In the mountainous valleys, there are no laws. No soldiers, no heroes, no militia that stands up for the ones who are trampled. Beasts run rampant and nature clamours for the death of all beings.
The lawless ones that are able to survive in the valleys have the strength to make legends , but they live in fear of the true masters who lay dormant in the fabric of society. They are only able to train foolish talented men that whip even inferior men into shape to do their bidding.
These harsh trainings are done in the peripheral area of the valleys, so that they do not die to the true evils that lurk in the valley. When they are finally freed of their mandatory training, these bandits come out and commit evil upon the people living near the valleys.
No matter how far they run or settle from the valley, with their inhuman bodies, the bandits can sniff them out and wreak havoc. Such an incident is happening in Jin Village, a small village of around 200 people.
"RUN!" Ren Pi screamed at the other villagers to run. That monster had swept into village and started cutting off the heads of random villagers without breaking a sweat.
There was no doubt that the man in front of him was a martial artist from the valleys. An incredible murderous aura was radiating off of him, paralysing anyone that stood in his way.
The only reason why all of them weren't dead yet was the man's will. He had started cutting out the eyes of the heads he had chopped off and eating them with glee. It made for an incredibly barbaric sight to Ren Pi.
"Uncle Shu, Aunt Ji…" All of them were splayed out on the floor, forming a blood pool. The smell of iron lingered in the air. He had only screamed to break the other children out of their trance and to run away.
With that scream, the man who was busy with eating eyes turned his head and looked directly at Ren Pi. Ren Pi could finally see the martial artist properly now.
Even though the martial artist was drenched in blood, Ren Pi could see a distinctive green mole on his left chin.
"You…Green Mole Mo Hu?" Ren Pi could remember a group of bounty hunters passing by just one year ago asking about the whereabouts of a green moled man. He was known as a third rate bandit who had recently stolen some treasure.
Third rate martial artists could only win against 5 untrained men in a fight. The power Mo Hu showed now was no longer in that range, with how silently he severed the heads of everyone.
"Oh? You know my name? And you can handle my pressure too…" Mo Hu stuffed all the eyeballs he had gathered in his hands into his mouth all at once. He chewed on them while he was lost in thought.
"You're an interesting looking fella, maybe I can get a reward if i submit you to that bastard. How about it? You want to live or die?"
Ren Pi fell to his knees and kowtowed immediately. What Uncle Shu, What Aunt Ji! Are they going to save him as ghosts? They should help him by getting out of his memory as fast as possible!
Against a martial artist like this, untrained teenagers like him could only die without a word. He could only nod and accept the will of a martial artist.
"I like how you behave. So gently, like the baby lambs I used to raise. I feel nostalgic, so I will give you a real chance this time. Bring me the heads of the stupid kids that thought they could run. Be quick!"
When Ren Pi heard Mo Hu mentioned the kids, he froze momentarily. Those were the kids he had helped to raise for the last 8 years of his life! To kill them with his own hands is…
"They were going to die anyway, so let's…" Ren Pi self rationalised it in his head. After he survived, he could take his own revenge for the children. They would feel more at peace than if he had died alongside them.
"Here's a scythe I picked it up from that stupid looking guy there. Use it to cut their heads off. Make it as painful as possible." Mo Hu tossed a bloodstained scythe haphazardly towards Ren Pi.
As Ren Pi caught it with his trembling right hand, he steeled his heart. Everything wasn't his fault. It was the fault of the damned righteous martial artists who didn't exterminate beasts like Mo Hu!
Remembering where the emergency trapdoor is, Ren Pi slowly walked to the village chief's house while Mo Hu was following behind. Sometimes, Mo Hu would dash into a nearby house and emerge with a newly separated head.
With chills down his spine from Mo Zhu's actions, Ren Pi swung the doors of the village chief's house wide open. Only the village chief was there, holding a spear.
The village chief was also a martial artist that had reached third rate in his prime, and later retired as the chief of Jin Village. Adopting a stance, he was preparing to charge at any villain that would barge in.
"EAT THIS! TI….." As the village chief prepared to thrust his spear forward, Mo Hu swung his sword upwards and bisected the village chief diagonally.
"Old eyes are bad for my diet." Mo Hu then rubbed his tummy, muttering to himself. With so much inspiration, Ren Pi jumped to action, putting the scythe on the ground.
Pushing the viscera of the village chief to one side, Ren Pi ripped off the false cobblestones, revealing a wooden trapdoor.
Swinging it open, it revealed a hole with a ladder leading down. Mo Hu laughed out loud.
"Go on." Mo Hu pushed Ren Pi. Ren Pi gritted his teeth and grabbed the scythe. Lowering himself into the hole, he held the scythe even tighter in his grip.
Sounds of surprise. Sounds of understanding. Sounds of horror. A symphony to the ears.
Mo Hu could understand why his master tortured him like that now. It was such an amazing feeling, especially when he pushed someone else into doing the same dirty deeds as him.
One by one, the heads of children was tossed up from the hole. Mo Hu applauded everytime a head was tossed up.
Once all the heads were up above, Ren Pi climbed out of the hole. His entire body was tense, and his eyes were practically bulging out of his eye sockets. An immense guilt sunk his heart.
Mo Hu let out a cruel laughter and struck rapidly. The right sleeve of Ren Pi's shirt was cut off along with his arm.
"I don't need a loser who shakes just from this. But you gave me a show, so I will just take an arm." As Mo Hu said this, he swept his sword and impaled all the heads on them. With this movement, he flew away in the sky.
Ren Pi let out a scream of despair. He had done all that just to end up a a cripple. All that evil for absolutely nothing. All the veins in his body pulsated as he bled from his right stump.
The stress that he had suffered from being betrayed was the last straw. The consciousness of Ren Pi sunk into the void, never to be seen again.
A new mind took control.