Nine
In his room, Zhū Yībào drew his favourite sword and muttered, “So now it’s my turn?” His own face, reflected in the mirror-polished blade, was smiling. He swung it once then put the sword in the scabbard on his hip.
“Still not here yet? Come quickly, you monster!”
Méi Shūmíng had locked himself in his room and wouldn’t come out. Lán Gānbăo had disappeared from the Mansion of the Eight Celestials. Before this situation arose, they both had said strange things to the other men.
‘A dead woman has invited me into the wine cellar.’
‘A rotting corpse visits me every night.’
It was no coincidence that two of the Room Owning Trio were struck by such an apparition. Someone was plotting against them. And now it was his turn. Zhū Yībào was convinced of this. But he wasn’t afraid. In fact, he was excited and even looked forward to it.
Whether it’s a corpse or a ghost, I’ll slash it into pieces.
There would be no end if he tried to remember all the faces of the people who could resent and haunt him. The husbands of the women he slept with, the women who committed suicide because he cheated on them, the bandits he betrayed…
I don’t care who it is. Even my dead mother would be fine. This lord isn’t afraid of fox or raccoon demons.
Extermination of evil spirits. As a man of the Jiānghu there was no way his blood would not boil. But he had one question. Who was the one using the deceased and why were they causing so much trouble? Zhū Yībào had heard of that demoness, a master of necromancy who was nesting in the mountains. But that was just an ordinary ghost story. First of all, how crazy must the demoness from Night’s Lament be, to mess around in the Mansion of the Eight Celestials?
Well. He’d be fine. Let’s just say it was him.
Grown too tired of thinking about this matter, Zhū Yībào came to a quick conclusion.
Xuĕ Míng… It’s him. I don’t like him. People like him would do such stuff with dead spirits.
With this, he was actually getting to the heart of the matter, but Zhū Yībào had no basis for conjecture. It was his instinct of a man with a strong beastly nature.
“Let’s just kill him now.” He said as if he would be going to finish an errand early. Zhū Yībào had intended to remove Luán Niángzĭ’s now favourite Xuĕ Míng sooner or later in the first place. He didn’t know if he was the true source of the haunting, but it wouldn’t hurt to kill him. Zhū Yībào was a man who, once had an idea, acted quickly. Like this, he had killed harem members he didn’t like, on the spur of the moment. He took his sword and left his room. Outside, the sun had already set and it was still pouring. Aim was the room where Xuĕ Míng slept. He intended to lure Xuĕ Míng into the mountains for some reason and kill him there. The men who shared the room with him would probably guess that he had been killed by Zhū Yībào. But he didn’t care. He could threaten them to keep their mouths shut, and he could also use this as a reminder that, if they’re cocky, this would happen to them too. These thoughts were in his head when he walked through the corridors of the building.
“Oh?”
Just across the courtyard, on the other side of the corridor, he spotted a man dressed in blue. These clothes, shimmering even in the dark, were unmistakably Xuĕ Míng’s. Seemingly oblivious to Zhū Yībào’s presence, he had left the corridor and was walking somewhere.
Where the hell is he going at this time of night?
Despite his doubts, Zhū Yībào followed Xuĕ Míng. He was heading in the direction of the front gate of the mansion. Conveniently, he didn’t need to be lured out of the building. In a torrential downpour he walked down the mountain path without an umbrella. Zhū Yībào followed, keeping a certain distance. Eventually, Xuĕ Míng left the path and went into the dark forest.
I don’t know where you’re going, but it’s just fine. I’m going to slay you right now.
He smiled and put his hand on the hilt of his sword. But then Xuĕ Míng’s figure, which had been walking ahead, disappeared with a swoosh into the darkness.
“Wha!?”
Zhū Yībào run to the spot where Xuĕ Míng disappeared. There was not a shadow of a trace of him there. He may have flown into the sky or sunk into the earth, he just vanished.
“Weird. Where the hell did he go?”
