Chapter 6

Ghost Shadow was a phantom of the night, a strange bloodthirsty phantom. He held two razors in his hands—black razors, their edges no more than a thread of snowy brightness, glinting with keen, chilling light. What he loved most was slowly slicing open his prey's blood vessels, watching them bleed and flee in mad panic. He began with the smallest vessels, proceeding step by step according to a strict order, until his prey had lost so much blood they were barely alive. Only when terror had reached its peak would he slit their throats and finish them completely.

With a gentle pull of the razor, sweet music rang out, and a life drenched in its own blood, trembling in terror, vanished into nothingness. What a marvelous process!

The two razors in Ghost Shadow's hands began to turn rhythmically, cold gleams flashing chaotically.

Then, suddenly, he vanished again.

Chang'an felt a chill sweep across both sides of his waist, followed by something warm and wet flowing out.

A stench appeared in the night wind—the stench of blood.

Chang'an sneered. "Ghost Shadow, is that all the tricks you have? Do you know how Ghost Hand died? I stabbed him one hundred and eighty times without pausing for breath."

Ghost Shadow's cold, ghostly voice rang out. "You have begun to fear. I can feel it. You think you still have a chance, and you refuse to give up. Heh heh, you are no different from anyone else..." His voice seemed to blow in from the yin wind, icy yet everywhere at once.

Chang'an's steps were neither hurried nor slow, firm and steady.

He had already walked ten zhang.

Yu Fu could save him. He had to make Yu Fu aware of what was happening, but Ghost Shadow could not kill him before she made her move. So he needed to get as close to the inn as possible.

Every step demanded a price—a price paid in blood.

Behind the roof ridge of Return Inn stood two people in a strange tableau. One was Yu Fu, pale-faced and held hostage. The other wore a black mask, impossible to distinguish as male or female, and gripped Yu Fu's pulse gate. Both watched Chang'an from afar. The masked figure's gaze was deep and cold, while Yu Fu was so anxious she was nearly crying. Yet she could not even move; with her pulse gate pinned, she could not summon the slightest bit of strength.

Ghost Shadow flickered in and out of sight. When he struck again, the flesh on Chang'an's back was sliced open, blood pouring out like a fountain.

Chang'an's body swayed, but he kept walking. Fine beads of sweat trembled across his forehead, and his eyes narrowed into slits.

Ghost Shadow said coldly, "If you can walk one hundred zhang, I will spare you!"

Chang'an smiled. "It's a deal!"

Ghost Shadow gave a ghostly laugh and vanished again, clinging like an unquiet spirit.

There was no doubt that he would kill according to his predetermined steps.

Chang'an had already walked thirty zhang.

Tears had begun to stream from Yu Fu's eyes, a silent grief falling with them. She had cried before, but this was the first time she had felt so bleak and helpless. In the past, she cried because she felt wronged; as long as Chang'an held her hand and comforted her gently, she would smile again. How could she watch Chang'an being tortured before her eyes and remain unmoved?

Yet she could not move, and her mute acupoint had been sealed.

Reality was often this cruel. You had no choice but to watch what you wished to protect march toward destruction before your very eyes. Weakness came only because a hand had seized you; forced into such cold indifference, you could never be your true self, never do what you most wanted to do.

The masked figure turned and glanced at Yu Fu. Her eyes flickered as she said in a muffled, hoarse voice, "I will not let Ghost Shadow slit his throat."

Yu Fu shook her head desperately, her eyes filled with hatred.

The masked figure said, "Give up. I will not release you. This is what he deserves..."

Yu Fu's eyes could speak, blinking coldly.

The masked figure said, "Chang'an will tell you who I am. I will not!"

Chang'an had already walked sixty zhang.

He saw Yu Fu and the masked figure atop Rugui Inn, and pain pierced his heart.

No matter where Yu Fu was, he could always sense her. His heart hurt because Yu Fu's heart hurt. It was that simple. He did not want Yu Fu to suffer. So he smiled—a very earnest smile.

No matter how a man suffering from excessive blood loss smiled, it was never a pleasant sight.

Yu Fu shed even more tears, biting her lip until blood flowed.

His wrists had already been cut open.

At last, he had walked eighty zhang.

Ghost Shadow flashed past, slicing open Chang'an's ankle artery. Ghost Shadow looked at Chang'an and saw that he was still walking, showing no sign of collapsing. He wore a smile on his face, without a trace of fear.

Ghost Shadow licked the blood from his blade and said in cold surprise, "It seems you truly are somewhat different. But at the ninety-ninth zhang, your throat will be slit. Can you walk one more zhang?"

Chang'an said slowly, "Wait and see. If I survive, you will surely die."

Ghost Shadow looked as though he had swallowed a fly and said nothing more.

Ghost Shadow in the night seemed both nonexistent and omnipresent, filling the air with boundless chill. He truly was no different from a ghost—cold and unpredictable, coming without a shadow and leaving without a trace.

The ninety-ninth zhang!

Ghost Shadow moved.

Blinding cold light flashed over the razors.

He had long been unable to restrain his desire to taste the feeling of slicing Chang'an's throat. Chang'an was too extraordinary and had given him too many surprises. He believed that sensation would surely be exquisite.

After killing too many people, killing became like chopping vegetables—there was no feeling left, only numbness. But cutting meat now and then truly brought unexpected sensations.

The masked figure moved as well.

An extra bright moon appeared in the sky. Two moons hung in the night.

