Chapter 37: Crow Spirits
Three days later, in the morning, Xiao Nanfeng, Yu'er, and a hundred Taiqing disciples left the Taiqing Island by boat.
They alighted by the shores of the Tianshu Empire, where nominal disciples were waiting for them at the harbor.
Xiao Nanfeng and the other disciples continued on their way by horseback. That evening, they rested by a nearby forest.
Yu'er and Xiao Nanfeng lay by a large tree as they discussed the expedition they were undertaking.
"Zhao Yuanjiao, that scumbag—he's finally gotten what he deserves! Haha, Master punished him by making him memorize a hundred Taoist scriptures! I'm sure there are plenty of people by the Cliff of Meditation to have a laugh at him, but unfortunately for us, we won't be able to witness it ourselves," Yu'er lamented as she chewed on some dry rations.
"Sorry to have dragged you out with me on this training, Senior Sister," Xiao Nanfeng apologized, tearing and chewing on his bun.
"There's no need for such politeness, not with me! I'm out of money, at any rate, and I was right about to head out to hunt down some spiritbeasts for money. Master tasked me with taking care of you—it's no problem at all. I'll show you how to get rich quick!" Yu'er patted her rather curvaceous chest with confidence.
"I heard that the spiritbeast lair we're meant to take down is called Mt. Crow?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.
"That's right. The Tianshu Empire's Marquis Wu [1] personally sent an invitation to the Taiqing Immortal Sect requesting that we rid the crow spirits of Mt. Crow, offering three million taels of gold as a reward. In addition, we'll be able to keep all the crow carcasses we hunt down," Yu'er explained.
"Marquis Wu?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.
"Marquis Wu is the former crown prince of the Tianshu Empire, back when it was known as the Taiwu Empire. Unfortunately, the Taiwu dynasty fell after just three generations. The common people, suffering, banded together and rebelled, resulting in havoc all over the world. Emperor Tianshu was one such rebellious warlord. After Emperor Taiwu perished in battle during an imperial expedition, the crown prince and his officials surrendered to Warlord Tianshu, swiftly allowing him to pacify the world once again. After Emperor Tianshu established his empire, Crown Prince Taiwu was given the title of Marquis and the rights over this land. Although this land is still part of the Tianshu Empire, Marquis Wu essentially has free rein over it," Yu'er summarized.
"But along the way, we've seen all manner of refugees homeless and exposed to the elements. Marquis Wu's fiefdom is still filled with the impoverished!" Xiao Nanfeng reflected, frowning.
"The common folk under Marquis Wu really are unfortunate," Yu'er replied, shaking her head.
Just as the two of them were bemoaning the fate of the common people, a familiar face walked up—Ye Dafu.
"Nanfeng, my third uncle instructed you to participate in scouting ahead, fifty miles ahead!" commanded Ye Dafu smugly.
Xiao Nanfeng sighed. Why was Ye Dafu everywhere he went?
"Ye Dafu? Repeat yourself, won't you? Who are you ordering to scout ahead?" Yu'er rolled up her sleeves, preparing to knock some sense into the unwelcome disciple.
"My third uncle ordered Nanfeng to do so! You guys must not be aware—the leader of this expedition is my third uncle, Ye Sanshui!" Ye Dafu informed them smugly, then turned to a robed middle-aged man in the distance. He shouted, "Third Uncle, Nanfeng's disobeying your orders!"
Immediately, the resting disciples all around them looked toward Xiao Nanfeng.
The robed man walked over slowly, then frowned at Ye Dafu. "What's the problem?"
"Third Uncle, Nanfeng's not willing to scout ahead!"
"Ye Sanshui, you're not planning to make life difficult for Nanfeng, are you? He's here to slay spiritbeasts with me, not to run errands for you!" Yu'er chastised the robed man.
Ye Sanshui was unruffled. "Junior Sister Yu'er, I'm the leader of this expedition, and all disciples should be considered on equal footing. Everyone else is at Immanence, and only Xiao Nanfeng is an Acquisition-realm cultivator. In battle, others will be hard at work taking down the enemy, but he won't be of any help. That's why I assigned him some tasks that he can handle."
"You're clearly trying to get back at him in cahoots with Ye Dafu!" Yu'er asserted.
Yu'er was very popular, and her words bore weight. The Taiqing disciples around them murmured to each other, causing Ye Sanshui to feel no small amount of pressure.
"Ye Dafu, you'll accompany Nanfeng!" Ye Sanshu suddenly commanded.
"Ah, me? Third Uncle, didn't you say—" Ye Dafu blanched.
