Tianshiyuan's Lawless Zone

Su Yun and the four little demon children arrived beneath the crooked willow tree.

There was only a lone grave buried beneath the snow under the willow, no thatched hut, nor was Uncle Cen anywhere to be seen.

Su Yun looked up. After the heavy snow, the sky had been washed clean, azure and profound. There was no bustling marketplace in the heavens, as Uncle Cen had described.

He turned to look at the snowfield, at his own tiny "house." There was no house there, only a small burial mound in the snow.

The mound had been opened, revealing a tiny coffin. That was the little "house" from Su Yun's childhood memories.

Back then, he had been blind, trapped inside that incomparably cramped little house, struggling, pounding on the door, screaming in despair.

At seven years old, the boy had truly felt despair and helplessness.

Just as panic seized him, he heard a rustling sound. His "door" was opened. Uncle Cen took his hand and pulled him out of the "little house."

Now that Su Yun recalled those events, ten thousand emotions filled his heart, yet he knew not how to express them. In the end, he kowtowed before Uncle Cen's lonely grave in the snow, then rose and continued onward.

He looked back once more at Tianmen Town and saw the solitary Heaven Gate standing there in the distance.

In a daze, the boy leaving home seemed to hear Uncle Qu's desolate, mournful old Northern Frontier tune again, along with the slightly monotonous, weathered beat of the Qiang Drum.

"To this day, the affairs of the world are hard to tell!"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

"Between heaven and earth, not a single hero can be seen!"

"Not a single great man!"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Su Yun's group crossed Snake Ravine and arrived at Yellow Village.

The great wilderness graves were riddled with holes. The weasels stood outside their respective burrows, watching every direction and guarding against enemy attacks. Some darted about in the snow, playing and frolicking, while a few slipped behind trees, transformed into young men, and came out to practice their spells.

"You little rascals of Yellow Village!"

Flower Fox cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the Yellow Village weasels, "We're going to the city! We won't beat you up anymore! When Grandpa Flower returns from the city during the holidays, then I'll beat you up again! Don't miss us—"

Whoosh—

The sky filled with dried dung balls, whistling toward them. Flower Fox burst out laughing, and he and Su Yun's group turned and ran.

After the lively commotion, they returned to Huqiu Village. The smile on Flower Fox's face gradually faded as he came before the villagers' graves and kowtowed.

Su Yun came before Mister Wild Fox's grave and solemnly paid his respects to this teacher who had enlightened him.

Uncle Cen, Uncle Qu, Aunt Luo, and the others had all shown him immense kindness. Uncle Cen had saved his life; Uncle Qu, Aunt Luo, and the others had raised him. But Mister Wild Fox had bestowed upon Su Yun the grace of enlightenment, of opening his spiritual intelligence!

Without his awakening of Su Yun's wisdom, without his opening Su Yun's spiritual intelligence, he would have been nothing but a wild child of the mountains. How would he have differed from a beast?

Mister Wild Fox had seemed to open the eyes of his heart, teaching him to distinguish right from wrong and teaching him how to be human.

They left Huqiu Village and passed the schoolhouse. Su Yun and the four little demon children went inside to clean it, sweeping away the dust. Sitting in their respective seats, they seemed able to hear Mister Wild Fox's voice and see the figures of their classmates.

Tianping Bridge.

Su Yun raised his hand, and his qi and blood transformed into a Flood Dragon that flew forth. Its claws hooked onto the raised end of the bridge and pulled it down.

They stepped onto Tianping Bridge and headed toward the opposite bank. A flock of Owl-faced Beasts flew over from the sky, calling out, "Is that little brat from the Su family leaving? The city is dangerous!"

Su Yun looked up and waved toward the residents of Linyi Village.

One Owl-faced Beast descended onto the bridgehead before them. Its round face was extremely solemn as it spread its wings and gestured. "The countryside is a forest, while the city is a forest of steel, fraught with peril! City folk eat people without even spitting out the bones!"

The Owl-faced Beasts overhead flew away, their cooing cries carrying through the air as they called to him.

The Owl-faced Beast at the bridgehead flapped its wings and flew off. Its voice drifted down from the sky. "Wouldn't it be good to stay and be demons? We're demons in your eyes, but you're demons in ours too! Why insist on entering the city?"

Su Yun smiled. "Because I don't want to live in a muddleheaded haze. That's why I'm going to the city."

"The city is a hundred times more dangerous than Tianshiyuan! Coo, coo, be careful, coo, coo!"

The bridge reached the opposite bank, and Su Yun led the four little demon children down. On this snowy day, Huangji Town was much quieter as well. Flower Fox led them to Old Gou's home to pay a visit. Old Gou and his wife both had graying fur and looked somewhat aged.

"Going into the city so early?"

Granny Gou served each of them a bowl of hot soup and frowned. "Why not wait until after the New Year? If you enter the city now, there'll be no one to travel together with. It's very dangerous."

Flower Fox said, "Auntie, Little Yun's eyes can see now, but he was driven out of Tianmen Town. There isn't much in Tianshiyuan worth lingering over, so we plan to enter the city to make a living and find our enemies to take revenge."

Granny Gou was about to say more when Old Gou raised a hand and shouted, "When male demons grow up, they have to go out into the world and carve out a career! What does a female demon like you know? Go, add more pepper to my soup!"

Granny Gou stomped off angrily.

Old Gou looked solemnly at Su Yun and said, "You're human, while we're demons. Once you reach human territory, you must take good care of Little Flower and the others."

Su Yun solemnly nodded, holding his bowl somewhat awkwardly as he drank the soup.

