Chapter One (continued)

A short distance away, the Chongwu leader plucked an arrow from his quiver. Above the arrow’s metal tip was a round red ore that looked like crystal. Indeed, this was a kind of extremely solid ore capable of rendering all demons half-dead with fright. He whistled, narrowed his eyes to take aim at the Deceptive Beast, and drew back the bowstring with an unhurried hand, like teasing prey in a trap.

The Deceptive Beast gritted her teeth and finally made up her mind. She turned to jump high into the eaves.

Wen Xiao watched the demon’s departing form, her jaw slack with a weak smile. Today, in this situation, they both wanted to take flight. It hardly seemed possible, even if one of them escaped unscathed, to call this a victory.

Whiz! Beside Wen Xiao’s ear there came this sound of splitting wind. Dong! A heavy object fell to the ground. Wen Xiao’s fragile smile died on her lips. A pink-clothed form already lay still on the road.

“Fall in!” The leader called out, ready to get on with his business, reluctantly sheathing his weapon.

Wen Xiao immediately crawled to the dying demon. The beast’s body was run through with an arrow, arrowhead tearing through flesh where a strange, red smoke rose from the wound like a fast-evaporating mist of blood. Wen Xiao softly held the beast in her final moments. Something seemed lodged in her throat, trapping her breaths. The throbbing ache in Wen Xiao’s heart was even more intense.

“She has never committed any heinous crimes, why do you insist upon killing her so ruthlessly?” Eyes red, Wen Xiao glared resentfully at the Chongwu men. 

The leader snorted coldly, snapped tight the reins, and leisurely turned away. “Chongwu Camp has orders to punish demons, so this was the fulfilment of our duties. Swords have no eyes, so if people from the Demon Hunting Bureau insist on blocking the way, any wounds received have nothing to do with Chongwu Camp. We’ll take our leave.”

The Deceptive Beast’s two rabbit ears drooped weakly. She extended a finger to gently tug on Wen Xiao’s sleeve. She opened her mouth, wanting to speak but instead spat out a mouthful of blood. Big sister was okay; she won.

“You want to say something?” Wen Xiao hurried to look at her. She bowed her head to bring her ear close to her.

The beast smiled. Bloody saliva blocked her throat. Her voice husky, so weak it was nearly covered by the sound of rain, she said, “Big sister, thank you…”

Wen Xiao was panic-stricken to hear those words, misery rising in her heart. Deceptive Beasts said ‘East’ while pointing West, spoke evil and acted nice, so she’s blaming me… She should blame me.

“I’m sorry. This is my fault. I’m useless. I couldn’t save you.”

The beast shook her head. She still wanted to say something, but could no longer utter a single syllable. She could only gurgle on the blood flowing from her mouth until she finally closed her eyes.

The heavy sensation in Wen Xiao’s chest grew light and lighter. The Deceptive Beast’s body glowed with a flickering light, tiny pieces floating upward to disperse and dissipate her form into the misty rain.

The soul flies away and scatters.

Demons kill humans, humans kill demons, demons kill demons, humans kill humans, as long as those with power behaved unscrupulously, making no distinction between good and evil, regarding life as no more than grass, this world’s slaughters would never end. The Baize Goddess should be the check and balance on all this chaos, but Wen Xiao lacked the goddess’s powers. Now here was the proof. She couldn’t protect a small, powerless Deceptive Beast, let alone protect the common people. It was laughable.

Wen Xiao lifted her head to watch those rising spots of light, drifting close with the raindrops that fell into her eyes to mix with her tears.

The rolling thunder crashed overhead and the heavy rain fell in torrents over a desolate, silent street.

Only Wen Xiao remained, kneeling quietly on the ground, her arms embracing empty air.