Chapter Twenty-Two: Human Nature

The raft drifted slowly forward, a fresh breeze met his face, yet the island itself lay in desolation. All the demons had already curled up atop the stronghold walls, trembling with fear. The death of the great crocodile had been the final straw, shattering the last vestige of fighting spirit among the lesser monsters on the island. So by the time Six Ugly arrived, none dared move at all, and he was able to march straight in without resistance.

Six Ugly paid them no mind. He strode directly into the main hall of the stronghold, where the surviving crocodile demons were gathered tightly around an ancient crocodile. None of them spoke. They simply watched in silence as he entered.

The old crocodile’s rank was not high, only fifth tier, but it was terribly ancient, like a candle guttering in the wind, as though a single breath would snuff it out. Six Ugly walked to within five paces of him, then slowly raised the iron staff in his hand and pointed it down with disdainful certainty, still without a word.

The old crocodile’s face was like dead wood. Staring at Six Ugly, he suddenly gave a bitter smile and said, “We are all demons. Why should you be a slave to humans and kill your own kind to curry favor?”

Six Ugly slowly shook his head, his expression cold as ice, and brought the staff crashing down. In an instant, the old crocodile’s head burst apart like a watermelon struck open, red and white splashing across the floor.

If one comes to kill, why waste breath?

At that moment, clamorous sounds began rising outside, most of them from the lake. Six Ugly ignored them and turned his gaze to the two female demons nearby. Beside them, several tiny crocodiles not yet able to take human form were crawling at their feet, chubby little things baring their mouths at Six Ugly without fear, utterly oblivious to the terror in their mother’s heart.

A single sweep of the staff sent them all flying. They slammed into the wall and tumbled down. Whether female crocodiles or cubs, all were slain without a survivor.

Six Ugly searched through the entire stronghold. There was not much wealth here. The only things of value were weapons and armor, which could barely serve as materials for refinement. Nothing else was useful.

He gathered everything of worth. The gourd world was vast enough anyway, so there was no shortage of space.

When he came out after finishing his search, Six Ugly saw the lake near shore stained with red. Countless small demon corpses floated on the water, while Golden Eyes drifted there like a great river barge, eyes wide open as though resting. Along the shore lay countless bodies as well, all intact. It seemed the spirit essence of the eighth-tier great crocodile had filled him to the brim; he could swallow no more.

Six Ugly gave a whistle. Golden Eyes opened his eyes at once and put on a docile look, paddling over eagerly. Six Ugly merely gestured toward the corpses and said, “Take out the demon cores, cut off the heads, and wait for me to collect them.”

Golden Eyes nodded vigorously and set to work with enthusiasm.

There were no more demons left on the island. Yet looking out across the scene, Six Ugly saw that only a few of the humans imprisoned in cages had come out. A handful had stepped beyond their enclosures, timidly watching him from afar, but most still crouched there in numb bewilderment, indifferent to the possibility of freedom.

In Six Ugly’s eyes, these two kinds of people were somewhat different. Those brave enough to leave the pens were mostly thin and weak, with dark skin; some still bore the unmistakable marks of peasants or soldiers. Those who remained where they were were fair-skinned and plump, smeared with grease from head to toe.

It seemed these were the difference between people newly captured and those long fattened in captivity.

Now there were two paths before Six Ugly. After thinking for a moment, he raised his voice and said to the crowd, “All the demons here have been killed. If any of you wish to leave, feel free. A hundred li to the south is the human realm, where you will find safety enough.”

The people looked at one another, hesitation on their faces, but more of them remained numb and unresponsive.

Six Ugly gave a faint smile and repeated himself. At that moment, a girl’s timid voice suddenly came from within the crowd. “Y-you can’t send us back? There are monsters all along the road. If we leave like this, it will be a dead end for us, a dead end!”

“Yes, please, save us!”

As though the girl’s words had awakened the others, several people immediately shouted as well. Then came the kneeling: they dropped to the ground before Six Ugly, prostrating themselves and hammering their foreheads desperately against the earth, their voices breaking with pleading as they begged him for rescue.

There were nearly a hundred who knelt. Their cries rose together like thunder. The people still inside the pens, however, remained unmoved; they only shrank further back, burying their heads even deeper.

Six Ugly suddenly raised a hand in a slight gesture. The desperate cries began to fade. Some started tugging at those beside them who were still weeping. Everyone held their breath, looking over with eyes full of expectation and hope.

“Travel south and you will encounter no more demons. Go on your own. I have urgent business to the west and cannot escort you.” Six Ugly raised his voice and said, “I will remain here for another day. If any demons come, I can at least block them for you. Make your departure quickly; there is no need to worry…”

Before he had finished, an indignant voice burst from the crowd. “Easy for you to say! If we flee a hundred li like this, without food or clothing, how are we supposed to endure?” The voice suddenly rose several pitches, becoming almost hoarse with fury as its owner shouted to those around him, “He refuses to escort us. How are we supposed to find food on the road, or make our way back to the state? Is this how a soldier should behave?”

At those words, it seemed the crowd was all at once jolted awake. One after another, they began shouting, voices overlapping in a clamorous tide:

“Exactly! Since you were given orders, you are a soldier of the Great Zhou and the Great Qin. How dare you slight us, your people?”