Zhū Yībào looked in all directions. He felt his skin tingling. The surrounding trees and bushes begun to rustle and sway. It was not the wind that moved them. A great number of creatures were moving in the bushes and in the shadows of the trees. The air was filled with a thick, suffocating air. Eventually, the shaking of the bushes and trees begun to turn violent.
“Ugghhh… Ugghhh…”
“Raauughh… Graahhh…”
From the darkness in all directions erupted gurgling sounds.
“So, it was me who’s been lured here?”
Despite his words, there was a smile on his face as he said this. Soon, the slurping sounds changed into a resentful voice.
“Graahhh… Yībào… Yībào…”
“How dare you, how dare you… You killed meee…”
„Ugghhh… Uggghhhh… Yoouuu raped my wife…!”
“Let’s settle thiiis grudge…”
“Uhhggghh… This grudge, thiiis grudge…”
Eventually the things squirming between the trees were starting to get visible. It was a countless number of distorted figures. There were human bones. Skeletons in tattered garments were moving in the dark. Some missing an arm, some missing the head and some missing half of their body. There was one who had its mummified skin stuck to half of its face, one had only some frizzy hair left on its head, and one had its dried-up eyeballs roll into their eye sockets. The common denominator was that all these skeletons were armed with red and rusty swords, blades, clubs, staves, and spears. There were more than ten, no twenty in number. But despite being surrounded by so many dead people, there was not the slightest hint of fear or agitation on Zhū Yībào’s face.
“Ha. Are those the guys from the bandit gang I beat to death? Or the leftovers of the assassins sent by the merchant bastards? Or maybe both? Whatever,” he said fearlessly and drew out his sword.
“Come and get me. I’ll send you all back to the underworld together.”
As if taking this sentence as a cue, all the skeletons rushed towards Zhū Yībào. In an instant his strong body was filled with a burning internal energy.
“Raaaah!”
With the shrieking sound of his shout, the shining blade circled through the air. A silvery glow was drawn in the dark night, and in that instant, about ten skeletons around him were cut in half and rolled to the ground. But, even though their bodies had been split, the skeletons rose up and swarmed towards Zhū Yībào. For a moment he looked surprised, but his expression was soon replaced by a smile.
“Interesting! If you don’t cut them into pieces, they’ll keep moving!” he screamed, as two skeletons with spears rushed towards him.
With the shout “Insolent!” he unleashed a horizontal flashing line with his sword. The two skeletons were shattered like pottery by the strong force. Stepping on the ground with a thud, Zhū Yībào dove into the crowd of skeletons. The flashing and dancing sword cut down the swarming undead one after another. Wielding the sword, Zhū Yībào was like a tornado with a will of its own. The skeletons caught in this tornado were quickly reduced to nothing more than dusty bone fragments.
“What’s up, what’s the matter! You’re nothing but bones but only boneheaded bastards! Isn’t there anyone who has some skill?”
As if answering Zhū Yībào’s shout, a huge skeleton emerged from the grass, which must have been a famous and powerful man in his lifetime. He swung the golden club in his hand like a whirlwind to challenge Zhū Yībào, but he too sank to the ground by a vertical sword attack full of energy. In this short span of time, the crushed bone fragments were scattered all over the place, leaving no place to set foot. An arm of bones which was still twitching was even more pathetic. And yet the skeletons kept coming, one after another, in endless numbers. This man, Zhū Yībào; just how many people had he killed in his life? However, his movements showed no sign of abating. Even though he was constantly running around and swinging his sword with all his might, his body language was as sharp as it was at the start of the battle. It was no wonder. This man called Zhū Yībào was such an energetic man, that he could embrace a woman for seven days and seven nights and still wouldn’t be exhausted. Even if he continued to fight like this for seven days and nights, he would still have plenty of energy.
…There’s no end to it, though, Zhū Yībào thought as he chopped up two more skeletons.
Isn’t there any way to settle this…?
Just then, his ears caught a faint sound mixed with the rain. It may or may not have been a sound, but it certainly sounded haunting and sad, like a woman singing.
