Three days later, at dawn, Xiao Nanfeng, Xiaoyu, and a hundred disciples of the Taiqing Immortal Sect departed from Taiqing Island by boat. Upon reaching the Tianshu Empire's border, where dock servants had readied horses, they pressed forward without delay.
By evening, they stopped to rest in the forest off the main road. Relaxed, Xiaoyu and Xiao Nanfeng leaned against a large tree, chatting about the purpose of their journey.
"That rascal Zhao Yuanjiao finally got his comeuppance, didn't he?" Xiaoyu laughed, nibbling on dry rations. "Being punished by our master to recite a hundred Taoist scriptures—he'll suffer for days! I bet people are lining up to mock him now. Too bad we can't witness it ourselves."
"My apologies, Senior Sister. You got dragged into this because of me," Xiao Nanfeng said, tearing off a piece of bread with an apologetic expression.
"Don't be silly. I was about to run out of money anyway, so when Master arranged for me to tag along and protect you, I couldn't ask for a better opportunity. Besides, we're going to make a killing this time!" Xiaoyu confidently patted her chest.
"I heard that the demon lair we're targeting is called the Thousand Crow Mountain?" Xiao Nanfeng asked, curiosity evident in his tone.
"That's right! The Crow Deity Marquis of the Tianshu Empire invited us to exterminate the Crow Demon on Thousand Crow Mountain. He's offering three million taels of gold as a reward, and we can take any slain mythical creatures with us," Xiaoyu explained.
"The Crow Deity Marquis?" Xiao Nanfeng looked intrigued.
"The Crow Deity Marquis was the Crown Prince of the former Grand Crow Dynasty. The dynasty only lasted three generations before its decline, which left the people in dire straits and gave rise to countless rebellions. The current Human Emperor of Tianshu was one such rebel leader. When the last Grand Crow Emperor died in battle, the Crown Prince and the officials pledged allegiance to the Human Emperor, legitimizing his rule and quickly unifying the land. After founding the Tianshu Empire, the ex-Crown Prince was granted the title Crow Deity Marquis, along with this autonomous fiefdom. He governs everything within his lands, though they technically fall under Tianshu rule," Xiaoyu explained.
"But along our journey, we've seen refugees and corpses lining the roadside. Life under the Crow Deity Marquis's rule is miserable," Xiao Nanfeng remarked with a furrowed brow.
"Yeah, being under his rule is truly unlucky," Xiaoyu shook her head, sighing.
While they sympathized with the locals' plight, an old acquaintance, Ye Dafu, approached with a swagger.
"Nanfeng! My Third Uncle wants you to scout ahead. Fifty miles!" Ye Dafu announced with a smirk.
Xiao Nanfeng frowned. Was there nowhere he could go to escape this guy?
"Ye Dafu, repeat that. Who do you want to scout?" Xiaoyu said, rolling up her sleeves, visibly annoyed.
"Third Uncle ordered it! Oh, you don't know, huh? The leader this time is my Third Uncle, Ye Sanshui!" Ye Dafu boasted, then glanced over at a middle-aged man in a Taoist robe not far off. "Third Uncle! Nanfeng is refusing your orders!"
Immediately, curious eyes from other Taiqing disciples turned their way.
Ye Sanshui approached, frowning. "What's going on?"
"Third Uncle, Nanfeng won't go scout," Ye Dafu exaggerated.
"Ye Sanshui, are you targeting Nanfeng? He's here to slay demons with me, not run errands for you," Xiaoyu said, unafraid of the older man.
Unperturbed, Ye Sanshui replied, "Junior Sister Xiaoyu, as the team leader, I must ensure fairness. Everyone here has reached the innate realm or higher, except for Nanfeng, who's still at the acquired realm. In battle, others will be able to fight valiantly, while he would likely struggle, so I assigned him a task he can handle."
"You're clearly colluding with Ye Dafu. This is a blatant abuse of power," Xiaoyu protested.
Xiaoyu's words quickly garnered murmurs among the other disciples, who cast disapproving glances toward Ye Sanshui.
"Ye Dafu, you go with Nanfeng!" Ye Sanshui ordered sharply.
"Me too? But, Uncle, you said…" Ye Dafu stammered.
"Enough talk. Get going!" Ye Sanshui snapped, silencing his nephew's objections. Then, looking at Xiaoyu, he added, "With my nephew accompanying Nanfeng, there's no favoritism now, right?"
With no excuse left to argue, Xiaoyu fell silent.
Reluctantly, Xiao Nanfeng and a disgruntled Ye Dafu mounted their horses and rode off.
