**Chapter 109: Black Feathers, Red Crowns**
The Dragon-Taming Gate disciples had already positioned themselves ahead, prepared to sweep up any stragglers.
Serpents surged across the mountainside in every direction, drawn by the flute's melody. The sight was enough to freeze the blood. Wei Yong's face drained of color. "What is the capital even doing? Every manner of monster and demon has crawled out of the woodwork—where are the city guards?"
At that moment, a deep rumbling rolled in from the direction of the capital. Qin Mu's heart stirred. He snatched up Ling'er and tucked her into the pack on his back, hissing, "Fall back!"
Wei Yong retreated at once. They had barely pulled back a hundred zhang when the serpent horde suddenly erupted into panic, as though something had terrified them beyond reason. The maddened snakes surged toward Qin Mu and Wei Yong. The Dragon-Taming Gate disciples were in equal disarray—leaping onto the serpents' heads and spurring the great snakes forward at breathtaking speed, barreling straight toward them.
"Back to back!"
Qin Mu barked the order. Wei Yong understood instantly, pressing his back against Qin Mu's. He slammed his sword-box onto the ground, pressed his palms together with two fingers raised on each hand, forming a sword seal. The box sprang open, and flying swords rose one after another in a ringing cascade, their tips pointed downward.
Then the swords separated with a hum, circling Qin Mu and Wei Yong in a tight whirl, tips aimed outward, spinning at fierce speed.
Qin Mu was impressed. This technique was no academy style—it was far more refined than the sword arts practiced by any academy scholar. It had to be a family art. Wei Yong had claimed the Wei family was a great house of Jiangling, and it seemed he hadn't been exaggerating.
The serpents swarmed in. Qin Mu's vital energy erupted, manifesting golden rings before and behind him. Beams of sword light shot from the rings, piercing the oncoming serpents and the Dragon-Taming Gate disciples riding them.
This was a method he had comprehended from the divine statues in the ancient temple of Xianglong City—something between a divine ability and something else entirely, yet devastating in power. The great serpents struck by the golden sword light recoiled and veered aside. The disciples on their heads, battered by the beams, had no chance to retaliate.
These people and snakes weren't really attacking—they were fleeing. But the horde was simply too vast, and even Qin Mu couldn't force them all back. The serpents poured toward them like a tidal wave, threatening to drown them both.
Wei Yong roared. His flying swords whirled around them in a blur, slashing at the serpents' bodies. Sparks and crackling arcs of electricity danced as enormous scales were sheared away, and the great snakes had their flesh torn open in ghastly wounds.
Wei Yong was buckling under the pressure. Qin Mu shifted immediately, crossing his palms as his vital energy surged like a mighty river in flood, transforming into torrents of water that hammered against the serpents' massive bodies. Inside his pack, Ling'er cast her spells in rapid succession, conjuring a colossal tornado that lifted serpents into the air and flung them aside.
The combined pressure on man, man, and fox grew with every passing second. Then the rumbling drew closer—and enormous birds with jet-black feathers and brilliant scarlet crests came striding through the forest at tremendous speed. Each bird was the size of a small hill, their hooked beaks stretching several zhang long. They moved through the forest as though wading through grass. Their razor talons pulverized stone, and when their beaks drove downward, they seized serpents and flailed them about like whips.
On each bird's back stood five or six soldiers with quivers at their waists and longbows in hand, firing nonstop at the Dragon-Taming Gate disciples who had been flung from the serpents. The instant a disciple was hurled off, he was riddled with arrows.
Their quivers were slung at the waist, so they never needed to reach behind for arrows—a simple dip of the hand, and the shaft was nocked and loosed. Their rate of fire was fearsome.
The bird cavalry plowed through the serpents, scattering the horde. Their massive talons plunged into the great snakes, sinking deep into their bodies and tearing the red-crowned serpents' flesh to ribbons.
The flock drove the serpents straight toward Qin Mu and Wei Yong. Wei Yong lit up. "They're the bow-cavalry from the capital garrison!"
The birds swept up to them. Several archers spotted Qin Mu and Wei Yong and started, quickly pulling on their reins to steer the black-feathered, red-crested birds around them. "There are surviving scholars ahead—careful, don't trample them!"
Swish, swish, swish—banners with their poles were shot from the birds' backs and planted in the ground before Qin Mu.
"Well done!"
