Chapter 42: Lord Water (1)

"Young Maiden, the three of us have just visited a contaminated area. Let us visit another place before we go to the shrine."

"Okay!"

Ai Lie and the two other asuras stop by to another shrine. This shrine is very quite, Ai Lie saw nobody inside, but still, the building is well maintained. When Ai Lie went in, she encountered wide bathing pool in the middle of the building.

"Let's soak ourselves inside the pond."

"What is this pond, My Lord?"

"It's a neutralizing pond. It can cleanse our body from any foreign energies."

"We can also use it for bathing. This place is hidden and untouchable by the public, so the water is clean.", Yi Fei dipped her hand on the pool.

Those women undressed themselves. Ai Lie dipped her body in and when her earring touch the water, the crimson crystal on the tip lost its glow without her notice. After having their baths they went home. Eventhough today Ai Lie has no training session, she still feel exhausted.

"Young Maiden, do you want to pray with us?"

"E-Eh?? B-But I don't know how to pray...."

"That's fine, Young Maiden. Come, sit and listen."

Yi Fei placed a cushion beside her. The other monks are watching Ai Lie as she dropped her buttocks. She feels nervous, she is afraid of making mistake and being ashamed.

"Lao Shi, why don't we pray exclusively for her fruitfulness today?"

"Very well."

'Huh? Pray for me? Exclusively?', somehow she feels special.

The monks begin their ritual. Chanting while knocking the wooden fish, she had no clue what language they are speaking right now. She pretends to be a doll who followed her puppeteer's lead, when the others kneeled, she also did that for formalities. But her attention is always caught by the statues of men placed on the altar, not with the odd mantras. 5 of them has different faces, appearances, armors, weapons, and poses. The middle one has the most unique art sculpture technique.

His face is far more realistic than the others. He appeared to be young but mature. His face is beautiful like a woman, but his eyes hid burning rage. He is the only one who is painted more lively, while the rest have bloodless skin color. The weapon that he holds, the crimson crescent polearm, looking like a real weapon. He must be the one who is worshiped the most. Nevertheless, to answer her curiosity she should ask someone by herself, but not to these unsociable monks.

The ritual has done, as well as her dinner. Ai Lie crawled up to her bed and tried to communicate with Xin Suan. Since yesterday until now, she is talking to herself. No one answered. What's wrong? Is there any problems in the manor? Xin Suan isn't a type of a man who will break his promise he made, and he had promised Ai Lie to contact her every night. Ai Lie couldn't sleep, haunted by the unnessecary thoughts.

"Ah, I'm thirsty."

Tonight's weather is rather hot. She decided to have a drink. Yet when she entered the dinning room, she encountered Xiu Zhen who is drinking alone and sat on her favorite chair. No doubt, Ai Lie recognized its scent. It's an alcohol. Thanks to Xin Suan drinking behavior that Ai Lie should handle whenever the two have their dinner, Ai Lie knows so well the bitter and odd smell.

"Young Maiden? Why are you still awake?"

"S-Sorry, My Lord, I was thirsty."

"Then, care to join me?", She raised her clay glass.

"I'm sorry, I have to refuse. I don't drink alcohol, My Lord."

"You don't? Why?"

Everyone thought that Ai Lie is already adult enough to drink alcohol. Yes, she actually is. Her classmates in her school are mostly drinker, even they oftenly held dirty parties.

"Uhm... To be honest, I don't like the smell. I feel nausea everytime its unpleasant scent entered my nose."

"Oh my, then I had to stop."

"No! You don't have to, My Lord. Lord Xin Suan has teached me how to handle its smell, so I'm already accustomed to it.", Ai Lie smiled awkwardly.

"Very well..."

Xiu Zhen is acting strange. Ai Lie thinks that she is sober. Maybe, she had a lot in her mind, so Ai Lie decided not to interfere with her. Ai Lie rushingly took some water, drink, and preparing to go.

"Young Maiden, care to sit beside me?"

"Uh... B-But, won't I disturb you?"

