Chapter 11: Requiem

Cenisa ran out the cave. As came to the hill, Ren was standing with her arms behind her back. "You failed." Her ghost faded away. Cenisa slacked the branch at her side. She looked backed at the cave.

"Now what?"

She should have taken Jingyu's body so at least he would have proper burial. She looked back at the village. What was she suppose to do?

She wanted a lighting bolt to come down and hit her. She really fucked up.

Her head lifted up with the sounds of thuds going off in the distance. She saw an Oni with large tusk and swollen belly. It stood over the homes. It's eyes were missing.

She didn't have to fight it.

She didn't plan to.

She threw the branch to the ground. If her grandmother told her anything, she remembered she once said, you can do everything or nothing at all.

She didn't understand it, she asked her. "What does that mean?"

"Let's say you wanna eat a pie. It's the last pie. What would you do?"

"Nothing." she said.

Her grandmother shrugged. "There you go. You can eat it, but you choose to do nothing."

This state of affairs didn't really apply. She truly believed the village was already dead. She could get hurt; She only just met Jingyu but the man didn't deserve death. All because somebody wanted to rip the hearts out of people.

The lights surrounded her. "I'm no superhero." But she also wasn't a villain either. She didn't really think of herself as anything. She didn't plan for this.

"Bitch!"

"Huh?" her hand covered her head. Another strike to the back, she turnt bent over. "You stupid bitch!" Hualing thrust the knife forward. Cenisa moved from it. She tripped and slid down the rock slide. Hualing gave chase, with her knife ready. "Get back here!"

Cenisa didn't fall completely. She managed to get up on the slope and ran out the ditch. She grabbed the skull of Ma and threw it at the fat girl.

"BITCH!" she shielded her face. "I'm not sorry!" she ran into the village and made a sharp turn to the woods. As far as she was concern this was a haven, it's where she started from. She didn't know what to do!

Hualing still chased her, she headed to the woods. "You need to die!"

Cenisa was bleeding from the back of her head and her back. She could barely hold herself up. The ground shook under her, that oni was close. Hualing believed at that moment she was victorious. Cenisa had nowhere to run.

Why did she drop the tree?

"Now!"

"What is wrong with you!" Cenisa tumbled back, she blinked the fog and heavy lightheadedness. She scooted on the dirt away from Hualing.

She lunged forward and stabbed Cenisa but she put her arms up in the form of an X, Hualing stabbed her in her lower forearm. She continued to slash her arms. Cenisa didn't know how much blood she could lose.

"You stupid bitch!" Hualing dropped the knife and grasped Cenisa's arm. Just a courageous thought, she pulled Hualing forward and kicked her legs up under her round stomach. She had to hone her street fighting days. That was as good as any martial arts bullshit and… she was fat so the imbalanced mattered.

Due to the lost of blood, her vision waved. She blinked but felt herself grow tried. Hualing got off the ground. Cenisa stepped on the knife.

This was telling herself. The Jiangshi was dead, being vampire meant it was dead. So that meant…

Cenisa picked up the knife, Hualing's fat ass ran forward. Cenisa didn't know shit about knives about she knew how to twirl. As Hualing came steadfast she slashed the knife across her face and instinct told her.

Grab her shoulders. Push her down, just like and high school. Now stab her in the face, this was just like punching her. Go for the throat, side of the head, punch in the nose. That's the middle of her face.

She gouged out her eyes and kept up with the momentum.

She had to be dead… Hualing's body twitched. She started cutting her again… and again.

"You aren't wrong."

She looked behind her but not before delivering a plunging thrust to Hualing's forehead. "Jingyu?" she was happy but…

"Nisa it's fine…" he said. "The bureaucrat started it. Uncle told me. It's fine if you let it die."

"But I could bring you back!" she got off Hualing's body. "Eh!" he tossed his head back. "I could. But something has to happen."

"What do I do?"

"You can go to Janluut still and rest up there. Or you can try hero work." he looked away. "My dad bulit a factory."

"Why are you telling me?"

"A qi factory."

"A qi factory."

"My father wants to collect qi, take my father's place in government. That's completely impossible. So… I found this out for you."

She did well to listen. "My dad is a jiangshi, he's cursed based on the fact he sold his soul to Psychopomp for power." explained Jingyu. "Jiangshi's are like vampires, but you have to soul free. I don't mind death, shit, I was homeless."

"What about the factory?"

"It's in the main city. Gyeonghung is north from here."

"What am I supposed to do!" she stomped. "What the fuck does God want me to do!"

"Nothing."

"That's a damn lie. Why did you die? Why did your uncle tell me we were going to get married? Why am I here!"

