The Fire Judge

Each operatic cadence resounded, fierce, vicious, and formidable. Hearing the singing drifting from the main hall's doorway, Zhou Yang naturally formed a mental image of the character that belonged to such a voice. —It had to be a deity who held sway over punishment, hideous of countenance yet majestic! Perhaps an underworld judge! The thought had barely crossed his mind when Ding Ling's slightly excited thought reached him: "Sir, what the troupe leader is singing right now is an aria from *Nine Lotus Lanterns: The Fire Judge*. The role he's playing is none other than the Fire Judge of the Netherworld!" At such a critical juncture, Zhou Yang had no mind to appreciate the opera. Ding Ling, however, was different. To her, it was heavenly music, and she eagerly introduced the image of the Fire Judge in this opera to Zhou Yang: "This Fire Judge wears a judge's cap, has a red bat pattern painted on his face, wears a curly red beard, and is clad in crimson patterned trousers and a red official robe. He holds no weapon, only a torch. "To play the Fire Judge, one must be able to breathe fire! "I saw the troupe leader perform it once. He held up a torch, puffed out his cheeks, and spat a jet of flame ten feet long!" Guided by Ding Ling's description, Zhou Yang filled in many more details for the Fire Judge in his mind. As the details grew richer, the red-bat-faced Fire Judge in his mind's eye seemed to shift continuously to the sound of Chang Dafeng's singing outside the door—now with glaring eyes and bared fangs, now with raised brow ridges, extraordinarily terrifying and ferocious! Seeing that face with such crystalline clarity gave Zhou Yang a jolt of surprise: *Listening to opera through a door, hearing only the voice, I shouldn't be able to picture a figure I've never seen before in such vivid detail from just a few words of Ding Ling's description!* *This must be Chang Dafeng's ability to 'channel the divine' through his opera, truly bringing the character to life!* Just as understanding dawned on him, he heard a succession of howling roars from the main hall's doorway: "Wa-ya-ya-ya-ya—" "Let's move over to the window!" Zhou Yang immediately instructed Ding Ling. Hearing Chang Dafeng unleash genuine skill, Ding Ling had long been itching with anticipation. Now with Zhou Yang's approval, she immediately crept under the windowsill, stealthily poked her head out, and peered toward the main hall's doorway with all her might. Looking sideways from the window of the left side room, one could only see the three stone steps in front of the main hall. The exact scene right at the doorway remained hidden from view. Even so, just as Ding Ling poked her head out to look, the Fire Judge's raucous cries at the doorway abruptly ceased. A long, deep inhale sounded in its wake. "Hoo—" As if Chang Dafeng standing at the entrance had exhaled the breath he had drawn in, ghastly green flames erupted from the main hall, engulfing more than half the courtyard in an instant! "What a fire!" Both Zhou Yang and Ding Ling trembled in their hearts! Their tremor came not from fear of the blaze that dyed the entire courtyard green, but because the same thought struck them both simultaneously—this fire-breathing ability was in all likelihood contained within the *Draft on Making Up Gods and Painting Ghosts*. And before long, they too would study the *Draft on Making Up Gods and Painting Ghosts*! This fire did not raise the courtyard's temperature by a single degree; instead, it made the wind blowing through feel even colder. The inferno converged in the courtyard in a flash, turning in moments into the eerie green figure of the Fire Judge. Only, this Fire Judge appeared swollen and corpulent, its body ridden with rotting flesh and festering sores, where blossoms of green fire flickered amidst the putrid decay. Zhou Yang recognized at a glance that this Fire Judge was most likely transformed from that bloated corpse manifestation! "In obedience to the sky-shattering fire order! "Hasten to ready the Jar of Ten Thousand Crows, with bows, crossbows, and smoke signals, "Encircle the gates and courtyards!" Chang Dafeng sang hoarsely from the doorway of the main hall, while the bloated Fire Judge in the courtyard shrieked in accompaniment, transforming into a flock of fire crows that swooped toward the pitch-black gatehouse across the yard! *Whoosh!