by Jeremy Bai
Mao Yun looked over the lines of poetry. “This reminds me of that time we got drunk.”
Bao looked up and grinned wryly. “Which time?”
Mao Yun chuckled. “The first time. Remember? You jumped up onto the table and wrote a poem on the wall?”
“I remember you telling me that story.” Taking a deep breath, Bao experimentally scooted to the end of the bed and swung her legs over the side. When she tried to stand up, her legs felt a bit creaky, but none the worse for wear.
After a moment passed, Mao Yun cleared his throat. “Chieftainess Bao, may I humbly ask… what happened?”
Bao looked over at the table where the fallen star sat perched on a wooden platter. “I’ll explain later,” she said. “First, do we have a metalworker in the stronghold?”
Third Zhou answered the question. “We do, Chieftainess. But according to him, treasures like that fallen star are far beyond his level of skill. He said that if you want something made from the star, you should talk to Ruan the Flamingo.”
“Flamingo?” Mao Yun said. “What’s that?”
“A type of bird,” Bao answered. “From the lands on the other side of the Banyan Mountains. I saw a painting of one when I was a child. They’re pink and stand on one leg.”
“That’s right,” Third Zhou said. “Ruan the Flamingo originally came from the south. Perhaps that is why he has the nickname. I’m not sure. In any case, he’s somewhat of a hermit, but is well-known for this metalworking skill. He even made some famous swords and spears when he was younger. He fought against the Demon Emperor during the invasion of Fan, and when the city was sacked, he fled into the mountains. Nowadays he lives in a cave in the foothills of Mount Fohe.”
“Mount Fohe,” Bao said thoughtfully. “That’s far, but not too far.”
“I already made some calculations,” Third Zhou said. “Most of the traveling would be through forests, hills, and mountains. Depending on the exact route we take, it should take fourteen to twenty days to get there.”
Bao sucked in a breath. “A month-long trip in total, maybe even two months.”
“Chieftainess Bao,” Third Zhou exclaimed, “you’re not thinking of going yourself, are you?”
“I have no choice,” she replied. “The fallen star is too dangerous. Plus, only I know how to control it.” She frowned for a moment in thought. “Make preparations. We leave the day after tomorrow.”
***
The following two days were a buzz of activity as various preparations were made. They didn’t leave the stronghold until noon. Third Zhou and Li Runfa were left behind to administer the daily affairs. Mao Yun went with Bao, as well as a handful of other followers, some from the old bandit group and some from group they had assimilated after the untimely death of Lord Shu.
It wasn’t until they were well into the journey on the second day that Bao finally had a chance to explain to Mao Yun what had occurred to her. Although she didn’t go into explicit detail, she didn’t hide anything, either. After she finished with her tale, Mao Yun shook his head.
“It’s almost unbelievable,” he said.
“I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t experienced it myself.”
“How did you do it? How did you stand up to the… the oversized chicken? How did you defeat her?”
“I didn’t defeat her. I just… suppressed her. I think it had to do with confidence. The further I go along in life, Mao Yun, the more convinced I am that confidence is the key to everything. Those who lack confidence never come out on top. Those who maintain deep and unswerving self-confidence have what it takes to be victorious.”
“But Bao, that phoenix demon, she’s… like a god! You said she talked about Xian Nu Shen as if she knew her personally? And she fought with Supreme Judge Yu? I don’t know if I could even look her in the eye, let alone have a battle of wits with her.”
“Well, from the very beginning, she made a mistake. She said that she had been watching the Pure Phoenix Sect for a long time. But the Pure Phoenix Sect was nothing more than a joke. Who was it that brought it up the first time? Second Zhou?”
“First Zhou. Well, First Zhou and Second Zhou, to be most accurate. It was actually on the trip to look for the fallen star. Somehow they started talking about how you fight, and Second Zhou said your fighting style was like a dragon. Then First Zhou said that since you’re a woman, it should be a phoenix. And then they both joked that you were ‘pure phoenix.’” Mao Yun chuckled.
