Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
68. The Golden Roc—Chicken-shit

Jinshu woke to the sound of snoring in his ear, the damp sensation of drool on his shoulder, and the silvery glow of a full moon in the clear night sky.

Yanjiang was slumped against his left shoulder, snoring directly into his ear with every breath. Yuetu, on his right, was drooling freely onto his robes, while Bing’s head rested peacefully in his lap, her expression serene.

Yawning, Jinshu glanced around, his mind sluggishly piecing together the events that had brought them to this point. The sight of the ethereal, glowing tree not far away jogged his memory.

Looking back at his slumbering sisters, he couldn’t help but sigh. For all their boasts and antics, they didn’t look like the older siblings they were supposed to be. In moments like this, he felt like the only mature one among them.

Still, that was fine. He enjoyed seeing his family happy. If that meant taking on the role of the responsible sibling, he would do so gladly.

As the self-appointed mature one, Jinshu decided it was time to take charge. The moon was already high in the sky, and if they stayed out any longer, their mothers—his included—might send out a search squad. He vaguely remembered that happening once when Yanjiang first learned to take human form. She had wandered too far into the Dragon Vein Mountains, and their father had to use his divine sense to track her down.

Jinshu was determined to avoid a repeat of that scenario. Gently, he shook each of his sisters awake, whispering softly into their ears.

“Jiejies, we need to go home,” he said, his voice low and patient.

Yanjiang stirred first, stretching with a loud yawn that reverberated through the quiet night. Yuetu wiped at the drool on her chin, blinking groggily, while Bing groaned and curled further into his lap, tugging at his robes as if they were her blanket.

“Good morning!” Yanjiang greeted cheerfully, her smile bright as ever.

“It’s past midnight…” Jinshu muttered, shaking his head.

Despite his exasperation, Jinshu couldn’t help but chuckle. They were a handful, but they were his family, and he would do anything for them.

With a firm nod to himself, he cemented that thought in his mind.

“Alright, let’s get back home before our mothers start to wor—” His words were abruptly cut off by a loud noise, like the thunderous beating of wings, magnified many times over.

Jinshu froze, his head snapping toward the horizon. Yanjiang and Yuetu followed suit, their expressions shifting from sleepy contentment to sharp alertness. Even Bing, groggily rubbing her eyes, turned her attention to the commotion.

It didn’t take long for the source of the noise to appear. A massive golden roc soared through the night sky, its magnificent wings cutting through the air with powerful strokes. The moonlight reflected off its shimmering golden feathers, creating a halo of ethereal light around it and leaving a fleeting trail of gold in its wake.

What might have been a breathtaking sight to others filled Jinshu and his sisters with nothing but dread and deep-seated hatred. The rocs were the mortal enemies of the dragon clan, a feud so ancient that its origins had faded into myth. Though the dragons might never admit it aloud, the roc clan ruled the skies. With their unmatched speed, they were the only creatures capable of outmaneuvering dragons, a fact that rankled every member of the dragon race.

“Hide your horns!” Jinshu hissed urgently.

Without hesitation, his horns vanished with a brief shimmer, leaving him appearing as nothing more than a tall human child. Bing quickly followed suit, her horns vanishing in the blink of an eye. Yuetu, however, had no need to conceal herself—the rabbit clan and roc clan were neither friends nor foes, and her long ears posed no immediate danger.

Yanjiang, on the other hand, growled low in her throat, her crimson eyes blazing with fury.

“I’m not hiding from some chicken-shit roc!” she spat, her voice trembling with suppressed rage.

“Yanjiang!” Jinshu whispered harshly. “Now isn’t the time for pride. If it spots us—”

“I don’t care!” she cut him off, her defiance unshaken. “Let it come! I’ll tear its wings off and—”

“Stop it!” Jinshu snapped, his tone sharper than before. He grabbed her arm, forcing her to look down at him. “We can’t win against an adult roc, not like this. If you don’t want to do it for yourself, then do it for the rest of us. Don’t put us all in danger because of your pride!”

Yanjiang’s jaw clenched, her gaze flickering between the roc in the distance and her brother. After a long moment, she let out a frustrated snarl.

“Fine,” she muttered, her horns vanishing in a flicker of Qi. “But if it comes near us, I’m not running.”

