The Tale Never Ends

The Triune, and me too, were all dumbfounded. None of us knew what was happening. All we heard was a whining pitch that tore through the air and the head of the Ghoul exploded like a watermelon and the impact from the blow was enough to make it careen like a gyroscope out of control before it crashed into the ground. Xie Bingyi and Old Man Chen traded incredulous looks while Shang Pei jerked his heads towards somewhere in the dark, still clasping his injured hand.

I looked towards where Shang Pei was looking to and saw a figure approaching us, his white robes growing more conspicuous in the dark as he drew nearer. It was only when he was a few stones away I realized that it was Father! Relieved smiles and joyous grins broke upon the faces of Shang Pei and his companions when they saw him! Father chuckled playfully and walked to the Wretched Ghoul and smirked, “So, not even I can stop you, you say?” But he did not wait for any answer from the fiendish monster. He grabbed at it with one hand and raised it up like an adult lifting a dwarf by the scruff of his neck.

The mouth on what remained of the horribly mutilated head of the Ghoul spat truculently, “Kill me if you will, Murong Hai! The rest of the Cult will never rest until you’re…” “The Cult is no more,” Father cut him short, “You’re the last one left.” Gesticulating fumes began rising from the skin of the rotting flesh of the Ghoul as its corpse began to smolder. Then flames burst alive and took it, devouring it so rapidly and ravenously that only ashes and blackened soot remained in the end. “And the last is no more,” Father observed dryly.

I watched with awe as Father walked to Shang Pei and reached for his injured wrist! Shang Pei grunted with pain as Father held his hand firmly, showing no signs of letting go. A tendril of green smoke formed around Shang Pei’s mangled right hand for several moments before they fluttered gently away, leaving the disfigured hand as good as new!

Shang Pei’s grunts and yelps turned into a hollow gasp and Father released his hold and patted on his friend’s shoulder with a grin. Then he turned and walked off, his back slowly vanishing into the still-falling rain of the night, leaving all of us agape with bewilderment. I leaped from my spot and chased after him. But no matter how hard I tried, Father only grew further and further from me.

For miles and miles, I pursued him and the sky was flooded with light suddenly! Good Heavens! I groaned in dismay, Time must have taken another leap! I looked far ahead of me and found Father completely missing! Come on! I cursed How many times do I have to go through this!? I continued pressing ahead, but I kept a close lookout on where I was. But I have no idea of where I was nor when was this. All I knew was I was running in an endless coppice of lush and thick red pines that stretched far out of view.

I huffed and puffed with exasperation as my pace slowed to a walk. My hand rummaged deep into my pockets for my cigarette, then I found nothing but a pulp of tobacco shreds and paper. The rain when I was still in 1976 with the Triune just now must have ruined it! I tossed the misshapen mash to the ground, frustrated, and began ambling aimlessly through the kaleidoscope of red, brown, and green.

There was hardly any need for me to be anxious nor worried about where I would go to, for Master Six would make sure that the answers appeared to me whenever I wanted them to. There was no reason it would not be the same this time.

And the answer came looking for me indeed. Here I was, sauntering lazily in the red pine woods when the loud bang of a gunshot rumbled among the trees and a flock of frightened birds scrambled into the air. I looked towards the direction where the thunderous bang had come from but I saw nothing but miles and miles of trees. I breathed hard and flew into the air, hoping that I might be able to see something from above. But to my dismay, the boughs of the pines of this verdant grove were too lush and thick for me to see anything. Defeated, I descended back to the ground and ran on foot. The gunfire sounded like it came from a short-barreled hunting rifle and whoever had fired it must be close, since the noise was sharp and loud.

I darted among the trees as quickly as I could like a prancing stag with the crunching sounds of breaking twigs and pine cones in my wake.

I shove and dove through thickets and fen until I finally saw the blurred figures of people wavering in the distance. Then I kicked and flew! But what I saw made me halted three feet over the ground like a high-speed vehicle screeching on its brakes!

Every shred of my fiber including my mind froze like ice. A band of people, all clad in peculiar outfits were pursuing a Taoist priest! The priest was carrying a sword on his back and he was cradling a bundle in his arms as he ran desperately for his life! He was bleeding on the back of his waist profusely, a red patch growing like a red blossom and more blood trickled down as he ran, leaving a trail of blood in his furrow. His pursuers roared and heckled after him, firing their weapons every now and then as their pursuit remained hot and fresh.

