Lost Tales of Xiangcheng: Ashen Dawn

Our story begins with a myth:

“Long ago, the Ziwei Emperor commanded the stars and arranged their formations, governing the fortunes of war and conquest in the mortal realm. Seeing that the world was on the brink of collapse, he resolved to descend in person, determined to turn the tide and save the crumbling realm. Before setting out, he told the Zhenwu Emperor, ‘The old calamity from the Investiture of the Gods is stirring again. The nine-tailed fox, Su, is about to break free. I fear she will disrupt my plans. I ask you to suppress her.’

“Zhenwu took his demon-subduing sack and set off. On his way home after completing his task, he met the Supreme Lord Laozi by the roadside. The two tied up their oxen and stopped to chat. Zhenwu said, ‘This time, the fox isn't relying on her beauty. She's bent on scheming and wants to seize control of the imperial court.’ Laozi scoffed. Before he could finish speaking, the nearby Azure Ox, impatient with hunger, bit through the straw cord of the demon-subduing sack. The fox's soul escaped and returned to the mortal world.

“Watching the demon's light disappear into the distance, Zhenwu sighed, ‘Is this Heaven's will?’ He later descended to the mortal realm as well, hoping to aid the Ziwei Emperor.

“The Supreme Lord Laozi berated the Azure Ox: ‘You wretched beast! You let heavenly secrets slip and disrupted this game of chess. You shall suffer the retribution of ten thousand arrows piercing your heart!’

“Terrified, the Azure Ox fell into the mortal realm. But afraid of the prophecy and seeking to escape its fate, its spirit neither dispersed nor entered another body. Instead, it hid beneath a thousand acres of fertile farmland east of the Wei River in Shunde, feeding on the earth's vital energy to cling to life.

“I happened to pass through the area and saw the earth's energy gathering in an unusual way, as if a strange beast lay dormant beneath it. Through divination, I learned the causes and consequences of what had happened. Just then, a dispute arose over military farmland. I went with the flow, using the pretext of ‘stabilizing the earth's energy and bringing prosperity to the family’ to persuade the landowner to build this tower. Its shadow moves with the sun like a heavenly whip, lashing the ox's spirit day after day, preventing it from fleeing again and forcing it to enter the mortal world and face its fate.”