Finish this? MingYu blinked back the tears of pain. What did ZhiYi mean by finishing it? His eyes caught on as ZhiYi released his hold over MingYu's arm and moved his hands towards his sash.
"ZhiYi, what do you think you're doing?" MingYu snarled, as he reached out and stopped the demon. Over his dead body would he let ZhiYi release any ghouls here, in a cramped room with a bleeding man spread out on the floor of all places! "No more killing! As if my soul is not already in danger of being vaporized any minute now! Why are you trying to add on to it?"
"Even if we let them die naturally, the negative energy attached to them will turn them into vengeful spirits. There is no saving them." ZhiYi gave him a weak smile as he shook MingYu's hand away. "Don't worry, MingYu. No matter what it takes, I will make sure you ascend Heaven."
"ZhiYi-"
"It won't be your fault, MingYu. It is me who releases it."
"But-!"
ZhiYi broke the seal over one of the bottles dangling by his waist with a swift movement. MingYu's eyes dilated as the black liquid poured out the opening of the white porcelain bottle. It started to smoke and bubble, filling the air with the foul stench of rotting corpses. From within the swirling mass of black fog, small hands of a child, covered in bruises and deep cuts, clawed at the stone floor. Ahead and a body emerged from the depths of the pool of darkness, crawling on all fours, its movements jagged and inhuman. The limps were each bent in a corrupted angle. It made gurgling sounds as it took in the surroundings with its black eyes. The white gown was drenched in blood, highlighting the grey, see-through skin. This was the ghoul of Gui.
"Wugu." ZhiYi's tone was gentle, quiet as if he was addressing a shy child instead of a man-eating monster.
He even named the creature! MingYu shivered as he took a step back, hiding behind ZhiYi. FenFen had now moved closer to them, trailing along the far edges of the room, steering clear off the ghoul's line of sight.
"Uncle MingYu, are you alright?" FenFen asked with distress as she looked over MingYu's bound wound. Blood had seeped through the white fabric, small droplets dripping along the edges.
I'm not alright! There is a ghoul in the room and only a wooden coffin stands between us! Was what MingYu wanted to scream but he held it in and nodded as an answer.
Both master and madam Li were looking at the creature. Madam Li was frozen in place, her rocking motion died out the instant Wugu turned its black eyes to her. Master Li was kicking his feet, trying to get a footing while holding his hands over his throat.
Wugu turned its head around slowly, looking for its meal. As it spotted the pool of blood and the throbbing wound on master Li, it scurried towards him like a four-legged spider. Unhinging its jaw, it sank its ragged teeth into Li PingShi's left arm, ripping it away from his torso without effort. Blood splattered over the stone wall. The fresh, coppery scent of death wafted over the room. Li PingShi opened his mouth to shout, but he only gurgled and finally quieted as Wugu launched for his throat and with a wet crunch, Master Li went limp on the ground.
Madam Li screeched and fell unconscious at the sight. Sounds of flesh being ripped apart filled the room as the ghoul dug into Li PingShi's gut, pulling the insides out in a full display.
MingYu wanted to vomit, but there was nothing. He couldn't even gag, only watch as Wugu chewed and slurped with all the enthusiasm of a jovial child playing with blood-soaked noodles.
MingYu turned his face away, the image already carved into his mind in vivid detail. The thumping pain over his arm was merely a memory now as MingYu had gone numb from distraught. His mind was muddled with the images of a bloody pulp on the ground and his mission. Jiang MeiLin was dead, Jiang Feng got his revenge, Li PingShi's soul and body were being devoured by the monster. But then there was madam Li⦠Who was he supposed to make amends with?
Alerted by the sudden silence, MingYu raised his head and turned towards the ghoul. The creature, who had the features of a dead little boy, stood before madam Li now, studying her. It made no move to devour her, it just watched over her unconscious body.
"What- what is it doing?" MingYu asked, his lips twitched both from disgust and curiousity.
"There is very little life-force left. She is almost like a walking corpse now. He won't eat her. She is useless to Wugu." ZhiYi said as he turned his attention back to Jiang MeiLin's body.
Seeing Wugu to be no threat to them as it only attacked ones who had wronged children and youths, MingYu's tensed muscles relaxed and he moved over to the coffin. He reached out his healthy hand to touch the silver needles but was stopped short by ZhiYi's firm grasp.
"Ye WeiRu's acupuncture needles are poisonous, one wrong move and you're dead. Even us demons could be harmed by it. In the least, we would lose our physical bodies."
"What?" MingYu turned pale. He had heard of Ye WeiRu in Heaven. The demon was the leader of the Xiedu sect that dealt with occult medical practices and poison. But this...
"Only he has the antidote."
"What kind of a monster is he?" MingYu spat. Not only was the young girl's body shamelessly put on display,but she was even used as a needle pillow!
"father, I don't think the Xiedu sect has anything to do with this." FenFen said as she peered into the coffin. "I believe this might be Lan Guan-Yin's work. I saw her leave the premises when we first came to the city."