“What a cruel thief! If you won’t escort us, why kill those monsters? If you won’t send us, then give the monsters back. At least then we wouldn’t have to worry about food and clothing…”

“Bah! You’re no human. You’re even more heartless than the demons. Once we return, we will certainly report you to the authorities and have you punished…”

“If you won’t escort us, then we won’t go. If we’re killed by demons, it will all be your sin…”

In the space of a few breaths, these people had transformed from pitiful wretches into shrieking accusers. They condemned him with every word they had, painting Six Ugly as worse than swine or dogs. If he would not escort them, then he was the most wicked villain under heaven…

Golden Eyes, tidying the corpses nearby, stared in dumb amazement, never imagining human nature could be like this. Yet when he stole a glance at Six Ugly, he saw that his expression remained unchanged, without the slightest trace of displeasure.

The crowd emboldened one another, and the more they shouted, the less they feared. Seeing that Six Ugly still made no response, their courage grew yet more insolent. A few of the older ones even rushed almost up to his face, jabbing fingers at his nose and spitting abuse, wholly forgetting that the blood on the staff was still wet and the stench of slaughter hung thick in the air.

Six Ugly suddenly coughed once and spoke with a flat calm. Though his voice was not loud, it clearly reached every ear present: “Those who wish to leave, then get onto the raft.”

Now there was a faint murderous chill in his words. The people grew somewhat afraid, and their voices gradually lowered. Six Ugly looked around and repeated himself.

This time no one shouted anymore, but whispers rose and fell without end. Even the girl who had first begged him had begun quietly urging the others beside her, murmuring, “Then let us simply not go. Let us see what he can do to us!”

“Yes, none of us will go!” One after another, the people exchanged glances and nodded.

After a while, still not a single person had left, and all their faces wore the smile of victory. They stood before Six Ugly with chests lifted high, eyes full of smug satisfaction.

At last Six Ugly sighed. “I overestimated human nature. That is my mistake… I had thought that among so many of you, at least a few would fight for their own lives, would seize hold of their own fate. Who would have imagined you were all the same, each one only wishing to pass the burden to another and make not the slightest effort yourselves…”

“I had intended to leave you here, but unfortunately the demon race has already sent word. Soon reinforcements will arrive, and they will learn my direction of departure from your mouths. Since that is so, then forget it!”

As soon as he spoke, Six Ugly’s form began to change. From a hideous man of childlike stature, he became a ferocious little macaque with fangs jutting out, malevolent and savage, his face contorted into the very pinnacle of ugliness!

The smug expressions on the crowd’s faces slowly faded, giving way once more to naked terror. Shocked and trembling, some began to kneel, stammering as they hammered their foreheads to the ground again and again…

Six Ugly burst into laughter, the sound like thunder shooting straight into the heavens. “Ha! When I was a man, you treated me like nothing, trampled me at will. Now that I have become a demon, you kneel and bow. The world has truly been turned upside down! Doing good to the wicked, doing evil to the good—has the world itself grown wicked, or has heaven and earth been reversed once more? Hahaha…”

The laughter went on and on. Slowly, Six Ugly raised the iron staff. With a light shake, the rod suddenly extended forward, lengthening to ten zhang in an instant, its tip now like a roof beam!

Then he swung it down upon the prostrate crowd.

With a thunderous crash, the people before him were swept away by Six Ugly’s strike. Bones snapped, tendons tore, and many were beaten to death outright on the spot.

In order to prevent the demons from prying his whereabouts from these people, this was the best choice Six Ugly had: slaughter them all here, leaving not a single living soul!

Once Six Ugly moved, how could Golden Eyes hold back? He pounced at once. His body was already huge, and with one trampling step, how many could still live?

Those who remained only then seemed finally to realize their terror. Screaming in panic, they scattered in every direction. Some tried to climb onto the raft and flee, but it was already too late. Six Ugly and Golden Eyes struck together, leaving them no chance at all.

In the span of a single moment, all were killed. Then Six Ugly and Golden Eyes surged into the places where the people had been penned, slaughtering the hundreds imprisoned there as well and casting the corpses into the lake.

The fish that fed on flesh had already gathered. Seeing this, they rushed in even more frenziedly to gorge themselves, delighted beyond measure.

Life is like that. There is sorrow, yes, but there is joy as well. All living beings are equal; why should humans so delight in the suffering of other races? Just as today, countless people died, yet countless fish were granted life.

Six Ugly hooked up one piled corpse and flung it into the lake. Beneath the stack lay the girl who had spoken up moments before. She was already dead, but her eyes were still wide open, refusing to close, as though even in death she had not understood…

A good person is a good person, but a good person may also become wicked. A wicked person may sometimes be good, but most of the time he is still wicked. It all depends on how one treats him. If driven too far, even a good person can be forced into wickedness. Much less someone who was already wicked to begin with—yet you would seize upon the faintest trace of goodness and treat him as a good person, especially as one you could bully, humiliate, and indulge yourselves upon without restraint!

Good and evil alike are often forced into being.

After all the corpses had been thrown in, Six Ugly checked once more. Only after confirming that nothing had been overlooked did he set a fire within the stronghold, erasing every trace he had left behind, and then departed.

That fire… was still the lesson Gui Qu had once left him. Six Ugly had remembered it all these years and never forgotten.

This was the first time Six Ugly had slaughtered human beings. Many years later, when he looked back on this day, he suddenly realized that it was at this very moment that he had ceased to regard himself as human, yet had never taken himself for a demon either. Instead, he had stepped beyond both, completely forgetting the barrier between man and demon.

He was human, yet also demon; and yet not human, nor demon at all!

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