The spider grew larger and larger, then after draining the snake dry, spat out bursts of true fire, burning itself smaller and smaller, before leaping back into the herb garden to hide. (Note: 'Gu jar' and spirit insects are common in Chinese fantasy; here, the spider is a powerful gu insect from the herb garden.)
Drake Dandy’s eye twitched. She immediately turned to leave, her snake legion scattering. (Note: Drake Dandy is a gender-bending character; in this chapter, she currently appears in female form. Pronouns will reflect the character's current presentation.) "Even Heaven-Man experts can’t enter this village!" she declared.
Dragon-Qilin carried Quinn upstream for six thousand li. (Note: 'li' is a traditional Chinese distance, about 500 meters.) Quinn looked up—the sky was growing dark, so he scanned the area for a place to settle down.
There are some truly terrifying things in the village: besides the gu (magical insect) jar, there’s the hay rake, the smithy’s curtain, the water vat, Granny Sue’s Sword Pill under her bed, Butcher’s whetstone, the chicken trough, and even the washbasin Dragon-Qilin uses as a food bowl. (Note: 'gu' refers to magical insects in Chinese fantasy; ordinary items in Oldridge Village often hide extraordinary power.)
“The Great Ruins map says there’s a place nearby called Monster Ward Palace—it might be a good refuge.” (Note: The Great Ruins is a vast, haunted wilderness central to the novel’s setting.)
Oldridge Village wasn’t hard to find—it was built along the river, just over a thousand li from Xianglong City. Xianglong City itself lay not far from Everpeace’s border, so searching for the village wasn’t too difficult.
Quinn estimated that forty or fifty people had found their way here in the past two days. Of course, by now, they were all dead.
“Drake Dandy never showed up. Did she get lost, or was she killed on the way? Or maybe...”
While Quinn was in the village, he always had the feeling someone outside was watching him—like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment. (Note: 'Fengdu' is the Nether City, a mythic realm of the dead in Chinese folklore.)
Quinn cooked some food, ate dinner, and lay down to sleep beside Dragon-Qilin. (Note: Dragon-Qilin is Quinn's loyal spirit beast and companion; the name refers to a dragon-qilin hybrid, not 'Dragon-Fatty.')
This time, he left the village specifically to draw out Drake Dandy.
Drake Dandy had a deep grudge against him—the destruction of Dragon-Taming Gate was entirely Quinn’s doing. If he hadn’t summoned the Nethervault Demon King in Tianbo City, the sect wouldn’t have been wiped out so easily. (Note: Drake Dandy is an androgynous, gender-bending character who shifts between male and female forms; in this scene, the character is referenced by their established English name and current presentation.)
Quinn walked to Calamity-Seal Palace and found the place crawling with wild beasts, but the Demon Ape and Dragon-Elephant were nowhere to be seen.
The Daoists were shaken, and even the Nethervault Demon King was startled. (Note: The Nethervault Demon King is a powerful but currently bound demon god, forced to follow Quinn.)
Quinn had been healing for two days, but now grew restless—New Year was almost here, only two or three days away, and Granny Sue, Village Chief, and the others still hadn’t returned! (Note: 'New Year' here refers to the lunar New Year, a major festival in Chinese culture.)
The Demon King whispered, "Those Daoists are acting strange..."
Quinn shrugged. “I know. One of those female Daoists is Drake Dandy.” (Note: Drake Dandy can appear in either male or female form; here, the character is disguised as a female Daoist.)
"Dragon-Qilin, get up!" (Note: 'Dragon-Qilin' is Quinn's spirit beast companion—a dragon-qilin hybrid. The nickname 'Dragon-Fatty' is sometimes used jokingly, but the glossary standard is 'Dragon-Qilin.')
Quinn packed up, fed the insects and the chicken-dragon, then wiped away the binding rune from the Nethervault Demon King’s idol, woke Dragon-Qilin, and said, “Let’s go deep into the Great Ruins to find them!”
