The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 404 A Strange Appearance
The crow muttered a few words, circled the gourd once, and then slowly landed on the table.

“Brother Crow, this…” Zhao Ti scratched his head.

"It seems to be severely damaged. I guess, I guess..." the crow murmured, exhaling a pale golden aura that enveloped the gourd once more.

This time, the gourd was even worse than last time. Not only did it not emit black smoke, but it didn't even shake, remaining completely unresponsive like a dead object.

"It's ruined, it's completely ruined," the crow sighed.

"Can it still be fixed?" Zhao Ti asked.

"It can definitely be fixed." The crow's voice carried a hint of helplessness.

“Brother Crow, since it can be repaired, why are you sighing?” Zhao Ti asked, puzzled. “Although it may have been a bit troublesome, Brother Crow’s trip was worthwhile.”

“Brother, you don’t know this. When I said it could be repaired, it was because although this treasure is broken now, it’s not completely useless. It can definitely be repaired. However…” The crow looked dejected: “Where in my demon race would a demon know how to repair such a treasure? And among the human race, I don’t know many people well. Even if I do know many powerful beings, I’m afraid none of them would know how to repair such an ancient magic weapon.”

"Is there no one who can fix it?" Zhao Ti asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Alas, it's difficult." The crow shook its head. "There are already few people in the world skilled in magic, and the number has been decreasing since ancient times. The Demon-Summoning Banner is a magical artifact, which can only be repaired by someone who has practiced Taoism. But where can we find someone with high-level Taoist skills? Moreover, it's hard to say whether those with high-level Taoist skills in this world can repair such an ancient treasure..."

Zhao Ti remained silent upon hearing this. Had Crow's trip been in vain? Had he also wasted his time venturing into the underground palace? Not only had he wasted his time, but he had also brought back a future problem: the Demonic Hand in his arm—who knew when it would be removed?

"Besides, let alone repairing magical treasures, even repairing ordinary magical artifacts requires a great deal of effort and energy. It's not something you can find someone to do just by offering some gold or silver. It has to be something like a treasure, and there must be some personal connections involved. As for ancient magical treasures..." At this point, the crow shook its head repeatedly: "Given my status as a demon, I can't find such a great deal of personal connection. Even if someone has the ability to repair it, they would never help me repair this treasure of the demon race."

Zhao Ti said, "Then Brother Crow, you..."

Crow glanced at the golden gourd on the table and said listlessly, "We'll talk about it later. But don't worry, brother, I'll wait until I'm sure that girl from the Zhuge family won't bother you anymore, and that the Heavenly Demon Hand in your arm is completely gone before I leave."

After saying that, it spread its wings and flew towards the window, saying as it flew, "I will stay on the windowsill outside. If you need anything, you can call me. I will also listen to the sounds inside the room and will not let anything happen to you."

Zhao Ti watched as it flew to the window in the blink of an eye and hurriedly said, "Brother Crow, this gourd..."

The crow said, "It's inconvenient for me to carry it, so I'll just leave it here. If you find it in the way, my dear brother, you can just put it anywhere."

Zhao Ti watched it go out the window, and then the window slowly closed. After thinking for a moment, he went to bed and lay down, intending to take advantage of the remaining time to rest for a while, since he still had to go to school during the day.

He was so exhausted that he fell asleep within a dozen breaths after lying down, falling into a deep sleep and even forgetting to blow out the candles in the room.

About an hour later, the area of ​​pale light on the horizon grew larger and larger, the dawn slowly broke, and the sky began to brighten.

At this moment, Zhao Ti turned over on the couch, changing from lying on his side to lying flat, with his hands placed on either side of his body.

At this point, nothing happened on the right hand, but a few breaths later, a strange thing happened on the left hand.

First, the forearm moved slightly, then the wrist slowly lifted up, and the palm turned around, becoming a position with the back of the hand facing up and the palm facing down.

Strangely, all five fingers of his left hand were curled up, forming a tiger claw shape on the bed.

The tiger-claw-shaped fingers paused for a moment, then began to move on the bed.

Just like crawling, the five fingers follow a very disciplined and regular movement.

The middle finger is slightly raised, like a torso; the fingertip seems to be a raised head; the index and ring fingers are like two forelimbs; and the thumb and little finger are like hindlimbs. They crawl around and even somersault, having a great time.

Zhao Ti remained completely unaware, still fast asleep, oblivious to the fact that his left hand was performing somersaults and tricks.

After playing with his left hand for a while, he seemed to get tired of it and turned it slightly as if to observe Zhao Ti. The tip of his middle finger tilted slightly, as if he was thinking about something.

