As if in answer, out of the roiling lava stepped a giant skeletal foot
with toenails wide as carriage wheels. It stepped into Ganquan Lake, half as
large as the lake itself. The other foot soon followed, crushing a swath of
tangerine trees on the shore.
With an earth-shaking rumble, an enormous skeleton emerged from
the rift. It shook its stiff head and roared at the sky, the highest heavens
trembling with the sound. Raising a sharp hatchet draped in clanging
chains, it swung down toward the shore with a loud grunt. As the hatchet
buried itself in the dirt, waves of heat rushed outward, liquefying the earth
and turning the plants to ash.
Just as the spot where Xue Meng stood looked like it would collapse
under his feet, a blue light flared to life. Nangong Liu, wielding a sword in
each hand, poured all his spiritual energy into attacking the skeleton. Two
streams of power collided with a bang, blasting soil and chunks of
vegetation in all directions. Xu Shuanglin, who was sustaining the water
elemental barrier, yelled to Nangong Liu, "Strike between the ribs! Do you
see it?"
"I see it," Nangong Liu said through gritted teeth. There was no trace
left of his usual simpering, spineless expression as he shot toward the
enormous skeleton's ribcage. Mo Ran watched a fire ignite within that bony
chest. Within the flickering flames hung the silhouette of a man. Mo Ran
tried to get a closer look, but the sparks flying from the skeleton's battle
with Nangong Liu obstructed his view. Nangong Liu had expended incredible effort to summon an
exceptionally dangerous fiend from the underworld; one would assume he
wanted to command it to bring about some calamity. Yet Nangong Liu's
behavior seemed to indicate that he'd risked everything just to fight this
skeleton with everything he had.
It was absolutely bizarre.
Xue Meng and the others still stood dazed; Mo Ran couldn't afford to
stay lost in thought. Nothing good would come if the battle continued like
this. Recalling how Chu Wanning's hands had formed the seal, Mo Ran
mimicked him and cried, "Jiangui, Ten Thousand Coffins!"
Scores of crimson willow vines writhed up like serpents. They wound
around the chess pieces on the shore and pulled them out of danger.
"Well done—you used it well."
Chu Wanning's words of affirmation made Mo Ran's chest blaze with
warmth. Right now, the one he liked was by his side, and Jiangui had
shielded the one he wanted to protect. Mo Ran felt calm wash over him as
he studied the battle again.
Nangong Liu's attacks were shoddy, but his defensive and evasive
techniques were top-notch. Perhaps Nangong Liu had always favored this
style of cultivation. It made sense that when Mo Ran had massacred Rufeng
Sect in his previous life, this famous sect leader had scampered away faster
than a rabbit.
The giant skeleton's attacks were fearsome, but its size made it
unwieldy and slow. It hadn't managed to so much as scratch Nangong Liu.
Nangong Liu raced along its menacing frame, his ornate robes fluttering
behind him and the red tassel on his bamboo hat flying in the wind. As he
reached the skeleton's ribcage, he saw that betwixt the white bones, where
the skeleton's heart should have been, hung a body.
Nangong Liu whooped like a man seeing a light at the end of the
tunnel. Voice eerily distorted, he threw his head back and cackled, "Ha ha!
I did it! At last… I've found you at last!" His eyes glinted beneath the
bamboo hat, their whites shot through with red blood vessels. He shouted,
furious or ecstatic, "I did it!"
Wreathed in the flames of the skeleton's chest was a frail man with
his eyes screwed shut. His appearance was unremarkable, his face easily
forgotten. Nangong Liu muttered like a madman: "I found him, I found
him… Ha ha, ha ha ha… I found you… I found you…" He raised the sword
gleaming with blue light and ferociously thrust it at the unconscious man.
That deathly still man suddenly raised his head and opened his eyes.
From below, Xu Shuanglin shouted, "Don't look into his eyes!
I fucking told you not to look into his eyes!"
But Nangong Liu was too close; he couldn't avoid the man's gaze.
For a brief moment he stared into a pair of bestial eyes—wide and round
with scarlet pupils, streaming tears of blood—and immediately his body felt
like it was being torn apart. Screaming, he lost his footing and plunged to
the ground far below. If not for Xu Shuanglin creating a barrier to catch
him, he would have crushed every bone in his body.
Xu Shuanglin rushed over and stamped a bare foot in fury. "Why did
you look? Didn't I tell you that you'd feel all the torment his souls have
endured if you did that? You…"
Xu Shuanglin fell silent as Nangong Liu got shakily to his feet. He'd
lost his bamboo hat in the fall, and his hair knot was in disarray. Beneath his
brow, his eyes were crazed with fear.
"Ahh… Aahhh!"
