Chapter Sixteen: The Roar of the Camp

Faced with such a golden opportunity, how could Six-Ugly possibly let it slip by?

In a flash, it leapt forth. The apprentice, only a layman with some crude martial training, noticed nothing amiss. Amidst a cold glint of steel, blood erupted from his chest, a gaping hole torn through it. A single claw gripped a still-beating heart, passing straight through him.

The apprentice clutched his chest but could not utter a sound. He collapsed with a thud, twitched a few times, and died on the spot.

As the corpse hit the ground, blood pouring in streams from the gaping wound, Six-Ugly felt a twinge of discomfort in its heart as it held the heart in its claw. Quickly, it turned aside to draw a few deep breaths, slowly calming down. Scenes of killing flickered vividly in its memory, but never had there been such a direct and bloody slaughter as this.

Time was pressing. Six-Ugly hurried to the chest that Yang Wen had previously opened. With a twist and a yank, it broke the lock and flung the lid open. As expected, the scent of demon cores wafted from a wooden box inside, along with a variety of pills and other items.

Lifting the lid, it found the box filled with saltpeter. Reaching in, it retrieved a shriveled demon core, its outer shell stripped away to reveal a yellow-white nucleus. Counting them, there were seven in total. Six-Ugly swept them all into its gourd, immediately refining them into elixirs.

Now, the final problem lay before Six-Ugly: how to escape this camp, which was rife with cunning devices and deadly traps?

Succeed, and it would flee to freedom. Fail, and its bones would be scattered to the winds.

Yet—

Gazing at the cooling corpse before it, Six-Ugly’s face suddenly twisted into a meaningful, almost sinister, grin.

When Kan Gan received the precise news, half a stick of incense had already burned since the incident. The raucous clamor of beasts had roused him; not knowing the cause, he immediately dispatched men to investigate. Soon, someone returned to report:

“Centurion, the three sections of the city wall are all secure. From what I heard, the noise seems to have come from the demon cages.”

“The demon cages?” Kan Gan’s heart flared with anger. Gritting his teeth, he growled, “Those wretches! Trouble breaks out in the demon cages and they do not come to report it? I will have them punished for their negligence! Pass my orders—aside from those on night watch atop the walls, the rest are to arm themselves with spears, halberds, bows, and crossbows, and come with me to restore order!”

“Yes, sir…”

“Wait—” As his attendant turned to leave, Kan Gan hesitated and called him back, “No, have them take the large shields and lassos instead, with swords at their sides. Make sure the squad leaders understand: if there’s any mishap, capturing alive is the priority—do not inflict mortal wounds!”

“Yes, sir!”

The disturbance in camp had already roused the elite soldiers, who, without waiting to be summoned, donned their armor and gear. At the command, they quickly exchanged their weapons for shields and lassos. By now, the demon cages had fallen eerily silent. Perplexed, Kan Gan did not wait for full preparations and immediately led his men out.

In a matter of moments, they arrived at the entrance to the outer wall of the demon cages. From a distance, everything within seemed normal. The many demon beasts lay quietly in their cages, not a hint of disturbance—except that the sentries atop the wall were nowhere to be seen. One of the less bright soldiers chuckled, “Lazy scoundrels, slacking off again…”

“Quiet! Something is wrong!” Kan Gan’s unease grew, and he barked, “All of you, on your guard—!”

The men were startled, quickly raising their shields and lassos. But at that very instant, several black shadows shot out from all around, darting into the group with lightning speed. In a flash of cold steel, two men were flung high into the air and crashed down heavily, blood gushing from their throats, which had been bitten clean through!

The assembly scattered in panic. Only then did the two black shadows land—originally the two leopard demons imprisoned in the cages, now free of their shackles, exuding murderous intent. Their eyes glared at everyone with a ferocity reminiscent of demons, horrifying to behold.

The soldiers’ legs turned to jelly; even Kan Gan’s face twisted in terror.

Though two demon beasts were formidable opponents, the Tianju Trading Guild had faced worse and would not have quailed so quickly—what truly terrified them was the uncertainty of how many more demon beasts had escaped. If there were more, disaster was inevitable!

