The Legend of the Devil
Ch. 180 - Cowardice of Xinghua
Xue Zhan was daydreaming in silence, his heart and mind filled with anger and resentment. Chao Mi, his old enemy as well as a member of the Red Taring that has reappeared. Now the opportunity to avenge is seen in plain sight. Xue Zhan would make sure that Chao Mi would not escape after this and he would finish off the woman mercilessly.
Even so Xue Zhan was also aware that he should not let his guard down. Chao Mi was a strong and cunning opponent, and she would not give a second chance. Next time they meet again maybe the fight will be much more difficult and the woman must have prepared herself to kill him.
For that Xue Zhan had to be careful and prepare himself well if he wanted to win that fight.
In the silence that enveloped their journey, Xue Zhan was determined to himself that he would settle his grudge with Chao Mi as well as the Red Taring. He would not allow anyone to stand in his way including Xiang Yi Bai even though because Xue Zhan had sworn to kill them.
Just as they stopped at the edge of the clear stream to drink, Xiang Yi Bai noticed the silence of his disciple. He then asked, "Tumben you're so quiet. What the hell is going on?"
Xue Zhan stared towards the river and did not immediately reply. After a while, he finally let out a long breath and spoke in a low voice. "I'm just bothered with Chao Mi" he said.
Hearing that, Hua Lian who was also on the trip was surprised and asked carefully, "Chao Mi? Wait-some people said that the one who attacked the Golden Dragon Academy last night was one of the Red Fanged higher-ups and he was Chao Mi. So you're the swordsman that was talking about? You fought one on one with him?"
Xue Zhan was stunned. "So who saw me fighting?"
The man's mouth opened for a long time without making a sound until he regained consciousness and responded. Trying to stay calm.
"Of course, but don't worry, no one knows who you are."
A second Xue Zhan put on an ambiguous face. His mask was shattered and his face was probably seen by the person who had secretly seen his fight yesterday. Although Xiang Yi Bai finally gave a replacement mask while at the inn so that no one recognized his face.
But that made him even more clumsy to make a sound. Ever since seeing Chao Mi, the anger and resentment in her heart burned again. After five years of living peacefully with Xiang Yi Bai, the hatred rose again.
He had never thought of letting go of the people who had killed Lin Yu Mei and her Grandfather. That grudge was a wound that would not heal for him, the only way to temper it was to take the heads of his enemies.
Xue Zhan had seen for himself, the other little boy had lost his family again and lived a long life as a result of the Red Taring. Just like her. It made him even more certain that killing them was his necessity.
Hua Lian's voice came back. "But why? He is a dangerous enemy, you better leave this matter to the greatest swordsman of the Feng Empire. I'm afraid she'll chase you around."
Being said like that Xue Zhan had already shook his head. "I can't tell you much, but from the beginning he's been hunting me. The only way to solve this is to kill him."
Xiang Yi Bai followed. "Your strength is still a little below it. If you had been a little careless last night, you probably wouldn't have gone back to the inn." she said. "Don't think you can deal with it so easily just by relying on your current strength" he continued with the emphasis of each of his words.
That fact had already upset him so much. Until the moment Xiang Yi Bai tried to look at the two eyeballs of his students, what was seen was a gaze full of anger.
The man let out a voice, "Look, it's no longer the blood that runs through your body. Except for hate."
Xue Zhan took a deep breath. He knew Xiang Yi Bai was most abstinent in some ways one of them had a strong killing intent. The young man tried to forget the anger within him and regained his composure.
"I'm sorry, Teacher."
Hua Lian looked at Xiang Yi Bai alternately and could not understand half of their conversation. He also did not know the two from the beginning. Even just a name they refuse to say. What he believed was that the young man beside him had a great desire to wipe out the existence of his enemies.
After four days of walking they reached Xinghua City.
Xinghua City was located on the outskirts of the Feng Empire and was famous as the City of the Dead as only a few survived in that city and also there was often extreme weather accompanied by several old buildings in every part of the city. The city holds many stories and dark history. The city used to be a prosperous city in the past, but over time, a major outbreak occurred and made it collapse leaving only the temple buildings and towers that stood majestic.
A few hours of walking they finally reached the Yellow Bamboo Forest, the place where Yue Linghe was, located outside of the city, surrounded by green mountains and beautiful valleys. This forest consists of thousands of towering bamboo stems and resembles a kind of labyrinth.
Hua Lian made sure that they were still safe enough to go inside, Xue Zhan followed the man's footsteps vigilantly while continuing to track down the surrounding existences. The forest has an odd air and is cooler than winter even though the sun is still visible above their heads. Unexpectedly in the Forest there are still some magnificent and historic temple buildings. The Yellow Bamboo Forest was wider than he had imagined.
Hua Lian showed one place they passed, a large Temple called the Temple of the King of Heaven, used to pray for the protection of the gods for the deaths that continue to occur in the city. The temple has a green roof with gold ornaments placed in various corners. Inside, there is a huge statue of the Heavenly King made of bronze and jade, considered as the protector of the city and the giver of prosperity.
The old bell tower is also located on the face of the temple, built over 10 years ago. The tower has 13 floors and each floor has a bell that is different in size and sound. As the wind blew, these bells would ring with a sound that could be heard around the temple.
The three of them went deeper and deeper into the Yellow Bamboo Forest, Xue Zhan held Hua Lian's chest to stop walking with his gaze locked forward. He felt the air of existence, more than one person.
Sure enough, Xue Zhan, Xiang Yi Bai, and Hua Lian immediately faced problems. They are faced with a group of criminals who control the Yellow Bamboo Forest region. Five thugs came with weapons and asked them to pay 300 gold coins per person if they wanted to survive. This stops them. According to Hua Lian, they were still quite far away from the middle part of the Yellow Bamboo Forest which was filled with centipede stealth. He knew very well why there were still criminals present in this forest, they were hunting for stealth and taking their poison to sell to the black market.
It is said entering the middle of the Yellow Bamboo Forest is almost impossible. The more to the middle, then the demons that appeared would be more dangerous and even their height could exceed the height of the yellow bamboo itself. Moreover everyone also knew that the Purple Centipede in the Yellow Bamboo Forest had a poison that was very hard to bargain for and there was no cure at all.
Hua Lian held on. Xue Zhan was against their demands, even though he had the money to enter easily but he did not want these people to become more rampant and harm others. The five men put up a powerful and fearless attitude.
The two camps insisted on each other so that even a fight could not be avoided.