Demon Calamity

After getting the information he wanted, Qin Yi forcibly arranged a simple cremation for Wang Ma amid his terrified curses and screams.

The night wind carried a faint scent of roasted flesh across the barren slope. Firelight flickered in Qin Yi's lowered eyes.

The situation was simpler than he had expected.

There were not too many entanglements—just a revenge killing after someone had lost their patron.

It had come from the Zhou Clan of Qi County.

Two years ago, his sister Ruan Su had formed a grudge with them because of him. So when she lost the Immortal Guest House's protection, the Zhou Clan immediately came knocking.

It was that simple.

Back at the ruined temple, moonlight leaked through a hole in the dome, casting a cold, pale glow over the dry grass and stone floor.

Enduring the pain, Qin Yi hopped over and removed the torch at the entrance to the passageway. Its light dragged long shadows across the damp rammed-earth walls. On his way back to the secret chamber, he also picked up the food box Wang Ma had dropped while fleeing.

The dancing flames of the grease torch lit the secret chamber. The girl was still asleep in the corner, the reddish-brown bloodstains already beginning to congeal, while a heavy smell of rust filled the air.

After confirming that nothing had changed since he had left, Qin Yi relit the torch on the wall, pulled over a chair, and sat down at the square table to eat dinner.

He must not have eaten while he had been unconscious. His body was starving now.

The food in Wang Ma's box was quite good: fragrant rice with all kinds of braised dishes, meat, a braised chicken leg, and other chicken offal. There was plenty of it. Its only flaw was that it had gone a little cold.

Candlelight cast shifting patches of brightness and shadow across his face. He set aside a portion for the unconscious girl in the corner and slowly ate as he once again considered his sister's situation.

The reason his sister had lost her patron within the Immortal Guest House was, in fact, directly related to him.

Contrary to the rumors outside, the one who liked his sister was not the master of the Immortal Guest House, but its young master. The last time he had regained consciousness, she had mentioned it to Qin Yi in passing.

Qin Yi had seen through it long ago.

His sister was beautiful. Even when they had lacked food and clothing, when her face had been yellowed and gaunt, it could not conceal her natural beauty. Much less now, when she had gradually grown into herself. On top of that, her martial prowess was extraordinary. It was only natural that a young man like the young master would be drawn to her after spending time together.

From the perspective of pure benefit, for orphans like them who had depended on each other for survival, having a local magnate like the Immortal Guest House as their backer would be an excellent springboard for whatever they wished to do in the future.

But unfortunately, that young master had an official betrothal.

No matter what world one was in, a concubine stood only one rank above a servant girl. If the principal wife became jealous, Qin Yi did not know whether the young master could protect his sister, but he certainly could not protect her foolish younger brother. So after hearing the whole story when he awoke last time, Qin Yi had directly told his sister to reject him.

Everything

had to place his survival above all else.

Now, it seemed his sister had been as obedient as ever. But he truly had not expected her to use such drastic means.

Had something unexpected happened?

The chopsticks silently spun once between his fingers. Qin Yi chewed a piece of cold braised meat, his gaze lowering slightly.

His original intention had been to keep stringing the young master along.

Because of the boundless future ahead, his sister's position within the Immortal Guest House was special. Even if she deliberately kept him hanging, they were not particularly afraid.

As long as the old master lived, the young master could only be the crown prince of the Immortal Guest House. And over the past four years, Qin Yi had already had his sister prove to that old master just how indispensable she was.

For a force in the midst of expansion, his sister was a blade any superior would favor.

Loyal, obedient, exceptionally capable, and with an absolute weakness.

So this encirclement was most likely a farce?

A farce the young master had created in a fit of rage because his sister had burned her own face?

If that was truly the case, and his sister could survive this encirclement, then based on Qin Yi's judgment of that old master, he would most likely come personally to appease her and repair their relationship.

But

could his sister really survive?

At that thought, Qin Yi's mind suddenly stalled.

And just then,

"What... what are you doing?"

The girl's voice came from the corner, somewhat hoarse, as though she had just awakened from a nightmare and had yet to fully come to her senses.

