Chapter Fifty-Eight: Dragons Coil to the Left, Tigers Pattern the Right

As Liu the Diviner finished speaking, a wall of darkness descended from the stairwell. Each echoing step resounded in Qin Xiaomo's heart like the beating of a drum. Qiongqi sniffed left and right, while Qin Xiaomo pressed her lips together, covering her mouth tightly. The creature drew nearer and nearer, its nauseating stench of blood and rot growing unbearable. Both Qin Xiaomo and Liu the Diviner instinctively held their breath. Qiongqi circled the stairwell, finding nothing, then let out a furious roar. Its enormous maw came within half a meter of Qin Xiaomo's face, and between its teeth, she could clearly see a piece of delicate white lamb bone wedged in the gaps. Her mind went utterly blank with terror. Seeing this, Liu the Diviner quickly covered her eyes. At that moment, Qiongqi, as if driven mad, whipped its head around and began to claw and tear at the unused tables, chairs, and boxes with reckless fury.

Taking advantage of the creature’s turned back, Liu the Diviner motioned for Qin Xiaomo to slip away. She nodded in response, following closely behind him, treading lightly along the wall up the stairs. Liu the Diviner went first and made it safely, but just as Qin Xiaomo was about to set foot on the next step, Qiongqi suddenly turned, sniffing hard at the place where they had just hidden. With a swipe of its paw, it struck a battered cardboard box, and the blow landed squarely on Qin Xiaomo’s arm. Blood gushed forth. Though she kept her mouth tightly covered and tried her best not to make a sound, a muffled groan escaped her lips. Liu the Diviner, seeing this, grabbed her and hurried their pace upward.

Qiongqi did not pursue immediately. Instead, it licked the blood from its paw, savoring the taste as if it were exquisite. With a roar, it charged after them at unprecedented speed.

"What do we do now? It’s tasted my blood!" Qin Xiaomo asked, her voice trembling with impending tears as they ran.

"I’ve already called Qingfeng. They’ll meet us at the park nearby. We need to get outside, somewhere deserted. We’ll set up a barrier and hide, so it can’t find you for a while."

"Master Liu, do you think its roar is so loud that the people nearby can hear it?"

"They can’t! Unless it’s someone whose life is nearly at its end, or those who are gravely ill."

Fortunately, both Liu the Diviner and Qin Xiaomo had some cultivation foundation, so they ran swiftly without losing breath. After escaping the hospital and reaching a rockery in the nearby park, they stopped—but Qiongqi was nowhere in sight.

"Don’t you think it’s strange? We’ve been out here for so long, why hasn’t it caught up with us?" Qin Xiaomo couldn’t help but ask.

"I remember... it can fly," Liu the Diviner replied.

No sooner had he spoken than a splatter of blood landed at their feet with a wet smack. Looking up, they saw Qiongqi perched atop the artificial mountain, three meters above, its gaping jaws dripping saliva as it stared down at them.

Liu the Diviner glanced down and realized the talisman on his chest had somehow gone missing.

A roar erupted from above them, and Qiongqi lunged straight at Qin Xiaomo. She had no time to react. Liu the Diviner shoved her aside and drew his copper coin sword, ready for a desperate last stand.

Qiongqi sank its teeth into Liu the Diviner's shoulder. "Ah!" he howled in agony. The wound from the last encounter with the earth-drake had not yet healed, and now it was the same spot again. There was still medicine from the immortal master applied there; perhaps its scent was too strong, for Qiongqi did not bite down hard, instead releasing him and preparing to bite elsewhere. Suddenly, a massive shape barreled into Qiongqi, knocking it twenty meters away. It was Qingfeng.

"Master! Are you all right?" Qingfeng cried anxiously.

Having seen Qiongqi from afar, Qingfeng had hurriedly removed Liu the Diviner’s talisman, transforming into his true form—a crane over ten meters tall. Flapping his wings, he rushed over as quickly as possible, but still arrived a moment too late.

Liu the Diviner waved a hand to signal that he was fine, forcing himself upright. Qin Xiaomo and Guza quickly helped him aside, tending to his wounds.

Guza couldn’t help but ask, "Senior brother, didn’t you say you’d just take a look? How did things end up like this?"

"It’s all my fault..." Qin Xiaomo lowered her head. The others could more or less guess what had happened.

"What do we do now? Qingfeng may be able to hold it off for a while, but that’s still one of the four ancient beasts..." Guza frowned, turning to scrutinize Qiongqi. "Why does this thing look so small? Only a bit bigger than an ordinary tiger, and it’s covered in wounds, like it’s just fought a great battle. Most of its vitality is gone, even Qingfeng can hold it off for a time. Is this really Qiongqi? Is this the beast that once bathed the world in blood and terror?"

"Master, what should I do? Stop talking, it keeps trying to get past me to you. I’m losing hold of it!" Qingfeng shouted hoarsely, clearly struggling.

Qingfeng and the beast wrestled in midair. Qiongqi, though small, was agile, and the ground was littered with feathers plucked from Qingfeng’s body. The beast was no better off, Qingfeng’s sharp talons leaving it with several fresh wounds. The two fought on, locked in a stalemate.

"Hold on, Qingfeng! We’re almost ready," Guza called out.

"I’d thought that even if the beast found the morgue tonight, it couldn’t find the body so quickly. After all, they’re all in cold storage, which blocks most of the scent. That’s why I wanted to observe tonight and find a way to lure it in tomorrow. But for safety’s sake, we’ll set up the formation now," Liu the Diviner said through gritted teeth, pricking his finger to let a drop of blood fall into a small box of cinnabar. He mixed it, then drew a binding charm on the cement ground. When he finished, he turned to Qin Xiaomo.

"Miss Qin, I’ll need two drops of your blood to lure it in."

"All right," Qin Xiaomo replied, quickly offering her hand. Liu the Diviner pricked her middle finger, letting two drops of blood fall onto a clean piece of yellow paper.

"Guza, place this paper at the center of the formation."

"Understood! But be careful—now that beast is likely ravenous for Miss Qin’s blood. Watch its every move, don’t let anyone get hurt." Liu the Diviner gave the instructions, then shouted to Qingfeng, "Qingfeng, let it through!"

No sooner had he spoken than Qingfeng dodged aside, and Qiongqi shot toward them like an arrow.

Guza cried out, "Something’s wrong! It’s not heading for the formation, it’s going for Miss Qin herself!"

"Quick! Qingfeng!" Liu the Diviner shouted, urging Qingfeng to intercept, but the crane was too far away to reach in time. In his haste, Liu the Diviner rummaged through his bag for a talisman, but the more he hurried, the harder it was to find.

Qin Xiaomo didn’t want to implicate anyone else. If it was coming for her, then so be it. Seizing a moment’s distraction, she darted into the center of the binding charm. Qiongqi immediately changed course, flying straight for the formation. She silently summoned the Xuanli Blade, hiding it in her hand, ready to strike when the time came. The beast drew closer and closer; it was now impossible for Guza to pull Qin Xiaomo out in time.

Staring unblinkingly at Qiongqi, Qin Xiaomo whispered to Liu the Diviner, "Begin the incantation."

Liu the Diviner, teeth clenched, began to chant under his breath: "As the sun rises in the east, dark mists surge; the eyes of thousands grow dim and blind; mountains stand before, waters coil behind; the dragon coils to the left, the tiger marks to the right... By the command of the Three Mountains and Nine Lords, I bind you." The moment Qiongqi stepped into the binding charm, he uttered the last words.