Three Strands of Hair

The sun was setting.

A stream babbled as it wound past the village. A shepherd boy rode an ox, playing his flute as he went.

Smoke rose from every Household in the village, and faint voices could be heard.

Along the road, old men planting rice seedlings in the paddies chuckled and called out to the shepherd boy.

"What a peaceful rural scene."

By the bridge at the village entrance, several figures slowly approached. Their clothing was plain, but they were all broad and imposing. The leader looked at the scene before him and smiled.

"Are you gentlemen passing through?"

The old man planting rice also spotted them and called out.

"Passing through?" The leader spoke as he walked to the edge of the field. "Old man, there is an old scholar living in this village, isn't there?"

"You mean Teacher Qiu?" The simple old man brightened at once. "Have you come to see the teacher? Are you his friends?"

"Friends?" The leader shook his head. "Our king is looking for him!"

"King?" The old man's expression changed abruptly. He hurriedly stumbled back two steps, only to see the man before him suddenly open his mouth. His lips rapidly stretched wide, and in the blink of an eye, his mouth was as tall as a person, its interior a vivid red!

A rank stench struck his nose!

Before the old man could cry out, that mouth lunged at him.

Crunch!

Amid a crisp crack, the leader bent slightly at the waist. His head had turned into a gigantic wolf's head, its jaws chewing as blood flowed from the corners of its mouth.

"Ahhh!"

A shrill scream came from nearby. The shepherd boy had turned around and witnessed the sight of a human head becoming a wolf's head, the wolf devouring a person. Terrified, he screamed. The water buffalo beneath him seemed startled as well. It bellowed and stamped all four hooves, charging madly toward the village.

"You think you can run?"

The wolf-headed man spat out a bloody bone still strung with tendons and waved his hand. The people behind him grinned viciously. Their clothes tore apart, revealing beastly forms, and they all pounced toward the village.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

After a few leaps, they had caught up with the shepherd boy.

Screams, roars, swallowing. The boy and his ox were torn apart and devoured, leaving behind blood and broken bones that stained even the earth red.

Then, without stopping, the group entered the village.

The entire village instantly erupted. Men roared in fury while women wailed in grief.

The setting sun burned like fire, and the clouds seemed ablaze, reddening half the sky.

The wolf-headed man's head had already shrunk back to normal size. A streak of blood remained at his lips as he walked step by step toward the village.

Halfway there, a pig came running out of the village. It had a fat head and bloated body, yet it moved quickly, huffing and puffing until it reached the wolf-headed man.

"General," the pig-faced creature said sheepishly, its blood-smeared mouth smacking, "I killed that poor scholar."

"Hm?" The brows on the wolf's head furrowed like those of a human.

"It wasn't my fault! It wasn't my fault!" The pig head shook frantically. "I hadn't even touched that old fool when he babbled a whole lot of nonsense, then slammed his head into something and killed himself!"

"He killed himself?" The wolf-headed man looked puzzled, but then reconsidered. "Forget it. He was only an old scholar. Dead is dead. At his age, our princess probably wouldn't fancy him anyway. There are several more villages nearby. There will be no shortage of educated men. Catch a few more."

The large pig breathed a sigh of relief, then remembered something and hurriedly added, "That old scholar had a son. He looked quite handsome, far better than the old scholar!"

"A son?" The wolf-headed man nodded. "Capture him. Afterwards, investigate him. If he has no scholarly title, slaughter him for meat. Educated men have been steeped in the teachings of the sages. Their flesh is especially tender."

Before he had finished speaking, several urgent roars came from ahead. Then a man with a wooden expression hurried over. "General! This is bad! The scholar's son escaped!"

"He escaped?" The wolf-headed man looked displeased. "A mere mortal escaped from your hands?"

"General, you do not understand..."

The wooden-faced man was about to explain when the wolf-headed man interrupted him. "Forget it. One more or less makes no difference. The deadline is approaching. The remaining villages are what matter."

"But..." The wooden-faced man hesitated. "Crow has already gone after him."

Blood dripped down.

A green-clad figure ran through the mountain forest, turning several times into increasingly secluded places.

He was a young man around twenty years old, dressed as a scholar. He gripped a broken sword in his hand, and blood stained its blade.

"Whew..."

He panted heavily. His green robe was tattered, mostly torn by branches in the forest. Near his shoulder, the cloth had been soaked through with blood.

Sweat continuously slid down his forehead. The scholar's face was filled with terror, and he repeatedly looked back.

"Monsters, monsters!" he muttered, then ran forward a few more steps. The trees and grass around him grew denser, and the fear in his heart grew stronger.

Suddenly!

His foot slipped, dirt crumbling away beneath his sole. The scholar felt the ground vanish under him, lost his balance, and rolled down.

