Anxi Village – Before the Attack
The spring sun still smiled gently over Anxi Village. Its golden rays swept softly across the tips of maple trees, whose leaves were beginning to turn red a rare semi-autumn phenomenon that occurred only once a year in this valley. The morning air felt fresh, mixed with the scent of damp earth, dew, and drifting pollen. Dewdrops hung from every blade of grass and nestled between red leaves, sparkling like diamonds when touched by the first light. Birds chirped cheerfully in a disorganized yet melodious chorus. Roosters crowed in the distance, as if waking everyone in the valley. Thin plumes of cooking smoke rose from wooden houses neatly lined along the river, their warm scent blending with the morning aroma. Children ran among the trees, chasing blue butterflies that darted wildly through the lush bushes. Meanwhile, the river fishermen set out with their nets and simple fishing rods, occasionally joking around along the banks.
In a corner of the village, near a clear stream where the water murmured softly as it flowed over smooth stones, a little girl often called Mei who had just turned six years old three days from now was busily making a flower wreath from the fallen red petals. Her jet-black hair hung soft and loose, adorned with a single white wildflower on her left temple. Her round, innocent eyes sparkled with the joy that only a child her age could possess. A gentle breeze moved the ends of her hair, making the wildflower on her head sway slowly.
"Father, look! I made a crown for Mother!" Mei called out, running toward her father who was mending the bamboo fence around their house. A few red leaves fluttered around her, as if joining in her cheerfulness.
Her father a sturdy man, a village hunter with a weary yet warm face laughed softly. "That's wonderful, sweetheart. Mother will be very happy."
Mei smiled wide. Her missing front teeth made her look even more adorable. She had no idea what was about to happen to her soon. That smile would almost become her last memory.
That night, the sky over Anxi was dark and moonless. Thick clouds covered the entire expanse of stars, like a black blanket wrapping the valley in an eerie silence. The night wind blew colder than usual, creeping between the red leaves that had begun to fall one by one. Only the chirping of crickets and the gentle murmur of the river accompanied the stillness. The scent of damp earth started to turn into a choking dryness a bad omen that no one understood.
But beyond the eastern hill, a group of shadows began to move. They were Evil Soul Masters humans trapped by bloodthirsty desires led by a man named Kael. His eyes gleamed cunning and sharp, like a spider stalking its prey. Their footsteps were almost soundless, but the dry leaves beneath their feet still crunched softly a sound drowned out by the whisper of the night wind.
Among them was a man named Duan Long. His face was hard, covered in scars, but his eyes behind that dark, weary gaze held something fragile. A few years ago, he had been just an ordinary father who loved his family dearly. But one night, an evil spirit led by Kael attacked his village and forcibly took control of him using the martial spirit (wuhun) "Puppet Strings of Soul Control". Since then, only a sliver of his awareness remained. He never knew what happened to his family.
That night, as Kael's troops slipped into Anxi Village to drain blood and spiritual energy from ordinary humans as they always did, Duan Long lurked at the rear guard. A cold, bloodthirsty aura enveloped the group. But…
Kael gave the order: "Kill every living soul. Leave none behind. And gather the bodies in the center of the village. I will absorb them all to break through to Level 50 a Spirit King."
Chaos erupted. Screams burst from every direction, followed by the sound of wood shattering into pieces. Fire began licking the dry wooden houses, their orange glow illuminating the red leaves so that the entire village seemed to burn with blood. The stench of fresh blood mixed with the smoke of burning wood. Night birds scattered into the pitch-dark sky.
Duan Long moved mechanically. His cold hands killed several adult men in a matter of seconds. But when he entered a small wooden house at the edge of the village the home of Mei's family he heard a small voice that made his heart stop. For a moment, his consciousness began to return. Just a little, but it was enough.
"Help… help, Mother… Father…"
Mei was hiding behind an old wooden wardrobe, covering her mouth with both trembling hands. Tears streamed down her chubby cheeks. In front of her, her parents lay motionless on the floor, which was beginning to pool with blood.
