"Ugh," I groaned as I lay in bed. I was still too drained from the events of the day to care about that. For heaven's sake, my friend had just gotten murdered in front of my eyes.
Not only that, I had killed someone for the first time in my life, and I was still in shock. Everything felt surreal, and not for the first time, I wondered if I was dreaming. Was everything real? Or was I going to wake up the next day and find out that it was all a horrible nightmare? Perhaps Pang Zi would show up in class, and we would both have a laugh over the details.
Hell, Pang Zi would say something like, "Hey, if we get to kill those bastards Qi Fu Ren and his lackeys, then I wouldn't mind dying!"
"Fuck…!"
I squeezed my eyes shut, tears welling within them. My clenched fists were still trembling uncontrollably. Taking a deep breath, I tried to force my mind away from the deaths.
When I opened my eyes, I was horrified when I saw the blood on my hands. With a cry, I tumbled out of bed. Breathing heavily, I got to my feet, only to see that my hands were clean.
That was right. After leaving the warehouse, I had gone to a half-wrecked sink to wash the blood of my hands. No matter how hard I scrubbed, the blood wouldn't come off. I had washed and washed until my skin was sore, and I kept on going, until I recalled the fact that I couldn't go home too late or the police would suspect something when I made the report at an odd hour.
"B…blood…"
This couldn't be. My hands should be clean. I had washed them at least ten times already. I even took a long shower after I had gotten home. I made sure that I had rinsed all the blood off my body, that I was clean.
I took another deep breath, knowing that I would never feel clean again, no matter how many times I washed myself.
"A hero…a leader of the resistance…what a joke."
I wondered what Kai Li Si would say if he could see me now. He would definitely be disappointed. I had no doubt of that. Wasn't I supposed to save the orthodox sects and lead the resistance against the demonic sects?
Yet I resorted to murder. I killed my enemies in cold blood, showing them no mercy whatsoever. Wasn't I the exact same thing as the demonic practitioners I was supposed to resist in the future, in another world? How was I different?
Like them, I callously took the lives of others. I murdered them in cold blood out of vengeance.
How could someone like me be a hero? How could I lead the resistance of orthodox sects against demonic sects when I was a demon myself?
Right…didn't the delinquents and gangsters call me a monster? They were right. I was a monster. I used the skills that Kai Li Si taught me so that I could survive…to kill them. Out of rage. Because I desired revenge for my buddy.
I had let Kai Li Si down. I had let the resistance down.
Feeling the doubts swell up inside me, the self-recriminations, I opened my eyes and glared at the ceiling. Taking a deep breath, I forced those thoughts away and focused on the present. What I had done was already done. No matter how many times I brooded over it and moped about, it wasn't going to change anything. I had to move on. I had to live with the sins I had committed.
"More importantly, I should see what's going on with the…incident."
I then consulted my smartphone and checked the news. It turned out that the police had found the bodies in the warehouse, and were reporting it as a gang fight. The Ghost Bear thing I did had worked.
For now.
*
The next few days went by in a blur. I would wake up in cold sweat, half-expecting the police to show up on my doorstep and arrest me. Indeed, I had nightmares of being brought to trial and being jailed. The dreams were one thing, but I was also pretty paranoid, always looking around to check if there was a policeman.
"Are you all right, Cong'er?" Dad asked with a frown. I shook my head and steadied myself.
"Yeah. Sorry."
"Why are you looking around like that? Are you waiting for something?"
"No, nothing. It's just…you know, my friend…"
"Ah, right. Sorry. I heard the news." Dad nodded and sighed heavily. "I've also lost friends over the years. It's something that I can't get used to. And your friend was so young too…"
"When is his funeral?" Mom asked. I lowered my head.
"Tomorrow. I'll be attending it to pay my final respects."
The next day showed up, and I found myself at the void deck of Pang Zi's apartment. I had shown up in a black and white suit, among one of the few classmates from our school to attend the funeral. I was surprised at how few the turnout was. Pang Zi might not be popular, but he wasn't exactly ostracized too.
His parents were standing to one side, his mother sobbing hysterically and his father still looking ashen. It was easy to find them, considering that Pang Zi had inherited his bulk from his parents.
"Uncle. Auntie. I'm very sorry for your loss."
"Thank you." Uncle Pang reached out and squeezed my shoulder. He knew that I was one of Pang Zi's friends, and I had met his family before a couple of times. "Thank you for coming."
"Those gangsters who killed him…I hope they are burning in hell now!" Auntie Pang wailed as she sobbed into her handkerchief. "If they wanted to go get into a fight, why do they have to drag our son into it?"
I didn't answer. I didn't know if they were aware that Qi Fu Ren had kidnapped Pang Zi to blackmail me, to force me to a desolate area. And I felt it wasn't appropriate to mention it.
If they didn't say anything about the matter, then I wouldn't raise it. It would only be akin to rubbing salt into their wounds.
I stared at the photograph of Pang Zi, his chubby features almost glowing as he smiled happily in better times. Smoke from burning joss sticks wafted across the room, drifting over the coffin. I closed my eyes, bowed my head, and took a seat somewhere at one of the tables.