She was awake.

Picking up a piece of minced meat and a stalk of greens, then taking a mouthful of rice, Qin Yi did not turn around. He chewed carefully, swallowed, and only then softly replied,

"Eating."

"..."

The boy ate with the unhurried composure of a young master from a wealthy household, but the shadows cast by the mangled corpses scattered around him swayed eerily in the firelight.

Severed limbs projected onto the rammed earth, stretched into grotesque shapes. The rich aroma of food mingled with the stench of blood in the air. Especially that bloody head on the table—its hollow, unclosed eyes were staring in the boy's direction.

How could he possibly eat?

Su Nuo opened her mouth, then curled herself into the only clean corner and sniffed.

Compared to this boy, she almost missed those bandits from earlier.

Seeing that she said nothing, Qin Yi pointed at the chair beside him and kindly reminded her,

"I saved some food for you. Since you're awake, come eat. I've killed them all."

"..."

Su Nuo glanced once more at the bloody head on the square table and pursed her lips.

Little pervert.

Although she was hungry, she still said quietly,

"I... I'll pass."

After swallowing his last mouthful, Qin Yi hopped down from the chair, picked up the other food box, and walked over to the girl.

His worn cloth shoes stepped through the blood covering the floor, making faint sticky sounds. Stopping before her, Qin Yi showed his understanding.

"If you can't eat here, shall we go outside?"

"I'm really not hungry..."

"Eat. You still have to carry me back to town later."

"Thank you, but... huh?"

Su Nuo instinctively looked up. The expression on that childish face smeared with blood was so serious that it did not seem like a joke.

The girl pointed at herself.

"I carry you?"

"Yes."

Qin Yi nodded. "I got hurt just now. Is that not allowed?"

Su Nuo: "..."

The ruined temple containing the secret chamber was not very far from Yellow Bamboo Town, only two or three li away. But the first half of the mountain road was truly difficult to traverse.

The night was thick as ink, and insects chirped endlessly through the mountains. The moon poked halfway out from behind the clouds, coating the gravel and grass along the mountain path in a thin layer of silver-gray.

The boy on Su Nuo's back was much lighter than she had imagined. He was skinny, pitifully so. But the coarse clothes soaked through with blood clung to her back, their cold, wet, sticky touch making her feel uncomfortable.

But the girl's discomfort had nothing to do with Qin Yi. He was quite comfortable right now.

Perhaps she had been well raised in the past. The little girl's body was soft and squishy, much nicer than his sister's thin frame.

The girl did not have any spoiled young lady temperament either. Even while carrying Qin Yi, she never complained of being tired, instead chattering nonstop about all sorts of random things.

Qin Yi answered her now and then. After walking like that for about half an hour, he could vaguely see the lights of the town.

The distant lights scattered sparsely through the valley. The clamor of people in town could faintly be heard drifting intermittently over on the night wind.

Ordinary towns usually quieted down after nightfall. Working at sunrise and resting at sunset was the norm for the overwhelming majority of people in this era. But Yellow Bamboo Town occupied a rather special location.

It lay at the border between Ancient Shu and Later Tang, deep in mountains that were difficult for the authorities to control. Smugglers traveling between the two nations, human traffickers, and bandits roaming the mountain roads mostly chose to stop here. Gradually, Yellow Bamboo Town became a famous den of dissipation throughout the region.

It was called a town, yet gambling houses, brothels, and pleasure alleys were everywhere. It was even one of the distribution centers for the slave trade.

One-tenth of the silk brocades, jade and porcelain cups, spices, jade-brewed liquor, and other luxuries used daily by the nobles of Ancient Shu flowed in through this place.

A sickly prosperity.

The distant lights shimmered, reflecting a warm golden glow in Su Nuo's pupils. Her eyes widened, and her voice rose.

"Hey, hey, that place is?"

"Yellow Bamboo Town."

"Huh! I actually got kidnapped to Ancient Shu?"

The girl was somewhat surprised, but even more excited, as though she had no idea what fear was.

