In the eighth month, autumn skies stood high and furious winds swept red leaves into flight.
The forest floor was covered in dry twigs and dead leaves that cracked underfoot.
A shepherd in a straw hat looked to be in his fifties or sixties. A small goatee hung from his chin, and his face was sallow with a touch of pallor.
His stalk-thin back bent, he waved a slender whip and drove seventeen or eighteen plump sheep deeper into the mountains, his steps light and unhurried.
The old shepherd kept a close watch on his flock. Whenever a beast disobeyed, his whip came down at once.
Crack-crack-
Dry branches snapped.
A flurry of hurried footsteps came from behind him to one side, accompanied by a shout.
"Good sir! Good sir, please wait!"
The old shepherd stopped, herded the sheep closer to his side, and turned his head halfway to look back.
A youthful figure emerged from the dense woods.
The newcomer was a boy of about fourteen or fifteen, dressed in a gray Daoist robe of coarse cloth, with quite a few leaves clinging to his cuffs and collar.
There was a tear in the hem of his robe, as though he had accidentally snagged it. The front bulged slightly at the center of his chest, as if he had something tucked inside.
Though the boy looked bedraggled, his face was fair and clean. He was still young and had yet to grow into his features, but he could already be called handsome, and his bright eyes sparkled with life.
Jiang Yan looked delightedly at the old shepherd before him and raised his hands in a cupped-hand bow.
"Greetings, good sir. I'm new to these parts and have lost my way. Sorry for the trouble, but could you do me a kindness and point me toward the way out?"
The old shepherd kept his head tilted, seemingly displaying a little of the nervousness peculiar to villagers.
"Lost your way? Where might you be from, young fellow?"
Jiang Yan frowned. Just as the old shepherd spoke, a strong, rank smell of sheep blew into his face.
He thought nothing of it, however. There was nothing more normal than a shepherd smelling of sheep.
An innocent smile on his face, he spoke as though completely unguarded:
"You're too kind, good sir. I'm from the neighboring county. I heard the Dao School here in Chenguang County was about to open, so I thought I'd give it a try."
"The Dao School? So you're a Dao Seed!"
The old shepherd seemed to hold Dao Seeds in great respect. Hearing Jiang Yan's words, he turned his head a little farther to the other side.
"These mountain paths are hard going. Even if I pointed you in the right direction, I'm afraid you might not find your way out.
"The lord in the mountains is holding a feast today, and I have to deliver these beasts to him. Why don't you come along, young fellow?
"Have a good meal, then come back out with me."
The smile on Jiang Yan's face grew much more pronounced, but the old shepherd's head was turned, so he failed to see it.
"That sounds wonderful. Sorry for the trouble, good sir."
"N-no trouble at all..."
As the old shepherd spoke, his throat bobbed as he swallowed. The rank smell of sheep grew stronger. Jiang Yan could not help frowning. The bulge inside his robe shifted slightly, and he raised a hand to press it down.
The two traveled together, the cracking of dry branches beneath their feet growing more frequent.
As they walked, Jiang Yan pointed at the flock ahead, making conversation.
One sheep happened to turn toward him. Jiang Yan saw it shake its head in a humanlike fashion, tears still clinging to its eyes.
He pretended not to notice and went on speaking.
"Good sir, which family does this lord in the mountains belong to? What happy occasion calls for so many sheep?"
"Huh? Oh, oh, I don't know the lord's surname. All I know is that he's holding this feast because his young master got into our county's Dao Academy. Isn't such wonderful news worth celebrating?"
"I see. A Dao Academy disciple in the family-that certainly calls for a proper celebration."
Jiang Yan nodded in understanding and said no more.
The two continued on their way. It was late autumn, when the sun already set early, and with the dense forest here, their surroundings soon grew pitch-black.
As the old shepherd beside him walked, his body stooped lower and lower, and from time to time he began to tremble slightly.
The rank smell of sheep in the air grew stronger and stronger.
"Are you tired, good sir?"
Jiang Yan suddenly asked.
The old shepherd abruptly stiffened, then forcibly straightened his back.
"You must think me a joke, young fellow. These old bones are in terrible shape. A little shaking makes me feel better."
Jiang Yan did not reply, and the two walked another stretch in silence.
