Chapter Thirty-Four: The Siege of the City

The four demon cultivators, Elder Eighteen, Lingkongzi, Elder Fuyun, and Elder Guzhi, were born at the moment the Four Sages ascended to heaven. They hid in the deep mountains, shunning the world’s strife and seeking only to ascend and become immortals. Yet, as the Heavenly Dao turned, the decree of a tragic end entwined with their fates, leaving them restless for a thousand years. They even descended into the mortal realm, assuming the names of the Four Haos to assist the King of Han, hoping to balance their karma and find sanctuary under his shadow, yet they could not alter their destiny.

Later, as the Heavenly Dao shifted, the four elders peered into the celestial secrets and pledged their allegiance to Six-Ugly. As the wheel of yin and yang turned and the wheel of fate rolled on, they attained the Great Dao to survive this tribulation. While people often say the Four Haos were the most loyal ministers under the Monkey King, they little knew it was a desperate gamble for survival, a mutual benefit for all parties.

Recalling their journey a thousand years later, one cannot help but sigh at the twists of fate. What was once divinely ordained as life or death was strangely reversed; those destined to die found life, and those destined to live met their end. As the Five Sages once said:

The Heavenly Dao has its apertures,
Bound by a single thread of yin and yang.

——————Roster: "Western Demon Host - The Four Haos (The Four Manipulative Demon Ministers)"

Six-Ugly found a letter on the mountain ape. The letter was encased in a bamboo tube sealed with two drops of wax, containing a scroll made of animal hide that resembled old tree bark, densely covered in writing.

Pathetically, although Six-Ugly had learned to read and write in Ghost Valley, it was only the script of the human race. To him, the demon script was like a heavenly book. He could only tuck the scroll—which held the military orders—into his bosom and quicken his pace to catch up with the retreating soldiers.

Though he could not read it, the solemnity of the wax seal told Six-Ugly that this scroll was of great importance.

After a full day of hard running, before dawn the next day, Six-Ugly finally caught up with the soldiers.

"This is not a military order, but a letter," Moyun said after breaking the seal and reading it.

"A letter? An eleventh-rank minor demon was sent out just to deliver a letter?" Six-Ugly was somewhat surprised, the weight of the letter’s importance becoming even more apparent. "Where was it to be delivered, and what does it say?"

"Judging by the content, it appears to be a reply. It was sent between the Demon Kingdom’s Thorn Ridge and the Black Wind Mountain in the Western Border. The four in Thorn Ridge call themselves Elder Eighteen, Elder Guzhi, Lingkongzi, and Elder Fuyun—I have never heard of them. I have heard of Black Wind Mountain, though; it seems to be a pass in our Demon Kingdom, garrisoned by a number of soldiers led by two demon generals named Lingxuzi and Baiyi."

"As for the content, it seems Lingxuzi and Lingkongzi are martial brothers who practice the art of planchette divination, capable of foreseeing the future. Decades ago, Lingkongzi caught a glimpse of the celestial secrets and calculated that the two brothers, along with everyone in Thorn Ridge and Black Wind Mountain, could not attain the Righteous Path and would surely meet an unnatural death. This matter hinged on a single person, so he had Lingxuzi, who held an important position, investigate their whereabouts. After years, Lingxuzi found the information and wrote to his brother, and this scroll is Lingkongzi's reply."

"The letter says that Lingkongzi has been racking his brains for years and has divined again, knowing that the celestial count has shifted. Life and death are no longer set in stone, but the situation has become even more treacherous. He warns his brother to be careful and vows to find a way to break the deadlock... Since both demons have reached the level of Monster Demons, having an eleventh-rank minor demon deliver their letters, while reckless, is not entirely unreasonable."

"I see..." Six-Ugly nodded slightly after hearing the contents. He could not help feeling a bit disappointed. While the information was indeed important to the two demons, it was subjective; to Six-Ugly, it was of no use at all.

It seems I really overthought it...

Seeing Six-Ugly lost in thought, Moyun hurriedly added, "Oh, right, the end of the letter mentions that the four of them have adopted a foster daughter named Apricot Immortal, hoping that she might one day resolve this disaster and help them survive this tribulation."

Six-Ugly hummed, put the letter away, and began leading the soldiers back. Deep down, he remained somewhat bewildered by the matter, still unaware of the underlying truth.

The wheel of fate began to turn slowly. One by one, people and events, demons and monsters, began to surface, falling like stars onto the chessboard over the span of a thousand years, becoming but a speck of dust in this vast world.

***

Seven days later, Six-Ugly and his troops returned to Black Fire City. He traded their spoils for money and cloth, distributing them among the soldiers and granting them three days of rest. Beyond the principle of balancing work and leisure, his intent was for them to enjoy the rich rewards of their slaughter to sharpen their ferocity.

