his soldiers. And he was right. Unlike the rest of the army, the special forces operated on a contract basis. Often, there were optional objectives to be completed that were more lucrative than the original mission posting. Their team always completed these. As such, their cultivation bases advanced by leaps and bounds.
This was the biggest reason for Feng Ming’s current early foundation-establishment cultivation base. As the group leader, he obtained half the spoils. The sheer amount of resources he consumed, combined with a good dose of luck, enabled him to easily break through to foundation establishment with a nine-pillared foundation. A foundation with nine pillars was flawless, something that only one in a thousand cultivators could hope to obtain.
He used this power to his advantage, oppressing his opponent, who was at middle foundation establishment but had unfortunately established a low-grade foundation with four pillars. This was his lot in life, and he could only be trampled underfoot by Feng Ming’s better foundation, equipment, and luck.
The battle was over after sixty breaths. Feng Ming let out a sigh of relief as the golden glow that surrounded him condensed into a golden rune. It floated around him like a guardian spirit, a reward for all his virtuous behavior. Two other runes floated around his head.
Three down, six to go, he thought. The first volume of the Good Fortune Scripture had nine treasures that could be obtained. Only then would he be able to proceed to the next step.
A loud yawn broke the silence in Wang Jun’s office. His eyes were rimmed with black due to severe sleep deprivation. Unfortunately, he had no choice in the matter. Business deals that should have gone through didn’t, and the market wasn’t responding as he’d planned. He was sure that, in addition to Zhou Li’s interference, another figure was manipulating the scenes from the shadows.
There was nothing he could do about that. All he could do was work as hard as he could with every waking hour to compensate for it. On the bright side, his increase in cultivation base had made it far easier to concentrate and sustain himself without eating or sleeping. Exhausted, he wrote another letter to the third prince, informing him of his successes and failures.
Elder Bai entered the room with a pot of tea and quietly poured a cup for his young master, who sipped it with closed eyes. “It’s nice to see that you still have the sense to treat yourself to a cup of tea. You know, there was a study a few years back that proved that those who drank one to three cups of tea lived up to five years longer than those who didn’t.”
Wang Jun smiled. He’d read that report and knew that it was utter hogwash. Still, he appreciated the older man’s humor in such trying times. He needed all the help he could get.
“Remind me again where we are with our targets,” Wang Jun asked while massaging his temples.
“Well,” Elder Bai said after clearing his throat, “we’ve fallen behind schedule, and our total revenue thus far is less than 500,000 high-grade spirit stones. We still have a long way to go to achieve the family’s goal of three million. Aside from this, our operating margin targets are slightly lower than required, mostly due to the loans we’ve had to take to prioritize growth. In addition, our market share in key sectors is way off track. We’d need a miracle to get things in order by the deadline.”
“Or a war,” Wang Jun retorted.
The older man raised an eyebrow. “Duly noted, Young Master.” He then continued listing off various key items. Wang Jun found himself uncharacteristically nodding off in the process. He asked the ever-patient Elder Bai to repeat said information whenever he caught himself in the act.
“Where are we at in the search?” Wang Jun asked.
Elder Bai sighed before setting down a stack of papers and seating himself in front of the young man.
“Young Master,” he said gently, “you need to let her go. You’re spending an unhealthy amount of time on this matter, and you’re letting it eat you up from the inside out.”
Wang Jun simply continued staring blankly.
Elder Bai sighed. “How will you get your revenge if you don’t complete the family’s task?” he asked.
Wang Jun’s eyes narrowed when he heard this, and the exhaustion he felt instantly dissipated.
“Quite right, Elder Bai. Please keep up the good work, and let me know if you catch a whiff of something big.”
“As you wish, Young Master,” Elder Bai said. He then picked up the teapot and retreated from the room, leaving Wang Jun to his brooding.
* * *
1 Much of this is drawn from the author’s personal experience undergoing EMDR psychological treatment. It is a rapidly paced PTSD treatment and used extensively in the armed forces and with emergency response personnel worldwide. It has also proven to be effective in treating depression and anxiety, something the author can personally attest to. Please note that this should not taken as any sort of medical recommendation. Readers should consult with their medical doctor for actual advice on psychological treatment.
Chapter 18: Rebellion
Huxian hopped over a small and fearful family of spirit mice as he wandered through the mountain woods. Using his natural control over darkness, he slinked through the shadows, cleverly bypassing a demon bear’s territory. The bear was weak, but he was one of the mountain sovereign’s staunchest followers. Alerting him wouldn’t be wise at this juncture.
He had less than half a year remaining before the next summit. As the mountain’s official method to distribute power, it was the only place he could publicly accuse the bear of colluding with the humans. Before that, he needed supporters. More importantly, he needed strength.
