Demonic Creature

Chen Erniu sprang up from the kang bed, snatched the clothes beside it, hastily pulled them on, and dragged his son toward the door as he demanded anxiously:

"What the hell happened?!"

The Chen Clan's eldest son was named Chen Sanshui. With an anxious look, he reached up to take the long saber from the wall and cried, "Father, take the saber! Take the saber, Father! I'll explain on the way!"

Chen Erniu took the long saber, wrapped it around his waist, and strode toward the village entrance.

"A village man got up in the night to patrol the fields and heard rustling among the crops, like someone was there. He thought somebody was doing that sort of thing in the fields, so he quickly crouched down to sneak a look. Instead, he saw a bloody corpse with the back of its head gone. He was so frightened he pissed himself."

Chen Sanshui spoke as he hurried after Chen Erniu.

"How did he die?"

"The back of his head was smashed in, and his brain marrow was dug out. It was a miserable sight."

At those words, Chen Erniu abruptly stopped and asked in astonishment, "Did you send someone to notify the main family?"

"Not yet..."

Chen Sanshui answered hesitantly.

"You idiot! Do you think something like this can be concealed?!"

Chen Erniu flew into a rage at once, roaring in fury at his failure to meet expectations.

"I already discussed it with that man and several households by the fields... I told them not to make it public for now. This is the first murder in years, and it happened right here in Li Chuankou. I was afraid Xu Wenshan might use it against you, Father!"

Seeing his father's eyes go red with anger, Chen Sanshui hurriedly explained.

"Idiot! The man's brain marrow was dug out!"

"This..."

Seeing the shock and fury on his father's face, Chen Sanshui froze for a moment, as though he too had finally grasped the implication.

"Can an ordinary murder involve digging out brain marrow?! Besides, Xu Wenshan and I have only been fighting for others to see. Both of us are perfectly satisfied with the arrangement. Would Xu Wenshan kick a man when he's down and harm me? If he got rid of me, he'd offend over a hundred households in Li Chuankou for nothing!"

"You brothers are each stupider than pigs. Xu Wenshan is still younger than I am. If I am gone one day, what will you use to contend with him?!"

"Father..."

The barrage of questions left Chen Sanshui deeply ashamed. He lowered his head and muttered no more.

Chen Erniu's face darkened, his heart churning with vexation. He said coldly:

"I fear a demonic creature is causing trouble. Go notify the main family yourself."

Chen Sanshui nodded hard and hurried toward Li Jing Village. As Chen Erniu watched his eldest son depart, terror and sorrow finally showed on his face. He murmured softly:

"I wonder how many pounds this demonic creature weighs. If Sanshui keeps his eyes sharp, perhaps he can still leave an heir for my Chen Clan."

Chen Erniu had personally lived through the terrible Great Drought of Li Chuankou. Still young at the time, he had been playing in front of the gate when he watched a Great Sparrow draped in crimson flames descend upon Li Chuankou. It swallowed several village men as though pecking at tiny insects, then beat its wings and departed, leaving Li Chuankou with fields that breathed scorching heat for three months.

The surviving village men ate everything edible around Li Chuankou. They drew water from the Meichi River and poured it into the fields, but it all vanished without a trace. Chen Erniu's father carried load after load of water and irrigated the fields for nine whole days, then embraced his wife, who had starved to death, and killed himself.

Chen Erniu abandoned his parents' corpses and fled to Li Jing Village with clenched teeth and tears in his eyes. He kowtowed until blood covered the ground, and only then did he finally enter the Li Clan.

At that time, every household in Li Jing Village had taken in fellow villagers who had fled there days earlier. Some tried to storm the wealthy households, only to be beaten to death by tenants who had been fellow villagers only days before. More people could only bury their heads and rush toward Great Li Mountain.

Three months later, people gradually returned. No one dared mention that day, nor did anyone dare mention how the more than one hundred people left in the village had survived. In silence, they buried the human bones licked clean. Of the nearly three hundred households and fourteen hundred people originally in Li Chuankou, only a little over three hundred remained.

Firelight flickered before him, jolting Chen Erniu awake from his memories. He pushed aside his second son, Chen Qiushui, who had come to greet him, raised his torch, and looked at the bloody corpse lying on the ground with an empty skull. Tears already streamed down his face as he gritted his teeth and asked:

"Who is this?"

"Old Ye from the village entrance."

Chen Qiushui saw the tears on his father's face and felt uneasily apprehensive. He answered in a low voice.

"Wake everyone in the village. Light bonfires and bring blades and clubs."

Chen Erniu gave the order in a low voice, only to see a village man hurrying over from in front of the village gate. The moment he saw him, he called out:

"Steward Chen, Steward Chen! The main family sent word to ask: has anything unusual happened in Li Chuankou?"

Chen Erniu froze at once. His heart jolted, and doubts welled up like a tangled thicket. He thought, How could anyone travel from Pear River to Lijing so quickly? Even if there were spies in the village who had leaked the news, a round trip could not be this fast. The main family must have learned of the death the instant it happened. They should have some means to deal with that demonic creature.

His tightly furrowed brow immediately relaxed, and Chen Erniu felt much lighter. He answered loudly:

"There may be a demonic creature causing trouble in the village! We have already sent someone to notify the main family!"

Li Xiangping silently gazed at the blue-gray Mirror Fragment on the platform. Its shattered surface seemed to have recovered slightly compared to when he had picked it up years ago, yet it still looked as though it might break apart at any moment. A faint silvery-white glow radiated from its surface, making it seem dreamlike.

"How long has that man been gone?"

"Already a quarter of an hour."

Li Tongya looked anxiously out the window, set down the Wooden Slip in his hand, and said again:

"We should go out. I fear that if those people do not see us, they may break the rules and come into the backyard."

"Let's go!"

Li Xiangping looked at Li Xuanxuan, who sat cross-legged, and spoke in a deep voice.

The moment they left the backyard, they saw Li Yesheng pacing in circles in the main courtyard like an ant on a hot pan. At the sight of Li Tongya and the other, his eyes brightened. He hurriedly said, "Someone came from Li Chuankou. They said someone had their brain marrow dug out!"

"Brain marrow dug out?"

Li Xiangping paused, then looked at Li Tongya and said:

"I'm afraid there is a demonic creature."

"Indeed."

Li Tongya nodded gravely. After pondering for several breaths, he said in a deep voice, "The demonic creature dug out the brain marrow and then retreated, so it must still fear people. Its cultivation cannot be too high; it must still be in the Fetal Breath Realm. If it were in the Qi Refining Stage, it could simply slaughter the entire village and ride the mist away."

"I'll go take a look!"

Li Xiangping pondered for several breaths, lightly furrowed his brow, and said to Li Yesheng:

"Gather the strong men of the village and bring weapons."

"Yes!"

Li Yesheng acknowledged several times and hurried away. Only after Li Yesheng had gone far did Li Tongya frown and say:

"We do not know the depth of that demonic creature. Neither of us should go."

"If I do not go today, all the prestige our Li Clan has painstakingly built among these villages will be ruined. I have no choice but to go!"

"Second Brother, stay on the mountain and guard it. I'll go investigate. You know my temperament—I will not take risks."

"Even if something happens, our Li Clan still has you. At worst, we can abandon Li Chuankou and seek aid from the sect."

With that, Li Xiangping nodded to Li Tongya, took his bow and arrows, donned his yellow-brown rattan armor, and hurried down the mountain.