Beware Of Chicken Chapter Volume 1 3: Beneath the Crescent Moon

Bi De experienced intense rage. One of the crimson creatures had captured his Great Master. It had almost killed one of the Great Master’s hens, slipping by him undetected. He had just managed to raise the alert, his cry condemning the disgusting intruder.

Yet this crimson fiend, this despicable monster, proved cunning. It dodged his attacks with ease, and even, to his utter dismay, avoided the Great Master’s powerful spur—the very one that subdued the ground. In every previous encounter, that iron spur had delivered instant doom. A mere disdainful strike from it had obliterated all foes before.

But not against this beast.

Initially, shock gripped him so tightly he nearly coughed up blood. Why didn’t his Great Master chase it down? He could have effortlessly destroyed the intruder, that demon, by unleashing his complete and fearsome anger upon it.

Though he couldn’t comprehend it, Bi De trusted that his Great Master possessed wisdom surpassing his own by leaps and bounds.

Three times, the abominable creature tried to seize what belonged to the Great Master. Three times, the Great Master’s devastating strike fell short.

His Great Master had even bestowed upon it a name drawn from the depths of infernal realms: Basi Bu Shi. Bi De trembled each time he heard it. The Great Master’s potent words carried both noble and dark insights.

Now, though, clarity dawned on him. He had unraveled the puzzle his Great Master had placed in his path. Once again, his Great Master had prepared the traveling coop. He recalled faintly, from before his awakening, journeying to these sacred territories atop the formidable stronghold from the… those memories remained foggy.

Certain supplies belonging to his master were dwindling. He desired to venture back to the previous location, allowing the inhabitants there to offer homage to his splendor.

However, to journey beyond, he would need to abandon his domain. Leaving only Bi De as its protector.

And Bi De lacked the necessary strength. His inadequacy was hindering the master from pursuing his desired way of life. Such a situation was intolerable.

A trial had been presented to him through Basi Bu Shi’s persistent survival. A grand challenge to demonstrate his value against evil forces.

Thus, he intensified his training. His kicks gained fresh vigor. His movements acquired greater elegance. He would defeat this formidable adversary and secure his Great Master’s confidence.

The majestic Pillars of The Fa Ram beckoned.

/////////

Just a little further before I return to Verdant Hill. I’ll need to bring the chickens with me to prevent them from being devoured. It’s about time I properly handled Basil Brush. I’d been slacking off, merely shooing him away and wishing he’d take the hint, but his boldness was increasing.

I narrowed my eyes at Big D while completing the preparation of the fox hide.

Was… was my damn rooster performing a training montage?

I observed his sharply precise kicks for a moment more.

I shook my head. No, I’d been isolated too long. Attributing too many human traits to him. Or perhaps it’s just the quirks of this cultivation world.

Fine, tomorrow I’ll track down Basil.

Heheheh. Basil Brush.

////////

This night, he would eliminate the evil Basi Bu Shi.

This night, it would bring either triumph—or his end. Both outcomes were fitting. Should he perish in combat, it would simply confirm his unworthiness of his Great Master’s ongoing tolerance.

He ventured into the darkness, leaping silently from branch to branch. And there, he located his target.

The creature exuded arrogance. It prowled, unaware that it could be hunted in turn.

Without a sound, Bi De dropped down and attacked. His legs whipped out with tremendous force, drawing a pained snarl from his foe.

He followed up swiftly to capitalize, but Basi Bu Shi justified its master’s enmity—the agile form darted away, though bearing a severe gash in its side that oozed blood.

Bi De perceived it in the eyes of his arch-nemesis. The flicker of realization. The flicker of rage.

This foe… this one was enlightened too.

His opponent didn’t flee. It believed he hadn’t summoned his Great Master. It thought it could defeat him right there.

Their wordless duel commenced.

His legs and spurs sliced through the nocturnal air as he somersaulted and lunged around his enemy’s sharp fangs and rending talons.

The beast attempted to hit him with its paws, to disrupt his balance and force him down, but Bi De had learned its deceptions, evading where possible and enduring the strike to create space when evasion failed.

The two scarlet blurs pursued one another amid the trees, rebounding off trunks and scoring the woodland soil.

Bi De sensed victory. He matched this opponent evenly—nay, he ventured to consider himself its better. Its snout lay torn, one ear reduced to a tattered ruin. His spurs gleamed red with blood.

Yet the malevolent one might hold hidden tactics. It lifted its paw as if to deliver another assault, prompting Bi De to flare his wings and alter his trajectory.

He noticed the glint of triumph too late.

The paw hammered down instead, propelling the fiend forward, transforming the vile Basi Bu Shi into a red streak followed by gaping jaws.

Fangs clamped onto his wing. The evil creature thrashed its head viciously, then hurled him across the glade to crash against a trunk.

Pain unlike any other surged through him. He almost cried out, almost called for his Great Master, but he held back. This was his ordeal, and he would not yield.

He struggled to rise, his limbs quivering from the strain. But it proved futile.

Basi Bu Shi pinned him to the ground with its powerful paw. It gloated over vanquishing the Great Master’s follower. It relished its success.

Bi De felt nothing but disgrace, lying there immobilized against the dirt. He had failed to honor his Great Master’s gifts. He could never compensate him. All he managed was to gaze at the starry sky in agony.

The massive crescent moon dominated his sight. It was his preferred lunar phase, one he pondered during its finest display. It somewhat resembled his master’s formidable spur—or his own feeble, inadequate ones.

Oh, how he longed for a powerful armament to vanquish the evil.

The Crescent Moon dominated.

Bi De, in his final instants, reflected on the moon’s splendor.

Bi De, in his final instants, comprehended.

He directed his energy and focus precisely. Radiant blades, as pure as the moon overhead, erupted from his appendages.

[Rising of the Crescent Moon]

His form launched from its defenseless stance, ascending as steadily as the moon itself. The fiend’s feeble might could not restrain him. The blade hit its mark, excising one of the abomination’s eyes as he twisted mid-air.

The adversary wailed in torment, its essence scorched by the just, divine blades he now wielded.

He lingered there briefly, bathed in the moon’s heavenly glow, staring down at his foe.

All that ascends must descend.

[Descending Lunar Fangs]

It was as certain as the orbits of sun, moon, and stars; thus, he plummeted back to the mortal realm, bearing the force and majesty of the heavens.

Both of his shining spurs plunged into the crimson beast’s throat. This hideous Basi Bu Shi.

[Wheel of the Crescent Moon]

His legs parted, sending him into another somersault, white energy tracing a circular afterimage around him, severing his deadly rival’s head from its body.

He touched down elegantly on the ground once more.

His enemy’s severed head thudded behind him.

He… he had succeeded. Bi De had fulfilled his master’s mission.

He bellowed his triumph toward the skies.

His Great Master charged into the clearing upon hearing his roar, anger blazing in his gaze at those who dared threaten his disciple.

//////////

I halted abruptly, dragged from sleep yet again. The tiny clearing bore marks of fierce struggle, and there stood Big D, utterly satisfied, atop the mutilated and decapitated corpse of Basil Brush.

What the hell?

/////////

His Great Master, true to form, showered him with care. The injured wing received bandages. The disheveled plumage got straightened, and his wattles received a delightful massage.

He was returned to the coop and offered entire bunches of Heavenly Herbs. His Great Master ordered him to recover and take it easy.

He served as a faithful disciple to his Great Master. He had overcome his trial and now earned the role of guardian for The Great Fa Ram, relied upon to uphold loyalty for his Lord during his worldly travels.