The moon hung high in the sky, round and bright.
Normally, at this hour, the Great Wilderness should have been as silent as death, save for the occasional beast's roar in the distance.
But tonight, Stone Village was as lively as a marketplace boiling over.
Boom!
A deafening crash came from the eastern end of the village.
Then came the sound of something heavy collapsing, followed by a woman's furious curses. "Shi Feijiao! You damned bastard! That bed was just repaired! Go sleep in the haystack tonight!"
"Dear... dear, let me explain! All I did was roll over! Who knew those bed legs were as brittle as dry kindling..."
Shi Feijiao's voice was full of grievance. A moment later, a burly man came scrambling out of the house, bare-chested and wearing nothing but baggy shorts, with a bedding roll clutched in his arms.
His entire body was crimson, and beneath his skin, it looked as though little mice were scurrying about. The vital essence in the Suanni's treasured flesh was too abundant; he had yet to digest it all.
The moment Shi Feijiao stepped outside, he stamped his foot.
Crack.
The two-hundred-jin bluestone slab serving as a doorstep shattered into eight pieces.
Shi Feijiao froze, clutching his bedding roll. He stared innocently at his feet, then at the neighbors who had come out at the noise.
"Uh... was this stone weathered or something? How come it couldn't even stand being stepped on?"
"Pfft."
Sitting on the roof, Shi Hou could not hold back his laughter.
He held a handful of roasted melon seeds, and the shells he spat out littered the roof.
Shi Hou still had the same dark skin, but its metallic sheen had mellowed somewhat, becoming deeper and more subdued.
The one-million-two-hundred-thousand jin of blood vitality inside him was like a dormant volcano. With every breath, even the air around him warped with a faint, scorching heat.
"Skinny Monkey, what are you laughing at?"
A little upside-down head suddenly poked out from beneath the eaves.
Little Shi Hao had not gone to sleep either.
He hung upside down from a roof beam, his little face flushed and his large eyes blazing with light. Every so often, two golden arcs of electricity flashed through them.
"Your Uncle Feijiao. He's got too much energy and nowhere to vent it."
Shi Hou cracked another melon seed and casually flicked the shell onto Shi Hao's forehead. "Why aren't you asleep? Kids who stay up late won't grow tall."
"I can't sleep!"
Shi Hao flipped over and scrambled onto the roof like an agile little monkey, then crouched beside Shi Hou.
He scratched his scalp, looking a little troubled. "It feels like there's a furnace burning in my belly. My whole body itches, even my bones. Skinny Monkey, how about we fight again? Just once!"
As he spoke, the Bear Child held out his little hand. With a crackle, an inch-long electrical spark sprang from his fingertip.
"No time. I'm tired."
Shi Hou rolled his eyes, lay straight back, and crossed one leg over the other. "If you want a fight, go fight that pig."
Shi Hao turned to look into the courtyard.
The mutated Kang, originally pitch-black, was now lying belly-up on the millstone.
But the pig was not sleeping soundly either.
Its eyes were closed, and its four short legs paddled unconsciously in the air, as though it were sleepwalking.
Its two huge nostrils puffed out blue smoke rings in a steady rhythm. The rings drifted into the air without dispersing, instead gathering into eerie banks of mist.
"Snort... snort..."
With the pig's breathing, the great millstone weighing several hundred jin actually rose three inches off the ground, hovered, then came crashing down again.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
It was remarkably rhythmic.
"Kang seems to have eaten something that upset its stomach."
Shi Hao muttered, "It was sleepwalking earlier and puffed a mouthful of blue smoke at Big Yellow. Big Yellow's legs are still cramping over there."
Shi Hou glanced at the Big Yellow Dog in the corner, foaming at the mouth and still twitching its limbs now and then, and shrugged without a shred of sympathy.
"When one person attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. Big Yellow looks like it's about to ascend for good, but as long as it makes it through tonight, this dog will probably be chasing down wolves in the mountains and biting them."
Just then.
Steady but powerful footsteps approached.
Shi Hou's ears twitched, and he immediately sat upright.
"Still awake this late?"
The old clan chief, Shi Yunfeng, strolled into the courtyard with his hands behind his back.
The sight of Shi Yunfeng tonight left both Shi Hou and Shi Hao momentarily stunned.
More than half of the old man's graying hair had actually turned jet-black. The wrinkles on his face, once like withered tree bark, had smoothed out considerably, and his skin glowed with a healthy flush.
The walking stick in his hand had become nothing more than a prop, which he twirled around for fun.
If not for that familiar animal-hide robe, Shi Hou would almost have thought some strapping young fellow had appeared out of nowhere.
"Grandpa Chief!"
Shi Hao's eyes lit up. He jumped straight down from the roof and threw himself into the old man's arms. "You've gotten younger!"
"Hahaha! It's all thanks to you two little monkeys."
Shi Yunfeng caught Shi Hao with one hand and even bounced him in the air. "That Suanni meat truly is a rare medicinal treasure. I feel like this old man could live another fifty years!"
Shi Hou jumped down as well and circled the old clan chief, clicking his tongue in wonder.
"Old man, this is what they call a second spring. I bet even Auntie Hua from the next village will start looking at you differently."
"You little brat! No respect for your elders!"
Shi Yunfeng laughed and scolded him, making a mock kick at Shi Hou, but joy shone irrepressibly in his eyes and brows.
Soon, however, the old clan chief's expression turned serious.
He took out the primordial Treasure Bone from inside his robe. It gleamed white as jade and was covered in golden patterns.
This was the most precious thing on the Suanni's body, recording its race's innate Treasure Art.
The moment the Treasure Bone appeared, the surrounding air turned harsh with killing intent.
Vaguely, it seemed as though a Golden Lion was roaring in the void.
"I've been studying this all evening."
Shi Yunfeng rubbed the Treasure Bone, his brows slightly furrowed. "The runes on it are far too profound. Even copying down a small portion would give our Stone Village endless benefits. But..."
He looked at Shi Hao, then at Shi Hou.
"Our village's foundations are too weak. Apart from Hao'er, who can comprehend it, anyone else trying to fathom the Primitive Treasure Technique on this bone would find it as hard as climbing to heaven."
Although Shi Linhu, Shi Feijiao, and the others had eaten the meat and gained an enormous surge in blood vitality, their ability to comprehend runes had not fundamentally improved.
Showing advanced mathematics to a bunch of illiterates-that was the awkward situation they faced.
Shi Hou leaned closer for a look.
"Old man, what are you getting at?" Shi Hou raised an eyebrow.
Shi Yunfeng drew a deep breath and stared intently at the black pot atop Shi Hou's head.
"Skinny Monkey, this pot of yours can refine the essence of flesh and blood. It can even simmer Hao'er like medicinal herbs..."
"Since it can simmer meat, could it also simmer out the 'principles' inside this bone?"
Shi Hou froze.
Simmer a Treasure Art... into soup?
That way of thinking-no wonder he was the clan chief. He was even wilder than Shi Hou.
"You want me to stew this bone, then have everyone drink down the runes?"
Shi Hou rubbed his chin, his eyes gradually taking on a strange, excited gleam. "Like drinking talisman water?"
"Could it work?" Shi Yunfeng was a little nervous.
This was a last resort born of having no other options.
The Treasure Art was right before his eyes, yet he couldn't learn it. This agony was worse than being killed.
Shi Hou said nothing.
He walked over to the black pot and reached out to pat its rim.
Humm-
The Stone Pot gave a clear, resonant hum, as though answering him.
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