Xiu Zhen shooked her head. Ai Lie accompanied her to drink. Maybe, Xiu Zhen needs someone to talk, at least that's what Ai Lie's thought. Ten minutes has passed, they don't even exchange a word. Ai Lie started to regret to ever agree with Xiu Zhen's idea. This awkwardness and silence Ai Lie still cannot handle. Very well, maybe Ai Lie should try how to start conversation with 'stranger'. This kind of opportunity is rare after all.

"Umm... My Lord? May I ask you the reason why you drink? Isn't drinking alcohol prohibited in the cultivation's path?"

"Cultivation's path...? I have broke it thousand years ago, my child. I no longer obey the rules, but I still avoid promiscuity and consuming meat."

"Ah... I see."

That makes sense. Xiu Zhen was once a "serial killer" after all, yet she hid her true self by acting like a saintly priestess.

"Do you want to know why I left my righteous path?"

"E-Eh?? N-No, my Lord, I have no intention bringing up your old wounds."

"Wounds? How could you know whether my decision left me a scar or not?"

Ah. Ai Lie almost spilled. Obviously Xiu Zhen doesn't know that Ai Lie already have a picture about her terrible past.

"Well... Every action comes with a reason behind it. You must have a strong reason on your choice, and it matters me not even if I don't know that reason."

"And what if the real reason was my greediness that led me to commited crimes? Will you stay in your words or instead you see me in different way?"

Ai Lie took a pause.

"Everyone made mistakes, my Lord, and I am no one to judge you. The only thing that matter is for you to not making the same mistakes in the future."

"Hahaha. I see, I see. Kind as expected, befitting the figure of Sword Maiden. Are you not interested to join me, Young Maiden?"

"E-Eh??"

"You are purer than me or the other monks. You even never stain yourself with this addictive evil beverages.", She raised her glass.

"M-My apologize, My Lord, I have to refuse once more. I never have the call to be a monk..."

"Hmm. You are right. You are still young, you should enjoy your youth while you still can. Forgive me, I was talking nonsense."

"N-No, that's not true...", Ai Lie doesn't know how to talk with someone who her mind is unclear due to her drink.

"Then, after the ritual done, I will inherit you this.", Xiu Zhen pointed her finger to her forehead, "The Eye of Puritiness is passed down to every Sword Maiden. Use its power wisely, Young Maiden."

The waterdrop emblem on her forehead said to be an icon of Sword Maiden, but Xiu Zhen must have forget one most important thing.

"I apologize once more, I still have to refuse."

"Why? Do you not desire magical power?"

"No. I do not wish, My Lord.", Ai Lie shooked her head, "Lord Water, you may have forgotten my true nature as a human. I could only bear your duty in this lifetime, but 300 years later it will be yours again. My age is clearly shorter than yours, who knows that I will passed away when I reached 20, 30, or 50?"

Xiu Zhen is stunned. The silence breaks between them.

"I'm sorry, my Lord, please, accept my apologize.", Ai Lie's afraid of crossing the line.

"No... You are right. How could I forgot that? I am the one who should be sorry for what I said. Handling a drunkard must be hard for you."

"No, not at all, My Lord. You can always share your thoughts with me. That also goes if you ever met a problem, My Lord. I may be lack at most things, but I'd like to lend my ears for you."

"I understand why His Majesty chose to bought you and keep you on his side. Not only to give you a place to stay, he must have wanted to fill his hollowness with your warm presence."

"E-Eh? Warm?"

"But do not burn by enviness, Young Maiden, I was once fell with Lord Xin Suan also."

Ai Lie widened her eyes. She couldn't believe what Xiu Zhen just said.

"You must be surprised. Let me tell you the whole story."

_______

Two thousand years ago, Xiu Zhen was a monk and a teacher. She was a great person, her smiles could warmth everyone's heart and her words of wisdom could bring peace to everyone's mind. The people labeled her as the God's Representative, but that title wasn't last too long. No matter how kind and righteous she was, she was nothing more than a merely human. The calamity surrounding her people started to disturb the peacefullness that was filled in this whole village. As a well-respected figure, everyone who was affected by the volcano eruption pled for her help. Their demands were certainly high to make.

