by Tony Tran
If someone appeared in front of Zhang and needed help, he would aid them in an instant without hesitation. But how could he possibly help when all that laid in front of him were corpses besides what he had just done.
Thus, after the ashes were scattered, Zhang and the four beauties along with their men continued their journey. Once in a while they would encounter corpses just like those previously found ones and Zhang would offer them the same service he had done to the others.
Although some would argue that it would have been better for him to offer them a proper burial, with a grave and tombstone. But the way Zhang saw it, he did not know the names of these deceased people and burying them out here in the wilderness with an unmarked grave was night right. Rather he felt he was giving them a chance of returning home.
“A way home, a way back to your loved ones…” Zhang sighed as he turned yet another corpse to ashes and watched it scatter to the wind.
“Cheng Yu, how many more day until we reach New Moon City?” Zhang asked.
“My lord if we travel nonstop, we should arrive after sundown.” Cheng Yu replied.
“Okay, once we arrive at the city have everyone be vigilant. I don’t want anyone ending up like those corpses we’ve been finding.”
“I’ll make sure to tell the others, my lord.”
“Brother, are you done yet? The foods ready, big sister Ling sure knows how to cook.” Ai yelled from a short distance away as she sat by a warm campfire, eating a delicious looking chicken leg.
“You’re eating without me?” Zhang yelled out as he ran to join the others by the campfire. Also, when he got to where everyone was he grabbed the delicious looking chicken leg that Ai had been nibbling on and bit into it.
“Give it back!” Ai yelled as her eyes became misty and clear droplets of water began forming. Like a child who had their candy stolen, Ai began chasing her husband around the campfire.
Seeing this the other beauties couldn’t help but break into laughter. The sight of a husband and wife fighting over a single chicken leg would surely put a smile on anyone’s face.
It did not take long for Zhang to eat the entire chicken leg while Ai was chasing him around the campfire, once all of the delicious meat was gone, Zhang tossed the bone into the campfire.
“Nooooo!” Ai cried as she remembered how great that chicken leg had been. Hilariously because she was so caught up in chasing Zhang, she totally forgot about the entire tray of chicken legs that were piping hot and just a few paces to her left.
So, Zhang being who he was, grabbed one off the tray and stood in front of Ai eating it with a silly grin on his face.
“Where did you get that!” Ai asked as a sliver of hope shone in her eyes.
“Don’t remember, but maybe a kiss will jog my memory.” Zhang said jokingly.
Without hesitation Ai stood up and leaned in. But before her lips could touch his lips, something appeared in between them. Zhang was holding another chicken leg in his hand the entire time and with that Ai received another chicken leg.
“The shenanigans.” Cheng Yu said, trying to keep himself from bursting into laughter. It could be said that there is never a dull moment when one is around Zhang and the four beauties. Besides their engaging nightlife, this group of five acted more like children most of the time then adults, always joking, always messing with each other.
After a hearty meal, the group continued on their trip. Like before the scenery around them was vastly beautiful and strangely they did not encounter any more corpses along the way. So, for the remainder of the trip Zhang and the four beauties were able to once more solely enjoy their trip and immerse themselves in each other’s company.
The sky was clear, the sun’s rays were warm, and in Zhang’s embrace the four beauties laid atop the hay cart.
“Hey darling don’t you think that looks like a rabbit?” Lingqi asked as she pointed into a cloud far up in the sky.
“No that's a cat, right honey?” Ling said while pointing at the same cloud.
“You're both wrong it’s a cabbit.” Zhang said as he received weird looks from the two women lying beside him.
This was how the group spent most of the rest of the day, gazing into the sky and looking at the scenery around them. With the occasional playful joking that they usually engaged in.
While the five were caught up in a world of their own the skies soon became dark and the moon’s rays showered the weary travelers. With a wave of his hand Zhang made a warm cotton blanket appear and blanket himself and his wives from the cold night’s breeze.
Once the sun descended it did not take long for the party to arrive at the outskirts of New Moon City. Cheng Yu was the first to notice that something odd was happening, the city gates were wide open and there was only a single man standing guard.
This was obviously very strange because even in times of peace there would always be at least a squad of soldiers standing guard at every city’s gate to prevent criminals and people of their kind from entering. Upon closer inspection when the party arrives at the city gate, they noticed that this guard seemed especially skittish and fearful.
“Milord, we’ve come to partake in this year’s New Moon Festival.” Cheng Yu said to the skittish guard after dismounting from his horse.
“Le-leave right away before it’s late.” The guard squeezed out from his lips.
“Too late?” Cheng Yu repeated while raising one of his brows.
“Milord it’s very late and we couldn't possibly find any lodging out in the forest, can we?” Cheng Yu asked in a respectful tone.
“Th-that’s true… But it’s unsafe in the city, I swear I’m not trying to scare you, I only wish to prevent unnecessary deaths.” The skittish guard said with resolute eyes.