Once they were out of sight of the group, Ye Dafu taunted, "Consider yourself lucky that I'm here with you now, but don't expect your luck to hold out. My Third Uncle's the strongest here; you won't escape his authority."
Xiao Nanfeng ignored him, inwardly cursing his fate to be stuck with this troublesome person.
"Afraid, are you? Ha! It won't matter. My Third Uncle is the only one here at the Mortal-Breaking Realm. Scouting is just the beginning!" Ye Dafu boasted.
Finally fed up, Xiao Nanfeng turned to him, asking calmly, "Do you think it's difficult to remove your uncle from his post as leader?"
"What did you just say?" Ye Dafu was momentarily stunned. This wasn't how he'd imagined the conversation going.
"To you, Ye Sanshui may be a mountain of a protector. To me, he's easily toppled."
Ye Dafu felt a sudden chill. "You wouldn't dare! I'll tell my uncle—you'll regret this!"
Before he could continue, Xiao Nanfeng suddenly grew tense, pulling out a bamboo tube. He tugged it, and a signal flare shot into the sky.
"Why are you sending a signal? Are you challenging my uncle's authority already?" Ye Dafu cried incredulously.
Ignoring him, Xiao Nanfeng stared intently into the distance. Following his gaze, Ye Dafu's face paled.
Soon, Taiqing disciples arrived, having spotted the flare.
"Ye Dafu, what happened?" Ye Sanshui demanded as he arrived first.
"It wasn't me! He sent the signal!" Ye Dafu quickly pointed at Xiao Nanfeng.
Xiao Nanfeng gestured toward the distance. "Look!"
In the distance, a small village lay within a mountain hollow, littered with the bodies of villagers and with thousands of crows circling above. The crows periodically dove down, tearing at the corpses.
"Crows… eating people?" the disciples whispered in horror.
"Let's get closer," Ye Sanshui ordered, and the group advanced. A hundred meters away, the stench of blood filled the air.
"These villagers have been slashed to death first, then the crows must've been drawn here by the blood," Ye Sanshui muttered grimly.
"Those aren't ordinary crows—they're Crow Demons. Many are half as tall as a person, indicating they're as powerful as the innate realm," Xiaoyu noted, her face serious.
"And there's a golden Crow Demon as tall as a human. It may rival me in strength," Ye Sanshui said, eyes widening.
Perched on a tall tree, the golden Crow Demon stared at them with blood-red eyes, letting out a threatening caw as its feathers bristled. Behind it, a swarm of Crow Demons did the same.
"Such arrogant creatures!" Xiao Nanfeng murmured.
Ye Sanshui hesitated, glancing between the Crow Demons and the disciples. "Let's continue to Grand Crow City to regroup with our senior brothers. We'll handle these demons later."
Some disciples, fearful, nodded, but others seethed with resentment. They refused to be cowed by a mere flock of crows.
"Go? While these creatures feast on people before our eyes?" Xiao Nanfeng's expression hardened as he challenged, "How can we ignore these people, or any who might still live? Are we Taiqing disciples, or mere bystanders?"
"Enough! It's my duty as leader to keep everyone safe. These deaths don't concern us," Ye Sanshui snapped.
"They don't? As our leader, you disgrace the Taiqing sect if you let these fiends devour human flesh unchallenged!" Xiao Nanfeng retorted.
"Audacious! Are you lecturing me?"
"Taiqing's mandate forbids collusion with evil! Does that mean nothing to you?" Xiao Nanfeng countered, his voice rising.
Other disciples hesitated, glancing at Ye Sanshui, uncertain.
Ye Sanshui's face darkened. Cornered, he begrudgingly agreed, "Very well."
Xiao Nanfeng rallied the disciples. "Let's rid this land of these demons and make our way to Grand Crow City with heads held high."
"Yes!" the disciples chorused.
Ye Sanshui grimaced, realizing Xiao Nanfeng had skillfully turned his authority against him. Watching the golden Crow Demon, he resigned himself. This battle would decide much more than he'd anticipated.
"Fine!" Ye Sanshui said with an ugly face.
The crowd's will was hard to disobey, so they had to agree first.
"In that case, everyone prepare, behead this group of arrogant sinful beasts, and we'll carry the corpses of these sinful beasts to Grand Crow City, and set the first credit for destroying Thousand Crow Mountain." Xiao Nanfeng droned.
"Good!"
The group of people had already been galvanized and broke off in unison, making a common cause and preparing to kill the village.
Only Ye Dafu stared at Xiao Nanfeng in dismay, what he said was true, he was going to get Uncle San off the stage, he was going to take away Uncle San's right to lead the team.
This bastard is really going to seize the power?