Chapter 44 — The Dark Demon Ancestral Court Appears in the Mortal World

The villagers of Zhang Family Stockade crowded forward, and one said in haste, "A night watchman is dead!"

The old man pondered a moment. "Has the watchman's corpse been buried yet? He was most likely a demon—his corpse could very well undergo a corpse change."

Startled, the villagers hastily led the pair to the watchman's grave. "Buried only yesterday, Masters..."

The old man reached out and pointed, and the earthen grave split apart on both sides. A thin-planked coffin rose slowly from the pit and floated in the air before the crowd.

Pop, pop, pop—

One by one, the coffin nails worked themselves loose, the coffin lid opened, and the coffin dropped to the ground. The watchman's body, however, still hung in the air, its face hidden beneath a white mourning pennant.

The old man and the youth took down the pennant and examined it. They exchanged a glance, then nodded silently. The old man muttered an incantation, pointed once more, and the watchman's corpse burst into flames, turning to ashes in a matter of moments.

Many villagers hurriedly bowed their thanks and offered gold and silver as payment. The youth waved his hands at once, but the old man said, "No reward without merit, and with merit one cannot refuse reward. Keep it."

Only then did the youth put away the payment. The old man asked, "Where does the youth who slew the great serpent live? Who is by his side?"

"He is from Hidden Remnant Village. Beside him are the Blind Elder and Granny Zhu. Follow the river upstream, a little over forty li from here."

The old man thanked them, and the pair—one old, one young—left Zhang Family Stockade and walked upstream along the river.

The youth listened in silence.

Then the youth spoke, his voice exceedingly ancient, ringing and forceful: "After the Sect Leader's widow murdered the Sect Leader, she stole our sect's sacred scripture, the Great Nurturing Dark Demon Sutra. Forty years she has been gone, and for forty years we have had the misfortune of searching for her—and at last, we have found her."

In the early morning at Hidden Remnant Village, after breakfast, the alchemist settled the village headman at the entrance, set up a small stove, boiled a kettle, and brewed a pot of tea. Then from the village came the cry of the Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon.

"The hen has laid eggs. Shen'er, go to the coop and fetch them."

Granny Zhu urged Shen Mu to fetch the eggs. No sooner had Shen Mu crawled into the coop than the Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon beat him into fleeing pell-mell, pecking his head and face until they were covered with blood.

This Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon was utterly vicious. Opening its mouth, it spat a serpent of fire more than a zhang long; its feathers were sharp as swords, and its claws could knead iron into mud. After a few rounds with the hen, Shen Mu found himself outmatched and ran for his life.

"Shen'er, do you not even have the strength to truss a chicken?" The Butcher watched Shen Mu being chased all over the village by the Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon and laughed uproariously.

Granny Zhu took the chance to collect the eggs. Unable to catch Shen Mu, the Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon strutted back to its coop, only to find its eggs gone. In a fresh fury, it gave chase once more, hounding the youth relentlessly.

After all the ruckus had died down, Shen Mu rallied his spirits, shook off the dejection of his defeat by the Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon, slung the Beast-Slaughtering Saber across his back, added his sword-concealing pouch, and then a great iron hammer. He stuffed several Origin-Condensing Pills into his bosom, took up the Twelve-Ring Staff of Brahma Stillness, and set off from the village in high spirits.

Today was his first time going out hunting alone. Shen Mu had long looked forward to this day; only, the run-in with the Crested Fire Pheasant Dragon had dampened his mood somewhat.

He had no sooner stepped out of the village than he saw, coming toward Hidden Remnant Village, an old man and a youth, looking like two itinerant Daoists.

The pair stopped at the village entrance. They looked at the headman and the alchemist, who were drinking tea, offered their salutations, and asked, "May we beg a cup of tea?"

The headman raised an eyebrow. "A guest arrives from afar—how could I presume to be remiss?"

The alchemist poured tea for the old man and the youth. The two sat down, the youth across from the headman, while the old man stood off to one side.

"Is this the youth who slew the serpent?" The old man's face was kindly as he looked at Shen Mu and asked with a smile.

Shen Mu was about to answer when the headman said mildly, "Shen'er, this has nothing to do with you. Go and see to your own business."

Shen Mu nodded and walked toward the mountain woods.

When he was well away, the youth across from the headman spoke, in a voice infinitely aged. "We have met before, have we not?"

The headman nodded. "We have."

The youth smiled. "Of our generation, those still alive are few and far between. It is rare to meet you. I am very glad."

"And I as well," the headman said flatly.

The youth smiled. "I came to see Granny Zhu. Our sect has had no leader for forty years. Granny Zhu owes us an explanation."

The headman shook his head. "Once one enters this village, one is done with the outside world."

The youth's gaze flickered. "Then I shall not enter. Have her come out—I have questions for her."

The headman shook his head again. "She has gone out."

The old man could no longer contain himself and was about to speak, but the youth raised a hand and smiled. "We have waited forty years; there is no need to be impatient. Disciplinary Elder, since the Sect Leader's widow is not in the village, summon the strongmen. Build a manor here—we will spend the night."

The old man bowed and acknowledged. A column of demonic qi shot from the crown of his head into the sky, where it gathered into one enormous word: Command.

The youth drank his tea with slow deliberation. After two hours, the villagers of Hidden Remnant Village set down their work one after another, walked out of the village, and looked up.

In the mountain woods, towering giants with sinewy, savage bodies strode among the trees, and the forest fell where they passed. Four of these giants labored together to carry each stone statue—four statues in all—and they came gasping for breath. Wherever their feet trod, rocks were crushed like mud, oozing up between their toes!

The sixteen giants' faces were flushed crimson; the statues were plainly so heavy that even strongmen such as they could barely bear the weight.

The sixteen giants set down the statues with the utmost care, placing them at the four cardinal points, right beside Hidden Remnant Village.

Before long, another towering ship came, moored by the river, and more than a hundred carpenters came ashore. They felled timber beside the village and built houses. An hour later, wooden towers had been raised, furnished with everything one could need. The carpenters returned to the ship, carried down gold and silver vessels, pots, pans, and bowls, then boarded again, and the towering ship drew away from the bank and sailed off.

Next, another towering ship arrived. Some lacquerers came ashore, painted the furniture and the wooden towers, and when they were done, boarded and sailed away.

Then came a boat of stonemasons. They quarried rock, carved statue after statue, ground stone slabs smooth, and leveled the manor's grounds before likewise departing by boat.

After another moment, a strapping man with a curly beard arrived, travel-worn and dusty, and bowed. "Patriarch! Enforcement Senior Brother."

The old man said, "Assistant Envoy, the manor is finished. Choose a room for yourself."

The strapping man entered the newly built village beside Hidden Remnant Village, settled himself cross-legged in a room, and said not a word.