Chapter Thirty-Two: The Awakening of First Love

Lu Zhengtian and Lin Huashu sat atop the Nine-colored Vermilion Bird, their usual banter silenced. Both bore grave expressions, neither uttering a word.

By following his soul connection with the Golden-winged Roc, Lu Zhengtian tracked down Li Hao. Upon arrival, he saw Li Hao seated cross-legged in meditation beside the Roc, while the great bird sprawled awkwardly, one leg dangling, a wing askew, looking almost comical. Yet neither Lu Zhengtian nor Lin Huashu could muster a smile—they knew full well what ferocious battle must have taken place for the Roc to end up in such a sorry state.

When Lu Zhengtian and Lin Huashu arrived, the fighting had long since ceased.

“Brother, are you badly hurt?” Lu Zhengtian asked anxiously, seeing Li Hao meditating to regulate his breath. He worried this newly acquainted brother might have suffered serious injury.

Lin Huashu’s eyes mirrored the same concern.

“Thank you both for your care. I’m fine. But I’m deeply ashamed to have dragged Brother Roc into this,” Li Hao replied earnestly.

Hearing Li Hao’s sincere words to Lu Zhengtian, the Golden-winged Roc raised its head with effort and shook it gently as if to say: It’s nothing.

At a moment like this, it would be natural for the Roc to resent Li Hao for having brought such grave harm upon it. Yet, all it felt now was admiration. The disdain it had once harbored was utterly swept away by this ordeal.

That admiration was for Li Hao’s calm amidst crisis, his composed responses. Even when escape was impossible, he’d rather leap off a cliff than die at the hands of petty villains. Li Hao’s unwavering decisiveness had conquered the Roc’s heart completely; it no longer dared to look down on this youth of merely a dozen years.

Even more, this young man was always gentle and affable to friends, yet ruthless to enemies. The Golden-winged Roc, as the sovereign of all birds, was nothing if not astute. If it could not discern the depth of Li Hao’s potential after today, it would hardly deserve its lofty title.

Lu Zhengtian said, “My friend tells me that he thinks highly of you, Li Hao. He’d like to call you a friend as well.”

Having formed a master-servant contract with the Roc, Lu Zhengtian could sense its feelings and intentions. He’d known how reluctant the Roc was when asked to escort Li Hao back. He’d even considered warning the Roc not to underestimate his chosen friends, but then sensed a trembling, almost fearful, ripple in its soul—and thought better of it. Only much later would he and the Roc learn that Li Hao harbored an unimaginably powerful and mysterious being within him.

Li Hao turned to the Roc with heartfelt sincerity. “Thank you for thinking so well of me. I’ve long considered you a friend.”

Lu Zhengtian relayed, “My friend asks: Why?”

With a smile that could turn the heads and hearts of the world’s maidens, Li Hao reached out his fair hand and gently patted the Roc’s head. “How can you be even more clueless than I imagined? You’re a friend of my big brother Zhengtian, and that makes you my friend too!”

Laughter rang out.

Lin Huashu and Lu Zhengtian, seeing Li Hao’s rare display of innocent, unaffected charm—playing at being world-wise while gently teasing the Roc—could no longer contain themselves and burst into happy peals of laughter. Li Hao even winked, his eyes bright as stars.

The Roc, mortified at being called dim-witted, could only squawk in protest, but to no avail. A few months later, having survived this brush with death and fully recovered, it would take human form—a strikingly handsome one at that. All because of Li Hao’s playful taunt, “How can you be even more clueless than I imagined?”—the Roc would challenge Li Hao to contests of wit and will again and again, but always walk away in defeat.

Despite being nearly a thousand years old, the Roc’s intelligence was still much like that of a teenage boy.

Having lost much of its strength while saving Li Hao, the Roc was left with only superficial wounds, but was now too weak to fly. Unable to escort Li Hao any further, Lu Zhengtian had no choice but to call it back into his Spirit Ring to recover.

At this, Lin Huashu spoke. “Brother Li Hao, let me see you home.”

“I’ll trouble you, Brother Huashu,” Li Hao replied gratefully, showing no hint of shyness.

Out in the world, one must rely on friends. As he spoke, Lin Huashu summoned his Nine-colored Vermilion Bird.

Although the Vermilion Bird’s cultivation was a notch below the Roc’s, its overall strength surpassed it.

The Vermilion Bird, Golden Crow, and Phoenix were all kings among firebirds. Besides the fire-type Phoenix, there were also water-type Phoenixes, capable of freezing water into ice—thus called the Ice Phoenix. The Roc, when in the sea, could command water; in the sky, the wind; and in battle, metal. It stood as a king among birds alongside the others. The Vermilion Bird was generally crimson, master of all fire, and excelled at control. The Golden Crow was deep red, and its fire could incinerate all things, specializing in destruction. The fire of the Phoenix could refine all things, suited to sacrificial rites, while the Ice Phoenix refined water to ice, and specialized in destruction as well. Phoenixes were typically golden or blue.

Lin Huashu’s Nine-colored Vermilion Bird was stronger than Lu Zhengtian’s Roc because it was of a rare mutated breed—not only could it command fire, but wind and water as well.

