Whoosh!
The torrential rain swept into pellets of water-stone in midair, smashing viciously down upon the earth.
When they struck the iron sheds and roof tiles, they boomed like thunder, blasting apart one's thoughts until they could no longer connect.
"...Or had you truly forgotten who you were, Five Declines of Heaven and Man?"
Bei Huai, the Corpse Binder, stepped forward one pace at a time, slowly arriving before the figure sprawled in the water.
A gentle smile rested at the corner of his lips. He bent his knees slightly and crouched, reaching out to stroke the back of the person's head. After a long pause amid the rainstorm, he called softly, "Xingye..."
Rumble!
Lightning ripped across the sky, illuminating the entire Crossroads Corner.
The orange figure soaking in filthy mudwater on the street had clearly lost all strength. After a violent fit of convulsions, he no longer had the power to resist.
He curled up in agony, half his face originally submerged in black mudwater. At the sound, his body stiffened, and he suddenly raised his head.
Screech!
Mudwater splashed everywhere.
Droplets scattered across Bei Huai's pale, clean face.
The corners of Bei Huai's slightly parted lips seemed to take on a trace of madness at once—a madness that was exceedingly calm.
Unhurriedly, he crushed that cracked orange Yama Mask, pinched the chin of the aged face before him, and called again:
"Or perhaps..."
"Red Robes, Shouye."
Crack—
Lightning streaked through the void again, lighting up the two faces confronting each other.
One was flawless and pure, though splattered with some mudwater. Once wiped clean with a damp cloth, it would surely once again belong to a handsome young master, elegant as jade and untouched by dust.
The other was covered in wrinkles, its eye sockets deeply sunken and