Chapter 31: Blood Sculpture

                   

The sky was faintly bright when they set off again.

With the Shenxiao Palace Master finally speaking clearly, the knot between them loosened, and the four companions moved more easily together. Yan Dan thought it pitiful that he could not even remember who she was—ignorance was worse than unhappy memories.

Tang Zhou asked lightly: “What was the battle of immortals and demons? The classics only mention evil spirits exterminated.”

Yan Dan replied: “I know. I had already taken human form then. Do you want the simple or the complex version?”

Tang Zhou raised his brows. “You are that old? Yet you look sixteen or seventeen.”

Yan Dan stiffened. “I like it. How?”

Yu Mo pressed her shoulder gently, smiling. “What fear in age? None can see it anyway.”

Yan Dan pouted. “Is that praise or insult?” She continued: “Before the battle, demons were called evil gods. The war had long hidden dangers, like Southern Chu and Great Zhou fighting for the world. In the end, the heavenly court lost fewer than the evil gods, so they won. The most tragic were Jidu Xingjun and the Purple Void Emperor—they died together with the demon realm, leaving no corpses. They entered Yuntian Palace, saw Xuanxiang, head of the evil gods, and then the realm collapsed. No one knows what happened inside.”

Tang Zhou mused: “The winner is king, the loser enemy. That is ancient truth.”

Suddenly the Palace Master’s face changed. “Get down!” A beast the size of a wolf leapt past—its body bore a human face, stiff and expressionless.

Yan Dan gasped. “A human‑faced badger…”

Her jade hairpin became a sword, striking its throat. The blade bent, the beast circled her. The Palace Master said calmly: “Legend says the badger understands human nature. Indeed.”

Tang Zhou added: “It sees the weakest among us.”

Yan Dan’s sword split into thousands of blades, but the beast’s hide resisted. Only its human face bled. Then it turned on the Palace Master. He drew a jade flute, revealing a hidden sword, stabbing its abdomen. The beast clawed his face, but he twisted its neck with a loud crack.

Yan Dan shivered, touching her own neck.

The Palace Master rubbed his wound, his face shifting—his features now resembled Liu Weiyang. Yan Dan stammered: “You… Liu Weiyang?” He neither denied nor admitted.

She clenched her teeth. “I should beat you… but I’ll endure.”

The sun rose high, blazing over the endless Gobi. Yan Dan wiped sweat, admitting the others were more reliable than her.

Liu Weiyang hummed softly. “From now on, think of nothing. Just move forward. Soon we’ll leave this Gobi.” His eyes fell on Yan Dan. “Especially you.”

Yan Dan confessed: “I dreamed of a man in blue, cutting his wrist, blood turning into crimson eagles.”

Liu Weiyang’s expression shifted. “That was Xuanxiang, head of the evil gods. This Paper Ink is truly of the demon realm. And that… is a blood sculpture.”

Dark clouds ahead glowed faintly red. Blood eagles.

Yan Dan explained: “They carry fire poison. Touch it, and flesh burns, poison attacks the heart, delirium follows. But that was before the battle of immortals and demons. Perhaps now they are weaker.”

Yu Mo said lightly: “You speak much yet are not afraid.”

Yan Dan pointed to stone forests. “They are mindless. Hide in caves, they crash into stone.”

They hid. Blood eagles smashed against rocks, wings bleeding, yet kept attacking. Tang Zhou asked: “Who told you this method?”

Yan Dan admitted: “When I first became human, I stayed in the heavenly court. Lords liked to boast of the war.”

Suddenly, one blood eagle squeezed inside. Crimson flame flared. Yan Dan dodged. The eagle landed before Liu Weiyang, then crouched motionless.

He pushed aside stones. The blood eagles paused, circling him like subjects before a king.

Yan Dan thought perhaps he was one of the evil gods, remembering a past long gone.

Liu Weiyang raised his hand. Blood eagles scattered, feathers drifting. His face returned calm. “Keep going.”

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