To wield both ice and fire together might sound absurd, yet it was fact. Such mutated breeds were one in ten thousand, and only upon reaching maturity would their extraordinary powers fully manifest. The cultivation path for these rare breeds, especially those that cultivated multiple forces, was tremendously difficult—far more so than a simple sum of its parts. The difficulty multiplied with each additional force: two forces made it twentyfold, three made it thirtyfold, and so on. Many perished or became ordinary beasts before they could mature. In this, Heaven showed its fairness: if you wished for more, you must give more; reward and effort were always in proportion—there were no unearned gains.

Li Hao, Lu Zhengtian, and Lin Huashu stood upon the Vermilion Bird’s back. Though perhaps not as powerful as the Roc, its speed was no less impressive, carrying all three without effort.

As they traveled, Lu Zhengtian asked, “Brother, do you know who was behind the attempt on your life?”

“I have a fair idea, but I’ll need to confirm it in time. It’s nothing but petty trouble—I’ll handle it myself. You two needn’t worry.”

A cold light flashed briefly in Li Hao’s eyes as he spoke.

“We trust you,” said Lu Zhengtian. “But if you ever face something beyond your means, let us know.”

“Then I’ll thank you both in advance,” Li Hao replied.

“We’re brothers, no need for such formality. Huashu, don’t you think Li Hao looks more like a scholar than you?” Lu Zhengtian teased, sending all three into laughter. Among them, Lin Huashu’s eyes glinted slyly—what was he plotting? Neither Li Hao nor Lu Zhengtian knew. Had Lu Zhengtian guessed, he’d never let it go, but Lin Huashu dared not say, for Lu Zhengtian’s nickname for him—‘Shushu’—sounded like ‘Uncle.’

Chatting and laughing, Li Hao soon forgot the peril he’d just escaped.

“We’ll stop here,” Lu Zhengtian announced.

In the time it took to burn one stick of incense, they’d traveled three hundred li from the Five-star Cave. At Lu Zhengtian’s word, Lin Huashu had the Vermilion Bird land. For Li Hao, now at the peak of the Foundation-building stage, it would take but half that time to cover the distance at full speed.

“Brother Li Hao, we’ll see you off here. Go on alone. Mei and Yao are still in town, and I can’t rest easy knowing they’re unguarded.”

Lu Zhengtian was uneasy about his two sisters staying in the city, which teemed with all sorts, and also didn’t wish to distract Li Hao from his cultivation by accompanying him further. Besides, they had no acquaintance with the eccentric old man at the cave; it would be rude to intrude without cause.

Understanding, Li Hao bowed deeply to Lin Huashu and Lu Zhengtian. “Brothers, you need go no further. I too worry for Sister Xue Mei and little Yao. Please return to them quickly.”

He then turned to the Vermilion Bird. “Thank you, my friend. If ever you need my help, just ask.”

Perhaps from long exposure to Lin Huashu’s scholarly aura, the Vermilion Bird had adopted a gentler disposition than the proud Roc. At Li Hao’s words, it lowered its head and affectionately nuzzled him, marking its acceptance of his promise.

Among the scions of these noble houses, every mount was a king among beasts, of exalted bloodlines—a testament to their families’ strength. Ordinary folk could only hope for stray cats or dogs as pets.

No one can alter their birth, but they can shape their future. The farsighted strive relentlessly, content to become martyrs should they fail; the shortsighted, no matter how noble their origins, will one day amount to nothing.

Lu Zhengtian and Lin Huashu turned back atop the Vermilion Bird, which soon carried them hundreds of meters away. Lu Zhengtian called out, leaving Li Hao blushing to his ears.

“Li Hao, hurry and grow up—so you can marry Mei when you’re older!”

Their laughter echoed as the Vermilion Bird soared away, leaving Li Hao standing, cheeks ablaze, muttering, “What kind of big brother says things like that?”

Still young, Li Hao had never thought about such things. Now, teased by Lu Zhengtian, his thoughts were in chaos. Forcing himself to focus on the selection trials three days hence, he rushed toward the Five-star Cave.

An incense stick’s time later, Li Hao arrived at the cave, panting. The eccentric old man was not asleep today; instead, he hung upside down from a branch at the cave’s entrance like a bat.

Li Hao gaped at the sight, his mouth round, small hand half-covering his lips in astonishment. “Oh! Senior, are you practicing some new technique again?”

At the sound of Li Hao’s voice, the old man seemed startled. His foot slipped, and he tumbled headfirst toward the ground. Yet just before hitting, he braced himself with his hands, landing in a handstand and blinking at Li Hao with a playful look, as if to say, “Did you see that, little brother? Impressive, right?”

Eager to show off, the old man pushed hard with his hands, aiming for a full flip, but the ground split beneath him, and he fell halfway into a crack.

Li Hao, suspecting a trick, flicked the old man’s exposed leg with his finger. “Senior, your new game is quite something.”

Since meeting the old man, Li Hao and he had become like a pair of mischievous children, inventing odd games together. Such antics no longer surprised him.

“Little brother, what are you doing? Hurry and pull me out!”

Li Hao tapped the old man’s leg suspiciously. “Senior, is this for real this time?”

“I’m telling you, it’s real! There’s a fissure down here—I didn’t see it and slipped in.”

Convinced, Li Hao grabbed both legs and heaved, pulling the old man from the crack. The old man dusted himself off with a burst of power, leaping to Li Hao’s side as if they were long-lost friends. He pressed his head to Li Hao’s chest and listened.

“Little brother, you already fancy a girl at your age? Is she pretty? Bring her here someday and let me have a look.”

“No,” Li Hao replied firmly, though his blushing face betrayed him even more than before.