The Death of Lu Shaohui

"Dead?" Lu Gang paused in surprise and asked, "Did you have some sort of grudge with him?" "You could say that." Liang Qu briefly explained what had happened at the martial hall. "So I wanted to go take a look and see what really went on." Lu Gang shook his head and set down the Scarlet Flame Mourning Feather. "Then it's far too dangerous for you to go alone. I'll go with you." It was no joke. Lu Shaohui had been a two-checkpoint martial practitioner, yet he had been slain and his internal organs eaten—almost certainly the work of a spirit creature. Who knew if that creature was still lurking nearby? Anything that had cultivated into a spirit was as cunning as they came. Liang Qu felt a bit awkward troubling Lu Gang over such a minor matter. With an incident this big, the area had surely already been swept by the authorities. Still, on second thought, taking precautions was never wrong, so he had to trouble his senior brother once more. "Wait for me a moment." Lu Gang turned and walked out of the quiet room. When he returned, he held several dark stones in his hands. He set the black stones around the scarlet feather. Stimulated by its heat, they rapidly shifted color, their surfaces gradually crisscrossed with dark red veins like blood vessels. Shining in harmony with the crimson feather, they looked like several beating hearts. "Fire-red stone, top-grade coal stone," Lu Gang said. "Place them alongside it, and the Scarlet Flame Mourning Feather won't just avoid losing energy in the short term—its energy will actually increase. Let's go." The two set out along the path beside Huang's Cloth Shop. After walking a certain distance, they came upon a flat dirt track branching off to the side. Though choked with withered grass, the absence of trees made it stand out distinctly from its surroundings; one could easily tell it had once been a road. "Fahua Temple has been abandoned for decades," Lu Gang said, glancing down at the ground. "I remember hearing that early in the founding of the dynasty, all the monks inside were slaughtered. Pingyang Town was just a tiny village back then, so I don't even remember the exact location. But this should be it. The footprints on the ground are very fresh, and the boots aren't poor quality—likely government men." Winter soil was hard, but rain had fallen just the night before, leaving the ground damp and soft, so the footprints stood out clearly. Fahua Temple had been abandoned for ages, lay far from town, and sat near the mountaintop. Even beggars rarely visited. For so many sets of footprints to appear in a short time, they could only belong to yamen constables conducting an investigation. Lu Gang took the lead. "Let's go. Follow behind me, and stay alert." Lu Gang had a towering, burly frame, and walking behind him brought a profound sense of security. Treading upon the soft yellow earth, Liang Qu glanced left and right. The surrounding woods were lush; though barren of most leaves now, one could easily imagine how dense and secluded the path would be in summer. After walking several hundred meters, the view suddenly opened up. Looking up, Fahua Temple was clearly visible perched on the summit. The vermilion plaster on the temple's outer walls had completely flaked off, exposing the gray brick beneath. Decades of wind and rain had turned that gray nearly black, and dark green moss choked the corners. Long, slender, withered vines crept across a corner of the roof, digging deep roots into the seams between the tiles like parasitic trees feeding on the mud walls. *Lu Shaohui died here? Why this place? It's so out of the way.* Liang Qu couldn't make sense of it. *Could a beast have dragged him here after killing him? Otherwise, why would Lu Shaohui come to this ruined temple?* Drawing closer, they saw the lintel over the gate had caved in completely, exposing fractured bricks within. A petty officer of the Fast Squad posted on watch saw Lu Gang's imposing build and didn't dare bark orders, merely announcing, "No unauthorized entry!" Lu Gang unhooked the waist tablet from his belt and flashed it before the man. "Yang Dongxiong's personal disciple, Lu Gang. Do you recognize me?" "Ah, it's Master Lu! Please, come inside." The officer bowed low and invited them in. He didn't know Lu Gang by face, but the waist tablet was exquisitely made—genuine or not, its bearer was no ordinary person. The officers moving back and forth on both sides bowed and offered greetings, showing none of the arrogance they had displayed during the autumn tax collection, as though they were an entirely different group of men. Trailing behind Lu Gang, Liang Qu found his horizons thoroughly broadened. He reached for his own waist tablet, eager to try it out, but the officers inside were already so deferential that he found no chance to use it. Not only had the lintel collapsed, but the inner gates of Fahua Temple had also completely rotted away. Stepping into the courtyard, Liang Qu's eyes immediately fell upon the corpse lying dead center. Lu Shaohui had died right at the foot of the Buddha statue. His body leaned against the carved Xumi pedestal, thick, congealed black blood stringing from the tips of his hair like silk. His entire chest had been ripped wide open, hanging like a pair of battered, swinging doors. No, it was more like a cicada's shed husk. It was as if Lu Shaohui's heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys had all gained lives of their own, incubating inside