Internal Devils - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Night of Slaughter

Xing Li was stunned. He swung his sword so hard that his arms were almost strained. After a long time, his fingers were still shaking and lacking strength.

He tried desperately to kill him, but the only thing he hit was a piece of paper.

Those 4 constables had never seen such a thing – Most priests could create illusions like this. However, priests were said to be disciples in the sect of the talisman saint, none of them would waste their time to play such a trick. What is more, capable priests were rarely seen in small places like Qing River County.

The suddenly expanded figure and the dark green light stunned them. It should be the power of a deity or immortal, they thought, and then they realized that they were fooled by the painter.

Fury was rising from Xing Li’s heart. He was angry about being cheated and letting the painter understand his mind.

“Chase him down!”He went after Li YunXin with the steel sword in his hand.

The constables hesitated. “Sir, he knows evil spells!”they said.

Xing Li spat on the ground which was covered by dead leaves. “He would have us killed if he knows spells! That was just an illusion! How would you report to the magistrate if he manages to escape!?”

Actually, the magistrate was not the first problem in Xing Li’s mind. He just wanted to catch that kid and break his limbs – How dare he use his most painful memory as a bait!? How dare he give him a hope and then ruin it instantly!?

The manhunt lasted an hour. Unlike those 4 constables, Xing Li was experienced. He was a hunter before. Shen ZhiMo gave him the job as a constable because of his skill.

The tracks left by Li YunXin were so obvious to him. They expected to catch the injured painter very soon , but they had searched the forest for an hour, and still hadn’t found him yet.

His footprints showed that he was still in the forest, and had probably lost his way.

A kid, whose arm was injured, and had only one meal in 3 or 4 days was not supposed to be so energetic – How did he last so long under the hunting of 5 strong adults? Xing Li started to doubt the life experience Li YunXin had told. Was he really from a mountain village in Ding Province?

He was eager to catch him, and this desire was growing bigger and bigger. Thus he decide to split. Every 2 constables went to a direction, and he went alone. There was no chance for that kid to escape from the forest, he thought.

The constables started to believe that creating the illusion was the only thing Li YunXin could do, because in that hour he had done nothing except running.

Thus in the dark night, they split.

About a quarter of an hour after that, Xing Li realized that he made a right decision.

A scream came from the west, and it lasted for only a moment. Xing Li knew his constables well, so he knew the scream was not made by any of them..

Got him.

He snorted, and ran towards the sound as fast as he could. When he went through the gap between trees, bushes and grass, and finally got to the place, he laughed, coldly.

Li YunXin was knocked down. He was lying by a tree, covering his left arm with his hand.

4 constables surrounded him, with staffs in their hands.

Xing Li took a deep breath, and walked up to him with his sword in hand.

The young man was gasping hard, and his chest moved like a bellow – he was obviously exhausted

With a cold face, Xing Li said: “Keep running! Where can you run away to?”

Leaning on the tree, Li YunXin tilted his head, and answered weakly: “You look mad.”

“How dare you cheat me? You bastard!”

Li YunXin laughed. “What’s wrong with you? I’ve never done anything bad to you. I just passed by your beautiful town, and got arrested for no reason. Then you planned to kill me. It was not my business at all! – and now you are mad, just because I don’t want to be killed. I’m not your mother, why would I do anything for you?”He said.

Xing Li didn’t fully understand his words, but he knew he was cursing him. He didn’t want to hear any more from him, because a long night is usually fraught with dreams[1]. This kid was weak, but really good at talking. Xing Li swung his swords towards Li YunXin.

It was at this moment, the young man shouted: “You have came, finally!”

Xing Li found him looking at something behind him. He was surprised, but soon he realized it was just another trick of the kid – He wanted him to turn around. Xing Li continued his strike after a moment of hesitation.

However, his hesitation still had given Li YunXin the time to dodge. Li YunXin tilted his body, and the sword hit the tree.

Xing Li snorted, pulled his sword out and was about to strike again, but before that, he hear something tearing up and something heavy falling on the ground.

