Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next day, Seventh Senior Brother died.

He died a very undignified death.

During morning lessons, we sat upright beneath the statue of the founding master, listening to Master expound the scriptures.

In the solemn silence, Seventh Senior Brother suddenly let out a groan of unbearable pleasure.

As if possessed, his face twisted with lewdness, he shoved his hand into his undergarments and rubbed vigorously.

Everyone was so shocked that no one thought to stop him, allowing him to sigh with satisfaction and defile the sacred statue.

Master flew into a rage and kicked him hard in the chest, knocking him over, and cursed:

“You wretched beast!”

Seventh Senior Brother laughed idiotically, staring at the statue of the founding master. He stripped off his clothes and lunged at it.

He stuck out his tongue, licking the statue’s face with a wet trail, and then wrapped himself around it, writhing and moaning obscenely.

Master’s chest heaved violently. He struck Seventh Senior Brother with a palm strike that sent blood spurting from his mouth, and then fainted from rage.

The other senior brothers finally came to their senses, and the morning lesson descended into chaos.

I stood frozen in a corner, at a loss, when the Seductress Spirit reached out and covered my eyes.

She whispered,

“Little Junior Sister, don’t look at such filth.”

Seventh Senior Brother, like a mad demon, indiscriminately defiled every senior brother who tried to stop him.

By the time his frenzy subsided, there was no clean spot left in the hall.

He stared at the stone pillar by the entrance, then lowered his head and rammed into it.

His skull split and blood gushed; he died instantly.

I looked at the Seductress Spirit in horror and asked,

“Did you kill Seventh Senior Brother? What exactly are you trying to do?”

The Seductress Spirit turned her wrist, a wisp of glowing light dancing at her fingertip, and asked,

“Do you want to know why he had to die?”

Her fingertip was cool. Without waiting for my answer, she pressed it to my forehead and plunged me into a nebulous haze.

I stood in the fog, looking around. A heavy stench of blood wafted from afar. It took me a while to realize this was not fog, but the sky-churning miasma of Endless Valley.

Eldest Senior Brother stood beside me, panting heavily, and said,

“Mingzhen, something’s wrong with this miasma.”

I wanted to tell him he had mistaken me for someone else, but no sound came out.

I watched myself flick blood off a sword and raise a hand, my fingers instantly vanishing in the miasma. The miasma thickened until I couldn’t see my own hand.

Then I heard my own cool voice say:

“There’s a great demon nearby. Be careful.”

That was Senior Sister’s voice.

The Seductress Spirit had thrown me into Senior Sister’s memories.

She wanted me to see through Senior Sister’s eyes what had happened before her death.

Senior Sister’s sword aura swept across, and the demon beasts lurking in the miasma wailed as they died under her blade.

But she was exhausted. She coughed up blood, slowly regulated her breathing, and propped herself on her sword to keep from collapsing.

Not far away, Master and the senior brothers were cleaning up the remaining demon beasts.

Eldest Senior Brother stayed close, warily scanning the surroundings.

The surroundings gradually fell silent, and the sound of breathing within the miasma grew more distinct.

Senior Sister held her sword before her, awaiting the demon beast’s emergence.

Suddenly Eldest Senior Brother cried out.

A demon beast burst from the ground, bit into his leg, and began dragging him into a cave.

Senior Sister lunged forward, grabbing Eldest Senior Brother’s hand tightly, and said with difficulty,

“Don’t let go. I’ll pull you up.”

Eldest Senior Brother’s face was ashen. He glanced down at the demon beast’s cave.

When he looked up again, his eyes were dark and vicious.

He locked onto Senior Sister’s hand, then suddenly pulled hard, dragging her down instead.

He stepped on her back as she fell, using it to spring out of the cave.

Senior Sister plummeted into darkness. The last thing she heard was Eldest Senior Brother’s long-suppressed, exultant voice:

“Ji Mingzhen, once you’re dead, no one will ever steal my thunder again.”

Inside the cave it was pitch black, save for the two eyes of the great demon beast glowing a faint green, drawing closer and closer.

Senior Sister trembled with pain, gritting her teeth to hold on.

She dodged the great demon beast while screaming for help at the top of her lungs.

The group followed the sound, cleared the miasma, and watched Senior Sister struggling with the great demon beast.

Senior Sister looked up. The gazes from above were complex and cold, as if each person harbored unspeakable secrets.

Senior Sister opened her mouth to speak, but before a sound came out, she clutched her chest, bent over, and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Senior Sister’s white robes already dyed crimson with blood.

She had charged ahead, slaying demons and protecting her fellow disciples behind her.

Little did she know that the blade that hurt the most came from behind.

Her body convulsed. Though I couldn’t feel her pain, my heart ached as if being cut to pieces.

Master averted his gaze and said coldly,

“This demon creature is too powerful. Set up the array and summon lightning. We’ll strike it down with heavenly thunder.”

Seventh Senior Brother sauntered over with a grin, his eyes lecherously sweeping over Senior Sister’s tattered clothes.

“Ji Mingzhen, if you beg me now, maybe I can plead with Master to spare your life.”

Senior Sister said coldly, “Shameless scoundrel!”

Seventh Senior Brother spat and cursed loudly,

“Whore! Serves you right for putting on airs! This is karma!”

Heavenly thunderbolts struck from the clouds. In an instant, the demon beast hiding in the cave was blasted to pieces.

Under the lightning array, Senior Sister had nowhere to flee. Her body was obliterated, leaving behind only a bloodstained hair ribbon.

Only at the very last moment did she use all her cultivation to protect a wisp of her soul.

That wisp escaped the cave, only to be devoured by the Seductress Spirit hidden in the deepest part of the miasma.

From the chaos, the Seductress Spirit transformed into Senior Sister’s likeness. She touched the red mark on the back of her neck and let out a sigh:

“Ji Mingzhen, do you want me to avenge you? Or do you have any last wishes unfulfilled?”