Lone Guest 4

It was late at night. The night watchman passed by on the street, knocking out the tock-tock-tock of the third watch. The sky was the color of pale blue glaze, and the houses below were sunken in darkness, clustered together in solid blocks, so thick it couldn't be dissolved.

The aunt rolled over, her hand resting to the side, falling into the ice-cold blankets. She felt around with her eyes closed; the place where her husband should have been lying was completely empty, with nothing there. 'Did he go to relieve himself?' She frowned, turning over and waiting for a long time. Suddenly, she felt something was wrong. The chamber pot was right beside the bed, so where would he go to relieve himself?

Full of suspicion, she sat up, parted the curtains, and got out of bed. The room wasn't lit and was pitch black. Looking out through the lantern-patterned diamond lattice window, the outside was also filled with indistinct shadows of black. The shadows of the flowers and plants fell on the ground like clumps of eerie ghostly silhouettes. The night was very quiet. From time to time, a few infant-like cries of wild cats could be heard. Faintly, she could also hear a woman's soft moans, very far away, hard to hear clearly.

She was a little afraid, stepping barefoot on the ground, the stone floor sticking coldly to the soles of her feet. She went to the window and listened carefully for a while longer. The woman's moans became much clearer; they were distinctly within her own courtyard.

'Dammit, the house is haunted.' She wanted to find her husband, secretly resenting that he was nowhere to be seen at a time like this. Just as she was getting anxious, she was suddenly stunned. An embarrassing speculation came to her mind. The moans came from the kitchen, and Xiao Yuan slept in the servant's room right next to the kitchen. She couldn't believe it, yet as if possessed, she pushed open the door and walked toward the kitchen. Because of her palpitations, she even forgot to put on her shoes. Barefoot, she stepped on the tree shadows and bypassed the corridor, walking below Qi Yin's attic. The moans grew clearer and clearer—they were right inside the kitchen.

"How about we take a break today, my stomach hurts." She heard her husband begging pitifully.

The moans stopped. Xiao Yuan snorted, "You dead man, are you getting tired of me? If you dare to dump me, see if I don't report you to that tigress!"

"No, my stomach really hurts. Ouch..."

The aunt's blood rushed to her head, her heart filled with overwhelming anger. Just as she was about to charge forward in one go, the roof tiles above her moved, making a crackling sound, which startled her. From somewhere unknown, the crying of wild cats came again, one overlapping another, as shrill as an infant's, making one's scalp tingle. She patted her chest, casually picked up a bamboo pole leaning against the wall, took two deep breaths, and kicked the door open.

The two adulterers were indeed inside. Both of them had their clothes half-undressed, exposing their bare, pale legs. Xiao Yuan was lying half on the stove. As the door opened and the moonlight shone in, she froze completely, her face as pale as a ghost under the moonlight. The uncle also widened his eyes; he was still lying on Xiao Yuan, forgetting to react.

The aunt was so angry she felt dizzy, roaring loudly, "I'll beat you adulterous bastards to death!"

With one strike of the bamboo pole, the uncle scurried away like a rat with his head in his hands, dodging and wailing at the same time. Xiao Yuan knelt on the ground, crying out, "Madam, spare my life, Madam, spare my life! It was the Master who forced this servant, this servant had no other choice!"

It would have been better if she didn't cry. Once she cried, the aunt's fury burned even hotter. She turned around and struck the bamboo pole right at Xiao Yuan's face: "I'll beat you to death, you slut! I'll beat you to death, you slut! I'll smash your face in and see how you seduce men then!"

Xiao Yuan rolled back and forth on the ground, her crying and wailing shaking the heavens. The aunt rushed forward, pulled out all her hairpins, and went to strip off her clothes. Xiao Yuan desperately clutched her clothes and screamed, "Master, save me!"

The uncle stood at the other end of the kitchen with no reaction. The aunt sneered, "You still expect him to save you! I'll strip you naked and sell you to a brothel! Let's see if he saves you then!"

Xiao Yuan, with an unknown surge of strength, kicked the aunt away. Crawling and rolling, she ran toward the uncle, hugged his legs with both hands, and cried, "Yao Dear, you said you would protect me!"

The aunt was so angry her vision went black. She picked up the bamboo pole to hit her again. The uncle had his back to the two of them, half his body shrouded in darkness, and he turned his head around extremely slowly. He twisted his head very strangely, like an elderly man having trouble moving, his movements jerky and stiff.

Seeing that he still wanted to protect her, the aunt cursed aloud, "You shameless bastard, are you trying to stop me?!"

Xiao Yuan was close, so she saw it very clearly—the uncle only twisted his head, but his body didn't move. With a very crisp crack of his neck, his entire head twisted toward them. Because his neck was broken, his head hung down limply, his two eyes staring straight at Xiao Yuan who was hugging him.

