Crimson Fire Mourning Feather

Lu Shaohui was dead!?

"Uncle Chen, are you sure that was the name?"

"I wouldn't remember it wrong unless someone else got it wrong, and even the name they told me was wrong. What is it, A Shui? Don't tell me you know him?"

"I know him, but we weren't on very good terms. You could say there was some bad blood between us."

Liang Qu returned home, his mind heavy with worries.

There were only three martial arts schools in town, and Martial Artists were a rare sight. There was absolutely no chance of two people sharing the same name and surname.

Lu Shaohui was less responsible than Hu Qi, and during the conflict a few days ago, he had done nothing at all—a glaring case of neglecting his duties.

But Liang Qu had only been filling in, so there had been nothing he could do to him. Yet the man had simply died. Had he died two days ago and only been discovered today, or had he died today? Liang Qu considered the question.

Lu Shaohui had not appeared at the martial arts school for the past two days. The timing was right after he left when that day's conflict erupted. When it was over, Hu Qi had wanted to find him but could not.

No, it was still early. He had to go take a look.

Thinking that this matter might be connected to him, Liang Qu borrowed a wooden bucket from Uncle Chen's house, wrapped the Great Demon Feather in wet hemp cloth, stuffed it into the water-filled bucket, and hurried toward Ping Yang Town.

Whether it was the dinner gathering that evening or asking his Senior Brothers what use the Great Demon Feather had, he had to make a trip into town today anyway.

The matter was urgent. Liang Qu covered the sixteen li in only two and a half quarters of an hour, then pricked up his ears on the street.

"I heard he was a Martial Master, yet he died in a ruined temple. Terrifying."

"That's not right. What I heard was that he was only a Martial Artist, though he had broken three barriers and was about to become a Martial Master."

"Anyway, he definitely wasn't an Ordinary Person. He died horribly—his entire belly was hollowed out. I heard the coroner say he might have been eaten by some demon. In any case, no human did it."

"A demon? No way. Doesn't that mean we're done for? Will it eat us too?"

"You? You're nothing but skin and bones. Even a demon would find you hard on the teeth."

Every tea house and small restaurant was discussing Lu Shaohui's death.

Liang Qu stopped a tea server. "Friend, may I ask which ruined temple Martial Master Lu died in? Could you point me in the right direction?"

The tea server smiled. "Would the guest like a bowl of tea?"

"No tea. I'm in a hurry." Liang Qu handed over five coins.

"Much obliged." The tea server cheerfully tucked the coins into his pouch, led Liang Qu out onto the street, and pointed into the distance. "Look over there. See Huang's Cloth Shop?"

"Yes."

"Take the small path behind Huang's Cloth Shop. After about two li, you'll see a broad mud road. That used to be the bluestone road in front of the temple—the stone slabs were all torn up and only the road remained. Follow it straight for a quarter of an hour, and you'll arrive."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Come by for tea when you have time."

Liang Qu did not go to the ruined temple. He turned instead toward Third Senior Brother's shop. Senior Brother Lu's blacksmith shop happened to be on the way to Huang's Cloth Shop, so he could ask first what the Great Demon Feather was good for.

"Senior Brother Lu!"

"Junior Brother Liang? Why are you here already? Don't tell me you changed your mind and want a different spearhead design?"

"No. I went fishing by boat last night and found something. It's rather hot to handle, so I thought I'd ask Senior Brother Lu to take a look and tell me what it is."

"Hot to handle?"

Seeing the hemp cloth in Liang Qu's hands, Lu Gang rose from beside the furnace. "Come inside with me."

Inside the quiet room.

Lu Gang shut the door and accepted the hemp-wrapped bundle Liang Qu handed over. When he could still feel the scorching heat through the wet hemp cloth, surprise appeared on his face. "It really is hot to handle."

"Hehe."

Liang Qu helped peel back the hemp cloth. The intense heat radiating from the golden-red feather warped the air itself.

Lu Gang's pupils contracted slightly. "A Crimson Fire Mourning Feather?"

