Nightmare Master – CH 003

Chapter 3. Beauty

These two were unlucky to arrive; the real Xie Yuzhu had been gone for less than an hour. Even worse, they had not done their homework beforehand. Seeing the strange white hair of the girl sitting at the table, they did not realize they’d come to the wrong person.

After all, this girl was young, dressed in luxurious clothes, had an extraordinary air about her, and was adorned with jewels—who else could she be but Xie Yuzhu? The black-clad man suspected that the Xie family was hiding Xie Yuzhu from public view because their young lady suffered from a strange illness that caused her to have naturally white hair.

“I advise you, Young Lady, not to struggle or shout. The people outside cannot hear you. Come with us obediently, and you will suffer less,” warned the man holding the sword.

Yun Chuan glanced at them, then looked at the window. There was no shadow of this black-clad man in the window; her shadow remained in the same position as when the black-clad man had entered.

“So you isolated this room from the outside world. What did the people outside see? It was all fake from the previous moment…” Yun Chuan, oblivious to the danger, gestured in the air, more interested in magic than the two people in front of her.

Clearly, the two opposite her had no patience to discuss magic with her. Before she could finish speaking, the world spun around her, and one of them grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her onto his shoulder. They smashed through a window and leaped out, speeding away into the night.

The kidnapping went remarkably smoothly; even the kidnapped person was remarkably obedient, neither shouting nor struggling. The black-clad men carried Yun Chuan along a secluded path, winding their way into a deserted grove of trees.

Yun Chuan, slumped on the shoulder of the black-clad man, seemed dizzy from the jostling. With her eyes closed, she said, “I have not agreed to go with you yet.”

“That’s not up to you!”

“Why?”

“Shut up if you do not want to die.”

The man who was not carrying Yun Chuan said impatiently, “Why are you wasting your breath talking to her? Gag her.”

Yun Chuan held an orange she’d taken from the room. With the swaying of the black-clad man, the orange in her hand swayed back and forth in the moonlight.

She thought for a moment and said, “You want to kill me? But I am a ruthless and cruel person, and I’ve killed people before, you…”

Before she could finish, a strip of cloth was stuffed into her mouth. She made muffled sounds, then loosened her grip. The orange pressed against the back of the man beneath her, throbbing strangely, like a living heart.

By the time the man realized something was wrong, it was too late.

The forest was deep and dark. The cracking sounds of trees snapping and splintering rapidly mingled with the agonizing screams of a person. Oranges sprouted and grew, their branches growing with incredible speed, tearing through flesh and blood, splattering warm blood like a gentle rain.

Meanwhile, the real Xie Yuzhu, completely unaware that someone had been made a scapegoat, was happily strolling around the Zhaiyue Tower.

Nightmare magic could not be cast during the day, so Nightmare Masters usually lay dormant during the day and only appeared at night. At this time, many Nightmare Masters were coming and going in the Zhaiyue Tower, and people from the immortal sects were also coming to pay their respects. Several large bronze mirrors were placed on the tables of the elegant seats on each floor, used to display the Nightmare Masters’ dreams during alliance meetings. Jade plaques hung from the curtains, bearing the names of the invited sects.

“Lingjin Pavilion, Baiyun Palace, Xiaoyao Gate…” Xie Yuzhu hurriedly tiptoed away as she passed the elegant seating area of ​​the Fuguang Sect. She did not know if her Eldest Sister and Second Brother were coming; if they saw her sneaking around like this, they would surely give her a good scolding.

“Master Ren, it is an honor to meet you.”

Hearing the greeting, Xie Yuzhu immediately went over and peered through the doorway, thinking, “Master Ren, could it be Ren Tang, one of the renowned Twin Nightmare Masters?”

A jade plaque bearing the name “Mount Canglang Sect” hung above the elegant seating area. Three disciples of Mount Canglang Sect in blue Daoist robes stood on one side, and on the other stood a middle-aged man in a dark blue robe; this must be the Master Ren they were talking about.

“Master Ren is virtuous and talented; the position of leader of the Nightmare Master Alliance is undoubtedly his,” praised the eldest disciple in blue robes, Hui Nanyi, the head disciple of Mount Canglang Sect.

Ren Tang bowed and said, “Not at all. I’ve come to bother Brother Hui because I have something to tell you. It is of great importance, and I dare not delay.”

“Please speak, sir.”

“It seems that a new spirit bandit using the Shengji Technique of Mount Canglang Sect has appeared, and he’s currently in Ningzhou.”

The disciples of Mount Canglang Sect were quite surprised to hear this, and Xie Yuzhu also leaned closer, pricking up her ears.

“Half a month ago, in the Fu Family Village, in Ningzhou, villagers found four corpses by a fishpond. All the bodies had mulberry branches piercing their chests. It is said they did not fall into the trees themselves, but rather the branches suddenly grew and impaled them. Upon hearing this, I thought of your mansion’s ‘Shengji Technique.’ It seems someone has seen Ye Minwei’s Nightmare Beast, obtained its magical artifacts, and is committing evil deeds.”

The disciples of Mount Canglang Sect’s expressions turned grim. Hui Nanyi said, “Our sect’s ‘Shengji Technique’ originally only accelerated tree growth, but after Ye Minwei’s modification, its power has been greatly enhanced. Under the ‘Shengji Technique,’ seeds can take root and grow anywhere with nutrients, even using the human body as a base. If it falls into the hands of ordinary people… the consequences will be endless. I will notify the sect to send people to find this spiritual bandit.”