As if to confirm their fears, just as the leopard demons stood firm, a thunderous roar erupted nearby. A massive ape demon appeared, pounding its chest and shaking the heavens with its might.

“Form up!” Facing such powerful foes, only Kan Gan managed to retain a semblance of composure. He shouted, “Stand firm as a mountain! Stand firm as a mountain!”

Run, and death is certain; fight, and there may be a sliver of hope—this he knew all too well.

“Stand firm as a mountain!” Long-trained instincts took over; the elite soldiers rallied and, regaining some courage, began to form up around Kan Gan, raising their shields.

But the demon beasts would not grant them such a chance.

With a deafening roar, the three shape-shifting demons leapt high and pounced into the crowd. The ape demon, massive as Mount Tai, crashed down upon the shield wall just as it was raised.

With a thunderous crash, the hastily formed ranks were sent flying, their formation utterly shattered.

Kan Gan, caught in the middle, barely avoided being crushed; as he staggered aside, a small, dark figure appeared before him, cold steel flashing toward his head. Though the move was unremarkable, its speed and timing left Kan Gan with no room to dodge.

It was Six-Ugly, who had hidden atop the ape demon’s back to launch a surprise attack.

Off-balance and unable to evade, Kan Gan could only grit his teeth and raise his sword in defense. With a clang, his sword snapped in two, and the oncoming blade did not slow, cleaving his skull open. Kan Gan screamed, brain and blood splattering, dying on the spot.

How could an ordinary martial artist withstand the power of a demon at the Core-Forming stage?

With Kan Gan, a master of arms, slain by the demon, the last bit of resolve in the soldiers’ hearts vanished. With three raging demon beasts before them, panic took hold. Someone—no one knew who—bolted, and in a heartbeat, the group scattered, fleeing mindlessly into the camp.

The three demon beasts rampaged after them, hunting and killing at will. Six-Ugly, meanwhile, reflected on its recent clash with Kan Gan, pondering the differences between demons and humans, then returned to the demon cages to free the other beasts.

Time had been tight before, so Six-Ugly had first released only the shape-shifting demons, removing their shackles. As it expected, though the demon beasts usually harbored mutual animosity, when faced with human hunters, they became strikingly united. Seeing Six-Ugly slay a sentry and swear an oath, they pledged themselves in hopes of rescue, forging a temporary alliance against the soldiers.

Though transformation was important, nothing took precedence over dealing with humans—not just out of firsthand experience of the cruelty of mankind, but because hatred for humans ran bone-deep within demons and could never be resolved…

Humans are human; demons will forever be monsters.

…

With the demon beasts unleashed, chaos consumed the camp. In an instant, countless beasts rampaged throughout, devouring corpses and dried meat in a frenzy, then, filled with rage, hunted for humans to vent their fury on.

The last to be released by Six-Ugly was the gravely wounded weasel demon. In such dire circumstances, this demon lowered its pride. As Six-Ugly approached to unlock its shackles, the weasel spoke first: “Good monkey, what is your name? Do you have a lair?”

“Lair master, I have none—just a drifter in the outer mountains,” Six-Ugly replied, removing the shackles. ‘Lair master’ was a title for great demons, but Six-Ugly paid it no mind and flattered the weasel, “I haven’t even taken human form yet; what king would want me?”

The camp was destroyed, but humans remained. Freeing this little demon was to forestall future trouble. With its current strength, Six-Ugly could not annihilate the human party that had gone out, but if this weasel could go warn the inner mountain demons, things would be different…

“No matter! For the feat you have accomplished today, follow me tomorrow and I will take you to meet my king. Spend some time in the lair and transformation will be within reach,” the weasel offered, having witnessed Six-Ugly’s prowess and eager to win it over. “To tell you the truth, I am not a demon of the outer mountains at all, but one from the inner mountains, captured by these villainous humans.”

“Oh?” Six-Ugly kept working, envy on its face. “So the lair master hails from the inner mountains—may I ask, under which king?”