* In the night sky, the sound of a flock of crows flapping their wings seemed to erupt in an instant! In a breath, the courtyard gate was also illuminated by the green fire! Unbeknownst to them, the courtyard gate had already swung half-open. The gap in the doorway was lit up by the rushing fire crows, laying bare what lay behind! A 'person' dressed in garish, colorful clothes was standing right behind that slit in the doors! With one shoulder slumped, 'he' had leaned half his body through the gap, exposing his entire face to the green light cast by the crows, exposed before everyone's eyes! The 'person' was short and stocky, dressed in a gaudy opera costume that looked like varnished oiled paper. On 'his' head rested the headdress of a flower dan, with kingfisher feather tassels swaying alongside temple locks. A face, paper-white, with rouge vivid and crimson only on the cheeks and lips. Even with powder dusted and rouge painted across the face, Zhou Yang and Ding Ling saw at a glance that this ghost leaning half its body through the doorway was none other than Gao Hongbo! Gao Hongbo, who sang painted-face roles, had now been dressed up by the ghost as a flower dan! He had come for the opera troupe! "He's come for us! "Aah—he's come to see us!" From the right side room across the way, Li Yichun's shrill screech suddenly rang out! It sent chills straight to the bone! *Whoosh!* The flock of crows gathered beneath the gatehouse, condensing back into the bloated Fire Judge. It flung wide its arms and lunged to strangle the flower-dan Gao Hongbo in the doorway! Green fire ran down the Fire Judge's arms, spreading onto Gao Hongbo's body and igniting the ghost that seemed to wear paper clothes! Engulfed in fire, Gao Hongbo reached out as well, but with speed faster than the Fire Judge's, seized the other's two arms, halting the Fire Judge dead in its tracks! And then! 'Gao Hongbo' brought the Fire Judge's arms together and abruptly opened its mouth— The inside of its mouth was pitch-black, devoid of teeth or tongue. Looking into that gaping maw, Zhou Yang felt a surge of dread and a terrible thought occurred to him: *Could it be going to eat the Fire Judge?* The thought had barely surfaced when the ghost shoved the Fire Judge's arms into its mouth! First the arms, then the head, followed by the upper torso, and the two legs below... In an instant, with that seemingly small mouth, the ghost swallowed the 'Fire Judge'—a figure far taller than itself—whole into its belly! Its figure did not change in the slightest! Green flames still burned across its body as it froze at the entrance. Without showing anything unusual from start to finish, it had eaten alive the Fire Judge that Chang Dafeng had conjured with such tremendous fanfare! *Chang Dafeng's method of Opera Spirit-Communion has little effect against a ghost!* *This art might counter a gui, but it cannot counter a ghost!* Zhou Yang's heart turned icy cold in an instant! At the courtyard gate, the flaming Gao Hongbo suddenly stamped a foot and wiped a hand across its face. That powdered, rouge-painted visage immediately changed into the Fire Judge's red bat face. Still dressed in the attire of a flower dan, it screeched and sang: "In obedience to the sky-shattering fire order! "Hasten to ready the Jar of Ten Thousand Crows, with bows, crossbows, and smoke signals, "Encircle the gates and courtyards!" Singing as it went, swinging its limbs like a puppet flexing its joints, it rushed toward the main hall's doorway! Its gait was stiff, yet terrifyingly swift! In the blink of an eye, it reached the middle of the courtyard! *Buzz!* Right at that moment, an indescribable aura emanated in all directions from the main hall's doorway. Zhou Yang and Ding Ling sensed it immediately! As this aura sank into Ding Ling's physical vessel, she was seized by a sudden sensation that her soul was floating high above while her flesh plunged heavily downward, as though her body and soul were on the verge of separating amidst the swirling presence. Zhou Yang, on the other hand, felt only clarity and alertness in his spirit. A thought struck him, and under the influence of this aura, he instantly recalled its origin— This aura came from the candle Chang Dafeng treasured! That ghost candle, which could be ignited by gaze alone by someone with strong Right Thought! Chang Dafeng had undoubtedly lit the ghost candle at the main hall's doorway! The aura radiating from the ghost candle seemed capable of augmenting Right Thought, and furthermore—Zhou Yang lowered his gaze toward Ding Ling's unconsciously open palms. In both her palms, the honeycomb-like Ghost's Mouths opened and closed unceasingly, sucking in all the ghost candle aura that drifted their way! They were ravenous for the ghost candle's