It’s this…!
A terrific smile appeared on Zhū Yībào’s face. He smashed the head of the skeleton blocking his way, and then, without paying attention to the other skeletons, run straight into the depths of the forest. The aim was the direction from which the mysterious song came from.
In the middle of the mountain forest was an open space without trees. In this place was a woman who danced and sang elegantly. From the woman’s body a flaming energy rose, illuminating her surroundings. Her voice was full of melancholy, and her lyrics were sung in a language that came from an unknown country and time. It was as if even the silent trees and stones were captivated by the sound, their shadows, made by the gloomy light coming from the dancing women, flickered eerily. It was Xíng Hài, of course, who was responsible for this beautiful but mysterious sight. This song, sung by the demoness Xíng Hài of Night’s Lament, was not an ordinary one.
The necromancy of demons.
The melancholic tone of this song could be used to evoke the remorse of the dead and then use them at will. Xíng Hài had used this song to make the skeletons her puppets and let them attack Zhū Yībào. But there was a hint of frustration on her face as she danced and sang.
“Zhū Yībào! A tougher one than I thought…!”
Xíng Hài tactic was this: Lĭn Xuĕyā’s illusion would lure Zhū Yībào to the great number of undead who would attack him while letting them vent their resentment. As strong of a man Zhū Yībào would be, he would be outnumbered. He would fight for a while but eventually would run back to the mansion. Then, the skeletons would continue to attack him night after night and after days of fighting the dead, Zhū Yībào’s spirit would gradually deteriorate and he either loses his mind or flees the building.
Hovewer, Xíng Hài had underestimated the power of this man called Zhū Yībào. He was undaunted by such a large number of undead and was more than happy to fight them. It was as if he was trying to destroy Xíng Hài’s army of the dead she had made in just one night. What was worse, he seemed to have noticed her presence. She could feel his fierce and hectic spirit rushing towards the place where she was.
Damn you. What should I do!?
The tables had already turned and the one who attacked was now the one who was attacked. The skeletons in the forest were now working hard to stop Zhū Yībào’s advance, but it seemed to be only a matter of time before they were overrun.
Should I release the spell and run away? I could still escape now.
But then she remembered what Lĭn Xuĕyā had said to her at her house the other day.
‘Are you sure this is a good plan? I’m not saying I don’t trust your skills…, but I don’t think you should underestimate this Yībào…’
Frustrating! If I back down now, I’ll be doing exactly what that hateful man had said!
She was not able to escape with her tail between her legs anymore, when she imagined him saying “You see what I mean?”
Such hesitation deprived Xíng Hài of the opportunity to escape. Something flew out from between the trees then rolled in front of her. It was a skull that had been cut in two. She stopped singing with a gasp and looked in front of her. Between the darkness of the forest and the gloom emanating from Xíng Hài, a person strode out like a wild cat. The well-built man with an unsheathed sword in his hand was without a doubt Zhū Yībào. He had used his sword to cut down all the undead who blocked his way and had finally reached this place.
“You? Xíng Hài? Luán Niángzĭ’s friend…?”
Zhū Yībào’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but he soon nodded his head in understanding.
“Those horns, this weird energy… I see, you’re a demon. Extermination of demons. Amusing.”
A cruel smile appeared on his fearless face. From his strong body rose an aggressive fighting spirit up like steam. Xíng Hài took a few steps back as if under pressure. The stopping of her singing and dancing had already lifted the spell on the undead earlier. Even then, just how many skeletons would be left that could be used as puppets if the technique had continued. The Life Mourning Thorn appeared from within Xíng Hài’s clothes. The red rope, flying through the air like a flying snake, stroke the ground menacingly.
“Beast. I’m going to train you with this whip.”
She pulled back her whip and sneered at him, but she was nothing more than lying as much as she could. She kept a cool and composed expression on her face, but her mind was in turmoil.
I wonder if my whip will work on a man who has defeated so many of the undead…?
