Shen Mo was stunned.
“What is it?”
She did not answer. Instead, she only turned back and looked at him once.
That look lasted a long time, as if she wanted to carve his appearance into her eyes. Then, she pushed open the door and walked into the night.
The door closed behind her, and the candle flame flickered. Shen Mo sat where he was, staring at that door, and did not move for a long time.
Outside the window, it began to snow again. Fine and dense, it fell on the window frame with a rustling sound.
……
That night, Shen Mo sat at the table for a long time. He only snapped back to reality after the candle had burned down a segment and the wick crackled.
The ginseng soup in front of him had long since gone cold, a thin film of oil forming on its surface.
He pushed the bowl aside and flipped open the ledger, but he could not take in a single word. Over and over, his mind was filled with her final look.
‘What was in that gaze?’
He could not say. He only felt as if a heavy stone were pressing down on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
……
The next morning, he went to the treasury. Seeing him arrive, the disciple in charge hurried forward to greet him.
“Lord, why have you come in person? If you need anything, just give the word, and I will deliver it to you.”
“Let me see the treasury ledger.”
The disciple brought the ledger, and Shen Mo flipped through it page by page.
Elixirs, Talismans, spirit tools, and Spirit Stones… He looked through them one by one, gradually forming a plan in his mind.
“Take out that bottle of Heart-Protecting Pills meant for the Foundation Establishment stage.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Take out that stack of Golden Armor Talismans as well.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Also, that Blue Frost Sword, the Soft Hedgehog Armor, those bracers, and those boots…”
The disciple took them out one by one until they piled up across the table. Shen Mo looked at the heap and suddenly frowned.
“It is not enough.”
“Huh?” The disciple was stunned. “Lord, this… this is already a lot. Usually, when disciples go out for training, having one or two of these items would be considered extraordinary.”
“She is not going out for training,” Shen Mo said. “She is going to a Secret Realm.”
The disciple fell silent. Everyone on the peak knew what kind of place a Secret Realm was.
While they were busy, a set of footsteps suddenly echoed from outside.
“Lord!” Manager Zheng’s voice came from outside the door, sounding out of breath. “Is the Lord there?”
Shen Mo set down the Talismans in his hand. “I am here. Come in.”
Manager Zheng pushed the door open and entered. His expression was a bit strange, as if he were holding back something he did not dare to say.
“What is it?” Shen Mo asked.
“Lord,” Manager Zheng lowered his voice, “something happened… over at the Spirit Beast Garden.”
Shen Mo’s heart tightened. Seeing his expression, Manager Zheng smiled and waved his hands.
“It is a good thing, a good thing. It is just that… I do not know how to describe it. It would be best if you came to see for yourself.”
Shen Mo glanced at him, put down the items in his hand, and followed him out.
Manager Zheng said nothing along the way, simply rubbing his hands together repeatedly, his face a mix of awkwardness and excitement.
Upon reaching the Spirit Beast Garden, Manager Zheng led him directly to a small room next to the Incubation Room.
The room had originally been used for storage, but it had been cleared out now, and a large cage sat against the wall. Inside was the Spirit Chicken with the gold line on its back.
“Lord, look.” Manager Zheng pointed at the Spirit Chicken. “This morning, it…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the Spirit Chicken suddenly let out a cry. It was not a common “cluck” or “cheep” but a clear, resonant, long cry like that of a bird of prey.
Shen Mo was startled.
In the next second, a faint golden light suddenly erupted from the Spirit Chicken’s body.
Once the light dissipated, its originally pale-gold feathers had turned into a pure, reddish-gold. It shone brilliantly under the sunlight, so bright it made one’s eyes ache.
Shen Mo was dazed.
A Golden-feathered Chicken. This was a true Golden-feathered Chicken.
‘But that is not right.’
He had seen Golden-feathered Chickens before, and they did not look like this.
A Golden-feathered Chicken’s feathers were pale gold and would shimmer in the sun, but they would not be this… this pure.
