Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 44 The soul is in disarray

Wu Xin, dressed in a loose robe with wide sleeves, ran with an ethereal grace. He leaped high over a dense thicket of bushes, and Lord Gu and the old marshal saw him vanish in an instant, truly like a god, moving high and low, his whereabouts unpredictable.

Wuxin sat behind the bushes, gritting his teeth and not uttering a sound—he hadn't landed properly and had landed hard on his backside on a protruding tree stump. The stump, actually less than a child's wrist, was a small, felled tree that had poked him right in the buttocks, nearly making him faint from the pain. He could still vaguely see the back of the Twelfth Concubine ahead—reincarnation was indeed no easy feat; the Twelfth Concubine's body had been frozen for too long, and her movements were unsteady, her arms and legs unresponsive. Her bloodied right hand, however, was still active, pulling at the young master's collar and dragging him forward. The young master had lost all his previous energy; his head and limbs drooped, resignedly leaving a trail in the snow.

Unable to bear the pain, he gritted his teeth and stood up again, continuing the chase along the tracks on the ground. Lord Gu and the old marshal, caught off guard by his sudden reappearance, were both startled. After a moment of surprise, Lord Gu, though unarmed, also rushed towards the bushes; the old marshal, not to be outdone, shouted orders to his men while drawing his pistol and following Lord Gu. He wasn't there to see something new; he hadn't cared when the sorcerer tore the twelfth concubine to pieces. What he was concerned about was his youngest son!

However, he was, after all, a bit older, and dressed heavily for winter, plus he was short. Lord Gu stepped over the bushes with a single stride; the old general followed, and with a "rip," his trousers ripped open, revealing his maroon woolen trousers. Lord Gu turned around at the sound, his obsequious loyalty like that of a long-serving servant in the marshal's mansion, and immediately reached out to help the old general up. The old general tiptoed over the bushes, finding the young man surnamed Gu quite clever, even better than his long-serving adjutant.

The twelfth concubine stumbled and ran quickly, rushing forward like a ghost. Wuxin, now all flesh and bones, had dry branches and pebbles beneath the thin snow, making his feet ache. He stumbled and fell to the ground, picking up a fist-sized stone and hurling it at the twelfth concubine's back. He hadn't aimed properly, but the stone struck her squarely on the back of the head. The twelfth concubine swayed forward, continuing her hurried pace into the depths of the flowers and trees. Taking advantage of her brief pause, Wuxin took several large strides, significantly closing the distance between them. Seeing that the young master, though limp, was panting heavily, Wuxin knew he was unharmed; the evil force that had previously controlled him had dissipated, and he was now exhausted and frightened, lacking even the strength or courage to cry out.

The twelfth concubine noticed Wuxin's approach and abruptly turned to face him. She placed her hands on the young master's neck and mumbled incoherently, "If you dare come any closer, I'll kill him!"

Wuxin immediately stopped in his tracks: "You've taken the young master hostage, are you trying to blackmail the old general too?"

The twelfth concubine's lower lip swayed slightly in the wind, making it difficult for her to speak: "Yes! I want him dead!"

Wu Xin thought the old general was basically inhuman; his death was nothing to worry about. However, his life and death were related to Lord Gu's future, so he had to protect him. He put his hands in his sleeves, thinking how much better it would be if Chu Chenzi were here—with Yue Qiluo present, the chances of victory would be a perfect 100%. It was said that when one's Taoist magic reached a certain level, one could manipulate a paper talisman with unparalleled skill, hitting exactly where one pointed; but with his current abilities, even if he folded the talisman into a paper bird, he couldn't throw it very far with the wind at all.

He secretly rolled a paper talisman into a long, thin scroll, then held it between his fingers. Giving the twelfth concubine a sly smile, he unfastened his cloak and tossed it onto the snow-covered ground. Slowly rolling up his sleeves, he walked forward.

The twelfth concubine's face remained expressionless, but her tone changed: "What?"

Suddenly, Wuxin charged forward, raising his fist at her from afar. The Twelfth Concubine, who had been threatening to kill the young master, instinctively tried to dodge the incoming blows, even though she was a walking corpse and impervious to harm. Taking advantage of the situation, Wuxin grabbed the young master's collar, shouted, and swiftly lifted him up, tossing him backward without a word. The young master arced through the air before landing on the ground with a thud, like a sickly cat.