The moonlight shone directly onto Nangong Liu's face. He reached
up to cover it, fingers spasming in pain, but it was no use. Every bit of skin
exposed to the moonlight began to crack and peel, revealing tender red flesh
beneath. Rivulets of blood ran down his face.
Nangong Liu screamed frantically and tried to use his sleeves to
shield his face but exposed his forearms in his hurry. The skin on his arms
too began to split, becoming a mess of gory flesh.
Mo Ran and Chu Wanning gaped as they watched from afar—what
was wrong with Nangong Liu? Could it…could it be the effects of the
moonlight?
Xu Shuanglin removed his outer robe, fabric flapping in the wind,
and tossed it over Nangong Liu's head. He stood in the winter night clad
merely in his white inner robe, seemingly unaffected by the cold. His collar
had fallen slightly open, his sturdy chest rising and falling beneath. At the
sight of Nangong Liu trembling on the ground, Xu Shuanglin's temper
flared. He aimed a barefoot kick at Nangong Liu's head, casting off any
pretense of respect. "What are you sitting there for? Get up! If you can't kill
him even with all of this spiritual energy we've assembled, forget about
getting better!"
Against all expectations, the cowardly, good-for-nothing Nangong
Liu started crying as he sat on the frozen ground, dripping snot and tears.
"It hurts so much… I'd rather die, I'd seriously rather die than live like
this… There's blood all over my face…and my hands… I can't stand it
anymore… Shuanglin, I can't stand it anymore… Take my place…"
"Take your place, take your place—why's it always about me taking
your place?" Incensed, Xu Shuanglin kicked Nangong Liu in the face again.
"Why don't you just let me be the sect leader, then? I'll take your place and
be done with it!"
"You think I don't want to?" Nangong Liu wailed as he toppled from
the force of the kick. "You think I don't want to? I've long been sick of this!
The curse Luo Fenghua laid on me has ruined my life! He wants me to die
in this position! So go on—there's nothing I want more than for someone to
replace me! If only I could take this damn ring off of my hand!"
"Luo Fenghua?" Mo Ran asked in a low voice. "This name sounds
familiar, like I've heard it somewhere before."
"He was Rufeng Sect's leader before Nangong Liu." Chu Wanning
furrowed his brow as they eavesdropped on the conversation. "He only held
the position for two years before he died of some grave illness."
Mo Ran blinked in surprise. "Hasn't it always been Nangong scions
jockeying among themselves to head Rufeng Sect? When was there a sect
leader named Luo? Shouldn't they all be Nangongs?"
"Under normal circumstances, yes. However, Luo Fenghua staged a
coup to become the Rufeng Sect leader."
At this, Mo Ran suddenly remembered seeing the name in a book
about the history of Rufeng Sect he'd read long ago, though not much had
been written about him. Rufeng Sect's family history was a tumultuous one,
filled with both deep grudges and debts of gratitude. Mo Ran had found the
book boring, so he'd only casually flipped through it without reading
closely. His eyes widened slightly. "There was a coup in Rufeng Sect?"
"Mn. Few bring it up these days. It's nothing to be proud of, and it
also involves the current sect leader," said Chu Wanning. "Nangong Liu
walked a difficult path to become sect leader. His father suffered a qi
deviation and passed when he was little. He declared Nangong Liu his
successor before he died—but Nangong Liu had a younger brother with
outstanding spiritual ability who thought very highly of himself. His brother
refused to accept their father's edict. On the night their father died, this
brother seized the ring of Rufeng Sect's leader and usurped Nangong Liu's
place."
"But if the one who seized power was his brother, shouldn't his name
be Nangong, not Luo?"
"Let me finish." Chu Wanning watched as Nangong Liu staggered to
his feet. Wrapped tightly in the Shuanglin Elder's robe, he rushed toward
the fire in the huge skeleton's chest once again.
"Nangong Liu's brother was bloodthirsty and cruel," Chu Wanning
continued. "Just three months after he seized control, he murdered two
other sect leaders from the upper cultivation realm. There had been rumors
for years that during one of the previous Spiritual Mountain Competitions,
these two had conspired against him and not chosen the winner fairly, all
because he was born of a concubine and thus was not the rightful heir to
Rufeng Sect. After these killings, his behavior became more and more
outrageous. He rounded up everyone who had ever criticized him, dragged
them into Rufeng Sect's public square, and plucked their eyes out one by
one. I didn't see it myself, but it was said they needed three carriages to cart
away those hundreds of eyes."
