Night Raid

Under the moonlight, the empty street lay crouched in the darkness like a dead giant python.

Li Xuan stood where he was, staring in the direction that thing had vanished. For a long time, he did not move.

Shi Yong came back, his face ashen. "We can't catch it. That thing ran faster than a horse. It vanished in the blink of an eye."

Su Ying climbed up from the ground, clutching her hammer. Her voice trembled. "Senior Brother Li, what did that thing mean just now...? What mark?"

Li Xuan did not answer.

He turned and walked back into the house. Crouching where he had been sitting, he dipped a finger into the black, sticky liquid that had splashed down when that thing was struck by his blade aura.

The liquid was icy cold, carrying a decayed stench.

He brought his finger to his nose.

There was no smell.

Yet the Blood Fiend Gang Qi inside him stirred on its own, as if it had encountered something familiar.

"It's the same as in the mine." Li Xuan rose and looked at Shi Yong. "The aura on that Shadow and the aura from the shaman's dried corpse when it opened its eyes in the mine should come from the same source."

Shi Yong's expression grew even uglier. "You mean... that thing came out of the mine? But didn't the mine collapse?"

"It didn't come out," Li Xuan said. "It had always been outside."

He walked to the window and looked at the shattered lattice.

"Gurqin was sealed for thirty years. In all that time, he couldn't possibly have done nothing. These Shadows may be the Remnant Souls of his subordinates, the 'eyes' he sent out, or perhaps..." He paused. "Things he raised."

Su Ying asked softly, "Raised? What did he feed them?"

Li Xuan glanced at her but did not answer.

But Su Ying figured it out herself, and her face turned deathly pale.

The missing people.

Those townsfolk who had vanished without a trace, neither living nor dead.

"You mean... those people were all..." She could not finish.

Shi Yong slammed a fist into the wall, cracking it in several places. "Damn it! Did we come too late? Are they all dead?"

"Not necessarily," Li Xuan said. "That thing was wounded by me just now, but when it fled, it didn't run out of town. It ran deeper into the town instead. That means its lair may be here."

Shi Yong's eyes lit up. "You mean there are still survivors?"

Li Xuan neither confirmed nor denied it.

He walked to the doorway and looked at the dark streets deep within the town.

"Dawn is almost here," he said. "That thing fears the light. Once it's daylight, we'll find its lair."

At the mao hour, the eastern sky began to pale like a fish's belly.

Li Xuan and the other two made a quick cleanup and began searching the town.

Black Stone Market was not large. Walking from east to west took no more than the time needed to burn a stick of incense. But the town had been built on a hillside, with houses following the slope, rising and falling in uneven tiers. The alleys were narrow and winding, and some places were only wide enough for one person to pass.

They set out from the town office and headed north.

They did not see a single person on the way. Every household had its doors and windows tightly shut. Occasionally, faint sounds came from inside, but no one answered when they knocked. Those who remained had been scared witless and did not dare open their doors to anyone.

As he walked, Shi Yong cursed. "These people—we came to save them, and they're still hiding."

"Don't blame them," Li Xuan said. "If you were in their place, with dozens of people disappearing over three months, and three strangers suddenly arrived, would you dare open the door?"

Shi Yong thought about it and fell silent.

When they reached the northernmost end of the town, Su Ying suddenly stopped.

"Senior Brother Li," she said, pointing ahead. "What's that?"

Li Xuan followed the direction she indicated.

At the end of the town stood a small hillock, with a dilapidated temple on top. The temple was tiny, consisting of only a single main hall. Its plaster had peeled away, its roof tiles were broken, and wild grass grew thickly around the entrance.

But what caught Li Xuan's attention was not the temple. Behind it, on the far side of the hillock, was a black fissure—a natural crack in the rock, yet also resembling an artificially excavated entrance.

Black, sticky traces marked the edges of the fissure, the same kind of liquid that had splashed down from that thing the previous night.

"We found it." Li Xuan tightened his grip on the hilt.

The three slowed their steps as they approached the ruined temple.

The temple door was ajar. Some blurry patterns had been carved into the door panels.

Li Xuan leaned closer for a look. They were Buddhist figures, but years of wind and rain had eroded their features beyond recognition.

He reached out and pushed the door open.

Creak—

The hinges let out a grating screech.

The main hall was empty. The Buddha statue had long since disappeared, leaving only a dilapidated offering table lying overturned in a corner. A thick layer of dust covered the floor, marked by a jumble of footprints.

Li Xuan crouched and examined the footprints. Some were large, some small; some were bare, while others belonged to straw sandals—

"There are survivors," he said quietly. "At least seven or eight people. They were driven inside."

Shi Yong's eyes lit up. "Where?"

Li Xuan pointed behind the temple.

The fissure was deeper than it had appeared from afar. Only after entering did they realize it was not naturally formed but had been widened by human hands. Axe and chisel marks remained on both rock walls, and some of the stones were still fresh, showing that construction had continued until recently.

