Way of the Devil

Someone advised Lu Sheng to hire some hands to help him out. However, he declined with a smile.

He persisted in opening his doors while the skies were still gray in the early morning, and kept it open until the night.

On days when he had less patients, he would pick up the pinwheels and blew them. The wrinkles on his face would slowly ease as he smiled.

He had thought that his life would continue on like this. However, one day, he heard a rumor about the Zhong Family being hit by a plague.

The plague was devastating. It was said that the outbreak began where Zhong Quan was stationed. The members of the Zhong Family either died from the plague or left before they were infected. The only old woman was also nowhere to be found.

Lu Sheng hastily hired an ox cart to head toward the Zhong Family. However, when he reached the Zhong Family, it was already empty. Nobody was there.

He returned to his clinic helplessly. Lu Sheng searched for information about the Zhong Family everywhere. However, his efforts did not yield any results.

A year later…

He was on his way back from the market when he saw Xu Zijun sitting on the rock stairs by the streets.

She wore a battered cotton-padded jacket. She looked filthy as her hair, face, and hands were covered in a thick layer of dirt.

She did not look healthy as well. Her skin tone was abnormally sallow and pale.

“Uncle…”

Xu Zijun looked up and saw Lu Sheng.

“Why’re you here?” Lu Sheng let go of the vegetables he bought. He immediately hired someone to help bring her to his clinic.

Xu Zijun’s body was seriously swollen all over. Lu Sheng was unsure how long she had been ill.

Lu Sheng hired someone to bathe her and change her clothes. Then, he formulated a medicinal broth for her which he fed her every day.

However, the illness she had was only the secondary reason for her appearance. The main reason was because of the degeneration of her internal organs. It was a factor of age. Her time was upon her.

She was very old now, and had experienced too many ups and downs in her life. It was already a miracle for her to hold out this long.

She managed to stay alive for a dozen days. However, her aura grew fainter as time passed. She was truly at her end.

“Uncle… Tell me, what are we living for?” Under the dim light, she still shivered under the thick layers of blankets.

Lu Sheng stoked up the coal furnace beside her in an attempt to warm up the bedroom even more.

When he heard her speak, Lu Sheng slowly walked up to her bed.

“What are we living for? I don’t know the answer to that, either…” He smiled. “From what I think, since the heavens have allowed us to live, we should make the most out of it not to let our journey in this world go to waste.”

“I wanted to live a good life as well.” Xu Zijun smiled. “But I just can’t seem to do it. Fortunately… Fortunately… I didn’t let the Zhong Family down, I didn’t let my parents down… but my Quan’er…”

Suddenly, a writhing pain spread from her heart.

Xu Zijun gripped Lu Sheng’s hand tightly. She lay there on her sickbed. When she saw the pinwheels slowly spinning on the herb cabinet, tears flowed from her ageing eyes.

She was suddenly reminded of many things. She remembered that when she was young, she had pulled on her little brother’s hand as they ran in and out of the clinic. How the pinwheels had spun nicely in their hands…

“Un…cle…”

“Sleep, my dear… You are weary.” Lu Sheng grasped her hand tightly. His eyes moistened up despite himself.

Yes, she did not let anyone down. The only person she disappointed was herself.

Xu Zijun’s matchstick arm shook slightly. Her grip grew stronger and stronger.

Suddenly, her pupils dilated, and her body went stiff. Her grip on Lu Sheng’s hand was loosened. There was no strength behind it now.

Lu Sheng sat silently beside her. He patted her hands with his.

Not many attended Xu Zijun’s funeral. The plague had robbed her of all her kin. Lu Sheng merely bought a coffin for her body, had someone dig a simple grave, and buried her there.

Lu Sheng returned to his clinic. The three pinwheels were still stuck on the herb cabinet in a row. A breeze blew, and they spun. Lu Sheng walked over and took them down gently. After giving it some thought, he returned them to the corner on the herb cabinet.

Days passed by. He soon resumed his routine of treating patients every day.

After an uncertain amount of time, snow fell and covered the entire town overnight. Everything within sight was covered in silvery white.

A two-year-old girl pointed at the pinwheels on the herb cabinet, and asked in her childish voice, “Grandpa Lu, what are those?”

Lu Sheng was taking her father’s pulse. When he heard her voice, he looked up.

“Those are pinwheels,” he answered with a gentle smile.

“Do you like pinwheels, grandpa?” asked the little girl again.

Lu Sheng smiled, and answered, “Yes… I like them very much…”

“Bing’er, don’t disturb grandpa,” the father reprimanded his daughter in a stern tone.

“Oh…” The little girl pouted, and said no more.

Lu Sheng went over and took a pinwheel to give it to Bing’er. However, this little girl was a sensible child. She shook her head, and would not accept it.

Lu Sheng felt helpless. He returned the pinwheel to its original position.

A few days later, the little girl came back. She accompanied her father here for his check-up. This time, she held a brand-new pinwheel in her hand.

“Grandpa, this is for you.”

Lu Sheng was preparing his medical tools. When he saw the red pinwheel in her hand, he was suddenly stunned.

He hesitated briefly. He did not turn her down. He traded the pinwheel for a sugared cookie. Then, he carefully placed this brand-new pinwheel beside the three others.