“That’s right, I remember now,” Bao said, also chuckling. “When I started talking with Sect Leader Sunan, I remembered that his group was called the Golden Dragon Sect, so for some reason that ‘pure phoenix’ joke popped up into my head, and told him that we were the Pure Phoenix Sect. The phoenix inside the fallen star must have heard that and taken it to be the truth. That was what made me realize that she was lying.”
“Pure Phoenix Sect,” Mao Yun said. “It actually sounds quite impressive.”
“It does,” Bao replied. “Actually, I think we should keep it.”
As they traveled farther south, the terrain grew more mountainous. Eventually they hired a local guide to help them make their way to Mount Fohe.
In the end, the first leg of the journey to Ruan the Flamingo’s cave took a bit over two weeks. An entire day of that time, the last day, was spent simply finding the actual cave, even though they knew they were in the right general location.
A door had been built into the cave mouth itself, somewhat defying the image that Bao had built up in her mind about what the place would look like. When Ruan the Flamingo appeared, the reason for his nickname was obvious.
He only had one leg and walked with a crutch.
As was expected, he was old, with a long scraggly beard and one eye that was milky with blindness. He opened the door of his cave dwelling, stared out at the group, then said, “Well? Whaddya want?”
“Your skill,” Bao replied. “And a private audience. The matter is… sensitive.”
He peered at them with narrowed eyes, then said, “Fine, come in.”
As Bao dismounted, she gave a meaningful look to Mao Yun. “You stay out here with the men.”
He nodded.
Ruan the Flamingo led her into his cave dwelling, which was much more luxurious inside than she would have imagined. A small audience chamber was built into the side of the main tunnel, where the two sat down at a wooden table. Ruan served her a cup of tea.
Not waiting for him to ask questions, Bao pulled out a burlap sack, which she placed on the table with a resounding thump.
“I want something made from this,” she said, carefully rolling the fallen star out into the open.
Ruan’s eyes went wide. “That’s…”
“A fallen star,” she replied.
He reached out with his index finger to touch it, but her hand shot out like lightning to grab his wrist. “You must not touch it under any circumstances.”
He looked up at her. “Do you mean to tell me…”
“There’s… something inside of the star. Something like a demon.”
Ruan sucked in a breath, then leaned back. “Dangerous. Very dangerous. You want me to turn this thing into a weapon of some sort and keep the demon sealed inside?”
“Have you done something like that before?”
He grinned. “Oh, once or twice.”
“Very well, then. The final form doesn’t matter to me. It could be a dagger or a bracer, or a bowl for all that matters. The most important thing will be to use this design as the final sealing element.” She produced a piece of paper with a sketch of a magical symbol, the very same symbol she had seen on the forehead of the phoenix.
Ruan looked at the paper for a moment, then back at the fallen star. He leaned his face close and inhaled deeply, then produced a pair of wooden tongs from underneath the table. “May I?” he asked.
Bao nodded in affirmation. “Just don’t touch it with your flesh.”
For the next few minutes, Ruan a
nalyzed the fallen star using a variety of methods. “I can do it,” he said.
“For how much?” Bao asked.
Ruan thought for a moment. “I’m missing an ingredient. Something I don’t have here in my cave. Get that for me, and we have a deal.”
“What ingredient?”
He looked up and smiled. “An eye.”
Chapter 28: Confident
“An eye?” Bao asked, puzzled.
“Yes, a special type of eye.” Ruan’s eyes glittered. “Are you familiar with fei beasts?”
She thought for a moment. “I’ve heard of the term, but I always thought they were something from storybooks or legends.”
“Well, of course you’ll find them in stories, but that doesn’t mean they’re fantasies. They’re definitely real. When the Demon Emperor came to Qi Xien, he unleashed a special type of energy.”