But that was not what made me froze. It was the pursuers. I knew all of them! Clad in old and ancient clothing and some even in Taoist robes, these were the evil fox demons I slew in Inner Mongolia!

I hovered in the air for seconds, lost in the reminiscences of my encounters in Inner Mongolia as the pursuers and the Taoist priest drifted out of sight. Then I jerked myself back to the present and I ran after them! A deep sense of foreboding twisted in my gut even though I could not yet make sense of what was happening. When I caught up again to the demons, they were drawing closer to the priest. One of the demons raised its rifle, cursing under its breath, and took aim at the back of the fleeing priest’s head. Realizing this, I did what I could. I reached to the hand holding firmly at the barrel of the rifle and yanked it hard as soon as the demon pulled its trigger. A loud bang echoed off the tall trees, but the shot missed. It missed the Taoist’s head and hit his calf instead and the priest fell forward into the ground with a loud thud. The bundle in his arms tumbled onto the soft, moist soil of the forest and a baby’s wail broke the otherwise tranquil silence around them.

A woman broke from the group of pursuers, sauntering pompously towards the wounded priest. She simpered, looking absolutely pleased with herself as she went past the priest, ignoring him completely. She wished only for the wailing toddler. But before she could go closer, a hand clutched at her ankles firmly. It was the Taoist priest. The woman let loose a short scream of fright when she felt her leg being held but when she was it was the priest with his last-ditch effort of defiance, she cruelly kicked him in the abdomen and freed herself before squatting down to lift up the baby in her arms.

I was still rooted to the spot, unable to move as a hint of recognition flashed across my dumbstruck face. This woman! The very same one who would one day try to cheat me of five yuan! So this is why my memories of this woman and her peculiar-looking jaw have been so vivid in my mind! This was what happened! I have met these people even when I was still a baby! And this woman had carried me before in her arms and this is how I remembered her strange-looking jaw!

Rage churned in me. This must be it! What Father told me before! A tall and lean Taoist priest running for his life while carrying me and the Shiyan Blade! These are the ones hunting him! These bloody pack of fox demons!

Feeling my anger inching beyond control, I thrust a hand at the Shiyan Blade hanging on the back of the Taoist priest, my fingers forming the Seal of the Sword. The sword shuddered in response to my summons like a beast eager to heed the commands of its master! But despite finishing my incantation, the Shiyan Blade refused to free itself from its scabbard!

The Taoist priest lingered near death, clinging to life at the precarious mercy of the life, the strength and the blood seeping out of him. He looked up and saw the female fox demon cradling the baby me in her arms and felt himself filled with anger that supplied him with the strength necessary for a frantic and audacious retaliation! His hand swung over his shoulder and gripped tightly the hilt of the Shiyan Blade and yanked it hard and hewed it with all his might at the female demon! But the woman easily evaded it and reciprocated with a bitter stomp on his sword hand, earning a hurting scream of pain from the priest!

Another person broke apart from the group; a baldy who delivered a kick so hard into the face of the priest that he fainted. The bald demon stooped down and unfasten the scabbard from the priest and took the Shiyan Blade for himself. He examined the Blade with interest as he asked the female demon still carrying me, “Senior Sister. Are you certain that the blasted dragon can help us in our quest for vengeance if we give it this sword and its spirit?” The female demon gave an annoyed but light kick on the baldy’s calf, “You fool! We now possess both the sword and its spirit! All we have to do is find a secluded place to hide them both and nurture him to do our bidding! He would be so powerful that not even Murong Hai or that wretched dragon can defeat him! What could have possibly possessed you that you could think of giving them both away?!”

The baldy rubbed his smooth and glabrous head and gave a silly giggle. “Of course, Senior Sister. Of course. I have been foolish.”

Good Heavens, they have always wanted me not because of my value to Father, but they want to use me against Father! What did they call me? A spirit!? Am I the Spirit of the Shiyan Blade?! But I did not delve further for now. The boiling rage in me made me ball my fists before I smash it like a hammer into the face of the female demon who yelped with both pain and surprise. The baby fell from her arms and I dove to catch it like how I would with an American football and I thrust my hand again at the Shiyan Blade with the Seal of the Sword, urging it to heed my command!