“I’ll tell you, though it may frighten you. I serve under Lord Dai of Bone Peak’s Chipstone Lair, one of the Thirteen Whirlwinds,” the weasel boasted. “Whirlwind is my uncle. Even if you haven’t yet taken human form, with my help, it’s just a matter of a few years.”

“If the lair master is willing to lift me up, I will be forever grateful and henceforth follow only your lead…” Six-Ugly, seeing the shackles nearly off, slowed its hands to keep the weasel’s attention, and added, “Ah! I nearly forgot—today, several dozen men went deep into the mountains. Could it be our Bone Peak they’re after? What should we do?”

Prompted by Six-Ugly, the weasel broke out in a cold sweat. It had firsthand experience with the bald monks’ sorcery and knew their power, so it grew anxious. “This is bad—an important matter I almost forgot! But no matter. I can ride the whirlwind and return at once to report to my lord. Hurry with those shackles!”

“Bear with it, lair master. The iron spikes will be out in a moment…”

“Aaargh—!”

With a scream, the iron spikes were wrenched from the weasel demon’s chest and abdomen. Blood spurted forth, and it collapsed. Six-Ugly quickly caught it, offering two chunks of half-dried meat prepared in advance. The weasel devoured them ravenously and regained some strength.

Barely recovered, the weasel wasted no time. Before leaving, it instructed, “There’s no time to lose—I’ll go report at once. When you’re free, come seek me in the inner mountains. If you run into trouble, just use my name.”

With that, a sudden gust of wind arose and carried the weasel three or five yards into the air, sweeping it off into the mountains.

Once the weasel had gone, Six-Ugly went to release the rabbit demon. After a few steps, it remembered something and grumbled, “The fellow told me to use its name, but never said what it was… Damn, a demon is always a demon!”

The rabbit demon’s cell was simple, needing only the lock to be opened. After two days of recovery, though still unable to take human form, the rabbit could at least walk. It emerged from the cage, seeking no revenge against humans, only eager to escape. At the threshold, it was more genuine than the weasel: “I am Bai Lingqiu of Green Lawn Meadow. If you find yourself with nowhere to hide when you escape, come seek me.”

“I, your humble servant, bid the lair master farewell.”

With both demons gone, Six-Ugly surveyed the surroundings. Seeing no more demon beasts and hearing the sounds of slaughter and screams at the city wall had ceased, it hurried there. Nearing the wall, it found only chaos and carnage—blood and severed limbs everywhere. The demon beasts had eaten only the choicest parts of the humans, tearing innards and heads to pieces, scattering them across the ground.

Many demon beasts had fallen, pierced by crossbow bolts; the soldiers, knowing flight was futile, had fought desperately atop the wall, using Eight-Ox Crossbows to kill dozens of demon beasts. Many were left barely alive.

Thus, Six-Ugly gained five more demon cores and dozens of corpses for its demon-refining gourd. One of the two leopard demons fell here as well, becoming a new source of strength for Six-Ugly. As for the human corpses, apologies—they could be stored in the gourd’s realm, but served no use in refining, and most had already been torn and devoured. Six-Ugly didn’t bother to collect the remains.

Having secured the most important demon cores, Six-Ugly returned to the main tents, gathering a great deal of silver, weapons, and stores of grain. Its gourd-realm was spacious enough, so it took everything for future needs.

To its surprise, the Tianju Trading Guild’s granary held a wealth of seasonings—salt, plums, sugar, wine, vinegar, and even some dogwood berries. With effort, it could now prepare dishes with some flavor.

When all was packed away, Six-Ugly climbed to the top of the wall, collected the six Eight-Ox Crossbows and their bolts, and grabbed a hand crossbow for good measure. Not looking back, it dashed from the camp, speeding deep into Plum Mountain.

“A Longing for Home—On the Road to the Imperial Exam”

The fine rain falls long, a paper fan flourishes,
Shuttered windows in a narrow alley lightly closed,
You glance back, face half concealed.
The song is brief; the red dust grinds on,
A book chest, a white robe, the road ahead is hard,
I put away my flute and sigh once more.