The Year of Renyin. The twenty-ninth of the eleventh month—the Winter Solstice!
Layers of clouds gathered and the night sky hung low as a light snow began to fall.
Song Ciwan opened her eyes in the dead of night. She had hidden her three summoning Peach Wood Puppets in places only she knew, places no one else would ever think to look. The life-saving Li Wood Puppet, however, she kept on her person.
After being refined with her Lifespan, the Li Wood Puppets had shrunk down to the size of soybeans, each one delicately crafted and almost endearing. Song Ciwan placed them in a small pouch, which she hung around her neck and tucked securely beneath her clothes.
Song Ciwan could feel a strange connection to these Wooden Puppets, a bond as if they shared the same blood.
'So, how could these be just Wooden Puppets? They were her three extra lives!'
'It was a good feeling, carrying three extra lives with her.'
Song Ciwan changed into her Black Cloak, put on the crudely stitched Human Skin Mask, and took one last look at the Big White Goose sleeping peacefully in the room.
A smile touched her lips. With a flick of her sleeve, a night breeze stirred, and she dissolved into a dark shadow, carried away by the wind.
Escape into the Night had three layers in total. Song Ciwan had already mastered the First Layer to the point of Perfection; she was just waiting for the right opportunity to achieve a breakthrough.
The night wind swirled the fine snow, and shadows danced and weaved through the white.
In the western part of Su Yang City, Demon-slaying Captain Zhang Ping was not out hunting demons tonight.
His superior, Demon-slaying General Tian Junhong, had recently acquired an Upper Grade Magical Artifact: the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map. To celebrate, General Tian was holding a banquet at his residence, inviting guests, close friends, and subordinates from far and wide to admire it.
The night banquet was exceptionally lively, and the powers of the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map were even more profound and mysterious. It was said that when unfurled, the map could stretch ten li in every direction, enough to cover nearly half the city. Within the map was a chessboard that resembled a starry sky, with a hundred beauties as the players. With every move of the game, the faces of mortal beauties would appear as seasons passed within the painting.
The original painting was created by the Great Scholar Yu Chunqiu and was called the Red Beauty Spring and Autumn Painting.
Upon the painting's completion, thousands of beauties flew forth from it. Some played zithers and reed pipes, others gazed at flowers by the water's edge, and still others danced with graceful elegance...
Everyone in the Great Zhou Capital at the time witnessed the wondrous spectacle of these countless beauties taking to the sky. It was as if an Immortal Realm had descended upon the Mortal World; the proverb "a Yan Ruyu can be found within books" was brought from fantasy into reality!
Afterward, a craze for imitating the Red Beauty Spring and Autumn Painting swept through the Scholars of the Great Zhou. The original work by the Great Scholar was said to have become an Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact the moment it was finished. Among the many imitations, the one painted by Yu Chunqiu's Direct Disciple, Su Baiyi, possessed the most potent effects.
Tian Junhong's Lankao Spring and Autumn Map used a painting by Su Baiyi as its foundation, which was then enhanced through the craft of Artifact Refining Master Tan Dongge, ultimately becoming the Upper Grade Magical Artifact it is today.
Su Yang City was a remote place, after all. Although Tian Junhong was a Sixth Grade Demon-slaying General, what would a position like that even amount to in the Capital?
And yet, he had managed to obtain a treasure like the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map. It was no wonder he was so pleased with himself, even throwing a grand banquet to flaunt it.
During the feast, Tian Junhong vaguely mentioned a benefactor in his family who had attained a high position, which naturally sparked endless speculation and sycophancy.
Zhang Ping couldn't get into that inner circle, but his own network of contacts was decent, and he joined a group of others who were also deep in discussion.
One of his colleagues, another Demon-slaying Captain, remarked, "Now that General Tian has the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map, his power to suppress the local Demon Fiends has skyrocketed. Things should get quieter around Su Yang City, right?"
Another person said, "Fewer has its advantages. We brothers have been run ragged lately, almost too busy to breathe. But... if there are too few, that's not good either..."
And why would too few be a bad thing?
The answer went without saying. Take Zhang Ping, for example—never mind the others. Without Demon Fiends to slay, how would he ever upgrade his Blood-Breaking Saber?
Someone else chimed in, "Brother Zhang, your Blood-Breaking Saber is already approaching the Thousand Forging Limit. It won't be long before you can upgrade it to a Lower Grade Magical Artifact, will it?"
