Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 7 Dissipation

In broad daylight, with no one in front and guards behind, Lord Gu was incredibly bold. With a "snap," he drew his cleaver, took two steps forward, bent down, and used the tip of the blade to pick at the large clump of hair. As he picked, he couldn't help but pick his nose and clean his ears. Ever since his experience with the female demon, he was now terrified of any woman with disheveled hair.

His hair was long, wet, and heavy, dripping wet and completely tangled. Ignoring Lord Gu's endless fuss, he simply reached out to help, lifting the head and presenting it to Lord Gu: "Take a look, does it look familiar?"

Under the sunlight, the female demon's head seemed to melt away; the tattered flesh collapsed, its shape distorted, and the wounds in her eye sockets writhed, oozing foul-smelling pus and blood. A scream erupted in the courtyard, and suddenly a large space opened up in front of Wuxin.

Lord Gu, Crescent Moon, and the guards all retreated a considerable distance. The three large black dogs tucked their tails between their legs, whimpering softly. The rooster, however, remained obedient, not flapping its wings or crowing. Wuxin lowered his head and said, "Lord Gu, you promised to thank me with ten thousand silver dollars, you won't go back on your word, will you?"

Lord Gu was so terrified he wanted to kill someone with tears in his eyes, his tongue practically tied in knots: "N-no, I won't renege on my debt!"

Wuxin nodded absentmindedly, though for some reason, he seemed a little distracted: "Alright, I doubt Lord Gu would dare. Who will go and get some firewood?"

Lord Gu immediately dispatched his guards to gather firewood. Wuxin stood up, and whether it was because he had been soaking in the cold water for too long or because his clothes were particularly dark, he looked unusually pale and even had a ghostly air about him. Turning around, he bent down and held onto the well's edge, peering down into the dark water, where he saw a small bubble burst on the surface.

He didn't move, continuing to wait. After a moment, another bubble slowly rose. He closed his eyes without a sound, sensing no strange spirits except for the well water.

Straightening up and facing the crowd, he asked, "Lord Gu, since moving into this house, has your household ever used water from this well?"

Lord Gu shook his head repeatedly: "I've never eaten it, I've never eaten it. We drink water from the sweet water well at the entrance of the alley. When we first moved in, the cook did draw a bucket of water from this well. The water was murky and had a fishy smell; it didn't look clean. But everyone says the well is in a good location, so I didn't have it filled in."

Wuxin asked again, "This house has always been peaceful, only starting to become haunted in the last two months?"

Lord Gu frowned and sighed, "If it's been haunted all this time, how could it be kept secret? Wouldn't the neighbors have known for a long time? When I bought the house, all the neighbors were living quite well; but ever since the haunting started two months ago, go and take a look. Both houses are empty. They say one family went back to their hometown in the countryside, and the other went to Tianjin."

Wuxin was utterly bewildered. Generally, for a ghost to cultivate into a malevolent spirit, it inevitably needs to devour many wronged souls. However, it's not uncommon for people to become ghosts after death, and ghosts themselves aren't particularly unusual. Newly born ghosts don't even have the ability to frighten people; they need years and years to grow powerful enough to cause trouble. It takes at least several decades to cultivate from a ghost to a malevolent spirit, and since the house wasn't haunted before, it's clear the female malevolent spirit wasn't always cruel. At least two months ago, she was probably preying on wandering ghosts and not harming anyone. But what happened in these two months that caused such a drastic change in her personality?

Just then, a guard returned carrying a large bundle of firewood. Wuxin went to arrange the firewood layer by layer, then returned to the well, picked up the female demon's head and torso, and placed them on top of the firewood, clearly about to set it on fire. The guard, observing his expression, immediately handed him a box of matches. He took the matches, but waved towards the door, saying, "Wait in the front yard, everyone. Once the fire starts, it'll stink here."

The soldiers present weren't afraid of corpses, but now wasn't the time to test their courage. Seeing Lord Gu stride out, they immediately followed. Crescent Moon, still holding the little black dog, opened her mouth to look at Wuxin, unsure what to say, so after a moment's hesitation, she also followed him out.

Wuxin followed and closed the courtyard gate. He then took off his black clothes and covered the female demon's mutilated body. The sunlight was immediately mostly blocked. Wuxin squatted back in his original position, lowered his head, and closed his eyes.

When he truly closes his eyes, his entire body is filled with eyes.

Ghosts fear sunlight and scatter upon exposure. However, since the evil spirit has taken form, although it too will inevitably perish under the sun, its body, formed from its soul, allows its soul to linger longer as long as its body remains intact. He saw that the female evil spirit now possessed only two souls and five spirits, only suffering less pain thanks to her black clothing blocking the sunlight. He raised his hand to stroke the uneven surface of her black clothes and silently spoke to her remaining soul, "Don't be afraid, I am not Duan Sanlang."

