Chapter 35: Incognito (1)

"B-But, Your Majesty, isn't it too dangerous!? I heard the group has more than 300 members!!"

"300, huh? Piece of cake. I will give them a lesson with my own hands. No need to send me an aid, I will go there with Yin Ling alone."

"U-Understood, thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty!!"

"Where did the attack take place?"

"I-It's in the Santiao Lu bypass, Lord General!"

"Very well. You may leave."

That guard immediately running to his comrades to tell what happened, leaving both of his masters behind.

"Hey, Yin Ling. Why don't we act undercover?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Our appearances are too flashy, of course those lunatics will notice our presence as asuras. Why don't we disguise ourselves as pretas?"

"That's a good idea!"

"Here's the plan. You will pretend to be a lost caravan. You will brought everything worthy inside your cart to lure them stealing from you."

"What?? Me, alone!? What about you?"

"That bypass is inside the forest, right? I will hide inside the trees and ambush them when the time is right."

"What!? That's unfair! What if I'm the one who got ambushed first!?"

"Hey. You are a martial asura. You have joined me in the battlefields for thousand years. I'm sure you can handle those weakling shits."

"Ugh! Fine..."

"Let's change our clothes."

'Snap!', Yin Ling changed his plain brown silk garment into a commoner outfit. He wore basic blue colored garment. The garment was a loosely cut robe with narrow sleeves and closed with a dark blue sash. He covered the garment with a blue coat. He wore black plain trousers. And now, he really looks like a normal young commoner.

Meanwhile Xin Suan didn't change much, he only removed his black silk outer garments, letting his plain black inner garment and black trousers exposed. He tied his hair to a high ponytail just like Yin Ling's, and covered half of his lower face with absolute black veil. He is dressing in all black, like a secret agent. He removed his earring, and saved it inside the jewelry box. By doing this, he can't communicate with Ai Lie for a while.

"Wow. You are looking different. More like... An assassin."

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. They killed my men and stole food aid that should have been sent to poor villages. Now is time for them to repay their filthy deeds."

"What a hero. This is why I admire you."

"Yuck. That's disgusting. Never said that anymore or I'll cut your tongue."

"So what? I really respect you."

"Shut up and let's choose ordinary swords, we can't use our spiritual weapons."

"Yeah."

The two went out from Ai Lie's room. Some of the servants who saw their unordinary costumes felt confused. But they didn't care and keep walking to the weaponry room at Yang Pavillion. When Yin Ling opened the door, Mr. Liu who was cleaning the glass display immediately gasped in surprised. He thought they both were intruders. Mr. Liu reached one of random sword near him, and raised it to the both of them.

"Relax, Mr. Liu. It's me, and His Majesty."

Mr. Liu immediately kneels to show his regret to them.

"Hey, Yin Ling, the glow in our eyes, we should dim it down. Our auras should remain hidden, or else they will escape."

"Alright."

"Mr. Liu, which sword that girl used?", Xin Suan's scanning every of the glass box that displays swords inside it. Mr. Liu walks to one of the them and hands over the requested sword to Xin Suan.

"Huh? You want to use that sword? Isn't it too fragile?"

"Not really. This is sharp enough. Do you remember what happened to my neck?", Xin Suan stares at the steel of the sword and sheath it back again.

"Ah. You're right."

"What about you? What do you want to use?"

"I wanna play a bit. I'm bored of using swords, I want to choose the other.", Yin Ling wandering around the room.

Ten minutes has passed, and Yin Ling's eyes still searching for the right weapon that could win his heart. He sorts out every weapon, starting from polearms, axes, bows, and spears. Watching him circle the room over and over again, taking everything he saw and putting it back, Xin Suan starts to lose his patience.

"Have you find one? You are wasting our time."

"Hmmm....."

"C'mon. Don't be like girls who are choosing dresses. All of them are the same, just pick one."

"You short tempered man! Gimme more time!"

"Huft...."

Another five minutes has passed and Yin Ling still weighing his decision. Xin Suan gets bored so he rests his feet by squatting on the floor. Even Mr. Liu who can't say a thing looking irritated by Yin Ling. His cleaning duty has to be paused because of Yin Ling childish action.

"Ah! I guess this will do!", He pulls out a thin black sword from the glass display.

'Thud!', Xin Suan that was squatting on the floor is now falling back. He couldn't believe his waiting was totally a waste of time.

"HEY FUCKER, ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND!? THAT'S A FUCKING SWORD!"

"Yeah, it is a sword. Why?"

"WHY!? YOU SAID WHY!? I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WANT TO USE THE OTHER!?"

