Beginning with the Ubume Bird Chapter 160

Chapter 160: Chapter 9: The God of Chu

In early May, the funeral procession of the deceased national martial arts master and honorary chairman of the Ancestral Fist Association, Guan Yantao, was held, attended by over a thousand people. Six people acted as pallbearers.

The old man's ashes were buried in his hometown in Kaiping. The day of the funeral was marked with great prestige. Among those who sent respectful wreaths, there were quite a few important figures, which need not be mentioned again.

There was, however, an unsigned elegiac couplet sent from Hong Kong that caught Li Yan's gaze, rendering him lost in thought.

“A man of lowly birth is yet unbroken in spirit, a lone blade amidst the torrents, through ages immutable.”

Li Yan looked for a long time, then quietly withdrew. The sounds of mourning and Buddhist sutras gradually became distant.

In his lifetime, Guan Yantao truly had a few friends who understood him, who loved him.

Aside from the day of the funeral where Li Yan acted as a pallbearer, no one saw him again. This fact relieved many, but it also greatly dissatisfied some.

Such as Guan Shanyue.

This was a quiet teahouse, and at this early hour, there were few people around.

“Tap~”

Guan Shanyue set down his teacup, pondering for a moment: “I say, Comrade Li Yan.”

“Just call me Xiao Li,” Li Yan replied.

Dressed in a black tracksuit, Li Yan held his tea, having never met Guan Shanyue before, only knowing he was Guan Yantao's only son who conducted business abroad.

Guan Shanyue began, “Xiao Li, I do not quite understand the scores and grievances within your circle. But the words the old man said before he passed away, I heard them clearly. To be honest, I am rather envious of you.”

Li Yan patiently held his tea, realizing that Guan Shanyue was beating around the bush and waiting for him to speak up. After a moment of thought, he got straight to the point, “I will return to Beijing in a week; the ticket is already purchased. In the future, when it's New Year's or other festivals, and I am free, I will come back to visit the old man's grave.”

Guan Shanyue's palm covered the teacup, then quickly released it.

“Xiao Li, you truly are…” he trailed off, at a loss for words.

“Master Guan asked me to act as a pallbearer, and this matter concerned only the two of us. The people in the association are scheming against each other, capable of making a fuss that reaches the heavens. They and I loathe each other, and I owe them no words. If Uncle Guan wishes, you can pass my message on; if not, then let it be.”

Guan Shanyue was at a loss for words again. His original intent was to scold Li Yan a bit, to have him put more heart into the old man's funeral, even if just for appearances.

After the funeral procession, he didn't know how many of Guan Yantao's old friends, including some whom even he had to handle with care, asked him who the young man at the forefront was.

To act as a pallbearer for Guan Yantao, many people, including Guan Shanyue, saw this as a particularly valuable legacy. No matter what Li Yan might face in the future, as long as he approached the right people, those willing to offer a helping hand out of old loyalty would surely not be few.

The prerequisite was that Li Yan had to extend his hand, to grasp this network for himself.

But now, it seemed Li Yan had no such intention.

“If there's nothing else, Uncle Guan, I'll see you around,” Li Yan said crisply.

He rose to leave without hesitation.

Guan Shanyue nodded sullenly as Li Yan turned and went downstairs, not lingering in the slightest.

As Li Yan stepped out the door, the dark clouds churned overhead.

“A man of lowly birth is yet unbroken in spirit, a lone blade amidst the torrents, through ages immutable. Heh,” he echoed to himself.

Sun Yat-sen University.

“Hello, Professor Wu.”

Li Yan politely nodded his head.

Across from him was a neatly coiffed, scholarly looking, refined middle-aged man, who pushed his black-framed glasses up his nose and handed Li Yan a USB drive.

“This is what you asked for, information on the mythical evolution of the Nine Phoenixes, as well as material on the evolution of local deities' totems and the integration of divine systems, starting from the Yin and Shang dynasties.

In addition, I've marked those you specifically mentioned, like Peng, Taishuai, Mo, and the like. If you wish to delve deeper into traditional mythological culture, I recommend a few scholars' works for you to read; there's a directory index in the USB drive.”

“Thank you, Professor Wu.”

Li Yan spoke very politely.

“It's nothing. I'm happy that there are young people like you who are willing to learn more about traditional culture. Don't think that all this talk of gods and spirits is only interesting; a lot of this material is actually quite tedious and insipid.”

“Speaking of this…” Li Yan coughed, “Professor Wu, in our country's traditional mythological culture, who holds the highest status? The Three Pure Ones, the Jade Emperor, or Tathagata?”

