Chapter 10: Gentle Breeze

Little Chuci had gone out to play again.

Jiang Yang twisted her snake tail, weaving through the dense forest, tracking Little Chuci’s scent as she slowly sought her out.

Since Little Chuci had grown a few years older, aside from being just as clingy with Kunlun when they were together, she was vastly different from the little creature who could only “nyah nyah nyah.” Kunlun and Meng Zhaozhong saw her every day and naturally didn’t notice.

But if one looked back and observed carefully, one would find that Little Chuci went out at a set time every morning and returned on time every evening. Unless the commotion in the mountain grew too excessive, Kunlun wouldn’t go into the mountains to haul her back. If she were just playing for fun, such strict punctuality would be entirely unnecessary.

Little Chuci had run very far. To be precise, she had long since left the play area Kunlun had designated for her and was sprinting swiftly towards the foot of the mountain. As she ran, her originally slightly drooping ears stood erect, her fangs burst out, and she dropped onto all fours. Early-rising birds shot into the sky in flurries. A small area of red light enveloped this patch of forest. From within that red light, a golden-eyed, snow-fanged little dog slowly emerged.

She was still too small. Perhaps accustomed to human form, she didn’t run quite steadily yet. But her adaptability was strong. The first step might stumble, but soon she was darting left and leaping right through the woods.

Her fur was snow-white, seeming to glow in the morning sun.

At the mountain’s foot were many demons not suppressed by Kunlun. Their cultivation ranged from low to high. The weaker ones, though beyond Kunlun’s direct control, were awed by the Mountain Saint’s might and, smelling Kunlun’s brand on Little Chuci, dared not act rashly. But those with profound cultivation were another matter entirely. Truly, as Kunlun said, in her current state as a tiny demon whelp, if someone swallowed her and hid in the Myriad Demon Grotto, Kunlun wouldn’t even find her bone fragments.

Little Chuci was very clever. Each time she reconnoitered, she dared only venture a tiny bit further. Yet, over days and months accumulated, she had unknowingly and silently pioneered this much “territory.”

Other demons spent centuries or millennia striving to cultivate human form. Only she, this demon, was born in human form from half a primordial spirit. If you disregarded those two beast ears, she looked utterly indistinguishable from a mortal person. For all demons, the original form contained greater power. And for Chuci, being able to transform into her original form signaled the awakening of her inherent strength. Even though her physical remains were still hidden by the Heavenly Emperor in the lightless, sunless Chaos Realm, as long as foul air, sin, and darkness still existed in the world, she could reawaken—indestructible and immortal. That was why the Heavenly Emperor feared her so.

A mighty wind often begins as a gentle breeze.

Who could imagine that the spark destined to overturn the Three Realms was, long ago and once again, nothing more than a tiny puppy, her fangs not yet fully grown, struggling mightily just to transform?

It was so many years ago, and it was still the same now.

From the first glimmer of dawn to the sinking of the Golden Crow in the west, Little Chuci seemed to tire. Her steps gradually slowed to a halt. She retracted her teeth, lay down limply on a stone slab, and exposed her belly to the still-warm rays of the setting sun. She squinted, then opened her eyes again, touching her own belly. She looked around suspiciously, then performed a nimble “puppy kip-up,” swiftly flipping to her feet.

Standing on all fours on the bluestone slab, she slowly lowered her head, front paws bending slightly, a low “growl” issuing from her throat.

A bloody tang seemed to ride the wind filtering through the forest.

A white blur flashed through the air. Jiang Yang, hidden in the pile of leaves, focused her gaze. Little Chuci was biting down on the triangular head of a pit viper as thick as a bowl. She was simply too small; her entire body, plus her longer-than-average dog fur, was only just a little bigger than that snake’s head.

Jiang Yang thought, if Tiny King were in any danger, she would rescue her even if it meant exposing her identity.

Little Chuci clearly wasn’t overestimating herself, hunting prey a hundred times her size. Rather, since the prey had sought her out, she had no reason to flee. Besides, who would win or lose—who could say until the very end?

This pit viper was big, true, but not very agile. Several times it failed to throw Little Chuci off its head. Normally, the spirits and monsters of Kunlun Mountain were cunning, each more so than the last. In a world where the strong prey on the weak, if you lacked the skill to hunt, you were destined to become someone else’s prey.

After just two glances, Jiang Yang quietly settled in to watch the show. She thought: Lucky break. This pit viper must be some family’s neglected child let out to act foolish. It’s its first hunt, no experience. It only thought to coil its body around her after Little Chuci had already sunk her fangs deep into its skull.

Fail to exploit your advantage at the start, and resistance becomes difficult once your weak point is seized. Furthermore, this inexperienced snake, every time it was just about to coil around Little Chuci, she would always dodge nimbly, even more agile than the ponytail monkeys atop Kunlun Mountain. Clearly, all that rolling around the mountain since she could only crawl had been greatly beneficial.

The sun gradually slanted west. Before it sank behind the mountain ridges, the pit viper finally ceased its struggles.

This snake was still too young and hadn’t formed an Inner Core. Little Chuci didn’t stop to rest. Her front paws skillfully sliced the pit viper open, splaying it flat on the ground. The meat from its belly was cut into strips. Then she extended her two pale, delicate hands, picked up the snake meat, and delivered it to her mouth, her fangs slightly bared. She ate very quickly, but her movements could be considered refined. Each bite was carefully contained within her mouth, not letting the blood flow out.

In the dim twilight, a flawlessly beautiful child, looking only about four or five years old, dressed in clean brocade clothes and white boots, expressionlessly chewing a blood-dripping corpse—this scene was truly grotesque.

The bloody scent in the air thickened, causing the surrounding spirits and monsters to stir restlessly.

Little Chuci looked up at the darkening sky, swallowed her last mouthful, gently pressed her lips together, and wiped the blood trail from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. She murmured softly, “Better than nothing.”

Finally, a disgusted expression appeared on her face. She got up and walked away, never glancing back at the corpse left behind.

Jiang Yang watched her find a clean lake, roll her whole body in to wash, then dawdle back home, teasing the flowers and plants along the way, amidst another round of chaos and squawking on Kunlun Mountain.

Arriving home, she clung to Kunlun as usual, draping herself over her whenever possible; she still gave Meng Zhaozhong dirty looks, baring her teeth at him; and as for herself? During dinner, Jiang Yang caught her staring curiously with those black, bean-like eyes, stealing several glances.

The next day was exactly the same.

As if nothing had happened at all.