Goddess of Eloquence

Qu Zan clenched the stone and smashed it madly into the vicious dogs' heads. One yelped in pain and slunk behind its master with its tail tucked between its legs.

Waves of agony surged from the wounds on his body, but he paid them no heed.

He pinned the other vicious dog to the ground and hammered the stone down again and again, leaving half its face a bloody mess. Thick blood trickled along the edges of the rough stone.

Nima stared at the Nangsheng boy. The madness blazing in his eyes now made him seem an entirely different person from his usual timid, wooden self.

"You filthy slave, how dare you!" With a man and a dog put out of action in an instant, Nima shouted furiously.

Qu Zan held the stone in one hand, his eyes fixed on him.

Their wills remained locked in a stalemate. Nima sensed that the boy was like an untamable wild dog, with strength far beyond an ordinary person's. Charging forward rashly would gain him nothing.

Night had completely shrouded the mountain forest. Within the woods, everything was pitch-black and utterly silent.

Just then, footsteps snapped branches in the woods. Some presence was slowly drawing closer.

Whimper, whimper...

The vicious dog that had been barking furiously moments before now whimpered in terror, its tail clamped tightly between its legs as it trembled uncontrollably. It was so frightened that it wet itself.

Nima's heart tightened. Someone else was here. "Who's there?" he demanded in a low voice. "You have someone lying in ambush, too?"

A rotting stench like a dead rat's crept into their nostrils. It was certainly not the scent of anything living.

Qu Zan immediately pulled Meiduo over and wrapped his arms protectively around his younger sister. The little girl was already trembling all over with fear.

The legends he had heard before rose in his mind again: "After nightfall, never stay out in the open wilderness. Vengeful ghosts lurk in the dark shadows, choosing people to devour..."

A mass of pitch-black shadow flashed past and enveloped Tsering, who was still groaning on the ground.

"Aah!"

He let out a series of hair-raising screams. The sounds of bones breaking and flesh tearing followed one after another, making their scalps crawl.

Qu Zan focused his eyes on it. That was no shadow-it was clearly black human hair.

Within the hair, a woman's form appeared. The woman had no other facial features, only mouths. Mouths covered her entire body, hundreds upon thousands of them, each filled with rotten teeth. The sight was enough to trigger a fear of clustered holes; it was utterly horrifying.

"Eloquence! Eloquence! Sarasvati! Sarasvati!" The mouths on the woman's body kept making sounds. Half repeatedly chanted esoteric incantations, while the other half gnawed on Tsering's corpse.

The sight was terrifying beyond measure.

"A ghost!" Scared out of his wits, Nima turned and ran.

The ghost followed Nima.

Black hair swept past them, icy and terrifying, bringing a faceful of the dead-rat stench that covered her.

Qu Zan forced down the fear in his heart and recalled the incantation the ghost had been chanting.

He remembered hearing the young masters recite scriptures while he worked in his lord's garden at twelve years old. Those scriptures had contained the word Sarasvati.

That's the sacred name of the [Goddess of Eloquence]!

Could this ghost be connected to the Goddess of Eloquence?!

A chill ran down Qu Zan's spine. The Goddess of Eloquence was a deity representing auspiciousness and wisdom. Could this vengeful ghost before him be linked to a deity?

He was inwardly astonished that his memory had become so outstanding. Scriptures he had merely overheard years ago were still perfectly clear to him now.

[Much-Hearing]! The Much-Hearing Talent is taking effect!

The scene he had just witnessed surfaced in his mind. Why had the ghost first passed him over to eat Tsering, then ignored him again to pursue Nima farther away?

Tsering had been groaning on the ground in pain, while Nima had cried out "a ghost" before turning away in terror. Both had brought disaster upon themselves by making a sound.

Sound! The ghost was sensitive to sound.

Qu Zan immediately covered both Meiduo's mouth and nose and his own, keeping their breathing as faint as possible as they stood silently in place.

He dared not test his guess. The slightest movement would mean certain death.

Nima's screams rang out in the distance. Then came the vicious dog's barking and howling. A short while later, the entire mountain forest fell utterly silent.

That silence was far more chilling than the sounds of slaughter.

It meant that the Goddess of Eloquence would discover them if they made the slightest sound.

Although Qu Zan's body had been strengthened, standing perfectly straight and motionless was simply too exhausting. Meiduo, held in his arms, had long since reached her limit and could only lean tightly against him.

