With a Stroke of the Brush, Heavenly Soldiers Descended

Chapter Fifteen: With a Stroke of the Brush, Heavenly Soldiers Descended

The ancestor of Lower Yan Village had been a famous jade craftsman. He had found a piece of natural jade shaped like a swallow, and that was how he came to take the surname Yan. The ancestral shrine enshrined a grand statue of this Yan Clan forefather. But Zi Bofeng was not a descendant of the Yan Clan, and in his memory, the shrine had always been gloomy and eerie. An icy gust seemed to blow whenever he approached it, so he had never truly looked at the statue of the Yan ancestor.

Yet now, as he approached, he saw that the shrine gate was merely ajar and not locked. As he drew closer, he recalled all sorts of stories he had heard as a child about the ancestral spirit. Most of those tales had been fabricated by adults to frighten children away from playing in the ancestral shrine. Looking back on them now, they were full of absurdities, and even the gusts of cold wind that had always seemed to shroud the shrine were nowhere to be found.

Zi Bofeng looked around, saw no one, pushed open the small courtyard gate, and walked in.

The moment he entered, he saw two enormous stone steles, borne on the backs of Bixi, standing to the left and right in the courtyard. A path of blue bricks ran through the yard, while deep weeds grew from the cracks and along both sides. Clearly, no one had tended the place for a long time.

Zi Bofeng stood there for a while, admiring the inscriptions. They seemed to describe how the ancestor had discovered the strange swallow-shaped jade, then married, had children, and founded Yan Village. The other stele described the various supernatural occurrences of Lower Yan Village.

Zi Bofeng made his way toward the ancestral shrine. Grass had already sprouted from the three stone steps. There was a bolt on the door, but it had been fastened from the outside. Presumably, no one would enter the shrine and bolt the door from within to keep company with the statues.

Zi Bofeng pushed the door open, and a gust of dusty air rushed into his face. The light inside the shrine was dim and gloomy. An incense table stood in the center, holding cold incense and spent candles. When he looked up, Zi Bofeng froze.

The steles outside had never said that this Yan ancestor had been a military general. He had merely been a jade craftsman. Who knew which bright spark had suddenly decided to mold their old ancestor into the image of a general? The stone statue on the altar wore armor, a golden helmet, and held a long halberd. With round glaring eyes and an awe-inspiring bearing, what jade craftsman was this? It was plainly a door god...

Looking more closely, he saw that the gold paint had peeled away, exposing the dark stone beneath. This statue was actually a stone carving.

"Which lazy stonemason had casually taken a door god statue to fob them off? Or were the descendants of Yan Village so unfilial that they had stolen a door god statue from somewhere and set it up for worship?" Zi Bofeng looked around. Two rows of wooden racks stood on either side, holding dark iron swords, spears, halberds, and other weapons. It looked exactly like a martial temple.

With a sweep of his gaze, Zi Bofeng spotted another inscription. According to the legend, after this Yan ancestor died, he ascended to paradise and became a heavenly general—these people truly knew how to pile high hats onto their ancestor's head.

Zi Bofeng did not know whether to laugh or cry, but this saved him some trouble. He lowered his head, moved the incense burner and candleholders aside, brushed the dust from the table with his hand, bent down, climbed onto the offering table, and then stepped beneath the statue.

Looking up, he saw the statue's furious eyes wide open. Black paint had been dotted into its eyes, making it seem as though it were staring straight at Zi Bofeng.

"Forgive me, forgive me. I'll borrow your body for a while, to punish your unfilial descendants." Zi Bofeng prayed quietly. Like Galloping Horse Stone, this statue had gathered many lingering obsessions. Yet like that galloping horse, though many obsessions had converged within it, it was still only an ordinary stubborn stone. Moreover, it had been sealed inside a building and lacked the power to contain any surplus spiritual energy.

A layer of dust covered the statue. Zi Bofeng did not use a brush. Instead, he gathered force at his fingertip and used the method of Unity Transformation, pouring spiritual energy and spiritual intelligence into a trace of ink. With one finger, he began writing upon the statue. As his strokes moved, lines of verse appeared before him.

"Though a Xiucai cannot cast aside his books, his heroic heart longs to pacify the eight wilds. Lend me weapons to uphold the righteous path; with one stroke of the brush, heavenly soldiers descend!"

Zi Bofeng wrote stroke by stroke, from the statue's face down to its chest. Only then did he hear what seemed to be a long howl from within the stone statue. The howl grew louder and louder, as though something were struggling to break free from inside.

Zi Bofeng took a step back and saw the majestic Yan Clan Heavenly Soldier take heavy steps, descending from the altar in a single stride.

It worked!

Zi Bofeng did not know whether it could understand his words. He jumped down from the offering table, beckoned, and said, "Come. Follow me. We're going to capture your unfilial descendant!"

The sun set quickly in the mountains. Once he left the ancestral shrine, Zi Bofeng discovered that the sun had already slanted westward and darkness had blurred over the sky. It was dusk.

Zi Bofeng led the Yan Clan Heavenly Soldier out of the shrine and headed toward Si Gou's home. The Yan Clan Heavenly Soldier followed behind with heavy footsteps. In the evening haze, that towering, weighty figure radiated overwhelming pressure. As Zi Bofeng walked, he kept turning back to inspect the spiritual energy accumulated in the Yan Clan Heavenly Soldier's body.

The spiritual energy was indeed dissipating, spreading into the surrounding air. But Galloping Horse Stone had once run forty li before exhausting its spiritual power. After only a few short steps, the loss was impossible to notice without looking carefully.

