Volume One: A Thousand Years of the Stream Chapter 20: King of Beasts

At dusk, the two arranged their purchases in the room. There were over a dozen dishes on the table, all bought by Sun Zikai simply because Jiang Yujin had mentioned wanting to eat them. It cost two strings of cash—three hundred wen in total. After today's expenses, only two hundred wen remained.

"Things in the sect are so expensive," Sun Zikai remarked with a sigh.

"Are they?" Jiang Yujin asked between bites. "It was only one hundred wen."

Sun Zikai ignored her and continued, "I was still swindled by that kid. Other disciples only pay twenty wen a month for lodging."

Jiang Yujin complained, "Do you really want to live in a place like that? Dozens of people crammed into one room. How many people were living in that shack we saw halfway up the mountain?"

"Twenty, I think. I remember seeing four or five-year-old children, too."

"Twenty people in such a tiny space!"

"It’s cheap. They only pay ten wen a month, while we’re paying fifteen hundred. If you want to buy it outright, it’s a staggering one hundred taels. They must be mad with greed; everything in this broken sect is overpriced."

As he spoke, Sun Zikai took out a cowhide notebook he had bought for thirty wen. It contained only thirty pages, all filled with mission slips they had carefully selected from the Assignment Office on their way back. All tasks had to be picked up from there, categorized into ten levels; outer disciples rarely ventured beyond the fifth level.

"You took so many, and they’re all level-five tasks. Can you finish them within a month?"

"I’ll give it a try. The more you work, the more you earn. I want to enter the Manqian Pavilion as soon as possible to learn the true path of cultivation." Sun Zikai looked at the first task and read aloud, "'Go to the Great Stone Slope and kill the evil disciple Qin Heng. He is at the first stage of Qi Refining. Urgent: must be completed within five days. Reward: five qian.' Five qian! That’s quite a profit!"

"But he’s at the Qi Refining stage!"

"It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m good at ambushing."

Just then, a strange noise emanated from outside. Jiang Yujin found the sound eerie and unsettling. "Let's light the candles," she said worriedly. "We should just stay together in here for the night."

"What? You want to sleep with me?"

"Go to hell! I mean share the room; I’m scared." Along the way, they had heard the rumors about this house. Though it was originally built by the Beast Sect for research, they only used it during the day; no one had ever stayed there at night.

"What’s there to be afraid of? I saw them—it’s just two or three beasts gathered near the house. It's fine, they can't get in."

"Our house is right next to the First Garden, separated by only a single layer of wire mesh. Is that safe?"

"Didn't you hear? That mesh has been enchanted. The beasts can't cross it. Don't worry."

"But I’ve also heard that every year, beasts jump out of the First Garden, and people get hurt or killed every time."

The eerie sound rang out again. Unable to eat, Jiang Yujin lit the candles. No sooner had she let out a sigh of relief than the noise returned.

"What’s going on? Should we go out and look?" Jiang Yujin asked timidly.

"Are you sure?" Sun Zikai stood up, took Jiang Yujin by the hand, and walked outside. The wire mesh of the First Garden was high, and they could see the spectacle from the courtyard.

With one glance, Jiang Yujin nearly lost her soul. It was a beast half-hidden in the darkness, five zhang tall, with a massive head dominated by a mouth that took up half its face. Its teeth were exposed, each one the size of an infant's arm. It stood there in silence, and it was the source of that eerie sound.

The thin wire mesh looked like a piece of paper that could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

Jiang Yujin shivered uncontrollably. "We can't stay here. Let's run."

"Don't be afraid. It’s just standing there. It won't bother us."

"But what if it charges over?"

Suddenly, the monster moved. It seemed to understand human speech, intentionally leaning forward, its massive body pushing the wire mesh to collapse into the courtyard. Seeing this, Jiang Yujin’s heart tightened, believing her end had come, while Sun Zikai placed his left hand on his sword hilt.

But the beast stopped. It stood upright, yet the wire mesh did not spring back; it remained tilted, only seven or eight feet from the roof of the western room. Sun Zikai exhaled a gust of wind, and the mesh finally snapped back into place.

Sun Zikai frowned, puzzled. "Strange, it really doesn't seem to hold them."

"Please, let's run!"

This was right next to the center of the First Garden. If the wire mesh was useless, who would dare live here at night?

Sun Zikai jumped onto the roof of the western room, crouched down, and inspected the mesh. He found traces of energy at the base and stood up, turning back to say, "It’s fine. They’ve set up wards; they can't get out."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a beast slammed into the mesh, pushing it toward Sun Zikai. The mesh was inches from his face, and the creature, pressed right against the barrier, let out a thunderous roar at such close range.

Jiang Yujin covered her ears and screamed, her legs giving way as she collapsed to the ground.

Disciples hundreds of zhang away heard the long-absent roar and knew that the two newcomers were about to endure the most unforgettable nightmare of their lives. It was said the last disciple who dared to stay here was scared senseless; when he ran back, he could no longer speak human language.

Sun Zikai turned his head, his expression calm despite the beast being only inches away. After a brief silence, he leaned forward. The beast roared again, and had he not tempered his ears, he would have been deafened on the spot.