"You touch the scroll… so the scroll is old, all the way back to the Qing Dynasty. All I can tell you is Jiu Yan of the Xiyi wants to be at the top. But he can't if he's dead."

"no shit!" she was on the verge of tears. "Bureaucrats don't control the army. My family is dead because of some birthright." he rolled his eyes. "If you stop the nonsense, that would be great. But also, if you ever decide to do the right thing… I suggest you go to Janluut."

Her breath was caught in her throat. Her head was fuzzy. She heard the oni roar. "I left you in a cave…"

"I literally sleep there… did you see my shit bucket?" he grinned. She had to be honest, she looked at Jingyu. "I can't save everybody."

"Cool." he shrugged. "I'll save you tho…"

He tossed his eyes to the side. "so you do like me."

She folded her arms. "No." Cenisa ran back to the cave, the oni didn't see her pass between his legs. She made it back to the hill and picked up the tree branch. The balls of light came back as she raced in the cave.

It wasn't a matter of she liked Jingyu or not. You can do everything or nothing at all. She choose to do something and something can be anything and everything.

She made it back to the hold and hoisted Jingyu's body. HE appeared with eyes wide. "Put me down."

"Fuck you." she went out and back to the hill. She placed Jingyu's body near a broken tree. She lookedat the oni, "Jing!"

He showed up, "What?"

"How do I get rid of that?"

He looked at the oni and back at her. He shrugged, "It's an oni!"

He didn't have any idea how to deal with demons. He wasn't a hunter, he was jobless, and also dead. "I died homeless and you want advise on demon slaying."

"Jing do you know or not!"

"No!"

"Imma train it…"

He blinked, "IT'S NOT A FUCKING DOG!"

"Well, it looks stupid."

"You cannot just tame some giant ass demon!" he thrusts his whole arm out to it. "That bitch eats people!"

"What about the soul?" she looked at him. "You are fucking stupid, I don't want to get married. I don't wanna have kids, I don't wanna live!"

"I'm not doing this because I like you."

"Say you like me!"

"No…" she stood emotionless. "You said I could do the right thing."

.

.

.

The Oni stepped on the praying area. He stomped on it and roared. Cenisa still had no idea what to do. She thought about the fire in the cave. She gestured to the oni, "Burn!" The lights flew to the giant. Turning into lamps on fire, they crashed into the oni's side.

The oni howled at the sky. The clouds spiraled and Cenisa prayed it was lighting. Again, she had no idea what to do. She looked at the branch running at the oni.

"FIRE!" she flung the tree engulfed in flames. She slid across the ground and swung the tree in the air. The Huishou flew off but didn't connect.

The oni, Samseong, took a whiff of the air. Cenisa couldn't smell anything. Sameong's nose crinkled, he grumbled and lifted his left leg to scratch.

"Are you fucking with me!" Cenisa tried to break the branch in half. "I threw itching powder at his ass!" the lights surrounded her. "Well, damn, I don't what to do!"

"Cenisa!" called Jingyu. He showed up and talked to her, "You need so much training. Wake the dead! You can the wind too!"

"Really?" she lamented. "The wind god, Ke-Chuijin!"

"Who--"

"The Black Dragon Worshippers, just shake the tree!" he shouted. She had shaken the damn thing before. Why would it work now?

The Oni was looking down at her. He rose his foot up. "Oh… my…" she felt the wind turn a dangerous direction. She shook the tree and put it in the air. A whirlwind formed around her and boosted upward. As the foot came down, it was obstructed by the wind and battled to push it's limb down. "HA!" she gestured with the branch. "GET THIS NIGGA'S TOES!" And the lights ignited and swirled around the Oni's foot. "FOOT FUNGUS NO MORE!" the moment she lifted the tree up, the oni flew back, losing it's balance. The lights touched it's toes and swirled up to it's knee.

Fire was hot. As big as the oni was, this fire touch him in ways a blade couldn't. He hollered at the top of his lungs. Cenisa run towards the Oni's head. She twirled the tree and felt it in her spirit the wind picked up

She caught a glimpse of the neck. Wind circled the tree, she slashed forward in the air. Cutting into the oni's neck but he only bled.

The lights blasted into the oni's face. She ran towards the hands and climbed her way to the torso. Cenisa got the wind ready and headed to the chest. The lights tossed themselves at the oni's face again. Cenisa slashed across the neck with the wind. Blood poured from the demon's neck and rain down.

"Well that was easy…" the lights circled her. The oni's spirit left the body. It was bigger than the other lights. "Take it!" yelled Jingyu. "Give it to me!"

"What!" she swished her head to Jingyu on her left.

"Give it to me, so I can live again!"

Cenisa heard but she doubted. "Are you serious?"