Xiao Yuan screamed loudly and scrambled back to the aunt's side again. Just as the aunt was about to scold her for screaming like a ghost, the uncle opened his mouth. The mouth opened so wide it was simply impossible for a human, his facial features all squeezed up to his crown. At the same time, from the dark, gaping mouth stretched out nine snake-like long necks. On each neck was a flat and withered head. The nine heads simultaneously opened their mouths wide at the aunt and Xiao Yuan, letting out shrill, infant-like cries, shrieking at the top of their lungs.

The two women were scared out of their wits, screaming in unison, "Ah—"

The Old Madam was awakened by the screams, pulling open the curtains and sitting up. Where there were women, there would be no peace; she understood this. She had never liked Madam Yu's temperament. She had secretly acquiesced to Xiao Yuan's affair with her son. Once Xiao Yuan's belly showed signs of a child, Madam Yu would have no choice but to accept her into the household, whether she wanted to or not.

Who knew that from the beginning of the year until now, Xiao Yuan's belly still hadn't shown any movement. Seeing the commotion tonight, perhaps the matter had been exposed. She sighed, draped her clothes over her shoulders, and went out.

Before she could even pass through the corner gate, the large tree in front rustled, and a figure jumped down. She looked up and saw it was none other than the child, Qi Yin. 'This is bad,' she thought secretly, 'Madam Yu's drug dosage wasn't enough; this child actually woke up.' Qi Yin didn't walk over immediately. He merely stood under the tree, looking at her in horror. She found it strange, and upon closer look, the child was actually holding an axe in his hand, with blood dripping drop by drop from the cold blade.

Her mind buzzed, and she pointed at him with trembling fingers. "You... you... who did you kill? Madam Yu, or my son, or my grandson?" That must be it, that must be it. This brat must have found out they wanted Xiaoshan to replace him to go to the Immortal Mountain, and bearing a grudge, took an axe to murder them. Her eyes wide to the point of tearing, she wailed, "You ungrateful white-eyed wolf, we shouldn't have taken you in back then!"

Qi Yin didn't speak. Gritting his teeth, he ran toward her murderously with the axe in hand. She staggered back in shock, shouting, "You want to kill me too! Murder! Murder!"

The axe swung straight toward her face. She subconsciously covered her head. The axe whistled past above her, and she heard something howl shrilly. Immediately after, foul-smelling blood rained down all over her head and face. Opening her eyes in horror, she saw nine withered brown severed necks lying right by her feet, along with the massive body and wings of that monster bird.

"This thing has been following behind you the whole time," Qi Yin said, wiping the blood from his face.

Still in shock, the Old Madam said, "What... what is this?"

"I don't know either," Qi Yin shook his head. "Go back to your room. I'll go check the front courtyard."

After saying that, Qi Yin walked toward the front courtyard carrying the axe. The Old Madam looked back. She was still some distance from her room, and the path was pitch black. She didn't dare walk alone, so she stumbled along behind Qi Yin. Pushing open the corner door, they saw Xiao Yuan and the aunt rushing over with faces full of panic. Behind them, the uncle was chasing them with nine long necks sticking out of his mouth. However, it seemed the monster bird didn't know how to control the body well; the uncle walked crookedly, both legs bending outward.

The Old Madam fainted the moment she saw him like that. Qi Yin supported her and leaned her against the threshold. Yao Xiaoshan was also awakened. Rubbing his eyes and shuffling in his shoes, he walked under the corridor and asked, "What are you guys doing?"

Seeing that he couldn't catch up to the aunt and Xiao Yuan, the uncle turned a corner on his feet and unexpectedly walked toward Yao Xiaoshan. The aunt hurriedly screamed, "Xiaoshan, run!"

Yao Xiaoshan finally saw his father's appearance clearly. He let out a scream and turned tail to run. The uncle lunged at him with his crooked legs, but Yao Xiaoshan ran fast, and the uncle couldn't catch him. He then turned back to lunge at Xiao Yuan. Xiao Yuan screamed and dodged. Seeing that he couldn't catch either of them, the uncle turned his head and saw the Old Madam slumped on the ground, so he limped over. The aunt turned pale with fright and ran over to drag the Old Madam away, but she was too heavy to move.

Qi Yin stepped up with the axe and smashed it into the back of the uncle's head. Instantly, half of his head was split open, and fresh blood mixed with yellowish-white brain matter splashed onto Qi Yin's face. Qi Yin gritted his teeth and brought the axe down again and again, smashing the uncle's head and the monster bird's heads into pieces.

Everyone stared at him in horror, not knowing whether they were more afraid of the monster bird or Qi Yin's murderous appearance.

