Chapter 7: Birth of a Taboo.
In the process, they began leaking foul-smelling juices onto his hands and arms. The barrier was barely five inches away from his feet, close enough that the damp, rotting flesh pressed against his legs. The scent of decay thickened, making his stomach churn.
His body shuddered, and he clenched his jaw to fight the urge to vomit. Just as the last sliver of sunlight dipped below the gorge's walls, he closed his eyes and tried sensing the vortex in his dantain.
The dark red vortex in his dantain pulsed the next moment.
A crimson wave burst forth from his core. It expanded in all directions, its circular energy rippling across the corpses in a one-meter radius.
Yao Zi waited for awhile yet nothing happened, moments later, when the final ray of sunlight vanished, the dead seafood erupted in light.
A brilliant red hue engulfed every fish, every crustacean, every mollusk, merging together into a single, blinding radiance. The glow was so intense that Yao Zi instinctively threw up his left forearm, shielding his eyes.
The red glow persisted for awhile more before slowly diminishing.
For a long, breathless moment, nothing happened.
Yao Zi's chest tightened. Wondering whether he had failed? Just as doubt crept into his mind, movement flickered within the corpses.
One by one, glowing spheres of light, some crimson, others tinged with deep blue, began to rise from the bodies like dazzling fireworks. Dozens at first, then more, bursting forth in a swarm, ascending toward the darkening sky like fireflies.
"Looks like something's happening..." Yao Zi's eyes widened in surprise, he leaped out of the corpse barricade, gaining 2 meters of distance.
The orbs twirled and weaved amongst each other, their radiant forms circling above before descending upon him like a spiraling storm. He stood frozen as they enclosed him, twisting into a luminous twister of spectral energy.
Within the whirling mass of light, his breath caught. The spherical glow covering them soon disappeared, revealing the familiar, yet ethereal figures beneath.
The spectral figures of the creatures he had gathered. The sturgeons' long, ghostly bodies drifted through the red mist, the crabs' claws snapped open and shut as if still alive, and the translucent forms of shrimp and other sea creatures flickered in and out of existence.
"It worked!" Yao Zi's lips parted, his heart momentarily pounded with exhilaration.
Deep within the inner core of the Jiang family estate which was home to the true prized members of the Jiang family bloodline.
Beneath the cascading petals of a centuries-old peach tree, Jiang Xue sat with effortless grace, her violet eyes reflecting the soft afternoon light. The breeze played through her raven-black hair, sending loose strands drifting across her porcelain face. A ceramic cup, delicate and intricately painted, rested in her slender hands as she raised it to her lips, savoring the fragrant tea.
Opposite her sat Jiang Ma, the esteemed patriarch of the Jiang family, her beloved father and one of the few Peak-Martial-Grandmasters on Qin mountain.
Despite his age, he still carried the air of a refined scholar, his long eastern beard neatly groomed, his streaks of grey adding to his dignified presence. The silver-blue hairpin securing his bun shimmered in the sunlight, its design, an ancient symbol of the Jiang lineage.
Both father and daughter wore violet silk robes. richer, more elaborate than those of the rest of the family, a silent testament to their status.
The scene was tranquil, almost serene. Yet, beneath the surface, an undercurrent of tension lingered.
Jiang Ma lowered his teacup onto the table with a soft clink and exhaled slowly. His deep eyes studied his daughter, searching for something—remorse, perhaps.
"Xue'er," he began, his voice calm but carrying the weight of a looming storm. "Tell me, why did you go so far as to do something this barbaric?"
Jiang Xue's fingers tightened around her cup, but her expression remained poised. She did not flinch, did not waver. Instead, she turned her gaze to the peach blossoms drifting lazily through the air, as though the question itself was unworthy of her attention.
"I believe theirs no point in asking a question you already know the answer to, Father." she murmured, feigning innocence. "We both know the answer so why not just continue enjoying our time of tea?"
Jiang Ma's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He knew his daughter well. The deflection was expected but unacceptable.
"Jiang Xue!, Do not play coy with me!" he interrupted, his voice now carrying the edge of authority. "I'll ask you again. Why did you murder that servant girl and exterminated her entire family?"
The words hung in the air, sharp as a drawn blade.
Jiang Xue finally set her cup down, her lips curving into something that was neither a smile nor a frown, but an expression too composed for the horror she had inflicted. She did not look away this time.
"Why?"
"Well of course because they deserved it." Her tone was light, casual even, as if discussing the weather. "That wench should have known her place. She dared to take Senior brother Yao away from me....I believe ending her wretched life so quickly was far too gracious of a punishment...." Jiang Xue's voice took a chilling turn at the the end of her sentence.
Jiang Ma sighed, rubbing his temples as if nursing a headache. His daughter had always been his greatest joy—and his greatest sorrow. He had raised her alone after her mother's unfortunate death during her delivery, spoiling her, shielding her. But now, he could not ignore what she had become.
"You may believe yourself justified," he said tiredly, "but have you considered what this will mean for Little Zi?"
For the first time, Jiang Xue's confidence wavered. The mention of Yao Zi, her Senior Martial Brother, the boy she had known since childhood, unsettled her.
Jiang Ma studied her reaction carefully before continuing. "Do you truly believe he will forgive you for this?"
Her father's words brought about a thick silence, in that moment only the sounds of the peach trees branches shifting in the wind was heard.