Rustle, rustle.

The green robe fluttered down the hillside before finally coming to rest amid a patch of grass.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Several more wounds had appeared on the scholar's body. A bloody gash on his face faintly revealed white bone. His broken sword had fallen somewhere unknown.

Flap! Flap!

The sound of beating wings faintly drifted over from afar. The scholar shuddered in alarm, barely propped himself up from the ground, and trembled as he stood. His leg was covered in blood. With a forceful push, he fell down again.

"I'm out of strength."

His heart sank as he looked ahead.

"Hm? This is..."

A dilapidated temple appeared before him, ancient and ruined.

"Is this where Qiu will be buried?"

In a daze, the scholar limped forward a few steps and entered the ruined temple.

He had heard of this temple before. It was said to worship the Minyuan Mountain God and had once enjoyed abundant incense offerings. But eighty years ago, after the dynasty changed, Jiannan Circuit became the land from which the new dynasty rose. After years of governance, there were fewer and fewer mountain folk in Qingchang County, and the temple gradually fell into disrepair. Even the paths leading here were overgrown with weeds, and few people came.

In his blind panic, the scholar had somehow arrived here.

The temple had been small to begin with, and after being neglected for many years, it was already in terrible condition. Debris covered the corners, while the flagstone floor lay beneath a thick layer of dust.

On the innermost platform stood a clay statue, gray and dim, its features impossible to make out clearly.

As the scholar walked in, every step left a footprint, each marked with spots of blood.

His breathing weakened, his complexion turned increasingly ashen, and his consciousness grew more muddled. Yet understanding arose in his heart.

"My end is near."

Thud.

His legs gave way, and he fell to his knees. The pain throughout his body swallowed what little clarity he had left. Looking at the statue on the platform, unwillingness surged within him.

"What sin did my father commit? What sin did the villagers commit? Why must they suffer such an end? If Heaven has a heart, if Heaven has spirits, why does it allow demons to run rampant? Now that I am about to die, I cannot avenge my hatred or fulfill my aspirations. How unjust!"

Just then.

"You can really run. Like a rat, burrowing everywhere. But your scent has been left all along the way. You cannot escape Wu Laosan's grasp!"

A hoarse voice came from outside the temple.

A black shadow descended from the sky. Black wings flapped at its sides, and scattered feathers drifted down.

Upon landing, its wings contracted and transformed into arms. Footsteps sounded as a bird-headed man entered the temple. There was a small bloodstain on his abdomen.

"To be injured by a mortal like you is the greatest humiliation. Only flesh, blood, and living souls can make up for it!"

After entering the temple, the bird-headed man glanced around and sneered. "You ran all this way just to pray to a god to save your life? What a joke! Within Yuanning Prefecture, what local deity can compare to my king? You prayed to the wrong god. Once you die, you will have no one else to blame." As he spoke, he chuckled contemptuously.

The scholar was initially frightened at the sight of him, but quickly calmed down. "Demons like you slaughter people and devour lives. Even if I die and become a vengeful ghost, I will never let you go!" As soon as he spoke, his gaze suddenly turned unfocused, and he blanked out for a moment.

"Become a vengeful ghost?" The bird-headed man laughed and shook his head. "Do not dream of it. You cannot even reach the Netherworld. Your soul is already in my bag!"

The instant those words fell, the bird-headed man stomped forward and lunged, directly seizing the scholar by the throat. Black energy swirled from his hand and burrowed into the scholar's body through his pores.

"Ahhh!" The scholar screamed miserably.

The bird-headed man grinned viciously. "Wail! The more miserable your death, the stronger your living soul will be, and the greater the nourishment! Hm? You are dying already? How fragile! Fine, I'll extract your soul first, then eat your flesh while it's still warm."

In the blink of an eye, the scholar's life force scattered. Blood flowed from all seven of his orifices. Black energy threaded through his flesh and blood, extracting wisps of phantom-like soul essence. His breath was weak as a thread; he clearly would not survive.

Suddenly! The scholar's entire body trembled. A flash of delight suddenly appeared in his eyes, and unclear words spilled from his mouth.

"Hm?" The bird-headed man froze. "Who are you talking to?"

Before his words had faded, a rumbling crash sounded as something fell!

"Petty tricks, and you dare ambush me!" The bird-headed man remained calm. He waved his arms, transforming them into wings, and flapped them fiercely. A black wind surged forth.

The black wind blew, forcibly stopping the falling object. The bird-headed man focused his gaze, only to see that it was a clay god statue.

"Hm?" Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the platform where the statue had been worshipped was empty. Understanding immediately dawned on him. "There is actually a local deity in this temple! Good! If I report this to my king, it will be a great merit! Wu Laosan might even become a general!"