Jinshu sighed, a mix of relief and lingering tension settling over him. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” he said, glancing back at the glowing tree and the wide-open sky.

The golden roc’s shadow passed across the moon, its colossal form a reminder of just how precarious their situation had become.

Jinshu prayed fervently to the heavens, pleading for the golden roc to pass them by unnoticed. But either the heavens ignored his desperate prayer, or they chose to play a cruel trick. The roc’s razor-sharp eyes locked onto them from miles above.

“Caw!” Its piercing screech echoed through the night as it began a swift descent toward their location.

“Shit,” Jinshu cursed under his breath, his mind racing.

When the roc reached the treetops, its massive body shimmered, cloaked in a surge of Qi. The brilliant light faded to reveal a young man with sharp, hawk-like features, his golden robes lined with intricate feather patterns.

Jinshu and his sisters exhaled softly, their initial terror subsiding. This wasn’t a fully grown adult roc. If it had been, they wouldn’t have stood a chance against its power. But a young adult? That was a fight they could handle.

The young roc man landed gracefully, an arrogant sneer plastered across his face. “Ohoho! What do we have here? Three little beauties out in the wild,” he said, his tone dripping with mockery as he reached for a gaudy golden fan tucked into his waistband.

Snap!

He flicked the fan open with a flourish, revealing an intricate painting of rocs soaring through the skies, their claws clutching the limp bodies of dragons.

Jinshu felt a deep, simmering rage rise from the pit of his stomach. His sisters reacted the same way, Yanjiang grinding her teeth audibly, her Qi fluctuating with barely contained fury.

Jinshu instinctively moved his Qi to his ear, as if expecting to summon a weapon. But when his Qi met nothing, he froze, puzzled by the strange reflex.

Meanwhile, Yanjiang stepped forward, her crimson eyes blazing with unrestrained anger.

“I’m going to kill you, chicken-shit!” she growled, her voice low and deadly.

The young roc blinked, genuinely taken aback. “Chicken-shit? Me?” he asked, as though the insult was the most absurd thing he’d ever heard.

"Yeah, you! You pointy-nosed prick!" Yanjiang snapped, her voice dripping with venom as she stomped toward the roc. Her Qi flared violently, flames licking the air around her and distorting it with heat.

The burst of Qi was enough to summon her long, crimson dragon horns back onto her head. The moment the roc caught sight of them, his eyes widened slightly before narrowing with recognition.

“Oh, so you’re a dragon! No wonder you’re so feisty,” he sneered, his tone dripping with mockery. His lips curled into a wicked smile as he licked them with exaggerated relish. “That’s perfect! I’ve yet to taste dragon meat.”

Yanjiang growled, her rage boiling over, but Jinshu sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had hoped to avoid a fight, but that was clearly no longer an option.

“Alright,” he muttered to himself, stepping forward. His body began to tremble—not with fear, but with an unexpected surge of anticipation. This would be his first real fight, and something deep inside him welcomed it.

Bing and Yuetu exchanged glances before stepping forward as well, their expressions hardening.

The roc chuckled darkly as he watched them form up. “Oh? You think ganging up on me will change the outcome?” His voice was dripping with arrogance. “Think again!”

With a burst of golden light, the roc’s Qi exploded outward, shaking the ground and sending tremors through the trees. Pebbles and debris rose into the air, and the oppressive aura bore down on Jinshu and his sisters like a heavy weight.

Jinshu gritted his teeth, his gaze narrowing. The young roc’s aura was immense, revealing his cultivation: late 6th stage Spirit Realm.

That was a problem.

The strongest among them, Yanjiang, was only at the 4th stage of the Spirit Realm. Yuetu and Bing were both at the Core Realm, with Yuetu at the 7th stage and Bing at the 5th. As for Jinshu, he was barely above the 1st stage of the Core Realm—a glaring disadvantage.

Yanjiang didn’t flinch. Instead, she grinned ferociously, flames dancing along her arms. “Doesn’t matter how strong you are. I’m still going to roast you alive, chicken-shit.”

The roc’s smirk widened as he opened his fan, a gust of sharp wind slicing through the nearby trees. “Come on, then. Show me what the mighty dragon clan is made of.”

Yanjiang lunged first, her flames roaring to life as she closed the distance with frightening speed. Jinshu and his other sisters followed close behind, his heart pounding as they charged into their first true battle.

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