Chapter 92: The Fire Qilin Stirs!

"Fire Qilin?"

Li Guanyi's brush tip, dipped in thick ink, nearly landed on Xue Shen's face, but stopped because of those two words — not only because this was a strange beast from myth and legend, but also because in Yue Qianfeng's story, after Tai Ping Gong had campaigned in the southwestern region, he took the chieftain of the Yi people's pearl and came to Jiangnan.

Riding atop it was the Fire Qilin.

Such a divine beast — in all of Chen, there couldn't possibly be two.

Xue Shen smiled and said: "Yes, the Fire Qilin."

"If you've heard his story, there should be a line: he once took up his sword and slew a tiger with wings sprouting from its back; the giants of the Northern Domain fled in disarray, and Chen Baxian made his name. So tell me — why do you think that winged tiger suddenly left its home and came to the Central Plains?"

Without waiting for Li Guanyi to answer, Xue Shen had already given the reason.

"Since ancient times, the tiger with wings sprouting from its back has been called Qiongqi; in the southwestern region there is the Great Nuo, within which are twelve divine beasts, and Qiongqi is one of them. Its body was as large as a city gate; human walls could not stop it — a single pounce could crash into a town, and it devoured people as easily as crushing ants."

"Its roar was like thunder. He fought it for three full hours, and in the end, a single Mountain-Splitting thrust pierced through Qiongqi's skull, and that strike also caused his weapon to ascend into a divine armament. And the reason Qiongqi had come here in the first place was because of the small divine beast cradled in his arms."

Li Guanyi said: "The Fire Qilin."

Xue Shen said: "That's right — the Fire Qilin, the king whom all beasts venerate."

"It has the form of a tiger, yet also the nature of a dragon; scales and fur coexist upon its body."

"The reason Duke of Chen chose a place like Jiangzhou — far from the Central Province — as his fief was both to avoid giving offense to the imperial house, and to guard this secret. Nearly everyone who knew of it back then was killed by him."

"Except for me."

Xue Shen smiled faintly and said: "Because he couldn't beat me."

"When he discovered that I had shifted the Xue family's ancestral lands right to his doorstep — you didn't see it, but the expression on his face was more theatrical than any opera singer's. A great delight."

Li Guanyi ignored the smug Xue Shen and said: "A young Fire Qilin?"

Xue Shen held out his hand and gestured, saying: "Yes — at that time it could fit inside a battle robe, about the size of a big dog. Rather than a beast of auspicious omen, it was more like an oversized tabby cat."

"It was a Fire Qilin, the color of an orange tabby with 'gold blanket, silver bed.'"

"Just look at its size."

"I suspect it had only just been born when that fellow snatched it back. Since ancient times, good and evil are like the two ends of yin and yang — they coexist. Qiongqi was evil; the Fire Qilin, auspicious. That Qiongqi had been waiting there, intending to devour the Fire Qilin once it was born, so that it might become a purer evil god."

"Chen Baxian, in his quest to slay Qiongqi, instead found the Fire Qilin."

"He was thrilled at first. Since ancient times, every famed general has loved divine weapons, precious armor, and strange beasts. On every list of strange beasts from antiquity to the present, the Fire Qilin ranks in the top ten. Though the Fire Qilin is one of the Five-Element Qilin — not the original, purest auspicious omen —"

"For a general, a beast with four hooves that tread upon fire, that upon reaching adulthood can walk upon the void, and whose roar brings all beasts into submission — that is a far more perfect mount for charging the line than any phoenix. Something like Tie Futu? A single breath of fire would melt it into molten iron."

Xue Shen said:

"I suspect that old rascal had even prepared the imperial robe by then."

"All that was left was to throw it on."

"But unfortunately, he later discovered that a strange beast like the Fire Qilin takes at least five hundred years to reach adulthood."

"And another five hundred years to reach youth."

"Its lifespan is at least eight thousand years."

"Though Chen Baxian was a famed general under heaven, commanding a hundred thousand troops, he lacked the foundation of golden flesh and jade bone, and fought in many vicious battles, his body bearing more than a hundred wounds. He could not outlive the Fire Qilin, so in the end he had no choice but to hide the Fire Qilin within Jiangzhou City, hoping that some later descendant — an extraordinary general — might earn the Fire Qilin's recognition."