“Yuying please help calm the man down. We won’t get anywhere at this pace.” Zhang’s voice rang out from behind Cheng Yu.
That was when Yuying appeared with dozens of black runes swirling on her hand. Without needing Zhang’s instruction Cheng Yu grabbed the guard and held him in place.
“Wh-what are you doing?!” The guard tried to yell out but with Cheng Yu’s hand covering his mouth, only muffled sounds were audible.
Moments later Yuying’s finger tapped the man’s forehead and the runes from her hand transferred themselves onto him. Once the runes had spread throughout his body the guard stood erect and in a daze.
“What is your name?” Yuying asked while keeping her finger in touch with the man’s forehead.
“Zhen Xiang.” The skittish guard stated while looking at Yuying.
“How old are you this year?”
“I am twenty-five years old this year.”
“Okay now tell us why we should not enter the city.” Yuying asked.
“Roughly twenty days ago, corpses began turning up around the city, mainly of lowlifes who lived in the slums so no one paid any attention. With the festival nearing, everyone was too busy to care about some lowlifes. But a few days later the bodies of even more bodies turned up, to the point that they could no longer be ignored. Men and women started disappearing every night, at first it was only commoners but eventually even the city guard began turning up dead. Now no one dares to go out at night, had I not needed to make money to pay for my mother’s medicine then I wouldn’t be caught dead out here.” Zhen Xiang said.
Once Zhen Xiang told them what they wanted to know, Yuying released him of her control and the black runes that were on his body faded and were no longer visible.
“Wh-what happened?” Zhen Xiang asked as he was brought out of his dazed state of mind.
“You were just going to quit your job as a city guard and go home with your ill mother.” Zhang said as he grabbed hold of Zhen Xiang’s hand and placed a pouch filled with gold coins in it.
Upon realizing what he was just given Zhen Xiang did not know what to say. Although he felt he could not take this pouch, a part of him knew he needed to because of how dangerous his job had become. There was a chance
he might not get to come home tonight if whatever killed the other guards got to him.
“Take it and go.” Zhang said in a stern voice and gently nudged Zhen Xiang.
“Many thanks your master! Many thanks!” Zhen Xiang finally accepted the pouch as he broke into tears and ran off into the city.
“Alright let’s go find somewhere to stay for the night.” Zhang said to the rest of his party as he watched Zhen Xiang leave.
“Wait… Fuck! I forgot to ask him what’s a good hotel to room at…” Zhang thought as he remembered the this was his first time in this city.
“My lord we will go find a hotel to room in.” Cheng Yu said as if being able to guess what Zhang was thinking, then directed his men to try to find lodgings.
But despite their efforts, every door in the city was tightly shut and not a single soul was out on the streets. Every door they knocked only resulted in silence or yells for them to leave.
“We would like to rent some rooms night, please open up.” One of Zhang
s men said as he banged on the door of a fancy looking hotel that was four stories tall.
“Go away! No more customers after sundown!” A voice rang out from inside the hotel. This was basically the same response that all of Zhang’s men had received.
“Enough! Everyone, follow me…” Zhang said to his guards. With the four beauties by his side Zhang walked toward the fancy looking four story hotel that had just turned one of his men down. With a flash, a sword appeared in his hand and once he was in front of the hotel’s entrance Zhang slashed downward cutting through the door’s lock. Then with a kick the twin doors that led into the hotel swung open.
Chapter 6: Three Troubles
Once the doors of the hotel swung open, Zhang, his wives, and their guards walked inside. The inside of the hotel was filled with festive decor, along with lavishly looking furniture. Upon their entrance, they saw a startled looking middle age man who appeared to have been wiping off a counter before they barged in.
“Close the doors.” Zhang ordered to his men. Once his men pulled the two doors together, Zhang used the Underworld Heart to mend them together.
From the words of the city guard he had met and helped earlier, it was extremely dangerous outside at night and people were turning up dead left and right. Since leaving the city was not an option, Zhang felt he had to force his way into a hotel to for shelter for the night.
Of course, he was more than willing to fix the door for that he broke down and pay extra for the rooms he’ll be renting, but there was no way he was willing for his men and his wives to stay outside for the night.
“What are you doing!? Didn’t I tell you to leave!?” The man who was at the counter yelled.
“You mean stay outside so we could possibly get killed?” Cheng Yu growled.
“What happens to you has nothing to do with me and the others in here! But now that you broke that door, you're endangering us all!” The man yelled, still thinking the door was still broken but in fact Zhang had repaired it.
“Enough… We would like to rent as some rooms. I hope this will be enough.” Zhang said as he walked up to the counter and placed a bag of coins on it. Unlike the bag, he gave to Zhen Xiang that was filled with gold coins, this one was only filled with silver coins. Although money in general had little value to Zhang, he felt that this man’s attitude was not worthy of receiving a reward.
