Serpent species have tremendous physical strength, with the White Qui Serpents being especially powerful. The physical strength of a peak-level Novice Magus level White Qui Serpent was ten times better than that of a Level 10 Novice Magus.
Ji Hao had eaten an entire White Qui Serpent which improved his physical strength to another level. He stretched his body in the yard and shouted to the sky. He sensed great power rushing through his bones and muscles.
Yesterday, Ji Hao had become a Level 4 Novice Magus. Today he had gained another forty-thousand 'stones' of strength after eating an entire White Qui Serpent.
Ji Hao laughed aloud happily. If he could devour ten more beasts like this White Qui Serpent before the worship ceremony, Ji Wu would no longer be a threat to him.
"A White Qui Serpent has forty-thousand 'stones' of power," Ji Hao said to himself. After having exercised in the yard for a while, he took a deep breath and gave an ear-piercing whistle towards the Gold Black Mountain. With the great internal power gained from practicing the [Mantra Dan with Nine Secret Words], the sound of his whistle reverberated throughout the jungle without fading.
From a towering mulberry tree on the Gold Black Mountain, a gigantic Fire Crow rose high in the air. The crow hovered around the tree and flew towards Ji Hao while its feathers emitted a faint fiery light.
The crow folded its wings, transformed into a beam of light and arrived above the yard in the span of few breaths.
Ji Xia stood in front of the door, nodded sincerely to the Fire Crow, and said, "Mr Crow, thanks for always keeping an eye on Ji Hao."
The Fire Crow was hovering in front of Ji Xia. He narrowed his eyes, tilted his head and cawed at Ji Xia.
Ji Hao hopped onto the crow's head; he laughed and said, "Mr Crow! Let's go somewhere further today! Do you remember where we found the nest of the 'Golden-Winged Bees'? Let's go!"
With a long-lasting piercing sound, the Fire Crow soared straight up into the sky, and flicked his wings as it transformed into a light stream, disappearing quickly into the clouds.
Qing Fu slowly walked to the door, watching Ji Hao and the crow disappearing; she frowned and said to Ji Xia, "Jiang Yao came to our home and tried to attack Hao today...Xia, these people really want us dead!"
Ji Xia nodded; he mounted the bronze-furred bear and left. He didn't say a word, but a faint flame appeared around his head.
The bear roared with a few threads of saliva hanging on the corner of its mouth, dashing towards the jungle. Ji Xia whistled a few times, from which a group of muscular warriors came out from the nearby cabins as they heard the call. They rode different contracted beasts and followed Ji Xia.
Qing Fu leaned against the door frame while she was still frowning, and stared at the sky. A wisp of dark-green smoke appeared between her eyebrows for a fleeting moment.
"Jiang Yao..." she whispered.
Up in the air, the crow was flying towards southwest. Ji Hao patted the crow on his head. The crow stopped advancing immediately; he hovered in the air, turned his head around as it looked at Ji Hao and cawed at him. He looked quite puzzled.
"Mr Crow, I know we have our ancestors' rules to obey so I can't ask you to deal with Ji Shu and his people for me; but if I do it myself, no matter what you see, you won't tell anyone, am I right?" smirked Ji Hao while patting Mr Crow's head.
The Crow blinked its eyes and cawed loudly, showing a sly look to Ji Hao.
"Good! Good! What are we? We're bros! You have known me since I was a baby; now there are some people who want Abba, Amma, and me to die. You wouldn't let them, would you?"
Ji Hao stood up, looked back at the Gold Black Mountain and muttered, "I am known for always seeking revenge for even the smallest grievances. An eye for an eye! I don't want to wait until tomorrow."
Ji Hao pointed at a direction; the crow opened its wings and swerved in the air. It flew slowly and quietly, to where Ji Hao had pointed. Its fiery feathers turned back to normal.
After a quarter of an hour, the crow quietly landed on a mountain hundreds of miles away from the Gold Black Mountain. Ji Hao leapt down from the crow's head, after which he dragged a pile of vines off. An entrance to a cave became visible upfront.
It was a cave hidden behind the pile of vines. The cave was nearly one hundred meters in radius. Dozen of big clay vats[1] were placed orderly in the cave. Every one of these vats was sealed with clay. Ji Hao checked them one by one, then chose one and carefully carried it on his shoulder afterwards.
After Ji Hao brought the vat out of the cave, he covered the entrance again with the vines. He held the vat in his arms and hopped onto Mr Crow's head. The crow flapped his wings and rose silently to the sky. After a few minutes, the crow landed in a valley which was a few miles away from the cave.
The valley was quiet and clean; white cobblestones were everywhere.
Ji Hao seemed very familiar with this place. He walked to a gigantic stone at the center of the valley and violently kicked it.
The entire valley shook slightly. With a thundering noise, the gigantic stone moved and floated in the air. In the span of a few breaths, the cobblestones nearby converged towards this gigantic stone and formed a pure-white stone giant ultimately.
The stone giant started to creak its body. Stones on its body began to rapidly move inward and its body was constantly being compressed. Soon, this stone giant became as short as Ji Hao, and its face and body became human-like.
"Hao...You naughty kid! You...looking for me?" The stone-man had a rough yet clear face. It popped its eyes and looked at Ji Hao. Suddenly, its eyes moved and locked onto the clay vat which Ji Hao held in his arm.
"Bo...oze...booze! Go...good! Wh...what you...want me to...do for...you...this time? Shield...you...again?" The stone-man smacked its lips and tensely shook its head.
"Last...time, I al-almost got killed by the old...old tree! I want two...vats, or I'm...out!"
"Hey, Stone! Where did you learn how to bargain? Who taught you this?" Ji Hao looked surprised at the stoneman, handed the vat over to it and continued, "Okay! I'll get you another one tomorrow. Here, this is yours, and you only need to do me a small favor."
The vat contained fruit wine which had a bright-orange colour and smelled wonderfully, and had a few fruits mixed in it. The stoneman opened its mouth and drank all the wine delightfully in only a single breath. He then smashed the vat to pieces and yawned, satisfied.
"All...right...To do...what?" The stoneman beat its own chest and said, "Are we going to...to chop the old tree's branches? Or...or steal the mean woman's eggs? Or...or something else?"
JI Hao narrowed his eyes and smirked, "No! We're not playing those childish games this time. Some people want Abba, Amma and me dead. I'm going to kill them before that, and you will shield me. That's it."
Ji Hao paused for a second, slapped the stone man's shoulder and said, "Stone! We need two more helpers. Where's the evil girl? Is she at home at the moment?"
"Caw!"
The Fire Crow was quietly preening beside Ji Hao. When he heard Ji Hao speak about the "evil girl", he shivered and cawed loudly.
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[1] A vat: a large open vessel for holding or storing liquids