Sun Zikai grinned. "It's time to sleep. Stop yelling."

At that moment, a multitude of beasts hidden in the darkness grabbed the wire mesh and began to push. The mesh looked as though it was about to give way.

Ignoring this, Sun Zikai turned, pulled the paralyzed Jiang Yujin to her feet, and returned to the house.

Jiang Yujin was still trembling. Outside, the roars resumed, mixed with countless other bizarre sounds. It felt as if the walls had vanished, and the monsters were screaming right in front of her.

"Run... let's run!" Jiang Yujin was terrified. Sun Zikai sat beside her and covered her ears with his hands, but the noise was too great to block out. The roars continued, growing in number. They could vaguely hear the sound of the wire mesh snapping. The sky outside darkened, as if a swarm of shadows was darting about.

Jiang Yujin buried her head in Sun Zikai’s chest, shivering continuously.

The entire sect could hear the beasts’ bellows. Feng Yueyi said to Wu Lanmu, "Master, someone has moved into that abandoned house of yours again. By the looks of it, they're too scared to even run, otherwise the beasts wouldn't be howling like that. You should do something; it's deep into the night, and everyone is being disturbed."

Wu Lanmu was still angry about what happened earlier that day. "Let them be annoyed to death! I don't care!"

But after a while, even she could no longer sit still. If this continued, the whole sect would be thrown into a panic, which was bad for the Beast Sect's reputation. Just as she was about to leave, the roaring stopped. She scoffed and sat back down. Feng Yueyi remarked, "That person is quite impressive to have lasted this long."

Wu Lanmu said disdainfully, "They’re probably insane by now."

Sun Zikai, annoyed by the noise, had stormed out into the courtyard. In the darkness, the wire mesh looked ready to snap.

"Shut up! It's annoying!" His voice was drowned out by the roars. The tiles on the roof shattered from the vibrations, and more ghostly sounds seeped through the walls, subjecting Jiang Yujin to another round of torment.

Sun Zikai was enraged. He vaulted into the air, cleared the wire mesh, and landed inside the First Garden.

The herd of beasts froze, stopped their howling, and turned around. Their eyes were blood-red and filled with greed.

Sun Zikai whistled, slowly retreating into the darkness.

The herd, unwilling to let such a rare prey escape, swarmed after him.

Outside the house, the roaring ceased. Jiang Yujin was still shaking. She had called for Sun Zikai countless times in her heart without response. She found herself alone, but she didn't think he had abandoned her; she feared he had been devoured by the beasts.

She tried to move to find him, but her legs were weak and heavy. Encouraging herself, she found a wooden stick by the table—having no sword—and used it to stand up. She slowly shuffled toward the door. Suddenly, the roaring returned, and she threw the stick aside, curling up by the door, sobbing softly until she broke into loud, terrified wails. Finally, she grabbed the stick, rushed into the courtyard, out the gate, and circled around to the wire mesh on the west side. The dark First Garden was pitch black, yet filled with hissing and growls.

Summoning all her courage, she shouted, "Where are you? Are you still alive?"

The First Garden suddenly fell deathly silent. She felt as if a monster would appear at any second and smash the mesh into her face. She should run, but she wouldn't. She threw away the stick and reached for the wire mesh to climb over.

But just as she touched it, a voice came from the darkness: "Don't touch it. It’s enchanted."

Moonlight spilled down. In the shadows, Sun Zikai emerged, covered in blood. His left hand dragged a massive beast head—he had dragged the entire carcass here.

Sticking his sword into the ground, Sun Zikai sat on the beast's head, took a long breath, and gave Jiang Yujin a smile. "It's not my blood. It's all theirs."

Jiang Yujin collapsed to the ground, leaning against the wall, unable to calm her heart for a long time.

The beast beneath him stirred, so Sun Zikai stood up and punched it, knocking it unconscious again. He then vaulted over the mesh, picked up Jiang Yujin, and carried her back into the house, saying, "Don't worry, none of these beasts will dare to howl tonight." Jiang Yujin tilted her head and fainted.

Deep in the night, Jiang Yujin woke up. She called out, but received no answer. Worried, she got up and groped in the dark until she found a candle, though she had no flint. By the moonlight, she walked outside and saw a river of blood flowing overhead. Sun Zikai was performing a series of strange movements in the moonlight and blood, and soon, crystalline objects formed within the blood.

It was blood essence, and Sun Zikai was tempering his body. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the blood of these beasts was of a higher grade than human blood and could help him continue tempering his physique to increase his strength. This discovery was too valuable; he longed to slaughter every beast in the First Garden, stack them into a tower, and create a lake of blood to lie in while he completed his tempering.

Noticing Jiang Yujin in the courtyard, he said, "I am cultivating. The blood of these beasts is of great use to me."

Jiang Yujin didn't understand this method of cultivation. Even though Sun Zikai had explained it to her before, she still found it incomprehensible. Sun Zikai added, "From now on, I'll do missions during the day and come into the First Garden to slaughter beasts and collect blood at night."

"Are... are you a devil?"

"Huh?"

"What exactly are you..."

"I am a beast! The king of beasts!"