The medal was round. Its face featured a relief of a police emblem and a spread-winged eagle, with the words "Honorary Police Bird" engraved below. The back bore a serial number and the name of the issuing authority.
"This is a special commemorative medal."
Finally, Cheng Wenming took out a bulging kraft paper envelope.
"This is a ten-thousand-yuan cash prize, a material reward for Qi Zai’s contributions. It’s not a lot, but it’s a small token of our appreciation."
Yang Qi accepted it with great solemnity and thanked him sincerely. "Thank you, Captain Cheng. And thank you to the bureau for this recognition! I’ll pass it on to Qi Zai... Though it might not understand, I’m sure it will feel the gesture."
Cheng Wenming laughed heartily. "Whether it understands isn’t important. What matters is that this is our way of showing respect to a ’special comrade-in-arms.’"
Yang Qi smiled as well.
He then immediately turned and handed the certificate, medal, and the envelope of prize money to Jiang Kai.
"Minister Jiang, while Qi Zai was a gift from Brother Chen for me to look after, its official registration has always been with the Zoo. It’s a Zoo animal. This honor should belong to the entire Zoo, as a result of its nurturing and management."
Yang Qi’s tone was calm, his gaze clear.
"Please accept the prize money on behalf of the Zoo. It can be used as funding for animal welfare or other related work."
Jiang Kai was stunned.
Cheng Wenming and Deng Lei also looked surprised, but their expressions quickly turned to admiration.
Mei Ying couldn’t help but chime in, "Xiao Yang, this... this is for you. Oh, I mean, for Qi Zai..."
"Qi Zai is one of the Zoo’s animals. Its honor is the Zoo’s honor."
Yang Qi smiled. "I’m just its keeper and companion."
’The karmic feedback is more than enough for me!’
Jiang Kai gave Yang Qi a deep look. Without any show of false modesty, he accepted the items with both hands and said in a solemn voice.
"Very well!"
"Then I accept on behalf of the Zoo. We will treasure this honor forever. The prize money will also be designated for a special fund, to be used entirely for improving animal welfare."
Then, turning to Cheng Wenming, he said gravely, "Captain Cheng, thank you to the Forest Police as well for your recognition and support of our work at the Zoo."
"Minister Jiang, you’re too kind."
Cheng Wenming was all smiles. "It just shows how well you train your staff."
’Train Yang Qi?’
Jiang Kai gave a dry laugh.
’Donghua Zoo merely provided a platform. His abilities weren’t something we cultivated—not that we could have.’
The honor went to the collective, the benefits to the institution.
Yang Qi’s gesture earned him everyone’s admiration.
...
...
「Two days later, on his day off.」
The night before had been moonless, the stars faint.
After midnight, the zoo was fast asleep.
Yang Qi, taking Xiaojiu with him, crept to a section of the perimeter wall on the back mountain, an area with no surveillance.
His toes tapped lightly on the brickwork a few times. Like a spirit crane taking flight, he effortlessly vaulted over the three-meter-high wall, landing in the shadows of the forest beyond.
Xiaojiu, even more nimble and silent, followed right behind him.
Once in the mountains, Yang Qi silently circulated his Magical Power, focusing it in his eyes.
The once pitch-black forest instantly became clear to him. The outlines of the trees, the texture of the rocks, and even the small nocturnal creatures were all coated in a faint glimmer of Spiritual Power, revealing every minute detail.
This was an auxiliary ability granted by the fifth level of the Great Derivation Spirit-Controlling Technique. While not as powerful as the Spiritual Eye Technique, it was more than enough for night vision.
"Let’s go!"
Scooping up Xiaojiu, Yang Qi activated his Magical Power and unleashed the Spirit Crane Body Technique to its fullest. His body became a pale cyan shadow, zipping through the forest at extreme speed.
This time, his goal was to set up an array.
Based on a topographical map of Cangshan Mountain that he had already studied exhaustively, Yang Qi planned for the Cloud Plate Enchanting Array to radiate outwards from its core in the Ancient Goose Forest.
The Array’s coverage would extend east to the border of the developed forest park.
To the south, it would touch upon a small portion of the primeval forest behind the Zoo.
To the west, it would stretch to the main ridgeline of the mountain range.
And most crucially, to the north—
the Array’s range would extend all the way to the Northwest Corner of Cangshan Mountain, enveloping the deep mountain region behind the Xianlai Zoo, which was currently under construction!
’This way, once Xianlai is complete, its rear mountain area will also be sheltered by the Array. It will prevent unauthorized people from wandering into the core zone and disturbing any Spirit Beasts or special animals that might be introduced in the future.’
Yang Qi calculated in his head.
All in all, excluding the forest park that had already been developed into a tourist attraction, nearly two-fifths of Cangshan Mountain’s primordial area would be covered by the Cloud Plate Enchanting Array!