"You'll go if I tell you to go!" Ye Sanshui glared at his nephew before he could divulge something inappropriate. Then, he turned back to Yu'er. "My nephew will accompany him himself. Do you still think this treatment unfair?"
Yu'er: …
In order to prove his 'innocence', Ye Sanshui was willing to sacrifice even his own nephew. Yu'er could hardly object now.
Xiao Nanfeng and the sullen Ye Dafu both ended up galloping ahead of the convoy.
"Hmph! Nanfeng, count yourself lucky that you have me here with you. You won't be as lucky in the future," Ye Dafu crowed, the moment they left the others behind.
Xiao Nanfeng ignored Ye Dafu. No matter where he went, he was unable to escape from this psycho!
"You forced me to memorize a month's worth of scriptures—you really are malicious, aren't you? I've never, ever suffered something so vile. All I did was throw a rock through your window! I didn't even hit you, but you made your master punish me anyway! Well, I have my own connections. My third uncle's the leader of this expedition, and he's the only Ascension-realm cultivator around! Scouting will only be the start of your nightmares," Ye Dafu warned Xiao Nanfeng happily.
Xiao Nanfeng: ...Ye Dafu, you really are an idiot. I had Elder Ku personally advise you on scriptures relevant to your cultivation!
"Scared, aren't you? It's useless. My third uncle's word is law around here—unless you can oust him. But how would you?" Ye Dafu continued, prattling away ceaselessly.
Finally, Xiao Nanfeng was unable to bear him any longer. He turned to him and said calmly, "Is it that hard to oust your uncle?"
"Ah? What did you say?" Ye Dafu visibly hesitated. This wasn't how things were supposed to go!
"You might consider Ye Sanshui a reliable ally, but it won't be difficult for me to take him down," Xiao Nanfeng replied disdainfully.
Xiao Nanfeng really was contemplating doing so. If Ye Sanshui were to protect Ye Dafu all the way throughout this expedition, then it would be troublesome and problematic for him. Why not take the initiative?
"You, you wouldn't dare! I'll tell on you to my third uncle. Just you wait!" Ye Dafu cried out, suddenly panicking.
Xiao Nanfeng's face turned dark as he looked toward the horizon. He retrieved a bamboo tube from his satchel and sent fireworks into the air.
"Why did you launch a signal? Are you trying to challenge my third uncle's authority right now?" Ye Dafu cried out in disbelief.
Xiao Nanfeng ignored him. He stared grimly before him. When Ye Dafu followed Xiao Nanfeng's gaze to the horizon, his eyes widened.
Taiqing disciples quickly rushed up to him upon seeing the signal in the sky.
"What's the matter, Ye Dafu?" Ye Sanshui asked. He was the first to arrive, and others followed quickly behind him.
"It's none of my business. He was the one who fired the signal!" Ye Dafu pointed toward Xiao Nanfeng immediately.
"Look there!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.
Far in the distance, a small village could be seen by a mountain hollow. The majority of the villagers had fallen, lying in pools of blood, as thousands of crows circled in the air. They swooped down and tore at the villagers' flesh.
"What? The crows are eating humans?!" a group of disciples cried out in shock and anger.
"We have to take a look!" Ye Sanshui immediately led the convoy forward. Even hundreds of meters away from the village, they could smell the thick, cloying stench of blood and death.
"Those villagers have blade wounds on their bodies. They were killed by others beforehand, and the crows were lured over to the carnage by the smell of blood," Ye Sanshui deduced, his face dark.
"Those aren't ordinary crows, but rather crow spirits. Look—many of them are half our height, and they're about the equivalent of Immanence-realm cultivators!" Yu'er analyzed.
"There's even a golden crow spirit that's as tall as I am. He's likely the equivalent of an Ascension-realm cultivator!" Ye Sanshui's eyes narrowed.
Indeed, a golden crow spirit about as tall as a man was standing above the crown of a tree, surveilling the ground from above and occasionally cawing, as if to command the crow spirits to quickly finish their feast.
As though sensing something, however, it suddenly turned its head and saw the cultivators from afar.
Its eyes were bright red and seemed to be hiding a bestial viciousness. It cawed loudly, then puffed out its feathers and spread its wings toward the gathered cultivators, as if warning them to leave.
A group of crow spirits, half a man's height, emulated their leader's actions. They puffed up their feathers and cawed loudly at Xiao Nanfeng and the other disciples.
"What arrogant spirits!" Xiao Nanfeng murmured.
