Chapter 124: Valley of Forgetfulness

Why do the leaders of major factions always insist on passing their positions to outsiders instead of selecting more suitable candidates from within? Is it a matter of meritocracy? Now that the Feather King has handed this mess to me, is it because he feared I might refuse his request? Regardless, having a faction of my own is a good thing. Although the Avian race belongs to a marginalized group, their numbers are considerable. The Feather King once mentioned that the Avian tribe had a population of nearly five hundred thousand, and even after the ravages of the Green-Eyed Demon Fox, over four hundred thousand remain. It is time for me to fulfill my promise; I must eliminate the Green-Eyed Demon Fox tonight. But first, the most important task is to bury the Feather King’s body and then investigate the status of the Myriad Demon Cave to ensure no monsters were left behind.

Seeing these dense throngs of bird-men kneeling before me, I was at a loss for what to do. Fortunately, my master nudged me and said, "You foolish boy, tell them to stand up!"

I suddenly realized my mistake and hurriedly said to the bird-men, "Everyone, please stand up. There is no need to kneel to me from now on." To be honest, I am truly unaccustomed to having so many people kneeling before me, even if they are not truly "human" in the conventional sense. Upon hearing this, my master nudged me again. "You silly boy, the Feather King passed his position to you, so you are their new Feather King. It is only natural for them to kneel to you."

I replied to my master, "But I really am not used to it!"

My master said, "Enough, you will get used to it in time. Didn't you say you wanted to help them? Now their affairs are your affairs. Go on, and once you are finished, come back so we can have a proper talk!"

I said to him, "Master, you shouldn't stay in that cave anymore. Come with us. The monsters in the Myriad Demon Cave have been dealt with; why are you still staying there?"

My master replied, "You go ahead first. I still have some lingering concerns, so I will observe for a few more days. It is best if everything is truly settled."

I told him, "Then take care, Master. Your disciple will return shortly to bring you back." With that, I led the bird-men out of the valley, retracing my steps. I brought the Feather King’s body with me and returned to the Avian tribe. I buried the Feather King in the hills behind the settlement, and the entire tribe gathered to mourn. The four hundred thousand bird-men filled the valley completely; it was a truly spectacular sight. After the mourning concluded, a high-ranking member of the tribe spoke: "I feel deep sorrow for the tragic passing of our former King! Before he departed, he entrusted his position to this hero. From this day forward, he is our new Feather King. This was the King’s final wish, and no one shall dissent!"

The bird-man’s voice was resonant and carried an irresistible authority. Upon hearing this, all the bird-men knelt in unison: "Greetings, Feather King!"

Seeing this again, I immediately said to everyone, "Everyone, please rise! You need not perform such formalities in the future."

The bird-men began to whisper among themselves, and the scene became chaotic. The bird-man who had spoken earlier said to me, "These customs have been passed down for centuries and must not be abolished. The etiquette between ruler and subject has existed for thousands of years. As the saying goes, 'Without rules, one cannot form a circle.' I hope the Feather King will reconsider!"

The bird-man made a valid point, yet I truly could not get used to so many people kneeling to me; it made my legs weak. As a child, I always envied the monarchs in television shows—the ones whom thousands bowed to, who could sentence people to death with a wave of their hand. Now that I have become a "monarch" above thousands, I find it all feels rather strange. With hundreds of thousands of people, that kind of presence—those who watch the play never realize how exhausting it is for the actors! Only when certain things actually happen to you do you realize that with greater power comes greater responsibility. How to settle these bird-men became a dilemma. I asked the bird-man who made the declaration for his name. He explained that the Avian race does not have names because they reproduce much faster than humans; they use code names instead. Furthermore, once parents raise their children, they have fulfilled their obligations, and from then on, one’s success or failure depends entirely on oneself.

Of course, the bird-men are not as obsessed with fame and fortune as humans. Perhaps they still retain the nature of birds, or perhaps they evolved from them. Through my inquiries, I learned that they were all nameless. It made sense; unlike humans, who can read and write, they were all illiterate. However, one thing puzzled me: the Avian tribe does not eat meat. Like humans, they farm; the tens of thousands of acres of rice in the back hills were planted by them. This place is called "Worry-Free Valley," a name given by a Feather King several generations ago—I cannot recall exactly which one. It is a valley that is thousands of times larger than the Myriad Demon Cave; otherwise, it would be impossible to support hundreds of thousands of bird-men.

The bird-man who made the declaration earlier held a high status in the tribe and was said to have lived for hundreds of years. Since he lacked a name, I did not know how to address him. Given his role, he was much like a military advisor, and it was his idea to bring me to Worry-Free Valley, so I decided to call him "Advisor." As for the other bird-men, it was truly a headache. With over four hundred thousand of them, I could not possibly name them one by one, and even using numbers would be a daunting task. Given their rapid reproduction, it was indeed a difficult situation.

I decided to think of a way to name them later. I asked the Advisor how the previous Feather Kings managed the tribe. He replied, "Our tribe is divided into fixed squads. I don't know the exact number, but each squad has tens of thousands of people. Everyone knows which squad they belong to and which area they live in. We rotate people daily for sentry duty and farming. Fetching water, cooking, cleaning, and construction—everything is done in rotation. Because our population is so large, we are currently continuing to expand."

Construction? Could it be that the bird-men understood architecture? I asked the Advisor, "What do you mean by construction?" The Advisor pointed toward a turn to the right: "That is where our people live, and this plaza is where we discuss matters."

I followed his gesture, and indeed, there were several houses that looked exactly like those built by humans. I walked forward a few steps, and the view suddenly opened up. Good heavens! The scale was far larger than the World Alliance. Houses of all sizes stood in an orderly fashion throughout the valley, and there were clear signs of excavation at the base of the mountains; it was evident that the project was still expanding. The Advisor took me around for a tour. Worry-Free Valley could only be described with one word: vast. It was far beyond my imagination, perhaps even larger than a small province in the twenty-first century. Even with my "Heavenly Eye" activated, I could not see the end of the valley!

After observing for a while, I asked the Advisor when we would deal with the Green-Eyed Demon Fox. He replied, "Night will fall soon. When it does, we will set an ambush, and the Feather King will strike to subdue it."