The county office was a shambles, nothing but ruins and broken walls.
Buildings had collapsed, thick pillars had been snapped in half, and broken branches and leaves of an old locust tree were scattered everywhere. All that was left was the bare, bare trunk. No matter where one looked, everything was covered in traces of sharp cuts and slashes.
There was not a single light on the compound, as if it had been entirely abandoned.
The body of Shen Yanping, slashed beyond recognition, had been propped up against a wall.
Pei Ye gently moved the body of Cheng Feng next to Shen Yanping's.
Scattered around the yard were the bodies of a dozen men in white robes and messengers, along with two instructors from the martial arts hall who must have hurried over to help after seeing the water dragon.
Looking at the tragic scene, there might have been a chance for a victory, but unfortunately, it ended in defeat.
Pei Ye quickly crossed the courtyard to the room he had been previously stationed in. Although heavily damaged by the surge of water, it had luckily escaped the brunt of the destruction being in the backyard.
Pei Ye dug through the wreckage of overturned tables and chairs to find the wine and medicine he had brought. He took a deep brown pill from his bag, swallowed it down with a gulp of wine.
A sensation like a fire ignited in his stomach, melting the icy cold needles, the burning pain slowly rising, replacing the throbbing that was on the verge of breaking out in a second wave.
Leaning against the wall, Pei Ye took a few deep breaths. Color slowly returned to his face. He pushed himself up and walked back to the main hall.
A pillar had broken; the roof had tilted and collapsed. Yet, the other three pillars still held up part of the space.
Pei Ye rummaged through the debris but didn't find Chang Zhiyuan's body. Perhaps, Lord Shen had requested him to leave before the real battle kicked off.
There was no trace of the Soul Bird, but its jade box had fallen under a table. Pei Ye picked it up and found two letters inside.
Under the lamp's light, Pei Ye took out one letter and started reading it.
"Respectfully addressed to Master Shen:
The danger we face is known to us. However, we received a letter from Shengjing a few days ago stating that an envoy carrying a crucial task has reached our state, and we must fully cooperate. The military governor of Jing has already gone to Zhengshou County this morning to welcome them. As soon as we received your letter, we sent a reply by Soul Bird and also asked Lord Zhang Xiu and Lord Zhao Yizhang for their assistance. However, their aid may not arrive on time. Therefore, we have entrusted the Soul Bird with the 'Little Jiao's Heart,' hoping it will help you in this crisis.
The heart trembles upon reading your letter, like being engulfed in flames. Master Shen, Lord Feng, Chang Zhiyuan, my friends, please take care!"
Pei Ye put down the first letter and picked up the other one. The handwriting was different.
"Little Jiao's Heart..." Pei Ye murmured, carefully reading the second missive.
The first sentence read, "Shen Yanping, Little Jiao's Heart has been soaked and wrapped. It can be used directly."
Beneath that was a large blank space, followed by another paragraph.
"If Master Shen has met with an unforeseen accident, the person who opens this letter should use 'Little Jiao's Heart' as follows.
'Little Jiao's Heart' is refined from the Magician of the Nurturing Intent Building, and is normally sealed in a dehydrated state. It needs to be soaked in water to 'activate' it, the soaking time depending on the concentration of Spiritual Energy in the water.
When using it, it must be wrapped in special talisman and swallowed. It has two miraculous effects: First, 'Jiao's Flesh,' which strengthens the body, making it impervious to blades, and capable of carrying five bulls. Second, 'Water Spirit,' which allows one to move through water like a fish, and can control two specific water magics.
The two magics are 'Binding Crocodile,' which can lock enemies using water; and 'Breaking Turtle,' which can turn water into a blade. If you don't have spiritual power, you can only use these magics in places with abundant water vapor, and the results vary from person to person.
Note 1: If you do not have experience controlling spirits, do not try to use these two water magicks!
Note 2: 'Little Jiao's Heart' must be used by a martial artist of at least four cycles of Meridian Tree. Without True Qi to protect the body, even if it is wrapped in talisman, 'Little Jiao's Heart' will erode the internal organs. If you value your life, the user cannot be less than two cycles.
Note 3: Even if you are qualified to use it, it must be removed from the body within four hours using another talisman attached to the bottom of the box. To use it, you must activate it with the blood of the person who swallowed it. It can be used three times. If exceeded four hours, you must seek a Magician from the Nurturing Intent Building or for a surgical procedure in the Mount Tai Medical Hut within ten days. If you exceed this time limit, only gods can save you if the person and the pearl merge."
"Magic Artifact..." Even though Pei Ye had suspected it, he was momentarily speechless.
These things that he had only heard about in novels and stories were surprisingly real and existing in the world.
Opening the bottom of the box, he found a talisman with a black background and gold writing spread out.
Pei Ye took out this talisman, went to the side of Shen Yanping, knelt down and looked at the ghastly face with numerous bloody holes for one last time, then drew his dagger and pierced it into his abdomen.