The soldiers on the birds had witnessed Qin Mu's palm techniques and Wei Yong's swordwork and cried out in approval. "Scholars who survived a Dragon-Taming Gate serpent siege—truly something!"
Behind them, the bird cavalry arriving from the rear saw the banners and parted to either side, avoiding Qin Mu and his companions.
After a time, the birds and serpents receded into the distance. Qin Mu exhaled in relief. Behind him, Wei Yong recalled his flying swords into the box and collapsed to the ground, gasping. Qin Mu turned to look. Deep in the forest, colossal beasts were battling—great serpents thrashing like dragons, churning through the trees with terrifying force. It had to be the Dragon-Taming Gate's young master, Long Jiaonan, clashing with the bow-cavalry.
A while later, reinforcements from the capital arrived—this time, sword guards. Sword pills shot skyward, blazing with blinding radiance, and ten thousand flying swords rained down, cutting the Dragon-Taming Gate forces to ribbons. Long Jiaonan retreated with the great serpent, and countless smaller serpents crawled onto its body while the Dragon-Taming Gate disciples vaulted into the air and landed on the great snake's back.
The colossal serpent exhaled a cloud of demonic mist and rose into the sky, riding the roiling cloud away—lightning crackling within its depths. The sword guards gave chase, their battle receding further and further from Qin Mu and Wei Yong.
"Are any other scholars still alive?" a voice called through the forest.
"Yes—we just saw two scholars!"
"Only two?"
Silence.
"Which city did the ship depart from?"
"It should have been Jiangling Commandery—the State Preceptor's home region..."
"Damn it! The Dragon-Taming Gate attacked a scholar-ship from Jiangling, right under our noses. They meant to humiliate the State Preceptor—and we failed in our duty. Come with me. I want to see those two scholars."
---
Moments later, several of the great birds came striding up to Qin Mu and Wei Yong. An armored commander leapt down from a bird's back and regarded the two scholars. His voice was deep as a bell. "Scholars—do you know how many people were aboard the ship?"
Qin Mu hadn't counted precisely. "Three to five hundred, perhaps."
The commander's eye twitched. "Three to five hundred scholars..."
Wei Yong spoke up quickly. "General, many among the scholars were cultivators with flight abilities. I saw a great number leap from the ship—they should have survived."
The commander shook his head. "Not one survived. Midair, the Dragon-Taming Gate's flying serpents devoured them all. You two are the only ones left..."
Wei Yong went pale. He looked at Qin Mu. If Qin Mu hadn't been quick-witted enough to throw him from the ship beforehand, he would have died on board. After Qin Mu hurled him off, he had ridden the wind straight down into the forest below. Wei Yong had wondered why Qin Mu didn't fly faster through the open air—now he understood. Every scholar who had taken to the sky was dead. Only they had survived.
"Brother Qin—my life is yours from this day forward! You are my blood brother..."
Ling'er tilted her head. "Fatty Wei, wasn't your life given by your parents?"
Wei Yong hastened to correct himself. "My second parents! My second parents! Little fox, stop interrupting—I'm trying to speak from the heart, and you keep derailing me!"
The commander looked surprised. "Your surname is Wei? The Wei family of Jiangling?"
Wei Yong nodded. "I am from the Wei family of Jiangling."
The commander exhaled. "Then you are indeed a kinsman of Duke Wei. Young Master Wei, the Duke will be overjoyed to hear you're unharmed. And this young man—surname Qin? Could he be from the Qin family of the capital?"
Qin Mu smiled and shook his head. "My Qin is not that Qin. I'm from Lizhou Prefecture."
The commander nodded. "Lizhou Prefecture, then. Scholars, please enter the capital at once—the Dragon-Taming Gate's forces are considerable, and there may yet be remnants in the area. Men—escort these scholars into the city!"
One of the great birds stepped forward. The soldier on its back grinned. "Scholars, please mount."
Qin Mu and Wei Yong leapt onto the bird's back. It was surprisingly wide, with a broad wooden platform fixed in place—a stable surface to stand on.
The black-feathered, red-crested giant bird broke into a run and charged toward the capital.
The commander let out a long breath and murmured, "Duke Wei is a first-rank minister of the court. Thank the heavens his family is unharmed. Otherwise, I'd have lost my position for certain... The other boy, surnamed Qin—he doesn't know the capital's Qin family? His clothes are fine, his strength is extraordinary. Only a great house could produce such a talented youth. Could there be another Qin family in Lizhou Prefecture?"