XH 280 - Elimination of their tails
 
On the night of the Four Kingdom being attacked, in Gu Dan country.
 
In a dark room, countless different voices of body curling laughter echoed around the space, matching well with the darkness. Those merriments were filled with pure mockery, elation and haughtiness with dark intention. In the darkness, there were numerous pairs of green eyes, giving off a creepy green glow.
 
"The Four Kingdoms are a mess now."
 
"Ah, I want to go and see the beautiful scenery! Why am I not picked?"
 
"Why are they so late? Such an easy task, they should be back quickly."
 
"You all should not underestimate the Four Kingdoms."
 
Everyone became quiet when a bald man spoke. He was Gu Ming Tian, their new King. Every Gu Dan clanmen preferred their new King than the previous Gu Wen Jing, who had met his demise after sacrificing himself for Liu Chu Chu.
 
Although Gu Ming Tian was not as strong as Gu Wen Jing, he had his own strength in his own way. He was more ambitious and harsher, but with better acumen to lead their clan to a better future. 
 
Their new King had not taken a long time before deciding the fate of Gu Dan clansmen, having them all turned into demons. In the end, only thirty of them successfully turned into demons. Others either died from the process, succumbing to their Heart demon, or became mindless demons that only know how to kill. 
 
Those mindless demons were treated as their soldiers, helping them to slaughter and capture people in the nearby country, turning them into green soldiers. Thanks to Fu Chou’s spring water, they could breed more Gu bugs in larger numbers.
 
Gu Ming Tian had planned this attack for months, just to buy them time to prepare more green soldiers for a great war against the Four Kingdom.
 
Everything was done in just one night, during the time where the Four Kingdoms were in a mess and unable to help out those in need. While the Four Kingdoms were busy dealing with the wounded and the black mist, they would have no time or manpower to keep an eye on Gu Dan. 
 
Do they think Gu Dan only has one exit?
 
"We will not wait for their return. They will know where we will be heading." Gu Ming Tian stood up from his throne and walked towards the door. "We must make good use of this chance."
 
They will use this chance to leave their country and head to the gate linked to the demon realm. Unfortunately, among them, only Fu Chou has an idea where the gate was, so she will have to lead the way.
 
"King, most of the watch guards have already left," One of their clansmen reported.
 
"Most?" Gu Ming Tian smiled. "They must have decided to leave a group behind while others go back."
 
Originally, Bai Hu, Xuanwu, and the Zhu Que Kingdom wanted to order their spies to return to help out with the attack. But Heise chose to have his spies stay and keep an eye on what Gu Dan will do during this moment. 
 
After a short discussion, the other Kingdoms agreed that they would leave one of their best men behind to help out Guilin’s spies. Although they were from different Kingdoms, they had worked together for more than a year and knew how to work well with others from different Kingdoms with different strengths. 
 
"Leader! There is movement behind the fog at the direction of the south!" The watcher that had to keep an eye on the enemy base from atop of a tall, sturdy tree quickly signaled to others. Everyone in the team quiet down, reducing their presence as much as they could as they stared in the direction of the poisonous fog.
 
The poisonous fog that had taken thousands of lives slowly parted away to form an entrance wide enough for a human to walk pass without touching the fog. 
 
The spies held their breath in morbid anticipation as figures started to get clearer. The further they walked out, they could identify the dark shadows as Gu Dan men with their noticeable green eyes.
 
They wanted to do something, such as to report this new situation back to their Kingdoms or to get closer to find out more about the situation. But they restrained their limbs with strong self-control and looked on with their sharp eyes, because that was their task.
 
Spy on their enemy, get all their information and report back to their camp.
 
More and more figures stepped out of the poisonous fog, and they were all spotted with green eyes.
 
One of the Guilin spies nearly broke their cover when he recognized a female among them. He had seen her portrait before, labeled as the most wanted person, Liu Chu Chu!
 
Others also quickly recognized Liu Chu Chu, the traitor of her own Kingdom and now humankind! Even if their higher-ups had not told the spies about demons, their nearly a year spying Gu Dan allowed them to mix the clues here and there. Gu Dan was not afraid of having their actions being known.
 
"They are moving," One of the Guilin spies whispered.
 
"We need to follow them!" The Bai Hu spy whispered.
 
