Demi-Gods & Semi-Devils Chapter 1 – Part 7

The old man led with one hand and made a circular motion with the other. His fingers suddenly changed directions and he held her arm. Zhong Ling cried out in terror as the pain caused her face to pale. She shook her free hand and whistled twice. There was a flash of white and the tall, old man snorted and released her arm, and then he sat onto the ground. Lightning Marten bit the back of his hand and leapt back into Zhong Ling’s arm. A middle-aged man at Sikong Xuan’s side rushed forth to help the tall, old man up. The old man’s body was shaking and there was a black patch on the back of his hand. Zhong Ling whistled twice again and Lightning Marten sprung toward the face of Asheng. He reached out to hit it and Lightning Marten bit his palm. Asheng’s cultivation was not up to the level of the tall, old man, hence all the more he could not withstand the poison. He curled into a ball and wailed in pain. Zhong Ling grabbed Duan Yu’s arm and turned to leave, whispering, “We’re in trouble. Let’s go!”

The people around Sikong Xuan were the best fighters of the Shennong Guild. They had been gathering herbs and using drugs all their lives, so they had seen and tried all sorts of poisons. However, the speed of the Lightning Marten and the high potency of the poison were something they had never encountered. Sikong Xuan ordered, “Capture the girl immediately. Don’t let her escape.”

Four men cried out in affirmation and leapt to their feet. They split into pairs and descended on both flanks. Zhong Ling whistled repeatedly. Lightning Marten leapt from one person to another. In a few moments, all four men had been bitten by it. The men were either rolling on the ground or curled up on the floor. Although the members of the Shennong Guild saw that the marten was frightening, they dared not cower before their guild leader. Another eight persons rushed over. Zhong Ling warned, “If you want to live, don’t come any closer!”

These eight people were all armed. Some carried hoes while others had broad-bladed daos. They hoped to be able to block the attacks of Lightning Marten with their weapons. However, the marten was faster than any sneak attacks in the world. It only had to bounce over the backs of the daos and then leap to bite the enemy. Shortly, the eight persons were left rolling on the ground. Sikong Xuan held up his robes and quickly took out a bottle of medicine from his bosom. He poured the medicine in his palm and hastily applied it on his hands and lower arm. With three leaps, he was already blocking the path before Zhong Ling and Duan Yu. He shouted in a deep voice, “Hold it!”

Lightning Marten bounded from Zhong Ling’s palm toward the nose bridge of Sikong Xuan. He held his hand upright, secretly afraid as he did not know if the specially brewed snake antidote would work against the unknown poison of the marten. If it were useless, his life and those of the Shennong Guild members would be forfeit. The marten opened its mouth to bite his palm. Suddenly, it twisted in mid air and pushed its hind feet on his fingers to leap back to Zhong Ling. Lightning Marten had gathered snake poison within its body. Sikong Xuan’s specially brewed snake antidote was very effective against snake poison. Hence when Lightning Marten caught the scent of the strong antidote, it could not take it.

Sikong Xuan was delighted. He hurriedly struck with his palm. Zhong Ling could not dodge and almost lost her footing. The wind generated by the force of the palm was so strong that Duan Yu was thrown into the air. Zhong Ling was shocked. She whistled repeatedly to spur Lightning Marten to attack. It darted out once again but the snake antidote on Sikong Xuan’s palm was overpowering. So it tried to bite his head and legs. Sikong Xuan’s palms danced around to prevent it from getting near him. He had seen the speed of the marten and he was still scared of it, so he started issuing orders.

More than ten guild members surrounded them. Each held a bundle of herbs and lighted it, causing thick billows of smoke to rise into the air. Duan Yu had just gotten back to his feet when he suddenly felt faint and fell down again. Through his blurred vision, he could see Zhong Ling’s body swaying and then collapse onto the ground. Two guild members rushed forth to seize her but Lightning Marten defended its mistress. It leapt forth and bit them both. The crowd retreated in shock. They maintained the circle, shouting at the marten but no one attacked. Sikong Xuan ordered, “East side burn realgar. South side burn musk. West and North sides disperse.”

The guild members followed his orders. The Shennong Guild had a reputation of being well prepared with any kind of herbs, and the herbs that they used were all of the finest quality. The realgar and musk they used were very pure. Upon lighting, they released thick, pungent smoke that was blown by the south-eastern wind toward Zhong Ling. However, Lightning Marten was not affected by the smoke and remained as agile as before. It soon took down another five guild members. Sikong Xuan frowned as he planned his next move. “Shovel the soil. Bury the girl and the marten alive.”

The guild members that were carrying hoes used for unearthing herbs started digging large piles of soil and flung them onto Zhong Ling. Duan Yu knew that he caused the trouble, and if Zhong Ling ended up being buried alive, he would be too ashamed to live either. He threw himself with his remaining strength onto Zhong Ling. As he held her, he shouted, “We are going to perish together anyway.”

The soil and stones fell like rain, covering his head. Sikong Xuan heard what Duan Yu said and it struck a chord in his heart. Twenty over guild members had collapsed around him, and eight of them were important members of the guild. Even two of his disciples were among the injured. If he were to kill the girl, it might help him vent his resentment. But the poison of the marten is too peculiar. If he did not obtain her unique antidote, he might be unable to save the lives of all the injured. “Keep them alive. Don’t cover their heads.”