After chopping for a long while, his uncle's head and the monster bird's heads were mashed like mud. Qi Yin threw away the axe and leaned against the auspicious water vat to catch his breath.

As the shock slightly subsided, the aunt only then belatedly realized that her husband was gone. She sat on the ground, slapping her hands and feet, wailing loudly, "What a sin, what is going on? How did monsters get into our house! Husband! Oh, Husband!"

Qi Yin caught his breath and said, "It was the egg Cousin bought from the West Market. He thought it was a Qilin Egg, but he didn't expect it to be the Demon Egg of a monster bird."

The aunt suddenly realized. Howling, she threw herself into Yao Xiaoshan's arms and pinched him. "You beast, you beast! You killed your father, look at what you've done!"

"It wasn't me, it wasn't me! I didn't know it was a Demon Egg..." Yao Xiaoshan also cried. Looking up and seeing Qi Yin, he screamed, "It wasn't me, it was Qi Yin! He knew it was a Demon Egg and deliberately sent it to my dad's room. Mother, didn't you drug that brat? How did he wake up? He knew all along, he knew all along!" Yao Xiaoshan fished out the glazed bead from his mother's bosom, took a close look, and yelled, "Sure enough! Mother, this glazed bead is fake. It's a counterfeit that brat made when he went to school, sneaking them into the academy to sell. He used this thing to trick you!"

The aunt blankly turned around. Qi Yin stood there watching them. The aunt pointed at him and said, "So that's how it is. You ungrateful wretch! You knew all along that the Immortal Masters were coming to our house, so you laid out such a vicious scheme to kill my whole family! You ungrateful wretch!"

"I did indeed know about you wanting to replace me," Qi Yin's expression was hard to distinguish between sadness and desolation. "But I didn't harm you. Someone told me the egg was a Demon Egg, and I thought Cousin only had one, which was the one hidden in my room. When I came home today, that egg already had cracks. I poured arsenic into it and poisoned the monster bird to death. That egg is still in my room; if you don't believe me, go look for yourselves."

The aunt didn't believe it and told Xiao Yuan to go upstairs to check. After a long while, Xiao Yuan actually came out holding a Stone Egg full of cracks.

The Old Madam had woken up at some unknown point and asked hoarsely, "Then what was in that box you gave Madam Yu?"

The aunt returned to the room and brought out the box, opening it in front of everyone. Inside lay a neat stack of bank notes and a letter. The aunt took out the letter. Three large words were written on the envelope: "Letter of Farewell".

"Xiao Yin, you're leaving?" the aunt asked with a trembling voice.

"Yeah." Qi Yin lowered his eyelashes. He stood alone under the moonlight, a solitary, dark shadow. "My biological father abandoned his wife and son; I don't care to go cultivate immortality. If Cousin wants to go, just let him. But I don't want to stay here anymore either. I knew Aunt wanted to drug me, so after eating, I went back to my room and made myself throw up. All the bank notes Grandmother gave me are placed inside; I didn't take a single one. The roof of my room happened to be broken, so I originally intended to climb up to the roof and leave tonight. I didn't expect that as soon as I got onto the roof, I would see a monster bird crouching in the courtyard."

He turned his head away, his peripheral vision catching a glimpse of his uncle's ghastly corpse on the ground. He originally had a mind for revenge too, so he swapped that bowl of spiked beauty soup, wanting his aunt to wake up in the middle of the night, discover the uncle's sordid affair, and raise a huge commotion. He just didn't expect that it would end up like this.

Everyone fell silent. The aunt collapsed onto the ground in despair.

"One in the front courtyard, one in the back courtyard, plus the one Xiao Yin poisoned with arsenic... Xiaoshan, you hid three Demon Eggs in the house!" The Old Madam covered her face and wept. "What kind of sin is this?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." Yao Xiaoshan said with trembling hands, "Also, ac... actually, I bought five..."

Everyone was startled. Qi Yin asked sternly, "Where are the other two? Where did you hide them?"

Yao Xiaoshan closed his eyes, tremblingly reached out his hand, and pointed at Qi Yin.

The aunt, Xiao Yuan, and the Old Madam all showed terrified expressions and stepped backward one by one. Qi Yin's hands and feet went cold. Could it be that a monster bird had burrowed into his stomach without him knowing? But that wasn't right; the monster bird didn't crawl out of his mouth. How would Yao Xiaoshan know a monster bird was inside him?

Then that meant...

He slowly turned his head, coming face to face with a dripping, withered bird face. The monster bird opened its pitch-black beak as if it were about to eat someone. A wave of shrill, infant-like howling crashed down on Qi Yin with overwhelming force, deafeningly loud.