Furthermore, a Golden-feathered Chicken could not make such a sound. That cry…
“Manager Zheng,” he said, his voice a bit tight.
“Yes.”
“Go and fetch the Spirit Beast Compendium from the peak.”
Manager Zheng acknowledged the order and ran off. Shen Mo crouched down and looked at the Spirit Chicken through the cage.
It tilted its head to look at him, its eyes round and its golden feathers sparkling in the sun. He reached out and put his hand into the cage.
The Spirit Chicken approached and gently pecked at his fingertip with its beak; the force was so light it felt like a tickle.
Shen Mo closed his eyes and sent his spiritual energy inside. Upon inspection, he was stunned.
The meridians inside this Spirit Chicken were thicker and stronger than any Spirit Chicken he had ever seen.
Furthermore, within that dense network of meridians, something was faintly flowing — it was a kind of power he had never seen before, scorching and sharp, like a sword hidden in a scabbard.
“This…”
He opened his eyes and looked at the Spirit Chicken. It was still pecking his fingertip, one peck at a time, very well-behaved.
However, Shen Mo knew that it was not just a Golden-feathered Chicken. He could not say what it was, but he knew that this matter could not be revealed to others.
……
At the same moment, a thousand miles away at Yunyin Mountain.
Heavenly Sword Peak.
This peak was one of the five main peaks of Yunyin Mountain, famous for its sword cultivators.
The Peak Master, Qin Shuying, was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. It was said she had once gained fame by slaying a high-ranking demon of the same realm with a single sword strike.
At this moment, Qin Shuying was standing in the Spirit Beast Garden at the back of Heavenly Sword Peak.
She wore a set of frost-white Daoist robes, her ink-black hair flowing loose and her face as cold and clear as jade.
Under the sunlight, her features looked as if they had been meticulously drawn with the finest brush, one stroke at a time, looking almost too exquisite to be human.
However, her eyes were too cold. They were like ice that had not melted for a thousand years, capable of freezing anyone who met her gaze.
“Peak Master,” a female cultivator stepped forward from behind her and said cautiously, “the manager of the Spirit Beast Garden requests an audience.”
“Let him in.”
“Yes.”
A moment later, a middle-aged male cultivator ran in and bowed. “Greetings, Peak Master.”
Qin Shuying did not turn around, simply speaking coldly, “What is it?”
“Peak Master,” the man’s voice trembled slightly, “that Cloud-Soaring Crane… still will not eat.”
Qin Shuying remained silent for a while. “Still no improvement?”
“Yes. Ever since that Cloud-Soaring Crane was injured last time, it has been listless. I have invited several cultivators who understand spirit beasts to take a look, and they all said… they said the injury is too severe, and they fear…”
He did not dare to finish his sentence.
Qin Shuying still did not turn around. She looked at the Cloud-Soaring Crane before her.
It was a Cloud-Soaring Crane she had raised for thirty-seven years, having nurtured it since it was an egg.
It had accompanied her to many places and seen many people. The time it was injured, it had been to block a spell from a demon cultivator for her.
She could have dodged that spell, but the Cloud-Soaring Crane did not know that. It had lunged forward and taken the hit for her.
Now it lay there, its feathers dull, its eyes half-closed, and its aura so weak it was almost undetectable.
Qin Shuying stood before the cage and watched for a long time.
“Search again,” she said. “Find someone who can heal it.”
“Yes,” the man replied, but he did not leave immediately.
“Is there something else?”
“Yes…” The man hesitated for a moment. “Peak Master, a few days ago when I was handling affairs down the mountain, I heard of a strange matter while passing by Jiaoyue Peak.”
Qin Shuying did not respond.
The man steeled himself and continued, “At Jiaoyue Peak, there is a Husband who is Su Wan’er’s cultivation partner. He raises Spirit Chickens, and I heard he raised one… a very special one.”