Ch. 81Flying South
Chapter Summary: “Flying South”
Key Plot Points and Events
- A young Taoist informs the Fire Spirit Abbey’s leader, Deng Qian, that the Patriarch’s golden statue is nearly complete and ready for consecration.
- Deng Qian reveals that someone has secretly disrupted and stolen the abbey’s feng shui. The six Taoists, who pooled their fortunes to build the abbey after obtaining an unorthodox mystical text, are enraged and uncertain how to repair the damage.
- The next morning, Zhang Jian travels to Jade Screen Mountain with five hundred heavily armed soldiers borrowed from the Fengxi County authorities. The troops carry Ironfang Shields, nine-linked crossbows, and magical talismans.
- Zhang Jian’s investigation identifies the Fire Spirit Abbey Taoists as suspicious outsiders with magical abilities, mysterious funding, and possible connections to wrongdoing, despite their charitable treatment of the poor.
- Along the journey, every bird in the surrounding mountains suddenly takes flight and travels south. Zhang Jian realizes the birds may be responding to the arrival of a powerful supernatural being.
- Two goshawks’ spirit voices reveal that the birds are going to greet a “god.” Zhang Jian connects this omen to the mysterious phoenix cry he heard earlier near Phoenix Nest Mountain and suspects that a phoenix may exist within the Twin Phoenix Mountain Range.
- Zhang Jian orders the army to destroy Fire Spirit Abbey before nightfall. His forces seal off the mountain paths and distribute Soul-Cleansing and Thunder-Calling talismans, intending to attach them to arrows and weapons for a coordinated magical assault.
- Zhang Jian publicly demands that the Taoists surrender as bandits and criminals.
- Deng Qian, angered by the authorities’ arrival, activates protective talismans and charges down the mountain in a form surrounded by icy energy. However, he immediately encounters a massive volley of enchanted arrows and hastily tries to negotiate.
Character Developments
- Zhang Jian demonstrates increasing authority, strategic ability, and caution. He commands a large, disciplined force and recognizes that the weakening of imperial control is creating conditions for powerful families to build private armies.
- He also shows growing awareness of the supernatural world. His ability to hear spirits through the Myriad Realms Spirit-Sense Pearl allows him to interpret the birds’ strange behavior and connect it to a possible phoenix.
- Zhang Lu grows into a capable military subordinate. He organizes the talisman distribution and enforces battlefield discipline, suggesting that he may eventually become one of Zhang Jian’s principal generals.
- Hu Shan observes the troops’ morale and recognizes Zhang Jian’s influence over the soldiers, while privately worrying about the dangers of fighting supernatural enemies.
- Deng Qian is revealed as impulsive and aggressive. His anger over the loss of the abbey’s feng shui causes him to confront the authorities recklessly, though the enchanted arrows force him to abandon his bravado and seek a peaceful solution.
- The six Taoists’ brotherhood is shown to be based less on genuine sectarian unity than on shared ambition and financial interest.
Significant Themes
- Political decline and rising local power: The Zhang family’s private military reflects the weakening authority of the Great Qian court and the growing independence of aristocratic clans.
- Conflict between order and hidden forces: Zhang Jian represents organized governmental power, while the Fire Spirit Abbey embodies unregulated mystical groups operating outside official control.
- Supernatural omens and destiny: The mass migration of birds suggests the arrival or awakening of a divine or phoenix-like being, hinting at larger forces beyond the immediate conflict.
- Suspicion and incomplete knowledge: Zhang Jian acts on circumstantial evidence against the Taoists, while he himself remains uncertain about the phoenix, the mystical pearl, and the true meaning of the omen.
- Practical power versus magical power: The chapter emphasizes the effectiveness of combining military organization with magical tools, as ordinary soldiers are equipped to challenge spellcasters.
Character Interactions
- Deng Qian’s fellow Taoists react with anger and demand to know who damaged their feng shui, revealing their shared investment and dependence on one another.
- Zhang Jian consults Zhang Lu, Hu Shan, and his informants before deciding that Fire Spirit Abbey is the likely culprit.
- Zhang Jian’s calm leadership reassures the soldiers when the unnatural bird migration frightens them.
- Zhang Jian and Zhang Lu work closely to prepare the assault, with Zhang Jian trusting Zhang Lu’s developing military skill.
- Zhang Jian confronts the abbey collectively through a public surrender demand, while Deng Qian responds personally and aggressively.
- The chapter ends with the power dynamic abruptly shifting: Deng Qian begins as the attacker but, faced with Zhang Jian’s enchanted arrow barrage, is forced to plead for negotiation.