Zhang Ping had seemed preoccupied and somber the entire evening, but at the mention of his Blood-Breaking Saber, his expression softened slightly. A small smile touched his face as he replied, "I'm still a long way off. Honestly, compared to my fellow disciples, I'm at the very bottom."
The moment he said that, someone else jumped in, "Still, you disciples from the Major Sects have it good. A complete heritage—it's truly enviable. For ordinary Internal Refining Martial Artists like us, you can't imagine how difficult it is to obtain even a single Lower Grade Magical Artifact."
Words of envy like this opened the floodgates, and the others began to chime in, one after another, expressing their admiration for Major Sects like the Seven Star Sect.
The banquet grew ever more boisterous, but let's not dwell on that.
Later, Zhang Ping was called over for a word with the Demon-slaying General, Tian Junhong, who asked about his master and lineage within the Seven Star Sect.
Zhang Ping replied, "My master is the Hundred Battle Saber, Fu Tianyi."
He had a name and a title. That meant he was at least at the Innate realm.
Tian Junhong laughed and clapped Zhang Ping on the shoulder. "Well now! A disciple of a famed master. Cultivate diligently. If you can reach the Innate realm, I guarantee you a position as a Demon Extermination Envoy!"
The lowest rank for a Demon Extermination Envoy was Junior Seventh Grade. Zhang Ping immediately straightened his back, his face flush with excitement.
The music of strings and flutes swelled once more. The warmth of the banquet hall rose, creating a world entirely separate from the flurry of fine snow outside.
The snow fell, layer upon layer, the night mist thickened, and the hours crept by.
General Tian's banquet finally came to a close. Drunken men, arms slung over each other's shoulders, stumbled out of the lavish hall and into the snow.
"Whoa, the snow's really coming down now! Brothers, are we still heading to Qunfang Pavilion?"
"Of course! Why not?"
The Demon-slaying Captains clamored to move on to the next venue, but Zhang Ping alone declined, saying he needed to go home and cultivate.
"See? That's our Brother Zhang for you. With that kind of dedication, how could he possibly fail to reach the Innate realm? Hahaha!"
It was hard to tell if the words were meant as sarcasm or praise, but regardless, Zhang Ping simply responded with a smile. His conviction was firm, unmoved by such worldly affairs.
His colleagues continued their raucous celebration, but Zhang Ping went home.
His household was a simple one, consisting of an old manservant who acted as gatekeeper and two young servants who ran errands and did chores.
Upon returning, Zhang Ping went straight to his training room. The thought of the Innate realm spurred him on, and he didn't want to waste a single moment.
He drew the Blood-Breaking Saber from his waist. Though no one stood before him, a demon raged in his heart.
The flash of his saber erupted like thunder, a bolt of crimson light tearing through the long night. The candles in the four corners of the training room flickered wildly.
Zhang Ping said, "Kill!"
Kill, kill, kill!
'There is nothing that cannot be killed. When I was just a small child, a Demon burst into my home and devoured my parents, my relatives, every last one. No one came to save us back then...'
'No... someone did come. But they were always a step too late.'
So many people. His entire family, twenty-three souls in all, had been wiped out. He alone, hidden in a water urn by his mother, had barely managed to survive.
The Snake Demon's tail cracked like a whip, snapping his mother's spine. Blood dripped from her wounds, but she remained draped over the mouth of the urn, her body shielding him. She whispered down to him, "Ping'er, don't be afraid. Someone will come save you. You have to live on..."
His mother said, "Don't... seek revenge!"
Zhang Ping roared, "AHHH!"
The light of his saber filled the room in a frenzy, extinguishing a swath of candles.
'How could I not seek revenge? I will have my revenge! I will slaughter every last Demon Fiend in this world!'
'Kill, kill, kill! Everyone in the world can be killed!'
He screamed, "I'm not wrong! I'm not wrong!"
"I'm just killing demons! I practice with my saber only to kill more demons! I'm not wrong—"
But in the endless darkness, a sigh seemed to echo from a distant time and place.
The last thing Zhang Ping saw was his mother's eyes—reproachful, yet gentle.
"Mother, I'm not wrong..."
He murmured.
But was he truly not wrong? In truth, he wasn't so sure himself.
He would never be able to find the answer. As he practiced, his blood circulation reversed, his heart exploded, and he died.
He fell backward with a heavy THUD. The loud noise drew the attention of his household staff. A servant pushed the door open and screamed in terror, "Master! Someone, quickly! Something's wrong with the Master!"
The voice carried far, sending a shiver through the softly falling snow.
In the distance, Song Ciwan became one with the night wind, her presence and her name completely hidden.