“Hahaha, my students occasionally ask this question too. In reality, there is no single supreme deity.”

Professor Wu paused before continuing, “Mythological legends, as a part of culture, continuously merge and develop over long spans of time and often form a dominant divine system with clear subordinates. However, our country's situation is different. On one hand, in comparison to other nations' mythological beliefs, we have our own unique ancestral worship traditions. Additionally, the Confucian cultural sphere greatly restricted the development of mythological beliefs–you know, 'The Master does not talk about strange powers and chaos.' By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the country had basically given up on constructing a coherent theology, mixing in a lot of shamanistic elements and uninformed conjectures by later generations–well, by predecessors now. In summary, our mythological system is vast and complex, with severe fragmentation. Depending on the period, the supreme deity varies.”

Li Yan's smile was somewhat strained; he understood only half of what was being said, but he still listened patiently.

“During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the supreme deity in Taoism was the Three Heavenly Officials, representing Heaven, Earth, and Water. By the Tang dynasty, as Li became the royal surname, Laozi, who is Li Er, was elevated to the status of the supreme deity. Emperors of the Song dynasty devoutly believed in Taoism, and in order to ingratiate themselves with the emperor, Taoists greatly elevated the position of the Great Jade Emperor, shrinking the status of the Supreme Lord in the process. And this doesn't even begin to cover the traditional divine systems in various localities.”

“Take the Nine Phoenixes which you are most interested in, for example. The image of the Nine Phoenixes, including its derivatives such as the five-colored phoenix, the Nine-Headed Bird, the Gu Huo Bird, originated from the mythological system of the ancient Chu State. Have you read 'Songs of Chu' by Qu Yuan?”

Li Yan shook his head.

“Nine Phoenixes, Mountain Ghost, Lord of the Xiang River, Great Fate Official, Priestess of Birth, River God–these are typical deities of the Chu divine system, and amongst this system, the highest in status was Eastern Emperor Taiyi.”

“Don't ask me who would win in a fight between the Eastern Emperor, Laozi, and the Three Heavenly Officials; I have no idea about that either.”

After some thought, Professor Wu added, “A few years ago, there was a very interesting online writer who amalgamated the more well-known mythical characters from within the country, set up a hierarchy, and created a plausible mythological history on his own, called 'Primordial Chaos.' Very intriguing, but this is just the fiction of an author without any real foundation, not something to use in scholarly research.”

“Nine Phoenixes, Mountain Ghost, Lord of the Xiang River, River God, Priestess of Birth.” Li Yan silently recited, “Eastern Emperor…”

Li Yan never expected to uncover the secrets of Yan Fu with just one or two visits, but he still needed to make an effort.

Because the mystery of Yan Fu was vast and profound, Li Yan had always harbored two doubts, even fears.

The first was whether reaching 100% Awakening Degree might negatively impact his mobility? Li Yan feared ultimately preparing a bride's gown for someone else, fighting to the death only to end up with some disgusting trick like “possession.” While the likelihood was slim, it was better to be safe than sorry.

However, after meeting Feather Lord Cao Yuanchao, Li Yan had largely dismissed this thought.

The second doubt was whether it was really possible to freely combine different inheritances?

When Li Yan had taken the ES Cell Enhancement Drug, the instructions included a warning: “Individuals with bloodline-based abilities or blood alterations due to inheritance should be aware that injection may lead to unknown effects.”

What about completely different inheritances, then?

Whether it was Taishuai or Feather Lord, their Awakening Degrees far exceeded Li Yan's, yet their displayed abilities were still quite singular inheritances. It was not ruled out that they hadn't shown their full powers, but it was also possible that different inheritances were incompatible with each other, potentially causing adverse effects on one's mobility!

Following this logic, if Yan Fu supported the mobility of those with different inheritances, there must be a solution, and perhaps the 'same divine system' mentioned by Professor Wu was the key!

Even though all of this was conjecture, Li Yan had gone through three Yan Fu events and encountered numerous high-level mobility users, including individuals like Feather Lord and Taishuai who stood at the pinnacle of Yan Fu's mobility. His experience and knowledge were completely different from ordinary low-level mobility users.

He was 70% confident that his deductions were correct.

To acquire more inheritance powers, the best way was to ensure that all the inheritances he possessed were from a unified divine system.

“Professor Wu, thank you very much.”

Li Yan's smile was sincere, as he began to understand how he should proceed on his future path.

Chapter end