"In your era, has the Fire Qilin reached adulthood? Even if it hasn't, at the very least it can be ridden. A Fire Qilin between five hundred and two thousand years old can already breathe forth blazing flames, its whole body bathed in fire, striking terror into all beasts."

Li Guanyi raised an eyebrow and said: "So I've heard about the Fire Qilin — what of it?"

"I can't take it with me anyway."

Xue Shen said: "That may not be so. Back then, Chen Baxian couldn't beat me. I held the Fire Qilin and played with it for a long time, and had Yaoguang help leave behind a trace — a technique. A strange beast like the Fire Qilin has excellent memory; those it acknowledges, it will never forget, even after a thousand or several thousand years."

"With this mark, at the very least you can walk up to the Fire Qilin."

"Tell it that an old friend has come. Whether you can earn the Fire Qilin's recognition after that will depend on you."

Xue Shen smiled and said: "Well?"

Li Guanyi sighed, tossed down his brush, and said: "Fine, I accept it."

"What's the method?"

Xue Shen extended his hand, manipulating the Bai Hu Dharma Idol to emit a special fluctuation — as if inviting play, pouncing and frolicking, the motions vivid and lifelike. Xue Shen smiled and said: "Back then, when the Fire Qilin was young, I used the Bai Hu transformation to let my dharma idol keep it company and play with it for many years. Now, after several hundred years apart, when it sees a playmate from its youth again, it won't fail to respond."

"I'll teach you how to play with it."

Li Guanyi pulled back the corner of his mouth and said, doubtfully: "... That's it?"

Xue Shen burst into laughter: "Hah! For people like us, even if our strength can crumble mountains and fill the seas, our lifespan, compared to strange beasts like the Fire Qilin, is no different from heaven and earth. But several hundred years is not a short time — converted into human terms, it would be an aged, weary person, even an old one, meeting once more a friend from their youth."

"Such a bond — even a vicious beast like a tiger would not remain unmoved."

"Let alone the auspicious Fire Qilin?"

"This kind of affection — surely it far surpasses those fellows of Chen?"

"Besides, Chen Baxian's descendants — if they had even a fraction of their ancestor's boldness, that would be one thing. But if they've grown listless and become ordinary Wang Hou, who could resist the Fire Qilin's blood? Go and take a look. If the Fire Qilin is not being treated well, then take it away."

Li Guanyi was stunned.

Xue Shen said softly: "The blood of an auspicious Fire Qilin that can live for ten thousand years — even in Chen Baxian's day, countless sorcerers and alchemists had already told him that the Fire Qilin's blood could be used to refine an elixir of immortality. And Chen Baxian drove them all away."

"A man like him — selfish, bold beyond measure, loyal and righteous, caring nothing for heaven or law."

"He trusted only his own spear."

"But his descendants may not be able to resist the temptation."

Li Guanyi nodded.

At this moment, certain thoughts began to rise in his mind.

【Tai Ping Gong's mount was a Fire Qilin】 【The Chen imperial house may covet an immortality elixir made from Fire Qilin's blood】

Could these things be connected to what happened to his parents?

He pushed these thoughts down.

That day, Xue Shen told Li Guanyi how to get along with the Fire Qilin, what it liked to eat, and what zither melodies it liked to hear. Then he waved his hand and said: "Go on your way. When this Mystical Realm ends, who knows when we'll meet again."

The Mystical Realm ended, and the starlight was entirely drawn back in.

The silver-haired girl reached out her hand, and endless starlight flowed and shifted, finally breaking apart into crystalline prisms, one by one.

Yaoguang caught these things condensed from starlight.

Then placed them inside her bundle.

Li Guanyi said, "Heading to Jiangzhou City — shall we travel together?"

The silver-haired girl shook her head; she reached out and drew up her hood.

Leaving only the silver hair at her temples and the clean curve of her chin, her voice calm: "You need not worry about me. The dismantling of the Mystical Realm still needs time — only after five days can I complete it. I will remember your aura, whether you are within Jiangzhou City or anywhere beneath the heavens."

"I will be able to find you."

"The covenant has not yet ended; you need not worry that I will leave."

