The Wager

They spent most of the day traveling deep into the distance before the Green-Scaled Eagle finally turned back, wary of unexpected dangers. Even the wasteland left behind by the battle might conceal terrible threats.

They did not return until sunset. The journey had been long, and the Green-Scaled Eagle had flown all day. Though descended from a Primordial Demonic Bird, she was somewhat weary.

"Awwoo... Auntie Green-Scaled Eagle is back!" a group of children cried.

"Child, what did you find? Where are we? How far are we from the Vast Mountain Range?" Shi Feijiao asked. A crowd gathered around them, and even several clan elders came over. Everyone in the village was eager to know.

"I don't know how far we are from our old home. I think it's at least fifty thousand li away. The whole land was crushed down, and the mountains and rivers collapsed..."

Little One told them everything he had seen along the way. The villagers were all horrified.

"There are corpses everywhere," Shi Lin said in a low voice.

"What a calamity. No wonder the Willow Deity led Stone Village away!" the chief sighed. He knew full well that without the willow tree, Stone Village would have been razed to the ground, with not a single survivor. The horrifying scene in that land said it all.

Over the next month or so, Little One went out with the Green-Scaled Eagle from time to time. Sometimes they disappeared for many days. At last, he finally learned the full extent of what had happened.

"Grandpa Chief, the Vast Mountain Range, stretching for thousands of li, has been completely shattered. We can't find our old home." Little One brought news that left everyone stunned.

Within a radius of a hundred thousand li, every living thing had perished. Even the ferocious beasts and the birds of prey that had once blotted out the sky had vanished. No one knew where they had gone. Perhaps the Supreme beings had devoured them.

A hundred thousand li of territory had become a dead land. Not a single living creature could be found. Everything had been wiped out!

"What a calamity. The Lei Clan, Purple Mountain, Luofu Marsh, the Golden Wolf Tribe—what powerful clans they were. The lands of their kings and lords had been home to tens of millions of people, and now they're gone just like that." One of the clan elders sighed, filled with sorrow.

They had once been enemies, and there had been ill will between them, but in the face of such a catastrophe, those old grudges meant nothing. The great clans had numbered in the hundreds of millions altogether, and every last one of them had died. This was a world-shaking calamity!

"Grow stronger!"

"We have to grow stronger so we can protect our home!"

The children cried out. The calamity had left every one of their little hearts trembling, yet it had also stirred the fighting spirit deep within them. They all shouted that they would become strong. "That's right. We have to start now and work hard at cultivating Bone Text. With the land within a hundred thousand li now empty, maybe we can build a kingdom here," one of the older children said.

"You've got lofty ambitions, but it won't be easy. The ancient kingdoms have endured from antiquity to this day because they may still have ancient gods alive, and because they themselves are powerful enough. Any one of the retainers in an ancient kingdom could easily wipe out the Golden Wolf Tribe or Luofu Marsh. The ancient kingdoms that have survived from antiquity to the present are so terrifying that their power is beyond imagination!" the chief sighed.

"We're not afraid. We have the Willow Deity, and when we grow up, we'll all be strong. With Little One and Shi Lin already talented enough to fight the young True Hou, won't we be able to conquer a great kingdom one day?" The children were indignant, their fists clenched.

"Good. I'll wait for you to create a glorious future. According to the late clan elders, our people were extremely powerful in ancient times. We once had ancient gods who could battle true Primordial Remnants. I hope you can bring back that glory and make this so-called ancestral land famous throughout this great region!" Shi Yunfeng said. He patted the children on the heads in encouragement. A true man had to stand on his own feet and dream big.

In the days that followed, the children of Stone Village worked hard, striving to improve. They diligently cultivated Bone Text and tempered their vitality, growing as sturdy as ferocious beasts.

This place was blessed with ideal conditions. In addition to Dragon-Whisker Fish, the villagers discovered Dragon-Tendon Snakes. Though the snakes were extremely fierce, they could be hunted. Their sinews were precious; after being simmered until soft and eaten, they could greatly strengthen a person's bones and sinews. They were a rare medicinal treasure.

The children were growing quickly, and the adults benefited greatly too. They became so strong that they seemed to have endless energy.

Time flew by, and more than a year passed in the blink of an eye. By the age he would have been if counted from his original birth, Little One was a little over five. But in truth, if they counted the months he had "passed away" as a baby, he was six.