Then it crawled toward Zhao Ti's body, quickly reaching his ribs, and then slowly climbed up to stand on Zhao Ti's chest.

It was supporting itself only with its thumb and little finger, and appeared to be standing.

The index and ring fingers are bent at the base of the thumb and little finger, seemingly with their hands on their hips.

He raised his middle finger high, as if looking at Zhao Ti with his head held high and hands on his hips.

After watching for a while, it walked forward with an air of superiority and nonchalance. Just then, a rectangular protrusion on Zhao Ti's chest blocked its path.

The rectangular protrusion was shaped like a small box, which was the Feather Spirit Heavenly Demon Small Crystal Coffin that Zhao Ti had brought out from the underground palace. Because he was too tired, he went straight to bed to rest without taking it out.

As if finding the protrusion in the way, his left hand made a thoughtful expression, then reached into Zhao Ti's arms and actually pulled out the crystal coffin.

It had been arrogant and haughty, but after taking out the coffin and looking at it, it suddenly trembled as if it had been startled.

It loosened its grip, about to drop the coffin, but instantly caught the crystal coffin again, as if afraid of waking Zhao Ti.

At this moment, it was like an ant on a hot pan, holding the small crystal coffin as if it were a hot potato, moving back and forth in front of Zhao Ti's chest, looking rather at a loss.

Finally, it returned to Zhao Ti's feet and carefully placed the crystal coffin beside him. However, it still felt uneasy and scratched its ears and cheeks with its fingers, circling around the small crystal coffin, revealing a look of fear, apprehension, and helplessness.

As the morning light grew stronger, the left hand grew impatient and suddenly exerted force forward, pulling Zhao Ti's body slowly up from the bed.

Zhao Ti remained unconscious, his eyes closed, unaware that he had gotten up.

With his left hand, he carefully picked up the crystal coffin and slowly exerted force forward, dragging Zhao Ti's body off the bed little by little.

To an outsider, it would appear as if Zhao Ti had gotten out of bed on his own, reached out, and was about to do something.

His steps were unsteady, and guided by his left hand, he walked straight to the boxes in the corner. He opened the innermost one and placed the crystal coffin containing the Feathered Demon inside. Then he closed the lid, and just as he was about to turn around, he seemed a little uneasy, looked at it for a few more moments, and then took the crystal coffin out again.

Then, like a headless fly, it carried Zhao Ti's body everywhere, trying to hide the small coffin, but no matter where it hid it, it seemed there was nowhere it felt safe. Finally, it stood in the middle of the ground, holding the crystal coffin, lost in thought.

After a while, he led Zhao Ti to the corner of the wall, a dark place with slightly damp ground. He gently placed the small crystal coffin on the ground and then began to dig at the soil in the corner, seemingly intending to bury the small coffin there.

Just then, the window suddenly opened without any wind, and a crow flew in.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Crow stared intently at Zhao Ti. "I heard a noise just now, and I thought you were tired after a long night and wanted to relieve yourself before getting some more sleep, so I didn't disturb you. But you..."

Zhao Ti rubbed his eyes, looking surprised, and exclaimed, "Brother Crow, how did I get to the ground?"

The crow asked in bewilderment, "Brother, don't you know you can get down to the ground?"

Zhao Ti glanced at his mud-covered left hand, then at the small coffin lying quietly beside him, and said in a strange voice, "I... I don't know when I got into the ground. What am I doing?"

The crow said in a low voice, "Brother, you're digging a hole, it seems you're going to... bury the small coffin next to you?"

"Burying a small coffin?" Zhao Ti looked at the crystal coffin, his face full of confusion: "I..."

"Is this the coffin that you mentioned contains the body of the Feathered Demon? But why bury it in your own house..." The crow's eyes fell on the coffin: "What are you thinking, brother?"

Zhao Ti reached out his left hand to scratch his head, but it was too dirty, so he switched to his right hand. He then said, "Brother Ya, I really don't know when I got out of bed or why I did this. Could it be... that I was sleepwalking?"

"Sleepwalking?" the crow asked doubtfully. "Has my brother ever suffered from this ailment?"

Zhao Ti shook his head: "No, that's not it. Could it be a sudden illness? It's truly puzzling."

The crow flew closer, looked Zhao Ti up and down, and finally looked at his left hand: "Brother, do you notice anything unusual about this hand?"

Zhao Ti paused for a moment, moved his left arm a few times, and then made a few gestures with his fingers: "Brother Crow means the succubus's severed hand... but I don't seem to feel anything wrong with it."

Upon hearing this, the crow pondered, "Did you have any dreams just now, my worthy brother?"

Zhao Ti blushed slightly, secretly glancing at the small crystal coffin, and stammered, "I did, I did have a dream."

