Chapter 38: Defeat
99 4 8
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

“Think about it,” The He Luo King put up a finger to his head. “Do you really want to go up against all of us to rescue one mortal?”

Mengjun grunted from above. The tentacles slowly tightened around his waist. He felt like he was going to die from the burning sensation inside his guts. He slowly lost the feelings of his legs. They felt numb and nonexistent. 

“Mengjun!” Yuelong’s fists shook with anxiety. He didn't know why he was so anxious, but he didn’t care. All he knew was that he needed to save him.

The sound of splintering wood caught everyone’s attention. Half a dozen figures exploded out from the roof of the palace. Complaints and grunts came from the group of demons as large pieces of wood rained down on them. 

At a closer look, four demons were ganging up on two Lishui disciples. One of them fought with a sword while the other with a whip. The purple linings of the whip user well indicated her position.

“Murong gu-niang!” Yuelong exclaimed.

Murong Zi spun in mid-air, her purple whip followed the twisting motion and lashed out at the demons. Sparks of glittering powder followed the lashes and floated down like golden snow. The demons fell back and landed with a huge thud on the ground. All four of them spat out a mouthful of dark liquid. 

Murong Zi landed on the ground with grace, her figure poised and held her whip in her hands. “How did that taste for you?” She asked mockingly. 

“You—” The demons had stood up and were ready to strike when they suddenly paused. At first, they started scratching their bodies, then they dropped their weapon and called out cries of hopelessness. Next, they tore away at their own bodies, digging huge gashes in their skin. 

Yuelong looked away from the scene. He had heard stories of what Murong Zi’s powder was capable of, but he had never seen it in action. Now, it was his first time seeing it happen, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity for the demons inflicted with the powder.

The fire wall had slowly diminished. Through the flickering flames, Yuelong could see the group of demons had slowly started backing away from the legendary Poisonous Moth. 

“They didn’t back away from me!” Yuelong thought to himself.

“Fan gong-zi,” Murong Zi called out.

“Murong gu-niang,” Yuelong turned around. “You’re alright now?”

“Yes, thanks to you and your companion.” She thanked, without putting down her whip.

Distressing cries from the poisoned demons caught their attention. “Please, Lady Murong, please have mercy on us!” They begged.

Murong Zi looked coldly at the demons. “Where was the pity when you guys killed my aunt?”

The demons looked up at Murong Zi with eyes of horror. Without another word, Murong Zi swung her whip. Followed by a loud splatter, all four demon heads fell to the ground, their bodies slumped forward, landing in a puddle of their own blood.

Too stunned for words, Yuelong looked at the lady he thought was once innocent. Witnessing Murong Zi’s murderous side was like seeing the laws of Yin and Yang manifesting in the human world, complete contrasts of each other yet they were a part of the same thing.

Drops of blood had splatter on her robes, creating dark spots on the fabric. Murong Zi seemed unaffected by blood as she turned her focus on to the He Luo King. At that moment, her eyes were the epitome of heartlessness, nothing innocent left except for the one purpose of destroying those who took away her love. 

To Yuelong’s surprise, the He Luo King appeared to be unfaltered by the presence of Murong Zi. Rather, the creature had a smirk on his face. 

“Well then,” The He Luo King stabbed his trident into the ground. “It appears that we have another small fry joining us.”

Murong Zi’s face flushed from red to pale white. “Revolting creature,” She spat, turning her head away from the creature’s unclothed body.

The He Luo King laughed. “What a shy little pet!”

Mengjun felt nauseous, his vision blurring in and out of focus. Blood had torrented up into his head, fogging up his senses. He couldn’t feel the existence of his limbs. His vision began to turn black.

“Shi-xiong…” Mengjun murmured, too faint for anyone to hear.

“Have you ever seen a man’s parts before?” The creature smirked. “Come, little pet, I’ve got all the time in the world!”

“Shameless!” Spat Murong Zi, her fists shaking with anger. Green veins popped from her fists.

“Murong gu-niang, focus!” Yuelong exclaimed. “Don’t be affected by his words!”

“Come, my pretty, be my queen. I promise you a life of pleasure!” The He Luo King licked his lips.

“Hooligan!” Murong Zi muttered under her breath. Yuelong could see her eyes slowly becoming bloodshot.

“Stop, Murong gu-niang! You’re falling for his trap!” Warned Yuelong.

“How dare you, filthy rascal!” Sifei shouted, pointing his sword at the creature.

An unamused face formed on the He Luo King. “Who’s this?”

With a quick swipe of his tentacle, Sifei was slammed off to the side. He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed on the floor.

“Sifei!” Murong Zi cried. Her eyes had completely turned red. “You will pay for this!”

She waved her whip in the air, particles of purple dust accumulated around her whip. Without second thoughts, she lashed out at the creature. 

The He Luo King’s eyes widened with fear but made no attempt to block or dodge the whip. Sounds of gasps came from the group of demons as they witnessed Murong Zi’s whip slap the creature’s face.

“Ahhh!” The creature cried as it covered its face with a hand. “Ouch! It hurts so much!”

Yuelong furrowed his brows. “Something isn’t right here…”

The He Luo King’s false cries gradually shifted into maniacal laughter. “You’d actually think that your powder would work on me?”

“That’s not possible…” Murong Zi muttered to herself. She waved her whip once again in the air. Purple and gold dust stirred around the whip. Murong Zi lashed out again.

Crack!