aura! "Steady your mind!" Zhou Yang barked softly in Ding Ling's heart: "The way of a general begins with mastering the mind. "Let Mount Tai crumble before you without changing color; let a startled deer leap at your left without batting an eye. Only then can one govern gain and harm, and face the enemy..." He recited the passage from the *Heart Technique*, which he often used to stabilize his emotions, to Ding Ling as well. Hearing this calm, steady masculine voice slowly rise, Ding Ling felt her drifting soul find an anchor at last. She was a kite flying high in the sky, but the string was held firmly in Mr. Zhou's hand. With that thought, Ding Ling snapped back to her senses. Zhou Yang then took over Ding Ling's body. The moment his consciousness fully aligned with Ding Ling's physical vessel, his perception of their surroundings grew even more acute. The thick, sickly sweet stench of a corpse, the chill coiling outside the body, the half-illusory aura... all manner of sensations surged around them, unsettling even Zhou Yang's resolve, and it took him several breaths to regain his calm. If even he, whose Right Thought was stronger than Ding Ling's, was shaken like this, what about Ding Ling herself? Were it not for 'Ghost Breath', combined with the two of them working as one, Ding Ling would likely have been directly contaminated and doomed the moment that ghost appeared outside the door! Zhou Yang pulled the left side room's door open a crack to peer out at the main hall's entrance. There at the doorway stood Chang Dafeng, ramrod straight, clutching the ghost candle in his left hand. He extended the fingers of his right hand, crooking them in beckoning gestures toward the flame. The candle flame danced in response, growing taller and taller. At the same time, behind Chang Dafeng, a hazy, nearly transparent silhouette solidified as the flames rose, swelling ever larger until, within moments, it stood ten feet tall! This swollen, rotting silhouette was none other than the 'bloated corpse manifestation'! Chang Dafeng rose onto his tiptoes. The instant his heels left the ground, the bloated corpse manifestation snapped flat against his back, sliding the tops of its feet under his heels. The manifestation behind him vanished without a trace, yet a grim, chilling aura emanated from Chang Dafeng. With his head bowed, an eerie, stern opera verse came from his mouth: "Rumble and crash, the thunder peals, the bright light flashes! "Atop the clouds sits the Black Tiger of the Dark Altar! "With the Sea-Coiling Whip parting the clouds, looking down below—" Chang Dafeng snapped his head up and wiped his right hand across his face, conjuring out of thin air a painted face of a 'proper-featured, upright-eyed black painted face'; His left hand curled loosely, raised high as though wielding a golden whip, poised to strike down evil spirits! Beside him, the ghost candle's flames flickered. The firelight cast a ghastly, devilish shadow on the wall beside Chang Dafeng. The shadow mirrored his stance, except that in its high-raised left hand, it clearly clutched a severed human leg! From the ragged stump of the leg, fresh blood dripped ceaselessly! In an instant, 'Gao Hongbo' in the courtyard surged right to the main hall's doorway! Two ghostly shadows were cast upon the wall—one taking the form of Zhao Gongming, the Black Tiger of the Dark Altar, and the other bearing the semblance of the Netherworld's Fire Judge—locked in combat! The bloody human leg in that 'Zhao Gongming's' hand smashed down, striking the Netherworld Fire Judge squarely atop the skull! It shattered the judge's cap on its head, and the Fire Judge's shadow scattered in an instant! The red bat pattern on 'Gao Hongbo's' face rotted and smeared in an instant. It froze on the spot, reeking of heavy corpse stench, motionless for the moment! Peering out from the left side room, Zhou Yang and Ding Ling dared not relax in the slightest— If the ghost breached the front entrance, everyone in the rooms except Chang Dafeng would die! Fortunately, Chang Dafeng had lit the ghost candle and channeled the divine through opera; bolstered by both, he had finally held it off! And yet... Zhou Yang's momentary relief had scarcely formed when another trilling operatic song began to play from the room opposite: "My lord dwells within my tender heart, while I linger in sorrow, my aggrieved heart known only to the moon... "Meetings are hard while partings are easy; now all that remains is regret coming too late; "Do you still recall that day when the phoenixes joyfully matched their flights..."