Chapter 4 - Face?
In the dark alley illuminated only by moonlight, the evil yao’s peculiar appearance appeared even more terrifying. Zhang Ke spat out two wads of blood in succession and glanced at the slender-limbed Fu Li standing in front of him. A wave of despair rose in his heart. Never had he thought that he, an outstanding disciple of the magnificent Qingxiao Sect, would perish in this derelict alley and even have his heart dug out by an evil yao.
No wait. Hadn’t he been blocking Fu Li? How had he appeared in front of him in a blink of an eye?
He still wanted to play hero at this time?
“Stop putting up a pretense. The blood you spat out can even fill a bowl, aren’t you tired of standing?” Fu Li looked back at Zhang Ke and pointed at some stone steps. “Is sitting bad?”
Sit your ass. They were about to lose their lives and he still wanted him to sit?
Zhang Ke was nearly angered into spitting out yet another mouthful of blood. Did this little yaoguai know exactly what danger was? Just as he thought this, the evil yao’s hands suddenly transformed into claws. The sharp claws attacked Fu Li’s chest with a swiftness that left him with no chance to even let out a ‘ah’ sound.
The next second, he felt his body lifting off the ground as something hooked around his belt. By the time he regained his wits, he was already standing on the fence.
“The human rules here promote civilized behavior and good social practices. Making a move without a single word doesn’t seem to align to the rules,” Fu Li was carrying Zhang Ke as if he was a small chick. Zhang Ke looked down at the unstable fence beneath his feet, not daring to move recklessly. If the fence collapsed, he would be blamed for it after going back.
Forget it. It would be a miracle if he could still make it back to be blamed at this juncture. He wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and took out a pile of talismans from his chest. He spoke to Fu Li, “Go call for help, I’ll hold him off here.”
Fu Li shot a glance at the talismans in Zhang Ke’s hands. The humans had simplified their style of writing, but had talismans also been simplified? Why were they all not drawn to completion? There was only so much power that could be in those talismans.
It was no wonder that national advancement through science and technology was the catchword of the humans today. With the lazy attitude of the cultivation world towards even things like drawing talismans, they couldn’t be relied on even if something major were to occur.
“I don’t have any helpers,” Fu Li flung Zhang Ke towards the area outside the fence and spoke to him as he towered above him. “You can call for help. I’ll handle him here.”
“Nobody’s allowed to leave,” The Zhuyan saw that these two humans were actually treating him as if he was invisible and advanced forward swiftly, aiming straight for Fu Li’s mingmen. Seeing him rush over, Fu Li flipped off the fence and grabbed Zhang Ke. “Forget it, let’s just escape together.”
Zhang Ke had just opened his mouth upon hearing the word ‘escape’ when wind poured into it. He could feel himself hanging off Fu Li and the bounds and leaps that they were taking while he was lugged along. The speed at which they moved was so quick that he was on the verge of vomiting.
This Fu Li jumped so quickly, was his original form a rabbit?
Every time the evil yao caught up to them, Fu Li would coincidentally dodge the evil yao’s attacks. Zhang Ke’s originally panicked breathing morphed into silence afterwards. His ears were filled with the whistling sound of the wind while the crescent moon shone brightly above him. Zhang Ke had never before felt so unconcerned whether he lived or died.
Just as Zhang Ke was thinking that Fu Li would continue running, he came to a stop and threw Zhang Ke onto the ground.
Zhang Ke lay sprawled on the ice-cold ground, raising his head to glance at their surroundings. There was a not-very-clean stream behind, and uncultivated land stretched all around them. Very good, the both of them would die here. At least there was one advantage about this – they wouldn’t arouse panic among the ordinary civilians.
“Continue running, why aren’t you running anymore?”
The evil yao’s voice wasn’t very pleasant to the ears. Its voice even carried an accent. At this moment, the thought that flashed through Zhang Ke’s mind was that this yao definitely wasn’t local.
“Zhuyan, what are you doing running out here and not staying properly in your Xiaoci Mountain?” With a wave of Fu Li’s hand, the cap on the Zhuyan’s head fell to the ground, revealing his white head. A human-like face on its furry white head made for an unspeakably terrifying sight.
Zhang Ke nearly thought that something had gone wrong with his ears upon hearing the word ‘Zhuyan’. Wasn’t that a yaoguai that existed in legends, it actually existed in this world?
The Zhuyan hadn’t expected anyone to actually recognize him. He stared at Fu Li for a very long time with narrowed eyes. After confirming that he hadn’t seen this yaoguai before, he laughed strangely. “You know who I am, and you still dare to run?”
In the myths, the Zhuyan was a famous fiend that yao fled from on sight. As a human cultivator, Zhang Ke had naturally heard of the legends surrounding the Zhuyan. The him now wasn’t even moving anymore; he was ready to change to a comfortable position to wait for death.
“Isn’t it you who’s good at running away?” Doubt appeared on Fu Li’s face, as if he was seriously discussing this issue with the Zhuyan. “You even forgot your own nature after all these years?”
This statement of Fu Li’s made the Zhuyan recall the days when he had been bullied by the ancient yaos into hiding. A fierce exclamation erupted from his mouth immediately, “Who are you?”
“I am but a nameless little yao who just happened to hear of king Zhuyan’s story,” Fu Li looked down at Zhang Ke, who was lying motionlessly on the ground. He touched the prize money in his pocket and decided that it was still better for him to be a good yao who repaid kindness.
“The spirit qi in the human world is muddy. Why did the king abandon Xiaoci Mountain and come here to eat people?”