The fissure sloped downward, leading underground.

Li Xuan lit a fire starter and entered first.

Shi Yong followed behind him, his heavy saber already drawn. Su Ying brought up the rear, her hammerhead dragging along the ground with a faint scraping sound.

The farther they went, the wider and deeper the fissure became.

After roughly the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the passage suddenly opened up, and they entered a natural karst cavern.

The cavern was not large, only about twenty zhang across. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, while the floor was uneven and pitted. The air was thick with a fetid stench, like rotten meat mixed with animal dung.

The light from the fire starter swept across the cavern—

Shi Yong drew a sharp breath.

A dozen or more people crouched against one side of the cavern wall.

They huddled in a corner, their clothes tattered and their hair disheveled. Some still bore wounds. At the sound, they all raised their heads in unison and looked over.

Their eyes were filled with terror.

Su Ying could not help shouting, "People! There are still survivors!"

She ran two steps forward, but Li Xuan seized her and pulled her back.

"Don't move." Li Xuan's voice was extremely low.

The firelight shone toward the other side.

Three things stood there.

They were humanoid, their entire bodies wrapped in black mist, with green light burning in their eye sockets.

They were exactly like the thing from the previous night.

All three Shadows turned their heads at once. Their green lights flared in the darkness like three pairs of ghost fires.

"Damn it." Shi Yong gritted his teeth. "Three of them."

Li Xuan released Su Ying. The Blood Wolf Saber left its sheath, and Blood Fiend Gang Qi instantly covered its blade.

When the three Shadows saw the blood-colored light on the saber, they all paused.

"Shi Yong, protect Su Ying and those people," Li Xuan said. "I'll handle these three."

"Are you crazy?" Shi Yong grew anxious. "You just broke through to Inner Qi—"

Li Xuan ignored him.

He stepped forward. The Mountain Suppressing Art circulated to its utmost, his legs rooted to the ground. Blood Fiend Gang Qi surged wildly through his body, pouring from his arms into the saber before bursting out from the blade—

A three-foot blade aura tore through the air!

The blade aura struck the Shadow at the front. The black mist exploded, and the thing let out a sharp shriek before being cleaved in two!

The remaining two pounced at him simultaneously.

Li Xuan did not retreat. The Blood Wolf Saber swept horizontally.

His second slash struck the left Shadow's shoulder. The blade bit half a foot into it, and the thing screamed as it staggered backward.

But the Shadow on the right had already pounced in front of him. The black mist condensed into a claw that raked toward Li Xuan's chest!

Li Xuan twisted aside, letting the claw pass, while throwing out his left fist.

Blood Fiend Gang Qi condensed around his fist into a layer of blood-colored protection.

His fist slammed into the thing's chest. The black mist exploded, and the Shadow was sent flying into the cavern wall.

The first Shadow, cleaved in two, had already dissolved into black smoke. The other two struggled to their feet, the green lights in their eye sockets flickering uncertainly, as if hesitating over whether to continue fighting.

Li Xuan stood with his saber in hand, staring at them.

"Come," he said.

The two exchanged a glance, then suddenly turned and ran into an even narrower fissure deeper in the cavern.

Li Xuan pursued them.

The fissure was so narrow that only one person could pass through.

He turned sideways and squeezed inside. After chasing them for more than a dozen zhang, another cavern appeared before him, larger and darker.

The two Shadows were gone.

But there was someone else in the cavern.

A man in a black robe stood with his back to Li Xuan in the center of the cavern.

Li Xuan tightened his grip on the hilt, circulating Blood Fiend Gang Qi to its utmost.

The man in black slowly turned around.

Moonlight streamed down through a crack in the cavern roof, illuminating his face—

Ghost Face.

Li Xuan would never forget that bronze mask, not even in death.

On the night Iron Wall City fell, it had been the owner of that mask who had nearly killed him with a single palm strike.

"We meet again." Ghost Face spoke, his voice hoarse as metal scraping against metal. "Li Xuan."

Li Xuan did not speak. His blade was already pointed at him.

Ghost Face smiled.

"Don't be nervous. I'm not killing you today," he said. "I'm only here to deliver a message."

"Who sent you?"

"Gurqin," Ghost Face said. "He asked me to ask you this: one month from now, on the day he emerges, will you stand with him or with the Crimson Firmament Sect?"

Li Xuan stared at him.

"You're helping him?"

"Cooperation," Ghost Face said. "We each take what we need."

Li Xuan recalled Yun Qingxuan's words: Ghost Face was not a barbarian, and the aura around him was extremely strange.

"What do you need?"

Ghost Face did not answer. He merely looked at him, his eyes deep as an ancient well beneath the bronze mask.

"You only need to answer my question," he said. "Whose side will you stand on a month from now?"

Li Xuan was silent for a breath.

"I'll stand on my own side."

Ghost Face froze for a moment, then burst into laughter. His laughter echoed through the cavern like the cry of a night owl.