Li Guanyi looked at the girl before him, gave a nod, then turned and left. Yaoguang's eyes were quiet, recording the trajectories of starlight within the Mystical Realm. But after only a short while, she heard the sound of hooves again; turning her head, she saw the youth had returned.

Li Guanyi carried some things over and set them down beside Yaoguang.

When opened, inside were all manner of pastries.

Yaoguang took a look.

Li Guanyi reached out his hand.

Right under the girl's nose, he picked up that straight, smooth stick used for roasting mantou.

Li Guanyi said, "I'll take this thing for now. In the future, when I'm not around, don't roast mantou yourself — no, try not to cook at all if you can." Whenever this girl roasted mantou, she would always get distracted reading, and by the time she came back to her senses, the mantou could be hurled out as hidden weapons.

Yaoguang looked at him, her voice calm: "Alright."

Li Guanyi felt reassured. He left Yaoguang plenty of provisions — pastries, vegetables — and after a thousand cautions and ten thousand admonishments, he was only slightly at ease before rising, mounting his horse, and departing. The Xue family's party set out tomorrow; he could not return too late. And Yaoguang watched the youth leave.

She turned and walked back to her original spot.

She reached out.

She rummaged through the large bundle.

She fished out a prism crystal.

Carefully set it aside.

She fished out a book.

Casually tossed it down.

After rummaging some more, what she pulled out next was a wooden stick — straight and smooth, even more so than the one from before.

The silver-haired girl raised the wooden stick high and examined it beneath the starlight.

Her face was expressionless.

Yet somehow there was a hint of smugness.

Her hand closed into a fist around the stick, and she plunged it downward.

It slid perfectly into the ground; she skewered a mantou on it, lit a campfire, and opened her book to read.

She read.

………………

On Li Guanyi's birthday, he ate a meal with his aunt. Elder Murong was, as always, her usual self — only instructing him, while in Jingcheng, not to stir up trouble. That day she had Li Guanyi play the qin, play chess, and after consecutively defeating the youth three games, she cheerfully let him go.

On the day of departure, Elder Murong saw Li Guanyi off from the Xue residence.

She only said that summer days were hot, not to wear too many clothes, but also not to drink too much ice water, lest it harm his health. Li Guanyi agreed to each one. Only when the Xue family's party up ahead urged him several times did he flip himself up onto his horse and say, "Aunt, you should go back now, no need to see me off any further."

Elder Murong smiled and said, "It's nothing. Your aunt will stay right here and watch you go far away."

Li Guanyi could not win against her. He went along with the party forward, reaching the very front of this great road. When he turned his head back, he could still see his aunt's figure before the gate of the Xue residence — until they turned a corner, and that figure could no longer be seen.

Xue Daoyong said, "You and your aunt are quite close."

Li Guanyi nodded: "My aunt raised me with her own hands. The person dearest to me in this world is only her…"

To outsiders, Elder Murong styled herself as Mu Lin.

In the past, Li Guanyi often bickered with his aunt. Now, leaving the city, with the Grand Ritual still twenty days away and the fifteenth day of the Grand Ritual requiring over a month before he could see his aunt again, he found himself somewhat missing her. The scenery on either side was nothing much to look at; the Xue family's procession was very long, and they also carried gifts for various nobles and dignitaries.

Xue Daoyong rode ahead, discussing matters with Li Guanyi — once entering the city, do not stir up trouble, but also do not fear trouble, and so on. He told him that afterward he was to take up his post in Jingcheng. The officials of the Chen Kingdom were a tangled mess — ranks, sinecure titles, and assignments. Li Guanyi was currently a Captain of Zhenwei, a rank of the seventh grade, with no assignment.

After entering the city, he would also be assigned a new task.

Li Guanyi nodded, looking at the scenery on either side. Between Jiangzhou City and Guanyi City, it was over three hundred li; the Xue family's party needed to reach their destination within a day. Li Guanyi noticed that every several dozen li along the way there was a relay station, with many carriages and horses, people from all nations, stopping there to drink tea and eat.

The meat laid out on the tables outside was all extremely lavish, with much left over.

Visitors from foreign lands did not need to pay silver.

Afterward, they all praised the Central Kingdom — truly bountiful, vast and rich, its people elegant and beautiful. At first there was a relay station every fifty li; then every thirty li; afterward, every twenty li there was one.