"Oh right, I forgot. Well, I'm only good at using swords anyway."

"GRRRRRR I WILL FUCKING KILL-"

"C'mon, let's get our asses out from here!", Yin Ling offers his palm.

'SLAP!', Xin Suan accepted his offering powerfully, and gets up. Now it's time for them to complete their heroic mission.

____________

Today is exactly a week since Ai Lie lived in the Riverside Shrine. Day by day, she undergoes Xiu Zhen's ruthless training that become worse and harder. Her body stings everywhere, she is extremely exhausted but Xiu Zhen doesn't care about her.

"HOSH... HOSH... HOSH...", Ai Lie runs in the middle of the wood. When she turned her head behind, she saw Xiu Zhen is chasing her, closer and closer.

"HAAAAAAAA!!!!", Feeling nervous, Ai Lie increases the speed of her small feet.

"Don't let me touch you, Young Maiden, or I will add another round.", Xiu Zhen raised her hand forward.

"HUAAAAAAAA!!!!", Ai Lie add more energy to her feet.

'THESE ASURAS ARE CRAZY! ALL OF THEM ARE CRUEL AND EVIL! PRIESTESS MY ASS, SHE IS A DEMON!!!!!', Ai Lie cried silently.

Xiu Zhen added more challenge to this physical training session. Whenever she touched Ai Lie's back, Ai Lie had to repeat another round along with Xiu Zhen chasing her from behind. And thus, whether Ai Lie wanted it or not, she had to run without a stop. Sometimes, she took a break to vomit. But Xiu Zhen was cruel enough, she doesn't care whether Ai Lie die of exhaustion or not. Xiu Zhen only care about the fruitfulness of the ritual. What a heartless monk, no wonder she became a demon.

_____________

'Rattle Rattle Rattle', the sound of the wheels crashing the rocks on the ground from the wooden cart that Yin Ling pulled behind his back. He walked long enough, but he is all alone. The forest is somehow looking quiet and calm. From the distance, he saw fat man sitting under the big tree next to the path he walked.

"Excuse me, sir!", Yin Ling yells and waves his hand.

"*Cough Cough* Hey! Need something, kid?", that fat man voice is hoarse. It seems he has illness in his throat.

"Ahahaha... So, here it is... I was separated from my friends, and now I'm lost inside this forest. Can you show me the way to Fu Xiao city?"

"Ahem, ahem. You aren't from here are you? Where are you from, kid?"

"I came from the north. This is my first time travelling in this territory. I came here to sell my goods that I collected there."

"Ahem, ahem. Goods? What kind of goods you have?"

"There are plenty. I have jewelries, silk cloth, jades, pearls, and many more.", Yin Ling opened the cloth that was covering the cart.

"*Cough cough!*, WHAT? THOSE ARE WORTHY GOODS!!", That fat man rushingly run to check Yin Ling's items, "So you want to sell this at the capital city, kid? Wise choice, the nobles live in that place."

"Yes, sir. Can you show me the way?"

"Go straight ahead. You will reach Santiao Lu bypass. Just like its name, there will be three roads; left, middle, and right. Just pick the middle one, and follow the road. Your destination is not far from there."

"....", Yin Ling stares at that fat man's face.

"*Cough Cough!*, What? Is there something wrong with my face?"

"Nothing, sir. Ahahahaha. Thank you, sir! I owe you one!"

"No problem, kid."

"Oh right, is this area safe, sir? You know, I brought so many things here."

"Nothing to worry about!"

"Ah, thank you again!"

"May luck always be with you, kid! I hope your goods can be sold in no time!"

"Ahahaha, I hope so. See you again, sir!"

Yin Ling continued his journey. He picked the route just like what that fat man said. He reached the Santiao Lu bypass, and walked into the middle road. 'Rustle rustle!', There was something moving in the bushes. He knew it wasn't Xin Suan, but he kept moving forward without turning his head.

'One, two, three.... Around 20, huh? All of them are waiting for me.', Yin Ling glanced at those moving bushes.

'Are they stupid or they think I'm deaf? Their movements are too noisy. How could our soldiers lose to these rats?'

'Hey, Yin Ling, how are you doing?', Xin Suan connected his mind to Yin Ling.

'Good. How about you? Where are you now? There are 20 people here.'

'20? Then where are the other 280?'

'Your Majesty, be careful. I don't know where you are right now, but you might encounter the rest.'

'Don't worry about me, worry about yourself. Or should we change the plan? I'll search their hideout instead.'

'Isn't it too risky?'

'I'll be okay. You too, be careful. Call me if you ever needed a back up.'