Mo Ran shuddered inwardly but remained silent. A normal person
might have sworn in anger, but what right did he have to do so? The present
Chu Wanning hadn't the faintest clue what Mo Ran had done in his past
lifetime. Mo Ran had slaughtered nearly everyone in Rufeng Sect's
seventy-two cities on account of a personal grievance. He had used lingchi
fruit to torment one of the city lords, keeping him on the brink of death for
an entire year before finally allowing him to die. Mo Ran had made a point
to avoid coming face-to-face with that particular city lord during this trip to
Rufeng Sect. The enmity between them ran too deep. He was afraid that if
he saw the man, he would do something crazy again. Even now, his nature
was vicious. What right did he have to curse the bloodthirsty actions of
another?
As they talked, Nangong Liu was making his way up to the enormous
skeleton's heart again, speeding toward the flames with sword drawn. The
closer he got, the brighter the cold light glinted from the blade in his hand.
"Luo Fenghua was the shizun of Nangong Liu's younger brother. He
couldn't tolerate his cruelty. He and Nangong Liu planned the coup
together," Chu Wanning explained. "The two of them gathered troops and
smoothly deposed the younger brother in a single night. But as Luo
Fenghua held the sect leader's ring in his hand, he was tempted by the
prospect of power. He didn't hand the ring over to Nangong Liu…"
Mo Ran stared in astonishment. "He put it on himself?"
"That's right," said Chu Wanning. "The tokens of every sect leader
are enchanted with strong spells that will recognize their master. Rufeng
Sect's ring thus belongs to whomever wears it. Unless the sect changes
hands, only death can undo this spell."
"So…did Luo Fenghua die after two years in power because
Nangong Liu retook the position of sect leader?"
Chu Wanning shook his head. "Rufeng Sect's official records state
that Luo Fenghua died of an illness, and that Nangong Liu retrieved the sect
leader's ring after his death. But who can say for sure whether it's true?
Seeing as Nangong Liu has gone to all this trouble to summon and fight this
monster, yelling about a curse… Whatever happened back then was
probably nothing so simple."
Mo Ran agreed, but he still had a question. "What about the younger
brother? What happened to Nangong Liu's brother after he was deposed?"
"He died," Chu Wanning said. "The night of the coup, Luo Fenghua
sought to eliminate disloyalty from his sect. He killed his disciple with his
own two hands. Reportedly, he hacked him into so many pieces that the
younger brother was practically mincemeat."
Mo Ran sank into a brooding silence. He felt a little weak in the
knees. If Chu Wanning found out what Mo Ran had done in his past life,
would his shizun also choose a cleansing and turn him into mincemeat?
As he pondered this, he heard a loud crunch—Nangong Liu had
stabbed the man in the skeleton with his sword. The giant skull opened its
jaw and let out a mournful howl, its jagged white feet stomping pit after pit
into the ground. It uprooted a copse of tangerine trees with one angry swipe
of its hand, dislodging golden fruit, which it promptly trampled. As the
scent of coppery blood and sweet citrus mingled on the breeze, the
enormous skeleton stopped in its tracks and fell abruptly to its knees,
sending lava everywhere. Its white bones disintegrated into fine powder,
scattering like ash on the wind.
Nangong Liu pulled his sword from the man hanging in the skeleton
and seized his body. "I found you! I'm free! The curse is lifted!" he
screamed ecstatically, then cackled in triumph.
Riding his sword, Nangong Liu landed back on the ground just as the
crowd of cultivators from Poetry Hall, having finally realized that
something was amiss, reached the shores of Ganquan Lake.
The instant Guyueye's sect leader, Jiang Xi, saw the surging lava, a
look of astonishment overtook his handsome, imperious face. "The Infinite
Hells?" He brushed his sleeves back and raised his hands. A layer of water
elemental spirit dust drifted down onto the cultivators crowding behind him.
Every sect had its own defense techniques; while most favored barriers,
Guyueye's spirit dust was no less effective against the roiling lava. Jiang Xi
then turned, clearly irate. "Nangong Liu, what's going on here?!"
Nangong Liu didn't respond, merely clutching at the man he'd
exhumed from the skeleton. The flames that engulfed the man's body had
been extinguished. He seemed to lack any energy or awareness, and his
eyes remained closed—he lay limp in Nangong Liu's grasp like any
common corpse.
Xue Zhengyong spotted Mo Ran and Chu Wanning and rushed over.
"Ran-er, Yuheng, are you all right?" he called anxiously. "Meng… Where's
Meng-er?!"
Mo Ran hastily reassured him. "Xue Meng's fine, he's over there—"
Xue Zhengyong looked where Mo Ran pointed and found Xue Meng
ensnared by a massive vine, with only his pale face visible. Blanching, Xue
Zhengyong began to stagger toward Xue Meng, but Mo Ran pulled him
back. "Uncle, he's just unconscious for now, he'll be fine. The vine will
keep him safe; you don't need to go to him. Stay here with us."
