On Gods and Demons

A Thousand Li Short Story

By

Tao Wong

License Notes

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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On Gods and Demons: A Thousand Li short story

Copyright © 2021 Tao Wong. All rights reserved.

A Starlit Publishing Book

Published by Starlit Publishing

PO Box 30035

High Park PO

Toronto, ON

M6P 3K0

Canada

www.starlitpublishing.com

ISBN: 9781989994528

On Gods and Demons

Deep in the forest, in a place where no mortal government lay claim to, a simple tavern stood. Though to call it a tavern was a disservice to any respectable establishment, for this one lacked many things that would normally be expected if one were to join such an organization. Among other things that it missed – four walls, a fully stocked kitchen and separate cooking areas.

Instead, the roof was propped up by rough wooden sticks, many of which looked half-rotten. Each were lashed to another, the wooden and rush-laden roof angled to see off the persistent rains. Wooden tables, some half-rotten, others propped up on wooden barrels and formed from discarded planks criss-crossed the dry land beneath the roof. Benches, as crudely made offered seats for customers, though this day, only a single pair graced the ill-kept tavern with their presence.

As for the owner himself, he stood beside simmering vats of food where intestines, stomach, kidney and other innards lay, slowly broken down. Trim as a needle, arms the size of most individuals’ thighs, he worked unceasingly on the carcass of a wild demon boar, his mighty cleaver separating muscle and bone with the grace of an imperial dancer. It sought the gaps between bones, skimmed the tops of flesh to separate edible meat from skeletal architecture, all of which were placed in separate, filled bins.

Bones for brewing to make stock. It would take days, on a slow simmer, the bones themselves losing their very structure. Water from the nearby spring would be added, to give it body and replace what was lost from steam and use.

Intestines, to be cleaned and washed and then cleaned again. Till every ounce of innards were removed before it was set to boiling. Small intestines in one vat, large another. All sliced into equal portions, white and black wild peppers added to the mix, chilis and a healthy dosing of rock salt. Wine and spirit, sloshed into the pot to give it depth, while its body came from the brewing bones.

Stomach, to be cleaned as well before its ends wrapped tight. Small pieces of meat, from the edging between ribs and along the ends of bones slid into one end. Salt, cinnamon and peppers, mountain herbs and a quick and measured sloshing of bone stock, all added. Lava rock, heated in open flame till they were glowing hot added to the mixture, before it was slid into the clay oven beneath the mixture, left to cook and mix together. Juices separating.

Ears, cut off and shaved of meat. Sliced into thin strips and piled together with other portions, ready for a quick deep fry. A crispy, tasty treat. Pork belly, skin still on, its top sliced thinly and rubbed down with salt lay hanging, air-drying while the salt and herbs rubbed into its flesh soaked within. Later, it would be cooked in the ovens after being wiped down, its skin crisping, the flesh bubbling.

Liver, tossed into a mixture of goat milk and wine lay, soaking. A simple dish later on – sliced liver, fresh vegetables and onions. The healthy, iron taste soaked into the milk itself, which would be reused to make a dessert later on.

Not one inch of the spirit boar would be left to waste. Each portion, from tail to nose would be made use of. The butcher, the tavern keeper, worked with the focused dedication of a craftsman.

And his two guests, ate with the appreciation only century old foodies could offer.

The pair of diners could not have been more different. One, an elegant scholar in light green robes and navy-blue trimming, his long hair bundled up high and affixed with hairpins and a small cap. Sat back straight, head held upright, arms positioned by his side. Every movement was a refined dance, a dance of elegance as he supped on the meal before him, dark eyes twinkling in enjoyment.

His companion, a full horned demon with a big bushy beard, its horns curling around the long ears that jutted from near the tops of his head. The demon sat with one leg raised on the bench, arm on the same side resting on the raised foot and holding a bowl of rice. In the other hand, a pair of crude wooden chopsticks waved around, a piece of meat speared on it.

“– then, I said; it’s a dog, you fool!” the demon said, its voice deep and gravelly. He threw his head back and laughed out loud as the culmination of his own joke.

The refined gentleman snorted in amusement. “Good joke. So, did they let the dog stay?”

“Oh, yes. It’s now a treasured companion for the Sixth King.”

This time, the gentleman laughed out loud, holding a hand up to his face to cover it.

“I know, right?” the demon grinned. “So, what about you? Has heaven gotten any more interesting?”

“No, not since the Great Sage left,” the gentleman said, lips pursing. “You know how the heavens are. Politics, backstabbing, long years of contemplation of the Dao and then, the occasional period of chaos and screaming when a new immortal rises or a long held plot comes to fruition.”

“And you people call us demons.”

“That’s because you are,” the gentleman chuckled, picking up a slice of stomach. He placed it on his rice bowl before scooping the mixture into his mouth and chewing.

His friend snorted, but joined him in eating, taking hold of some tiny pork rib ends, chewing on the steamed ginger and alcohol marinated meat. The demon turned his head to the side and spat, before continuing. “That’s just because we aren’t shy about being who we really are. We follow our dao too, and it is forthright and courageous, Zhong Mou.”

