Chapter Seven: The Furious Sun Rooster

The Miao people, by nature, were wary of outsiders. As Li Yang entered the village, the gazes of the villagers were filled with hostility and vigilance. Li Yang paid no mind to this; as the saying goes, skill breeds courage, and with the golden toad protecting him, he had little fear of encountering any danger.

“Elder, I’ve come from Nuqing County to purchase medicinal herbs,” Li Yang said, approaching a Miao grandfather who was leisurely sunning himself and puffing on a long pipe. Li Yang wore a gentle smile. “I’ve heard that a doctor in your village makes especially fine medicines, so I’d like to buy some. Could you kindly point me towards his residence?”

The old man glanced at Li Yang with a hint of contempt. “Young man, are you even old enough for this? Do you know what kind of medicine our village doctor sells?”

Li Yang remained calm, unfazed by the old man’s attitude. Years of wandering society had hardened his skin, far beyond that of any youth. “Well... I have no choice; my family is poor. I have to find a way to make a living. I beg your mercy, grandfather.”

“Ah... Times are hard for everyone. Young man, the medicines our doctor sells are remedies for men’s hidden ailments. You didn’t even inquire properly before coming to buy. His house is that way.” The old man tapped his pipe thoughtfully, his heart stirred with pity as he pointed out the direction to Li Yang.

Li Yang, embarrassed by the old man’s expression, didn’t even have time to thank him before he hurried off in the indicated direction.

Soon, at the edge of the village, Li Yang found a small, standalone courtyard fenced in with pickets, within which stood a typical Miao wooden house.

Inside the courtyard, an elderly Miao man was drying herbs.

“Elder, I heard you sell medicine here,” Li Yang called out.

“How much do you need? Is it for yourself?” The old man was blunt, his manner unvarnished. He eyed Li Yang, especially scrutinizing his lower body.

Li Yang shifted uncomfortably, avoiding the old man's gaze. “No, I’m not here for your medicine. I want to purchase medicinal herbs.”

“Not selling.” The old man shot Li Yang a look and returned to his work.

Li Yang had anticipated this. Scanning the surroundings, he noticed a white mask hanging on the wall near the gate. He spoke up, “Elder, you must be a Bai Miao shaman.”

“Oh, are you a fellow practitioner?” The old man’s demeanor changed as he looked at Li Yang, who stood smiling with his eyes on the mask.

In the Miao lands, the arts of witchcraft and poisons had flourished since ancient times, divided into Bai Miao and Hei Miao. The Bai Miao healed and helped others, while the Hei Miao manipulated venomous insects and spread plagues. Only those initiated knew the marks of these traditions.

“I have studied a little,” Li Yang replied with humble modesty, saying no more.

He could tell that the arts of witchcraft had faded; the old man’s lineage was likely incomplete.

The witchcraft arts were among the oldest cultivation methods, popular in ancient times, but as the number of mythical creatures dwindled, they were gradually replaced by the emerging qi cultivators. Later, as the immortal path grew dominant, the arts evolved into the Five Immortal Ways. Witchcraft cultivation focused on refining the spirit, unlike the human-immortal path which specialized in qi and blood.

This Bai Miao elder showed no signs of cultivation; Li Yang deduced he had only mastered some rudimentary Bai Miao techniques. As for reaching a level of returning to the original and hiding all traces, that was impossible.

No matter the type of cultivation, it was a form of human evolution. The more one cultivated, the closer the body approached perfection. While some cultivators deliberately retained odd features, certain details could never be concealed. The trope of powerful masters hiding their abilities and living among mortals existed only in fiction; such tricks might fool ordinary people, but not fellow practitioners.

“You didn’t come just to buy herbs, did you?” The old man’s eyes narrowed, now taking Li Yang seriously.

After all, he was but a half-baked practitioner, essentially an ordinary person, so he hadn’t noticed Li Yang’s unusual aura at first. Li Yang, after months of cultivation, no longer looked waxen and emaciated as he did upon arriving in this world. Though his time training was short, since taming the golden toad, his progress had been astonishing, and he now bore the marks of a cultivator: rosy lips, white teeth, face like polished jade, eyes bright with spirit. His skin emitted a faint glow, his fingers smooth—no calluses, and even the usual lines almost vanished. If not for his coarse clothes and unkempt hair, no one would believe he was a skeletal beggar only a few months ago. This miraculous transformation explained why the steward at the He family residence failed to recognize him; were it not for lingering traces in his features, the steward would never have believed it.

For cultivators of the dual path of heaven and earth, early changes would not be so apparent, but Li Yang practiced the human-immortal path, which excelled at changing the constitution, so such transformation was normal.

“Since you ask, I won’t be coy. I heard you keep a rare bird, and I’d like to trade a witchcraft technique for it. Would you consider it?” Li Yang smiled, ignoring the old man’s hesitation, his tone resolute.

“This...” Understanding Li Yang’s purpose, the old man’s face twisted with indecision, silent for a long time.

“Think carefully, elder. The method of cultivation is the core. However precious the rare beast, it’s only external. With your untrained lifespan, you may never raise it to maturity before you die.”

“Ah... to be honest, I’m simply reluctant. Since I obtained the Nuqing chicken ten years ago, I’ve spent all my life’s savings on it, with little result. Without secret techniques, no matter how much I invest, it’s like water poured into sand.” The old man sighed deeply, revealing his dilemma: he could no longer afford the resources required to nurture the beast, yet he was unwilling to let go, so he had persisted out of stubbornness.

Li Yang suddenly understood; no wonder in the original tale, a mere wager led the old man to hand his Nuqing chicken to Zhugu Shao. The rare chicken had become a burden—too precious to abandon, yet impossible to sustain.

To nurture a mythical beast, either rare herbs must be used to aid its growth, or qi and spiritual power to sustain it. Without adequate nutrition over time, its bloodline would fade, returning to ordinary form. This was the instinct of biological evolution.

Understanding the old man’s predicament, Li Yang smiled wryly and produced a handwritten booklet he had prepared in advance. It contained the Bai Miao’s secret medicinal recipes and the core internal cultivation method of witchcraft, originally intended for Xiaoliu’s livelihood after leaving Xiangxi, but now put to use here.

The Li family possessed dozens of methods, most incomplete, but some intact. The Bai Miao secret medicine was one of the complete ones.

The old man received the booklet with trembling hands. Flipping through it, his face flushed with excitement like a child.

“Forgive my embarrassment...” Once his emotion settled, he opened the wooden coop beside the courtyard. “This way, friend!”

Li Yang entered and saw a large rooster, almost the size of a mongrel dog, crouched on the ground, looking listless and ignoring both men.

“Don’t mind its condition, friend. I simply lacked the resources to feed it properly, only giving it some lingzhi each day...” The old man laughed awkwardly.

But Li Yang paid no attention, his gaze locked on the rooster. He stepped forward and exclaimed after a while, “Excellent... what a fine Nuqing chicken of the phoenix breed!”

Though the chicken appeared dispirited, its eyelids were indeed set above, resembling human eyes as legend described. Between blinks, its gaze sparkled with intelligence. Its feathers were multicolored, embodying the Five Virtues of the phoenix. Its toes were thick, five in number, unlike any ordinary rooster. The comb atop its head was bright red, faintly glowing with light, as if heralding the rise of the sun.

As the poem goes: This chicken is no ordinary fowl, clad in the robes of the phoenix; atop its head shines a radiant crown, with a cry that resounds across the land.