The night was suddenly filled with a cold wind. Everyone, tired from a day's exertion, had retired early to their rooms.
Liu Shinian also abandoned his usual spot on the rooftop. Perhaps he had slept too much during the day, as he merely played his flute on the building before leaving.
Tonight was a full moon, and its bright radiance cast a layer of white frost upon the courtyard.
At dawn, a sudden clamor of gongs and drums erupted from outside. I tossed and turned, my sleep disturbed by the incessant noise.
Then, I heard someone shouting.
"The enemy is here! The enemy is here!"
"What!"
I quickly got out of bed, dressed, opened my door, and stepped out.
Ascending to the corridor, I looked up and saw a dark mass on the horizon, its nature unknown.
Looking down, I saw Lin'er standing in the courtyard, equally uneasy.
His gaze was filled with worry as he looked towards the approaching mass, like a dark cloud.
I hurried down the stairs and joined him, asking with confusion.
"Elder, what is that dark mass?"
"It looks like black flying birds."
"Black flying birds?"
Hearing the commotion, everyone else also got up in a hurry and rushed over.
"Look, what is that?"
A young guard pointed to the horizon and shouted.
Everyone looked up, seeing the dark, cloud-like mass advancing towards Black Mountain.
Yan Wushuang couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
"So many dense black things, what could they be?"
Yue Jiuceng focused his gaze and vaguely saw something fluttering at the forefront of the dark mass, resembling a black snake.
He was immediately astonished.
"Look quickly! What is that one at the very front?"
Everyone looked again. Whether it was due to the distance or the height at which they flew, they couldn't discern anything clearly.
However, Lin'er sensed that something was seriously wrong and shouted.
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
People drew their weapons, some flying to the rooftops, others rushing to the mountain gate.
I also flew to the rooftop to join the fight.
As the dark mass drew closer, we finally saw that on the backs of these black birds were dozens of people.
And at the very front, a man stood erect on the head of the black snake, holding a Seven-Star Sword, his expression stern.
Just then, a call came from downstairs.
"Xingye!"
Everyone was shocked. They never expected that the man exuding such kingly aura would be Yu Jiao's beloved, Li Xingye.
Facing the formidable enemy, Hei Feng confidently declared.
"Ghost King, there's no need to worry. My Black Mountain is already protected by a barrier set up by my uncle. They won't be able to get in."
Despite his words, no one present felt reassured. Even Lin'er wore a troubled expression.
The four elders arrived hastily. Gazing at the dark figures of the South Sea City soldiers riding on flying birds, they were instantly alarmed.
Elder Wan Gu furrowed his brow.
"It seems this is destined to be a fierce battle."
Elder Zhu Liuyun said.
"With the great battle imminent, and us not knowing martial arts, let's not cause any trouble. Let's observe the situation first."
"Very well."
With that, the elders hurried back to ponder their next move.
As the flock of large birds flew closer, they suddenly stopped.
My tense gaze was fixed on their every move.
Suddenly, Li Xingye drew his sword, leaped from the black snake, and with a swift upward swing, hacked down at us.
With a clang, the barrier shattered.
"How can this be!"
Hei Feng's eyes widened in disbelief as he watched his uncle's life's work so easily broken.
Seeing the barrier shatter, the South Sea City warriors on the birds erupted in cheers.
They immediately drew their bows, lit their arrows, and fired, engulfing the entire Bright Moon Palace in flames.
Liu Shinian, Xue Gucheng, and Yan Wushuang flew up together, piercing the black birds with their swords.
This sent the evildoers tumbling to the ground, to face the sharp blades.
Li Xingye landed on the rooftop opposite me. His sharp eyes regarded me with disdain. I dared not be careless, relying only on improvisation.
He remained silent, then drew his sword and lunged. Instantly, a powerful sword energy, like a shooting star, hurtled towards me.
I rolled to dodge. With a tearing sound, I looked back to see the entire house split in two.
Yue Jiuceng and Liu Mei also flew up. Seeing me at a disadvantage, they called out.
"Mu Ye, we're here to help you!"
I also cautioned them.
"This person is even more formidable than the Four Great Evils. Be careful."
"Alright."
"Ghost King, take this!"
Thirteenth Mother tossed her sword, and I caught it.
Li Xingye looked at the group before him, these people who courted death like clowns, with utter contempt, and sneered.
"Overestimating yourselves."
He then raised his sword and advanced rapidly. Before we could react, he was already behind me. With a spinning kick, he sent me flying down from the building.
