39 The Hsu Household

Notice:

This chapter has descriptions of torture, blood, and some gory details.

Viewer discretion is advised!

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"I guess there is no way out of it," MingYu said each word slowly, making it clear for ZhiYi and himself that he would accept it, came hell or high water. He was already too deep in this rotten mortal-demon-god world. Might as well plunge all in and see what was so horrifying about it to make ZhiYi act like MingYu was a vase that could crack any moment now.

"You sure? Once I open it, I cannot close it." ZhiYi looked him in the eyes, studying them, making sure there wasn't even a hint of uncertainty. Worry floated in the depths of his eyes. MingYu felt his heart skip a beat at the sight, and he nodded in response.

ZhiYi pulled out a talisman paper and drew a complicated pattern over it. The feeling of despair grew stronger the more lines ZhiYi added to the talisman. When it was ready, MingYu stood rooted to the ground, as ZhiYi folded the paper until it was only a small triangle-shaped bundle on the centre of his palm.

"Put this in your mouth. As it dissolves, you will see." ZhiYi offered it up to him. With shaky hands, MingYu took it and with a slight hesitation in his movements, placed the talisman on his tongue and closed his mouth. The paper dissolved rapidly, to MingYu's surprise. The taste of paper and ink overwhelmed his senses, and the bitterness made him gag and blink in distress.

Then he saw it. His world was suddenly enveloped in a black fog. It was so thick and sinister, he couldn't see the sun or the sky. Amidst it all, ZhiYi stood out like a hazy light of the moon, the white hue of his robes illuminating the way. At the end of the street, the Hsu household looked like it was on fire. Dark flames licked the walls, spreading its tentacle-like limbs in every direction, spreading the darkness far and wide.

MingYu gasped and noticed how he breathed in the fog, and panic consumed him.

"It's in me! I breathed it in!" MingYu yelped and in his hasty retreat, fumbled and fell backwards, but ZhiYi caught him in time and pulled him into a tight embrace. The pewter staff slipped from MingYu's hold and clattered to the ground.

"MingYu, close your eyes."

MingYu shut his eyes tightly and buried his face in the groove of ZhiYi's neck. Breathing in the other man's soothing scent calmed his racing heart.

"Breath slowly. When you open your eyes, try to concentrate only on me. The fog should dissipate the calmer you are, and you will get used to it gradually."

MingYu nodded against the curve of ZhiYi's neck. He liked the feeling of brief closeness he was granted at the moment. "Was it like this? Li's household?"

ZhiYi unconsciously rested his head against MingYu's as he sighed, "No, this is much worse."

LongHai's loud smack of his lips startled the embracing two. MingYu pushed off ZhiYi and opened his eyes. The fog was still present, but he kept his eyes on ZhiYi as he steadily breathed in - then out. The white of ZhiYi's robes became brighter, and the light spread out, slowly dissolving the darkness, until only the flames over at Hsu household persisted.

"Why is it so strong?" Said MingYu after he had calmed his heart and bent down to pick up the staff from the ground.

"We will see soon enough."

As the two reached the perimeters of the household, a foul stench surrounded them, making it impossible to breathe. The smell of rotting flesh and blood was so overwhelming, MingYu almost hurled. He gagged, but nothing came up. MingYu had to pull his robes up to shield himself from the foul smell, but he couldn't hide from the ever lingering stench of death.

The pewter staff was shaking loudly, the rings jumping in their hoops. As they stopped before big, black doors that separated them from the house that loomed before them, black flames flicked between the cracks as if reaching out to touch them.

AhXin broke into a cry in his little basket. ZhiYi opened the basket and softly rubbed the boy's stomach, and the child soon quieted down with the familiar touch and scent. ZhiYi guided LongHai to wait at a corner further down the street. AhXin shouldn't react to the suffocating energy from there.

Returning to MingYu's side, the two gave an agreeing nod to each other and stepping up the four stone steps, ZhiYi kicked the doors in. The heavy bolt on the inside gave way with a loud screech as the metal bend and broke. The doors flung wide open and the scene that opened before them would cause even the bravest of men to have nightmares until his old age.

MingYu let out a muffled cry as he held his hand over his mouth, suffocating the scream that tried to escape.

All nineteen servants of the Hsu household were killed and brought to the front yard. They were all laid neatly next to each other, with their arms resting over their abdomen. Women on one side and men on the other. Stabbed to death through the heart, all laying in their own pools of blood that had long dried and seeped into the ground, painting the earth in crimson.

At the front door of the house, they could see five bodies hanging from the roof ledge. The bodies of three young women, an old lady, and an old man. These were the three wives of childe Hsu, and madam and master Hsu's bodies.

Each of them had their tongue removed, blood covering the front of their robes. Their backs were whipped to the point, fabric and flesh were ripped apart until bones came to view. Judging from the amount of dried blood on the doorsteps, they went through this ordeal while they were still alive.

The sign 'Hsu household' that originally hung over the house was now lying in pieces on the ground under their hanged remains. Their bodies cast menacing shadows across the white stone walls. The negative energy was so strong, no animal or even a fly dared to touch the bodies, leaving them to rot under the rain and sun.

ZhiYi ran his eyes over the corpses lying on the ground. All the servants were killed mercifully, one clean stab through the heart, left to bleed to death. Not the fastest method, but fast enough.

His eyes traced up to the hanging corpses. There was so much hatred, malice put into the execution of these five people. They had suffered immensely. A grim expression glided over ZhiYi's face as he inspected the bits and pieces of flesh still hanging to the bone.

MingYu followed ZhiYi as if he was in a trance. The bodies and the blood became a blurry mess. Holding on to ZhiYi, he was slowly guided around the bodies and up the steps to the house.

MingYu froze as they stepped through the doorframe. At the main hall of the Hsu household, childe Hsu's body was kept in a kneeling position in his own pool of blood, with a stake firmly planted on the floor, piercing his head through his mouth. His eyes were still wide open, glazed over in a frightened expression. His clothes were ripped apart, exposing his entire back. Words "filthy mutt" were neatly carved over his smooth skin. In front of his kneeling corpse, on the far back of the hall, an altar was set up.

As MingYu was too stunned to move, ZhiYi crept closer. A single wooden nameplate stood on the altar, with the name Wei LiXue carved on it. All the Hsu ancestry nameplates were thrown off from their respective places, now lying on the ground broken and forgotten.

MingYu could only whisper, "What kind of monster does this?"

"This is no monster. This is too personal." ZhiYi said as he stepped away from the altar.

"You mean-"

"This might have been done by a human, with some outsider's help."

A faint sobbing from within the depths of the house broke the eerie silence, and the two looked at each other warily. Was there a survivor?

ZhiYi seemed to think otherwise, as his lips tightened into a thin line and he moved next to MingYu.

"What is it, ZhiYi?" MingYu asked as ZhiYi stepped before him, keeping MingYu hidden behind his back. "Could it be one of the Wei sisters?"

"I hope not," ZhiYi said as he looked around the main hall cautiously.

"What do you mean?" MingYu said as he reached out and clung to ZhiYi's robes. He didn't like the way ZhiYi had said those words. The sinking feeling settled in MingYu's stomach as ZhiYi said,

"Whatever is crying, is not human. Not anymore."