Chapter 41: As Everyone Knows, Wings Are Required for Flight

As his voice trailed off, the old man offered a bitter smile. "This impending migration... Earlier, after encountering that malevolent entity, he simply withdrew and walked away. And just now, even under the blockade of the paper effigies, he still chose to turn his back and leave."

"This is tantamount to hinting once again that we should not pin our hopes on him. At most, he will step in during a crisis to help us avert total annihilation, but he will not save us for all eternity."

Gazing around once more, the old man could not conceal his growing reluctance. "This old man is unwilling, too, but right now... do we even have a choice?"

"Once we go outside, even if they know hatred festers in our hearts, because of Zhao Yu, our clansmen can at least live in peace. At most... at most, it is just us cultivators who might meet with misfortune."

......

Far away from the tribe.

Zhao Yu did not stop until he was a great distance away from the Youxian Tribe.

He glanced cautiously over his shoulder, confirming that no one had followed him.

A slight sense of relief washed over him as he secretly attempted to control what was presumably Dharmic power within his body.

This was his first time practicing cultivation, and also his first time wielding Dharmic power... What if something went wrong with his control? Wouldn't he make a complete fool of himself?

Besides, he had come this far; even if he did make a fool of himself, no one would see it.

The Dharmic power inside him felt just like his own hands and feet, easily guided by his will to spin rapidly within his body.

The more he controlled it, the more obedient it became.

After a moment of further manipulation, Zhao Yu's expression froze.

The firewood chopper hurriedly scrambled up onto Zhao Yu's shoulder. "Zhao Yu, Zhao Yu, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with the Dharmic power?"

"Controlling the Dharmic power itself is fine."

Pausing for a moment, Zhao Yu wore a blank look. "The problem is, this Dharmic power seems capable only of spinning in circles inside my body, and absolutely nothing else. It neither allows me to soar through the skies and tunnel through the earth, nor enables me to unleash those glowing attacks that other people use."

It seemed he had wasted his time cultivating.

The firewood chopper scurried back to Zhao Yu's waist. "You haven't studied any spell manuals, so of course it doesn't work. You don't even understand the meridians... Only someone like you could manage this; if anyone else circulated Dharmic power so recklessly, they'd probably explode and die."

Zhao Yu came to a sudden realization. "There are quite a few people in the Youxian Tribe. It seems I must return there first to find some spells."

The firewood chopper curled its edge slightly in disdain. "What's worth learning from those fellows? They can't even defeat a tattered paper effigy... The trashiest spell manual in your study is stronger than any of their trump cards."

"Besides, stop worrying about other people for a moment. Let's go home first. Now that you have Dharmic power within you, there's no telling what kind of changes might have occurred at home. Let's go back and see if your younger brother and sister-in-law are there."

Ignoring the latter sentence and focusing entirely on the former, Zhao Yu was shocked. "Apart from those storybooks lacking in common sense, there are actually spell manuals in the study?"

How come he never knew?

The firewood chopper couldn't help but complain, "Every time you go to the study, besides reading storybooks, do you ever have the mind to look at anything else? Even if you wanted to read something else, when was the last time I didn't have to find it for you?"

Zhao Yu instinctively pondered this.

In the end, he realized that whenever he went to the study, he truly paid attention to nothing else, concentrating solely on storybooks... After all, storybooks were interesting.

Since that was the case, he wouldn't return to the Youxian Tribe after all; he would go home.

The firewood chopper couldn't help crawling back onto Zhao Yu's shoulder. "Fly back! At the speed you're walking, if your younger brother and sister-in-law decide to leave, by the time you get home, they'll have run to the ends of the earth."

"I don't know how to fly."

After a brief pause, Zhao Yu stared wide-eyed. "Besides, my wife told me earlier that even if I cultivate, my brother and sister-in-law will always stay home with us. You are forbidden to talk nonsense again."