Bao’s ears perked up. “Energy…”
Ruan nodded. “Some people say that he brought the energy, other people say that it was always here and that his arrival unlocked it.” He shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t think that matters. The point is that the strange energy opened up our world in a way that defies imagination.
“Creatures, beings, entities that previously existed only in stories now walk the earth. From the clothes you’re wearing and that accent of yours, I would place money on the fact that you’re from Li Fan, right?”
Bao smiled. “Yes. I was born and raised in Yu Zhing.”
“As I thought. You don’t talk like a commoner, either. Your speech is too refined. A noble lady, perhaps?”
Bao looked back at him expressionlessly.
His eyebrow twitched. “Very well. The point is that you lived in a part of Qi Xien that, with the exception of the presence of the Demon Emperor, most closely resembles the Qi Xien of old. However, outside of Li Fan, outside of the heart of the empire, things are different than they used to be. Strange things lurk in the mountains and forests and jungles, and fei beasts are one such entity.
“I’ve only seen one in person once. It looked like an ox, pure white, with one eye and a tail that resembled… well, you might not believe me even if I told you. Look, bring me the corpse of a fei beast, and I’ll do the job for you.”
“I thought you said you just wanted the eye?”
“Well, considering that fei beasts have only one eye, do you really think you’ll be able to bring me the eye without killing the thing? Probably not. And considering that creatures like that are essentially walking treasures, I’d like to have the whole thing. The eye is the most important part, but the rest of the animal can be used in other ways.”
“Presumably they’re dangerous?”
Ruan nodded. “Could be very dangerous. But I see you brought along a few fighters. Plus that bodyguard of yours seems stronger than two men put together. You’ll probably be fine. Although I wouldn’t suggest that you personally attempt to tackle the beast.”
Bao snorted. “I killed an ogre and tamed the demon in that fallen star. You think I’m scared of a one-eyed cow?”
Ruan chuckled. “I like your attitude. According to the reports, a fei beast has taken up residence in a cave about three days to the west of here.”
“Three days west? Isn’t that the Kushen Basin?”
“Not quite, but close. I’m pretty sure this fei beast wandered in from the Kushen Basin, actually. Hard to tell. So, do we have a deal?”
Bao considered the matter for a long moment, and in the end she decided that there was little other choice. “We have a deal.”
“Excellent. How soon do you need the fallen star… refined?”
“The sooner the better.”
“Well, then, you have another choice to make. If you trust me, then leave the fallen star here, and I’ll begin preparations ahead of time. You can even leave one of your men behind to keep an eye on me. He might even be able to help out with some of the preparations. If you don’t trust me, then take it with you. However, if I wait until you bring the corpse of the fei beast back, then it will take a minimum of seven days to complete my work.”
Bao was not a trusting person in general, but in this situation, she didn’t see the harm in leaving the star behind. The sooner she got back to the stronghold, the better. Based on Ruan the Flamingo’s reputation, she doubted he would try to flee.
“Very well, I’ll leave the star here, along with two of my men. Is there anything else you can tell me about this fei beast?”
Ruan looked up in thought for a moment, then said, “Not really. Though fei beasts are extraordinarily strong, so I wouldn’t recommend simply walking up and trying to kill it. Oh, another thing, their mere passage causes lesser forms of life to wither up and die. Nearby plant life, insects, everything nearby will shrivel up within moments of their hooves touching the ground.”
Bao’s eyes went wide. “What about people?”
“The effect doesn’t reach people.”
She nodded. After a bit more thought, she rose to her feet. “Very well, I’ll take my leave now. We’ll get you your fei beast. Remember, don’t touch that fallen star.”
***
After conferring with Mao Yun, they picked two disciples to stay behind with Ruan the Flamingo. Then they rode west, taking a cart along with them. The terrain was mountainous, making the travel slow. Nothing of note happened for the next three days. Thankfully, the local guide was also adept at tracking and mountain travel, which was of great help. It was on the evening of the third day that they found the cave Ruan the Flamingo had referred to.
