Chapter 32: The Spirit Fish Enters the Dream (2)
In the dead of night, a scream pierced the air from the back mountain, a sound so harrowing it seemed to split the heavens. It was a cry of unimaginable torment.
Following this scream, there were sounds of what seemed to be a beast gnawing and the rough, ragged breaths of exertion.
In the stillness of the night, it was truly horrifying.
If it were merely a case of a beast attacking mortals, it could be dismissed, but starting from the afternoon, people within the mountain estate had been disappearing one after another.
Mu Tingting, who was recuperating from injuries, suddenly vanished. Gong Yuanzhi had been searching for her all day but had yet to return. Two cooks from the kitchen had also disappeared, along with three beautiful maidservants. All of them were missing without a trace.
Lights began to flicker on throughout Fuyu Mountain Mansion.
Lantern bearers streamed out, searching for the source of the noise.
Yan Yi had heard the commotion and speculated that it was likely the shadow puppet created by Bai Chunsheng that had caused the disturbance.
Yesterday, Yan Yi had immediately recognized that the puppet had some degree of awareness and was extremely violent, a true demon.
However, since the puppet originated from Bai Chunsheng’s spell and Bai Chunsheng only intended to create a scare for the people, it was not supposed to result in a massacre or cause unnecessary trouble. He had even ensured that the puppet was within the capability of Fuyu Mountain’s people to handle.
Bai Chunsheng had mentioned that with Xu Suifeng’s inefficient handling, it might take several days for them to realize a shadow puppet had infiltrated their midst.
More critically, though the puppet’s consciousness was chaotic, it should still have exhibited some of Bai Chunsheng’s temperament—minor quirks but fundamentally reasonable. It should not have been inclined to murder.
Had someone provoked the shadow puppet with human blood?
Yan Yi did not light a lamp. Following Bai Chunsheng’s earlier attempt to secretly observe him, Yan Yi approached Bai Chunsheng’s bed.
Instead of the beautiful figure he expected, there was a milky-white duck curled up in the bedding.
The little duckling, with its soft and fluffy feathers, was undisturbed by the commotion outside. It was still sound asleep.
For some reason, Yan Yi felt a sigh forming.
He opened the door to find the night deeply dark, with a crimson moon hanging on the horizon, staring back at him like an eye.
—
Mu Tingting felt as though she was trapped in a nightmare from half a month ago, facing Xu Suifeng. Xu Suifeng’s palm struck, shattering her heart with the force of the blow.
She gasped for breath, blood continuously pouring from her throat. The pain dragged her back to reality, feeling like she was plummeting.
Gong Yuanzhi and Mu Changzhou were battling the monster, Gong Yuan’s voice drifting from a distant horizon: “Cousin, hold on!”
The stench of the monster’s claws was close, and Mu Tingting’s heart pounded so rapidly it felt as if it would burst her eardrums. But the monster moved too quickly; she had no time to react or escape.
A flash of silver appeared, and an unfamiliar, otherworldly creature leaped in to intercept the monster’s attack. This creature had a slightly cool, extremely pale skin, resembling the moonlight of July. Its face was flat, with features arranged neatly, but its non-human appearance was unmistakable. When it saw Mu Tingting, it grinned, revealing teeth like scales, furthering its inhuman look.
This creature saved her twice but seemed unable to speak.
It held another person in its arms, dressed in a light green Daoist robe, who looked like Su Xiaojing. Su Xiaojing was pale, with blood seeping from his abdomen, indicating severe injuries. His eyes were half-closed, appearing both conscious and semi-conscious.
The creature placed them down and resumed fighting the monsters in the forest.
Mu Tingting opened her eyes again to a scene of horror. The two maidservants she had seen earlier were now reduced to mere halves, devoured by the monster. The remaining two cooks and maidservants were nowhere to be seen, likely having been completely consumed.
Her anger was immense, but she was powerless, unable to grip her sword or even stand.
In the forest, the monster was entirely black, with only its cheeks glowing red. It had four horns and eight arms, each ending in sharp claws. Gong Yuanzhi and Mu Changzhou were already injured, their swords bearing noticeable dents and damage.
Gong Yuan, despite the dire situation, could not resist mocking Mu Changzhou: “If I die with you, it would be the ultimate bad luck!”
Mu Changzhou replied, “Heh, shut up!”
Both were nearing their limits. With the addition of the shadow puppet to the fray, the pressure on them lessened somewhat.
Gong Yuanzhi glanced at the shadow puppet and muttered, “This too is a demon?”