Old Gou continued, "East of Huangji Town is safe, but west of Huangji Town is another matter. Thirty-five li west of town lies Tianshiyuan Station. Take a Candle Dragon from the station into the city. But heavy snow has sealed the roads, and the accumulated snow is hard to traverse. You'll probably have to spend the night on the road and won't reach the station until tomorrow. On the road..."

Old Gou's eyelids twitched, and his voice grew hoarse. "West of Huangji Town is a lawless zone. You must be careful! At night, you absolutely must not sleep out in the open. You must find an old saint's temple and rest inside it!"

Fear showed in his eyes, terror that he could not conceal. "And one more thing—the bonfire in the temple must never go out! Remember, never let it go out! If you hear someone calling for you outside at night, do not go out either. Absolutely do not go out!"

His expression was grim and terrifying. Almost threateningly, he growled softly at Su Yun, Flower Fox, and the others.

Su Yun, Flower Fox, and the others hurriedly nodded.

Old Gou's face returned to normal. Cradling his bowl as he drank, he said, "It's cold. Drink while it's hot. Get yourselves sweating before you leave. Old woman, where's the pepper? Go toast some Luomou to soak in the soup too. Toast more—the little brats can take them as rations for the road! Crack a few eggs into the Luomou!"

Su Yun and the others ate their fill at Old Gou's home, warming themselves through and through before finally heading out.

Hu Buping praised, "Grandpa Gou is truly tough! He scolded Auntie so thoroughly that she didn't dare say a word. He's a role model for us men!"

The instant his words fell, they heard the sound of an iron pot striking a forehead behind them. Granny Gou's furious, lowered voice followed. "So I've given you too much face, have I? Female demons aren't allowed into the city now? Not allowed to roam the world? Not allowed to establish a career? Isn't the soup I made delicious enough for you? You still have to put on a tough act in front of me..."

Then came the sound of a head slamming against a door panel, mixed with Old Gou's pleas for mercy. "The children haven't gone far yet! Wait until they're farther away before hitting me..."

Hu Buping fell silent as a cicada in winter. Lowering his head, he did not dare say a word and followed Su Yun's group out of town.

The snowy expanse stretched endlessly. Beyond Huangji Town, mountain after mountain rose one after another. The snow was breathtakingly beautiful, yet after walking through it for too long, the view became somewhat monotonous.

The snow was deep and had yet to melt. The roads had all been buried, and a careless step could send one plunging into a snow pit.

Fortunately, they all possessed extraordinary abilities and deep qi cultivation, so they did not need to fear danger. Still, walking along the snowy road was exhausting, and their progress was slow.

"At this pace, we might truly not reach Tianshiyuan Station before nightfall."

Su Yun raised his head and surveyed the distance. Ditches flanked both sides of the snow-covered road, allowing them to make out its course. But if they carelessly fell into one, their clothes would likely get wet, leaving them shivering from the cold.

After traveling another six or seven li, the sun had shifted into the western half of the sky. Though they could see it, its light seemed icy and carried a chill that gave off not the slightest warmth.

Ahead lay a hillside covered in low red houses, some thirty or forty households in all.

Flower Fox jumped up, wanting to see more clearly, but he was too short. Su Yun picked him up and placed him on his shoulder, allowing Flower Fox to finally see everything distinctly.

The snow atop the red houses on the hillside had all been shoveled away. Even the snow on the official road had been cleared, revealing a bridge five or six zhang long and wide enough for a carriage, spanning a small river.

"Grandpa Gou said everyone west of town was a bunch of scoundrels. Why do I feel like he was simply speaking ill of them?"

Flower Fox jumped down from Su Yun's shoulder and laughed. "Grandpa Gou probably suffered a loss here."

Su Yun smiled. "Any demon capable of making Grandpa Gou suffer a loss is one we have to guard against."

Flower Fox's heart tightened.

They walked forward and saw Ape-men sitting at both ends of the bridge, each holding a blade in his arms. The Ape-men were sturdy and powerful, and despite the winter snowstorm, each wore only a vest.

Su Yun examined them from afar. The Ape-men's backs were much broader than those of humans, and blocks of muscle could be seen through their vests. They also had more muscles than humans.

"If humans had this many muscles, they would be gifted beyond measure. Yet ape demons of the ape clan are born with such gifts!"

Su Yun sighed in admiration. This was the kind of talent one could only envy.

They took a few more steps and saw a stone tablet standing beside the road. The words Yuanjia Ridge were carved upon it.

Su Yun glanced at the red houses on the mountain and raised an eyebrow. "So the mountain is full of ape demons. Such excellent gifts..."

"Crossing the bridge?"

The ape demon reclining in a lounge chair at the bridgehead lifted his eyes and glanced at them. He raised his dangling arm. "Two Five Zhu Coins per person."

Hu Buping said angrily, "Why should we pay you?"

The ape demon swayed to his feet and stretched lazily. Glancing at him, he drawled, "The roads in Yuanjia Ridge were laid by our village, the bridge was built by our village, and we cleared the snow too. Isn't it only fair to charge a fee?"

Hu Buping was about to argue further, but Su Yun smiled. "It's fair enough." With that, he took out his purse and counted out ten Five Zhu Coins.

The ape demon accepted the money and lay back down.

Su Yun and the others stepped onto the bridge. When they reached the far bank, another ape demon was reclining there. He said lazily, "Two Five Zhu Coins per person for getting off the bridge."

Hu Buping flew into a rage. "We already paid just now! Why do we have to pay again?"

The ape demon sat up and grinned. "What you paid earlier was the bridge-entry fee. What you're paying now is the bridge-exit fee."

—Zhai Zhu: Happy New Year, everyone!

I recommend my friend Sweep the World's new book, Chart of Creation. It is a story about redefining words and altering creation. Very interesting, over three hundred thousand words already, ready to binge.