"Are you all right?" Jin Bai He asked. She and our other classmates had also attended the funeral. As usual, she was accompanied by Shi Xiao Nian. Tong Xue, Ban Zhang and many of our classmates had gathered as well.
"Those bastards," Tong Xue growled, clenching his fists. "I won't forgive them."
Ban Zhang placed a hand on my shoulder, knowing that I was close friends with Pang Zi. He didn't say anything.
The rest of my classmates hung their heads in sorrow as we mourned Pang Zi's loss.
Closing my eyes, I silently vowed to do my best to ensure that there wouldn't be any other victims again. I knew that it was unlikely, that I would continue to stumble and fail in future, but even so I was determined to do whatever I could.
I opened my eyes and glanced outside at the evening sky. The sun was slowly setting over the horizon, and darkness was greedily swallowing the blue hues. I gazed at the twilight and sighed. For some reason, I had the impression that the heavens were mocking me. Even so, I was resolved to defy them if necessary. I didn't care what fate they had in store for me…I was going to smash right through it all.
After all, the moment I gave up and blamed everything on fate…that was when everything was really over.
*
"Ghost Bear Clan, you bastards!"
She Wang strode into the hideout of the Ghost Bear Clan, his cronies in tow. Black snake tattoos curled around their arms and chests, signifying their allegiance. Burly Ghost Bear Clan members rushed them, but the gangsters of the Black Serpent Society repelled them, yelling as they clashed with pipes, bats, knives and other weapons.
Three Ghost Bear Clan members charged at She Wang, their bulky muscles rippling in an intimidating manner. However, She Wang didn't even glance at them. His hands lashed out swiftly, catching the trio in their weak points. His fingers smashed the trachea of one of them, his palm cracked the sternum of another, and then his fingers struck at the last guy's eyes and temple. All three massive musclemen went down with a moan. Only the first guy was silent, clutching his ruined throat as he wheezed almost soundlessly.
She Wang kicked him out of the way and continued to whip out at several Ghost Bear Clan members, chopping them or striking their vulnerable spots and bringing them down almost instantly. The survivors retreated warily, their eyes widening when they saw the dark purplish qi shrouding She Wang coalesce and manifest in the form of hissing serpents.
"Oh my, She Wang Bro. what has gotten you so angry today?"
Even though even the smallest of the Ghost Bear Clan member was a hulking figure of rippling muscles when compared to normal people, the speaker who lumbered out dwarfed even the largest of them. He was almost three meters tall and half as wide, his biceps bulging like pillars and his broad shoulders making him resemble a…well, bear. He rubbed at his wild mane, which stretched all the way down to form a shaggy beard across his jaw.
"You know why I'm here, Gui Xiong!"
In contrast to the massive goliath, She Wang was slender, skinny and lithe, the corded muscles of his limbs making them appear whip-like. He hissed furiously, his eyes narrowed into slits. His body seemed to be coiling, poised to lash out at lightning speed the moment his self-restraints vanished.
"I'm afraid you give me more credit than I deserve, She Wang Bro."
"Stop pretending! You know the rules! How dare you dispatch a cultivator to kill my men!"
For a moment, Gui Xiong was silent, but his face was thunderous.
"Watch your mouth, you snake," he growled, his voice a low rumble. "I did no such thing. I have always remained in here, abiding by the rules. The men I sent are not cultivators. If your subordinates were weak enough to lose to them, then it's their fault. Don't be such a sore loser."
"Then how do you explain this?!"
She Wang flashed his smartphone toward Gui Xiong, depicting the message in blood.
"GHOST BEAR CLAN'S DECLARATION OF WAR."
For a moment, Gui Xiong didn't say anything, and She Wang continued furiously, jabbing his thin but strong fingers at the massive mountain of a man.
"Thirty men! Thirty of my men were killed by a single assailant! Who else but a cultivator is capable of that?! If it wasn't you, then which of your men did it?"
"None of them," Gui Xiong boomed confidently. He shook his head. "I've seen the news too, and I can assure you that, despite that message, none of my men was involved in that attack. As you recall, all of my forces were committed against your cronies in the Ling Xia area that day. And other than me, there is no other martial artist in my gang."
"Then who did it?!"
"I do not know. And believe me when I tell you that none of my men wrote that message. Someone set us up and framed my Ghost Bear Clan."
"Ho? And why would they do that?" She Wang sneered disbelievingly. "Why would they pin this on you? Don't lie your way out of this, Gui Xiong. Everyone knows that your clan and my gang are at odds with each other."
"Oh, I'm not denying that," Gui Xiong replied with a dismissive wave of his paw. "If it was really one of my men who slaughtered your lackeys, then I would be more than happy to claim the credit for it. But you know we have our own code of honor. I, Gui Xiong, will not steal the credit for something someone else has done."
"Only a ghost will believe you!" She Wang snarled and brought his hands up. Dark serpents manifested behind him, hissing ferociously.
Gui Xiong narrowed his eyes, and behind him, the immense bulk of a great bear materialized. His eyes glowed as he clenched his fists.
"I see it's useless to discuss this any further," he growled. "Then let's not waste any time. Bring it on."
She Wang lunged forward and struck. As his hands slammed into the bulk of Gui Xiong, explosions ripped through the hideout, blotting the two dueling silhouettes out of view.