'Yeah.'

Meanwhile Xin Suan roamed inside the forest, searching for the assassins hideout. He ran in full speed, jump on the tree to another like a ninja. Once he reached the highest tree, he climbed it up with only a few jump, and stand on the top of it. He scanned every corner of the forest. Target found. He saw a thin layer of smoke billowed to the air from very far distance. With no hesitation, he jumped forward.

"Ha! With this shits we can have saving for months!", One of the commoner sorting up the food supplies inside the cart.

"Hahahahaha! Thanks to Master Xia, we could have this all for free!! My wife and my son will definitely be proud of us!!", His comrade replied him.

"Hey!! Look at this!! This is sugar!!! Those nobles really lives in luxurious, huh!? I wonder why this shit is very expensive, even if I worked for years wouldn't be enough to buy this!!", The first man pulls out a bag full of sugar inside it.

"What the..?? There are so much inside here!! Why don't we keep some of them for ourselves!?"

"Ahahahaha you fucking smart!! I'm glad I agreed to this job!! Let's put them somewhere else, and sell them with the highest price at town!!"

'BLAR!', "UAGHHH!!"

"H-Hey!! What was that sound!?"

'GASP!', "Intruder!!", his comrade dropped one of the bag. Now the sugar is scattered on the ground.

Those commoners rushingly run to the direction where that loud voice came. They found their comrades have been sliced to pieces, their blood splattered on the ground. The dead bodies are certainly in the worst states.

"W-WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED!?", The man who sorting the fruits is still stunned.

"WE ONLY LEAVE THEM FOR THREE MINUTES AND-", 'Splat!', His comrade stops talking.

"HUH??", Just in one blink, that man saw his friend's head falling to the ground, and his thick blood spurted out from his opened neck.

That man is still stunned, his brain can't process anything that happened while he was away. His hideout is an opened area with tall strong bamboo walls surrounding it. There are one small hut to keep their loots in the middle of his hideout. He is sure that this place's security is high, his master has ordered the best fighter to protect this place. Yet in one blink, everyone laid on the ground, and the bamboo walls who were stood steadily has been cutted down.

He felt something cold and sharp touching his neck, in an instant he turned his head and their eyes met.

"W-WHO ARE YOU!? HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO MY FRIENDS!?"

"Answer my question. Where is your leader?"

"HA! YOU THINK I'M SCARED OF YOU, BRAT!?", He pulled his sword from his waist.

'Stab!', "Answer me.", That man's neck starts to bleed.

"UGH!!"

Xin Suan pressed the edge of his sword deeper to his neck.

"AGHHH!!!! OKAY OKAY! I'LL ANSWER YOU, PLEASE SPARE ME MY LIFE!! I HAVE TWO DAUGHTERS AND WIFE, I NEED TO MAKE A LIVING FOR THEM!!"

Xin Suan pulled his sword away. He throws a death glare on that thief.

'I NEED TO BUY TIME!', That man silently discussing with himself. His neck is bleeding a lot, the wound caused him a great pain.

"WHAT'S YOUR OBJECTIVE, BRAT!? YOU ARE ALSO POOR, WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US!?"

"....", Xin Suan didn't reply a word.

'UGH! BUT HOW DO I MAKE A CODE FOR A BACK UP!?'

Yet Xin Suan's killing intention makes him trembling in fear. In an instant, his plan to ask for a help disappear from his mind.

"P-PLEASE, SON, I'LL SHARE THOSE SUPPLIES FOR YOU TOO! O-OH!! THERE ARE SOME SUGARS INSIDE THAT HUT, I CAN GIVE THEM TO YOU!! TELL ME, HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED!?"

"All I need is your answer.", Xin Suan points his sword at his head,."I repeat it once again, old man, where is your leader?"

"HAHAHAHAHA!! I WILL NEVER TELL YOU!! MY MASTER IS UNBEATABLE!! BRAT LIKE YOU IS NO MATCH FOR HIM!!! SOON HE WILL CRUSH YOUR BONES TO ASHES!!!"

"Hmm... Is that so?"

'Slash!', "UARGHH!!!", That man fell to the ground.

"MY LEG!! AGHHH MY LEG!!!", He check on his wound. Xin Suan cut his calf, but he is cruel enough not to let that man's leg choped off. Half of it still stick to his knee. Somehow, that man could move his calf a bit because the bones and the muscles are still connected to each other, but everytime that man unconsciously moved his calf, his whole body suffers a terrible pain. His blood is flooding everywhere and Xin Suan purposely stepped on it.

