The Legend of the Devil
Ch. 89 - The God of Death
After two months passed the rumors about the death of the demon slightly died down because it was covered by various attacks that occurred at various points of the Diqiu Empire. That led to the loss of dozens of lives, once again threats and terror struck the people of Diqiu Empire.
A verse spread widely in the Empire and reached the coastal communities that read,
"Snowflowers are stained with blood, The Sky Cows on the Shadow of Virtue. The God of Death wraths and rises. The wind from Mount Qin brought the news of death to mankind ..."
Lao Bao who was walking with his fellow students stopped for a moment in front of a beggar in dirty clothes clutching a small bowl.
"No-nona, I haven't eaten in two days. Will you share a little food with me?"
The beggar who was almost asleep suddenly sat down to ask for pity.
Lao Bao has now become a medium swordsman being assigned to a secret mission, he half crouches revealing a small cloth bag tied up.
"You want this?"
Lao Bao's friends looked at each other and pulled the girl forcibly. "Don't deal with a beggar like him, he stinks and never takes a bath."
One of the girls clamped her nose almost vomiting, Lao Bao did not bother and put his eyebrows together staring at the slum man, making the beggar stutter while nodding in fear.
"Surely, Miss."
"Say where did you hear that verse?"
The beggar was silent considering the song that had been spreading for several weeks. "The children sing it ... The travelers wrote it and ..." He raised his index finger, his memory evaporating just like that. "I-I don't know much, Miss. Ii'm sorry. For me a handful of rice alone is enough—"
The beggar had caught the bag of silver coins, Lao Bao just left until his friends called.
"Where are you going?"
"I have a little job. I'll go first."
The anxiety in Lao Bao's heart grew. He had to convey this to Emperor Ziran immediately. But when searching for that man the Emperor was on important business. Lao Bao was actually poking around with a Yin Clan servant in the hallway of the palace.
Lao Bao knew the woman well, she was the one who served Yin Jiao and had a brother who was also the maiden's servant.
"How is Miss Yin doing?"
The woman nodded for a while before replying, "He is still unconscious, but things are better. Thank you for worrying about it, Miss Lao."
Lao Bao nodded and continued on his way, a few meters in front of him a group of warriors from the Blue Fog college were conversing. He knew a few of them and was quite surprised to see two people from the White Fog Cottage college in a wounded state.
"What's going on?" asked the girl staring at the two wounded people alternately.
"The Ghost Jade Tower has struck again, how many times has it been since the terror has continued."
One young man explained, "Two weeks ago a student said someone knocked on his door a few times, he took some friends with him to sleep with him and five of our students died horribly. Some of their bodies have been eaten leaving only the skull and the entrails."
The horror was not only happening in the White Mist Cottage, but in various colleges involved in demon hunting battles in the Regret Trench. The Ghost Jade Tower had been rampant ever since the spread of the strange verse.
Lao Bao turned back and gazed into the palace courtyard, "Snowflowers stained with blood, Heaven cussing on the Shadow of Virtue. The God of Death wraths and rises. The wind from Mount Qin brought the news of death to mankind."
The Swordsman of the White Mist Hut was surprised, one of them responded stuttering. "W-what does that mean, Miss Lao? Is it a poem, why is it so gloomy?"
"It was a poem that was spread by the community. I don't know who started it first. Snowflowers have been tainted with blood ... That means something white is destroyed by darkness. While the Shadow is another name for the Emperor's calling."
Lao Bao had been thinking about it since he first set foot into the Emperor Palace and still found no answer for the next temple.
"The wrathful God of Death has risen, the North wind of Mount Qin ..."
The girl's head throbbed in pain, one of them helping to calm Lao Bao. "You don't have to force yourself. We can all face this."
Lao Bao muttered weakly, "I'm afraid this is all too late."
*
"Who are you really?!"
One of the 70-year-old elders retreated to hold his right shoulder that continued to pour blood, the sword from his hand falling on the ground making a loud clanking sound.
One college was massacred on that bloody night and left only itself terrified staring at someone in a Ghost Jade Tower outfit and a skull iron engraving pin on his robe.
His fear was not baseless, he witnessed for himself how that one man slaughtered a hundred more humans mercilessly. And every victim he killed had the same way of dying; a long tear in the corner of the mouth to the temple formed a terrifying smile.
"This is the reply to kill our master."
"We didn't kill him!"
"I saw your face in the very back row, cheering on his Death and heating up the situation with your trudge!" the screams were so loud, the elder shivered and almost peed in his pants. The anger of the figure standing on the roof of the college alone had already made his mouth freeze.
As far as the man knew the clothes that the figure wore were those of the Ghost Jade Tower subordinates who were none other than a dead human being turned on. He has no sense like a human. But strangely it could speak like a living human.
"Remember the name of this Ghost Jade Tower until you die."
The elder had just winked and the figure of the Ghost Jade Tower disappeared from his sight. Silence struck, the man turned his back slowly and made sure the man was gone. Half in disbelief was the only one who survived and was let go.
Until an incision hit his throat and instantly killed the man. The figure that had been on the roof stepped on the elder's corpse's head, using his sword to tear both corners of the mouth to the temple of his head.
He confirmed the mask covering his face, then took out a piece of paper inscribed with something falling on the body of the man's corpse.
'Snowflowers stained with blood, Heaven Cows on the Shadow of Virtue. The God of Death has risen. The wind from Mount Qin brought news of death to mankind.'
***