Now then, Jiang Ziya sat upright in the central army tent when a scout rode in at full speed to report, "Yang Jian transformed into a streak of golden light and headed due south!" The commander-in-chief hurried after him, though none could say whether fortune or disaster awaited. As Jiang Ziya wavered in anxious uncertainty, Nezha beside him smiled and reassured him, "Yang Jian has divine arts of his own. Why should Marshal trouble himself?"
The dark clouds between Jiang Ziya's brows had yet to disperse. "The Marquis of the East's troops are still on the road, while the Seven Freaks of Mount Mei have my army pinned fast. It feels as though a huge boulder weighs upon my heart—how can I set it down?" Before the words fell, a lone rider came galloping up. Before the dust had settled, he cried out, "Marshal—General Yang Jian has returned in triumph!"
Jiang Ziya hurried out of the tent to meet him and urgently asked what had happened. Yang Jian recounted in detail how Empress Nuwa had personally descended to subdue the bull demon and how he had captured it in his palm. "It has now been escorted to the gate of the command camp. I await the Marshal's decision." Jiang Ziya immediately gave the order: "Quickly summon the vassal lords from every route to gather before the main gate. They shall witness my command to execute this demon!" In moments, all the vassal lords had arrived. Jiang Ziya ordered the bull demon brought forth and bound to the ground with a demon-binding rope, then commanded Nangong Shi to carry out the execution. With one lift of his hand and one fall of the blade, Nangong Shi sent the bull's head rolling to the ground. Eight hundred thousand soldiers along the banks