Besides this, along the road there were monks and Daoists, as if a grand debate assembly had been convened.

There were also carriages decorated with great flourish. Looking out, the river waterways were filled with flower-decorated boats, stretching on and on, nearly covering the entire river channel of Jiangzhou City — a grand, mighty sight that, at one glance, was indeed of tremendous scale.

Yet amid such a vast and magnificent crowd, Li Guanyi also saw many common folk.

These common folk wore weary expressions on their faces, hurrying outward. Among them, an old man with two children walked with quick steps; perhaps because the weather was growing hotter and he had walked too long under the sun, he stumbled and fell forward.

The fallen commoner, and the monks, Daoists, and foreign travelers flowing to and fro on either side — the contrast was stark.

Li Guanyi frowned, dismounted, and went over to help him up. But another youth, with bronze-toned skin, also reached out a hand to help the old man. The two exchanged a glance. Li Guanyi took his pulse and said, "It's been too long since he's eaten, and the weather is too hot. Let's find a place with shade."

The Xue family's party moved forward and did not stop for Li Guanyi.

Xue Daoyong tacitly approved of Li Guanyi's action. The young man helped the old man into the shade of a tree. The old man had brought his own water; he drank a sip, ate some dry rations, and recovered his strength. Li Guanyi said, "Old sir, where are you from? You must take care of your health."

The old man steadied his breathing and said, "Many thanks to the two of you for your concern. This old man is a commoner from the towns around Jiangzhou. At this time, I'm taking the chance to head southwest."

Li Guanyi was surprised and said, "Heading southwest at this time?"

The old man said with a bitter smile, "No other reason — surely you don't know, it's really because the Grand Ritual is too, too…"

The old man noticed the silk on Li Guanyi's body, changed his tune, and hurriedly said, "It's this old man's own reasons. Young Master, your great lifesaving kindness — this old man could never repay it even if he died ten thousand deaths." He bowed repeatedly, then, not daring to rest any longer, took the two children and left with hurried steps.

Li Guanyi was about to speak when the bronze-skinned youth said in a low voice:

"Clothes like yours are for high officials and nobles—he won't speak with you."

Li Guanyi understood what was meant and tightened his grip on the hilt.

The young man patted the curved blade at his waist and said, "I come from the west. I heard that the Emperor of the Central Plains cares for his people like a sage, and I was curious, so I rode a camel out of the desert, then rode a donkey to get here, but what I saw didn't match."

Li Guanyi said, "Do you know why?"

The young man replied, "I don't know much, only that along the way, envoys and merchants from various countries didn't have to spend money—every road had relay stations. I once heard an old man say that every commandery and county within five hundred li had to come and offer food."

"Then the surrounding commanderies and counties had to pool together five thousand households of musicians to go to Jingcheng to perform."

"All this money came from the common people themselves, for the Grand Sacrifice."

Li Guanyi frowned, looking at this city of Jiangzhou—the Grand Sacrifice of Chen, a grand affair for the realm.

Yet it still had to be pressed onto the common people's backs. The Emperor of Chen…

Li Guanyi did not voice his own opinion; he simply caught up with the Xue family's carriages again and entered Jiangzhou city together with the old man. Naturally, no one dared to block the Xue family's convoy, and that young man from the Western Regions sat on his donkey and followed behind Li Guanyi.

He was a man of the Western Regions, and they hadn't even collected his head tax.

Li Guanyi looked at the enormous city ahead.

Lofty, solemn, vast.

This was Jiangzhou city, the Jingcheng of Chen, the place his parents had once walked through.

Over a dozen years ago, hadn't Tai Ping Gong ridden the Fire Qilin through this very gate, with cheers all around? Li Guanyi thought, as he walked into Jiangzhou city. Suddenly he paused slightly, sensing a faint, familiar yet strange presence.

Just as Li Guanyi stepped into Jiangzhou—

The entire city of Jiangzhou suddenly fell deathly silent—a silence brought on by every beast and insect daring not to make a sound in an instant; even the wind stopped. Li Guanyi felt that presence had also noticed him.

That qi violently fluctuated, and then—

A long howl, like a tiger yet like a dragon, suddenly exploded!

Fire Qilin!