When Human Hearts Turned Ignorant and Stubborn, They Were More Frightening Than Demons and Monsters
At those words, Jiang Tingxue and Yan Qing, who had been reaching for the sweet soup, jerked their hands back in unison.
This time, the bowl in Song Wensheng's hand really did go flying.
His hand shot up in fright, sending the bowl into the air and spilling all the sweet soup.
Shen Ji caught the falling bowl in midair and set it steadily back on the table.
"S-s-s-senior Brother, is this true?"
Shen Ji looked at his still-shaken junior brother, pulled his lips into a bitter smile, and nodded.
"Why?! Do these unruly villagers have even a scrap of conscience? We came to slay demons for them, and nearly had to brave the wind for our meals and sleep beneath the open sky-that was bad enough, but now they want to poison us?!"
"Exactly, Senior Brother! What kind of justice is that?"
Looking at the two of them, angry and aggrieved, Zhu Lianqing felt a pang of sympathy.
These perfectly good young disciples had come down the mountain with pure hearts to slay demons. The demons had not killed them, but the villagers they meant to protect nearly had.
"When human hearts turn ignorant and stubborn, they're more frightening than demons and monsters."
Zhu Lianqing walked over to the two and patted their shoulders.
"Don't take it too much to heart. Just don't let their wrongdoing stop you from upholding justice."
"But they've gone too far! I'm going to confront them to their faces. Acting one way to our faces and another behind our backs-they're even more horrifying than evil spirits!"
Xie Lingchuan held the two back while they were still in the heat of their anger.
"I know everyone feels awful, but we still have to slay this demon. For now, pretend we know nothing about the sweet soup. Tonight is the full moon, so we can turn their scheme against them and see exactly what they want to do."
With Xie Lingchuan having spoken, the two who had just been brimming with righteous indignation calmed down a little.
Shen Ji nodded. "If they dared bring us this sweet soup today, they must have been driven into a corner. This village has been strange from beginning to end. Everything will become clear tonight."
"Hmph. Tonight, I'll see just what these people are plotting."
By dusk, everything needed for the cremation had been prepared in the courtyard.
Wei Mingchi's body lay on a prepared pile of dry firewood and hay, surrounded by a ring of flowers of all kinds.
Once everything was ready, Xie Lingchuan and Shen Ji removed the barrier they had previously placed over the village.
After nightfall, all of Wuxia Village was pitch-black, without a trace of light.
There was not a sound from the little courtyard where the group was staying, either.
Pallid moonlight spilled into the courtyard.
Several figures furtively pushed open the courtyard gate.
"No sound? Are they already dead?"
"Wang San's wife, are you sure you handed them the sweet soup yourself?"
"Of course I handed it to them myself. They even accepted it with smiles, without the slightest suspicion. They should have stopped breathing by now."
"Xiuzhi will be here soon. We can't have anything go wrong."
"Ah!"
Someone among them suddenly screamed, frightening the others so badly that they nearly collapsed to the ground.
"What are you screeching for with that cracked voice? Trying to scare us to death?"
"Here-the body laid out here is that boy's..."
"It's not as if you've never seen it before. Why all the fuss? If the people inside aren't quite dead and you wake them up, they all carry swords. Can you fight them?"
"Yes, yes. Keep it down, keep it down."
In the distance, wings rustled and fluttered, drawing closer and becoming clearer.
That strange fragrance drifted through the air again, much stronger than before.
They crept beneath the eaves and pushed open the door. Pallid moonlight shone into the room, and once they saw the scene inside, they all started in shock.
There was no one in the room.
"What-what's going on?"
The instant those words fell, flames lit up all around, exposing every trace of panic and terror on their faces.
The villagers looked up in disarray to see a figure in blue-green robes standing on each of the four sides of the roof, all straight-backed, each holding a sword in their right hand and a burning talisman in their left.
"Hmph! No wonder you tried to poison us. You're in league with that demon! Today, we'll show you how we catch these monsters in a single net!"
Holding a fire talisman between two fingers, Jiang Tingxue followed her eldest senior brother's lead and threw it into the center of the courtyard with his.
Flames blazed up toward the sky.
All the moth demons circling in the air followed the firelight, only to be burned to shreds like scraps of paper by the formation within the flames.
An acrid stench of burning instantly filled the air over the entire village.
"Stop! Stop right now!"
"You cultivators who call yourselves righteous! You didn't slay the demon back then, and now you've come to kill good demons! You have no conscience at all!"
One of the villagers in the courtyard suddenly howled himself hoarse.
Standing behind Xie Lingchuan, Zhu Lianqing poked her head out to look.
Sure enough, it was Liu Er.
He flailed his arms like a madman, roaring up at the eaves and shouting at the others, "Put out the fire! Hurry and put it out!"
At his shout, the villagers who had been utterly at a loss suddenly seemed to wake from a dream.
More and more villagers were drawn by the firelight. They rushed into the courtyard and tugged at the dry firewood laid beneath the body.
At the sight, A Man, who was behind Zhu Lianqing, hurried to rush over and protect Wei Mingchi's body.
Zhu Lianqing held her back. "Don't worry, miss. Young Hero Xie has already set up a formation. No matter what they do, they won't affect the body."
A Man covered her face with the back of her hand. "These fools! As if bringing harm to Mingchi wasn't enough, they won't even let his funeral proceed in peace. And they talk about good demons. I say they're all equally wicked, rotten to the bone."
"It's all right. Tonight, we'll wipe out that moth demon's nest as well and avenge Young Master Wei."
As the two spoke, the villagers running wild below scattered much of the firelight. They held up the still-burning firewood they had just pulled free, the flames lighting their faces a vivid red.
The moth demons drawn by the flames in the courtyard suddenly had their attention divided among different targets.
Xie Lingchuan knitted his brows. "Put down those torches if you don't want to die."
"Don't even think about it! Xiuzhi and the others won't hurt me... Aah!!!!"
Before he could finish, a moth fastened itself to his face. In the blink of an eye, his limbs went limp.
With their attention scattered, the moth demons in the courtyard descended into chaos.
Xie Lingchuan and Shen Ji each conjured another fire talisman, gathering the scattered flames together again.
Just as the moth demons' attention was about to be drawn back into the formation, an unexpected turn occurred.
It had rained heavily all day two days earlier, filling the water vat in the courtyard to the brim.
Amid the chaos, Liu Er tipped the whole vat of water into the center of the formation.
Then he stood inside the formation himself.
"Does he have a death wish?!"
Not daring to rashly use magic to rekindle the extinguished fire, Shen Ji could only suspend the formation.
"Senior Brother, if he wants to die so badly, let him!" Song Wensheng watched from the side, his teeth itching with anger, wishing he could rush down and give those people a beating.
Shen Ji shook his head. "Magic must not be used against mortals."
Without the formation, the courtyard instantly descended into chaos.
Seeing this, Xie Lingchuan leaped down with his sword in hand, landed in front of Liu Er, and kicked him to the ground. Then he prepared to drag him out of the formation.
But just then, an enormous moth demon descended from the sky. With a beat of its wings, a rich, heavy fragrance rushed straight at Xie Lingchuan's face.