Volume Two: The Hidden Burial in the Ravine Chapter 139: The Annihilation of the Entire Village

Among the two representatives of good and evil, the righteous figure was Qin Wuyu, the Bird King, while the evil counterpart was Zou Baizu, the Insect King. Through their ancestral arts of bird mastery and insect control, they stood out among various mystical skills, becoming the foremost sorcerers.

At that time, within the cliffs and valleys of Mount Tuoyang, the geographical conditions were superior, concentrating the essence of the sun and moon, the spirit of mountains and waters—truly the best place to practice arcane arts.

Both Qin Wuyu and Zou Baizu coveted this land simultaneously; the valley in question was precisely Nanyang Hollow.

Back then, Nanyang Hollow enjoyed favorable weather and timely rains, secluded and peaceful; the villagers were self-sufficient and lived in harmony.

To drive the villagers out of the valley, Zou Baizu unleashed millions of poisonous insects to invade the cliffs.

What followed was a catastrophic plague of insects, as Zhou Zheng recounted, closely matching the records on the boundary stele. According to Zou Baizu’s plan, the entire village of Nanyang Hollow was to be wiped out.

At this point, exchanging glances, we realized that the insect calamity was no natural disaster but a man-made catastrophe. Hundreds of lives and over a hundred livestock perished. Zou Baizu's ruthlessness to achieve his goals was unfathomable.

The events that followed are known to us as well. The Bird King, Qin Wuyu, led a flock of birds to the valley.

A fierce battle between birds and insects ensued, ending in the Bird King’s victory.

However, Qin Wuyu suffered heavy losses and needed time to recuperate. After the birds pecked the poisonous insects to death, their corpses littered the valley. Handling them carelessly risked poisoning the entire village.

Thus, the Bird King stayed in the valley, guiding the villagers in the aftermath. The Insect King disappeared after his defeat; rumors said he was slain in battle or fled to seek revenge.

Qin Wuyu saved the village, and the people revered him as a deity. Since he called himself Master Nanliu, the villagers renamed their home Nanliu Village.

This is as far as the information from the boundary stele goes.

Curious about what happened next, we listened intently as Zhou Zheng, who seemed to know all the secrets, continued his tale. Amid the countless poisonous insects crawling about, their grating rustling filled the air, mingling with Zhou Zheng’s voice—soft but penetrating.

After settling in Nanliu Village, the Bird King had the villagers place bean roots in their mouths and cover their noses and mouths with hemp cloth dipped in water. They gathered the insect corpses and buried them in a pit dug outside the village.

As the saying goes, "A centipede dies but does not stiffen." The gathered insect corpses emitted a noxious miasma. To suppress this, the Bird King ordered the construction of a shrine above the pit, named the Bird King Shrine.

With the shrine containing the insect miasma and the Bird King himself stationed in the valley, the villagers felt secure and swiftly returned to their former lives. The presence of the Bird King attracted countless birds, filling the valley with their songs and dances daily, creating a paradise on earth.

Yet, after some time, the Bird King announced he must leave for half a month.

After Qin Wuyu's departure, thefts began to plague the village intermittently.

At first, stored rice was stolen; then silver coins, followed by gold and silver jewelry from wealthy households.

Since the valley rarely saw outsiders, the village chief suspected an insider.

Days later, a widespread illness struck the villagers, confining many to their beds.

Someone reported seeing birds entering villagers’ homes and flying toward the Bird King Shrine.

The chief and villagers investigated and indeed found large quantities of grain and stolen silver and jewelry inside the shrine.

Angered, the villagers grew suspicious. A self-proclaimed insider claimed the Bird King had ulterior motives: the birds were draining the villagers’ vital energy to nourish the Bird King. Destroying the shrine would cure the illness.

Though doubtful, the sudden outbreak encouraged the villagers to try. If tearing down the shrine failed, they could always rebuild it.

They demolished the Bird King Shrine; the birds fiercely defended it but to no avail.

Strangely, as the shrine was razed, the villagers’ illnesses mysteriously vanished. Convinced, they expelled all birds from the valley.

When the Bird King returned after half a month, he found the shrine destroyed and birds driven away but said nothing. He only warned the villagers that a landslide was imminent and urged them to evacuate immediately.

Without proof, the villagers no longer trusted him.

The Bird King explained that the birds had prophetic powers and that he had learned this from them. Without swift departure, the entire village faced destruction.

The villagers accused him of lies meant to seize the village and expelled him from the valley.

The very next day, Mount Tuoyang suffered a massive landslide, leveling Nanliu Village.

The scene was horrific, filled with wails of grief.

After the battle between birds and insects, the valley endured yet another tragedy. Many who died held grudges, and restless spirits haunted the valley. At night, the cries of ghosts and wolves filled the air, casting darkness without end.

A once-envied paradise had become a living hell.

The Bird King returned, deeply remorseful for his mishandling that led to this disaster. He gathered all the bones of the dead and placed them into the pit beneath the Bird King Shrine.

The poisonous miasma combined with the sorrowful spirits emanating from the bones could not be suppressed even by rebuilding the shrine.

Therefore, the Bird King searched all of Mount Tuoyang and found a century-old dead tree, which he planted beside the abandoned shrine.

Among the birds the Bird King had tamed was one true Bird King—a white-crowned spotted dove. Legend had it that on Qin Wuyu’s birth day, this dove perched by the window, singing without leaving his side. In Qin’s youth, the dove was his constant companion, playing with him daily.

No one knew the dove’s exact age.

Generally, birds’ lifespans vary by species; some live sixty or seventy years, others only a dozen years or less.

But judging by certain physical traits, this white-crowned dove was conservatively estimated to be over eighty years old.

Bird lifespans remain a mysterious subject, for in nature, predators often claim birds before they die naturally. Thus, few birds reach their natural lifespan.

From childhood, Qin Wuyu studied bird mastery and understood birds’ habits deeply.

He knew a secret about birds.

(The chapter ends here.)