“Xiaoci Mountain, how is there still a Xiaoci Mountain now!” The Zhuyan flew into a rage. “I merely went to wander the sea for a while but when I returned, Xiaoci Mountain had already been hollowed out by two beasts. Even this king’s red copper and white jade bed was not let off!”
Fu Li glanced down at Zhang Ke. Zhang Ke covered his face in silence. This wasn’t any of his business.
“The two beasts destroyed my territory, so I ate their hearts. That is only right and proper.”
“This matter doesn’t have any relation to this human. Why don’t you give me some face and let this matter go...”
“Give you face? There are many little yao who have fawned over this king the past few years. I really haven’t seen anyone with skin as thick as yours. Who are you to dare to ask this king to give you face?” The Zhuyan mocked. “Anyway, I don’t have any territory now because of those two beasts, so he’ll be a nice feast!”
“At first, I thought that this human was at fault, so if I compensate you with some things on behalf of this human, you’ll smoothly go back into hiding in the mountains,” Fu Li tugged on the sleeve of his shirt. “But your refusal to give me any face has made me unhappy.”
“Hahahahaha,” The Zhuyan only felt that it was very laughable. “You’re just a tiny yao. What can you do even if this king doesn’t give you any face?”
Zhang Ke suddenly saw Fu Li leap. He hadn’t managed to even get a clear glimpse of the other party’s movements when the Zhuyan was sent flying. He fell into the foul stream with a huge splash.
Bo-Boss?
“Take this and tie him up,” Fu Li stuffed a whip into Zhang Ke’s hands.
Zhang Ke took the whip that neither looked old nor new and rushed into the filthy stream without looking back. A moment later, he finished tying up the Zhuyan. Glancing at the Zhuyan who was obediently following after him, Zhang Ke couldn’t help suspecting his identity as the fiend in the legends.
Fu Li smelt the stinky scent on Zhang Ke and took two steps back. It looked like it was a wise choice to let this human tie the Zhuyan up.
“I wasn’t aware that senior was an ancient yao. This younger generation failed to recognize this esteemed senior, may senior please forgive me,” Zhang Ke’s first statement after climbing back ashore was an apology to Fu Li. f(r)eewebn(o)vel.com
Fu Li glanced at him in confusion. “What ancient yao. All I did was rely on this yao-beating whip to control him.”
“You’re... not an ancient yao?” Zhang Ke scrutinized Fu Li skeptically. From his appearance, he didn’t seem like the type to lie. Only then did he heave a sigh of relief. “Then what yao-beating whip is this?”
“Oh, this?” Fu Li gave a brief description, “Two yao kings in the past were fighting. In the end, one of them was beaten to death and the other died after being struck by thunder. So, I conveniently picked it up.”
Zhang Ke, “...”
That was sure convenient.
The Zhuyan who was bound by the yao-beating whip let out a pained chuckle. Because of the yao-beating whip’s restriction, his original form was revealed. He had a snowy white head, an ape-like figure, and four red feet. He grimaced as he kneeled on the ground.
“You’re yao, yet you wallow in the mire with two-legged creatures,” His scarlet eyes stared fixedly at Fu Li as his corners of his mouth pulled back, revealing sharp teeth. “The emperor of my yao race has finally awoken and will seize the land that belongs to us.”
Half the moon in the sky was obscured by clouds. Zhang Ke didn’t know if it was just his misperception, but he felt that the moon seemed faintly red.
“Stop thinking about groundless things,” Fu Li rapped the Zhuyan’s furry head heavily. “A feudalistic society governed by imperial power has long since been overthrown, what emperor are you talking about? All you yaoguai who come out from deep within the mountains just haven’t seen the world. Don’t you know that times have progressed and that society is improving?” He might be a yaoguai from the countryside, but he had already started to learn human knowledge, so he harbored a strange kind of pride in this area.
The moment Fu Li voiced this, the frightening aura emitting from the Zhuyan instantly vanished without a trace. Zhang Ke told the Zhuyan, “Evil yao Zhuyan, you have violated the first and third regulation of the yao world by ruthlessly murdering four humans and violated the eighth and twelfth regulation by using humans as food. You will be arrested and brought to justice by the yao world’s management bureau. Come with me.”
The Zhuyan laughed coldly, taking exception to these words. In the past when he feasted on thousands of people, these two-legged creatures had even obediently sent him offerings.
“Hey, wait a moment,” Fu Li called after Zhang Ke. freeweb(n)ovel.co(m)
“Relax, after we lock up the Zhuyan, our bureau will return the yao-beating whip to you,” Although Zhang Ke felt that the yao-beating whip was quite a rare item, he didn’t have any intention to steal others’ treasures.
“Who cares about that toy,” Fu Li waved a hand. “I wanted to say that I can be considered to have helped you out tonight. Will there be... prize money or something?”
Zhang Ke was silent for two seconds. “Don’t worry, I will help you apply for it.”
“That’s good,” Fu Li was reassured.
He hadn’t busied himself this night for nothing.
At this moment, a girl called Ting Ting was walking out from a police station with her friends. She found the photo she had secretly captured on her phone and clicked open an online social platform. Hopefully with the power of the internet, she could find this kind person who had helped her and her friends.
Although in the picture the young man wearing a shirt was seated on the inside of the food stall, his elegant appearance couldn’t be covered up.
The weibo post that Ting Ting sent out in search of this person was forwarded by the local official police’s weibo, which praised his willingness to help others while simultaneously calling for men to respect women.
Before two days had gone by, this weibo post had garnered the attention of many netizens. Many people were guessing the identity of the young man who called himself Lei Feng.
“Little Hu, push this cart of cement over, quick!”
“Kay,” Fu Li dragged the cart over. He moved at lightning speed the entire way, causing dust to fly all over the construction site.
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