The twelfth concubine, having inexplicably lost her hostage, was so enraged that her lower lip trembled violently. Raising her two thin, withered hands, she let out a hoarse growl and lunged straight for Wuxin. Wuxin, unwilling to bite his tongue, spat out a large mouthful of saliva: "You ruthless, vicious woman, how dare you ruin my grand plans! If I don't beat you to a pulp today, I'll be unworthy of my reputation as a sorcerer!"

After cursing, he tilted his head, dodging the twelfth concubine's two claws. He then threw another punch at her face, but just as his fist was about to touch her nose, he suddenly changed his technique, stuffing a hidden paper roll into her nostril. Unexpectedly, the paper roll was too tightly rolled, and after he crumpled it into a matchstick, the twelfth concubine sensed something amiss and jerked her head, causing the paper roll to fall out. Wuxin's paper rolls were all hidden in his sleeves; while easy to retrieve, it required freeing his hands. The twelfth concubine clearly wouldn't give him a chance. She lunged forward and grabbed Wuxin, jumping stiffly upwards while simultaneously opening her mouth wide, her entire row of large white teeth falling down and biting solidly into Wuxin's scalp. Wuxin was in excruciating pain and immediately panicked, desperately throwing a punch upwards, which landed diagonally on the twelfth concubine's chin. The twelfth concubine was already a corpse, unconscious and unaware, and unafraid of his attack. Taking a few steps back with the force of the impact, the Twelfth Concubine looked up and stared directly at Wuxin. One of her chins was hit and tilted to one side on its own initiative. Thus, the Twelfth Concubine's upper and lower teeth went their separate ways and could never meet again.

The twelfth concubine realized that Wuxin was a troublesome person, and that she couldn't truly avenge herself without eliminating him. So, taking advantage of her body's still-intact state, she ruthlessly tried to kill Wuxin. No matter what Wuxin did, he couldn't find an opportunity to retrieve the paper talisman, and had no choice but to focus on fighting back. Thus, when the old general and Lord Gu arrived, they found a fierce battle raging between a man and a corpse.

The old general first helped his youngest son up from the snow. Seeing that the child was not only breathing but also sobbing softly, he was relieved. Looking at the battle situation again, he realized that Wuxin, whom he had always regarded as a banished immortal, was now not an immortal at all, but was slapping the twelfth concubine, who had come back from the dead. Lord Gu was eager to join the fight, but he was unarmed and dared not borrow a weapon from the old general; fortunately, he knew that Wuxin's life was not in danger, so he was still somewhat confident.

The old general, holding his youngest son, originally intended to watch the battle. However, seeing that the sorcerer's delicate skin was too fragile to withstand a beating, and hating the twelfth concubine for harming his son, he pushed his youngest son to Lord Gu, grabbed his pistol, and lay down. Seeing Wuxin pinning the female ghost beneath him, he reached out and fired a shot. The bullet flew close to the ground, instantly blowing half of the twelfth concubine's head off!

Ice shards instantly splattered across Wuxin's face, covering the frozen brain matter of the Twelfth Concubine. The Twelfth Concubine, already dead, naturally wouldn't hesitate to destroy her corpse. Half her head slammed upwards, attempting to push Wuxin away. Seeing that she wasn't stiff enough to be dead, the old marshal raised his hand and fired another shot. The remaining half of the Twelfth Concubine's head shattered, ice shards mixed with bone fragments and over twenty teeth flying everywhere, splattering Wuxin's face and head. Wuxin was furious, wanting nothing more than to beat the old marshal to a pulp. He was about to call him away when the Twelfth Concubine raised her bloodied neck and arched at him again. Although Wuxin knew she was frozen solid, he still didn't want to confront her directly. He rolled aside with a somersault and suddenly noticed that the Twelfth Concubine's mangled body was convulsing on the ground, her phantom soul seemingly trying to escape, but after several struggles, it remained attached to the corpse, unable to leave.

Without a thought, he wiped his face with his sleeve, leaned over, grabbed the twelfth concubine's shoulder, and gently turned her body. A rolled-up paper talisman, stained with some kind of sticky liquid, was stuck to her back.