"Y-YOU!! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!! WHO ARE YOU ACTUALLY!? WHY AREN'T YOU ON OUR SIDE!?"

"Why should you know who I am?"

"YOU... YOU MUST BE ONE OF THE IMPERIAL SOLDIER!! YOU BASTARD!! YOU ARE THE SAME AS YOUR LORD, SELFISH, CRUEL, AND GREEDY!! HE HAS ALL OF THE LUXURIES YET HE SELFISHLY KEEP THEM JUST FOR HIMSELF!! THINK ABOUT IT, YOUNG MAN, HE TURNED HIS BACK ON US, THE POOR PEOPLE!! HE DOESN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT US, ABOUT OUR POVERTY, AND ABOUT THAT FUCKING QIONG THAT CONSUMATING OUR LIVES!! YOU MUST LEAVE FROM HIS SIDE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!"

"Let me tell you a thing, old fart.", Xin Suan squats to the ground, and throws both of his eyes directly to that man, "The food supplies that we sent is for the affected and poor villages. But you idiots stole them away, and now what? You said that my lord is selfish? Who are you to talk about selfishness? You stole it for your own good, to sell them, to create more money for your own fucking family. Then what about the other poor people? You won't give a fuck about them, right?"

"SO WHAT!? THE REASON I COMMITTED TO ROB YOUR FRIENDS WAS BECAUSE MY WIFE IS SICK!! SHE IS CONTAMINATED BY THE QIONG, BUT WE ARE SO POOR, I CAN'T AFFORD PROPER FOOD, LET ALONE MEDICATION!! I HAD NO CHOICE BUT YOU FUCKER WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IT IS TO LIVE IN MONSTROSITY!! FUCK OFF AND DIE YOU LITTLE MONSTER!!", That man swings his sword to Xin Suan arm.

Xin Suan widened his eyes. His upper arm is wounded pretty deep. He stares at his wound for a while, and then he walks to the direction where the bonfire sets up. The bonfire was actually purposed to grill wild boar's meats, but Xin Suan kicked the meats away, instead, he dipped the edge of his sword inside the flame. However, his wound has been healed up in a short time, and that man realised it.

"Y-YOU ARE NO PRETA, AREN'T YOU!? YOUR REGENERATION SPEED IS ABNORMAL!!"

Xin Suan doesn't say a word. He walks closer to that man while his palm grip the hilt of the burning sword tightly. He waved the sword a few times to turn off the fire. Just by looking at it, that man knows how hot the steel of the sword is.

"WHA-WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO TO ME!? GO AWAY!!!", Because of his leg, he can't run, so he crawled away using his hands.

"Why so in rush?", Xin Suan squats in front of his face.

"P-PLEASE SHOW ME SOME MERCY!! W-WHO ARE YOU!? Y-YOU ARE AN ASURA, RIGHT!? P-PLEASE, LORD ASURA, SPARE ME MY LIFE!!"

"Right. Because after this you won't see the sun anymore, I guess it wouldn't be a big matter to tell you who I am."

"C-COULD IT BE....? Y-YOUR MAJESTY!?"

"Oh you aren't as stupid as I thought. I haven't even say anything but you already got a clue."

"Y-YOUR MAJESTY, I BEG YOU, PLEASE RELEASE ME!! IT WAS ALL MY MASTER'S IDEA!! I-I-I-I WILL TELL YOU WHERE HE IS!! HE IS STAYING IN THE HIDEOUT NEAR SANTIAO LU BYPASS WITH THE REST!!"

"Trying to satisfy me? It's too late. Everyone who opposes me should be punished, you know the rules. You asked me to spare your life yet you assassinated my soldiers. Weren't their lives precious too? They, too, had their own families that should be taken care of, yet you and your idiotic friends killed them mercilessly, blinded by the greediness."

"P-PLEASE, MY LORD, FORGIVE ME, PLEASE I BEG YOU!!", That man's eyes burst in tears. He looks so ugly when he is crying.

"Go ask forgiveness to the gods, but if only you could meet them. Hahahaha."

"UARGHHHHHH!!!", Xin Suan stabbed his right eye with burning edge of his sword. The heat and the sharpness, doubling the pain that man should bare. It was too great, it was a nightmare.

"Heheheh.", Xin Suan smirks evily behind the absolute black veil. He twirls his wrist and pulls the sword from his eye. His right eyeball sliced into pieces and fell off from his face, along with his blood.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! MY EYEEEEE!!!"

"Go to hell, filthy sinner."

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"

'Caw Caw Caw!', Some black crows fly away to the sky, disturbed by the quaver that caused by the thief's loud scream.