14 Bow to the King
"...up. Wake up…"
Xu Jiyu slowly stirs in his sleep.
"...yu. Xu Jiyu."
A soft, soothing voice calls out for him. Still in a dream-like trance, he gradually flutters his eyes open with unfocused, golden hues.
Although he does this, the sight that greets him is only yet another sea of darkness.
"...Mm?" Xu Jiyu tries to observe his surroundings, but he can only barely make out the outline of the furniture in the room. Across from him lays Liu Jian, still asleep in his own bed.
Having just woken up, he was still a bit sluggish. His brain slowly begins to piece the puzzle together.
Before he went to bed, he had asked Liu Jian to wake him up for dinner.
Confusion quickly overtakes his countenance within the darkness. That's strange. If it wasn't Liu Jian waking him up for dinner, then who—
"...Come outside, Xu Jiyu."
The previously comforting voice becomes raspy while calling out to him, brushing against his ear. This time, the youth jolts and tenses up, finally wide awake. He looks around the room once more, but there's no one inside except for himself and Liu Jian.
His heartbeat speeds up as he bites his bottom lip, glancing from left to right. His eyes have adjusted to the darkness and he can see a little better, but…
Suddenly, he hears the distinct sound of wood against wood—the chair had moved on its own! It scoots closer to his bed, hauntingly creaking towards him.
What time is it?!
He doesn't have any way to check, but judging by the supernatural events that are occurring, it must be around midnight.
The spirits… they've appeared!
"Liu Jian, wake up!" Xu Jiyu shouts, pleading with his partner to wake up, uncertain and alarmed.
But before he can utter another word—
"Ah—!"
---
Liu Jian wakes up with a start, sitting up in an instant. Alert, he begins to observe his surroundings, but there's no one in the room. Didn't Xu Jiyu just yell his name?
Where… is Xu Jiyu?
But as his senses heighten, his platinum eyes sharpen considerably and his expression morphs into one of rage.
"...They dare take him away from me." Liu Jian snarls, exuding killing intent.
He rises to his feet and furiously rips out the clips in his hair, letting his black strands fall onto his shoulders. With his hair now messily strewn about, he looks even more like a madman, platinum eyes gleaming red within the darkness of the room.
"...I'll take their offense and pay them back by a hundred-fold," the King of Spirits raises a hand, using his spiritual energy to summon his sword embedded with his power. "Xu Jiyu is mine."
With those words, an explosive azure flame collides with the door, and the building immediately catches on fire.
The hauntingly beautiful flames swallow the entire inn whole, and the King strolls amid the chaos without a trace of remorse.
---
Xu Jiyu had no idea why he was suddenly taken away by the spirits, but it seems that his current situation wasn't looking too good…
"Why am I here?" The youth questions, glancing between the two men who had seized him by the arms. A group of about ten burly men surrounded him.
"You're asking us why? Because you seem easy to possess." Evil spirit number one jeers, all while conveniently revealing useful information to the beloved protagonist of the story.
"With those weak spiritual roots, even our C-rank spirit can overwhelm you within two weeks, when it'd usually take a almost an entire month… it'd be a piece of cake! Hahaha!" Evil spirit number two laughs as if he had accomplished something amazing in his pitiful cannon fodder life.
The spirits appeared to be talking about the fact that taking over a cultivator's body was much more beneficial than taking over a normal human's body. This is because they will be able to cultivate the spiritual power they already have as spirits, and grow stronger.
The weaker the spiritual roots the cultivator has, the better for lowly C-rank spirits. Since C-rank spirits aren't powerful enough to take control over a high-level cultivator, the only hope they have is taking over someone like Xu Jiyu. Thus why they had readily kidnapped him, forcing him to become nothing but a shell for them to take control of.
Xu Jiyu knew that the possession for normal humans and cultivators were different, but for them to differentiate to this extent...?
He only shakes his head, indignant. "You'd better let me go… my partner's definitely going to vanquish you back to wherever you came from!"
"Oh, yeah? Back to where? The Spirit Realm doesn't exist without the King!" Evil spirit number one on his left sneers, "Now, spirits who long for a place to settle down have settled down in Huaxi Village. It seems like we're all humans, but everyone who lives here are actually all spirits who managed to possess bodies."
Xu Jiyu's blood runs cold.
Everyone in this village were spirits who had successfully possessed human bodies…? Even the nice inn-owner was just another spirit…?
Just as his mind is being swarmed with dreadful thoughts—
The evil spirit continues on without waiting for an answer, "And you're next on the list… obediently let my C-rank friend Dong Yu possess your body now. Don't you dare try using your powers to push him out…"
The youth immediately begins struggling as he feels a strange force pressing on his consciousness, his vision blurring as he almost forgets to breathe. Every nerve in his body screamed in agony, and he lets out a pained yell as his body begins convulsing in concession.
Beads of sweat run down to his neck and he feels his mind going completely blank.
He can't speak. He can't think. He can only uselessly wait for his body to be taken over by an evil spirit that he doesn't even know—
"Xu Jiyu!" A strangely familiar voice shouts his name. Through his blurred vision, he recognizes the figure flying upon an ornate sword.
"... Li… u… Ji… an…." Xu Jiyu manages to choke out with much difficulty.