“The Taiqing Altar has long since issued a decree that if ordinary people see the Bailu Nightmare Beast and obtain an object inlaid with blue stones from it, they must seal it and hand it over to the local immortal sect. Unauthorized use is considered theft of immortal sect techniques, punishable as a spirit bandit, and wanted by all immortal sects. With such severe punishment, how can so many people still risk it, using techniques to harm others?” The young disciple on the left was indignant.

Hui Nanyi sighed and said, “No need for foundation building, no need for self-cultivation, no need to worry about going astray and becoming possessed, not even needing to abide by any immortal sect rules—as long as one holds a spiritual weapon, one can use powerful immortal sect techniques, surpassing others. Such temptation is simply too great for ordinary people; even severe punishment is difficult to stop.”

“The best course of action now is to capture Ye Minwei’s Nightmare Beast as soon as possible. Or go to Mount Kunwu and ask Ye Minwei to sacrifice herself to destroy the Nightmare Beast.”

Ren Tang chuckled, then slowly said, “The hatred for the murder of one’s master is irreconcilable, but I will set that aside for now. However, she used the guise of compiling a manual to steal techniques from various schools, privately crafting artifacts. If it were not for her failed attempt at Nightmare Cultivation and the escape of the Nightmare Beast, everyone would still be in the dark. In these years, the massacre of Baiyun Palace, the theft of the Fukong Boundary Tablet, and the construction of the Heavenly City—which of these was not caused by her? If she were willing to die, it would only be to atone for her sins; how could it be considered righteousness?”

The head disciple of Mount Canglang Sect turned to look at Ren Tang. He appeared young, yet possessed a pair of calm and world-weary eyes. Nightmare Masters could not cultivate; their lifespan was normal, but their youth was fleeting. This seemingly young cultivator, Hui Nanyi, was actually far older than Nightmare Master Ren Tang.

“Master Ren, you were born late. By the time you became famous, Ye Minwei was already infamous. However, before that, Ye Minwei was the Master of All Things, revered as a master by all immortal sects,” Hui Nanyi slowly began.

“To this day, no one knows why Ye Minwei committed such a shocking act. Even Nanyi dares not judge her merits or demerits.”

In the wild woods, Yun Chuan fell with a thud into the grass.

Tonight was a full moon, its light exceptionally beautiful, illuminating the world in a translucent silvery white. Yun Chuan, her head resting on her white hair as if on a crescent moon, stared with hazy eyes at the bright moon in the night sky.

Seven chi away from her, orange seeds sprouted from rotten oranges, growing into an orange tree. The tree took root in a man’s back, growing through his flesh and bones, piercing his heart, and branching out from his chest. It then wrapped itself around the limbs of another black-clad man in the same way, piercing his entire body.

From a distance, it was impossible to tell whether a tree had grown from a person’s body, or a person had grown from a tree.

Orange blossoms bloomed on the blood-stained branches, their fragrance filling the air, masking the stench of blood.

Yun Chuan’s right hand hung limply among the grass, the gold bracelet on her wrist cracked along its lines, breaking into concentric rings that rotated around her wrist. A blue stone was embedded in the inner side of the bracelet, its clear light like a blue firefly in the grass.

She raised her arm, pulled the gag from her mouth, and threw it aside, seemingly regretting that the two men did not believe her.

“I told you, I am a ruthless bad person, I kill.”

She had landed on the back of her head when she was thrown down, her head still spinning, her body aching all over, unable to stand. But now she suddenly could not understand why she needed to stand up, so she simply lay there.

Yun Chuan’s actions always needed a reason.

Three months ago, when she woke up in the mountain cabin, the branches of the persimmon tree had already grown into the window, and a pile of rotten persimmons lay on the ground. These things seemed to remind her that she had been asleep for many years, to the point that she had forgotten everything except her own name. She felt it did not matter; she just needed to figure it out.

She did not quite understand yet. But along this journey, she seemed to have learned one thing: no one in this world truly understood.

Everything was just hearsay, separated by decades or centuries, by mountains, by the mouths and ears of others.

No one understood Ye Minwei.

Now she stood up. Where should she go? Who should she ask?

In her vision appeared the branches of an orange tree, still slowly growing, little by little piercing through the moonlight, blossoming with white flowers.

A pair of slender, white hands picked up an orange blossom branch. Those hands were like jade carvings, their edges bathed in the cold moonlight, almost translucent. On the middle finger of that hand was an intricately patterned gold ring, with a gold chain threaded through it, the chain adorned with countless colorful bells, leading to a three-stranded bracelet of amber and bells.

The beautiful hand rose and disappeared from view. A face approached her from above, obscuring the bright full moon.

The newcomer was unlike any Han Chinese from the Central Plains; her skin was three parts paler than average, and her bone structure five parts sharper. Her hair was styled in a high bun, adorned with pearls, coral, and peonies, her features exquisite. When she raised her eyes to look at someone, it was as if a finely crafted dagger had pierced through the chest, staining the carved details with blood, penetrating three-tenths of the bone, impossible to remove.

Her beauty was so excessive that it was almost piercing.

This person knelt before Yun Chuan, arms resting on her knees, looking down at her. As if knowing Yun Chuan’s poor eyesight, she was extremely close to her, close enough for Yun Chuan to see her clearly and feel her breath on her face.

On that upside-down face, crimson lips parted and opened.

“What are you doing?”

The words seemed to be squeezed out through clenched teeth, and perhaps because of the unfriendly tone, the beautiful woman’s voice sounded almost like a man’s.