"Naturally. But we will need to send back a word first." The Xuanwu spy said. "My contract beast is an eagle, but its size is huge. You have a sprinting rabbit, right?"
 
Being pointed out, the Bai Hu spy nodded and summoned his contracted beast out, just as a Guilin spy finished writing a brief report. 
 
"Who should this report be sent to?" The Zhu Que spy questioned.
 
The Kingdom that will receive this report will have to be the one they will be reporting to from the start to finish, instead of scattering the information here and there. Also, this Kingdom will need to spare them their time and energy to focus on their movement in case anything bad happens. Their decision to follow Gu Dan's movement was a threat to their lives and they need to escape the moment they perceive danger.
 
They quickly decided that to be the Guilin Kingdom, whose Emperor held the most interest in Gu Dan.
 
Silently and nimble, the group of seven followed the Gu Dan people at a safe distance. After following them for a considerable time, the spies' nearly had their heart jump out in joy when they recognized where the Gu Dan people were going.
 
It was the nameless village, not recorded in any official maps! Their superiors had also sent a group to keep an eye on this village but had been recalled back to the Kingdom to help out with the unexpected attack.
 
"This is too easy," The spy from Zhu Que said distrustfully.
 
"Keep an eye on traps and incoming attacks," The spy from Xuanwu reminded alertly. He also felt that this was going too well. 
 
Gu Dan had known they were being spied on and normally, one would eliminate the spy first before doing something big, right?
 
Their instinct was right, for Gu Dan's arrival at the nameless village was the start of the elimination of their tails.
 
"Escape!" One of the spies quickly said when he sensed those green eyes were looking right at them!
 
Even if the seven of them treasure their lives, their duty as a spy was more important than their lives. 
 
The second last person that was allowed to die in their team was the Bai Hu spy with the sprinting rabbit as his contracted beast. That beast was still on its way to deliver the information!
 
The last person allowed to die was the Guilin spy that was good at running long distances. He was the most familiar with his own homeland and needed to be alive to report their findings!
 
None of them dared to look behind them, like prey running away from their predator that would easily kill them once they caught up. Even if the prey was stronger than average humans, how could humans fight against demons and win?
 
They could feel death coming to them.
 
Who was the one that said when one was facing a life and death danger, they would get a burst of strength that surpassed their body’s limits? The spies only feel their limbs were heavy and their skin soaked in a cold sweat, with the Death’s eyes pinned on them no matter how much they run. 
 
Their ears were filled with their own loud breathing, thumping heart, and the feel of their boiling blood. They could also detachedly hear laughter behind them, finding enjoyment in their hunt.
 
One of the spies suddenly caught a different sound behind him and despite knowing he should not do it, he still turned his head to look at what that sound was. What he saw immediately had him stop running, his legs trembling like a dancing octopus' tentacles. 
 
After a distance away, the other spies realized their comrade that stopped running was actually still alive and one by one, saw the reason for it.
 
"S-Second Prince?" One of the Guilin spies recognized one of the travelling monks battling with a demon, saving them from the monster's wide, sharp jaw. He had worked with Long Shan before so he was the first that recognized him.
 
Demons in the human body were still fearful of monks with decent Buddhism skills. Their chanting could dissolve their strength and if long enough, able to push their demonic soul out of their body.
 
"There are more monks inside the village!" One of the Gu Dan hurriedly reported to their King and Fu Chou. 
 
"We will retreat for now," Gu Ming Tian decided, knowing that it would be hard to defeat a large number of decently skilled monks.
 
Fu Chou was naturally not willing, not when her goal was within reach!
 
"We need to learn more about these monks that appear suddenly. And you are unsure of the exact location of the gate. We do not have enough manpower to fight and search at the same time."
 
When the demons finally leave, the spies feel as if they had just saved their small lives. 
 
"Thank you for saving our lives!" The spies solemnly thanked the monks. If they were not here, they would really die for real.
 
It also fleetingly makes them ponder on whether to continue the career of a spy or not after facing such a threatening event. 
 
"We just happen to be here and saving people is our duty," A monk replied with a small smile.
 
Liang Shan stepped closer to a Guilin spy, who was trying to straighten out his shaking legs. 

"This monk would like to request an audience with the 21st Emperor of Guilin and the Third Prince of Guilin."
 

END OF VOLUME 8