The crow looked thoughtfully at the small coffin: "Brother, open this coffin and let me see this Feather Spirit Demon."

Zhao Ti nodded, then bent down, picked up the small coffin, and walked to the table to place it on top.

A crow flew to the table and perched on it. Zhao Ti carefully opened the crystal coffin lid, and as if a five-colored light flashed, the exquisitely beautiful and alluring corpse of the Feathered Demon was revealed in stunning detail.

The crow watched for a moment, then stretched out a wing and rubbed it under its chin, saying in a strange tone, "This Feathered Demon looks quite like a human, except it has six wings and is too petite."

Zhao Ti immediately blushed and said, "Brother Ya, please forgive my foolishness. I saw it in the underground palace and thought it was a perfect masterpiece, so I brought it out as if by some strange impulse."

The crow said, "Everyone has a love of beauty. This demon is in line with human aesthetics and has been dead for thousands of years. It is fine to treat it as a special material or an object of appreciation. It is perfectly reasonable for you to take it out and collect it."

Zhao Ti said, "To be honest, Brother Ya, I dreamed of this Feather Spirit Demon. At that time, it seemed to be a scene outside the heavens, an endless expanse of white, with huge stars hanging for who knows how many miles away. This Feather Spirit Demon flew in from the vastness. In the dream, I did not see any demonic or ferocious form, but just dancing gracefully. I watched for a long time until I woke up... and found myself squatting in the corner digging in the dirt."

Upon hearing this, the crow pondered and said, "From what you've said, it doesn't seem to be a sleepwalking scenario."

Zhao Ti said in frustration, "What's going on? Why did they suddenly get out of bed and start doing these strange things?"

The crow said, "If it's not that you have sleepwalking, then it's because of the succubus's severed hand, or the influence of the Feather Spirit's corpse. But the influence of the Feather Spirit's corpse is probably not significant, since you haven't even touched the corpse. However, you did touch the severed hand, which may have absorbed a wisp of your life force, which is why it started to move based on your thoughts and actions."

"A severed hand?" Zhao Ti looked at his left arm, his lips twitching. "Brother Crow, is this hand so strange that it can drag me out of bed to do things while I'm asleep?"

The crow pondered, "Logically speaking... it's somewhat unlikely, but the relics of the Heavenly Demon, even if they're only used as materials, still... the life force ultimately belongs to Brother Zhao, so..."

Seeing its hesitant and stammering speech, Zhao Ti felt a little flustered, as if the crow itself didn't know much about the Heavenly Demon.

"Brother Crow..."

“Brother, don’t panic. Nothing will happen. The Heavenly Demon has been dead for thousands of years. Besides, it’s just a severed hand it left behind. Even if it does something, it will surely be influenced by Brother Zhao’s own actions.” The crow said in a slightly weak voice, “However, I don’t know much about this thing. But there is a Heavenly Demon Illustrated Book in the clan. I will take a look when I go back and explain it to you in detail.”

Zhao Ti blinked and said, "Brother Crow, you need to protect me and prevent the severed hand from causing trouble. I don't know when I can go back. If the severed hand disappears after a while and there's nothing wrong with it, then it doesn't matter whether I go back to see the Heavenly Demon Chart or not."

The crow said awkwardly, "Well... if this severed hand can't be resolved in a short time, then when you're on leave, I'll take you to the demon race's territory to see what happens."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ti thought for a moment and wondered if they were actually heading to the land of the demon race.
To the north of the Great Qian lies the Mengji Empire, to the east the Shuiyun Island Kingdom, to the south the Huokun and Chiluo Kingdoms, and to the west are various small kingdoms. He had no idea where the land of the demon race was.

This wasn't because he was ignorant, but because the book didn't mention it, and it didn't even say what other countries existed outside those countries.

"The land of the demon race is in the south of the Great Qian Dynasty. Beyond the kingdoms of Huo, Kun, Chi, and Luo, there is a continent where various races of the demon race live," the crow said.

"I see." Zhao Ti nodded. The Demon Continent was actually in the far south.

He closed the small crystal coffin lid on the table, then glanced at the box by the wall, pondering how to put it inside.

The crow said, "I'll remind you one more time, my dear brother. You don't practice martial arts or Taoist magic, so you can't lock in your own life force. Remember the lesson of that severed hand. Never touch the corpse of the Heavenly Demon in this coffin, just in case something unexpected happens."

"I understand," Zhao Ti replied solemnly, then picked up the small crystal coffin, walked to the box, opened it, and placed it inside.

He then chatted with the crow for a few more minutes before washing up and getting ready. After breakfast, he went out to the state school.

(End of this chapter)