Soon, the two of them were covered with soil until their necks. Zhong Ling could feel a heavy weight pressing down on her. Although their bodies were buried in the soil with only their heads exposed, Duan Yu was hugging her so she did not feel that terrified. Duan Yu said in a low voice, “It’s because I didn’t listen to you, that’s why I brought this upon you. I’m really sorry.”

Zhong Ling said, “You are pretty loyal to me rushing over to die with me. You are a good person.”

Duan Yu said, “To die with such a beautiful girl like you, it’s a good way to go.” Zhong Ling giggled and said in a low voice, “Do you really think I’m beautiful or are you just saying it to make me happy?”

“Of course it’s true. If the both of us don’t die this time, you’ll be my good friend in the future, alright?”

Zhong Ling smiled sweetly, “Alright. But after a few days you’ll forget about me.”

“I’ll never forget you,” Duan Yu said and then he squeezed her shoulders. Their cheeks were only an inch apart. Her rosy cheeks, pale complexion, and slightly open mouth looked lovely. Duan Yu leaned over and kissed her gently on her cheek. Zhong Ling’s face immediately flushed red with embarrassment. Sikong Xuan sneered, “Hey, do you two want to get out and become husband and wife? Or do you want to stay in the soil and become enemies in the afterworld?”

Duan Yu said, “Of course it’s better to get out!”

“Fine! Quickly hand over the antidote for the marten’s poison and I’ll spare your life,” Sikong Xuan said. Zhong Ling shook her head. “Sparing me isn’t enough. You must spare both of us.”

“Fine then! I’ll spare your worthless lives. Where’s the antidote?”

“The antidote is not with me. Only Father knows how to treat the potent poison of Lightning Marten. I told you before not to force me to fight, or else Father would definitely be provoked and be mad at me. What good would it do to you?”

Sikong Xuan said sternly, “Girl, you still spout rubbish now. I might just let my anger get the better of me and leave you here to starve.”

“Everything I said was the truth. Yet you don’t want to believe me. Sigh. This is such a terrible mess. I might not be able to keep it from Father. What am I to do?”

“What’s your father’s name?”

“You’re not young any more, why are you so unreasonable? How can I simply tell you Father’s name?”

Sikong Xuan had been in the jianghu¹ for decades and could be considered a notable figure in the wulin.² However, he could not deal with the two jokers, Zhong Ling and Duan Yu. He said through clenched jaws, “Bring a torch. I’ll burn the girl’s hair to make her tell me.”

A guild member passed him a torch and he took two steps forward. Zhong Ling could see the fierce ruthlessness that gleamed in his eyes under the light from the fire and she became scared. “Hey. Hey. Don’t burn my hair. If you burn my hair, my head would be in extreme pain. If you don’t believe, try burning your beard.”

Sikong Xuan laughed evilly. “Of course I know it hurts a lot. I don’t need to burn my beard to know that.”

Raising the torch, he swung it in front of Zhong Ling’s face. She screamed in fright. Duan Yu hugged her tightly. “Bearded fellow, I was the one who started this so burn my hair instead!”

Zhong Ling said, “No! You’ll feel the pain too.”

“Since you’re afraid of pain, then hand over the antidote now and save my brothers.”

Zhong Ling said, “You’re a really stupid person. I already told you that only Father can cure Lightning Marten’s poison. Even Mother don’t know how to. Lightning Marten is a rare and exquisite. The potent poison on its fangs is extremely strange. Do you think it is so easy to cure?”

From the strange sounds of the people around him groaning in pain, Sikong Xuan knew that the poison would be very difficult to cure. Otherwise these were tough, proud men who have an arm or leg chopped off and not make a sound. Other guild members had already applied medicines to treat snake poison for the injured, but the moaning meant that the guild’s mighty snake antidote was not working. Some members even tried using antidotes for the venoms of scorpions, centipedes and spiders, but it only made the wounded members scream even louder. Sikong Xuan glared at Zhong Ling and bellowed, “Who’s your old man? Tell me his name now!”

“Do you really want me to say? Aren’t you afraid?”

Sikong Xuan flew into rage and raised the torch to burn Zhong Ling’s hair. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his neck as something bit him. He was shocked. He hastily shielded his head. Tossing the torch aside, he reached behind his neck to grab, only to feel the back of his hand sting with pain. Lightning Marten had quietly burrowed its way out after being buried in the soil. It launched a surprise attack when Sikong Xuan lowered his guard. He had applied snake antidote on his palms and arms before he attacked earlier, however he did not apply it on his neck or the back of his palms. Sikong Xuan was terrified after being bitten twice. He sat on the ground and began channelling his neili³ to expel the venom. The guild members hurriedly shovelled the earth to cover the marten. The marten bounded and bit two persons before disappearing into the bushes.

Footnotes

1. 江湖 — jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. The itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach, holding not only martial artists but the trades that travel with them. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 武林 — wǔlín. Literally martial forest. The martial arts community; those who practise and follow the ways of the jianghu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 内力 — nèilì. Literally inner power. The kinetic manifestation of qi; a martial artist’s cultivated internal force. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