Kang, the Auspicious Beast

Veins bulged on Shi Linhu's forehead as he drew his huge bow into a full moon. The arrowhead gleamed coldly, locked firmly on the ancient tree swaying at the edge of the dense forest.

"Everyone, be careful! With a commotion like this, it could be a primordial mutant!"

Shi Feijiao growled, shielding the children behind him as he retreated another few steps.

Shi Hou stood at the back of the crowd.

The blood and qi within him, bearing five thousand jin of strength, surged wildly, stirring with a faint eagerness to try his hand.

Crack!

The ancient tree, so thick that it took two people to encircle it, was forcibly snapped in half.

Amid a shower of wood chips, an enormous shadow emerged from the darkness.

"Loose!"

Shi Linhu roared and released his fingers.

Twang!

With a piercing whistle, the iron arrow became a streak of black lightning shooting straight toward the shadow's skull.

But the expected spray of blood never came.

"Oink-?"

A pig's squeal, full of confusion and wounded innocence, rang out across the clearing.

The iron arrow struck the creature's forehead with a crisp clink, scattering sparks before bouncing harmlessly away.

Everyone's eyes widened as they stared at the "big fellow" that had emerged from the woods.

It was an enormous green pig.

Its body was as large as a small hill. After taking that arrow, the huge pig was blinking its big, watery eyes, gazing innocently at everyone.

More absurdly still, a pair of extremely tiny, tender pink wings grew from its broad back, which was covered in green scales.

Those little wings flapped desperately. Compared with its mountain-sized body, they looked ridiculously comical.

"What... what the heck is that?"

Ermeng nearly dropped the bone club in his hand. He even forgot to sniff back his bubble of snot. "A pig with wings?"

Half the murderous tension collapsed in an instant.

This thing looked far too haphazardly put together. It had none of the imposing presence a primordial beast ought to possess; instead, it radiated a kind of pure, unclouded stupidity.

"Don't move! Nobody move!"

The old clan chief, Shi Yunfeng, stared at the huge pig for a long moment. Suddenly remembering something, he waved sharply to stop Shi Linhu from shooting another arrow.

"It's Kang! Kang, the auspicious beast!"

The old clan chief's voice trembled, his face alight with joy. "Legend says that whenever Kang appears, a bountiful harvest is sure to follow! The aroma of the spirit food drew it here. It's gentle by nature and won't hurt anyone!"

Upon hearing that it was an auspicious beast, the villagers immediately relaxed their taut muscles.

Shi Hao had been hidden at the back, but the moment he heard this, his little head popped out from behind Shi Shoushan's legs.

After studying the huge green pig for a while, his big eyes rolled mischievously, and he took off toward it.

"Little One, come back!"

Shi Shoushan jumped in fright.

But Shi Hao had no intention of listening. A few strides brought him right before Kang.

Kang wasn't annoyed either. It lowered its head, its enormous snout twitching as though sniffing for something.

"Wow, what a huge pig head!"

Utterly unafraid, Shi Hao reached out and patted its snout. Then he curiously circled behind it and stood on tiptoe to inspect the little pink wings.

"Skinny Monkey, look! These wings are soft! Can we roast them?"

Kang oinked, ignoring Shi Hao's pestering.

Its bronze-bell-sized eyes looked past the crowd and fixed intently on Shi Hou.

More precisely, they fixed on the Stone Pot beside Shi Hou's ear.

"Oink!"

Kang squealed excitedly. Paying no attention to Shi Hao, who was still tugging its tail, it pushed off with all four hooves, sending its entire mountain of flesh charging toward Shi Hou.

Everyone was alarmed and was just about to intervene when the huge fellow slammed to a halt three meters in front of Shi Hou.

It lay down ingratiatingly, brought its enormous head closer, and stuck out a long, wet tongue.

"Holy shit! Stay away!"

Shi Hou's hair stood on end, and he instinctively tried to retreat.

But that tongue was too fast.

With one great slurp-

It landed squarely on the hand Shi Hou had used to hold his knife, coating it in glistening saliva.

Kang was clearly utterly obsessed with the scent on Shi Hou-a blend of the Great Dao's resonance and supreme deliciousness. It narrowed its eyes in pleasure and kept nuzzling its huge head into Shi Hou's chest, looking exactly like a lapdog that had spotted a bone.

"Get off! Don't touch me!"

Shi Hou's face turned green with disgust as he pushed against that enormous snout.

But the creature was astonishingly strong. It oinked and rubbed against him, leaving him smelling of pig grease from head to toe.

"It's taken Skinny Monkey for a permanent meal ticket!"

Shi Linhu and the others burst out laughing, all their earlier tension vanishing without a trace.

Just then, Shi Hao, who had been ignored, grew unhappy.

He ran over in a huff, his little face scrunched up.

He had clearly played with the huge pig first, so why was it only licking Skinny Monkey and completely ignoring him?

"He's my cook! You're not allowed to lick him!"

Shi Hao shouted with fierce little-kid indignation, rushed forward, and kicked Kang squarely in its plump backside.

Thump!

There was no small amount of force behind that kick.

Kang leaped up with a howl of pain and gave Shi Hao a deeply aggrieved look.

Seemingly sensing the terrifying aura of a "born supreme" within this human cub, it didn't dare act out.

Suddenly, green light flashed over Kang's body, and its mountain-sized bulk rapidly shrank.

In the blink of an eye, it became a palm-sized miniature pig. Its pink wings fluttered, lifting it into the air.

The little pig didn't dare bother Shi Hou again, nor did it dare fly far away. Finally, it settled miserably on Shi Hao's shoulder, tucked its head into his hide clothing, and began snoring away.

"It... it shrank?"

The children all crowded around, their eyes shining.

"This pig is incredible!" Ermeng reached out to touch it, only for Shi Hao to slap his hand away.

"Don't touch it. This is my emergency food!" Shi Hao guarded the little pig on his shoulder like a meal he refused to share, his face wary.

Emergency food...

The corner of Shi Hou's mouth twitched. Looking at the shivering auspicious beast, he felt a trace of sympathy.

With the false alarm over, the adults began cleaning up the aftermath, discussing how to deal with the ruined stone cauldron and how to make use of Shi Hou's newly awakened "Divine Chef" ability.

While the adults weren't paying attention, Ermeng sidled mysteriously up to Shi Hou and Shi Hao.

He glanced around and lowered his voice, his sturdy, round face brimming with barely contained excitement.

"Hey, Skinny Monkey, Little One."

Ermeng licked his lips and pointed toward the depths of the rolling mountains beyond the village. "We didn't get our fill of that soup earlier, did we?"

At the mention of food, Shi Hao's eyes instantly lit up. "Not even close! There was too little pork!"

Something stirred in Shi Hou's heart. From the look of things, this bunch of little troublemakers was about to stir up trouble again.

Ermeng chuckled and took a green scale from inside his clothing. Its edges were sharp as a blade and gleamed with a chilling light.

"My dad and the others found this beneath that cliff to the west a few days ago."

"It's from the Green-Scaled Eagle! I heard them say it's been sitting in its nest lately, hatching eggs..."

The Green-Scaled Eagle's eggs!

Shi Hao slurped back his drool, his little fists instantly clenching. "You mean... we should go raid its nest?"

"Do you dare? Those are a fierce bird's eggs. If Skinny Monkey can turn them into that 'spirit food' stuff, the taste... tsk, tsk!"

Before Shi Hou could speak, Little One made the decision.

"We'll go tomorrow."