The spirit beneath the black robes trembled as it responded, "Don't hurt her... Whoever you are, don't hurt her. She died a terrible death, she has already atoneed..."

Wu Xin asked, "Is 'she' Yue Qiluo?"

The soul, like a ball of light, flickered even more intensely.

After a long while, even the black clothes could no longer block the midday sun.

Wu Xin whispered to the female demon, "Whether what you say is true or false, I can no longer keep you. Go, let your soul be scattered, let's wipe the slate clean, isn't that better?"

He then reached out and grabbed the collar, and suddenly ripped it off!

A faint scream echoed in his ears; the female demon's soul had nowhere to hide under the blazing sun. Wuxin opened his eyes, struck a match, and ignited the firewood beneath the female demon. Flames soared into the air, and Wuxin sat cross-legged amidst the thick smoke, softly saying, "I am truly the greatest good person in the world. If you live, I will accompany you; if you die, I will send you off. Although you will become a vengeful ghost after death, I will still recite a rebirth mantra for you."

Lowering his eyes and clearing his throat, Wuxin tilted his face slightly towards the sun. The dry firewood crackled and popped, while his soft chanting pierced through the stagnant black smoke, carried far, far away by the drifting soul. Just outside the door stood Yueya, Lord Gu, and his guards. Wuxin's voice was usually clear and bright, but when he chanted, it became slightly hoarse. Everyone listened quietly, hearing Wuxin recite the Rebirth Mantra so distantly, so desolately.

Before the firewood had even burned completely, the female demon's remains had vanished without a trace, not even a speck of ash remained. He carefully put on his shirt, covering the wound on his chest. The female demon had also bitten his throat hard, but thankfully the bite was low enough to be concealed by his collar for a while. The knife wound on his palm had begun to heal. He went to the well and looked down again, only to see another small, crystal-clear bubble burst.

The female demon then told him a rather unappealing little story, not very believable. However, it was somewhat interesting.

Unconcerned about his aches and pains and feeling hungry, he decided to get a good meal first and collect the money while he was at it. Turning around, he pushed open the courtyard gate and smiled at Lord Gu: "To be reduced to ashes."

Lord Gu had just unloaded the two roosters. Feeling relaxed, he walked up to Wuxin and slapped him on the shoulder with his large hand: "Finished?"

Wuxin didn't give a direct answer, only saying, "Let's eat first, and we'll talk after we've eaten!"

Lord Gu was overjoyed and returned directly to headquarters. Wuxin and Yueya got into the car, Yueya still holding the dog, not saying a word the whole way, just secretly watching Wuxin. She glanced at him once, then again, feeling inexplicably content.

It was Wuxin's first time riding in a car, and he was extremely excited. Lord Gu sat confidently in the middle of the back seat, feeling smug because Yueya kept glancing at him sideways, assuming the fairy was captivated by his handsome profile. Meanwhile, Wuxin, on the other side, was wagging his tail and being quite a nuisance. When the car arrived at the headquarters, Lord Gu and Yueya got out, but Wuxin remained in the car, fiddling with everything. Lord Gu, also hungry, angrily opened the car door and yelled, "Don't act like a country bumpkin! Get out now!" Then he turned to Yueya and said sternly, "This commander is used to being modern and can't stand bumpkins."

Crescent Moon ignored him, lowered her head, and took a step back. As soon as Commander Gu spoke, his eyes were fixed on her chest and slender waist. If he weren't a high-ranking officer, she might have scratched him.

After Wuxin had had enough of sitting in the car, the group went into the main building of the headquarters. A table had been set up inside, and food was already laid out. Wuxin conscientiously washed his hands and face, then sat down and picked up his chopsticks to eat. After wolfing down his food, he suddenly asked Lord Gu, "Do you really have to move back?"

Lord Gu was taken aback for a moment: "That house is quite nice, why don't you live there?"

Without a clear intention, he shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth and said, "I feel... that place isn't very clean."

Lord Gu's expression immediately changed: "Ah? What do you mean?"

Wu Xin put down his rice bowl: "People died tragically there over a hundred years ago."

Lord Gu stared at him, wide-eyed: "Isn't it just that thing?"

Wu Xin shook his head: "It wasn't just one person who died tragically, and it wasn't a good death, nor was it a good burial... Here's what we'll do, you eat first, and I'll tell you the details after you've finished."

Lord Gu slammed his chopsticks on the table: "After hearing what you said, my heart is clenched! What's the point of eating anymore?!"

Crescent Moon glanced silently at Wuxin, inwardly resenting his meddlesome nature—anyway, everything that needed to be done had been done, money or not was a minor matter; leaving was the most important thing. The two of them were so young; after running away, they wouldn't have to worry about finding a way to survive, would they?

(End of this chapter)