"Chirp, chirp..."

Birdsong rang out in the sky. Ziyun, Dapeng, and Xiao Qing hadn't grown very quickly. They were now four meters long, but they could spread their wings and soar into the sky, climbing above the clouds at incredible speed.

Shi Lin sat on Dapeng's back and called out to Shi Hao.

"Come on, Little One. Let's go study the battlefield ruins!"

"Okay, Brother Lin, I'm coming!" Shi Hao waved, then stomped hard and shot up into the sky, landing steadily on Ziyun's back.

"Whoosh..."

The wind howled. In the blink of an eye, they had vanished into the distance, heading toward that lifeless land.

The mountains were shattered, the earth cracked, and the peaks had collapsed. The place was desolate and utterly silent.

"We should try a different direction this time. Let's go west." Once they had entered the battlefield, Shi Lin pointed toward the broken mountain range to the west.

The wind whistled as they sped along. Soon, they reached the collapsed range and began searching carefully for traces of the battle.

"Chirp, chirp..." Xiao Qing cried out and swooped toward an enormous basin. Dazzling markings lit up across her body. After devouring Suanni's flesh and blood, she and Dapeng had both undergone changes.

"Huh? This isn't a basin. It's a huge lake that dried up during that earth-shaking battle." Little Shi Hao was surprised.

Suddenly, Ziyun cried out, signaling that there was a living creature below.

Dapeng, whose feathers gleamed with pale golden light, swooped lower and circled the dry lake.

"What's that?" Little One exclaimed.

At the bottom of the dried-up lake lay a creature, covered in dirt and completely motionless. It looked as though it had been buried for many years. If not for the light in its eyes, they might have thought it was already dead.

"Zhu Yan!" A golden glint flashed in Shi Lin's eyes.

That's Furball, the Zhu Yan—Little One's good friend, Shi Lin thought.

"Wow, it's a monkey, and it's only a foot long. But... why does it have Three Heads and Six Arms?!" Shi Hao exclaimed.

It was covered in dirt and only a foot long, with Three Heads and Six Arms. It looked like a monkey, but perhaps it wasn't one. What kind of creature was it? Little One wondered, alarmed. All life within a hundred thousand li had been wiped out, so how had such a strange creature survived? It had to be extraordinary! The great lake had dried up, and its muddy bottom had baked hard as stone. One of the creature's legs was buried in the mud, as if sealed inside the rock, and it couldn't pull free.

"It's a Zhu Yan!" Shi Lin said.

All the surrounding mountains had been broken, as if someone had swept through them with a mighty weapon, destroying the entire range. Only the lower halves of the mountains remained.

The lake had dried up because of the violent changes to the terrain. This vast marsh was now lifeless, nothing like the endless blue waters and boundless expanse it had once been.

"A Primordial Remnant, a Zhu Yan!" Little One exclaimed.

"Is it still alive?" Shi Hao asked.

"Little One, toss something down and see!"

"Okay!"

The three young birds circled overhead, sometimes plunging into the clouds and sometimes swooping low over the lake. Little One sat on Ziyun's back, watching the creature below. He took some food from his hide pouch and tossed it down.

After a while, there was no response.

"This Zhu Yan seems to be unconscious."

"Let's go down and take a look."

"Okay!"

The two of them leaped down and landed on the ground. The three young birds cried softly as they circled overhead, their bodies glowing as they stood on guard, ready to fight at any moment.

"This lake has been dry for more than a year. Could it have been trapped here all that time without food or water?" Little One exclaimed.

The lakebed was hard as rock, no different from walking over a mountain. The one-foot-long creature was covered in gleaming fur, like golden silk. It was round as a ball, almost like a golden fist. If someone gave it a push, it would probably roll around like a golden ball.

"So cute!" Little One scooped it up at once and held it in his palm, rubbing and squeezing it. Golden light rippled across its fur.

"It looks just like a ball of fur. Why not call it Furball?" Shi Lin said with a mischievous grin.

"Furball! That's a great name. That's what we'll call it!"

"Furball is unconscious. Why don't we take it back to the village?" Shi Lin suggested.

"Okay!" Little One Shi Hao said happily.

"Hey, you brats! Put that Zhu Yan down!"