Hanging from her back, Qin Yi glanced at her chubby side profile. Under the moonlight, the contours of her little face were soft, full, and delicate.

Qin Yi's voice carried little inflection.

"But your accent sounds like it's from Shu too."

Su Nuo's side glance curved like a glistening crescent moon. She gave a soft hum.

"I learned it just now. Impressive, right~?"

Qin Yi ignored her demand for praise.

"Put me down."

"Aren't you hurt?"

"It's not that serious."

"Then why did you make me carry you?"

"Not serious is still injured."

Su Nuo: "..."

Qin Yi slid down from her back and slowly walked ahead, turning off the main road onto an inconspicuous forest trail.

Su Nuo secretly stuck out her tongue at Qin Yi's back, then hurried after him. The hem of her goose-yellow jacket brushed over the weeds, rustling as she walked.

She moved a few steps closer and softly reminded him,

"Hey, aren't you going to find somewhere to wash up?"

Qin Yi looked at the blood covering his body and shook his head.

"My home is right ahead."

Su Nuo seemed somewhat disappointed upon hearing that. Her steps slowed by half a beat as she gazed hopefully at the flickering lanterns and faintly visible eaves in the distant town.

"So we're not going into town?"

"Sorry. My family is poor. We can't afford a house in town."

"Uh... oh..."

Su Nuo pressed her lips together, lowered her eyes, and lightly kicked at the pebbles by the roadside. After a moment of silence, she quietly asked, "I thought about it just now. You used to be a refugee, right? I heard my father say that people who become refugees basically all die, especially little children. You... are you used to it?"

Qin Yi did not understand. "What do you mean?"

Su Nuo blinked and waved her hands about in the air. Her wide goose-yellow sleeves flapped in the night wind like a clumsy moth beating its wings. After a long while, she finally forced out a sentence.

"Eating... eating in a pile of human flesh."

"..."

Qin Yi fell silent.

The night wind poured through the mountain hollow with a rustling sound. Their footsteps fell one after the other on the muddy path. After they had walked more than ten meters, the girl behind him suddenly tugged at his sleeve and softly apologized.

"Sorry, I didn't mean—"

"You don't need to apologize. I was just thinking about how to answer you."

As he spoke,

Qin Yi turned back to look at her. The moonlight was cold, falling into his pitch-black pupils. They were so calm that Su Nuo was momentarily stunned.

"It's not that I'm used to it. I just don't care."

"Huh?"

"The dead are safer than the living."

Su Nuo froze. "Why?"

Qin Yi asked in return as though it were only natural,

"The living will come steal your food. They might even eat you outright. Would the dead?"

"Uh..."

Su Nuo instantly wilted. Her long lashes cast faint shadows in the moonlight, and for a moment, she did not know how to respond.

Qin Yi took a deep breath. The cool mountain night wind filled his lungs, and he coughed twice uncontrollably before asking,

"What does your family do?"

At those words, Su Nuo immediately perked up. A smile hooked her lips as she put both hands on her hips and gave two little snorts. The collar of her goose-yellow jacket tightened slightly as she puffed out her chest.

"You're curious? If you—"

"Forget it if you don't want to say."

Qin Yi walked around her and continued onward.

He was in no hurry. This girl was clearly missing a screw. Keeping her hanging was obviously better than indulging her.

Su Nuo stomped her foot and hurried after him.

"Hey, hey, you really aren't curious? Then I'll tell you a secret. If I hadn't been tied up, forget those two men from before—even ten more wouldn't have been a match for me."

Moving in front of Qin Yi, the girl walked backward with her hands behind her back, leaning forward. Moonlight spilled over her chubby cheeks, and her eyes curved into two crescents, filled with cunning and pride.

"Aren't you curious about my methods? Hehe~ If you beg me, this young lady will mercifully demonstrate them for you."

Qin Yi ignored her, walked around her, and continued forward. His worn straw sandals made faint rustling sounds against the damp dirt path.

The girl followed behind him, deeply dissatisfied.

"Hey, hey, what's with you?"

"Hey, don't go."

"Just beg me once, and I'll tell you."