It was a curved blade—the Bright Moon Blade.

Yu Fu moved too.

Like a young swallow returning to its nest, she flew through the air, a sword gripped in her hand.

Moonlight descended first, desolate in its beauty and cold to the bone. Ghost Shadow was instantly left with nowhere to hide beneath that pure radiance. He shrieked, "Bright Moon Blade, Bright Moon Curved Blade..."

Ghost Shadow was startled, but the razors in his hands remained steady. His target did not change as he slashed down at the two major arteries beneath Chang'an's jaw.

Clang!

A jade-colored sword suddenly barred the way before Chang'an's throat, its crystalline jade hue flowing with warm, gentle softness. Ghost Shadow's razors struck precisely against the blade, while the jade-colored sword lay flat against Chang'an's throat.

Ghost Shadow's razors could slice no farther.

He suddenly let out a miserable scream. His chest had already split open.

His heart, liver, and lungs could all be seen through the wound, blood pouring out like a fountain.

The masked figure appeared before Ghost Shadow, holding a curved blade. It curved like a crescent moon, bright and cold, without a single trace of blood upon it—so pristine it was frightening.

The masked figure was the Bright Moon Blade.

A legend of the martial world.

The Bright Moon Blade suddenly said, "If you can walk one hundred zhang, I will spare you. The same game!"

Ghost Shadow bared his teeth in a grin. His dried-up body beneath the black clothes shook as he suddenly burst into twisted laughter. "Ahahaha, Bright Moon Blade, you lost... ahahaha... The martial world says that where Bright Moon Blade's light appears, death is certain... Today, that myth has been broken... You are certain to lose this wager... I will win..."

Ghost Shadow's figure flashed, and he scrambled away, rolling and crawling. He dragged a trail of blood down the whole street, running far more than a hundred zhang before finally pitching headfirst onto the ground. With a twisted smile on his face, he muttered one last sentence: "I broke the myth... heh heh..." Then he died, satisfied.

Yu Fu supported Chang'an, and Chang'an wiped the tears from Yu Fu's face.

He hurt too much to smile anymore. Instead, he looked at the masked Bright Moon Blade and said bitterly, "Did you have to torment me like this?!"

The Bright Moon Blade said hoarsely, "This is what you deserve."

Chang'an did not understand what she meant.

The Bright Moon Blade actually wore a pair of white leather gloves. She held a slip of paper between her fingers and tossed it to Yu Fu. "If you want to keep him alive, take him to this place at once."

As soon as she finished speaking, she was already far away, leaving behind only a slender shadow.

Chang'an said, "Take me there. I do not know how I offended such a strange legend of the martial world, making her insist on putting me through such suffering... Fu'er, don't cry anymore..."

He forced a smile, then fainted, his face pale as paper.

Yu Fu was greatly alarmed. After making out the address on the note, she scooped up the fat Chang'an and ran at full speed, an utterly bizarre sight.

The constables of Danyang Prefecture, always one step too late, rushed frantically to the bloodstained scene. They saw only Ghost Shadow's corpse on the ground. The long street was empty, without even a stray dog or cat in sight. The chief constable wore an angry expression. This was already the second incident tonight. They had been busy nearly the entire night. But when he turned the corpse over and saw Ghost Shadow's face, he immediately jumped in shock. Then his expression became calm as he said, "Brothers, wrap it up. I'll buy everyone drinks another day."

Every constable began to grin, thrilled and excited.

Why was the handsome chief constable buying drinks?! Of course, to split the money.

One constable, quick-eyed and quick-tongued, said, "Boss, doesn't this person look like—like Ghost Shadow?!"

The chief constable slapped him hard across the face with a crack, sending the speaking constable spinning in place, dizzy and disoriented. Only then did he hear the chief constable roar, "Bullshit! Can you still tell what a headless corpse's face looks like?! You foul-mouthed brat—when the time comes, you'll be the one running errands to collect the reward, and Cai Run will only get half a share... Remember this lesson well! Haven't you seen how us lords make our fortunes?! Swindling and cheating—what the hell can you do... Skim some grease, you stupid pig, don't you understand? You think you're clever? You don't understand..." The handsome chief constable lectured him while savagely beating that "clever" constable, and the other constables all laughed happily.

Chang'an did not know how long he had been unconscious. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the back of the old woman who sold braised beef and shaojiu.

The old woman was not cutting meat, but herbs. Her swift blade flew like the wind, chop chop, yet there was not the slightest sound of the knife striking the chopping board. Her knife never touched the board at all. That chopping board had been used for decades, yet it did not bear even a single knife mark.

Chang'an immediately smelled a rich medicinal scent. He discovered that he was lying in an enormous bathing tub, weak and limp all over, unable to move even a finger. Only his eyeballs could turn.

The old woman's knife suddenly stopped. She said happily, "You're awake!" Her voice was kind.

Chang'an coughed several times but could not speak, as though he had a handful of sand in his throat. He could only look around with wide eyes and found himself in a kitchen. The kitchen was old, clean, and plain. Through the open doorway lay a courtyard. At its center was a vegetable patch, and beside it stood a honey locust tree.

It was dusk, the sun setting in the west.

Han Yu suddenly entered carrying a bowl of white rice porridge. Seeing Chang'an's moving eyes, her brows relaxed. She gave him a gentle smile and said, "Chang'an, drink a little porridge first to warm your stomach!" She lightly sat on the tall chair beside the bathing tub and fed Chang'an spoonful after spoonful of porridge.