Duan Long raised his hand. The evil spirit inside him whispered, "Destroy her. That is your task."
But when Mei turned, her tearful eyes met Duan Long's. Not a look of blind fear. Not hysterical crying. It was the gaze of a child who still held hope a hope so pure it pierced the nearly dead depths of Duan Long's soul.
And in that moment, Duan Long saw the reflection of his own daughter the child he had left behind years ago.
His hand trembled.
Duan Long couldn't save everyone. But he could save one.
He knelt, closed his eyes, and activated his martial spirit: Mist Shadow the ability to create illusions and conceal a person's presence within a fold of temporary darkness. The air around him vibrated faintly, like ripples on water touched by a falling dewdrop.
Gently so gently that Mei barely felt it Duan Long wrapped his illusory arms around her small body.
"Be quiet. Don't make a sound. No matter what happens, don't move until sunrise tomorrow," he whispered in a hoarse voice, trembling under the weight of his burden, trying to offer her whatever little hope he could.
Mei could only nod slightly. Her eyes were still wet, but her breath began to quiet in an obedience she didn't fully understand.
Duan Long then closed the wardrobe door. His martial spirit worked. Mei's body vanished from sight, her scent covered by a thin mist that smelled like rain on dry earth. Even the small beat of her heart was muffled by the perfect illusion.
Outside, Kael shouted, "Duan Long! What are you doing in there? Finish it!"
Duan Long stepped out of the house with heavy steps. His face was as flat as a mask. "All clear. Just corpses."
Kael glanced at him briefly. He felt that, even if only for a moment, his puppet had nearly slipped from his control. But because he was eager to absorb all his prey, he let it go. He returned to leading the slaughter in other parts of the village, leaving Duan Long's rigid silhouette in front of that dilapidated house.
No one knew that inside the house now being licked by flames behind the wardrobe door, singed at its edges, a little girl was still alive. Hiding in the mist created by an enemy. Holding her breath. Waiting for dawn.
When dawn broke, the eastern sky was a gloomy gray, not the usual orange-red. Thick black clouds still hung lazily. The morning mist, usually fresh, now felt heavy and smelled of ash. The Evil Martial Spirit team surrounded Anxi Village, which had become a field of corpses. In the center of the village, lifeless bodies were piled in a horrific circle. Behind that circle, Kael sat cross-legged, absorbing blood and life energy from the dead. His body pulsed with a sickening, deep red glow.
The village was nothing but scorched ruins. Ash floated in the air, clinging to the red leaves that fell like tears from an unwilling sky. The stench of blood, the stench of burning, the stench of earth that had lost its soul all merged into one sensation: death.
Duan Long walked at the very back of the group. Inside his heart, a storm fiercer than any battle was raging.
"I am a monster. What have I been doing all this time? How many families have I killed? I can never go back. But at least… I have to save her. But… am I even capable? Maintaining my ability already drains so much spirit energy. What if Kael breaks through quickly?"
On one hand, he knew that if Kael found out, Duan Long would be executed slowly. On the other hand, he also knew that Mei who might survive inside that wardrobe would grow up with wounds that would never fully heal. And perhaps, one day, she would hate him.
Yet, in that thick moral darkness in the middle of a village reeking of death, beneath a sky that even birds refused to fly across Duan Long held onto one thought that warmed his chest:
"At least one child will not suffer the same fate as my child."
He didn't know whether Mei would be found by someone who would take care of her later. But he had made his choice. And that choice though dirty, full of paradoxes, and soaked in blood was the only humanity he had left.
Beyond the eastern hill, the sun began to crawl upward, but its light couldn't penetrate the smoke and wounds shrouding Anxi Village. Only the morning wind whispered softly among the red trees that still stood as if mourning with the village that had lost its smile.
TO BE CONTINUED…