The He Luo King had grabbed the end of the whip in his hand. Like striking vipers, two tentacles slithered at rapid speed towards Murong Zi.

Yuelong lunged forward and sliced down with Cangming, severing the tentacles clean off. Blue blood oozed out from the wound.

“ARGH!” The He Luo King cried, letting go of Murong Zi’s whip. The severed tentacles retracted back towards the creature.

“Why didn’t it work…” Murong Zi muttered again, looking down at the ground.

“Murong gu-niang, it’s not the time to be thinking about what worked and what didn’t,” Yuelong worried. “Please, focus!”

Yuelong looked up at the limp figure of Mengjun. He had already passed out. Yuelong growled in frustration.

The He Luo King smiled smugly. “Do you want to know why it didn’t work?” He held up a shiny hand and stroked his slimy chest. “Because you’re never good enough to avenge your aunt!”

Something snapped in Murong Zi’s mind. After hearing the last words that came out from the creature’s mouth, Murong Zi charged mindlessly towards the creature.

“No!” Yuelong called out. “That’s what he wants you to do!”

Yuelong ran after Murong Zi. He grabbed her in his arms. Yuelong struggled to restrain Murong Zi, she was like a mad beast fighting for freedom to escape from their cage.

The He Luo King smiled smugly. He lashed out with his tentacles.

“If I let go, she will be taken away. If I don’t, both of us will be taken away!” Yuelong’s mind screamed. He looked up at the limp figure of Mengjun then back at Murong Zi, who now had tears flowing down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” Yuelong whispered. 

At the last moment, before the tentacles struck, Yuelong leapt into the air towards the limp figure of Mengjun. With one clean slice, he rescued the unconscious man and carried him down gently. 

Murong Zi fought back against the tentacles with ferocious lashes from her whips. Losing herself completely to the toxins, she became mindless of her movements, forgetting all the martial art combos that were engraved into her over the years, she whipped frantically in all directions. In the eyes of the other demons, she looked like a lunatic. But no matter how she fought back, she was no match for the slimy tentacles of the He Luo King, who easily escaped her whip lashes because of the slippery slime he produced. 

“Mengjun? Mengjun?” Yuelong carried Mengjun’s right arm over his shoulder and was gently shaking him. “Wake up!”

“Fan Yiheng, must we really play this game?” The He Luo King said joyfully, retracting the tentacle that restrained Murong Zi. “It’s a lost cause and I suggest you give up.”

A soft moan came from Mengjun. “You bloody calamari…”

“Oh? The mortal is still alive?” An amused look appeared on the He Luo King’s face. “Oh well, he’ll probably die sooner or later after getting his insides crushed by my tentacles.”

Mengjun coughed. A trickle of red liquid flowed down his cheek. Mengjun felt his organs had been packed into a thin tube. He took a deep breath and felt a sharp pain in his lower chest. He suppressed the urge to cry out and looked at Yuelong with a weak smile. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Yuelong gritted his teeth. Mengjun’s face was deathly white. Large beads of sweat had formed and trickled down his forehead. He knew Mengjun was putting up a false smile to make him feel better. And that made him hurt more. The weight of Mengjun’s body was heavy on Yuelong, but at that moment, his heart felt heavier than the world.

Gradually, a soft hissing sound came from different spots around them. The He Luo King flinched at the sound and the arrogant look faded from his eyes. 

At first, Yuelong thought it was the wind. But on second thoughts, wind didn’t exist down under the river. Chills were sent down Yuelong’s spine. A familiar feeling of fear crept into the depths of his heart. “No, it can’t be…” 

Gradually the hissing died down and the smug look returned to the He Luo King’s face. “I think it’s time we finish this.”

Yuelong pointed his sword menacingly at the creature. 

The He Luo King ignored Yuelong. He snapped his fingers and ordered, “Bring the rest!”

The wall of flames had already died down. What remained was a black, charred line on the gravel. From the back of the demon crowd, a person was being passed over the crowd. Upon closer look, they had gray streaks in their hair and were tied up at the ankles and wrists like a pig ready for the roasting spit.

“Leader…Murong?” Yuelong exclaimed at the tied up body that was dumped in front of him. 

“Precisely!” The He Luo King said in delight. “Like daughter, like father…Couldn’t control himself from Master’s toxins and lost in an instant.”

Yuelong was at a loss for words. He simply couldn’t believe what he saw. In his whole life, he was taught that evil would never exceed good and that good would always defeat evil. He slowly lowered his sword. His mind was in a concoction of different feelings, defeat, hopelessness, humility and the loss of dignity. Yuelong didn’t know what to do.

“How am I supposed to live up to my title, Yixiao Zhenjun? What will other people think of me? Will fighting to the death protect my name and honour? But then... what about Mengjun? He’s completely innocent.” He took one more look at the injured Mengjun. 

Without warning, a huge splash of black liquid was shot at him. It reeked of fish and rotten animals. He collapsed onto the ground with a thud. The last thing he felt was someone’s hand touching his cheek.

Along the way, Yuelong’s consciousness faded in and out. He could hear fire crackling and the laughter of demons. 

“He will be mine tonight. Bring him to my quarters.”

Yuelong felt multiple hands grab him from all sides. He tried to break free and say “Never”, but his body refused to act.

Suddenly, someone shouted out, “I will go in his stead.”

A deep laughter rumbled out.

“You?”

More laughter.

“You do have a pretty face for a mortal…And I like volunteers—”

After that, Yuelong’s senses faded back into darkness.

 

8