"What's going on?!" Xue Zhengyong fretted. "On our way here we
saw vicious ghosts descending to earth, and Nangong-zhangmen…" He
looked back as he spoke and saw Nangong Liu surrounded by infernal lava,
clutching that lifeless body. Xue Zhengyong fell immediately silent. He felt
that something wasn't right. Why did that body look familiar? He thought
he'd seen this man's face before, long ago…
It was an ordinary face, one easily lost to the passage of time. Even
after racking his brain, Xue Zhengyong couldn't place him. But he felt that
something was wrong—everything about this was wrong somehow.
Nangong Liu suddenly lifted his face. His features were drowned in
blood, his mouth split in a horrible grin. Nangong Liu bellowed a laugh, a
strange light flashing in his eyes. He looked nothing like his usual fawning,
simpering self.
Among the crowd that had rushed over were Ye Wangxi and
Nangong Si. "Father…" Nangong Si said hoarsely.
Ye Wangxi caught sight of Xu Shuanglin standing to the side.
"Yifu?!" she gasped.
Glancing at Ye Wangxi, Xu Shuanglin shook his head in a clear
message—stay back. Surrounded by flaming lava, his lapels were slightly
askew, and his loose white robes fluttered in the wind. With a lazy smile
playing at the corners of his lips, he raised his chin slightly to survey the
chaos and hellfire raging before him. The rounded toes of his bare feet
twitched, sending up glimmering sparks. Then he lowered his head as if
waiting, the reflection of fire in his eyes like red-gold carp swimming out of
the shadowy night.
A woman in the crowd screamed in fright.
Xu Shuanglin smirked without looking up. Of course he knew what
had happened—he could already hear the sounds of chewing. Behind him,
Nangong Liu had grabbed the limp man's shoulders. There under the cold
moonlight, he tore into the man's neck with his teeth and greedily drank his
blood.
Silence reigned in the wake of that shrill cry. The watchers stood
frozen in shock, unable to comprehend what they witnessed. Rufeng's
Nangong Liu, leader of the world's foremost cultivation sect, was
devouring a corpse so wretchedly, so hideously. How…was this possible…
"Father!" Nangong Si was first to break. He made a mad dash toward
Nangong Liu. Ye Wangxi, unable to restrain him, followed close behind.
"Father, what are you doing?" cried Nangong Si. "Why are you doing
this?"
"Sect Leader—"
Nangong Liu gnawed upon the dead man with relish, as if he hadn't
heard a thing. The robe covering his face had long since fallen away,
leaving his cracked skin to rip painfully open again and again beneath the
moonlight. The more pain he felt, the more madly he chewed—as if it were
sweet spring water or a bitter panacea, the salvation for which he had
longed.
Some of the watching cultivators couldn't bear it anymore. The
sounds of retching rose from the crowd. "How did this happen…" someone
murmured weakly.
"Mad… He's gone mad…"
"That's so gross…"
The moonlight cascaded over Nangong Liu's body. A shudder ran
through him as he pulled back from the corpse, blood and saliva dripping
steadily from the corners of his lips. Then he jerked his head up, opened his
gory mouth, and let out two tremulous screams of anguish.
After eating the corpse's flesh, Nangong Liu's face hadn't healed at
all. His skin was still splitting under the moonlight, one shred after another.
His features were awash in red; only his eyes remained white. He flung the
corpse to the ground and stomped on it. Then he turned and grabbed Xu
Shuanglin by the collar, roaring like a beast, "What's wrong? Why didn't it
work… It didn't work!"
His hands shook uncontrollably, veins protruding across their backs.
His eyes were thoroughly bloodshot, leaking fat tears of agony. "It hurts…
It hurts so much… I'd rather be dead… I'd rather be dead!" he howled
desperately.
Then, as if in realization, he let go of Xu Shuanglin. He lowered his
head and fumbled at the corpse, reaching for its heart. "His spiritual core!
I need more power… I must eat his spiritual core! His spiritual core…
Spiritual core, spiritual core…" Manic, he plunged his hand into the hole
his sword had opened in the man's chest and groped frantically, hands
slicked with blood.
Without warning, a sharp claw stabbed Nangong Liu from behind,
piercing him right through the chest. Blood spurted like a fountain.
Nangong Liu gaped soundlessly, as if he hadn't yet realized what had
happened, hadn't felt any pain. He blankly turned his head. His bloodshot
eyes opened wide as he saw Xu Shuanglin looking up, a small smile on his
unmarred, relaxed face. "Why are you eating that? Anything you eat will be
wasted on someone like you."