Just as they were about to leap into the air, a girl's voice suddenly rang out.

They turned around and saw a little girl with a head full of red hair, standing with her hands on her hips and pointing at them. Her face was full of arrogance, and her fiery little cheeks were puffed up with anger.

"You brats! That Zhu Yan is mine. Give it back, or... hmph, don't blame me for being rude!" As she spoke, the little girl raised her right hand. Runes flashed in her palm, and a ball of fire appeared.

"What makes you say the Zhu Yan is yours? Do you have proof?" Shi Hao hurriedly clutched the little Zhu Yan tighter.

"Isn't that Huo Ling'er?" Shi Lin murmured.

Shi Lin looked from Shi Hao to Huo Ling'er. He smiled meaningfully and nodded.

"You... you little brat, you're making me furious! I'm a princess. Why should I have to ask a little brat like you? Be sensible and hand over the Zhu Yan!" Huo Ling'er waved her right hand, and the flames grew larger.

"No!" Little One Shi Hao said, immediately turning his back to Huo Ling'er.

"Hey! You... Fine, you forced my hand! Ha!" Huo Ling'er angrily flung her right hand, sending a ball of fire flying toward Shi Hao and Shi Lin.

Shi Lin struck it with his palm, breaking up the attack.

"Your Highness, why hurt your friendship with my little brother over a Zhu Yan? Wouldn't it be better if we all got along and became friends?" Shi Lin said.

"Who are you? How dare you get in this princess's way!"

"He's my big brother!" Little One Shi Hao turned around and said.

"Oh, he's your brother! Big brother of that little brat, make your brother give the Zhu Yan back to me!"

"Your Highness, that may be difficult. My little brother really likes this Zhu Yan. But I have a good idea!"

"What idea?"

"You two can make a wager and fight. If my brother wins, the Zhu Yan is his, and you have to promise to marry him when you grow up. If you win, the Zhu Yan is yours, and we'll admit defeat. How does that sound?"

"Fine, this princess agrees!" Huo Ling'er readily accepted.

I am a princess, after all. I'm still stronger than some little brat from the Great Wilderness, Huo Ling'er thought.

"Fine! I agree too!" Shi Hao said.

"All right!" Shi Lin stepped aside, giving Shi Hao and Huo Ling'er enough room to fight.

"Let the match begin!" Shi Lin shouted.

"Little brat, take this! Ha!" Runes blazed in Huo Ling'er's hands, and two enormous fireballs shot toward Shi Hao at high speed.

Shi Hao held Furball in one hand. With his other hand, he summoned runes, and a huge spinning Golden Moon shot toward Huo Ling'er.

"Shing!"

The two fireballs struck the Golden Moon and vanished instantly. The Golden Moon continued along its original path, slashing toward Huo Ling'er.

"W-what?!" Huo Ling'er scrambled in panic, summoned two more fireballs, and immediately flung them at it.

"Shing!"

The Golden Moon and the fireballs collided again. This time, there was only a metallic clang, followed by a cloud of smoke. The Golden Moon burst through the smoke and chased after Huo Ling'er.

The Golden Moon was about to hit her.

"I'm done for!" Huo Ling'er thought in despair.

But the Golden Moon didn't hit her.

Just as it was about to slash into Huo Ling'er along its original path, it veered slightly downward and missed her.

You little rascal, look at you protecting your future wife already. Shi Lin smiled.

The Golden Moon kicked up a cloud of dust. Huo Ling'er was still reeling from the fright.

"You lost! Furball is mine now," Little One Shi Hao said.

"You... you..." Huo Ling'er suddenly crouched down and burst into tears.

"Hey! Why are you crying?" Little One was at a loss. He didn't know what to do.

"Brother Lin, what should I do?" Little One asked Shi Lin for help.

Shi Lin gave Shi Hao a look, signaling for him to comfort Huo Ling'er.

Shi Hao reluctantly let himself be half-pushed toward her.

"Um... don't cry. Furball..." Shi Hao glanced at the little Zhu Yan in his hand, gritted his teeth, and held it out. "You can have it!"

Huo Ling'er looked up. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she gazed at Shi Hao.

"I can't go back on my word. I lost, so I lost!" She wiped her eyes.

"Take it back, then. But you have to promise not to eat it!"

"Okay, I promise!"

