Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 43 Unleashing a Bloodbath

All the women in the Marshal's mansion, from the first wife to the young maids, including the young masters and ladies, were gathered in the grand hall of the mansion. The hall couldn't accommodate so many women, so the gathering expanded to the entire floor. The Marshal, fearing it would create chaos, kept the reason for the large gathering a secret, leaving the young concubines bewildered and afraid they would suffer the same fate as the twelfth concubine—everyone said she had an affair with the adjutant, but who knew if it was true? The Marshal was unreasonable and prone to paranoia; if he were to target someone again, it would just be a matter of a single shot.

Soldiers were stationed both inside and outside the building, and the main gate of the commander's mansion was closed. A high-profile ghost-hunting operation was hardly a good thing, and it was best to keep quiet. Lord Gu found an opportunity to approach Wuxin and asked in a low voice, "Why is this escalating? Are you even capable of this?"

Without thinking, she whispered to him, "Look at the good job you found for me! Damn, I've never seen such a troublesome ghost!"

Lord Gu glared at him with all his might: "My future rests entirely on your shoulders, so don't you dare back down!"

Wu Xin waved his large sleeve: "Stop rambling. Talking to you would ruin my dignified appearance."

After losing interest in driving away Master Gu, he himself was somewhat troubled. He wasn't afraid of the Twelfth Concubine, but the problem was that she was hiding in the shadows, and he couldn't find a worthy opponent to fight her.

Not only had the old general failed to get rid of the twelfth concubine, but he had also lost his beloved Xiao Jiu. So, with furrowed brows, he sat in his study on the second floor, somewhat disappointed in Wuxin. However, Wuxin at least could discern the origins of ghosts, which was far superior to the other fortune tellers they had previously consulted; therefore, the old general suppressed his temper and dared not criticize Wuxin. Suddenly, he saw the adjutant's figure through the half-open door. The old general snapped his fingers. The adjutant immediately pushed the door open and entered: "Old General."

The old general asked in a low voice, "What is the mage doing?"

The adjutant walked to the large writing desk, bowed to the old marshal, and replied, "The monk won't let us near him; he's meditating alone at the top of the stairs."

The old general nodded and said nothing more, while the adjutant asked again, "Old general, should I send a few more guards to stand watch at your gate?"

The old general scoffed, "What a joke! A mere woman thinks she can control me? No need to send anyone, I'll just wait for her to come!"

The adjutant left the study and went down a small side staircase to the first floor, but was immediately stopped by the first wife. The young master of the house had an appetite and wanted some snacks; the first wife asked the adjutant to run to her room and fetch some fine sweets. The adjutant dared not disobey the first wife's order, so he took two guards and left the building, heading straight for the small courtyard where the first wife lived.

The First Madam, now old and faded, had long been out of favor with the old marshal, yet she held considerable authority in the household, keeping all the young vixens in her sights in check. In the past, the marshal's mansion was always brightly lit, filled with the laughter of adults and the shouts of children, only falling silent late at night; now, while lights still shone in each courtyard, only a few strong male servants remained to watch over the house, and the former joyful atmosphere was completely gone.

The adjutant, who often served the first wife, entered the courtyard and headed into the house with practiced ease. Heating was on in every room; lifting the cotton curtain and stepping inside, a gust of warm air greeted him. Two guards, who rarely had access to the inner quarters, squeezed in as well, but dared not enter the inner rooms, merely standing in the outer room looking around.

The adjutant pushed open the door and entered the inner room. He saw several plates of colorful foreign candies on the large dressing table beside the bed—exactly what the First Madam wanted. He went over to gather the candies from the plates into one dish, but in his haste, he accidentally spilled some under the dressing table. Bending down to pick up a few candies, he glanced up as he stood up, his gaze sweeping over the large glass mirror on the dressing table.

Clutching the candy, he froze, his eyes widening as he stared into the mirror—he had risen, and so had the person in the mirror. The person in the mirror had disheveled hair, a sinister grin on their purplish-blue face—it was none other than the Twelfth Concubine!

With a loud cry, he collapsed to the ground, the adjutant's voice abruptly cut off. The lights in the room went out instantly, and the two guards rushed to the inner room to see what was happening, but both of them tripped over each other and ended up tumbling against the door. After scrambling to their feet, they tried to push the door open, only to find it locked tight and immovable.

The lights flickered on and off, the electrical hissing and crackling. The two guards were terrified, frantically searching for their guns. Just then, a man burst in, slamming the door open with a single blow. The two guards, weeping and wailing, recognized him—it was Wuxin!

A long-armed, long-legged black shadow twitched before the dressing table in the inner room; judging by its build, it was the adjutant. Wuxin stepped forward and shoved it aside, simultaneously flicking a paper talisman at the mirror. The ghostly figure in the mirror vanished instantly, followed by a series of crisp cracking sounds. Two guards scrambled in, and they vaguely saw a crack appear in the center of the large glass mirror. The crack seemed to have a life of its own, extending in all directions until finally, with a crash, the large glass mirror shattered into pieces, scattering across the table and floor.

Wuxin picked up the paper talisman from the broken glass, unwilling to throw it away easily. Looking down at the lieutenant lying on the ground, he realized he was too late. The lieutenant had plunged a dagger into his heart, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets, a terrified expression on his face as he died.