A breeze blew. The pinwheels were all in different condition. The very first pinwheel was already yellowing.

Lu Sheng lowered his hands and looked at this row of pinwheels. He suddenly felt something cracking open in his heart.

He calmed his spirit and continued treating Bing’er’s father. Then, he closed his clinic, and slowly left the town on his own.

He went to the old address of the Xu Family.

The great mansion was now occupied by another family. The old tree had sprouted new shoots as well.

The faint wails of an infant could be heard among the snow. The adults could also be heard cooing to make it stop crying.

Lu Sheng stood silently before the doors of the great mansion. As he listened to the sounds within the house, something in his heart grew brighter and clearer.

After standing there for an unknown period of time, he suddenly started laughing.

His laugh grew louder and louder.

Slowly, his hair turned from white to black. He became younger. His hunched back straightened up as well.

The wrinkles on his face quickly disappeared as his youth was restored. His murky eyes swiftly grew sharper. In no time, his body’s condition was restored to his twenties, the prime of his youth.

“So that’s how it is… so that’s how it is!” Lu Sheng laughed as he walked away into the distance without any attachments to this place.

**********

The Moon Prince Mansion.

The Moon Prince slowly tugged on the rug on his knees. He pulled it higher toward himself.

It had been several decades… The West Cliff Dynasty had crumbled long ago. Currently, the warlords ruled over their own lands. Because of its army and the support of the Crane King Cave in the background, the Moon Prince Mansion somehow managed to maintain some status in this turbulent world.

However, that was all there was to it.

After the divine general died, the warlords fought for supremacy everywhere. The conflicts between them never truly ended.

The Moon Prince was more than 100 years old now. If it were not for some mysterious art employed by the Crane King Cave which prolonged his life, he would have passed away a long time ago.

However, as he aged, he lost the desire to become a supreme overlord. He merely wanted to subsist on the family’s estate.

His only regret now was that his son had gone into cultivation. He had been gone for decades. He could barely remember Little Jing’s looks right now.

“Your Highness.” Bai Songzi wore a completely white robe. His long sleeves flowed as he walked slowly into the garden.

As a demon king, he possessed the high-ranked Pure Qi which Lu Sheng had infused him with. On top of that, he cultivated high-ranking mantras, and his current cultivation base improved as time went by.

From afar, Bai Songzi appeared refined and dignified, aloof from the matters of the world, just like a noble. Up close, his facial features seemed as beautiful as a painting, and he had a cold air about him.

This was especially true of the hooked cinnabar pattern between his brows. It added a charming quality to his cold features.

“You’re here to see this old man again?” The Moon Prince knew Bai Songzi’s identity a long time ago.

However, he felt that the demons with their pure emotions were most trustworthy than humans. They were either good or bad. Demons were always more straightforward than humans.

“We’ve found out who’s supporting the Clear Prince Mansion in the shadows. It’s a Taoist Sect called the Indefinite Cult,” Bai Songzi said drily. “I might be slightly busier these days. I might not have as much time to visit you.”

“That’s alright. The official matters are more important. The Clear Prince Mansion cannot exist in the same era as us. We’ve been fighting for so many years, it’s finally time for them to reveal themselves.” The Moon Prince sighed. “I’m just wondering if this Indefinite Cult is…”

“A Taoist sect,” said Bai Songzi softly.

The Moon Prince was stunned. “Are they powerful?”

“Very powerful,” replied Bai Songzi calmly. “However, we might not be on their list for now. Whether it’s our Moon Prince Mansion or the Clear Prince Mansion, we’re only child’s play to them.”

“That’s good… That’s good…” The Moon Prince sighed slightly with relief.

“…”

When Bai Songzi saw the Moon Prince’s relieved expression, he decided not to tell him that the Indefinite Cult had already moved their men against them.

“The weather is cold in these parts and not too agreeable. I have set aside a mansion in the south. Your Highness, would you consider moving there before this cold weather eases up?” he suggested.

“Might as well. There’s no point for me to stay here alone.” The Moon Prince smiled helplessly. “I can’t help but wonder where Jing’er is now…”

He remembered his only son who’d left on his own all those years ago.

“My master is alive and well. We can sense that,” Bai Songzi replied.

“That’s good to hear…” The Moon Prince did not dare let his imagination lose. The people around him had left. He was the only one left. Only the girls, Yuan Yuanyuan and Yuan Liuliu, were here to look after him.

Bai Songzi kept quiet. He merely bowed slightly and left.

To him, Lu Sheng was a person who gave him new life. Hence, Lu Sheng’s father and his family were naturally people he would have to protect.

He had been protecting the Moon Prince Mansion for decades.

He thought that his life would continue on like this for a very long time. However, when the Indefinite Cult made its move five years ago, everything changed.

He had tried very hard to keep the Moon Prince Mansion and the Crane King Cave out of the fight between the two great Taoist sects, but with the clash of two mammoth forces, the Moon Prince Mansion could not even withstand the repercussions.

After holding it out for so many years, the conflict between the Spring Autumn Sect and Indefinite Cult continued to escalate. It was now at a level where he could do nothing about.

A few days ago, the Indefinite Cult issued an order for them to surrender for the fourth time.

This time, Bai Songzi reckoned that he could not delay the matter any longer.