"Ah, drinking really does ruin things!"
Early the next morning, Fourth Grandfather squatted at the doorway, sighing endlessly.
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He had let his guard down for just a moment, and his little ancestor had vanished. She had even "dragged the whole family along," taking the other two youngsters with her.
"Big Sister, is it really all right for us to sneak away like this?" Little Qingfeng asked, dangling from Shi Zhao's hand, both excited and nervous.
He was like a bird trapped in a cage that finally had a chance to spread its wings, soar into the sky, and fly freely. His longing and excitement were easy to imagine.
"It's fine. Nothing to worry about." Shi Zhao blinked her large eyes, utterly unruffled.
Then she wrapped her other arm around A Man's slender waist. A pair of brilliantly colored wings unfurled behind her, and she swept through the air at an astonishing speed.
Yet less than ten days later, Fourth Grandfather caught up with them and intercepted them on the banks of the Taiyin River.
"I knew it. You're still thinking about that matter, still determined to find the true Ancestral Land." Fourth Grandfather sighed.
The pitch-black river before them was famous. Legend had it that there had originally been ten Taiyin Stars in the heavens, but nine had been struck down during a battle in primordial times. One had been refined and fallen into this great river, turning it into a river of supreme yin that stretched across the boundless Great Wilderness.
A great river was also faintly visible on the Ancestral Land Fragmentary Map. Long ago, some had guessed that it was the Taiyin River, but no one could be certain. It was only speculation.
"Great-Grandfather, we really are close this time. No matter what, I have to keep searching. You can't stop me," Shi Zhao said earnestly.
Seeing how resolute she was, Fourth Grandfather knew there was no stopping her. Unwilling to use force and create a rift between them, he shook his head helplessly. "At least tell me first. It's not as though I forbid you from searching. What if something happened?"
"Miss, you really called it! Not only would Fourth Grandfather neither stop nor scold us, he would even escort and protect us instead." A Man's eyes sparkled.
Beside her, Little Qingfeng's large eyes shone too, his face full of admiration.
"Ah..." Fourth Grandfather said nothing more, merely sighing as he carefully took the three youngsters across the Taiyin River.
"That way!" Shi Zhao pressed a hand to her chest, sensing a faint pull within.
Her spiritual perception was astonishing. Under certain special circumstances, her primordial spirit became extraordinarily sensitive, as though she could foresee events-just as dark clouds heralded rain, and lightning preceded thunder.
It was not true divination, but a transcendent intuition.
The Great Wilderness teemed with ferocious beasts and all manner of mysterious, unfathomable creatures. Even with an expert like Fourth Grandfather accompanying them, they could not afford the slightest lapse in vigilance.
"This is a wondrous realm, but also a terrifying world. The natural conditions are harsh. We humans must struggle if we are to survive!" Fourth Grandfather did not neglect their instruction.
They proceeded cautiously throughout the journey, avoiding many dangerous places. Shi Zhao's intuition proved invaluable; some threats had escaped even Fourth Grandfather's immediate notice.
Finally, after two and a half months of traveling and searching, they truly found Stone Village... or rather, Bei Village beside it.
"Huh? What's that creature? Why does it look like an old dog?" Little Qingfeng asked in surprise.
"That's no old dog. If I'm not mistaken, it seems to be a rare warg. It should be this village's sacrificial spirit." Fourth Grandfather was somewhat astonished too.
Even among countless wolf packs, a single warg was hard to find. They were exceedingly rare, yet there was actually an Old Warg here.
They could see that this Old Warg's wolfish face was covered in wrinkles. He was just over two meters long, with yellowish-brown fur and such short forelegs that he could barely walk on his own. Yet he had grown a pair of wings that allowed him to fly, making him a genuine ferocious beast.
The Old Warg also noticed the outsiders' arrival. A strange gleam flashed in his eyes-surprise, greed, and cunning.
But when he saw the cold look in the green-clad girl's eyes, he shuddered, tucked his tail, and swiftly hid in a nearby cave, vanishing from sight.
Having found Bei Village, they really were not far from Stone Village. Yet halfway there, they encountered a rampaging ferocious beast.
"Scree-!!"
A cry rang across the sky, sharp enough to pierce metal and split stone. Its terrifying, penetrating force made Little Qingfeng's eardrums ache and brought tears to his eyes.
Shi Zhao covered his ears, runes appearing over her hands to ease his pain.
"It's an adult Green-Scaled Eagle! What is she chasing?" A Man exclaimed.
Not far away, a group of half-grown children were sprinting madly through the dense forest, relying on their familiarity with the woods to evade the Green-Scaled Eagle's attacks.
