Soho and all his companions searched everywhere for Lian, but they couldn't find him. Soho went to the General, anger burning in his eyes.
"Where did my companion go?" he demanded.
The General's face changed slightly as he replied, "What do you mean by that? What does your companion have to do with us?"
Soho's expression darkened with anger. "My companion was a second-grade martial artist," soho spat. "There were only you and your soldiers how can harm him — how could something happen to him otherwise?"
The General bristled at the accusation. "What are you saying? You're slandering my name. Do you think I would ambush your companion?"
"Ambushing is a disease to martial artists," Soho said coldly. "Then where did my companion go?"
The General looked at Soho, studying his face. It didn't seem like he was lying. Did that boy, Ming, do something? he wondered. No… it can't be. Then maybe a monster is behind all this. And if so, that creature might've also devoured the boy Ming. But without proof, he couldn't say it aloud.
The General finally met Soho's gaze and said, "Alright. We'll help you search."
"For your companion," the General said.
Soho looked confused. "What profit do you get by helping us?"
The General sighed. "You don't know, but I think a monster might've come out from the Read Line. If that's true, it would explain why we can't find Ming — he must've been eaten by that creature."
Soho thought for a moment. It made sense. "Alright then," he said.
Both parties began searching for Lian together.
A sudden shout came from the lakeside. Everyone rushed toward the noise, with Soho leading the way.
When he arrived, he froze, staring in shock.
"What happened?" he asked, his voice tense, moving closer to where the soldier was looking.
The moment everyone saw it, silence fell — even the General's face turned pale.
"In all my life," the General muttered, "I've never seen anything like this…"
The body had been stripped to the bone. Every trace of flesh was gone, cleaned off completely — except for the face and neck, which remained strangely untouched. The rest of the body was nothing but bare, gleaming bone.
The body was nothing but bone. Soho and the General were both shocked to the core, cold sweat running down their faces.
Soho was the first to break the silence. "What… what happened here?"
The General looked down at the remains, his voice low. "Is this your companion?"
Fear, shock, and anger twisted inside Soho. He lowered his head and answered softly, "Yes."
The General gave a small gesture toward his soldiers. They understood immediately and moved to take the body down.
The body hung lifelessly. Both men — rivals just moments ago — now stood frozen in panic. Even the General, whose face remained calm, was trembling inside.
He stared at the corpse, his thoughts racing. How could something like this happen? Who would do such a thing?
Then Soho and the others noticed something carved into the back of the neck. The sight made their blood run cold.
Three words — simple, but enough to freeze every heart in that place:
"You are next."
Reading those words, they all understood one thing — this wasn't the work of a monster. It was done by a human.
But even then, fear crept into their hearts.
Even the General, who had witnessed countless horrifying scenes in this life , was no exception.
The General began analyzing the body. He was a man who had spent his entire life on the battlefield, surrounded by death — enemies, allies, and innocents alike. He had seen countless corpses, but his sharp eye for detail had never failed him.
He crouched beside the remains and spoke slowly.
"The lips are purple… that means he was poisoned. His eyes look like they were about to pop out — which means he was still alive when he was butchered."
He opened the victim's mouth and frowned. "There's grass stuffed inside. Whoever did this didn't want him making any noise. They wanted him to feel every moment of pain."
The General's gaze shifted down to the bones of the feet. "And by the cuts here… it looks like the killer took his time — enjoying it. That makes this person even more terrifying. Someone who kills without fear of being caught."
Soho listened to every word, anger burning inside him — but beneath that anger, fear gripped his heart. He didn't let it show on his face.
"Sir!" a soldier called out suddenly. "Soho, your companion's body… we actually found something more."
"What is it?" Soho asked.
The soldier hesitated. "It's better if you see it yourself."
They followed him to the lake — and there, floating on the surface, was a pile of flesh. Fish were swarming around it, tearing at the remains.
Seeing that scene, everyone's blood ran cold — goosebumps crawled across their skin.
Soho and the others gathered what little remained of Lian and buried it beneath a tree. They wanted to return his remains to his loved ones, but they knew doing so would only spread panic and fear throughout the people.
Only a few trusted men of Soho and the General were present. They swore to keep what happened here a secret — to never speak of this to any outsider.
Then the General and Soho sat down to talk about what had happened. The General spoke with a stern face. "Do you think that boy did all this?"
Soho answered honestly, "I don't know. Neither of us has the full truth — but I need your help to find whoever did this. I want to make them feel the same pain they gave my companion."
The General's face hardened. "If that's the case, what do you want to know?"
"I want to know everything you know about Ming," Soho replied. "Did he really not know martial arts, or was he pretending?"
The General thought for a long moment. "I don't think he knew. If he did, he would have used it when the Emperor killed his family. It's more likely someone else killed your companion. No matter how you look at it, a normal boy — someone who has never killed — wouldn't be able to slaughter a second-grade martial artist. Even if the body shows poisoning, killing someone requires courage and skill."
Soho pressed, "What else could explain it?"
The General's voice went quiet. "There is one more possibility."
"What is it?" Soho asked.
"A demon living inside that boy."
Soho blinked. "What do you mean?"
The General stared at him solemnly. "Every person is born with a talent for something. If a demon lives inside, it could mean a talent for killing — someone who enjoys the sight of others' pain, who can learn martial arts unnaturally fast. I used to think the Shaolin master was talking nonsense, but now… it might be true. And the most important thing the master warned: if you encounter one, do whatever it takes to kill him before he matures. Once mature, he could destroy the world."
"So, what do you think? How should we find that thing—or whatever that demon thing was?" Soho asked.
The General smiled faintly. "I don't think we need to find him," he said. "He'll come to us."
Soho frowned. "What do you mean?"
"To him, murder and torture are an addiction; once he tastes that rush, he won't walk away."