That being said, a bag filled with silver coins was more than enough to rent a few dozen rooms in any regular hotel.
“Hmph you think a bag of copper coins will change my mind?” The man snorted as he took the bag and worked loose it’s bindings. An instant later his eyes glittered and he began to speak once more, “dear young master how can I be of service to you?”
“Enough rooms to accommodate us all. The largest room you have for me and my wives.” Zhang replied.
“Of course, young master, of course, right this way. I’m glad you picked our hotel to stay in for the night. If you need anything, anything at all feel free to ask me.” The man said, with a totally different attitude.
To think that only a few minutes ago, this man had turned them away and wouldn’t have bat an eye even if they screamed for help because whatever was killing the people of the city appeared.
“Mister Liu, what's the commotion about.” A young woman who was standing on the second floor with a small child by his side asked.
“Nothing, nothing at all. Everything is fine miss, nothing to worry about when you're staying at our hotel.” The man who the young woman referred to as Mister Liu, who Zhang had given a sack of silver coins to said with a smile.
Moments later, Mister Liu led Zhang and his party to the fourth floor of the hotel and showed each of them to their rooms. Zhang and his four wives were given the largest suite in the hotel, their room even came equipped with a midsized pool
After everyone was in their rooms, Zhang shut the door to his room and turned back to speak to his four wives.
“You four get some rest, I’ll keep watch for a while to make sure everything is safe. We wouldn’t want some monster sneaking in and kidnapping anyone.” Zhang said in a half joking manner as to not make anyone tense.
.
Soon the night grew colder and everyone was fast asleep, but Zhang who wished to stay up to keep watch. Despite the various attempts by his wives to lure him into bed, he decided it was best for him to keep everyone safe. “There are times for such things, and sadly although I want to now is not the time…” Zhang thought with a sigh.
Although he was much tempted to, Zhang felt that if a situation arises he should be completely ready to handle it and being in bed, having fun with the four beauties was not being ready.
So thus, he sat alone, over watching his four lovelies sleeping. To be honest this in itself was something he very much enjoyed doing. There wasn’t much more he required in the world, but to being in the presence of these four whom he wished to spend the rest of eternity with. If they were together then there wouldn’t be a dull moment.
As Zhang sat watching the four beauties sleep, something shattered the night’s silence. A rhythmic hopping echoed through the empty streets. Following this hopping noise were the sounds of hundreds of dragging feet.
“Well fuck… A Jiangshi…” Zhang cursed as he peaked out of his room’s window, spotting a hopping vampire dressed in a minister’s set of robes. Following behind this Jiangshi were hundreds of its victims turned into zombie minions. Jiangshi were usually undead who were buried atop a dragon’s vein and after hundreds of years of feasting on natural essence, reawaken to prey on the living. Unlike other types of vampires, Jiangshi solely feast on essence, meaning their victims are drained drain of essence and die. Spawning from corpses, Jiangshi cannot bend their limbs due to rigor mortis. So, they can only hop and extend their arms forward.
A terrifying ability the Jiangshi possesses is the power to turn victims who it does not drain dry of essence into a lesser Jiangshi, basically a zombie.
“Thankfully, usually only one Jiangshi would appear.” Zhang said, feeling confident he could handle the situation. However, he spoke too soon because moments later yet another Jiangshi appeared, to Zhang's disbelief. Sadly, that was not the end of it because soon after a third Jiangshi appeared.
“Welp I guess everyone is on their own.” Zhang muttered as he saw the three Jiangshi hopping through the empty streets. Any poor soul they happen to run into would be drained dry of essence.
Of course, Jiangshi had one major weakness and that was sunlight and a virgin’s blood. But right now, Zhang had neither of those, sunrise was not for another few hours and there were no virgins in sight.
“But I wonder how there can be three of them. Usually only one would show up and it would be able to destroy an entire city by itself. From the looks of things these three are newly awakened Jiangshi and aren’t at the peak of their strength yet.” Zhang thought as he continued observing. The more he thought about the appearance of
multiple Jiangshi the more questions came to his mind.
There has never been a recorded instance where there were more than one Jiangshi appearing at once, nonetheless three.
As Zhang kept watching the three Jiangshi, to his horror they suddenly turned and turned in the direction that he was in.
“Fuck…” Zhang cursed in his mind as he quietly closed the sliver in the window that he had opened.
However, that was when the sound a dog barking sounded out. In an instant the Jiangshi sprang into action and descended on the dog. However, as the dog saw them coming it scurried off into a hole in wall. But that was when the Jiangshi jumped over the wall and continued its pursuit of the dog. Soon blood curdling screams echoed throughout the city. Whoever was living on the other side of that wall was most likely killed and drained dry of their essence.