Although the outline of his partner was familiar, the cold tone of his voice was not. "Let. Go. Of. Him."
Liu Jian hops off of his sword gracefully, landing right in front of the group.
"Or wha—" The first spirit's sentence cut off as Liu Jian holds up a finger. Liu Jian then smiles coldly and points at him.
The spirit hesitates, then looks down with a measure of confusion. His vision turns red as a bolt of pain lances up his arm. Laying on the ground is the hand that spirit number one had been using to drag Xu Jiyu.
"What do you call a sword that does its master's bidding without him having to take a single step? …Handy."
Xu Jiyu, still laying in the dirt after his sudden release, groans. "Liu Jian, this is NOT THE TIME FOR JOKES."
"But… it was funny." Liu Jian chuckles lowly, still radiating bloodlust.
For some reason, Liu Jian feels much more… alive, Xu Jiyu thought.
Evil spirit number two, breaking free of his previous shock, charges. Liu Jian stands still with his usual poise as the malicious presence barrels toward him at breakneck speed. The spirit draws his fist back, lunging toward Liu Jian in a fit of rage, and aims a punch toward his center of mass. Time slows, and Xu Jiyu watches Liu Jian casually, almost without concern, lean backward and to the side, drawing one of his shoulders forward and the other back. The spirit's fist, packed with murderous intent and spiritual power, sails past its intended target. In that instant, Liu Jian's sharp eyes lock with the spirit's and his lips twitch into a small smirk.
Still leaning, Liu Jian grabs the spirit's robe with a hand, firmly grasping onto the fabric. Bringing his back foot around, he smoothly pivots, almost like a dancer, tucking his shoulder into the spirit's chest and using the momentum of the punch to throw the possessed body with intense force. The spirit, launched back toward his comrades, flies headlong into two others, taking down evil spirit numbers three and four.
[Achievement Unlocked: Multi-kill]
The other spirits are in awe of this cultivator's power, and Xu Jiyu takes the chance to punch his second captor in the nose. The spirit recoils at the unexpected strike, letting go of his quarry's arm and allowing Xu Jiyu to put some distance between him and his would-be captors. He doesn't make it five paces before evil spirit number five kicks him in the back, knocking him flat on the ground.
"Ah!" A pained yelp echoes off the surrounding houses, as evil spirit number five gives Xu Jiyu a sharp kick in the stomach. Xu Jiyu curls into a ball in the dirt.
Liu Jian, in the blink of an eye, strides forward with his sword's hilt gripped in both hands, his elbows back and the back of his hand pressed to his cheek. In perfect form for a lightning fast slash, it's plain to see Liu Jian is attempting a killing blow.
Yes… plain to see.
Liu Jian is sent into the wall of a nearby house. The evil spirits still standing had easily foreseen his attack, and had gathered their spiritual energy together, discharging it in a single blow. The shockwave had rippled through the air, hitting Liu Jian with the force of ten carriages.
"Liu Jian! No—!" Xu Jiyu screams in desperation, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks. With a heavy blow like that, anyone would be seriously injured.
But suddenly, a chill makes its way up Xu Jiyu's spine. Even the spirits surrounding him shiver. The lights around them seem to grow dim, and an unfamiliar pressure bears down on the gathering. Xu Jiyu peers upward from the ground at the spirits, who until just a moment ago had been the definition of ferocity. Their eyes had widened in shock and a few had stepped backward. Liu Jian stood in pristine condition just in front of the wall he'd been launched into. The spirits' attack seems to have had little to no effect on him.
His spiritual sword has changed, Xu Jiyu notices. Previously a decorated piece of shining steel, its hilt was formerly an affair of woven white thread, trimmed with spun gold. Now, the steel is darkened as the blade is entirely pitch black, save for its wicked, sapphire edge. Liu Jian's eyes mimic the sword, his platinum hues shining solemnly amidst pools of livid obsidian. The impact of the spirits' attack had torn his robes to shreds, leaving his well-toned chest and stomach bared to the elements.
"Liu… Jian…?" Xu Jiyu stares openly at his partner.
The man casually strides over to the youth. He comes to a stop, standing before his shocked partner.
Instead of answering, he kneels in front of Xu Jiyu and reaches out with a hand. Gently tilting Xu Jiyu's head back, he uses his thumb to wipe away the youth's tears.
A red flush dusts his cheeks, entranced by the handsome man's seductive appearance.
"You… You are…!" Evil spirit number six's eyes widen in shock, and he quickly gets on his knees, bending at the waist to bow deeply. He glances over at the remaining four spirits and exclaims, "You idiots, bow before our King before he kills us all!"
Almost immediately, the other spirits gasp simultaneously and copy spirit number six's actions.
"Your Majesty, forgive us…!" Spirit number seven wails upon realizing just who this person was.
Spirit number eight hastily adds, "We didn't know it was you! We're just lowly C-rank spirits, please spare our lives…!"
"Please spare our lives, Your Majesty!" Spirits nine and ten repeat together, their foreheads touching the ground.
The King's previously serene expression contorts into a sneer as he raises his head and glances over at the four kneeling figures. "Tch... pathetic."
Little did he know, Xu Jiyu's golden hues are burning with an intense hatred. While Liu Jian is momentarily distracted by the evil spirits' gesture of deference, Xu Jiyu suddenly stands up and lunges.