Unfortunately, no fei beast was in sight.
However, the fact that the creature killed all lower life forms around it made it very easy to track. A swath of brown vegetation littered with dead insects trailed off to the south, which they followed at a healthy speed.
A day later, they caught up to the fei beast as it drank water from a stream. It was surrounded by dead grass and plants, and as soon as they caught sight of it, almost everyone in the party gasped. Now Bao knew why Ruan had been so evasive about the creature’s tail. The tail flicked back and forth almost as if it had a life of its own, and at the end it had two pits that looked like eyes. Furthermore, the tail split open at the end in what looked like a mouth filled with sharp fangs. The tail looked like a snake!
Muttered curses and murmured exclamations could be heard from the various disciples.
“It’s like a demon!” Mao Yun said.
Bao studied the creature for a bit. “I don’t think so. Just something not native to our lands.”
“How do we take it down?”
Bao turned to look back at the disciples. “Wang Tian, come here.”
One of the men trotted his horse forward. “Chieftainess?”
“You were the one who usually led hunting parties into the forest for the late Lord Shu, isn’t that right?”
“That’s right, Chieftainess.”
“What was the biggest animal you ever took down, and how?”
“A big deer, I suppose. Most of the time we hunted with the dogs, and then we’d take the animals down with bows.”
Bao glanced over and confirmed that Wang Tian had a bow strapped to his saddle. After looking back at the rest of the disciples, she counted only one other who had a bow. “The young man back there with the bow, is he one of your hunters?”
“Yes, Chieftainess. Chieftainess, are you… going to ask us to try to shoot that… thing?”
Bao took a deep breath. “I’m thinking about it. It’s called a fei beast, and its hooves can kill plants and insects but not people. It looks strange, but essentially it’s just a big cow. Do you think you could take it down?”
Wang Tian studied the fei beast for a bit longer. “It’s hard to say, Chieftainess. In the hunt, it’s not always possible to kill the deer with a single shot or two. Sometimes you have to track it down after shooting in the first time. With this thing, tracking it down won’t be a problem. So I guess there’s no harm in trying. Are the
y fast?”
Bao frowned. “I’m not sure. Looking at it, I would guess not. Are you up for the task?”
Wang Tian grinned. “Of course. Give me a moment to prepare.”
Wang Tian and the other disciple consulted each other for a few minutes before they were ready. During that time, the fei beast stayed in place by the stream, occasionally drinking but making no other moves.
When Wang Tian was ready, he and the other disciple rode their horses to a position upstream from the fei beast. Bao, Mao Yun, and everyone else rode a bit off to the side, where they had a clear view of the entire area. If the fei beast ran, they would be able to keep eyes on it from quite a distance.
After everyone was in place, Wang Tian and the other disciple sent their horses galloping toward the fei beast at the greatest speed they felt was safe. As they neared, the fei beast looked up at them and let out a grunt that echoed like thunder.
When they were roughly twenty meters away, they drew their bows and loosed arrows. One arrow slammed into the fei beast’s shoulder, the other landed in its chest. The creature bellowed in rage, rearing up on its hind legs.
As Wang Tian and the other disciple let loose another volley, the fei beast charged toward them. They immediately turned their horses around to flee.
However, the fei beast was much faster than any of them could have guessed. It began to close the distance rapidly, and soon it was only a few meters behind them. Just when it was almost upon them, Wang Tian turned his horse into the water, while the other disciple veered off in a different direction.
The fei beast turned toward Wang Tian, who was currently aiming for the far bank. While the second disciple galloped back toward the group, the fei beast leapt into the water. Wang Tian looked back in alarm, kicking his horse lightly to try to gain more speed. It was useless. A moment later, the fei beast was upon him. The creature swung its head, and its horns pierced Wang Tian’s horse, lifting it into the air and then tossing it violently off to the side.
As the horse and Wang Tian landed in the water with a splash, the fei beast turned to look at the other disciple, who had just rejoined the group.