She was not given any time to think.
With a “shhh” Zhū Yībào kicked the ground. Holding his sword horizontally, he rushed to her like a one-winged swallow. Xíng Hài’s whip was unleashed on the overwhelmingly fierce spirit that was coming towards her. The flexible red rope, which had struck Zhū Yībào sideways in a semi-circle, was supposed to wrap around his thick neck and strangle him. But half a second later his sword seemed to turn into a dancing silver snake. The whip which was twisting in the air like a living thing, was cut into small pieces and scattered to the earth. Xíng Hài’s pupils dilated as she had no longer any means to defend herself. Zhū Yībào was already only a few feet away. The white blade, poised for a stab, went straight like a shooting star for her chest. Suddenly, in the moment where despair passed through her mind as there was no escape, something red rose up in front of Xíng Hài’s eyes.
“Wha!?”
Xíng Hài and Zhū Yībào both shouted in surprise at the same time. Zhū Yībào’s advance was blocked by a flaming barrier of fire. The stinging heat made him jump back a couple of feet. The bright wall of flames prevented him from seeing Xíng Hài on the other side.
“Shit! Sorcery! Damn demon!”
But she too, was astonished by the sudden appearance of this flaming barrier.
I don’t know this kind of skill!? Who is doing this!?
Someone tugged the hand of the confused Xíng Hài. When she looked back, she saw the face of a man with silver hair and white skin.
“Lĭn Xuĕyā!?”
“Let’s get out of here. Into the forest.” He said stealthily and started to run. With Xíng Hài on his heels who was led by his hand, they ran into the forest behind them. On the other side of the flaming barrier, Zhū Yībào, who couldn’t get past it, was stomping on the ground screaming out Xíng Hài name.
“Xíng Hài! Fuck you! Wait! Just wait! Xíng Hài!”
A little while both could hear his shouting behind them as they ran through the dark forest. When Zhū Yībào’s voice was far away, Lĭn Xuĕyā finally spoke up.
“You see what I mean?”
Xíng Hài bit her lip in frustration. He really said it.
“This was not a good move this time, Xíng Hài. You have underestimated him a little too much.”
There was no tinge of blame in Lĭn Xuĕyā’s tone. The tone of his voice was as aloof as ever. For Xíng Hài, this rather felt cheeky. It was cheeky, but it was a fact she could not argue with. To distract herself from her annoyance, she asked “Why are you here?”
“I was worried about your plan, you know. When I came, it was as I expected.”
“Was that fire your doing?”
“It is this,” he said and pulled out a kiseru.
“A magic tool?”
“Yes. Thanks to this, it isn’t difficult to make a fire. It’s a shame though that it has a little too much firepower.”
When Lĭn Xuĕyā had finished talking, he stood still.
“Well. I think we got far enough. You should return to your house. I’ll take over from here.”
“You? What are you going to do?”
“I will use this,” he said, waving around his kiseru.
“It has several uses other than making fire. I have come up with a plan to use it. It is a hastily devised plan, so it’s not without its misgivings. Well, it should be better than yours.”
The way he said this made Xíng Hài grumble.
“Don’t look down on me, Lĭn Xuĕyā. I don’t want you to have to clean up after me. It’s true that I’ve just been defeated, but this Xíng Hài will have a second and third plan in no time.”
“That’s dangerous.”
Lĭn Xuĕyā shook his head.
“You are still underestimating him. It is too dangerous to leave you in charge any longer.”
Xíng Hài was upset.
“You’re the one who underestimates me…! You, just look! Someone like Zhū Yībào…”
“Xíng Hài.”
Lĭn Xuĕyā’s unexpectedly strong words interrupted her raging sentence. His clear eyes stared straight at her.
“I don’t want you to die.”
He sounded serious. His white porcelain-like face and silvery hair shone in the dim light. Xíng Hài was unable to speak. The indignation she had felt earlier had dissipated. She was unconsciously admiring Lĭn Xuĕyā’s face as he stared at her. For some reason, this face of a lowly human creature that she had always thought of as weak and unpleasant, looked dignified and reliable at this moment. The two continued to look at each other in silence for a while.
