Chapter 51: Mo Qi’s Protection

The ink-colored stone tablet seemed to sense something; suddenly, it floated up and hovered above Qiyue’s abdomen. Five seconds later, the tablet emitted a faint cyan glow and slowly descended to a point one inch below Qiyue’s navel. From it arose a pale cyan six-pointed star array. The array gradually rose and expanded until, after a short while, it vanished into the cave ceiling. At that moment, the glow on the tablet also faded.

Feng Yu nudged the black stone tablet, but it seemed fused to Qiyue’s belly, unmoving. Feng Chi was captivated by the light of the six-pointed star array. When it disappeared into the cave ceiling, he asked curiously, “Father Beast, shall we go outside and see where that pattern went?”

Feng Yu, also curious, stepped out of the cave with Chi’er. Looking up, they saw a massive six-pointed star array enveloping the valley above. Of course, neither of them recognized it as such; they only sensed it was an arcane and profound pattern.

At the same time, above the Moqi Tribe, an even larger six-pointed star array suddenly appeared in the sky. Occasionally, tiny sparkling particles in the air were drawn into the array, though they were so small that no one noticed.

When the Moqi tribespeople realized the pattern in the sky, panic spread quickly. They rushed to inform one another and gathered spontaneously in the central square, kneeling in prayer to seek the protection of the Beast God.

Qi Hua was drawn by the unusual commotion outside and went to the cave entrance. Seeing the array stunned her. She hurried back to fetch her divination tools and cast a lot. After reading the result, she asked her partner to carry her to find the clan leader.

The shaman Qi Hua, carried by Qi Zhong, burst into the clan leader’s cave without greeting and shouted, “The Moqi Guardian has been activated! Someone has triggered the Moqi Guardian!”

“What did you say?” Clan Leader Qi Song asked in surprise. “Someone triggered the Moqi Guardian? What is the Moqi Guardian?”

“In our Kirin tribe’s shamanic tradition, there’s a saying: ‘The Moqi Guardian resides within the Moqi Tablet; it exists to protect the bloodline of the Kirin divine beast.’ As for the Moqi Tablet itself, I have never seen it. Maybe the clan leader can ask the elders in the tribe. Perhaps someone knows.”

Qi Song called out to his son Qi Bai, “Qi Bai, quickly send someone to investigate—who last inherited the Moqi Tablet?”

Half an hour later, Qi Bai returned, “We found out. It was last passed to Qi Xiao. Twenty years ago, Qi Xiao paired with a female from the Qingluan Tribe and left the tribe, settling in the Luyu Tribe.”

“You mean my brother? I haven’t seen him in twenty years. I never saw the Moqi Tablet when I was with him,” Qi Hua said excitedly but then hesitated. “Luyu Tribe? That’s not right. The Moqi Guardian is in the west, but the Luyu Tribe lies to our east. The directions don’t match!”

“Do you remember, during the last Luojia Festival, the Luyu Tribe mentioned a female who was expelled—her name was Qiyue. Could she be Qi Xiao’s child?” Matriarch Qi Yu recalled the rumor she had heard at the festival.

“Qiyue? I think Qi Jue mentioned it. Feng Yan’s young clan leader, Feng Yu’s female, is named Qiyue—the very one who came seeking medicine and taught me how to make the Spider Silk Garment. Could she be my brother and sister-in-law’s child? Could she be the one who activated the Moqi Guardian? Or maybe my brother went west for some reason and unintentionally triggered it?” Qi Hua asked uncertainly. Since Qi Xiao and his wife held the pairing ceremony in the Qingluan Tribe, he had only visited her once and never returned. She didn’t know how they were doing now.

“Qi Hua, do you know which direction they left?” Qi Song asked.

“I heard from Qi Jue that they were heading to the Fire Vein. The nearest Fire Vein to us is in the volcanic cluster to the west,” Qi Hua recalled.

“No matter what, we must investigate. Qi Bai, take two single beastmen to the Luyu Tribe to look into Qi Xiao and Qiyue. Remember, don’t let Luyu notice anything. Qi Zhong, notify Qi Jue to take two beastmen west to the Fire Vein area to search for Qi Xiao and his wife. I recall Qi Jue had a good relationship with Feng Yan, the young clan leader,” ordered Clan Leader Qi Song.

Qi Bai hurried out, and Qi Hua sighed deeply, “If Qiyue is indeed the daughter of Qi Xiao and Luan Jing, then she is my niece. Clan leader, with so many outstanding beastmen in the tribe leaving because of the rule forbidding marriage outside the tribe, is there truly no way to resolve this?”

“Qi Hua, I have no solution either. That rule has been passed down for thousands of years—it’s not something that can be abolished lightly,” Qi Song said helplessly.

Meanwhile, Feng Yu couldn’t understand the purpose of the pattern hovering above, so he returned to continue guarding his partner. Half an hour later, he noticed Qiyue’s complexion improving and guessed it had something to do with the ink-colored stone tablet and the pattern in the sky.

Feng Yu and Feng Chi rushed outside the cave, knelt before the pattern, and offered thanks and prayers.

For many years, the divine beast bloodline had not awakened again, and much of the tribe’s oral traditions had been lost. Few knew the true nature of the Moqi Guardian anymore.

In truth, the Moqi Guardian was simply the collective strength of the entire Moqi Tribe protecting the fetus within Qiyue’s womb. The tiny particles absorbed into the six-pointed star array were the Kirin power of each beastman in the tribe. Each beastman contributed only a minuscule amount daily, so no one noticed. A couple of pounds of meat restored their energy.

If the Moqi Tribe’s beastmen knew this, they might even wish to contribute more. The Moqi Tribe was the most united tribe nearby. The Moqi Tablet was a gift prayed for from the Beast God by a shaman of the Moqi Tribe long ago. What exactly happened then and why the shaman prayed for such an artifact are no longer known.

Moreover, the fetus chosen by the Moqi Guardian could not possibly be from another species of beastman; it had to be one compatible with the Kirin.

Qiyue’s health improved daily, and Feng Yu and his son finally relaxed. They resumed their previous routine but reduced Qiyue’s daily intake of thick soup from six bowls to five. Remembering Qiyue mentioning the benefits of milk, they captured a lactating yellow ox beast—a docile prey—and each day Qiyue and Feng Chi shared a bowl of yellow ox milk.

Starting that month, Qiyue’s desires increased. Feng Yu noticed that, during the nights when he held his partner to sleep, Qiyue would unconsciously nestle closer to him and sometimes involuntarily shift her body.

Recalling their previous conversation and knowing he could relieve himself a little, Feng Yu dug a small cave on the other side of the main cave, separated by a grass mat screen, and moved Feng Chi there to better accommodate Qiyue’s needs.

A month later, Qi Jue arrived. After learning all the necessary information from Feng Yu, he sent the two accompanying beastmen back to the tribe. He decided to stay and help Feng Yu hunt so that Feng Yu would have more time to care for his sister.

Qi Jue dug another cave about twenty meters from theirs. When it was finished, Feng Chi was tossed over by his father beast and began living with his uncle beast.