I landed on the ground, smashing a large pit into the floor and kicking up dust.
"Mu Ye!"
"Mu Ye!"
The people nearby cried out in alarm. This overwhelming display of power pushed me to the brink of danger.
Li Xingye had no interest in anyone else; his sole focus was on killing the Ten Thousand Ghost King.
Ignoring everyone else, he drew his sword and, like a meteor, attacked me once more.
Suddenly, a figure in pink blocked my path. The Seven-Star Sword stopped mere inches from my face.
He landed and looked, only to see Yu Jiao.
Yu Jiao couldn't believe that the person before her was the man she longed for.
The Li Xingye she knew would never be one to slaughter the innocent.
Filled with confusion and doubt, she questioned him.
"Xingye, what's wrong with you? Why are you helping others kill? When did you become someone's puppet?"
Li Xingye slowly lowered the Seven-Star Sword, remained silent, sheathed his sword, and turned to leave.
"Xingye!"
Yu Jiao quickly rose and chased after him.
Yue Jiuceng and Liu Mei flew down from the rooftop and helped me up, asking anxiously.
"Mu Ye, how are you? Are you badly injured?"
I waved my hand, feeling a throbbing in my head and a blockage in my chest.
"I'm fine, let me rest for a moment."
I moved past them and walked towards the backyard, my chest pain intensifying. Leaning against a wooden pillar, I spat out a mouthful of blood.
It was clear that without Yu Jiao's intervention, I might have already died by Li Xingye's sword.
Yet, such a terrifying man had become a thorn in my heart.
Suddenly, several figures in black descended from the sky, swords raised, surrounding me. Then, someone shouted.
"Ten Thousand Ghost King! Prepare to die!"
He then lunged forward with his sword. My mind was already in turmoil, and seeing someone coming to court death, my eyes suddenly hardened.
With a flick of my wrist, I used the Dragon Claw Hand to grip one man's neck and choked him to death.
Then, I leaped up, my hands descending to press onto the heads of two attackers, and with a single forceful movement, I drained them to their bones.
After absorbing their blood and essence, I felt a slight resurgence of vitality, and my internal injuries also improved considerably.
The men beside me paused for a moment, exchanged glances, and then, mustering their courage, attacked again. I engaged them once more.
Liu Shinian and Xue Gucheng had cleared the enemy at the mountain gate and retreated into the Bright Moon Palace. Looking around, they couldn't find me.
Filled with confusion, they asked Yue Jiuceng.
"Where is Mu Ye?"
"She was severely injured and went back to her room."
"Severely injured?"
They had been outside and were unaware of what had transpired within. They had only heard a cracking sound and, assuming the Ghost King's strength would see her through, had not worried.
However, they did not know that the true Ten Thousand Ghost King had not yet made a move.
Thirteenth Mother explained.
"The attacker's name is Li Xingye, an extremely powerful individual. With a single move, he knocked the Ghost King down the stairs. Fortunately, Yu Jiao stopped him in time, otherwise, the Ghost King would have been in grave danger."
"Where is Yu Jiao?"
Since Yu Jiao had been of such great help, why wasn't she present? Liu Shinian asked urgently.
Thirteenth Mother replied.
"She went after Li Xingye."
Liu Shinian had also heard that Yu Jiao and Li Xingye were a golden couple, and when they met, they would have much to talk about.
He surmised that Li Xingye would not harm her, but Mu Ye...
He keenly sensed that Mu Ye was in danger and headed towards the backyard with Xue Gucheng.
Halfway there, they faintly heard the sounds of fighting in the garden. Rushing towards it, they saw a shocking sight at the garden entrance.
There I was, with one person in each hand, draining them to their bones. Then, as if drawing sustenance from afar, I turned several more into skeletons.
Liu Shinian and Xue Gucheng were stunned into silence, their mouths agape, unable to utter a sound for a long time.
At this moment, in their eyes, they saw not the usual Mu Ye, but more like a ravenous vampire.
"Mu Ye!"
Liu Shinian moved like lightning, his sword thrusting forward, killing the prey in my hands.
I turned, my head snapping up in shock, and saw Liu Shinian and Xue Gucheng. Suddenly, I clutched my chest, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fainted.
"Mu Ye!"
Liu Shinian called out again and scooped me up into his arms.
Xue Gucheng also approached. The terrifying scene still lingered in his mind. He remained silent, not uttering a word.
Liu Shinian looked down at the person in his arms, filled with confusion.
"Why is Mu Ye like this?"