"All right!" Huo Ling'er stopped crying and stood up.

"Let's pinky swear!" Huo Ling'er said.

"Okay!" Little One replied.

"Pinky promise, no take-backs for a hundred years!" they said together.

"Princess, His Majesty is calling for you to come back!" A loud voice rang out in the distance.

"Got it!" Huo Ling'er pouted.

"Okay, I have to go now." Huo Ling'er looked at Shi Hao.

"You promised me you wouldn't eat it, okay?" Huo Ling'er said to Shi Hao.

"Mm-hm, I won't eat it!" Little One nodded vigorously.

"All right, I'm going!"

As they were speaking, an extremely grand carriage appeared out of thin air on the ground. Two guards dressed in red stood aboard it.

Huo Ling'er hopped into the carriage. She turned back and smiled at Shi Hao, then flew away in it.

"Goodbye!" Little One waved.

"Goodbye!" Huo Ling'er said.

Only after the carriage had gone far away did Shi Hao turn around.

"Little One, do you like that little girl?" Shi Lin asked with a grin.

"N-no! Brother Lin, don't... don't say things like that!" Shi Hao blushed scarlet.

"All right, all right. I'll stop teasing you. Let's go back."

"Okay!" Little One finally calmed down. The two of them leaped onto Ziyun's back.

The three giant birds beat their wings and soared away.

"Whoosh..." The wind surged as the three young birds landed on the grassy lakeshore. A crowd of children gathered around, their faces full of wonder.

"What is that? Is it a baby monkey with its eyes barely open? Why does it look like it's made of gold? Its fur is so bright it hurts to look at!"

"It's so round. It could roll away if you put it on the ground!"

The children grabbed Furball and tossed it around. Suddenly, Furball opened its eyes.

"Eek, eek, eek..." The golden ball struggled with all its might, staring with a pair of enormous eyes and squealing nonstop.

Little One snatched Furball away.

"Eek... ugh!" Little One stuffed a piece of dried meat into its mouth. It stopped squealing at once and, like a starving ghost returned to the world, clutched the food and rolled around in his palm, gobbling it down.

Shi Hao grabbed its monkey tail, but the golden ball didn't budge at all. It just dangled there, clutching the food and chewing away, completely ignoring him.

Little One immediately burst out laughing. He was delighted. He turned Furball over and over, playing with it to his heart's content.

At last, the golden ball got angry—but not because of that. It was angry because it had finished the food and realized Little One wasn't being considerate enough to give it more.

"Hahaha..." Little One laughed happily and handed it another piece of dried meat. The golden ball immediately stopped caring about everything again. The children could pinch it, squeeze it, or swing it by the tail, and it didn't mind at all. It just hung there, clutching the food in its little paws and burying its head in its meal.

"Wow, it can really eat! You can even pull its tail and it doesn't get mad. All it cares about is gobbling food!"

The lake was beautiful, its waters clear and blue, with lush green grass along the shore. In the distance, brilliantly colored birds strutted about, and auspicious beasts could occasionally be seen.

A group of children sat on the grass, watching the creature and bursting into laughter now and then.

Finally, the golden ball burrowed straight into Little One's hide pouch. It never stopped eating, and it polished off a whole pouch of dried meat. Only then did the children realize something was wrong.

"Heavens! It's only as big as a fist. How could it eat an entire pouch of food? Where could it all fit in that tiny belly?"

"What kind of monkey is this?"

Their cries of surprise caught the adults' attention. Shi Feijiao and the others came over.

"It's not a monkey. It's a Zhu Yan, a Primordial Remnant. It can transform. When we first found it, it had Three Heads and Six Arms, and even shed a husk like a cicada." Little One explained.

"What? Three Heads and Six Arms? That's the legendary supreme treasure art!" Shi Feijiao exclaimed. In recent years, he had followed the clan chief in his cultivation and learned many secrets.

"Too bad it nearly died. The runes inside it are shattered, so there's nothing left to study." Little One sounded regretful.

At that moment, several very old clan elders were roused. The words "Three Heads and Six Arms" stunned the old men, and even the clan chief, Shi Yunfeng, came over. He crouched down and examined it closely.

"Chirp, chirp..." The golden ball was furious, chirping incessantly because all the food was gone.

