Yoriichi reached the boulder.
Xiao Yu didn't even hesitate. The moment her brother was within reach, she lunged forward, throwing her arms around his neck and wrapping her legs around his waist, clinging to him like a terrified octopus. She buried her face into his shoulder, her entire body trembling violently.
"Get me out of here! Get me out!" she whimpered, her tough older-sister persona completely shattered by the sheer, primal horror of the situation.
Yoriichi's mouth twitched slightly in mild amusement, though he maintained his stoic expression. The girl who had been lifting boulders and wearing four-hundred-pound vests an hour ago was now clinging to him like a frightened toddler.
"It is alright, Sister," Yoriichi said softly, his deep, resonant voice rumbling in his chest. He raised a large, calloused hand and gently patted her back, grounding her with his unshakeable calm. "They are not going to hurt you. Breathe."
He turned his attention back to the clearing.
With the music entirely gone, the beasts seemed to realize they were congregating in a highly unnatural manner. The predator-prey dynamics were slowly reasserting themselves. The hares nervously began to hop backward toward the bushes. The wolves stretched their legs, preparing to retreat into the deeper woods.
Yoriichi gently detached Xiao Yu's legs from his waist, setting her down behind him, though she kept a vice-like grip on the back of his tunic.
Yoriichi stood up perfectly straight. He looked out over the massive, diverse audience of magical beasts that had gathered solely to listen to his flute. In his past life, he had always held a deep, profound respect for the natural world and the creatures that inhabited it. They were not demons; they were simply surviving.
Feeling a sense of genuine appreciation for their peaceful company, Yoriichi brought his feet together. He placed his hands flat against the sides of his thighs and bowed at a perfect, relaxed forty-five-degree angle.
It was a traditional, formal bow of gratitude to his audience.
What happened next completely shattered the minds of every human watching.
The beasts, who were in the process of turning away, suddenly stopped.
The massive Iron-Hide Boar turned its heavy head back toward Yoriichi. It let out a soft, low snort, and incredibly, it dipped its massive tusks toward the earth in a clumsy, yet undeniable mimicry of a bow.
The Alpha of the Spirit Wolves sat back on its haunches. It lowered its head between its front paws, staring at Yoriichi with deep, intelligent reverence. Even the Emerald Serpents in the trees lowered their triangular heads.
It wasn't a trick of the light. The entire congregation of wild, bloodthirsty magical beasts had actually copied his body style, bowing their heads slightly in a profound display of cross-species respect before finally turning and melting silently back into the misty depths of the pine forest.
On the ridge, the rescue party was completely paralyzed.
Teacher Ruo Lin's jaw was practically touching the dirt. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates. As a Da Dou Shi and an elite tutor of the Jia Nan Academy, she had read countless ancient scrolls on the mythical Beast Tamers of the Central Plains. But even the greatest Dou Wang level Beast Tamers had to use brutal spiritual branding to force a beast into submission.
She had never, in all her years of cultivation, seen a pack of wild magical beasts voluntarily bow to a human out of pure, unadulterated respect.
"Did... did the beasts just bow to him?" a senior student whispered, his voice cracking violently in the silent air.
Xiao Zhan swallowed hard, his throat incredibly dry. He slowly retracted his Da Dou Shi aura, his muscles relaxing, though his mind was racing at a million miles an hour. He gazed down at the red-haired youth standing in the clearing.
'Xiao Ning... what exactly are you?' Xiao Zhan thought, a profound sense of awe washing over him. To the casual observer, the boy was just a quiet, talented swordsman. But if you gazed closely, if you truly looked at his actions, you realized there was an abyssal, terrifying depth to him that defied all the logic of the Dou Qi Continent.
Beside him, First Elder Xiao Lu let out a massive, shuddering sigh of relief, leaning heavily against the oak tree. The terrifying spike of adrenaline faded, leaving the old man feeling incredibly drained.
He stared down at his two grandchildren. He was internally conflicted, completely unsure of what to do with them. Should he be violently angry that they had recklessly lured a horde of beasts into the estate? Should he be saddened that they had almost been eaten? Or should he punish them for giving an old man a near-fatal heart attack?
Ultimately, seeing Xiao Yu safe and Xiao Ning unharmed, the First Elder simply shook his head, too exhausted to yell.
Down in the valley, Yoriichi finally turned his gaze away from the retreating beasts and looked up toward the rocky ridge.
With his Transparent World vision, he had sensed their presence the moment the music stopped and their aggressive auras flared. He saw the Patriarch, the First Elder, the Jia Nan Academy teacher, and a dozen senior students all standing there, looking like they had just witnessed a ghost.
'Ah,' Yoriichi realized, mentally connecting the dots. 'A massive congregation of beast auras near the estate... they must have thought a Beast Tide was occurring. Sensing no immediate aggression, they were holding their positions, ready to attack if something happened to Xiao Yu or myself.'
He let out a soft, highly uncharacteristic sigh.
He had only wanted to test the acoustics of his bamboo flute and honor a memory. Instead, he had nearly given the entire leadership of the Xiao Clan and the Jia Nan Academy a collective heart attack.
'I suppose I will need to formally apologize to the Patriarch and the First Elder later for causing such a massive ruckus,' Yoriichi thought mildly.
He turned around, gently placing a hand on Xiao Yu's trembling shoulder to guide her.
"Come, Sister. It is over. Let us return to the estate," Yoriichi said, his voice calm and reassuring.
Xiao Yu nodded frantically, her face still pale. She didn't let go of the back of his tunic, trailing closely behind him like a frightened shadow as they began to walk up the trail toward the safety of the clan walls.
As they walked, Yoriichi looked down at the simple bamboo flute tucked into his sash.
A rare, dry sense of humor bubbled up within his stoic mind. He analyzed the sheer, overwhelming logistical nightmare his music had just caused.
'If a horde of wild monsters is going to gather every single time I play a song,' Yoriichi mused internally, a faint, wry smile touching his lips, 'then I simply cannot practice within the city walls without causing absolute chaos.'
He glanced back at the deep, untamed wilderness of the Magical Beast Mountain Range looming in the distance.
'Perhaps during my travels this year, I will need to go deep into the absolute heart of the forest. Far away from any human settlements. I will have to sit on a mountain peak and become a silent sage, playing my flute for the wolves and the bears.'