Strength was everything on this mountain, and without it, the mountain sovereign would simply laugh away his accusation. If the strength of his follows didn’t make the cut, they would simply be slaughtered under the sovereign’s orders. With strength, he could talk on an even footing with the despicable bear.
Huxian checked over his back before entering a small tunnel hidden under a rock near the river. It was barely large enough for his reduced form to navigate, but he didn’t care. Discretion was key in this operation. Soon the tunnel expanded by connecting into a larger one. There, he met the demon ferret he had tamed a short while ago. Technically, the beast was a follower of Lord Sky Stoat, but Huxian’s strength made it impossible for the lesser demon to refuse his orders.
They continued traveling together for some time before the tunnels en
larged yet again. This time, the walls were made of stone, and the tunnels were a hundred feet in diameter. This allowed them both to assume their original forms. Naturally, Huxian no longer hid his original black-and-white form. Instead, he used it to cow and intimidate his growing circle of influence.
They were soon joined by three herons, one badger, four wolves, and a mastiff. One of the wolves was the moonlight frost wolf who had pledged his support during the last summit. By the looks of it, he’d found a few friends who were also ready to throw their lot in with him.
Eventually they arrived in a large underground cavern. Three other large tunnels led into the massive chamber. A mid-sized group emerged from the one to Huxian’s left. There were two deer, one moose, a boar, and three owls. The owls were predatory and nocturnal animals, so there were no conflicts of interest between them and most of the other beasts present. They competed fiercely with the cats, who were followers of the bear sovereign.
The deer, moose, and boar, on the other hand, were preyed upon by many of the animals. Their lot in life wasn’t so great, given the great power held by the bears and the cats, and so they were willing to entrust their fates with Huxian for amnesty and better living conditions. The ancient moose was a king-level beast, and very few who had accumulated in this tunnel would dare tangle with him.
From another tunnel, Huxian saw many insects. Two twenty-foot-long Hercules termites spearheaded the group, which also contained a massive praying mantis and a swarm of bees, though the swarm could be considered a singular entity rather than a group. The worker bees couldn’t think for themselves, and only the queen bee counted as a person. It was no wonder that such a prideful demon beast had shown up—the bears had stolen her honey for far too long. Despite her small size, she was a king-level demon beast and commanded enormous respect.
Finally, a symphony of slithering sounds echoed through the fourth tunnel. A dozen snakes emerged first, all lord-level existences. Then three small boas entered the large cavern. They were followed by their mother, the geomantic boa, who had created this network of tunnels. In addition to being very powerful, this king-level beast was the most cunning demon beast on the mountain. Her faction was the most powerful king-level influence on the mountain, and her territory was a natural fortress.
The beasts gathered at the center of the cavern in front of an elevated platform. Then, at the geomantic boa’s insistence, Huxian moved to stand at the top of the platform. As was customary, he first released his bloodline pressure, causing many of the beasts present to cower. The only ones who didn’t were the moose, the boa, the queen bee, and strangely enough, one of the owls. This caused Huxian to reevaluate this cryptic figure, and it also simplified his plan.
“Everyone, I have an important announcement to make,” Huxian said. “My follower, Lei Jiang the Calamity-Swallowing Mouse, overheard an important conversation a few weeks ago. It was a conversation between the mountain sovereign and a human cultivator.”
Murmuring, bleating, and chirping ensued. Many voiced outrage while others voiced skepticism.
“May we see this Calamity-Swallowing Mouse?” the geomantic boa slithered.
Huxian obliged and sent a mental command to the small mouse, who erupted from a rune on one of his two tails. The many beasts gasped when they saw this early-purification demon beast. Most of them felt a bloodline suppression. Just like Huxian, this mouse was many levels above them.
“It’s true,” the mouse said. “I overheard them talking after we noticed the strange behavior of the cultivators during the last human tide. They seemed to have information that only insiders would have, and they sent twenty cultivators in a direct attempt to overwhelm my master. It was only with the help of many of the noble beasts here that we managed to stop them.”
“You overpraise us,” Lord Frost Wolf said. “It is our responsibility to fight against the humans, for the benefit of all beasts.”
“Nonsense,” a badger yelled. “The law of the jungle is sacrosanct. We should all fight for ourselves. When has there been a need for beasts to stay united?”
“And that,” Huxian said, “is the problem.” The whole crowd hushed in response. “The orders of the sovereign make no sense. Instead of fighting the humans as a team, we’ve become a farm to be harvested every year. Furthermore, I suspect that he has been using this to exterminate budding threats. I trust that the current kings in attendance have noticed something.”
The geomantic boa hesitated before speaking. “It’s true that many promising beasts have died mysteriously. And often, they have been killed by cultivators during a human tide. Still, that’s not enough reason to prove the charge you’ve brought forth.”