With a smack, a child tossed a red fruit at it, hitting it squarely. It quieted down again, stuck its rump in the air, and buried its head in the fruit, chewing away as the others did whatever they pleased.

"This Zhu Yan is no ordinary creature!" The clan chief took one look and was startled, his expression turning grave.

"In ancient legends, there was a peerless ferocious beast called Zhu Yan. It looked like an ape, with red feet and a white head. Its appearance alone foretold great upheaval across a whole region."

Everyone was startled and couldn't help backing away. Was this golden ball really that fierce?

"That can't be right. Its head isn't white," Snotty Kid said.

"Of course it isn't the ancient ferocious beast itself. It should be a remnant, and its bloodline may be impure. Who knows why, but it's suffered a terrible injury," the clan chief said.

Even so, everyone was left trembling with fear. No matter how impure its blood, anything worthy of being called a Primordial Remnant was a terrifying creature that could run rampant across the Great Wilderness.

The only thing that let them breathe a little easier was that the golden ball looked harmless, nothing but a glutton, with no hint of danger about it.

Besides, it had suffered a terrible injury, and the runes inside it were shattered.

"Too bad the legendary supreme treasure art was lost along with them." Once they had calmed down, everyone felt a pang of regret.

"Hey, it has horns on its head." Little One stroked its head. Not only did he find no white fur, he also discovered a pair of little bumps among its golden fur. That was unlike Zhu Yan.

Only on close inspection could one make them out, hidden beneath the fur and glimmering faintly. Look carefully, and they were a pair of hornlets.

A few days later.

"You damn monkey, get back here!" A broad, stout woman charged out from Stone Village. Ahead of her, a fist-sized golden ball was making off with a beast's leg weighing over a hundred pounds. It rolled along as if on the ground, a comical sight, all the while rapidly devouring its prize. Unbelievably, though it was only a little over three inches tall, by the time it reached the village entrance, it had eaten all the smoked meat, leaving behind only a bare bone.

"You dead monkey, couldn't you steal from someone else for once? This is the sixth time in half a month!" The middle-aged woman's voice boomed like a lion's roar. She snatched up the bone, over a foot and a half long, and whacked it over the creature's head.

Clang! Sparks flew everywhere. It was like striking iron or stone, ringing with a metallic clang. The fist-sized golden ball looked innocent, blinking its big eyes. It neither fought back nor cried out.

"Aunt Hu, it's not a monkey. It's a Zhu Yan," Little One corrected her. He grabbed the golden ball by the tail and held it upside down.

"That's right, it's really loathsome—even pigs hate it!" the middle-aged woman fumed, striking it again with the bone. But she couldn't hurt the creature; it was like hitting a piece of iron.

"Little Zhu, you've stolen from the whole village over the past half-month. Is that little belly of yours still not full?" Shi Hao tugged at its ear.

Shi Lin stood nearby, smiling wryly as he shook his head.

"Chirp, chirp..." The golden ball protested, deeply displeased with the name.

"I don't mean the 'pig' in Tree Pig. I mean the 'Zhu' in Zhu Yan. If you don't like it, I'll just call you Furball," Little Shi Hao said with a grin, rolling it around in his palm.

The golden Zhu Yan was indignant. What kind of names were those? Pig and ball—it hated them both.

Shi Hao kneaded and squeezed it. Amid the Zhu Yan's protests, they made their way to the lakeside to practice.

A group of children was already there, sitting cross-legged on the green grass, all earnestly studying Bone Text. After a great calamity had wiped out everything within a hundred thousand li, the children had been deeply shaken. It had roused everyone's determination, and they wanted to grow stronger.

"Furball must've gotten into trouble again. I just heard Aunt Hu at Lin Hu's house give a lion's roar."

"Haha, what day does it not get into trouble a few times? I really don't know how it can eat so much. Its little belly's like a bottomless pit."

The children got up and gathered around, grinning as they squeezed the golden Zhu Yan's round body. It felt so good to the touch.

"In the past half-month, the smoked meat it stole must've weighed as much as a Dragon-Horned Elephant, right?"

Little Shi Hao nodded. "Maybe it was starving. It was sealed at the bottom of that lake for over a year without food or water. It's just replenishing its strength."

The blue lake was clear, and golden fish leaped from it now and then. The children sat along the shore and began their cultivation again.