The Nethervault Demon King stretched, sneering, “Even someone like Deaf, a half-god, never returned from the Great Ruins. What hope do you have?” (Note: The Demon King is proud and eerie—a powerful demon god, now bound to Quinn.)
Quinn shook his head. “I may not be that strong, but I have helpers. Demon King, you’re from the Nethervault Demon Clan, aren’t you?”
Dragon-Qilin, who’d hidden Oldridge Village’s washbasin somewhere, now dragged it out and placed it in front of Quinn, waiting to be fed. (Note: The washbasin is an ordinary household item, but in Oldridge Village, such objects often hide powerful secrets.)
Quinn poured in half a peck of Redfire Spirit Pills, then fetched another basin and filled it halfway with Jade Dragon Lake water. (Note: 'Redfire Spirit Pills' and 'Jade Dragon Lake water' are rare cultivation items used for feeding spirit beasts.)
The Nethervault Demon King grew excited, about to say something he often did, but suddenly sensed danger—if he said it, he’d probably end up humiliating himself.
Quinn grew serious. “If you help me wholeheartedly to find them, I’ll release you. How’s that for a deal?”
The Demon King’s eyes lit up. “You swear?”
“I swear!”
Quinn finished packing and left Oldridge Village, telling Dragon-Qilin to head upriver. The elders had gone searching for Carefree Haven; last time Village Chief took Quinn along, they’d traveled upriver into the depths of the Great Ruins, to the source of the Yong River, and seen all sorts of strange things.
But that time, what they found wasn’t Carefree Haven, but the Lunar Ark from Fengdu.
The Lunar Ark had tugged at the jade pendant on Quinn’s neck, making it float and leading Quinn right to it.
The Daoists were uneasy. Drake Dandy—who currently appeared as a handsome female Daoist—whispered, "There’s something strange here…" (Note: Drake Dandy is known for shifting between male and female forms. Pronouns reflect current presentation.)
Dragon-Qilin kept a decent pace, though much slower than Village Chief’s. When Village Chief took Quinn along, he’d strode through the Great Ruins like a radiant god in the darkness—moving incredibly fast.
Now, Quinn could only travel deeper into the Great Ruins by day. At night, he had to find other villages or ruins to hide from the darkness.
Daytime in the Great Ruins and nighttime there were like two different worlds. Village Chief guessed that during the day, the Ruins were the real world, but at night, a dark world overlapped it.
If the elders had entered that dark world and been taken by it, Quinn would never be able to find them.
All he could do now was hope they’d found Carefree Haven.
Not long after Quinn left Oldridge Village, a girl in a dark green dress arrived outside. She wore a red earring that shifted and stretched into a dangling red snake. (Note: This is Drake Dandy disguised in female form. The red snake is her familiar, Ruby.)
“This village is full of treasures—I wonder if I can sneak in and steal a few?”
Drake Dandy whispered, “Ruby, call in some backup.” (Note: Drake Dandy is currently in female form; Ruby is her snake familiar.)
The little red snake under her ear flicked its tongue, and from the forest, red-crested serpents slithered forth. One big snake entered the village, but as soon as it did, a black spider from the herb garden leapt onto its head and bit down.
The big snake died instantly. Its flesh dissolved into liquid, and the spider drained it dry—leaving nothing but a snakeskin.
The spider grew larger and larger, then after draining the snake, spat out bursts of true fire, burning itself smaller and smaller, before leaping back into the herb garden to hide.
Drake Dandy’s eye twitched. She immediately turned to leave, her snake legion scattering. "Even Heaven-Man experts can’t enter this village!" she declared.
Dragon-Qilin carried Quinn upstream for six thousand li. (Note: 'li' is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, about 500 meters.) Quinn looked up—the sky was growing dark, so he scanned the area for a place to settle down.
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“The Great Ruins map says there’s a place nearby called Monster Ward Palace—it might be a good refuge.”
Quinn recalled the map, searched for the spot, and his eyes lit up. He ordered Dragon-Qilin ashore, and before long, they found the ruins of a palace. Some strange beasts were already sheltering there.