Zhong Mou snorted in reply. “Forthright – you mean rude and without manners. Courageous, meaning willing to accept any form of idiocy.” He raised a finger, continuing. “Shall we also call you independent for the lack of rules you all desire? How about being of the people, for how uneducated your kind are?”

“Watch yourself, friend. You go too far.”

Zhong Mou bowed his head slightly. “My apologies, Teng Yang. You are correct. I should have been more circumspect. Demons are always touchy about their status.”

“I think you mean you immortals,” Teng Yang replied, his gravelly voice growing deeper. “Always worrying about status, about your supposed superiority. So caught up in your own politics, of where you stand in relation to one another that you ignore the world beneath you. How many of your kind even step foot in the middle kingdom anymore?”

Every word stiffened Zhong Mou’s back, until such point that you could have used it as a ruler. Dark eyes glittered, and the cup he held in one hand trembled. Before it could shatter, the pair were interrupted by the clearing of a throat by the owner of the restaurant. The dull thunk of his cleaver separating bone, embedding itself in the cutting board beneath caught both of their attention. The pair warily eyed the restaurant owner who stared back at them fearlessly.

“Right, right. We’re here to eat,” Teng Yang said, picking up a bowl. His mouth widened and widened, the dark coloured liquid from the herbal soup and the pieces of stewed pig meat within sliding into the gaping maw. He closed his mouth when the entire fist sized bowl disappeared down his gullet, chewing noisily as he let the bowl drop with a think. “Aaaaah!”

Not to be outdone, Zhong Mou tackled the food as well, with more refinement but no less gluttony. His hands blurred, afterimages of his fast moving arms leaving glittering layers of gold and ice behind as he picked at the dishes and consumed his rice. In three breaths, another third of the food on the table had disappeared along with most of the rice.

“Har! More rice, boss!” Teng Yang shouted.

A grunt was all the acknowledgement the pair received.

While waiting, Zhong Mou dabbed at his lips before speaking. “The issue up in the Bai Dian mountains. Your people?”

Teng Yang paused, reaching sideways and pulling a gourd from empty air. A flick of his wrist opened the alcohol gourd, the smell of demon-distilled baijiu filling the air. Tipping the gourd over the now empty serving bowl, the demon filled it until it was nearly full before stopping and raising an eyebrow at his companion. A nod, and another empty bowl was filled with the potent alcohol.

“Not mine, exactly. The thirteenth western cavalry.” The demon turned his head and spat again. “Idiots all of them, as are the people they recruit.”

“Bad karma, destroying so many villages,” Teng Yang said, sighing.

“Yeah, it is.” A shrug. “But better than the drought in the province of Fu.”

“Fu? Oh. The Yuan kingdom.” A refined head bowed low, as he refused to meet the demon’s eyes. He picked up the drink, sipping on it. “Good drink!”

“It is.” Taking the salute, the demon drunk from his own bowl too. The pair fell silent as the proprietor finally arrived with a new tub of rice and replaced the empty bowls with new supplies of meat in herbal soups.

“One of the villages accidentally befouled the Northern dragon’s son’s lake,” Zhong Mou said. “The drought will last so long as the lake is befouled. When it is cleansed, the rains will arrive again.”

“The whole province?” Teng Yang said, incredulously.

“It was midway through the growing season. They have enough food to last the winter.” Zhong Mou said, defensively. “mostly.”

“And did you all tell them how to appease the dragons?”

“Portents and omens have been sent.”

“Oh, those are always so clear.” Teng Yang said, rolling his eyes.

“We were warned by the Jade Emperor to not interfere with the dragons.” Zhong Mou said, raising the bowl again to sip on it. He peered over the edge of the bowl as he took it away from his lips, all the while speaking. “Now, if someone else was to interfere in the fall of the rain, or maybe a new artifact to pour rain was found…”

“As if we all have those lying around.”

“No. But I do remember how a certain sage, one that died of old age in the Standing Chief mountain, did.”

Red eyes glowed. “Be a bit hard to enter, it being warded against demons.”

“True. But a human youngster, falling in…”

A grunt.

A smile.

“Well, maybe. Trouble is, I’ve been worried about these new dark sects, appearing in the state of Wei…”

“Really. Dark sects?” Lips pursed. “Bad business, those.”

“They are. Always makes it harder for good demon sects to exist, when they appear.”

“Mmmm… there might be a few portents…” A light growl from the demon. “Maybe some new manuals might be found. By the right people, of course.”

“Really, manuals and portents?” Teng Yang muttered, stabbing his chopsticks into a floating meatball and slurping it down before continuing. “Can’t you find new ways to do things?”

“If you gave me easier problems to solve! Not everyone can just throw some unlucky fool down a cave and let loose another relic weapon.”

“It’s a lot more fun though!”

Zhong Mou rolled his eyes, ladling some soup into his newly refilled rice bowl. Mixing both together, he picked up some wood fungus, chewing and swallowing both before he continued. “Now, about the catch in the southern sea…”

“Nope. Not my doing!” Teng Yang muttered immediately.

