Looking at the white dog curled up in a ball, Yun Qi was about to shake his head.
He was out here to train and wouldn’t be staying in this village for long.
Having an extra little creature around would be inconvenient.
"Daoist Yun, are you planning to continue wandering these mountains?" the village chief asked.
Yun Qi nodded.
He had just arrived, after all.
"Then, Daoist, you should take the dog. Bai Long'er has sharp ears and can hear everything happening in the mountains."
Yun Qi thought about it.
That day, when he had stood far outside the courtyard, Bai Long'er had noticed him immediately.
The dog’s hearing was indeed impressive.
He was training in these mountains, and while he wasn’t afraid of much, he was concerned about being disturbed during his meditation.
Although he had the Eight Trigrams Mother-Child Bell with him, it was still just an object.
He nodded and accepted the white dog.
The village chief added, "Daoist Yun, you don’t need to worry about taking care of the dog. The big dogs in the village will teach it what it needs to know. Just let it sleep outside your door at night. As for food, the big dogs will nurse it for now. In about ten days, it’ll be able to find its own food. If you have any leftovers, just toss them to the dog. It eats everything."
According to the old village chief, raising Bai Long'er was simple.
Yun Qi nodded.
Dong Huo then took the dog back, saying he’d bring it over in the evening.
This visit was mainly to get Yun Qi’s approval.
Yun Qi was relieved to see Dong Huo and his family leave after expressing their gratitude.
He stayed behind with the village chief.
"Old Chief, last time you mentioned the Red-Crowned Lord, but you only told me half the story," Yun Qi said with a smile.
The old chief scratched his head.
"Ah, yes, that’s right!"
The two sat down on the bench, one speaking, the other listening.
"After our ancestors got Bai Long'er and the rooster, life started to improve. How should I put it? The dead no longer outnumbered the living."
Yun Qi had no response to that.
"One day, a Daoist suddenly appeared in the village. He was said to be very young. At first, our ancestors thought he was just a lost child! But when the Daoist showed his divine powers, they realized they had met a true master."
The old chief looked at Yun Qi.
Last night, he too had witnessed divine powers.
The entire village had seen it.
He hadn’t slept a wink, thinking it must be the ancestors watching over them, protecting the village.
"The master was delighted to see the village raising chickens. He taught our ancestors a special method of raising them. The chickens raised this way were called 'Red-Crowned Chongming Chickens,' also known as 'Red-Crowned Lords.' These were true yang creatures."
But the method is difficult,"the old chief said without elaborating." The village only manages to raise one Red-Crowned Lord every two or three generations.
These chickens live longer than humans.
The one we have now was raised by the previous generation, so we call it the Red-Crowned Lord.
"The Red-Crowned Lord has two crowns and two pupils. It can distinguish between humans and ghosts. No evil spirit or demon can escape its sight."
Yun Qi praised the chicken and then asked, "Why haven’t I seen the Red-Crowned Lord since arriving in the village?"
The old chief proudly replied, "The Red-Crowned Lord is wise, even smarter than humans. It also cultivates, so it’s not usually seen. But when we need it, it appears. Every morning before sunrise, it crows from the big tree at the village entrance. After it crows, the other roosters dare to crow."
Yun Qi asked again, "What about the painting on the door?"
The old chief glanced at the faded rooster painting on Yun Qi’s door and sighed.
"That was also left by the master. It’s called the 'Rooster King Protects the Home.' Our ancestors said that in the decades after the painting was first put up, no poisonous insects or ghosts entered the village. Those who grew up during that time had strong souls and abundant yang energy. They rarely encountered trouble when traveling outside."
But after hundreds of years, the painting has faded and torn.
The protective power it once had is gone.
Still, we’ve grown accustomed to it, so we paint our own versions and put them up, mostly for good luck.
"Yun Qi nodded, understanding now. After some more small talk, the old chief left, and Yun Qi settled down to focus on his cultivation. He had read the section on the Heart Mansion in the Zhou Tian Bai Qiao Neijing Jing countless times.
Visualizing the Star Officer of the Pleiades and the Palace of Light had solidified his mental strength and made him highly skilled in visualization techniques. It was time to use visualization to create the inner deity of the Heart Mansion.
Previously, he had visualized the Star Officer of the Pleiades and the Palace of Light as statues and palaces—essentially lifeless objects. But the inner deity was the master of the mansion, responsible for the flow of blood and qi, embodying longevity and health. How could it be lifeless?
The master of the Heart Mansion was the commander of blood, working with the kidneys to manage the body’s essence and blood. Among the hundred apertures in the body, it was the most active.