Without arguing, the firewood chopper simply explained, "With a Golden Core in your possession, you gain a lifespan of eight hundred years, and you can perceive the Dao of heaven and earth. In the Great Qian Dynasty, this is known as a Golden Core True Person... This 'true' refers to understanding the meaning of one's true self. At this point, treading the wind as you walk becomes like an instinct. So hurry up and fly."

The color drained instantly from Zhao Yu's face. "Ei... eight hundred...?"

"What's wrong with you?" The firewood chopper panicked slightly.

Did it say something wrong?

Zhao Yu dropped heavily to the ground, crying tears of frustration. "I can only live for eight hundred years now?!"

"Wife, I was wrong, I shouldn't have cultivated... Sob, sob, I've become short-lived..."

The more he muttered to himself, the sadder Zhao Yu became.

Had he known that cultivation would shorten his life, he never would have cultivated at all.

The firewood chopper fell silent.

Why were the things Zhao Yu focused on always so bizarre?

Ah, right. It seemed only normal for Zhao Yu to have such bizarre focal points.

With a resolute expression, Zhao Yu picked himself up. "No matter, even if I only have a mere eight hundred years left to live, I must be strong... In this remaining time, I must stay home and properly accompany my wife..."

He staggered all the way home.

After walking for quite a while, Zhao Yu thought of something else. "Right, you said my flying is like an instinct now? Then how am I supposed to fly?"

The firewood chopper's face darkened. "I'm just a blade. You're asking a blade how a human is supposed to fly? Does that make any sense?"

"And yet you spoke with such absolute certainty earlier!"

"Everyone else says it like that."

"Then why can't I fly?"

The firewood chopper was rendered speechless once more.

"I knew you were unreliable! Do you know why I can't fly? Because my wings haven't grown out yet! You can only fly once you have wings. You even forgot such common sense—as punishment, I ban you from reading storybooks with me from now on!" Zhao Yu muttered to himself, lowering his head as he trotted home.

Then Zhao Yu discovered that there were indeed benefits to cultivation; for instance, he could run faster than before.

Although chasing rabbits alone was still difficult, he was definitely stronger than the firewood chopper now.

Once he grew wings, once he grew more hands and feet, once he grew beautiful tentacles... he would be invincible!

He could take on ten at once!

Gagaga...

......

Home.

Xiao Wanzi looked outside, her expression frantic as she continuously murmured, "Sister, how can you be so ruthless... How can you be so cruel..."

Mu Han was also standing by the doorway at that moment. Countless faces flashed across his visage, but the only constant was the unwillingness in his eyes.

Unfortunately, Ying was not here; perhaps she was in the bedchamber, or perhaps she was in seclusion.

Moments later, Mu Han gently pulled a small black cat from his robes. "Even though I cannot go out... I can still actively send these little playthings out."

The kitten touched the ground and expanded in the wind... Was that a cat? Clearly, it was a majestic black tiger!

Mu Han licked his lips. "I'm hungry. Go on, hunt for me and bring back some prey."

With a single bound, the tiger prepared to leap out of the courtyard.

Yet the moment it reached the courtyard gate, the tiger began to tremble violently on the spot.

In a fraction of a second, its fur split open, and a distorted monster crawled out from the tiger's belly.

Like a centipede, it was covered densely from head to toe with limbs.

"Heehee..." The bizarre monster scuttled rapidly across the ground, attempting to escape.

"Sister-in-law, do you truly have the leisure to spare right now?"

Accompanied by a strange chuckle, Mu Han's figure flashed to the doorway, grabbing the eerie centipede and ruthlessly hurling it outside the gate.

The monster crawled across the ground, preparing to flee far away.

Instead, it hurriedly burrowed into the earth.

Mu Han's expression shifted slightly as he turned and re-entered the house.

A storm of anger flickered in Xiao Wanzi's eyes before she quietly sat by the side-room's doorway, swinging her legs back and forth as her face melted back into a sweet expression.

A short while later.

Zhao Yu returned.