Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
45. Xiao Tian

Night was falling as Jin Shu and Biyu arrived at a small mountain range stretching a mile in either direction. They had left Sun Li and Mo Bai behind in Fa Hou City, much to Sun Li's disgruntlement. She had attempted to throw a tantrum, but the threat of her father compelled her to reluctantly agree to complete her mission of escorting Mo Bai back to the capital.

Jin Shu glanced at Biyu. “Is this where your sect is?”

She nodded and pointed toward the tallest peak. “You can’t see it because of the illusion formation, but the sect is right there.”

Now that they were away from the bustling city, Biyu had removed her veil. Jin Shu’s gaze lingered, drawn to her delicate and striking features.

He silently blamed his younger psyche for his reaction, though he couldn’t shake the feeling that all three of his psyches might be equally captivated.

Shaking himself out of the moment, he asked, “So how do we get there? I’m guessing it’s not as simple as climbing, is it?”

She shook her head. “No climbing necessary. The only way to reach the sect is up there.” She pointed to the open sky.

Jin Shu followed her gesture, frowning as he scanned the empty expanse. “There’s nothing there.”

“Not yet,” she said with a cryptic smile, pulling a talisman from her sleeve. She held it up to the sky, her qi flowing into it. The talisman began to glow with a soft pink light, growing brighter as she infused more energy.

Moments later, she released it, and the talisman floated into the air, its light growing vivid enough to bathe Jin Shu’s face in a pinkish hue as it hovered tens of feet above them.

“What’s that for?” Jin Shu asked, his gaze fixed on the glowing talisman. “Isn’t that dangerous? Won’t it give away our position?”

Biyu nodded. “It would—if we weren’t already standing within the first formation of the illusion array.”

Jin Shu opened his mouth to ask another question, but a sudden sound interrupted him. It resembled the beating of a bird’s wings—loud and rhythmic, almost like Yin’er’s—but amplified tenfold.

Turning toward the noise, he scanned the sky until he spotted its source. A massive bird emerged from the distance, its silhouette unmistakable. It resembled an American Kestrel from Earth, but it was at least ten times the size. Even before it drew near, Jin Shu estimated its height at around ten feet from head to talon.

His mouth fell open as he gaped at the enormous bird hovering above them. Slowly, he turned to Biyu, a look of sheer disbelief plastered across his face. “I-is that how we’re getting to the sect?” he stammered, pointing at the massive creature.

Biyu giggled softly. “Yup!”

By then, the bird had begun its descent. The gusts from its powerful wingbeats whipped up a small dust storm, forcing Jin Shu to grab hold of Yin’er to keep the little cub from being blown away.

The giant Kestrel-like bird landed gracefully yet with an air of dominance, its proud head held high as it surveyed the newcomers.

Now that it was grounded, Jin Shu could fully take in its size. The bird stood nearly four meters tall, with a body over two meters wide—not including its massive wingspan.

On his shoulder, Yin’er glanced at her freshly dirtied, dust-covered fur and let out a disgruntled huff. She had just finished cleaning herself minutes earlier.

Then, suddenly, her fur bristled, and she released a low growl. The golden mark on her forehead lit up with a radiant glow, shimmering like a small sun.

The massive bird, which had been gazing at the cub with mild disdain, froze. Its sharp eyes locked onto the glowing mark, and its entire body began to tremble violently. A moment later, its legs buckled beneath it. The once-proud creature collapsed to the ground, spreading its wings wide as if in a deep bow, kowtowing before a king.

Jin Shu blinked, staring at the bird’s bizarre behavior, then turned to Biyu. “Is... is that normal?” he asked.

Biyu’s stunned expression spoke volumes, her wide eyes glued to the scene before them. “I... don’t think so,” she murmured.

The golden glow of Yin’er’s mark painted the Kestrel in radiant light, and the massive bird began to convulse. Jin Shu didn’t fully understand what was happening but could tell it had to do with Yin’er. Placing a hand over her head to block the light, he spoke to her softly.

“Yin’er, it’s okay. It didn’t mean to make you mad. Can you let it up now? We need it.”

With the light blocked, the bird’s convulsions ceased, though it remained prone on the ground, casting wary glances at Yin’er.

Yin’er snorted at the bird, clearly unimpressed.

“Yin’er, that’s enough,” Jin Shu admonished her sternly.

The little cub huffed but relented, her fur smoothing as she turned her attention back to grooming herself.

Jin Shu shook his head in exasperation. For someone who doesn’t hesitate to get her fur bloody and gory, she’s awfully particular about dust.

Even with Yin’er ignoring it, the bird remained flat on the ground, wings spread submissively.

“You can get up now,” Jin Shu said, addressing the bird. But it didn’t budge, its gaze still locked on Yin’er as though awaiting her permission.

Jin Shu sighed and turned to Biyu. “Can you get it to move?”

