Chapter 8 I'll Remember

~

Zhang and the rest moved through the castle, hoping to find anything but obtained no clue. They had already moved through all parts of the castle, the vault been the first place, but didn't find any treasure.

"We should return to the others," Zhang said.

The team said nothing and obeyed, following him as they moved. As they moved, the hunters took time to converse.

"Sigh...I hope they're alright," it was Shang.

"They're experienced than they look," Wukong explained, wearing a serious look.

"What if they run across an evil spirit, will they be experienced?" Li asked. It was meant to be a question but sounded like a sarcastic statement to Wukong. He opened his mouth and was about to answer him when Zhao answered instead.

"Qi should tackle that."

"..."

The five hunters were momentarily at loss of words. Not only was Qi was a novice hunter, he was a lad as well-a 15-year old lad! How would he possibly tackle an evil spirit?

"You're sure a joker," Yang frowned, making the surrounding gloomier.

The others shrugged and continued walking while Zhao maintained a solemn look.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Their footsteps echoed through the castle as they walked through the debris.

Whoosh!

They saw a blur move towards them before they heard the sound. If it were only the five of them, they would have been brutally killed. But they had a chief hunter with them-a master of martial arts.

Whoosh!

Zhang moved in supernatural speed, leaving afterimages. His movement caused the wind to blow, making the hairs of the hunters to flutter.

Pa!

Zhang knocked the blur with his right side before it got to the hunter, causing the assailant to crash into the wall.

Crash!

The wall shattered, the debris covering the assailant. A puff of dust rose into the air, clogging the area where the assailant had fallen.

Shink!

The five hunters drew out their swords, readying themselves for battle. They had just been attacked and wouldn't let their guard down.

Roar!

A deep roaring sound filled the whole castle, causing it to tremble.

Zhang didn't draw out a sword but maintained a calm expression. In times like this, the only prerequisite was to remain calm so as to tackle the problem easily.

Bam!

Rocks were sent flying at the team-large boulders of them.

Pa!

Everyone leaped in different directions, spinning, ducking and dodging. They maintained this stunt and easily escaped the attack or they would have been crushed under the rocks.

Roar!

The thunderous voice filled the castle again. Standing where the wall had fallen was a creature donned in military attire which was torn and old, dispelling a feeling of decay. It had two eyes which were sunken, red and filled with madness. It had no nose except for the two hollow cavities which stood at the point the nose was supposed to be. It also had no lips, revealing its dirty fangs.

Crack!

It stretched its hands, causing its bones to crack. In place of its fingers were claws-sharp, strong ones.

Pa!

The creature leaped at Zhang, its eyes filled with malice. It stretched out its claws, making to grab at him.

Pa!

Zhang also leaped at the creature. He curved his back outwards, exerting strength into his upper body.

Bam!

He collided into the creature and then controlling his momentum, bounced backwards.

Crash!

The attack only sent the creature crashing to the ground, shattering the floor. The creature was unhurt and immediately exerted force into its body, flipping into the air.

"..."

The attack Zhang used was called the Slamming technique. It was a technique which focused on manipulating the weight of the user, causing them to have a weight the opponent wouldn't be able to defend against. He had used this Slamming technique to destroy a hill before! This creature was definitely problematic!

Whoosh!

The creature moved in a blur towards Zhang and then thrust its claws forward.

Pa!

There was a deafening sound which filled the air, causing ripples to appear in it.

Pa!

Zhang had already leaped out of the direction of the creature, landing at an opposite direction.

Bam!

The wall behind Zhang shattered immediately he leaped out of the way. It was obvious this creature could also attack a target without physical contact!

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Zhang ran towards the creature, clenching his fists. He exerted force into his legs and bounced off the ground towards the creature. Closing his eyes, he virtualized a blinding light.

The whole environment immediately became bright, causing the creature to be temporarily blind. In the eyes of humans, that light would have instantly blinded them. But the hunters seemed to be unaffected, watching in awe as the creature stood in a daze.

The technique Zhang used was called the Illusory Fist, capable of causing opponents to fall into an illusion. They would lose all form of perceptions, making them fail in defense.

Whoosh!

His right fist cut through the air, leaving afterimages.

Pa!

It hit the creature's head, causing it to shatter.

Plop!

Bits of brain cloaked in crimson blood, dropped one after the other.

Crash!

The creature fell to the ground, dead.

Zhang who had already landed, sighed and turned to look at his hunters-they had a look of shock.

"W-what was that?" It was Yang.

"A zombie-undead creatures from the underworld. The attack it used earlier is called the Space Clawing, capable of destroying opponents without physical contact," Zhang said. "This place is extremely dangerous. We need to get to the others."

~

Qi and the others couldn't help but quiver at the sound of that. The Evil Spirit, Ah Yu, demanded they destroy the painting on the wall in order to unseal him. Many thoughts ran wild on their minds, threatening to implode their heads. What if after destroying the seal, the Evil Spirit eventually gets rid of them? What if after being released, he eventually goes out to cause havoc on people?

"How are we sure you are not so malevolent?" Ying took the responsibility of asking.

"Sigh...I am malevolent," Ah Yu smiled. "But I will be more malevolent if you're trapped here with me. That's how the others ended."

Qi thought about it. If they released him, they would be released as well and as long as they were alive they would find a way to tackle any problems. But after thinking about it, Qi shrugged. This Evil Spirit admitted he was malevolent...This is sure problematic.

"Sigh..." Qi sighed, clenching his fist. "I will destroy the painting."

"..."

The others were momentarily at loss. But after thinking hard, they realized one thing-escaping was necessary for survival!

Pa!

He struck at the wall which bore the painting, resulting in a deafening sound.