An alarm went off in his mind. Holding his sword, he jumped to the side and turned around.

A bloody smell spread in the air. He saw all 4 constables lying on the ground, and their bodies were broken. Some had their head cut off, and some had their bodies tore into two parts. Their blood was coming out of their body like a spring, and soon had the ground wet.

Everything happened in a breath of time.

It was not something a human could have done.

His heart was filled with fear. He forced himself to keep his eyes open, lift his head and focus. He need all the courage he had to look at the figure not far from him.

In the night, he saw a handsome man, whose face was as clean as the jade on people’s hats[2]. He was in a robe with cloud patterns. He stood on the ground with his hands behind him. His sleeves waved in the night wind, not being stained by the blood.

Cloud patterns.

Xing Li knew him, and he would never forget him.
Five years ago, he ate his wife and son before him, swung his sleeves and disappeared between the clouds.

The nightmare had came true, and he was sweating like it was raining. His clothes were wet by his sweat within a second. Memories flashed in his chaotic mind. He opened his eyes widely and made choking sounds in his throat. However, he still had the desire to live, so he went back to Li YunXin, and put his sword on his neck.

“Stay…stay back!”He said with a hoarse voice, “Stay back! I will kill him if you come any closer! I will kill him!”

Hearing this, Lord Nine held his ground, looked at them interestingly, and pointed at the young man. “Did you do that?” he asked.

“There was no other way.”Li YunXin spread his hands with a bitter smile on his face, “If I didn’t do that, I would be dead now. Apart from that, aren’t we friends?”

“Friends?”Lord Nine felt strange and laughed, “What the heck is that?”

“It’s like…at that rainy night, you saved my life and we had a pleasant talk, and then, tonight, I called you, because I remembered you. Although we are not so close to each other, I thought you could help me.”Ignoring Xing Li’s shaking hands, Li YunXin said with a leisure smile, “I trust you, I am still afraid that you might eat me though…and that’s what I call friends.”

Lord Nine laughed in the night wind. “Looks like it was a right decision to not eat you. You are really an interesting little thing.”

Li YunXin grinned – he felt relieved.

He had finally came.

Dao is formless, but everything has their own spirits. When painters put the world in their paintings, they combine the spirits with their pigments. Powerful beings are sensitive about spirits, so when Li YunXin used Lord Nine’s spirit in his painting, Lord Nine felt it at once.

These things about paintings and spirits were told to Li YunXin by his father, and this was his first time putting them into practice. Due to luck, he succeeded the first time.

Being ignored by them, Xing Li felt strange. He put more pressure on his steel sword, and that cause a mark of blood on Li YunXin’s neck. “You are on his side…I knew it!”

Li YunXin frowned at him, and said: “ Interesting. I don’t know if you are cold or a coward. The one who killed your wife and son is right before you, and you are blaming me.”

Li YunXin patted the ground, and shouted: “Think about your family! They were killed, right before your eyes! Being a coward won’t save you again tonight. Killing me is useless, you are still going to die. When your wife and son was being killed, you just stood there and watched. Are you going to act the same now? Do you want to die worthlessly, or try to use your sword before that, like a real man? Your wife and son are looking at you!”

Xing Li’s breath became heavy, and his hands were shaking.

Lord Nine tilted his head and gazed at them, and seemed interested.

“Are you afraid? Are you scared? Are you afraid of death? Are you trying to escape? No way! There is no way to escape! If you do have the guts, take a deep breath, yes, just like that, a deep breath, empty your mind, and go kill him! One, two , three…Go, now! ”

“Die!”Xing Li jumped up and swung his sword towards Lord Nine.

“Poosh–”

Xing Li’s head was separated from his body and flew into the air.

Translator's notes:

[1]A long night is usually fraught with dreams夜长梦多: Unexpected troubles may happen if the work is not done quickly.
[2]His face was as clean as the jade on people’s hats面如冠玉: He was handsome. An ornamental piece of jade which adorns a hat shows the person’s social status, so it is usually pure and beautiful.