“I, for one, have always been suppressed,” the queen bee replied. “My species is a higher tier than most here—I am a Celestial Rainbow Queen Bee, and my advancement is heavily based on my stored honey. Unfortunately, the sovereign always comes to bully me by taking my honey, making it impossible for me to advance.”
“It is true that there is something suspicious going on,” the great owl hooted. “As a True Seer Great Owl, I have also suppressed my advancement. My prophetic abilities have sensed that I will be eliminated should I proceed one step further.”
His words made Huxian grin from ear to ear. “As a True Seer beast, you should be able to validate the truth of what happened that day, should you not?”
The owl hesitated. “I can. However, to validate the truth, the recipient of my inquiry must be willing to open up his mind and soul to me. Any resistance will cause the recipient to sustain damage to his true soul. In my opinion, it is hardly appropriate to subject a beast of Lei Jiang’s caliber to this technique. It is a great loss of face to bare one’s soul.”
“Loss of face isn’t an issue,” Huxian said with a snort. “Lei Jiang, prepare yourself to be examined.”
“Yes, Master,” the Calamity-Swallowing Mouse said obediently.
Under the stares of the many spirit beasts, the owl fluttered up to the top of the platform. Then, after bowing to Huxian, he hopped over to the small mouse, who sat docilely on the ground despite facing its natural predator.
With a sudden motion, the owl grabbed the mouse with a claw, and the claw began glowing like a full moon. A beam of light shot out from the mouse’s head and traveled to the top of the cave, expanding into a two-hundred-foot-wide viewing screen.
There they saw things not from Lei Jiang’s perspective but from an omniscient one. Everything within two hundred feet of Lei Jiang was revealed. In the projection, Lei Jiang was cowering in a small crevice on a cliff. Above him, they saw a large bear speaking quietly with a white-haired cultivator wearing a Daoist robe. They could see their lips moving but couldn’t hear any sound.
Huxian cleared his throat. “Your ability is indeed amazing, and I wasn’t wrong to have you come up here. However, would it be possible to hear what they’re saying?”
The owl’s feathers shook nervously as the True Seer Great Owl realized the problem.
“My apologies, Great King,” the owl said, stammering. He then made a gesture with his claw, and five small gray demon energy cables appeared. They were accompanied by three smaller cables: one white, one red, and one yellow. The owl began fiddling around with the cables, and the screen above sometimes blacked out and sometimes became a blue screen. At some point, they heard the rustle of the wind clearly, as the conversation in the memory was already over.
Huxian massaged his brow with his paw. Unfortunately, setting up audio and video at the same time was a huge problem for spirit beasts, and despite the many instruction manuals that had been released over many aeons, the problem never seemed to go away.
After a quarter hour, the issue was finally resolved. Just as the owl was about to resume the movie, Huxian cleared his throat once more. “Can we get subtitles, please? Many of us are hard of hearing.”
The owl shivered and resumed his work. A half hour later, the issue with the subtitles was finally resolved. The owl t
hen brought the film back to its original starting point, and the recording started again.
“You told me that he was a two-tailed fox!” the white robed Daoist yelled. “That beast’s abilities are clearly much greater than you reported. Now I’ve lost a good tenth of my sect’s foundation-establishment disciples.”
The large bear grunted in response. “You can’t blame me. Your sect members underestimated the enemy. If all fifty of the cultivators you sent had attacked him in tandem, this never would have happened. Of course, this would have exposed me. Still, with twice as many cultivators, you could have made up for quality with quantity.”
The older cultivator looked at the bear coldly. “You need to compensate me for this. I want that fox dead and his core in my possession. During the next ‘human tide,’ you will deliver him to me on a silver platter. Otherwise, our relationship can’t continue. I’ll find another demon beast to replace you, and we will continue harvesting you like the farm animals you truly are.”
With these words, the cultivator flicked his sleeve and vanished. The old bear sighed and closed his eyes. Lei Jiang kept deathly silent before finally finding an opportunity to slip out.
On the way down, the mouse encountered some seeds, which he ate. Then he proceeded to the True Seer Great Owl’s territory and urinated on his tree, snickering. Then he went to Lord Sky Stoat’s territory and impregnated one of his concubines. Then—
“I think that’s enough, Lord Great Owl,” Huxian said, coughing. He shot a reprimanding look at the mouse, whose consciousness had finally returned.
“Lei Jiang’s antics aside,” Huxian said in an authoritative voice, “it’s clear that the old bear is colluding with the humans. The situation is downright deplorable. We should be the ones unleashing a beast tide every few years, not the other way around. While personal territory and food-chain order is important, it’s equally important to band together against the humans that want to invade our territory. There shall be no more cowering, no more giving in. I won’t have it!”
Light in the Darkness Page 18