Xue Gucheng, having regained his composure, also slowly returned to his senses. He said.
"Perhaps it's due to her severe injuries. Let's not disturb her for now; let her rest."
There was nothing else to be done. Liu Shinian had no choice but to carry me back to my room.
Meanwhile, the battle outside continued. They had no time to dwell on it and had to rejoin the fight to defend Black Mountain.
Upon receiving news that the South Sea City was attacking Black Mountain, Fei Xiong and Dao Lang rushed back immediately.
As they reached the mountainside, they saw the mountain ablaze with fire.
In the air, enemies continued to release fire arrows. Yue Jiuceng, Liu Mei, Thirteenth Mother, and others were still fighting in the sky.
It was then they realized they had arrived too late.
They quickly rushed to the mountaintop and saw corpses scattered everywhere, blood splattered all around, a truly shocking scene.
Pushing open the gates of the Bright Moon Palace, they heard shouts and the clash of weapons. Everyone was engaged in a chaotic melee, making it impossible to distinguish friend from foe.
"Brother Dao, Brother Fei."
Hearing someone call them, they looked up to see Xue Gucheng on a rooftop shooting arrows, while Yan Wushuang was on the ground, locked in combat with the lesser soldiers.
"We'll help too."
"It seems we have to use our ultimate moves."
The two agreed, and Fei Xiong fell to the ground, instantly transforming into a large brown bear.
He then charged towards the mountain gate, gathering strength in his limbs. Opening his mouth wide, he inhaled deeply and suddenly let out a roar that pierced the heavens.
It was like a powerful gust of wind, sending those in the air tumbling and falling.
Dao Lang also transformed into a fierce Northern Wolf King, charging rapidly, stepping onto Fei Xiong's body, and leaping upwards. Using his left foot on his back and his right foot on his left, he ascended to the clouds.
Although somewhat comical, everything went smoothly. He flew directly onto the backs of the black birds.
Instantly, his bloodline awakened, and primal ferocity surged through his spirit.
With a sudden flurry of movements, he burrowed and bit left and right, leaping from one area to another, pushing wave after wave.
He sent the people tumbling to the ground.
Xue Gucheng swung his snow blade, leaped upwards, stirring up streaks of cold light as he charged towards the enemy.
Seeing the ferocity of our forces, the enemies threw down their armor and fled.
After the enemy dispersed, we looked back to see that the entire Bright Moon Palace had been largely destroyed.
Everyone then busied themselves with clearing the bodies and extinguishing the fires, working until late into the night.
Lin'er watched everyone in silence. No one spoke, only silently carrying bodies and cleaning the battlefield.
However, their somber faces were like a heavy stone pressing down on everyone's hearts, with grief and sorrow held deep within.
Besides sadness and the need to rally, there was nothing else he could do but join everyone in cleaning up the aftermath.
Liu Shinian, however, thought differently. His mind was still replaying the terrifying scene in the garden.
That fierce, bloodthirsty figure, so unlike Mu Ye, was more like a demon, an emotionless demon.
He shook his head vigorously, unwilling to believe, telling himself.
"That must have been the real Ten Thousand Ghost King. It must have been him."
Snapping back to reality, he saw the ruins emitting black smoke, rows of corpses, and patches of bloodstains.
The four elders also emerged. Gazing at the corpses filling the courtyard, both enemies and those of Black Mountain, and the Ghost魅 tribe.
Regardless of who they were, each was a living soul, and each deeply pained their hearts.
Elder Hei Yi said mournfully.
"Must our tribe's destiny be like this?"
Elder Mo Xuefu shook his head.
"No matter where we go, no matter where we are, we cannot escape the birth of slaughter."
Elder Hei Yi still lamented.
"When will this curse of suffering ever end?"
"Alas!"
Elder Zhu Liuyun sighed deeply, offering silent comfort.
Liu Shinian, listening to the elders' sorrowful lament, finally understood how difficult and arduous the Ghost魅 tribe's existence had been for thousands of years.
He also finally understood the cruelty of the Four Cities and their disregard for life. He then thought.
"Perhaps, Mu Ye's state was also out of desperation. After all, who wants to become a demon?"
With these thoughts, his heart felt somewhat lighter. He silently joined the crowd, gently closing the eyes of those who had died with regrets.
The entire night was shrouded in a deathly silence. No one spoke, no one offered comfort, only silence.
The bloodstains on the wall remained as they were, blood-stained. Everyone sat in a quiet place, gazing into the dark night.
As if praying, praying deeply.