Eventually…
“…Fine.” Xíng Hài muttered and looked away.
“Hmpf. Come to think of it, this is what you wanted to do. I’m just lending a hand. I don’t have the obligation to risk my life and burn my hands to help.”
“Yes. You are right.”
Smiling slightly sad, Lĭn Xuĕyā moved away from Xíng Hài.
“I’m going. Shall we meet again at your house?”
He then turned his back to her. With fluttering garments, he dashed away. Xíng Hài found herself admiring his back again and clicked her tongue.
Zhū Yībào was running around the forest looking for the demoness he had lost.
“Where are you! Where did you run off to! Heeey! Come out!”
The bears and tigers in the mountains must have been trembling with fear as he cleared away the bushes with his sword, roared viciously and rushed forward furiously. The flaming barrier that had blocked his path earlier had been quickly extinguished by a torrential downpour. However, having lost sight of his prey which he should have been able to capture in a few moments, his blood completely rushed to his head.
“Goddammit! Using a fire technique for a cheeky escape! Where are you! Where have you disappeared to!”
It was at this moment, when he caught a glimpse of movement, at the end of his vision, among the trees. Dressed in black and red, it had to be Xíng Hài. She looked back at him once and immediately turned her back on him and run away.
“Found you.”
With a smile of satisfaction, he started running after her. The back of Xíng Hài’s figure appeared and disappeared as she turned and run through the midst of an abundance of kumazasa and thorns. After a short chase through the trees Zhū Yībào’s eyes widened.
“Oh?”
Xíng Hài’s escape route; he could make out a familiar structure between the trees.
The Mansion of the Eight Celestials?
That building was the Mansion of the Eight Celestials, and they were at its backside. There was to be a large backyard with hydrangeas in full bloom. Apparently, Xíng Hài was trying to escape into the mansion.
“What an idiot. Like a rat in a bag!” he shouted and sped up his steps. Soon he ran into the back garden of the building. But there he lost sight of her. All he could see were hydrangeas, stone lanterns, a man-made pond with carps, a red-roofed pavilion by the pond and strange rocks inside it.
“Where are youuu? Where did you hiiiideee?”
Zhū Yībào turned his head around. Unlike the forest, it was a very open garden. The only place to hide was behind the hydrangeas, and the hiding person would be found very soon. Then, Zhū Yībào’s eyes stopped at one spot. His eyes were fixed on the red-roofed pavilion. Inside, there was a woman seated on a chair, gazing into the opposite direction.
“There!”
He didn’t know why she was carelessly sitting there, but that woman with the crimson horns on her head was without a doubt Xíng Hài.
“You can’t run away anymore!”
With that shout, Zhū Yībào sprinted towards the pavilion where Xíng Hài was sitting, swinging his blade. She looked back at him, her eyes widened in surprise.
Luán Niángzĭ was sitting on a chair in the pavilion in the back garden of the Mansion of the Eight Celestials, soaking up the pleasant post-coital languor. The reason she had come out to the garden so late in the evening was to cool off from the heat of her previous passionate lovemaking with one of her men. Sometimes she would fall asleep right after sex, but sometimes she couldn’t sleep because she was too excited. At such times it was customary for her to come out to the pavilion in the back garden and enjoy the evening breeze. Suddenly she heard a voice like the roar of a beast. One ought to be surprised. Wasn’t there someone with a white blade in their hand running towards her? This man, with his imposing physique and handsome face, was none other than her favourite, Zhū Yībào.
“Yībào!?” she shouted, but his feet didn’t stop. His eyes, which should normally be worshipping her, certainly glowed with a murderous intent that was anything but playful.
No way. Does he want to kill me!?
Luán Niángzĭ stood stunned, unable to believe that the image of Zhū Yībào raising his blade to slay her was real. Then he was already in front of her.
