Chapter 5: The Qin Family
Qin Chuan and the Monkey descended Mount Fangcun without using any supernatural powers, step by step like ordinary mortals.
“Come now, Monkey,” Qin Chuan patted his companion’s shoulder reassuringly, “The master spoke in anger. Don’t take it to heart.”
The Monkey sighed deeply.
“Perhaps my showy display of powers offended him. I’ve dragged you into this trouble.”
“Where’s your usual carefree spirit?” Qin Chuan chided. “This isn’t some tragic parting. If you keep this up, I’ll truly get angry.”
Hearing this, the Monkey’s spirits lifted slightly. Suppressing his melancholy, he suddenly challenged: “Qin Chuan, the master taught me the Cloud Somersault. Let’s test our speed!”
Before Qin Chuan could respond, the Monkey launched into a tremendous somersault and vanished into the distance.
Shaking his head with a smile, Qin Chuan transformed into a streak of golden light and gave chase.
The spectacle was magnificent to behold:
Two shadows racing across sea and sky,
Graceful forms dancing ‘neath heaven’s eye.
The ape displays his somersault art,
A piercing cry that rends clouds apart.
Swift as storm they play with waves,
Soaring through the sky like knaves.
Power that shakes mountains high,
Moonlight reveals their true forms nigh.
“Too slow, Qin Chuan! Far too slow!” The Monkey’s gleeful voice echoed through the clouds as he somersaulted like a shooting star, his golden pursuer trailing like lightning chasing clouds.
The taunting tone ignited Qin Chuan’s competitive spirit. Very well, Monkey. I was going easy to cheer you up after the master cast you out. But since you insist…
With a thought, Qin Chuan unleashed the Golden Crow’s Rainbow Transformation. In the blink of an eye, he overtook the somersaulting cloud, leaving the Monkey behind.
Thus began an aerial ballet:
The Golden Crow spiraled, flames erupting,
Rainbow lights swirling, spacetime corrupting.
The somersault cloud rolled like a dragon in flight,
The determined Monkey pushed with all his might.
Yet despite the Monkey’s incredible speed, the supreme Golden Crow technique illuminated heaven and earth, its rainbow light impossible to surpass.
“Monkey, Southern Continent lies ahead. Will you join me in Lincheng City?” What once took seven or eight years to traverse now passed in moments.
As they descended, Qin Chuan noted the Monkey’s flushed face and chuckled inwardly. Someone’s been somersaulting hard.
“Favoritism!” The Monkey grumbled. “The master favors you! Your cultivation’s beneath mine, yet even my somersault can’t catch you!”
“You ungrateful ape!” Qin Chuan retorted. “The master gave you the Cloud Somersault—a single flip covers 108,000 li, among the Three Realms’ greatest flight techniques! He only taught me the Earth-Treading Golden Light that travels mere thousands of li daily.”
“This Rainbow Transformation is my creation, something even the master doesn’t know! Yet you accuse him of bias? Careful, or he might truly expel you!”
The Monkey shuddered at this, clasping his hands and bowing repeatedly toward Mount Fangcun while murmuring apologies.
After a moment, the Monkey grew solemn. “Senior Brother,” he said with uncharacteristic formality, “Twenty years have passed since I left home. I dearly miss my children and grandchildren. I won’t accompany you further.”
“Visit my Water-Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain when you can. We’ll drink until dawn!”
This marked the first time the Monkey had addressed him so respectfully as “Senior Brother.” Touched, Qin Chuan nodded. “Very well, I won’t detain you.”
“Farewell, Senior Brother! Old Sun departs!”
As the Monkey’s figure vanished into the horizon, Qin Chuan turned towards Lincheng City.
The ancient Shu Kingdom couldn’t compare to the mighty Tang Dynasty that would rise centuries later, yet under its wise ruler, it surpassed lesser realms like Precious Elephant or Black Rooster Kingdom.
Lincheng, Shu’s capital, housed the Qin Family’s ancestral home. Having lost his parents young, Qin Chuan had entrusted leadership to uncles before leaving with the Monkey to seek immortality. Seventeen years later, the family appeared prosperous still.
From a tavern window, Qin Chuan observed the Qin estate opposite. Above its grand gate hung a plaque bearing two bold characters: “Qin Manor” – his youthful calligraphy from when he’d been the family’s prodigy and Shu’s martial legend.
“The Qin Family… it’s finished,” sighed a waiter noticing Qin Chuan’s gaze.
“Why say that?” Qin Chuan asked, even as he activated the “Knowledge of Times” from the Seventy-Two Earthly Arts—a divination technique. As the heavenly calamity had just begun, his Golden Immortal cultivation easily pierced mortal fates. The Qins would face tribulation but emerge victorious, maintaining prosperity for three generations.
“You wouldn’t know, sir. Five years back, a Dragon King came to Jiangning River outside town. While he’s brought good harvests…”
The waiter lowered his voice. “…he demands a hundred pairs of infants yearly—equal boys and girls. Lincheng’s nearly out of babies! This year, it’s the Qins’ turn.”
“The current patriarch secretly had twins last year with the princess—the king’s own grandchildren! But the Dragon King found out and commanded their sacrifice through royal decree.”
Qin Chuan’s eyes turned cold. “True Dragon Kings are heavenly deities bound by strict edicts. This must be some serpent demon!”
“The virtuous king wouldn’t comply otherwise. When first refused, the demon flooded the city! Monks and priests hired to exorcise it all drowned in Jiangning River.”
The waiter started—his customer had vanished, leaving only silver behind. Outside Lincheng, at Jiangning River, a voice like thunder shook the heavens.
“DEMON! COME FORTH AND DIE!”