The electric light gradually stabilized, and blood slowly flowed from the groove on the dagger, quickly forming a pool on the ground. The two guards stared in disbelief, mouths agape, while Wuxin dipped a paper talisman in the blood and bent down to place it on the adjutant's forehead. The twelfth concubine's ability to feign supernatural powers was quite remarkable, and her capacity for possession was also considerable. Once the adjutant died, he might be manipulated into a walking corpse by the twelfth concubine. Therefore, before burial at dawn, he needed to be subdued with a talisman.

The mirror shattered, indicating the ghost within was still somewhat affected by the curse. The Twelfth Concubine, possessing a soul but no physical body, could only find weaknesses to exploit in order to kill swiftly. The adjutant, fearful and timid, was exploited, and presumably his soul was taken by her during his suicide. The Twelfth Concubine's madness suggests she intended to take down her enemies from her past life; her primary enemy was the old marshal, followed by the adjutant's unwavering obedience, leading to her binding and burying him alive; the Ninth Concubine, arrogant and favored, likely had a grudge against her as well. The Ninth Concubine and the adjutant have already met violent ends; who will be next?

Wuxin was somewhat bewildered, not expecting a mere brat to be so troublesome. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he asked one of the guards, "Whose house is this?"

The guard replied in a tearful voice, "Yes, it's the First Madam's bedroom!"

Wu Xin immediately turned and walked out. He thought the adjutant might have been a scapegoat for the first wife. If the twelfth concubine had come after the adjutant, he would have been aware of it from inside the building; if the twelfth concubine had been lying in wait, how could she have known that the person coming was the adjutant? Logically speaking, the person inside should be the first wife!

Unwilling to brave the wind and snow, he hurried along, walking alone through the night towards the grand mansion ahead. Ghost possession was no easy feat; even if successful, one might not be able to move freely. Moreover, the living inherently possess a soul, and two tigers cannot share one mountain. With two souls vying for control of a single body, a single misstep could cause the ghost to be expelled. Although the Twelfth Concubine had disappeared just in time, she had suffered some damage and should no longer possess the ability to bewitch people. But if she couldn't control the living, couldn't she control the dead?

Unwilling to think of the missing remains of the twelfth concubine, he felt a headache coming on. He thought that compared to the female demon in the well of the Gu residence, the twelfth concubine was a different kind of troublesome. Fortunately, she did not have a flexible, ugly, immortal body like the female demon, otherwise it would be even more difficult to deal with.

At the building entrance, Wuxin unexpectedly encountered the old marshal and Lord Gu. The old marshal already remembered Lord Gu's name, causing Lord Gu to be flattered and beaming. Wuxin ignored Lord Gu and went directly to the old marshal, saying, "The adjutant was killed by the twelfth concubine!"

The old general shuddered and reached for his gun. Suddenly, a small figure darted out from beside him—it was the young master of the house. The young master, who had miraculously survived, was as thin as a monkey, but extremely unruly. He ran off, cursing in his high-pitched voice, saying that it was boring inside the building and he wanted his third brother to drive him out to play. The young master's status was naturally high; the old general pretended to grab him, but missed. Immediately afterward, a plump woman emerged from behind—it was the first wife.

The first wife, swaying unsteadily, reached out her hand, trying to catch the young master like a chick. The young master, who had been resting all day yesterday and only started walking at noon today, was unsteady on his feet, but now he was running incredibly fast, his little legs moving erratically without falling. Suddenly, he turned back to the first wife and cried out, only managing to utter "Mom," before seemingly unable to control himself, he plunged headfirst into the bushes by the roadside.

Wu Xin had long suspected that the young master wasn't a good runner. With his stamina, even walking was difficult; how could he have the energy to jump and make noise? Now, pointing at the first wife's retreating figure, he shouted, "Stop!"

The first wife also wanted to stop, but seeing the young master's little hand flash outside the bushes, she could clearly grab it in one go, so she couldn't help but quicken her pace, thinking that she could pull the child back immediately.

But just as she reached out, a sudden, cold pain shot through her throat. Amidst the gasps of surprise from behind, the First Madam looked ahead in confusion and saw the long-absent Twelfth Concubine.

The twelfth concubine was dressed in a silk dress that cinched her waist and accentuated her buttocks, still in the lewd manner that she disliked the most. However, her long hair was messy, her body was covered with a layer of damp dirt, and her lower lip drooped loosely, revealing a row of white teeth, but one corner of her mouth had been torn open.

The first wife was confused, because she remembered that the number one vixen in the family had been buried alive by the old marshal. Looking down in bewilderment, she saw a mutilated hand. The back of the hand and fingers bore knife wounds; the flesh was torn open and frozen, revealing the white bones beneath. The intact index and middle fingers were stuck in her own throat, bent and hooked between the flesh and the trachea.

Suddenly, her fingers yanked outwards, and the twelfth concubine ripped a bloody hole into the First Madam's throat. The plump body collapsed, and the twelfth concubine dodged backwards, disappearing into the darkness.

The old general and Lord Gu were both dumbfounded, standing there like statues, one tall and one short. Only Wuxin lifted his monk's robe and ran after them.

(End of this chapter)