"Once is enough! Just once!"

"Please, just beg me..."

"How about this? Point at any tree you like, and this young lady will cut it down for you..."

"..."

The chattering sounded like a lark's song. Moonlight filtered through the interlacing branches overhead, scattering patches of light like shattered silver.

Qin Yi filtered out her noise and began thinking about what lay ahead.

The girl beside him should not have been lying. She had carried him over several miles of mountain paths without flushing or panting, showing not the slightest fatigue.

Sure enough, she was the same kind of person as his sister, possessing "inhuman" traits—perhaps even more special. By her account, she seemed to know something akin to "spells"?

Otherwise, how could she have "cut" down an old tree with her bare hands?

With her temperament, she should not have been too difficult to manipulate.

A child's heart, untainted by the dust of the world, was the easiest to shape and the easiest to control.

If his sister was truly dead, she could probably become another meal ticket for him...

The girl kept chattering, while Qin Yi kept thinking about the future.

Before long, they passed the last shrub beneath the moon's glow. Pushing aside a cluster of bushes, he saw the courtyard gate at the end of the muddy path.

It was a small courtyard hidden in the woods, encircled by a man-high wooden wall. The sharpened stakes atop the wall stood unevenly, and forest pressed close on all four sides.

This was the "home" Qin Yi and his sister had built bit by bit.

When they reached the gate, the tree shade blocked most of the moonlight. After a brief hesitation, Qin Yi looked at the girl and spoke again:

"We're here. Besides me, there's also an older sis..."

His voice suddenly stopped.

Because as far as the eye could see, there was nothing.

Clear moonlight poured through layers of treetops, coating the mottled forest floor in a thin, cold silver film.

The lark-like chatter had stopped at some point. The girl who had been chirping away moments ago had vanished.

A breeze passed through, bringing a rustle.

Where was she?

Qin Yi frowned slightly and looked around.

Under the clear moonlight, night mist had somehow risen from the valley. Apart from himself, there was no trace of another person, no sound or movement.

Was this the trick the girl had mentioned?

Because he had ignored her, she wanted to scare him?

Qin Yi analyzed the possibilities, but his hands did not stop moving. He raised the hand crossbow, his knuckles tightening as his finger settled on the trigger.

When ordinary people thought, the images before their eyes and the sounds in their ears would blur and fade from memory. But Qin Yi's brain disorder allowed him to make complete backups of those memories.

His memories began to surge.

The girl's footsteps had vanished suddenly.

There had been no scream, no struggle. It was like a spark in the night, silently swallowed by darkness.

His gaze swept over both sides of the muddy path. The branches and leaves of the shrubs were dense; passing through them would surely have made considerable noise.

In other words,

...Above?

Drip...

Just as he thought that, a drop of viscous liquid fell onto the mud before him.

Once he saw what it was, Qin Yi let out a soft breath and slowly lifted his gaze.

This was a century-old tree. Moonlight leaked through gaps in its branches and leaves, casting scattered specks of light.

His gaze moved upward bit by bit.

Deep within the thick shade of the treetop, amid shadows woven from layered leaves, a huge, lanky humanoid silhouette stared down at him with scarlet eyes.

The night wind stilled.

The shadow of death began to gather in the branches above.

It hung upside down from the trunk.

Its arms were long and slender, longer than its torso. Its palms were enormous, its fingers thin and jointed like bamboo. The girl Qin Yi had been searching for was clenched in its hand.

Her head had been twisted around, hanging limply. Her limbs dangled without strength, half her face buried beneath disheveled hair. Blood wound down from the collar of her clothes, falling drop by drop before Qin Yi.

She was dead.

Before he had even learned her name.

Under Qin Yi's gaze,

The humanoid creature slowly opened its mouth. Its jaw gave off a fine series of clicking sounds, until a huge, savage curve split open across his field of vision...

Crack.

A great splash of blood fell in an instant, smashing into the mud half a foot before Qin Yi's feet. It splattered onto his ankles, bringing the familiar warmth of the girl's blood.

The humanoid creature gave Qin Yi an almost human smile...