As he sliced open the belly, the sight within was horrifying.
There was no doubt that Shen Yanping was qualified to control 'Little Jiao's Heart,' but without True Qi to protect his body after death, this walnut-sized magic artifact had embedded into his flesh.
The yellow talisman wrapped around the artifact had not been punctured, but it stretched like some highly elastic matter, remaining attached to the roots that had grown out, preventing them from directly touching the flesh.
Pei Ye took out the black talisman, dipped it a bit in Shen Yanping's blood; luckily, it was still effective. The yellow talisman with black writing around 'Little Jiao's Heart' clung to it like a swallow returning to its nest, tearing the artifact away from the flesh.
Catching this magic artifact, the buds on it were still wriggling and swaying.
By estimation, Lord Shen has been dead for less than half an hour. In this time without True Qi, the little flood dragon spirit has almost completely parasitized the stomach. Without any True Qi in his own body, he should be the same as the body of Lord Shen, which could probably withstand the little flood dragon spirit for a maximum of one hour.
It's time to find the man in black.
As Pei Ye rose and took a step forward, he stepped on something. It was sticking out from the bottom of Shen Yanping's robe. Pei Ye picked up a lantern, bent over, and picked it up.
It was a thin book. The instant the lamp's light shone on its yellow cover, a familiar feeling erupted in Pei Ye's mind, causing him to freeze in place.
"The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Land and Sea Monsters…" Pei Ye muttered. The book he searched the public quarters and could not find was actually on Shen Yanping's body.
Opening the first page, the author was a Jin native named Du Wuzhen. He hadn't paid attention to this name when he was young, but this time the name made Pei Ye's gaze slightly congeal.
—"I have found all the books written by Du Wuzhen, but I am still checking the rest."
No wonder… Pei Ye's mind swayed. This was the "Law Connection"…
He quickly flipped through the pages. This book was actually an illustrated tome depicting various peculiar beasts from different geographical classics, without much text. No wonder he loved browsing through it when he was young.
Eventually, Pei Ye stopped on a page, and his blurry memory was refreshed.
The content on this page was straightforward. It depicted a firebird that looked like a phoenix, beneath which was a line of tiny text, "On the hill of Kunlun, there is a bird named the quail bird, which manages the hundred clothes of the Emperor."
His memory of the "quail" originated here.
At first glance, a simple picture with only a few words didn't seem to connect to the [Quail Head] in any way.
Pei Ye took a closer look. Du Wuzhen's brushwork indeed had charm. The quail bird's head was slightly dropped, appearing calm and elegant. There was nothing unusual besides that.
But when his gaze shifted to its wings, Pei Ye's eyes twitched. A dangerous sense of familiarity flitted past and goosebumps rose instantaneously.
This feeling was unfounded. Pei Ye furrowed his eyebrows and looked again. Suddenly, the quail bird in the painting seemed to have a human-like demeanor.
Its head was bowed, its right wing folded, and its left wing spread in front of its chest, reminding him of an old monk. Was it... worshipping something?
As if led by a ghost, Pei Ye felt that he suddenly recognized the movement of the bird's wings. He slowly lifted his left hand, his little finger curling up, and his thumb pinching the lower joints of his middle finger, placed it under his chin.
This hand gesture was so unfamiliar. Why would he…
His thoughts abruptly ground to a halt in surprise, and Pei Ye stood unmoving on the spot.
Everything slowed down.
The flame inside the oil lamp seemed to be dancing slowly. Raindrops crawled down from the sky like snails, and a bird's call seemed to be elongated…
His mind became incredibly clear, and every detail of his surroundings could be seen vividly.
"The quail bird, which manages the hundred services of the Emperor," this ability to neatly arrange the hundred tasks of the god of the sky was now given to the young man. The world was clearly visible to him.
Pei Ye blankly made the hand gesture again, and this strange state instantly disappeared, causing Pei Ye to fall back into the real world.
The flame was still flickering wildly in the wind, the rain was falling heavily, and the birds were chirping anxiously…
Pei Ye looked at his hand: "Is this... [Quail Head]?"
He was acutely aware that it was not a dream, this divine ability was genuinely within him.
Just then, a distant and lofty call suddenly rose from within his heart, and Pei Ye abruptly turned his head to look towards the west of the city.
The ritual had begun.
The activated [Quail Head] came into use.
Pei Ye could clearly perceive the soul-losing call this time, but he was not affected at all. He felt he could cut off the connection at any time, just like last night, making the "Divine Spirit" lose its target - him.
Life was so within his reach.
The man in black had gone west into the city, and the ceremony was also held in the west. He could sense the location calling him, just as they could sense his location.
There were horses in the backyard, he just had to cut off the connection, get far away from the west of the city, and they would not be able to find him anymore.
Pei Ye paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed lightly.