"Holy mother, what a huge bird! Run!" the mischievous children cried in alarm, fear rising in their hearts.
An adult Green-Scaled Eagle was a genuine ferocious beast. Green scales densely covered her body, and runes had condensed within her, allowing her to unleash an inherited precious technique. She ranked among the overlords of this outer region of the Great Wilderness.
Boom!
The Green-Scaled Eagle grew ever more frenzied. Treating the forest's enormous trees as nothing, she swooped down, her wings like broad blades, snapping swaths of towering trees and smashing apart the boulders in her path.
Something stirred in Shi Zhao's heart. A Dark-Gold Longbow appeared in her hand before anyone noticed, and she swiftly drew the string, nocked an Iron Arrow, and shot it straight out.
Whoosh-!
The Iron Arrow whistled through the air, neatly shearing away a coldly gleaming scale at the corner of the Green-Scaled Eagle's eye. A conspicuous trickle of blood flowed out.
The Green-Scaled Eagle's attention was immediately drawn to her. She gave a piercing, high-pitched cry, only to see Shi Zhao draw her bow and nock another arrow.
This time, however, it was no ordinary Iron Arrow, but a condensation of runes and a precious technique. A streak of five-colored light suddenly flashed across the sky.
Hiss-!
The arrow shot forth like a Five-Colored Peacock soaring into the heavens, radiating dazzling light and trailing a shimmering cascade of multicolored divine radiance as it hurtled toward the Green-Scaled Eagle.
With an enraged cry, this Primordial Remnant, an overlord of the Great Wilderness's outskirts, was wounded. No longer daring to rampage, she beat her wings and fled.
"To wound the descendant of a primordial ferocious bird with a single arrow-if she hadn't held back, killing her with that arrow would have been no difficulty. It's as though I'm seeing Old Fifteen in his younger days. The same godlike archery."
Fourth Grandfather sighed in admiration, while A Man was puzzled. Why had Shi Zhao not simply shot the ferocious bird dead? It was not as though she had lacked the opportunity.
"There's probably a reason the Green-Scaled Eagle went berserk. Come on, let's take a look." Shi Zhao put away her treasured bow and soon found the nimble band of mischievous mountain children.
At the sight of them, the children instinctively hid three enormous bird eggs behind their backs, failing to realize that the eggs were bigger than washbasins and impossible to conceal. They might as well have covered their ears while stealing a bell.
"What's with you? It was Big Sister who wounded the Green-Scaled Eagle. Never mind thanking her-why do you look so
afraid we're going to eat you?" Little Qingfeng asked.
"Ah!" Among the mischievous children, a Little One of only about three grew terribly embarrassed at those words. He immediately stepped forward and thanked them in a clear little voice. "Thank you!"
Fourth Grandfather and A Man both froze at the sight of Little One. Shi Zhao moved faster, scooping him into her arms and squeezing and kneading him.
"Let Little One go!"
"Hey, that's so mean! Why are you stealing our kid?"
"Brothers, charge with me! Get Little One back!"
Shi Zhao did not know whether to laugh or cry. She could barely suppress the vein twitching at her brow, and even the joy of their reunion faded a little.
What should I do about this sudden urge to smack some children?
"Ah, Big Sister, have we met somewhere before?" Little One showed no shyness at all. He instinctively hugged Shi Zhao, as though remembering something.
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Certain long-buried memories opened up. Fragments flashed through the depths of his mind, as though when he had been very, very small, a big sister like her had held him too.
"Of course. I'm your big sister." Shi Zhao pinched his soft, fair cheek and gave him a brilliant, radiant smile.
"Big Sister..." Little One froze, tears shimmering in his eyes.
"It's me. I've come to find you!" Shi Zhao said, each word distinct.
The mischievous children exchanged looks and stopped shouting. Some of the older children had met Shi Ziling and his wife, and vaguely remembered them mentioning that Little One had an older sister.
"Oh no, Little One really is going to be taken away." One child looked ready to cry.
"Let's go back to the village first. Grandpa Chief will definitely know what's going on."
Shi Zhao and the others followed the children back to Stone Village.
The village was not particularly large, but its location was unusual. Lofty peaks and deep ravines surrounded it, enclosing it amid an endless sea of mountains. Its houses were all built from massive stones.
When Fourth Grandfather saw the charred willow at the village entrance, he immediately sensed something mysterious about it. "Struck by lightning, then reborn amid destruction. This willow must be extraordinary!" he murmured.
Shi Zhao ground her teeth and could not help giving him a thumbs-up.
Well done, Great-Grandfather! Passing judgment on a towering Immortal King so casually-you really do have spirit. You haven't let our Shi family lose face!
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