“Fine…”

A light snort, too low for the pair to hear came from the idly listening proprietor. His dismemberment of the carcass done, he wiped down his cleaver with care before storing it away. Next, he would have to wash the intestine down, scrubbing the affluence out, but before that, he needed to deal with the collected pig blood. Better to begin the mixture with herbs and begin the chilling process, to make the jelly first.

Humming to himself, still only half-listening, the proprietor worked while the pair of immortals bickered and dealt over bowls of spirit meat and vegetables.

***

Later, much later, the proprietor cleaned off his hands on his stained apron. He tugged on the apron, turning aside and flapping it a few times. Bits of dirt and blood flew from the apron, to stain the ground outside the empty-but-for-him property. Sliding the now miraculously clean apron over his head, the proprietor and cook began covering his various bubbling dishes, storing things away. He worked with brisk efficiency, storing and banking fires before he stepped out of the crude building.

His head turned, lips compressing in a deep glower. Then, fingers began moving, twisting and turning, ducking and snapping as he formed mystical hand seals. When he was done, the establishment had shrunk, twisting in space till it became but a single point of light.

The next moment, it zipped towards the bearded proprietor, slipping into a grimy, chipped plain gold band. Behind, it left an empty clearing, stained in portions by the spilt meat and blood, the delectable smells lingering in the air.

One last moment spent inspecting the clearing, before the proprietor turned on his heels. A single step took him a dozen li away, another dozen. In the time it took for the normal sounds of the forest to resume around the now-empty clearing, the proprietor had traveled a thousand li.

A single brave rat scurries out, drawn by the enticing smells. It spots a portion of cooked meat, dropped while eating or flung during one of the many arguments. It bites down, chewing and swallowing and then shudders. It twitches and freezes, its muscles rippling under its skin before it falls over, catatonic.

Gathered animals, at first intent on scavenging, see the fate of the rat and flee.

Later, much later, a lynx crawls out from the underbrush. Spotting the fallen rat, it pounces on the creature, paws landing on the unmoving form. Its head dips, sharp fangs extending as hot saliva drips onto the supine form.

Only for the lynx to be thrown aside by a single blow by the rat, woken from its contemplation of the dao, immortal food absorbed. The rat scurries forward, a new intelligence in its eyes even as the lynx scrambles to right itself, to understand the sudden change in its fate.

Such is the effect of the immortals upon the world.

For all their plans and plots, for all their vaunted wisdom and cunning, it is their very presence that twists the skeins of fate.

A lynx dies. A child-on-the-border of adulthood sees a bobbing light and follows it up the mountain. A manual is found.

Fate changes.

And the world turns.

###

The End of On Gods & Demons

A Thousand Li Short Story

Author’s Note

Thank you for reading this! I hope you had fun reading this story. Check back on the store to see if we released any additional short stories!

Please check out my other series, the Adventures on Brad (a slice-of-life fantasy LitRPG), the System Apocalypse (a post-apocalyptic LitRPG) and A Thousand Li (a cultivation xanxia series), and Hidden Wishes (an urban fantasy Gamelit). Book one of each series is named:

A Thousand Li: The First Step (Book 1 of the A Thousand Li series)

A Gamer’s Wish (Book 1 of the Hidden Wishes series)

A Healer’s Gift (Book 1 of the Adventures on Brad)

Life in the North (Book 1 of the System Apocalypse)

In addition, please take a look at other series/books I have co-written:

Leveled up Love! by Tao Wong & A. G. Marshall

A Fist Full of Credits by Tao Wong & Craig Hamilton (Book 1 of System Apocalypse: Relentless)

Town Under by Tao Wong & K.T. Hanna (Book 1 of System Apocalypse: Australia)

I also host a Facebook Group for all things wuxia, xanxia, and specifically, cultivation novels. We’d love it if you joined us:

Cultivation Novels

For more great information about LitRPG series, check out the Facebook groups:

LitRPG Society

LitRPG Books

If you’d like to support me directly, I now have a Patreon page where previews of all my new books can be found!

Tao Wong Patreon

About the Author

Tao Wong is an avid fantasy and sci-fi reader who spends his time working and writing in the North of Canada. He’s spent way too many years doing martial arts of many forms, and having broken himself too often, he now spends his time writing about fantasy worlds.

For updates on the series and his other books (and special one-shot stories), please visit the author’s website: http://www.mylifemytao.com

Subscribers to Tao’s mailing list will receive exclusive access to short stories in the Thousand Li and System Apocalypse universes: https://www.subscribepage.com/taowong

Or visit Tao’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/taowongauthor/

About the Publisher

Starlit Publishing is wholly owned and operated by Tao Wong. It is a science fiction and fantasy publisher focused on the LitRPG & cultivation genres. Their focus is on promoting new, upcoming authors in the genre whose writing challenges the existing stereotypes while giving a rip-roaring good read.

For more information on Starlit Publishing, visit our website!

You can also join Starlit Publishing’s mailing list to learn of new, exciting authors and book releases.

Short Stories in the A Thousand Li series

The Favored Son

The Storming White Clouds Sect

On Gods and Demons

Clifftop Crisis and Transformation

Imperial March

Villages and Illnesses

Descent from the Mountain

The Divine Peak

Fish Ball Quest