ZhiYi's demeanour changed at once, his frown deepening. Hearing the name 'Lan Guan-Yin', the images of Wugu were effectively blocked out from MingYu's mind as he snapped, "That Lan Guan-Yin childe Qiang talked about?"
"She is Ye WeiRu's former disciple." FenFen said, her brows crinkling in annoyance.
ZhiYi turned around and gave a closer inspection of the needles. "These needles do not hold poison. The sting is almost exactly the same, but it is not hollow. They're just Lan Guan-Yin's imitations."
"So we can just pull them out?" MingYu leaned over the coffin railing. ZhiYi gave a confirming nod and the two started picking the needles out one by one with care to not further damage Jiang MeiLin's frail body. The amulets came out in pieces as FenFen ripped them apart in a hurry. After the last of the long needles were pulled out from between Jiang MeiLin luscious hair, ZhiYi frowned. Uneasiness settled itself in MingYu. ZhiYi frowning was never a good sign, so he couldn't help but ask, "ZhiYi, what is it?"
"One needle is missing."
"What do you mean one is missing?" MingYu looked at the body again. There was not a single silver needle left!
"There should be 250 acupuncture needles, but we pulled out only 249."
"Maybe you miscalculated?" MingYu said with little hope. "Why would there be one more, to begin with?" 249 acupuncture needles covered every acupoint imaginable. Why was there one additional?
The Wugu was standing closer to them now, looking at them with its empty eyes. MingYu shivered at the sight.
"I didn't miscalculate. If we pulled all out, the body should decay immediately." ZhiYi said firmly as he looked at Jiang MeiLin's body. MingYu froze as he realised where the last needle must be. He took hold of ZhiYi and said, "We can't."
It was wrong, they couldn't do this to her.
ZhiYi shook his head, "We have to, otherwise her body will never find peace."
"I can do it." FenFen said as she stood over the coffin, determination clear in her bright eyes. "I can pull it out." Her voice had a slight tremor to it as she turned pale under all the layers of powder and rouge.
"Are you sure, FenFen?" ZhiYi asked.
FenFen nodded and with shaky gestures, reached her hand in. The two men turned away as FenFen's fingers traced along the robes and turning her eyes away, reached under MeiLin's undergarments until she felt the cold metal needle with her fingers. She slowly pulled it out. As she held out the needle longer than any of the 249 others, it was covered in blood. FenFen threw it into the far corner of the room and pressed her hand against her mouth to muffle her cry. The needle had pierced whatever was inside MeiLin's stomach.
Wugu could smell the blood and it almost looked happy as it came closer, and stuck to ZhiYi's side, sniffing the air. MingYu and ZhiYi turned their attention back to the coffin, but the body didn't decay, it was still flushed and lifelike.
Then, MingYu looked on in terror as Jiang MeiLin's swollen stomach moved violently. Something was trying to claw its way out. Jiang MeiLin's ribs cracked and pushed outwards, as the creature tried to claw its way up.
"Should we kill it?" FenFen looked panicked as she picked up the bloody knife on the ground, waiting for ZhiYi's command. Wugu croaked and snapped its neck, snarling at FenFen.
MingYu looked at Wugu, and the odd behaviour of the ghoul suddenly made sense. He said with more strength than what he felt, "We can't kill the baby. We must get it out safely."
"What?" FenFen's voice became shrill. The knife slipped from her hand, hitting the ground with a clack.
"We can't kill the baby." MingYu repeated.
ZhiYi nodded his understanding. The Wugu, being created from the sufferings of youths and young children, didn't allow innocent children to be hurt, and whatever was inside MeiLin, the Wugu had deemed it innocent. If they disagreed, they were next on its menu.
"We must get the baby out, now." ZhiYi ordered and FenFen snapped into action, she walked to the foot of the coffin and pulled her sleeves up. Looking at ZhiYi for guidance, she pulled MeiLin's feet apart and undid the bottom of the robes in a trance.
MingYu had positioned himself at the head of the coffin and placed his trembling hands over the abdomen of Jiang MeiLin. He could feel something moving against his touch. As FenFen gave him a shaky nod, he pushed at the stomach. The baby seemed to realise it was going to be birthed now, and it moved in the direction it was guided. Soon FenFen gave a muffled cry as something came into her line of sight but she quickly quieted down.
"When you see arms coming out, you can pull!" MingYu said as he kept applying pressure. FenFen reached inside the coffin and soon, a cry broke out. MingYu hurried to FenFen's side and saw her holding a bloody baby boy in her hands, both horrified and in awe of what she had just done. MingYu motioned her to give him the baby. ZhiYi came over with the knife and cut the umbilical cord, tying it in a little nub.
As soon as the cord was cut, Jiang MeiLin's body decayed in rapid motion. Flesh rot and fell off the bones and a ratchet smell erupted from the coffin. FenFen and ZhiYi hurried to put the lid on the casket, sealing the stench in.