“Listen closely, the little joke from Yusheng Sect,” Mu Changzhou said, unable to tolerate his ignorance, and corrected him, “It’s not demonic energy, it’s a demon.”
He looked at the four-armed, eight-legged creature and couldn’t help but say, “I never expected there would really be a demon here. I thought the Daoists from Yusheng Sect were ignorant and would mistake anything beyond their imagination as a demon.”
Gong Yuanzhi said, “What are you still doing, playing word games at a time like this?”
Mu Changzhou showed no sign of remorse on his face. “Sorry, it’s a habit.”
Moreover, the shadow puppet demon did not improve the situation much. Bai Chunsheng had already anticipated that cultivators from the mortal realm were far inferior to the profound techniques of the higher worlds. Fearing that these few would not be able to handle the shadow puppet demon and waste his time, he had only set up a decoy.
Today’s events had a bit to do with the shadow puppet demon. Being newly born and having never fed, it sneaked into the kitchen to steal chicken blood. The frightened kitchen staff, who had never seen such a creature before, were terrified and ran straight to the back mountain.
The shadow puppet demon, with its unclear and muddled mind, thought vaguely about the ancient history of the mortal realm, wondering if one or two demons had been sealed in this Fuyu Mountain by cultivators from theShattered Stone Mortal Realm after Yan Jingqiu destroyed the Demon Realm. It seemed quite possible.
The two kitchen staff might have triggered some restrictions while running around the back mountain, thus releasing this demon.
Then, Mu Tingting, who was supposed to rest in the western wing, was kidnapped by the demon. Bai Chunsheng had been thinking only about the top-grade Fire Spirit Stone in Mu Tingting’s possession when he created the shadow puppet demon. This obsession was misunderstood by the demon as an order to protect Mu Tingting, resulting in the demon saving her many times at the cost of its own life.
Now, it had reached the limit of its curse techniques. Finally, when it once again grappled with the demon, it let out a “bang” as it emerged from the shadows, merging back into the darkness.
This sudden change caught everyone off guard, and the demon was overjoyed. It raised its sharp claws and with one swipe, broke Gong Yuanzhi’s already heavily burdened sword.
Gong Yuanzhi was knocked back several meters, and the feeling of his broken spirit sword was quite unpleasant. He coughed up a large mouthful of blood and could no longer stand up.
Mu Changzhou had long considered retreating, but the relentless demon provided no opportunity to escape. Seeing Gong Yuanzhi seriously injured, he regretted ever coming here. What was he even doing?
Fearful of meeting the same fate as Gong Yuan, Mu Changzhou continued to retreat, but the demon pursued him relentlessly. Meanwhile, Mu Tingting, having managed to regain some strength, picked up her sword and charged forward with determination.
If she did not act soon, Mu Changzhou would be pushed back to Gong Yuan’s position, and the demon would likely devour the incapacitated Gong Yuan. Mu Tingting could not bear to watch her cousin be abandoned to such a fate, especially after she had inadvertently brought him into this peril.
Despite her determination, Mu Tingting was gravely injured, and her attacks had little effect. In her panic, she left several openings in her defense.
Oh no! Just as she thought it was all over, the demon’s claws closed around her neck.
Mu Changzhou seized the opportunity, grabbing the unconscious Su Xiaojing and fleeing.
Mu Tingting felt the suffocating pain constricting her thoughts, believing her end was near.
The imagined death did not come as expected. Warm liquid splattered onto her face, and the demon’s claws suddenly relaxed as they lost their source of power. In the moment the demon collapsed, it instantly seemed to dissolve into a pool of blood and flesh, completely unrecognizable from its previous form.
“It’s too noisy,” someone said.
Mu Tingting fell to the ground, covering her chest as she had at the beginning, struggling to breathe. The demon’s blood dripped down her hair, streaming one strand at a time, and the blood clouded her vision.
Yet, she still forced herself to open her eyes. The world before her was a blur of red, and she couldn’t make out the figure or form of the person before her.
She could vaguely see a young man holding a wooden sword.
He chuckled softly, “I didn’t expect to guess it wrong.”
Yan Yi thought it was the shadow puppet demon created by Bai Chunsheng that was responsible for this.
Fearing that little duck spirit might wake up the next day and learn that he had indirectly committed a murder, and be saddened by it, Yan Yi had come hurriedly.
It turned out it wasn’t him, so he couldn’t take any credit.
How disappointing.
Author’s Note: Bai Chunsheng is currently sleeping.
Chirp chirp!
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