Biyu shrugged helplessly. “I... I’m not sure.”

She crouched down and placed a hand gently on the bird’s beak. “It’s okay, girl. Please get up now.”

The Kestrel blinked, its eyes shifting briefly to Biyu before letting out a tentative “Caw?” However, its focus quickly returned to Yin’er.

“Yeah, yeah. Get up now, Yin’er’s not mad anymore,” Yin’er said, waving a tiny paw dismissively at the bird.

Yin’er, perched on Jin Shu’s shoulder, seemed to understand the bird’s caw.

Jin Shu frowning slightly, “can you understand what it’s saying?” He asked. 

Yin’er turned to him with a look that could only be described as dumbfounded—as if she found Jin Shu to be stupid. “Of course. Daddy can’t?”

Jin Shu blinked. “No, I can’t. Not unless it speaks like you.”

“Oooh~” Yin’er cooed, her eyes lighting up mischievously. “Does that mean Yin’er’s smarter than Daddy?”

Jin Shu’s eyelid twitched, but he kept his tone calm. “I don’t know if it makes you smarter, but it does mean you’re very smart!”

Yin’er squinted her eyes happily. “Yay!”

“Caw?” the bird interrupted, glancing between Yin’er and Jin Shu.

Yin’er whipped her head toward it and growled. “No! This is Yin’er’s Daddy!”

The Kestrel blinked, tilting its head in surprise before bowing to Jin Shu in a gesture of respect.

Jin Shu frowned, glancing at the bird and then back to Yin’er. “What did it say?”

Yin’er puffed her chest proudly. “Big bird asked, ‘Is that your human mount?’”

Speechless, Jin Shu could only shake his head wryly.

“If we’re done here, let’s get going before it gets any later,” Biyu urged, breaking the moment.

“Ah, yeah. Let’s go…” Jin Shu agreed, stepping toward the massive bird. As he approached, a thought struck him. “Wait—how do we even ride it? Do we just stand on its back?”

“She’s a Ling Sun, and her name is Xiao Tian,” Biyu replied, pointing at the bird. “All you need to do is sit on her back. She’ll take care of the rest.”

“Alright, sounds easy enough,” Jin Shu said with a nod.

As he stepped closer, Xiao Tian crouched low, making it easy for him to climb onto her back. However, as he settled himself, he noticed Biyu staring at him from the corner of his eye.

Turning his head, he asked, “What?”

Biyu blinked, clearly surprised. “Uh… she doesn’t usually let men ride her. I thought we’d need to figure something else out.”

Jin Shu raised a brow. “Huh? Wait—what was supposed to happen?”

“Well…” Biyu hesitated, rubbing the back of her neck. “You were supposed to get pecked at.”

He gave her a flat, unimpressed look. “Seriously?”

Biyu grinned sheepishly. “She wouldn’t have hurt you,” she said, laughing nervously.

“Just get up here,” Jin Shu said, shaking his head with a sigh.

Once Biyu climbed on, Xiao Tian shot into the air with a single powerful flap of her wings. By the second flap, they had already reached the height of the glowing talisman, easily forty meters above the ground.

At first, Jin Shu instinctively gripped the bird’s feathers tightly, worried he might slip off. But after a moment, he realized something strange—he couldn’t feel even the slightest turbulence despite their rapid ascent.

“How is this possible?” he asked, glancing back at Biyu.

She smiled, her voice carrying easily over the rush of air. “Xiao Tian is using her qi to hold us in place.”

Jin Shu found himself momentarily mesmerized. Biyu’s hair streamed around her in the wind, framing her face and accentuating her features. The pink glow of the talisman reflected in her eyes, making them gleam with an ethereal light. He couldn’t help but be reminded of that morning on Sun Li’s ship when he’d taken her picture.

As they hovered, Biyu reached out and gently grasped the floating talisman, the soft glow casting a warm light over her hands.

Jin Shu, unable to resist the moment, pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of her. She stood there, holding the radiant talisman in her hands, an image that seemed almost otherworldly.

She had loved the last photo he’d taken of her, so Jin Shu decided to show her this one. “Biyu, look,” he said, holding out the phone.

“Hm?” she murmured absentmindedly, her focus still on the talisman as she traced a line along its surface with her finger. The talisman’s glow faded, and she tucked it back into her sleeve.

When she turned back to him, her eyes fell on the phone’s screen. Displayed there was the photo he had just taken: her windswept hair framing her face, the glowing talisman in her hand, her green eyes reflecting the talisman’s pink hue, and a starry sky stretching endlessly behind her.

“Wow! So beautiful!” she exclaimed, stepping closer. Her voice brimmed with excitement as she stared at the screen. “Is that really me?”

Jin Shu shook his head, his expression unusually serious. “No. This is clearly a beautiful goddess.”

Biyu’s laughter burst out in a snort as she turned away, clearly embarrassed. She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking as she tried to stifle her reaction.