Crack!

The wall shattered, the painting reduced into fragments-people would have to solve a jigsaw puzzle to get the painting intact.

The debris emitted a faint glow which faded afterwards.

Ah Yu nodded before fading slowly, "I'll remember this."

Then he vanished without trace, leaving the team shocked. However, they recovered their shock and made for the staircase. It didn't take them a long time before they found it and climbed out of the tunnel.

This was sure problematic...Qi thought as he glanced back at the dark tunnel.

They heaved a sigh of relief as they finally got out of the tunnel. Looking back, they didn't see the door again. They looked at each other and smiled, knowing what had happened. Evil Spirit Ah Yu had changed the location of the door.

"Are you guys alright?" It was Zhang and the others walking towards them.

"We are, Chief Hunter!" the five of them said.

Zhang peered behind them and asked, "Found any clue?"

"Yes, Chief Hunter!"

And then they told him what had happened-everything that had happened.

"You released the Evil Spirit?" Zhang couldn't help but quiver at the thought of that. It would be problematic if Crosslands kingdom suffered any supernatural attack. But then they had the Duke so it would be easily resolved.

The five of them nodded.

"We need to head back to the city so I can make a report," Zhang said.

The whole team then moved out from the castle, going through the debris once more till they got out of it. They turned to look back at the castle but found only trees and grasses.

"..."

They couldn't help but shrug. The castle had been moved to another location-perhaps in the spirit world.

~

"I will speak to the Duke to look out for him," Dao said. "Any other information?"

"No, Regent!" Zhang answered.

"Sigh...You can now leave," Dao waved his hand.

"Yes, Regent!"

Zhang saluted, turned around and moved towards the door.

"Zhang?"

It was Dao.

Zhang turned around and answered, "Yes?"

"You're definitely informed."

"..."

Zhang's stomach burned at the mention of that. Hearing Dao say that made him remember the Regent's saying:

"You are not informed!"

He nodded and opened the door, walking out of the room.

"Sigh...He didn't close the door," Dao sighed.

~

Duke Han listened to Regent Dao, assimilating every word he heard. After Dao was done, he said in a hoarse voice, "The Evil Spirit will not be problematic."

"..."

Dao was momentarily at loss. The Evil Spirit Ah Yu was not a simple one. If he were to attack Crosslands, the kingdom would probably end in the spirit world or even the underworld. And yet the Duke was saying it would not be problematic!

"Okay, Duke!"

Then he watched the Duke smile and fade into nothingness.

"Sigh...I need to become the Baron as fast as possible," Dao sighed.

~

The night was dark and gloomy, devoid of the moon and stars. It sowed a feeling of fear and coldness into the hearts of the feeble who would care venture into it. Nocturnal creature could be heard howling, hooting, croaking and chirping-a choir of different sounds.

Ten hunters lay sprawled in their beds, sleeping soundly. The room was silent except for the snoring of Ying.

The room was a relatively large one. It had ten small beds which stood at the centre of the room. Ten wardrobes were propped against the wall behind each bed, each made of wood which was painted white. A white cubicle which served as a miniature bathroom stood at a corner of the room.

Zhou's eyes suddenly flicked open. He sat up and looked around. Everyone was sleeping. Removing the white bedsheet, he got out of bed.

His body was bare, revealing his taut muscles which bulged out at all angles. His chest was covered with black, curly hair, a thing girls would fall for.

He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him slowly.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

His feet made light sounds as he moved through the hallway which had several other rooms.

"Where are you going?" a voice thundered behind him.

He gulped, knowing whose voice was that.

He turned and saluted Zhang, "Chief Hunter!"

"Uh, I was asking where you were going in the middle of the night."

"Nature's call," Zhou smiled. "I need to answer nature's call."

"..."

Zhang's mouth twitched. A nature's call in the middle of the night was something he could not hold.

"Just be careful, Zhou. We've not yet dealt with the anomaly at the castle."

"..."

Zhou gulped.

Zhang nodded thoughtfully and left, his footsteps echoing through the hallway.

Suddenly, Zhou heard a chuckle. His muscles tensed, his heart throbbing behind his chest.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His chest almost tore due to the heavy thumping of his heart. Pores of sweat formed on his forehead.

"I almost laughed when he told you to be careful," a familiar voice said with a dry chuckle. "Haha! To guard against any anomaly is sure problematic."

"W-what do you want from me? I thought you agreed to leave without causing trouble," Zhou said with a trembling voice.

"I never agreed to anything," the voice continued chuckling. "I even stated that I was malevolent."

"So what do you intend to do with me? Kill me?"

"Have you heard of evil spirits possessing people?"

"..."

Zhou's body tensed. He had been possessed by the Evil Spirit from the castle-Ah Yu!

"Y-you are possessing me?"

The voice chuckled, "Not exactly."

"What do you mean not exactly?"

"You will know when time comes. For now, take it as a possession."

I'm doomed! Zhou couldn't help but lampoon. I'm possessed by an evil spirit!

"Uh, please stop calling me 'evil' spirit'-nobody wants to be called that. Just call me Ah Yu."

Zhou gulped, almost collapsing on the spot.

"Don't be afraid," Ah Yu said. "I'm malevolent by nature but not by heart."

"What do you mean?"

"As an evil spirit, I can't help but do malevolent deeds. But deep down me, I want to stop it. Wait, you thought I would kill you?"

Zhou nodded.

"Killing you would be a waste of ambition."

"..."

"Yes. You are of no worth!"

"Then why are you possessing me?"

"Because you are the weakest member of your team-the most ordinary."

"Huh?"

"Sighs...You are definitely of no worth."