Qu Zan forced himself to stay alert. If the slightest movement brought an attack from the Goddess of Eloquence, no number of lives would be enough to spare the two of them.

Faintly, a new notification appeared in his vision:

"Through enduring without moving and keeping yourself deeply concealed, you have successfully comprehended the talent [Patience]."

"Patience lv1: endure without moving, standing still as a boulder. Greatly improves your ability to focus your mind and steady your breathing."

Thanks to this talent, Qu Zan was able to keep standing steadily.

He endured until the latter half of the night, when he could hold out no longer. His body went limp, and he dropped heavily to the ground.

Fortunately, the Goddess of Eloquence seemed to have gone far away. Qu Zan hurriedly settled against the nearest rock. This entire night had felt like years to him.

A line of text appeared on the panel:

"Through diligent practice and steadfast immobility, your [Patience] lv1 progress has increased by 1%."

He did not sleep all night. Fear and terror kept his eyes open throughout, lest he draw the vengeful ghost to them.

Only when the sun rose the next morning and sunlight bathed the land did the heartstrings that had been taut all night finally relax.

He got to his feet and stood steady. After running about for a day and a night without eating, his stomach was already growling with hunger.

Qu Zan glanced at the ground. The corpse lying there had been torn into a bloody mess.

But the cloth bundle at the corpse's lower back was still intact.

Qu Zan hurriedly picked up the bundle and opened it, finding two qian in silver coins and a packet of black tsampa flour.

This coarse flour, made by roasting highland barley and buckwheat with dried grass, was the staple food of serfs.

Qu Zan divided the black tsampa flour into two portions and handed one to Meiduo, then grabbed a handful for himself and stuffed it into his mouth. Chewed dry, it grew more fragrant with every bite.

Meiduo took a small handful and slowly pressed it into her mouth, then packed the rest into the cloth bundle and handed it to Qu Zan.

"Brother, I'm full. You eat the rest."

"Nonsense. You haven't eaten for a day and a night either. You're hungry, too. Don't forget, we have other food."

He raised a hand and pointed at the vicious dog he had beaten to death.

"We have roast meat to fill our bellies, too." With that, Qu Zan hoisted the dog's carcass onto his shoulder.

The two had walked a dozen or so paces downhill when they came upon Nima's corpse. All the flesh had been gnawed from his body, leaving only a skeleton.

Fortunately, the ghost had paid no attention to Nima's belongings.

Qu Zan had Meiduo pick up the leather pouch. Inside were twenty small silver coins weighing one qian each, along with two large silver coins weighing three liang each.

This is already a fortune.

A single one-qian silver coin could buy four or five jin of coarse grain, enough to feed the two of them for two or three days.

The battered leather pouch also held chura and two pieces of air-dried mixed meat.

Chura was made from the residue left after churning butter from milk, set into coarse granules. It was a snack for serfs.

The air-dried mixed meat came from old sheep, sick sheep, or wild rabbits, salted and dried in the wind.

Qu Zan tucked some dried milk curds into Meiduo's mouth. A rich, sweet-and-sour milky fragrance spread across her tongue. The little girl savored it in tiny mouthfuls, reluctant to swallow.

"Is it good?" Qu Zan asked softly.

Meiduo nodded, tears in the corners of her eyes. "It's so good." Qu Zan simply gave Meiduo all the remaining milk curds and air-dried mixed meat.

As though she had received the most sacred objects in all heaven and earth, Meiduo carefully tucked them into her clothes.

Chewing the dried meat and putting coarse black tsampa into his mouth with one hand, Qu Zan strode downhill.

The road ahead was vast and uncertain. He began to consider how he would survive from now on.

He knew well how dangerous his situation was. As a Nangsheng at the very bottom of society, he had been registered with the lord from birth. Born a Nangsheng, enslaved for life; every generation of his descendants would remain Nangsheng forever.

Even if he was lucky enough to escape this place and flee to another domain, he might still end up being captured and brought back.

He racked his brains, searching for a way out of this trap.

There is only one way out: becoming a monk. Only then can I escape the fate of hereditary slavery.

As a Nangsheng, even if he entered monastic life, he would be nothing more than a monastery servant. But there was a path to advancement there. However faint the hope, it was his only chance now.