The people started to bring their injured family members inside Xiu Zhen's shrine to be treated costlessly. However, Xiu Zhen and her disciples were no physician. Their knowledge about curing injury was only the basic one, desinfecting and then sew. But the people weren't satisfy with what they did. They kept complaining shamelessly as if they have spent high amount of money for their treatment.

Day after day, the greediness that held by the villagers became worse. Some of the affected villagers took their beloved ones who lost parts of their limbs and asked her to grow them back. Xiu Zhen, as a normal human, rationally refused them, of course it was impossible to replace what was had lost. Instead of showing understanding, those foolish villagers cursed the god Xiu Zhen and her disciples worshiped as if Xiu Zhen was adhere a wrong useless teaching. Regardless what the villagers did, Xiu Zhen endured all the abuse and kept praying. She prayed, prayed, and prayed everyday, everynight. None of her prayers were heard, even by the god she worshiped the most. In fact, the conditions grew worse each day.

Xiu Zhen began to fall in the void of despair and confusion. Her disciples had to face the villagers dissatisfaction everyday with their words that were as sharp as a knife. Not only verbal bullying, sometimes the villagers went havoc inside her shrine. As a result, she lost so many believers and some of her disciples chose to left her. Meanwhile the volcano itself never taken a rest bring a new calamity everyday. These severe matters she had to dealt made her realized that she needed a help from someone whose his strength similar to gods. She began to improve her literature about some odd rituals.

A month later, a teenager who one of his leg burnt by lava was brought by his father to be treated. His father looked so poor, and the boy was unable to do anything except crying in his father's embrace. Xiu Zhen, who have herself studied enough, saw them in different way. Her ocean colored blue eyes that was once always emitting affection and symphaty began to show nothing but emptiness and ruthlessness. She led them into a cave by selling them a fake tale about secret divine medicine that could heal every illness or injury.

Once that little family off guard, she knocked the father down with a hugerock until the father's skull crushed. The father instantly dead, his blood was flooding everywhere. The boy who watched his father's tragic death was terribly afraid and beg for her mercy, but she cut his tongue with a knife when he started crying. He could no longer speak at this rate. Xiu Zhen who lost her sanity began to skin the boy alive. She told the boy that her method could help him release his suffer from the burnt scar. The cave was far from the village, so no one would hear the boy's eerie scream.

Everything had been prepared, Xiu Zhen performed her demonic ritual for the first time. Xiu Zhen draw a serpent eye with the boy's blood who was patheticly still alive but most part of him are skinless, except his head. She placed the boy's skin and flesh at the edges of the eye as the devices to help her open the gate to another realm. Her ritual worked. After chanting unknown mantras, a black pit was summoned in the middle of her bloody drawing below her feet. She was unprepared and fell into the deepest place of the pit, but someone catched her from falling. He was a preta soldier, he heard a woman's scream near his house.

Long flowing black hair, blue eyes, perfect white skin, plain face, and her strong unshakeable expression. Maybe because of Xiu Zhen's natural divine beauty, the preta soldier who catched the fallen angel in his embrace immediately fell for her instead of seeing her as his prey. Xiu Zhen herself was confused and scared, she saw no way back home. The hole she was fell in had been closed. She was trapped in the world surround with danger but there was no turning back. Her main goal was to meet the Asura King in person. But after watching the darkness side of the world she never encountered, she trembled in fear, afraid of being eaten by everyone here, unexceptionally the man who carried her slim body. The preta soldier noticed her fear of being harmed and took her away to his house.

The two had a small conversation and a tea. Xiu Zhen told him everything and begged him for a help to arrange a meeting with his king. The preta soldier fortunately had a high position in military, so he often meet the king in person. But he told her that even she met his king face to face doesn't mean he would easily lend a hand for her. There's a price to pay to gain the king's attention, and it was by giving him proper offerings. Xiu Zhen who brought nothing but her body in an instance fell into disappointment. The preta soldier took a pity on her, he offered himself to help her with no cost. He told her not to worry, and leave her matter to his hands.