As he spoke, the bird-headed man rose from the ground. He actually abandoned the scholar and prepared to leave directly.

"If this were elsewhere, I truly could do nothing to you. But unfortunately, this temple is my territory." A calm voice, accompanied by echoes, came from within the statue.

The battered temple began to shake. Specks of white light seeped from the walls, spreading outward and surrounding the bird-headed man, imprisoning him in midair.

"This is bad!" The bird-headed man's expression changed. "You wild god, how dare you! I am a soldier under the Mountain-Passing Great King, and my life is bound to a soul tablet. Once I die, there will surely be consequences. Your ruined temple..."

"If I let you escape and report this, my outcome may not be much better. Killing you makes little difference. Farewell. I will not see you out."

As the words fell, the statue descended along with the light. With a crack, it crushed the bird-headed man, splattering his brains and scattering blood in every direction.

Then the white light rapidly faded.

Seeing this, the scholar laughed wildly, though his voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. After several breaths, he stopped laughing, struggled to rise, and bowed deeply to the statue. "Thank you, Mountain God, for your great kindness. But Qiu is about to die and has no way to repay you."

As he spoke, his face was pale as paper, the veins beneath his skin visible. Black energy curled between his brows. This was the sign of his mind being damaged by extreme joy and grief, while demonic energy had invaded his body and harmed his foundation. His vital yang was about to fade. Before long, he would die.

After offering his thanks, the scholar's expression became even dimmer. "Unfortunately, only one demon has died. Many more still roam free. This hatred..."

Just then, the statue spoke. "If you wish to take revenge, there is a way."

"What?" The scholar was startled. His eyes widened, and color abruptly returned to his face. "How can I take revenge? Could the Mountain God save me?"

"You have been invaded by demonic energy and will soon lose your soul. You may not even reach the underworld. I am but a minor mountain god. No one has worshipped me for decades, and I can barely preserve myself. I cannot even leave this temple. Killing that demon in a sneak attack was already my limit. How could I save you?"

Hearing this, the scholar was stunned.

Then the statue continued, "However, I have a method that takes another path. It depends on whether you are willing."

At this, the scholar instead became more alert. "I am all ears."

The stone statue said, "Think carefully. Everything I am about to say is already in your heart."

The scholar listened and thought back slightly. Sure enough, he found an extra passage in his mind. He froze for a moment, then smiled. "Qiu was already near his end. I had no hope of revenge, and could not even become a lonely ghost. Mountain God, by killing this demon, you have already become Qiu's benefactor. Now you are even willing to expend divine power to help me enter reincarnation. By all accounts, I am the one gaining the advantage. Please instruct me, Mountain God."

"Good!" The statue spoke again. "There are three strands of hair behind my neck. Pull out one and place it in your mouth. Cast away the distracting thoughts in your heart and wait quietly."

The scholar was already at death's door. He barely stood and spent more than ten breaths swallowing the hair. He raised a hand to straighten his clothes, kowtowed once in the direction of the village, then became still.

Suddenly!

Light flickered.

Fine strands of white light flashed over his entire body. A phantom with the same appearance as the scholar emerged from the crown of his head. It first looked confused, then startled. After recovering his senses, it cupped its hands toward the statue in salute and voiced its thanks.

A white-glowing figure also rose from the statue. It returned the salute, then raised a hand and pointed. A beam of white light shot out, wrapped around the scholar's phantom, and drilled into the ground, vanishing without a trace.

"The Yellow Springs Road is long. Farewell, and may your next life be peaceful." The figure of white light sighed. With a slight sway, it separated a stream of light that landed on the scholar's motionless body.

The next moment, something seemed to explode in the scholar's mouth with a bang, and then his whole body shuddered as he raised his head.

"It worked!"

He pushed hard with both legs, about to stand, but with a flop, he fell down again.

"After not using legs to walk for decades, I cannot even coordinate the motion of standing up. Fine, I'll adapt first. It is also a good chance to heal."

As he spoke, the wounds on his body rapidly healed, and his listless spirit revived.

Half an incense stick later, the scholar stood up again.

He jumped in place a few times, then staggered forward several steps.

"I've been in this world for decades, and of all things, I ended up possessing a statue. Now I can finally experience what it feels like to be human again."

After muttering a few words, he closed his eyes with an absorbed expression. Only after a long while did he open them again.

"I never expected this man to be so stubborn. No wonder he was so unwilling. Well, now that I have entered this body, everything that once belonged to Earth can drift away on the wind. From this day onward, I am Qiu Yan."

Rumble!

The moment his words fell, lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky. Black energy seeped from the cracks in the surrounding floorboards, winding together and condensing into three masses of black mist.

Qiu Yan's expression shifted, but he was not surprised.

"Just as I expected."