It was an enormous area.
It was only thanks to the high-quality array flags, Array Plate, and eighteen Wind and Thunder Spirit Stones provided by the system that an Array of this scale was even possible.
He ran through the night.
Like a tireless mountain spirit, Yang Qi moved through the deep mountains, searching for the nine array foundation points at their predetermined locations.
These nine points hadn’t been chosen at random; they were the optimal locations, determined after repeated calculations based on the terrain and the flow of the ley lines.
Some were in caves on the shaded side of a peak, others were hidden beneath giant boulders encircled by streams, and still others were nestled among the concealed branches of a towering treetop.
At each spot, Yang Qi conducted a careful survey, ensuring the location was precise and wouldn’t be easily damaged by animals or disturbed by natural elements.
After confirming a location, he took out the necessary items.
A palm-sized array flag—made of some material that was neither metal nor wood and covered in esoteric runes—was driven deep into the rock or soil of the selected spot.
A pale cyan Wind Spirit Stone, within which a faint light seemed to flow like a gentle breeze.
A silvery-white Thunder Spirit Stone, its surface crackling with tiny arcs of electricity.
He placed the two Spirit Stones into specific grooves on the left and right of the array flag. The instant the stones made contact, they would glow faintly before the light receded, seemingly merging with the environment.
The process was tedious and mentally taxing.
Yang Qi had to precisely control his output of Magical Power, ensuring the array flag and Spirit Stones formed a preliminary connection with the ley lines without being prematurely activated.
Xiaojiu, meanwhile, stood guard.
Perched on a high spot, its ears twitched periodically, catching every abnormal sound.
Whenever a nocturnal beast chanced to approach, Xiaojiu needed only to release a sliver of a Spirit Beast’s aura to send it fleeing in terror.
From midnight to dawn, from dawn to high noon, and on until the sun began its descent.
Yang Qi worked without pause, finally finishing the setup for the ninth and final foundation point as evening fell.
Now.
He stood on a slightly elevated stone platform at the edge of the central valley in the Ancient Goose Forest.
The afterglow of the sunset painted the western clouds crimson and gold, casting a warm hue over the ancient forest.
In the valley below, a faint miasma still drifted, appearing mysterious and hazy in the twilight.
Yang Qi took out the core component for the array.
The Cloud Disc Illusionary Array Plate.
It was a round, milky-white jade disc about a foot in diameter, warm to the touch. Its surface was engraved with three-dimensional runes so complex they were dizzying to behold. At its center was a Tai Chi Diagram, surrounded by nine small holes that corresponded to the nine foundation points.
He carefully placed the Array Plate into a natural depression in the center of the stone platform, adjusting its position until it faced the heart of the valley.
Then, he sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and centered his mind.
Within his body, the Great Derivation Spirit-Controlling Technique began to operate at full capacity. Magical Power surged through his meridians, gathering in his hands.
Yang Qi formed a complex hand seal, and a faint golden Spiritual Light began to glow at his fingertips.
He pressed his hands to the edge of the Array Plate and began chanting the Techniques.
"Activate!"
With that final, low shout, all the Magical Power in Yang Qi’s body surged into the Array Plate like a bursting dam.
VMMMMM—
The milky-white jade disc vibrated violently. All the runes on its surface lit up in succession, spreading from the edge to the center like an ignited star chart.
The Tai Chi Diagram at the center began to rotate slowly, its black and white lights swirling.
From the nine small holes, nine slender yet solid beams of light shot out at once, each a different color.
Cyan, white, crimson, black, yellow, gold, green, blue, and purple.
Each corresponded to the attribute and position of one of the nine foundation points.
The beams shot toward the heavens. They weren’t particularly conspicuous against the twilight sky, but they carried an arcane ripple as they rocketed away in nine different directions!
And in that very instant—
the nine foundation points, scattered across Cangshan Mountain and long since set in place, all reacted at once!
WHOOSH—
CRACKLE!
The array flags driven into rock and soil began to whip about violently, though there was no wind.
The runes on the flags’ surfaces flared, glowing with the same colors as the beams from the Array Plate.
The Spiritual Qi stored within the adjacent Wind Spirit Stones and Thunder Spirit Stones was instantly activated.
The Wind Spirit Stones burst with cyan light, and howling whirlwinds materialized around them.
The Thunder Spirit Stones flashed with silver light as tiny arcs of electricity leaped and crackled through the air.
At the nine foundation points, nine whirlwinds swirling with electrical arcs spread out from the array flags, rapidly connecting with the beams of light lancing from the Array Plate!
BOOM—
A massive, pale-white pillar of light, more than ten meters in diameter, shot toward the heavens against the backdrop of the evening twilight.
It pierced straight through the clouds!