A high rank soldier, captain of a thousand pretas, kind hearted mythical creature who held strong magical power, and the most important thing, he was highly attracted to Xiu Zhen. Xiu Zhen who noticed this great opportunity immdediately took an advantage on him. She decided to make him her puppet and her partner in crime. She changed her plan. Instead of gaining the Asura King's attention, she must gain this soldier's loyalty first. She must do something that would hipnotized his mind, so he would do everything for her even if it took his own life.

A man is just a man regardless what creature he was. She seduced the preta by brushing her lips againsts his. But the preta was kind, he didn't even have the heart to touch her after knowing her identity as a monk. Seeing his stubbornity as an obstacle, she pushed him unstopably to the point where he began to desire her treasure. She agreed to give her chasteness to him, but in exchange he must obeyed whatever she said. A holy priestess who was devoted her life in celibacy immediately stained in a demon's hand by her own will, and the preta who was blindly in love with her at the first sight decided to create a contract with her in hope he could always be with her. The contract was foolish, it had no benefit to the preta soldier.

'I will never betray my master's words. My soul and my life is owned by her alone. If ever I betrayed her or even if she asked me to be perished, then I will be perished. This contract is absolute and cannot be cancelled by anyone even myself who created it.'

The contract only had one rule. It was spoke by the preta and legitimized when the two exchanging a drop of their blood in the heat of their indecency. By in one noon, she fell from a holy monk into a murderer, a cunning person, and a cheap woman. Xiu Zhen became a fallen priestess and a huge disgrace in the history of monks who turned her back from the gods and chose to sleep with a demon instead. Such a sinful path that she took in order to end her problems.

After doing their filthy deeds, she asked the preta soldier to send her back to the cave. Xiu Zhen asked the preta soldier to helped her to cut the boy's head neatly and served him to the Asura King, and she gave him the rest of the boy's flesh. Of course, he followed what his master ordered him to. And thus, their mission began. Xiu Zhen served as a prey finder, while the preta soldier served as the executioner and a courier.

Months after that day, their persistent effort started to come to fruitfulness. The preta soldier told Xiu Zhen that his lord will help her soon. 'This is the end, no more killing.', that was what Xiu Zhen thought. She was so happy until she forgot her main purpose of eliminating her puppet soon after her mission done. In contrary, she was willingly offer herself to the preta soldier, she let him to do anything he wanted as a token of gratitude and celebration.

The next day after that good news, Xiu Zhen back from the cave to her shrine. She entered her room and jolted in shock. She found a tall young man with glamorous silver armor and long black hair standing in front of the goddess painting she worshiped.

"The moon goddess?", he muttered.

"W-Who are you!?", Xiu Zhen immediately raised her knife.

"Who am I, you ask?", He turned his head to Xiu Zhen who was standing behind him, "I am the one who you looked for the most. The arch enemy of the immortal creature you worshiped for your whole life."

'Gulp!', Xiu Zhen didn't realized it was the Asura King. She was too tired as a result of serving the preta soldier nonstopably yesterday.

"Forgive me, My Lord! I was too presumptuous until I bare my fangs at you! Please, accept my apologize!", She immediately fell on her knees.

"Raise.", The man sat on her bed arrogantly.

Xiu Zhen stood on her feet but she didn't dare to face him. She threw her stares on the wooden floor below her.

"Who said you may avoid my eyes, dirty priestess?"

Dirty, yes. He had the rights to call her that way. In fact, this woman's heart was really filthy.

Xiu Zhen finally raised her head. After her eyes met his face, she immediately mesmerized, especially with his crimson soul-sucking serpent eyes, she couldn't remove her sight from them. Maybe because she has long break her cultivation's path in secrecy, her heart wavered by his ultimate handsomeness.

"Forgive me, Your Highness."

"Do tell me your reason why you ask for my help rather than to ask your goddess."

"Because... Because the gods are arrogant, Your Highness, my prayers have never been answered if it wasn't you who is humble and kind until you came here in person."

"Hahahaha! Arrogant? Well said. Do you know why the volcano never stop causing you a trouble?"

"Nay, Your Highness."