Quinn entered the Monster Ward Palace ruins, where huge beast skeletons lay sprawled everywhere. The strange beasts were quiet, and didn’t move when he arrived.
Quinn looked up and saw the skeletons were enormous—dozens of times bigger than Dragon-Qilin’s full form. If alive, they’d be thousands of zhang tall, like moving mountains!
Soon, several Daoists arrived—experts training in the Great Ruins. They spotted Quinn, looked surprised, but stayed silent and made their own fires to cook.
Quinn cooked some food, ate dinner, and lay down to sleep beside Dragon-Qilin.
The Daoists exchanged glances, silently scribbling on the ground. Suddenly, the earth trembled—a chorus of roars came from outside, followed by muffled, indecipherable whispers in the darkness, like demon gods murmuring secrets.
Quinn sat up and saw the beast skeletons in the ruins suddenly blaze with divine light. The ground shook harder, and the skeletons slowly lifted their limbs, as if coming to life, and strode out of the ruins.
Outside, earth-shaking roars erupted, and beams of divine light occasionally tore through the darkness. In those flashes, the giant skeletons grew flesh and transformed into beast-gods, fighting monsters in the night.
The Daoists were shaken, and even the Nethervault Demon King was startled. (Note: The Demon King’s pride is shaken by the supernatural events—he is a powerful, eerie being, but the Great Ruins unnerves even him.)
Quinn, unfazed, lay back down and whispered, “Don’t stare, Demon King. I’ve seen stranger things.”
The Demon King whispered, “Those Daoists are a bit odd.”
Quinn didn’t care. “I know. One of those female Daoists is Drake Dandy.”
A moment later, Quinn started snoring, forcing the Demon King to stay put.
The battle outside lasted all night. At dawn, the ground shook as towering divine beasts returned from the darkness, entered the ruins, knelt down, and shed their flesh—becoming half-buried bones once more.
The darkness receded like a tide as sunlight streamed in. The other strange beasts poured out of the ruins and scattered.
Quinn made breakfast over the fire, and so did the Daoists. No one spoke; each ate in silence.
Dragon-Qilin, who’d hidden Oldridge’s washbasin somewhere, now dragged it out and placed it in front of Quinn, waiting to be fed.
Quinn poured in half a peck of Redfire Spirit Pills, then fetched another basin and filled it halfway with Jade Dragon Lake water.
Dragon-Qilin ate and drank his fill, then they set off again. The Daoists exchanged glances, put out their fire, and followed Quinn.
Quinn paused, glanced back, and smiled. “Do you need something, gentlemen?”
One Daoist snapped, “The Great Ruins are huge—do you own the place? We’ll walk our way, you walk yours. You’re not blocking our path!”
Quinn smiled faintly and kept walking.
They’d started early that day and finally reached the end of the Yong River by sunset. Quinn spotted a tattered riverside village, his eyes brightening, and told Dragon-Qilin to head over.
The Daoists followed, and saw the village was in ruins—cobwebs everywhere, even the stone statues were broken and battered.
Strangely, every other ruin had beasts hiding from the darkness, but this village had not a single monster.
The Daoists were uneasy. Drake Dandy, now a handsome female Daoist, whispered, “There’s something strange here…” (Note: Drake Dandy is a gender-bending character; in this scene, she is in female form.)
As she spoke, darkness fell and the air turned bitterly cold. A lone boat drifted in from another world, a lantern hanging at the bow. Beneath it sat an old man, folding paper men, horses, and boats.
The old man landed in the village and stepped off the boat. Everyone shivered—their very souls felt frozen.
The old man set down a paper boat, which floated up. One Daoist suddenly found himself aboard, drifting toward the darkness.
Startled, he looked back and saw another version of himself still sitting in the village.
That was his physical shell.
“Daoist brother.”
Quinn activated the True Art of the Earth Star Marquis, transforming into a human-headed, serpent-bodied form. The Gate of Heaven appeared behind him as he saluted the old man, spoke in the language of the Netherworld, and produced portraits of the village chief and the apothecary. "May I ask, Daoist brother, have you seen these people?"