"Interesting." He said, "Then I'll relay your exact words to Gurqin—that old bastard has waited three hundred years. Surely he won't mind waiting for one more answer."

He turned and walked deeper into the cavern.

Li Xuan wanted to pursue him, but the moment he moved his foot, he stopped.

Because behind Ghost Face stood a dense mass of Shadows.

At least twenty or thirty of them.

They crowded into the depths of the cavern, the green lights in their eye sockets like a sea of ghost fires.

Without turning his head, Ghost Face waved a hand.

"See you in a month, Li Xuan. I hope you'll still be alive then."

As his voice faded, all the Shadows vanished at once.

Only Li Xuan remained in the cavern.

He stood where he was, the hand gripping his saber trembling faintly.

The Wolf Soul Mark inside his body had just begun to throb violently.

While Ghost Face was speaking, the mark had seemed ready to burst out of his body.

Li Xuan drew a deep breath and sheathed his saber.

He turned and walked back along the fissure.

Outside, Shi Yong and Su Ying had already rescued the trapped people. There were more than a dozen of them, men and women, old and young. Each was skin and bones, their eyes hollow, like ghosts that had just crawled out of hell.

Su Ying's eyes were red as she fed water to a child.

When Shi Yong saw Li Xuan return, he came over. "How did it go? Did you catch them?"

Li Xuan shook his head.

Shi Yong looked at his expression and did not ask anything else.

The three led the group slowly out of the fissure.

Outside, the sun had already risen.

Sunlight shone on the ruined temple, on the wild grass, and on the faces of those who had been rescued.

Some dropped to their knees and kowtowed. Some embraced one another and wept. Others sat there blankly, as though they still had not realized they had been saved.

Li Xuan stood at the temple entrance and watched it all.

There was only one thought in his mind.

A month from now, Gurqin would break free of his seal.

And just now, he had seen Ghost Face and dozens of Shadows.

The Shadows in the Northern Territory and the seal in the mine truly belonged to one whole.

Worse still, Ghost Face and Gurqin had teamed up.

Ghost Face alone was already at the high stage of the True Qi Realm. Add in a Shaman King who had lived for at least three hundred years, plus dozens of unkillable shadows—

Could the Crimson Firmament Sect withstand this?

Shi Yong walked over and came to a stop beside him.

"What should we do with those people?"

"Bring them back to the sect," Li Xuan said. "The shadows they saw are the proof. If the Shadow Division wants to investigate, let them investigate."

Shi Yong nodded and turned away to make arrangements.

Su Ying walked over, her eyes still red, though she had stopped crying.

"Senior Brother Li," she said softly, "I saw something just now."

Li Xuan looked at her.

"In the cave, behind those shadows," Su Ying said, "there was a very bright thing, green, like a stone, floating in the air. Those shadows were circling around it, as if they were... as if they were worshiping it."

Li Xuan's pupils contracted slightly.

That was Gurqin's "eye."

Or rather, it was a portion of Gurqin's power that had leaked outside.

Just like the bone staff in the mine.

Just like the Wolf Soul Mark within his own body.

So over the past thirty years, Gurqin had constantly been seeping outward.

Using these shadows, using these "eyes," and using his power scattered across the outside, he was bit by bit eroding this land.

Black Stone Market was only the beginning.

What about other places?

How many more towns were experiencing the exact same thing?

Li Xuan clenched his fists.

"Let's go," he said. "Back to the sect."

Seven days later, the Crimson Firmament Sect.

Courtyard 7.

Li Xuan sat cross-legged on the couch, looking inward at his own body.

[Li Xuan]
[Realm: First Layer of Inner Qi Realm (Consolidated)]
[Strength: 19.2→20.5]
[Physique: 65.0→68.3]
[Agility: 3.0→3.5]
[Spirit: 6.5→7.2]
[Potential Points: 9.3]
[Technique: Blood Fiend Bone Forging Technique Third Layer (Breaklimit Level 1)]
[Technique: Mountain Suppressing Art (Mastered)]
[Special: Wolf Soul Mark (Dormant), Blood Fiend Diamond Body (Bones Gleaming with Golden Light)]

Over the past seven days, he had practiced day and night, completely refining all the Killing Intent absorbed during the battle at Black Stone Market, and his realm was thoroughly consolidated.

Yet it was still not enough.

He looked toward the wooden rack beside him.

Three things rested on the wooden rack:

A jade slip sent by the Shadow Division, containing information on Gurqin.

A piece of black stone brought back from the cavern in Black Stone Market, which was the by-product mineral surrounding that "green stone" and still retained a faint fluctuation of power.

A letter delivered by someone on behalf of Steward Liu, which contained only a single sentence:

"In three days, come see me."

Li Xuan picked up the letter and gazed at it for a long time.

Steward Liu had been in seclusion attempting to break through to the Grandmaster Realm for several months now.

Now, he suddenly wanted to see him.

Why?