"The guardian spirit is almost dead. The nature spirits are different than us, they are no demons nor gods. I need more power to extend their lifespan. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Uhm...", Xiu Zhen couldn't understand his meaning.

"So you don't understand.", The man raised from Xiu Zhen's bed and walked closest to Xiu Zhen's sight.

Xiu Zhen who was half mad, she unconsciously stared at his face without a blink.

"How long do you plan to placed your eyes on me?"

"M-My apologize!", She threw her eyes down, "And my apologize for failing to understand your words, Highness!"

"That's normal. You are a dimwit and a mad monk who dared enough to betray your own god.", The man placed his mouth beside her ear, "What do you think she will do to you after what you have done? Do you really think she would forgive your sins?"

Xiu Zhen's widened her eyes.

"Yes, if she knows about this, she will remove you and your people with the volcano eruption. Do not ever forget, dirty priestess, we the gods and asuras have the power to play with the nature in human's world. We could make the volcano to spew their hot lava to burnt you all down to dust."

Xiu Zhen fantazised what he said. No, even if she has walked the darkest path, she still have a white spot inside her heart. The people may not die, she couldn't bear to see the villagers suffering again.

"T-Then, what should I do, Your Highness?"

The man took a pause before replying her question. Somehow his soft breath beside her right ear made her heart ran faster.

"Do you wish for me to hide your sins also?"

"Hide my sins? Your Highness can also do that?", Xiu Zhen turned her head. Their faces were really close. Xiu Zhen couldn't bear not to see his bloodless blue lips.

"Why not? But I need more power. Since you are a dimwit who can not understand what I said, I will make it clear.", He stroked her head. Xiu Zhen's heart was almost burst.

"Bring me 12 more people.", He smiled evily.

Xiu Zhen immediately forgot the butterflies in her belly and surprised. To kill 12 more people wasn't a small amount of sins.

"And those people should die by your own hands. How was that sound?"

'He knew that I had a puppet!?', Xiu Zhen froze like a statue. She had never kill more than 2 people in her history.

'Knock Knock Knock!', "Lao Shi, everyone's waiting for you!", A young priestess came inside her room. Xiu Zhen who fell into fearness turned her head to the door.

"Lao Shi? Is there any problem?"

Xiu Zhen confused. Her favorite and the most loyal disciple couldn't see the man who stood really close to Xiu hen.

"S-Stay where you are, Fang Fang."

"W-Why, Lao Shi??"

"Ah... I see. She is your favorite one, isn't she?", That man whispered to Xiu Zhen's ear.

That man forced Xiu Zhen to turned her head back to his.

"Then, what about her? If you could bring her down with your own hands right now, you don't have to kill anymore people. What do you say?"

Xiu Zhen began to sweat. Her shoulders were shuddering, her palms were cold, her pupils were shrinking. She didn't have the heart to lay a finger on her innocent loyal disciple.

"Why are you so scared, fallen priestess?", That man stroked her cheek. His cold palm gave her chill, "You have gone this far, weren't you? You have killed so many of your own kind just to satisy me. The different is just your errand boy isn't here to help you."

"Y-Your Highness, I....", Xiu Zhen talked in a low voice.

That man stared at her eyes sharply as if he is staring into her soul. He put an evil smile, "Or do you wish for me not to help you?"

"Lao Shi...??? What's wrong???", Her disciple confused because of the 'silence' between her and Xiu Zhen.

"N-No.. J-Just, not her....."

"It has to be her. That way I wouldn't ask you for more. You betrayed your own god, your own people. Now to make it perfect, you have to betray your own disciple, right?", He twirled her hair.

"Y-Your Highness..."

"Don't make me repeat my words, or else, I will crawl back to my lair."

He took her knife that was placed on her waist. He passed it to her palm, and led her to grip.

Xiu Zhen trembled so hard. She could barely grip the hilt of the knife properly. Yet the man who stood in front of her pushed her to the edge. Xiu Zhen had no choice but to follow his order. One person's death could bring peace for the whole village. Wasn't that easy? The calamity could be stopped only by one more sacrificial. Her determination was made. She turned her foot around, and hide the knife below her long wide sleeves.