Zi Bofeng nodded in satisfaction and stopped worrying about the Yan Clan Heavenly Soldier behind him. As he walked on, listening to the footsteps at his back, a wonderful feeling of having a powerful pillar to lean on rose naturally within him. Now this was more like it. This was the bearing a Village Chief ought to have!

When they reached Si Gou's door, Zi Bofeng stepped forward and knocked. "Si Gou, come out! I brought officers to arrest you!"

The moment his words fell, Si Gou's furious roar came from inside. "Sunzi, you still dare come back!"

He did not believe that Zi Bofeng could truly bring officers back. Even if Zi Bofeng had that ability, how long had he been gone? How could he possibly have brought back officers already? Si Gou twisted his pigeon-toed feet as he opened the door. The instant he saw Zi Bofeng, fury surged into his head. "I'll crush your balls, you bastard!"

Zi Bofeng took one step back and pointed ahead. "That's him. Take him away!"

"Who are you?!" Seeing the dark armored figure behind Zi Bofeng, Si Gou was instantly shocked. Though fierce on the outside and weak within, he shouted, "You've got some nerve! You dare arrest me, Si Gou? Haven't you heard of my reputation? You're asking for a beating..."

He threw a punch at the Yan Clan Heavenly Soldier's face. To his surprise, the Yan Clan Heavenly Soldier neither dodged nor evaded, letting the punch land squarely on its face.

"Ow!" Si Gou cried out in pain. The Yan Clan Heavenly Soldier's entire body was stone. Forget punching it—even chopping it with a blade would curl the edge. Si Gou was flesh and blood. How could his fist compare to this stone-carved Heavenly Soldier?

The Heavenly Soldier stepped forward and gave him a shove. Si Gou was pushed over like a little girl, clamping his legs tightly together for fear of being kicked again. If such a hulking man kicked him, his balls would probably burst.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Soldier merely grabbed one of his wrists with one hand and one of his legs with the other, then lifted him sideways into the air.

The stone statue was taller than an ordinary person, with long arms and long legs. The moment it stretched out, Si Gou was pulled taut. Si Gou howled in midair. Zi Bofeng looked up at him and gave a smug snort. "Now you understand, don't you? Scholar isn't someone you can beat whenever you feel like it!"

Zi Bofeng had still wanted to lecture him a little more and show off his might when he heard Little Stone's repeated calls drifting in from afar. "Brother, dinner's ready! Brother, dinner's ready!"

In the past, at this time of day, all kinds of shouts would rise and fall throughout the village. Men visiting neighbors and women idling about only had to prick up their ears to hear whether it was their own children calling, and they would know whether their meal was ready. They would emerge from whatever nook they had been hiding in, pat their backsides, and go home to eat. Of course, men and women also often shouted loudly for children who had played themselves wild.

But today, everyone was avoiding Zi Bofeng. There was not a soul on the streets, and Little Stone was the only one still outside shouting.

"I'm coming!" Zi Bofeng did not dare let Little Stone see the officer beside him. That would take quite some explaining. He hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Take him away and make him reflect properly."

After saying that, Zi Bofeng hurried out of the alley, grabbed Little Stone, who was racing along with his head down, and pulled him home for dinner.

"Where did you go?" When Zi Bofeng returned, Zi Jian stood up. He seemed to want to say something, but all he asked was a mild question.

"Your Auntie made dinner today." As soon as Zi Bofeng entered, Zi Jian shut the courtyard gate. Only then did Yan Wu Shi emerge from the woodshed. One household had a widower, the other a widow, so they had to mind appearances and did not dare be overly close in front of others. But now the surroundings were quiet, all thanks to Zi Bofeng.

"Bofeng, our family still has some silver..." Zi Jian said. "Your Auntie said we should take the lead and pay it first..."

"No." Zi Bofeng cut him off. "Father, don't forget. I'm a Xiucai. I don't have to pay taxes."

"But..." Zi Jian wanted to say that he might be a Xiucai, but Zi Jian was not. Besides, Zi Bofeng was not even an adult yet, so he did not have to pay taxes in the first place—men were only considered adults after their coming-of-age ceremony at twenty, and Zi Bofeng was still far from that.

"I said no, and I mean no." Zi Bofeng's tone was decisive. Never mind that he himself was responsible for collecting the taxes; now that he had passed the Xiucai examination, how could he let his family live in such straitened circumstances? He could not do such a thing.

"Then I..." Yan Wu Shi wanted to say something.

"Auntie, you don't have to pay either." Zi Bofeng snorted. He was the one in charge of collecting taxes. Who paid how much was not entirely up to him? How could he fail to make room for this small sum?

Zi Jian looked at him as though he did not recognize his own son. He remembered his son as someone with strong principles, but now...

What he did not know was that his son still had strong principles. He had merely placed his parents and family at the very forefront of them.

Sacrificing one's family for righteousness? Who would do something that foolish? He could refuse petty gains, but he would never allow his parents and family to suffer losses.

There was another reason as well: Zi Bofeng did not consider this a major matter.

He always felt that, with the memories of two lifetimes and the great ability of the Monster Raising Art, why should he worry about such a trifling tax? What a small matter it was. Was it worth making such a fuss over?

If necessary, he could cover the expense himself. But he would never let his parents suffer such an injustice. If becoming Village Chief and gaining such great abilities still could not let his parents enjoy a good life, then what kind of ability was that? What meaning was there in living? Why be Village Chief at all? He might as well lose the office and learn from Yan Lao Wu, watching the joke unfold.

After nearly ten years in Lower Yan Village, Zi Bofeng had long regarded Yan Wu Shi as his own mother and Little Stone as his own younger brother. Though the Zi Bofeng of old had always lectured and complained about Little Stone, he had only been trying to be good to Little Stone in his own way. His methods had simply been wrong, and Little Stone had not liked them.