Beware Of Chicken

Book 5: Chapter 17: In the Emperorʼs Name, Leave None Alive

A solemn silence surrounded Bi De as they rode upon the backs of Master Forest Sweeper’s constructs towards the Sleeping Hollow. Bi De was in his natural form for this occasion. Master Forest Sweeper’s declaration last night, the great Thunderhoof’s mien, and the fact that they were departing today silenced any thoughts of idle chatter. All of them were ‘locked in’ as his Great Master would say. Focused and prepared for the arduous journey ahead, even as they traveled toward the secret heart of the forest.

‘We will arrive shortly. Brace yourselves. The formation is unkind even to guests,’ Master Forest Sweeper commanded, and he received nods.

Again, the intensifying cold first heralded that they were getting closer—then Master Forest Sweeper stepped over some invisible boundary line.

And Bi De realised why Master Forest Sweeper told them to brace themselves. For a brief instant, something brushed against their Qi. It was something ancient, and so powerful Bi De had trouble comprehending its vastness.

The cold here was alive. It gazed upon them, it touched them, and Bi De felt its intent. He could feel the cold’s desire to wick away all his warmth. To freeze him and turn him into a statue like the army at Forlorn Sculpture Pass, never to move again. His breath caught in his throat as he beheld an ocean—it was like interacting with Tianlan, or Shen Yu, with how mighty it was.

It was trying to seal him. It was trying to seal everything that wasn’t a Thunderhoof, freezing them for all eternity.

Bi De’s muscles all seized at that instant. Yun Ren doubled over. Ri Zu shuddered. Han and Yushang stopped breathing, their faces contorted. Yingwen grabbed his leg, the one that had been transplanted, and his mouth opened in silent anguish. Shao Heng and Fenxian simply didn’t move, only their scared eyes betraying the fact that they had reacted at all.

Even Nezan and Shen Yu reacted. Nezan’s ears flattened against his skull, while Shen Yu frowned.

Yet the ocean of might stopped and its attention waned; Master Forest Sweeper’s power gently turned the ravenous, inevitable thing away from them, and once more, it was merely cold.

Suddenly, all of them could breathe again.

“Quite bracing,” Shen Yu said as he rolled his shoulders. “But that is not yours.”

‘It is not,’ Master Forest Sweeper agreed. ‘It is the legacy of the First Forest Sweeper. Now, we continue on foot.’

Shen Yu was looking around with consideration as they dismounted and the constructs disappeared. Master Forest Sweeper once more took the lead as they headed deeper into the forest.

The stone cairns, ubiquitous throughout the forest, became more and more numerous.

Though instead of sticks made to merely look like antlers… each cairn was topped with an enormous bleached skull of a Thunderhoof. Some were large enough that entire mortal families could live in them, and the cairns themselves could house hundreds if they were hollowed out. Bi De stared into those empty eye sockets and bowed his head.

It was clear what this place was meant to be, the Sleeping Hollow of the Iceheart Forest.

“A tomb,” Bi De’s voice was soft as he looked to Spooks. “Do all of your people return here to rest?”

‘Most do, yes,’ Spooks whispered back. ‘But… they are laid to rest elsewhere. This is for those who died during the Black Times. During the Demon War.’

That caught Shen Yu’s attention, who had been considering the sky more than the graves. The man had seemed utterly relaxed, but as soon as he heard those words… he changed. His steps became more purposeful and his polite disinterest turned into what seemed to be genuine respect.

Ten cairns became hundreds. The hundreds became thousands. The cairns got bigger and bigger, the skulls atop them reaching proportions that nearly matched the truly titanic form of Master Forest Sweeper, yet was still dwarfed by the surrounding trees.