“Be careful!”
She came back to her senses when suddenly someone embraced Luán Niángzĭ and pushed her down. Zhū Yībào’s blade swung down and cleaved the air where she had been standing just a moment ago.
Who…?
In a hateful voice, he shouted the name of the person who lay on top of Luán Niángzĭ on the ground.
“Xuĕ Míng! You Bastard!”
It was Xuĕ Míng who came out of nowhere and saved Luán Niángzĭ from Zhū Yībào’s deadly blade. Xuĕ Míng raised himself up in a composed manner and stood in front of Zhū Yībào to protect Luán Niángzĭ and said coolly, “The villain is paying an unannounced visit.”
“Yībào! What happened to you?”
Luán Niángzĭ shouted over Xuĕ Míng’s back, but Zhū Yībào didn’t listen. He smiled a brutal grin, readjusted his sword, and spat, “Just in time. Xuĕ Míng, I’ll slay you together with the demon.”
Demon…?
Luán Niángzĭ’s mind was filled with doubts. Xuĕ Míng was quick to interrupt her thinking.
“Lady Luán Niángzĭ. Zhū Yībào seems to be confused. Please run away.”
“You think you can get away?”
With bloodshot eyes Zhū Yībào was closing the distance between them. Xuĕ Míng retreated with Luán Niángzĭ behind his back, but soon bumped into the pillar of the pavilion. The two of them were already caught within the blade range of Zhū Yībào. Xuĕ Míng had showed up gallantly and saved her in the nick of time, but unarmed, he seemed to have no way of defending himself against the fierce swordsman. But then what was the reason for the wide smile on his face? Zhū Yībào took his composure as a sign of defiance and twisted his mouth viciously. The two arms that held the sword were filled with powerful internal energy and he released a furious shout.
“Die!”
He raised his sword with a ferocious killing intent.
Then a flash of red light! The severed head soared high in the air, and a rainbow of blood soared up and hit the inside of the roof of the pavilion relentlessly. A pungent, smelly air drifted out to all sides. In a single moment, what should have been an elegant garden was transformed into an appalling scenery. But it was not Xuĕ Míng who was decapitated. Neither was it Luán Niángzĭ. Their heads still rested on their body as before, a dreadful expression on their frozen faces. In front of them stood the headless torso of Zhū Yībào, who remained rigid in a sword-raised stance. Blood spurted from the cut of his neck like a fountain. Who had cut off his head? It was not possible for Xuĕ Míng who did not carry even a short blade. His usually calm, narrow eyes were widened in surprise. Not to mention Luán Niángzĭ. Finally, the body of Zhū Yībào slowly collapsed, as if he had only now realized that he was dead. There was a small figure behind the fallen giant. In the hands of the crouched figure was a crooked dagger with a curved crescent-shaped blade. It had to be this person, and this murder weapon, that had severed his head.
“He…hehehe…hehe…”
The little man let out a foolish chuckle and raised his ugly head.
“Hóu Zhuă…”
Scared, Luán Niángzĭ uttered the man’s name.
“L-Lady Luán Niángzĭ … A-are you … hurt anywhere …?”
Hóu Zhuă asked with slurred words. After giving a sluggish and stagnant look to Luán Niángzĭ, who nodded her head with a pale face, Hóu Zhuă narrowed his eyes in satisfaction and said, “I’ve made a m-mess. … But, I’ll tidy up right away… Hehe…”
He picked up Zhū Yībào’s head and carried his torso. Then he staggered awkwardly into the mansion. He looked back only once. With his oddly glowing eyes he looked in Xuĕ Míng direction. There was a horrible jealousy and hatred burning in his eyes. Hóu Zhuă’s mouth moved in a silent, puckering motion. Seeing this, a faint hint of agitation crossed Xuĕ Míng’s face.
Thief of the Wind Dust
were the words his mouth formed. With a grin like a toad, Hóu Zhuă disappeared into the building.
***
Setsuna's Translation 