Visualizing a lifeless object would not only fail to help circulate essence, absorb qi, or accumulate spiritual power, but it could also weaken the Heart Mansion’s functions, leading to poor blood flow and insufficient heart energy. Now, Yun Qi had found a way to bring the Pleiades to life. --- On the fifth day in the village, September 12th.
Yun Qi woke up early and stood in front of his house, looking at the massive thorn tree by the village gate. Its leaves and trunk were covered in sharp thorns. The villagers called it the Cat Thorn Tree.
As the sky began to lighten, Yun Qi saw a bird fly out from the mountains behind the village. The bird was enormous, with a beak like a spear, claws like steel hooks, a golden spur, a red crown, a tail more splendid than a phoenix’s, and feathers of emerald and brocade. It exuded an imposing aura.
The bird landed on the tree, its steel claws unfazed by the thorns. Once it settled, it became clear that this was no ordinary bird—it was the Red-Crowned Chongming Rooster, the Red-Crowned Lord. The sky was still dim as the Red-Crowned Lord faced east, its head held high, its red crown trembling."
Cock-a-doodle-doo—"The Red-Crowned Lord let out a loud crow." Cock-a-doodle-doo—"The other roosters in the village began to crow. Then, the eastern sky brightened, and the red sun slowly rose.
Once the sun appeared, the Red-Crowned Lord flapped its wings and flew back into the mountains, disappearing from sight. As he had done the past two days, Yun Qi carefully recalled the Red-Crowned Lord’s movements, its powerful crow, and the way the rising sun dispelled the darkness.
Afterward, he took a stack of papers and went to find the old chief." Old Chief, what do you think of this painting?
"Yun Qi handed the stack of papers to the old chief. The old chief took the papers and looked at the top one—a majestic full-body portrait: The painting depicted a burly Daoist wearing a tall red crown, golden boots, and a crimson robe. The Daoist had golden eyes with double pupils, small ears, a hooked nose, and a red beard.
On his chest was a large rooster crowing on a branch. In his right hand, he held a lantern, its light dispelling the darkness and illuminating the entire paper in a golden glow. In the top left corner of the paper was a short phrase:"The rooster’s crow brings the dawn.
"In the bottom left corner was a seal:"Qian Shen Studio.
"Yun Qi also looked at the painting. The figure in the painting was quite different from the Star Officer of the Pleiades in the White Tiger Seven Mansions Chapter. The facial features were similar, but one was refined, while the other was rugged and muscular.
The star patterns on the robe had been replaced by a rooster, and the weapon had changed from a needle to a lantern. The noble and majestic Star Officer had transformed into a rough, justice-seeking wandering Daoist. This was exactly the effect Yun Qi wanted.
The old chief finished looking at the first painting and moved on to the next: In this painting, the burly Daoist held a peach wood sword in his right hand, piercing a demon’s chest, while his left hand held a demon’s head. In the top left corner was written:"The image of accumulated yang, the essence of fire yang.
Place it on the door, alongside peach charms, and all ghosts will fear it.
"The next painting showed the Daoist stepping on a centipede and chewing a scorpion. The top left corner read:"In the middle of the third month, the scorpion shows its might.
With one peck from the divine rooster, the poison turns to water.
"The next painting depicted the Daoist with wide, furious eyes, roaring. The top left corner read:"With one crow of the rooster, ghosts shrink back a foot, insects retreat ten miles, and the lantern brightens by three points."...
One painting after another. The old chief looked at Yun Qi, unsure of his intentions. "I’d like to ask the villagers if they’d be willing to put these paintings on their doors and windows.
They might not be as powerful as the 'Rooster King Protects the Home' left by the master, but they carry the essence of yang fire.
They should be more effective than the ones you’ve been drawing yourselves.
"The old chief was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. He said there was no need to ask—everyone would be willing. Yun Qi smiled and nodded."
If the chief doesn’t mind, I’ll leave a few copies for each household.
On the first day of each new year, they can replace the old paintings with new ones.
Every few years, I’ll either come back or send someone to update the paintings.
As long as I’m alive, I’ll keep my word." The old chief was almost speechless. After a moment of stunned silence, he was about to kowtow to Yun Qi.
Yun Qi stopped him.
"What should we call these paintings?"the old chief asked with a smile.
Yun Qi had clearly thought about this. He said,"Let’s call them 'The Incarnation of the Pleiades: The New Year Daoist Manifesting in the World.'" Seeing the old chief’s confused expression, Yun Qi thought for a moment and then added with a smile,"Or simply 'The Rooster God Manifestation.'"
The old chief understood this time and happily agreed,"A good name!"
End of Chapter 39. Please vote and recommend! Comments and feedback are welcome!