"We're here, we're here. That's the lord's residence."
The old shepherd raised a hand and pointed a short distance ahead, where a sizable residence came into view.
Its enclosing wall was built of red bricks and red tiles, and the steps at its entrance were snow-white. Two large red lanterns hung on either side. In the darkness, it looked like a demon intent on devouring people, its great bloodstained maw gaping wide.
Both leaves of the gate stood fully open, and a faint clamor drifted from within. It seemed a feast really was underway.
Beneath the two large red lanterns at the entrance, two indistinct figures could just be seen standing on either side.
"Oh dear, they must have started already. Let's hurry over."
Gripping Jiang Yan with one hand and remembering to herd the sheep with the other, the old shepherd hurried toward the residence.
When they reached the entrance, the figure on the right spoke first.
"You old thing, why are you so slow today? The lord will lose patience soon. Hurry up and get those sheep for the table inside."
"Why have you brought a person along, too? The lord is accumulating virtue for the young master. No eating people!"
The figure seemed a little angry at the sight of Jiang Yan. It stepped forward, emerging from the darkness directly beneath the lantern.
It stood over two meters tall, with a bulging belly and an open coarse-cloth gown that exposed a patch of black hair on its chest. Atop its neck was an enormous wild boar's head.
Two boar tusks protruded past its lips, one on each side, bobbing up and down as it talked incessantly.
"This isn't an ordinary person. He's a Dao Seed who wants to take the Dao Academy's entrance examination."
Now that they were here, the old shepherd finally stopped pretending.
His back bent all the way over, reducing his height by more than a third, and the straw hat on his head was pushed upward.
He took off the hat, revealing two goat horns. Beneath the straw hat, his head had actually become a goat's!
The old shepherd turned his head and looked Jiang Yan up and down with his two horizontally pupiled eyes.
No wonder he had not dared look anyone straight in the eye. Presumably, this monster's cultivation was still lacking, and he could not yet make his eyes look human.
"The lord is in a good mood today. Consider this boy my congratulatory gift to him!"
"So he's a cultivator! Hahaha, you old shepherd certainly know how to please! Go on in."
Jiang Yan remained perfectly still, as though the monsters had frightened him witless, allowing the old shepherd to shove him into the courtyard.
White smoke shrouded the courtyard like mist, and the aromas of wine and food rushed into his nose.
Stronger still was a rank, musky stench, carried by the mist and spreading thickly throughout the courtyard.
They rounded a corner, and a crowd of figures immediately came into view.
A host of monsters with pig snouts, deer antlers, snake tails, and leopard heads, some tall and some short, were gathered around the fire in the center.
Red flames roiled ceaselessly. A large pot stood over the fire, and a short figure beside it busied himself with a spatula as big as he was.
Stone tables stood before the monsters, with wine jars piled high. Every one of them was drinking with wild abandon.
They offered one another drinks, cups and wine tallies crisscrossing. What a fine feast, and what a merry time they were having!
The one seated at the head looked quite human, with a stone table before him as well.
Only, the chair beneath him was enormous, making him look rather slender by comparison.
At the sight of the old shepherd bringing a person in under guard, every gaze turned toward them.
The man at the head tossed down his wine cup, his eyes stabbing toward them with sinister malice.
"Hmm? Why is that a person? Where are the sheep I told you to find for the table?"
"My lord, the sheep are at the gate. This boy is a Dao Seed qualified to sit the Dao Academy's entrance examination, a congratulatory gift specially presented to you."
Those sinister eyes brightened, and his mouth split into a grin.
"A Dao Seed qualified to sit the Dao Academy's entrance examination?"
Since he wants to take the examination, he must have tempered his body. His Qi and Blood will be strong, with fewer impurities. That flavor...
Slurp-
"Hahaha, good, good! You old shepherd, how thoughtful of you."
The lord at the head swallowed, lifted a sleeve to cover his face, and had an entirely different appearance when he lowered it.
He stood over ten feet tall, his hands tipped with sharp claws. One accidentally scraped across the stone table before him, instantly leaving marks as though the stone were tofu.
"Kekeke, this form really is more comfortable."
The voice came from a wolf's head the size of a washbasin, covered in black fur!
A lord?
A wolf lord.
Before you continue