Ascension Day

Xu Ying stood blankly in the street of Jiang Family Field Village, surrounded by panicked villagers scattering in all directions.

Not far away on a street corner, a Snake Demon with black and white patterns pointed at him with the tip of its tail. It watched the fleeing villagers while letting out a piercing shriek, its long tongue flicking out.

The villagers were already scared out of their wits. Some scrambled out of the village to report to the authorities, while others hid in their houses with their wives and children, bolting the doors and trembling in fear.

The braver ones hid behind windows or doors, secretly peeking out.

Xu Ying stood alone in the street, the corpse of the Green-Robed Divine Spirit at his feet.

After a moment, the young man came back to his senses and looked around.

The villagers he had known, who would even joke with him, affectionately calling him Xiaoying or Ying, some even teasingly calling him Xu Xiaoruan, now feared him as if he were a Divine Spirit.

’I was standing up for you all,’ Xu Ying thought silently. ’You shouldn’t be afraid of me...’

’It’s one thing to be oppressed by the Officials. But this god, a mere statue of wood and clay, ate our food, drank our drink, and enjoyed our offerings, only to oppress us in return.’

’They treat us like livestock, but we’re not livestock!’

’We are human!’

’We will fight back. We will have our revenge!’

’But... why are you afraid of me?’ Xu Ying didn’t understand.

After a moment, Xu Ying stepped over the body of the Green-Robed Divine Spirit, walked to the altar table in the ancestral hall, and sat down. Without a word, he grabbed the roast chicken and roasted duck from the table and began to eat.

He ate meticulously and with great focus—the habit of a Snake Catcher.

When catching snakes, you must be patient and brave enough, but most importantly, you must never go on an empty stomach.

An empty stomach meant a lack of stamina. A lack of stamina could lead to mistakes, and a mistake could mean death from a venomous snake’s bite.

Xu Ying had caused a great disaster; he couldn’t leave on an empty stomach. He had to eat and drink his fill.

He ate a whole roast chicken, then half a roasted duck, stuffing the other half into his robes. He then ate a few pieces of fruit and stuffed a few more into his pockets.

Xu Ying stood up, dipped his finger in Landlord Jiang’s blood, and wrote a line of words on the wall.

"Godslayer, Xu Ying!"

Xu Ying wiped the blood from his hand on Landlord Jiang’s corpse, then rose and left the ancestral hall to return home.

His home was destitute, with barely any possessions. There wasn’t even much rice in the jar, only some roasted rice flour for dry rations.

A Snake Catcher who went into the deep mountains and old forests didn’t need rice or flour, only dry rations.

Xu Ying packed three days’ worth of dry rations. He glanced at the scrolls he had collected, hesitated for a moment, but decided not to take them. He walked straight out of his house and headed out of the village.

When he reached the village entrance, his eyes suddenly stung. He turned and knelt toward Jiang Family Field Village.

"Thank you all for taking care of me over the years. I... have caused trouble for everyone!" He kowtowed deeply.

Xu Ying stood up, turned, and left.

"Ying—" a woman’s voice called out from behind him.

Xu Ying looked back and saw a girl in a bride’s dress sitting at the entrance of the ancestral hall, cradling Jiang Lu’s body.

"Ying, thank you!"

she shouted. "You have to keep living!"

"Take care!" Xu Ying waved and left Jiang Family Field Village.

’I was an orphan,’ he thought. ’My foster father raised me as his own son, and the villagers treated me well.’

’I would slay a god to repay their kindness.’

’And I would leave for the sake of their safety.’

’This departure...’

’...means I’ll never return!’

"Hey—"

A sudden voice stopped him. Xu Ying followed the sound and saw a large black-and-white snake in a willow tree by the road, poking its head out. It was the very Snake Demon he had captured.

Xu Ying glanced at it but didn’t stop, continuing on his way.

"Xu Ying, wait for me!"

The Snake Demon scrambled down from the tree, its tail slithering as it quickly caught up to him. "You killed a Divine Spirit, so you’re done for!" it cackled. "Let me tell you, all the Divine Spirits near Lingling are under the command of the City God. When the City God finds out you killed one of his own, he’ll never let you get away with it! In this whole wide world, there’s no place for you to hide!"

Xu Ying turned a deaf ear and continued on his way.

The Snake Demon had once competed with him in a test of endurance. Xu Ying had chased the Big Snake through the mountains for three days and three nights before it tired and he could capture it. Shaking the demon off now would not be easy.

The Snake Demon kept pace with him, laughing. "You killed Landlord Jiang, so the Government won’t let you off either! The Government, you know, has the most powerful people in the world hidden within it. They’re called Nuo! And these beings who have mastered Nuo Art... hehe, forget about you and me, even Divine Spirits are terrified of them..."

Xu Ying couldn’t help but frown at the word "Nuo."

The *Rites of Zhou and Xia Officials* state that those who can open the Secret Treasury, communicate between heaven and earth, command Ghost Gods, and exorcise plagues and demons are called Nuo. Later generations came to call them Nuo Masters.

Throughout history, the Court has placed great importance on Nuo Masters, selecting the most outstanding among them to serve as officials in the various prefectures and counties.

To ordinary people, the Nuo Masters among the Officials were beings even more terrifying than Divine Demons.

"Better to provoke a Divine Demon than an Official Nuo."

If you provoked a Divine Demon, the worst they could do was kill you. But if you provoked a Nuo Master, you would die a second time even as a ghost!

"The Government will definitely send a Nuo Master. You’ve offended a Divine Spirit, and now you’re going to offend a Nuo Master. You’re a dead man!" the Snake Demon babbled on.

Xu Ying roared in anger, "If you keep following me, believe it or not, I’ll cure you into snake jerky!"

The Snake Demon laughed. "Cure me into snake jerky? Are you going to hand me over to pay your taxes? You’re a wanted murderer now. Going to the Government Office would be walking right into a trap."

Xu Ying picked up his pace, but he still couldn’t shake the demon. Finally, he asked with forced patience, "What exactly do you want from me?"

The Snake Demon beamed—of course, it had no eyebrows to beam with—and said with a laugh, "I want you to teach me the Elephant Power Ox Demon Fist."