Chapter Seventy-One: Hunger and Evil

Naming confirmed.
Alchemical Creature: Qiongqi, Name: Moke
Innate Traits: Desire Perception, Breath Concealment, Herculean Strength, Wind
Abilities: Needle Flick, Consuming Good and Evil, Beast Skills, Flight
Basic Evaluation: High Bronze (Critical)
System Description: This is a fierce beast on the verge of transcending mortal evil.

Records about Qiongqi vary widely in ancient texts; some describe it with the body of an ox and bristling quills, others say it has a tiger’s body and twin wings. Some claim it is one of the Four Great Fiends, suppressing good and promoting evil, while others suggest it has a benevolent side.

Since the legends and the accounts in the Classic of Mountains and Seas differ so greatly, Wu You simply created Qiongqi according to his own judgment.

He gazed at the beast pen—the storage for alchemical creatures—where that strange and imposing beast resided.

Anyone familiar with the legends of Qiongqi would recognize it at a glance.

Being another critical creature, and a third-tier alchemical product, Wu You certainly wouldn’t release it in his own home.

He slipped out quietly and hurried toward Stone Ox Mountain.

Next time, he needed to get a proper mount; traveling like this was tiresome.

He considered having Garuru carry him.

Should he ride on its head, or be held like a princess?

He shuddered at the thought—best not.

He didn’t deliberately head beneath the mountain trees, but stopped at a small hill.

He chose to summon: Qiongqi Moke.

A black, gauzy, shimmering light appeared, perfectly covering the beast’s form.

In the next moment, Qiongqi materialized before Wu You.

It shook its head, folded its wings, crouched, and calmly gazed at Wu You.

A clear sensation flooded Wu You’s mind—a hunger emanating from Moke’s body.

Prompt: Critical beast, Qiongqi Moke, on the verge of transformation; natural energies attracted for refinement, requires special refining material.

The previous two critical creatures had undergone transformation solely through the absorption of natural energy. This time, however, special refining materials were required.

He had no idea what those might be.

Though the transformation was imminent, neither sky nor earth showed any sign of change.

Of course, not everything remained static.

A faint black smoke began to drift around Moke.

This ethereal smoke wasn’t emerging from within Moke, but appeared naturally around it.

At this moment, the hunger Moke conveyed to Wu You grew more intense, as if something far away was calling to it.

“Go,” Wu You said.

With his permission, Qiongqi sprang powerfully on all fours, leaping three meters high before its wings unfurled.

A gust of wind followed its flight, and its figure vanished rapidly into the night sky.

Wu You, who had barely entered the mountain, hurried home.

He’d ventured into the mountains fearing too much commotion; had he known, he would have summoned it right outside his back door.

Now, he returned to lie in bed and observe, curious to see what Qiongqi would do.

Once Wu You was comfortably settled and switched to observation mode, Qiongqi was already soaring above Qiantang City.

Its body was now enveloped by wisps of smoke, more abundant than before.

In observation mode, Wu You could vividly sense Moke’s hunger.

He could also “see” black wisps of smoke appearing in the void, their source unknown.

Qiongqi hovered in the sky, as if searching for something.

Soon, a wave of joy surged through it, and its body swiftly darted toward a certain direction in the city below.

...

Gao Rufeng was originally a local hoodlum—greedy, lazy, fond of petty gambling. After being fired from his first factory job, he never held honest work again.

He had a circle of similarly idle companions back home.

One day, one of them declared, “We can’t just drift through life anymore—we need to make something of ourselves, at least become proper people.”

Most of the others had little reaction, but Gao Rufeng responded enthusiastically.

The two decided to seek work together.

That companion had a relative supposedly doing well in the coastal region.

They went to find him, only to discover he was actually a human trafficker.

Gao Rufeng’s friend quickly backed out, refusing to join and heading elsewhere for work.

But Gao Rufeng stayed—and thrived.

Now, when he saw cute children on the street, boys or girls, he only saw money.

Kidnapping one and selling could earn him a handsome cut; on good months, he made sixty or seventy thousand.

Tonight, he and an accomplice from the organization were driving a van, about to transport two boys and a girl they’d snatched in Qiantang City.

In their line of work, they couldn’t stay in one city too long—they had to move constantly across the country.

The organization even kept a chart of safe durations for each location.

In the van, the oldest girl was barely four, the two boys not yet four.

All were terrified, and, remembering past pain, dared not cry out.

...

The van wound its way through Qiantang’s night roads, avoiding potential drunk-driving checkpoints.

They were now on a remote suburban road, recently under construction; even the streetlights were unreliable.

Local veterans rarely drove here, and new drivers from out of town hardly knew the way.

Apart from them, not a single other vehicle could be seen.

Gao Rufeng gripped the wheel, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He exhaled a smoke ring as he switched hands.

His accomplice watched the three children in the back.

Suddenly, a swirl of black smoke drifted across the road ahead, caught in the headlights.

A nightmare creature appeared.

Gao Rufeng slammed on the brakes.

“Screeeeeech—”

The shrill sound echoed as both men were thrown against the dashboard.

The accomplice, thinking they’d nearly hit someone, rubbed his forehead and looked up—there was nothing in front of the van.

“You’re crazy! Why slam the brakes like that? Did you see a ghost?”

Gao Rufeng lifted his head.

In the light ahead, only the asphalt and scattered debris from daytime construction were visible—nothing else.

“I swear I saw something.”

“What did you see?”

Gao Rufeng hesitated. “It looked like… a giant tiger, with wings…” His voice faded, even he doubted himself.

“Idiot, you’re nuts! Next time I’m not partnering with you—lunatic…”

The accomplice cursed incessantly.

Gao Rufeng, still uneasy, peered through the windows front and back, but saw nothing.

His partner muttered, “What’s this? Black smoke?”

Wispy threads of smoke drifted past the window.