"Senior Brother Lu, you know it?"

Lu Gang instinctively glanced back. Only after seeing that the door was securely shut did he ask in a low voice, "Where did you get this?"

Liang Qu recounted the fight between the two demons the night before last and how he discovered the bird feather the next day, except he changed the part about the two beasts discovering him to say that he had found it while fishing.

"Junior Brother Liang, I don't even know what to say about your luck." Lu Gang sighed. "Do you know how this Crimson Fire Mourning Feather came to be?"

"How?"

"I can't determine what kind of Demon Beast that Great Demon in the water was, but the blazing Giant Bird you described was definitely a Crimson Fire Bird.

"Crimson Fire Birds possess extraordinarily tenacious vitality. Whenever they encounter mortal danger, they inject all their Life Essence into a portion of their feathers and scatter them in all directions, using that chance to escape.

"Among those feathers, one contains the greatest amount of Life Essence. That is the Crimson Fire Golden Feather. It uses that feather to be reborn, much like a lizard shedding its tail—except what it sheds is its entire body."

"Then this feather of mine..." Expectation shone in Liang Qu's eyes.

Lu Gang laughed. "Naturally, it cannot be the golden feather meant for rebirth. Otherwise, neither you nor I could get anywhere near it."

"Fine."

"Junior Brother Liang, don't be dissatisfied. A Crimson Fire Bird scatters only a dozen or twenty feathers at a time. Given its size, even if this is not the lion's share, it still contains an astonishing amount of Life Essence."

"What can it be used for?"

"It can help with cultivation, but I estimate that it will be difficult for you to absorb the energy inside. Life Essence with a fire attribute is relatively violent. Unless you are already a Martial Master who has broken three barriers, I would not recommend trying.

"Furthermore, if the energy in the feather is not replenished, it will dissipate quickly. So I suggest drawing out all its life energy at once and using it as fire-coal to forge a weapon. I am eighty percent confident that I can imbue the weapon with spirituality."

A weapon with spirituality? This was Liang Qu's first time hearing the term.

"Weapons with spirituality are exceedingly rare, because materials like Crimson Fire Mourning Feathers are difficult to obtain. To catch an adult Crimson Fire Bird, at least a True Image Realm Martial Artist must make a move, and even then they may fail, because Crimson Fire Birds can fly. Usually, two or three True Image Realm experts must surround and capture one.

"One of the foremost traits of a spiritual weapon is that it can repair itself and grow. As long as there are materials of the same origin nearby, it can draw upon them to repair itself. A gap the size of a fingernail will heal after ten days or so.

"No matter how good the material, weapons will inevitably wear down after prolonged use. The Martial Artists capable of forcing you to use your weapon against them will mostly be at the same level as you, and their weapons will not be poor either. When the two collide, chips are easily formed.

"Take your Fourth Senior Brother. I don't know how many swords he has asked me to replace. Every time he pays, he haggles over every last coin."

The usually even-toned Lu Gang rarely showed such agitation in his voice.

"Then use it to forge my long spear."

Liang Qu made his decision without hesitation. He found it difficult enough to hold the thing barehanded, much less absorb the energy within it. Rather than keep it and let it go to waste, he might as well strike while the iron was hot.

He had picked it up as a windfall in the first place. He could not ask for too much. Trading it for a Spirit Weapon was more than worth it.

"Good. Then I'll prepare as quickly as possible. Junior Brother Liang, sit for now."

"No, I still have something to do. I'll head out first and come back shortly."

"That works."

"Oh, right. Do you know Lu Shaohui, Senior Brother Lu?"

"Lu Shaohui? He sounds familiar. From our martial arts school? He was a Two Barrier Martial Artist, right?"

Lu Gang thought for a moment. He made his living through blacksmithing and had little need to hold a post at the martial arts school to earn silver, so he did not know much and his impression was vague.

"Yes. But if Senior Brother Lu was not familiar with him, never mind."

"What happened?"

"He died."