"These crow spirits might have come from Mt. Crow. We had better ignore them—let's head to the city of Taiwu and meet up with our seniors from the sect, then take them down at that point. They'll only have a few more days of peace," Ye Sanshui promised.
Some disciples nodded out of fear for the demons, but even more were indignant. How could cultivators like them be scared of a few paltry crows?
Xiao Nanfeng considered the strength of the crow spirits and the gathered cultivators. The cultivators weren't weak; they stood a reasonable chance at winning. But Ye Sanshui was about to ignore the desperate villagers? This was an excellent opportunity to oust him as leader.
"Leave? For what? These crow spirits are consuming human remains!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out in accusation.
"Silence! The villagers have already perished. The majority of you are still weak, and if we charge forward now, we'll surely suffer casualties," Ye Sanshui retorted.
"And what about the dead? Are we going to watch on as these spirits feast on humans? We came here to hunt down the crow spirits of Mt. Crow—and here they are! Should we hesitate because of fear? If you can hold that golden crow spirit back, the hundred of us could easily take down these bastards!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out righteously.
Ye Dafu's eyes bulged as he stared at Xiao Nanfeng. Was he really going to take this opportunity to oust his third uncle as leader of the expedition? He had already made his move! How dare he?!
Ye Sanshui glared at Xiao Nanfeng. "There's no need to take this risk. I'm the leader of this expedition, and I've been tasked with keeping the rest of you safe. Don't meddle in unnecessary affairs!"
"Unnecessary? Ye Sanshui, as leader of this expedition, are these the values you wish to instill in us all?!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.
"Insolence! You dare lecture me?"
"My cultivation might be no match for yours, but I'm a disciple of the Taiqing Sect! I have the responsibility of upholding the sect motto!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.
"The sect motto?" Ye Sanshui frowned.
The gathered disciples focused on Xiao Nanfeng.
"The motto of the Taiqing sect: 'Be not party to evil; strive instead to be as a dragon!' If you allow those crow spirits to continue feasting on human bodies, are you not being party to evil? We should save those victims that might still be alive!" Xiao Nanfeng declared.
Ye Sanshui's face twitched. I just wanted to protect everyone, so how did I become a purported evildoer going against the motto of the sect?!
"I would be foolish to suggest fighting against unwinnable odds, but we have the numerical advantage! We could easily chase away this pack of crow spirits, so why won't you make a move? Do you really qualify to lead us? Will you tarnish the motto of the Taiqing sect in vain?!"
"You!"
Despite Xiao Nanfeng's insubordination, Ye Sanshui could hardly refute Xiao Nanfeng's words outright.
"Ye Sanshui, Nanfeng's quite right. All of us are watching you. If you dare criticize Nanfeng unfairly, we'll report you when we're back in the sect proper. Just you wait!" Yu'er hollered.
"You too?" Ye Sanshui turned to Yu'er in anger. He wanted to teach Xiao Nanfeng a lesson, but he didn't know how to begin.
"Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, why have we come to Mt. Crow? We're here to hunt down their evil crow spirits! These demons are feasting on human flesh right before us, trying to scare us off—why do we have to tolerate this behavior? We can easily take them on! Are you all afraid of these bastards?!" Xiao Nanfeng turned to look at the gathered disciples.
"How can we let these spiritbeasts frighten us?"
"Our sect motto forbids us from leaving without lending our aid!"
"Would a hundred Immanence-realm cultivators fear such crows?"
The majority of the senior disciples, their anger and pride successfully stoked, unsheathed their weapons.
"Senior Brother Ye Sanshui, are we to obey the sect motto?" Xiao Nanfeng glanced toward him calmly.
Ye Sanshui stilled. How could he answer no to that question?
"Of course!" he agreed.
"In that case, you can take on the golden crow spirit, while the rest of us handle the rest. What do you think?" Xiao Nanfeng continued.
"Senior Brother Ye, we won't back down against these beasts!" the gathered Taiqing disciples called out.
Ye Sanshui's face turned dark. You've all fallen prey to Nanfeng's words!
"Very well," Ye Sanshui replied, his face screwing up. He had no other choice.
"In that case, everyone, we'll slaughter these arrogant spirits and march into the city of Taiwu with their carcasses!" Xiao Nanfeng cried out.
"Understood!" the disciples roared, preparing to march into the fallen village.
Only Ye Dafu glanced at Xiao Nanfeng with shock and dismay. He really was planning to oust Ye Dafu's third uncle from leadership!
1. Wu (乌) means 'crow', in line with the overall theme. ☜
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