"This land is filled with too much malevolence. It's not easy for the Miao people to survive here," the old village chief said with a sigh.
Yun Qi nodded in agreement.
If poisonous insects and ghosts became a part of daily life, survival would indeed be a struggle.
Having grown up in a prosperous region, he couldn't even imagine such a life.
"Our ancestors came up with many ways to survive. Look, to avoid the dampness and the snakes, we built our houses on stilts," the old chief said with a smile.
Yun Qi didn't smile.
"Back then, our ancestors also did many foolish things. Some people worshipped ghosts, insects, and snakes as gods, offering them sacrifices, even binding young boys and girls to appease them, hoping for peace. Of course, history proved this useless, written in blood and tears."
Others searched the mountains for insect eggs and beast cubs, raising them to fight against the creatures of the wild.
Some even went as far as raising ghosts and controlling corpses.
These methods worked, but they themselves became monsters,"the old chief said with a distant look." Then there were people like us, who couldn't do those things.
Instead, we sought yang energy to counter the yin evil.
We moved to higher ground, lived on mountains, drank fresh water, made torches to drive away the yin beasts, and used sulfur powder to repel poisonous insects.
We tried many methods.
In the process, we discovered that the white dogs in the mountains were incredibly sharp.
They could detect living beings or yin evil from great distances, weren't afraid of insect bites, and didn't fear losing their souls.
So, we raised these white dogs to guard our homes.
But our greatest discovery was the rooster,"the old chief said with a wide grin." We first noticed that the large red-crowned, golden-clawed roosters in the mountains were special.
They could devour poisonous insects, fight yin beasts, and crow every day before the sun rose.
The sound of their crowing could even disperse fog monsters and suppress wailing ghosts.
Truly, they were a gift from heaven—the sun birds.
After we started raising roosters, everything changed.
"Yun Qi could feel the old chief's joy. Mu Naigong, the old chief, looked at the roosters scattered around the village, pecking at poisonous insects, his face beaming like a flower. Yun Qi was also delighted.
Previously, to visualize the Star Lord of the Sun, he had studied many legends and texts. But those legends were too distant, focusing on the heavens, making his visualization feel like a castle in the air, disconnected from reality and the mortal world. Now, hearing the Miao people speak of the rooster's power, he was overjoyed.
With these stories, his visualization had a core. In that moment, he even thought of a plan—he would write these tales into a hymn and carve them into the beams of the Bright Palace in his mind."
After we started raising roosters, we found that their abilities were even greater than we imagined!
"the old chief said excitedly."
One day, someone lost their soul outside.
When they returned, they were dazed, unrecognizable, and soon fell into a coma.
In the past, that person would have been as good as dead.
"But then, the village's rooster king suddenly crowed. After three calls, the person's soul was called back!"
And more!
Any village that raises roosters and swears an oath by drinking rooster blood forms an unbreakable bond! Anyone who drinks the blood and breaks the oath will bleed from all seven orifices and die—no exceptions! That's why the fourteen villages of Hongjiang swore an oath by drinking rooster blood.
If one village is in trouble, the others must help.
That's how we've survived to this day!
""Roosters can tell time.
Even when black fog rolls in, day and night become indistinguishable, and darkness lasts for months, the roosters still crow accurately every day, never failing.
Because of this, we can maintain a normal routine.
In the past, when black fog descended, countless people would go mad in the endless darkness!
""Rooster blood can suppress corpses!
""The rooster's comb can prevent soul-calling!
""And more!
As long as a village raises roosters, more boys are born!
""..."The chief recounted story after story, and Yun Qi noted them all down. He even asked the old chief to elaborate further—when, who, and how. Seeing Yun Qi so interested, the old chief was delighted and spoke in great detail.
Some stories were so old that the chief added his own imagination, exaggerating some events, but that didn't matter. No, perhaps it was even better. One old, one young—one spoke, the other listened.
The speaker was happy, the listener was thrilled. After a while, two aunties came out, signaling that the house was ready. Mu Naigong stopped talking and said to Yun Qi with a smile,"Daoist Yun, you've come a long way.
Rest first.
Tonight, we'll hold a bonfire to welcome you." Yun Qi thanked them and took out two copper coins from his pocket, handing them to the aunties. He also gave a small piece of silver to the old chief.
The three refused, but Yun Qi insisted. He glanced at the house. It had been cleaned, and the windows were open.
The setting sun cast a golden glow on the wooden house. As he watched the three leave, Yun Qi looked at the Miao village, the streams, the terraced fields, and the roosters strutting about. He was overjoyed.
Instead of entering the house, he sat down on the porch and began to meditate. --- The golden crow set in the west, and night fell. It was September, with short days and long nights. The weather turned cold, and the mountain night was pitch black.
A faint, chilly mist rose, obscuring even the stars. Each household in the village lit a lamp, their faint glow both weak and striking in the deep mountains. Yun Qi stood on high ground, watching as people emerged from their homes, each carrying firewood.
They gathered at the village center, stacking the wood neatly until it reached half a person's height. The old chief took out a black jar and dipped a brush into it, then flicked the liquid onto the woodpile. Yun Qi noticed the droplets sparkled, like some kind of oil.
Then the old chief pulled out something resembling a fire starter from his pocket. He blew on it, and a wave of fire shot out, landing on the woodpile from a distance of ten feet. This was no ordinary fire starter—it was more like a weapon.
"Boom!"
The pile of wood, half a person tall and made of hundreds of logs, ignited instantly. The massive flames lit up the entire village, and the leaping fire tongues quickly dispersed the lingering cold mist. The villagers' mastery of fire far exceeded Yun Qi's expectations.
The villagers sat around the bonfire, their faces illuminated by the flames, their eyes reflecting the joy in their hearts. Yun Qi looked at the scattered lights of the village and the bonfire that brought light. He felt a deeper, clearer understanding of the essence of fire.
Fire was not just the fire of the heavens. The sun's light was infinite, but the fire of mortals could also drive away darkness. Most importantly, while the sun hung high above, the fire of mortals was in the hands of people.
"Daoist Yun! Come quickly!" the old chief called out loudly from beside the bonfire.
The villagers waved at Yun Qi, speaking words he couldn't understand.
The children were even more excited, chasing and playing around the bonfire.
The roosters, however, were too dignified to join the festivities.
They stood scattered around the village, perched on high ground, watching like guardians.
Two chapters released together.
Chapter 2.
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(End of Chapter)