him and bursting through his flesh. A shocking aura of malice washed over them. Lu Gang furrowed his brows. A wave of nausea hit Liang Qu. He asked, "Senior Brother Lu, can you tell what kind of beast did this?" Before the corpse stood a coroner wearing a small cap and carrying a rattan case. Seeing them, he quickly rose. "Can you discern it, my lord? Please rest assured, Master Lu—from the moment it was discovered until now, we haven't touched the body at all. It remains exactly as it was found." He knew how to examine corpses, but the sight before him exceeded his experience. He had never seen anything like it; the internal organs didn't appear to have been gouged out—the cavity was far too clean. "It was a mountain ghost." A familiar voice came from behind Liang Qu, and the two turned to look. "Senior Brother Hu?" "Junior Brother Hu, what brings you here?" "The yamen men said the coroner couldn't determine the cause of death, so they sent someone to the martial hall to ask for my help," Hu Qi said as he strode forward. "I figured since Lu Shaohui was one of ours, I ought to come take a look. When I reached the entrance, someone told me folks from the martial hall were already inside. I was wondering who it could be, only to find it was you, Senior Brother Lu, and Junior Brother Liang. Oh, let me introduce you—this is Fast Squad Leader Shi Guangxi." Beside Hu Qi walked a rough-hewn man with a full beard. The burly Shi Guangxi hurriedly cupped his fists. "Greetings, my lords." Lu Gang nodded, and Liang Qu followed suit. After exchanging greetings, Squad Leader Shi turned anxiously to Hu Qi. "Martial Master Hu, you said it was a mountain ghost just now? Is that a demon beast?" Hu Qi didn't answer right away, glancing toward Lu Gang instead. "What does Senior Brother Lu think?" "That should be right." "What is a mountain ghost?" Liang Qu thought to himself that he needed to find an opportunity to brush up on his knowledge. Lu Gang explained, "It's a humanoid mountain spirit creature. Its skin is brown and rough like withered bark, impervious to blades and spears. In its youth, it feeds on livestock; as it matures, it acquires a taste for human organs. Once fully grown, it will lay an egg cluster inside a human body. When the eggs hatch, the person's chest splits open just like this. "There's no need to worry, Junior Brother Liang. Master has already arranged your enrollment at the academy. What we study differs from ordinary scholars, and you'll learn everything you need to know in due time." Liang Qu was reassured. Hu Qi circled the perimeter and returned with a grave expression. "If this is where he died, then this mountain ghost is formidable. Lu Shaohui was a two-checkpoint martial practitioner—smashing slabs and splitting stone was child's play to him—yet there are hardly any signs of struggle nearby. He was likely killed in a single exchange. Furthermore, while mountain ghost eggs hatch very fast, they take at least two days." Liang Qu was shocked. "So he really did die the very day he left the martial hall?" Hu Qi nodded. "Essentially, yes." Lu Gang said, "It's best to inform Master first and let him make arrangements. This thing poses a serious threat to ordinary martial practitioners." Listening from the side, Shi Guangxi's heart pounded with terror. "Then what about ordinary folk? Wouldn't it be even worse for them?" Hu Qi shook his head. "Not necessarily. Big fish eat little fish, and little fish eat shrimp. Mountain ghosts crave prey rich in qi and blood above all else. A mountain ghost of this caliber actually poses little threat to commoners." Shi Guangxi breathed a sigh of relief, only for his heart to leap into his throat the very next second. "However," Hu Qi continued, "this mountain ghost hatched a young one. A young mountain ghost is different from a mature one. Squad Leader Shi, you had best deploy more men on patrol over the next few days." "Yes, yes, of course! But you masters must help us! How could ordinary men like us ever handle a mountain demon? Once I return and report to the county magistrate, we will certainly post a hefty bounty—we won't treat you masters unfairly!" "Rest assured, we will keep an eye out. If we can eliminate it, that would naturally be best. But where are the men from your yamen?" "Sigh, don't even mention it," Shi Guangxi said with a long, drawn-out grimace. "For some reason, all the martial practitioners in the yamen seem to have been assigned missions lately—not a single one in sight." Hu Qi looked thoughtful. Seeing that someone was handling the situation, Lu Gang prepared to head back. "Since Junior Brother Hu is here, I'll take my leave first. Junior Brother Liang brought back a Scarlet Flame Mourning Feather that must be forged without delay, or its power will dissipate." Hu Qi looked astonished. "A Scarlet Flame Mourning Feather? Where did you get that?" Helpless, Liang Qu recounted the whole story of how he had picked up the feather. Hu Qi looked rather envious. "Junior Brother Liang, your luck is truly extraordinary. Still, given your current strength, expending the feather all at once to forge a weapon is indeed the wisest choice. Spiritual weapons are hard to come by, after all. You two head on back; Squad Leader Shi and I will take another look around the vicinity." Lu Gang nodded. Bringing it up in front of Hu Qi had been his way of letting Liang Qu know that he hadn't made the suggestion merely because he wanted to forge a spiritual weapon himself.