Unexpectedly, his accidental actions, combined with the old general's accidental killing, actually subdued the twelfth concubine. He casually grabbed a handful of ice shards, melted them, and, not daring to look closely, smeared the sticky paper talisman on his palm and flatly stuck it onto the twelfth concubine.

He turned the twelfth concubine over into a prone position. The paper talisman, frozen solid by the cold wind, couldn't be peeled off or torn. Wuxin wiped his hands with snow, lowered his head, and closed his eyes. He felt that the twelfth concubine's soul had already lost its shape, and its light was growing weaker and weaker. Clearly, she couldn't withstand the power of the talisman and might not last much longer before vanishing into nothingness.

He got up, picked up his cloak, and put it on. He regained his composure and said to the old general and Lord Gu, "I have subdued the twelfth concubine. Now please leave this place. I will perform a ritual to disperse her soul and prevent future troubles."

The old general straightened up, clasped his hands together and bowed to Wuxin. He couldn't say anything else, only saying, "Impressive, impressive!" Turning his head, he saw that Lord Gu had already picked up his youngest son. He dared not linger and led Lord Gu to retreat, taking the guards who had followed with him with him.

Wuxin sat down on the ground beside the twelfth concubine's mangled body, crossed his legs, and pulled on a hood. He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and patted the stiff body in front of him, thinking, "I know you died unjustly, but you've killed several people, whether they were related or not, and you've vented most of your anger. Now that you're gone from this world, rest in peace and go to your destination!"

The talisman was specifically designed to ward off malevolent spirits, and in Wuxin's mind, the Twelfth Concubine had become a hazy, gray light. The Twelfth Concubine's voice rang out, carrying a slight melody, the kind of singing that a singer had sung for too long and could no longer correct.

"I didn't commit adultery..." she cried out pitifully, "It was the First Madam who framed me. It was the First Madam who came up with the idea, and the Ninth Concubine stirred things up in front of the Marshal... The Marshal beat me, scolded me, and cut me with a knife... I died unjustly, I didn't commit adultery..."

He silently lowered his head, seemingly lost in meditation, and answered her with his mind: "I believe you."

The voice rang out again, clear and cold, like the river water of early spring: "The adjutant harassed me, I ignored him, and when he got his chance for revenge, he personally led men to bury me alive. I didn't kill innocent people indiscriminately; they all deserved to die!"

Wu Xin asked, "Twelfth Concubine, how did Ninth Concubine die? I've thought about it again and again, but I can't figure it out."

The twelfth concubine's soul was about to fade into a shadow: "I possessed her body and only released her when you poured kerosene on her."

Wuxin chuckled in the shadow of the hood: "You made her do hard labor, to carry out your remains, and to lie down and fill your void."

The twelfth concubine said, "I knew you would dig me out, so I didn't dare disturb the ground and deliberately took a long detour to dig a hole. The ninth concubine knelt in the snow and dug the soil with her bare hands. Her skin was worn through and her bones were exposed. As she wore down her bones one by one, the marrow flowed out... She was the one who harmed me first, and she deserved her punishment. It's a pity that she only tasted the pain when her soul returned to its place."

A faint glow appeared on the horizon; dawn was approaching. Knowing that the Twelfth Concubine was about to depart, Wuxin said to her, "The world is never short of wronged souls. You are not the first, nor the last. There's nothing you can do, and nothing I can do. Now that you are leaving, I'll recite a sutra to send you off. I'm quite familiar with the Rebirth Mantra, but I'm a bit unsure about the Ksitigarbha Sutra. Which section would you like to hear?"

The twelfth concubine finally replied, "If you don't like any of these, how about a storytelling performance?"

As the words fell, the faint shadow vanished into a thin mist, and the shimmering light flashed and disappeared in all directions. Thus, the unintentional reply had no audience, only someone to hear it: "But I can't sing storytelling with drum accompaniment."

Wuxin stood up, his buttocks and thighs freezing cold. The twelfth concubine was gone, but his affairs weren't over yet. Three people had died in one night; he had to handle their funerals quickly to avoid further complications.

(End of this chapter)