Guanlan, seeing how Six-Ugly had molded such a rugged force during their short time in the wilderness, was astonished. Not wanting to ask, he began training his own two hundred and fifty men like a madman. For a time, the entire drill ground echoed with cries and the relentless sound of clubs striking flesh.

In truth, Guanlan’s training was not without merit; his soldiers had learned the rudiments of discipline and maneuvering, making them serviceable. They simply lacked the savage bloodlust of the men Six-Ugly had brought back, though they were sufficient for garrison duty.

This field engagement was the first time Six-Ugly had commanded hundreds in battle. At first, he had charged at the forefront, but after two skirmishes, he suddenly found himself in tune with the flow of battle, choosing to command from the rear. He performed surprisingly well, which caught Moyun off guard.

Upon reflection, Six-Ugly remembered learning such tactics in his previous life in Colombia. He had never put them to use, yet somehow, faced with the circumstances of this life, the knowledge was inexplicably recalled and yielded instant results.

Perhaps this was another benefit of his enhanced comprehension!

The two-month deadline passed quickly, leaving only half a month. Jie Kong and the others had not yet returned, but at noon on this day, a secondary general arrived from the front lines, accompanied by two waiting-generals to take over the defense from Six-Ugly and his men.

"Jie Gui has ordered that Six-Ugly and Guanlan are to lead half the city's soldiers to attack the demon pass at Black Wind Gap," the secondary general announced the new orders upon their meeting. "The demon forces there number less than a hundred. Attack for three days and hold the position until the garrison arrives to take over. Any questions?"

Guanlan was ecstatic. He slapped his attendant on the shoulder and chuckled eerily, "Three days? Hmph, I'll finish it in half a day. Don't worry about taking it back!"

"When you are relieved is not our concern," the secondary general said with a laugh. "As long as you capture and hold it, you will share in the merit. But if you lose it, don't blame Jie Gui for punishing you for tarnishing the prestige of the Tianshan Escapists!"

With that, the secondary general handed over a map. When unfolded, the mountains and rivers were drawn with crude strokes, lacking detail. Only a circle drawn in vermilion ink, hundreds of miles southwest of Black Fire City, indicated the Black Wind Gap pass.

Having just received the letter about Black Wind Gap, receiving orders to attack it felt like quite a coincidence.

Six-Ugly and Guanlan studied the map carefully. The territories of the human and demon races were intertwined, yet Black Wind Gap was not fully surrounded by demon forces; it sat on the edge of human territory, acting as a semi-frontier. Even after careful inspection, Six-Ugly found nothing suspicious. Both agreed and nodded.

"Then it is settled. We shall order the assembly of the troops today, prepare baggage, weapons, and rations, and depart tomorrow morning... As for the route, we shall adapt to circumstances and decide tonight."

"As you wish."

The secondary general departed. Six-Ugly and Guanlan immediately took action, ordering attendants to recall the soldiers on leave. After an emergency mobilization, they selected two hundred and forty soldiers, plus Guanlan and his five attendants, and the three demons including Six-Ugly—totaling two hundred and forty-nine humans and demons—and set off toward Black Wind Gap.

Though Six-Ugly and Guanlan acted indifferent, the coincidence made them double their caution. They spent the night consulting a more detailed map and choosing their route. The journey of over three hundred miles took nearly five days before they neared their target.

They skirted the edges of human and demon territories several times. Six-Ugly wanted to scout, but Guanlan beat him to it. He personally led his attendants to scout the surroundings, bypassing large groups of enemies and annihilating smaller ones without a single mistake. Whether it was snakes, insects, wolves, or tigers, Guanlan knew their habits perfectly. Every maneuver that seemed reckless ended safely.

Thus, at midnight on the sixth day, the entire troop arrived at Black Wind Gap. Unlike the human habit of building a pass or garrison into a bustling city—filled with slaves, prisoners, drifters, adventurers, and demon hunters—to the demons, a pass was truly just a pass. Besides demon soldiers, there were no others; any visitors were merely "meat delivered for thousands of miles," becoming free rations.

Black Wind Gap was much the same. From a distance, it was merely two earthen walls built into a mountain pass, separated by a hundred paces. The walls were constructed with wooden stakes and rammed earth, and in many places, the rotting wooden stakes were exposed, creating a mottled, dilapidated appearance.

Deep in the night, the demons were at their most alert, so Six-Ugly did not launch an attack. Instead, he let his men rest while he and Guanlan kept watch nearby, silently waiting for the dawn. At that hour, equivalent to the human hour of the Rat, the demons would grow drowsy—the best time to strike.

As time passed, the light began to fade into the soft, silken glow of early dawn, spreading slowly across the horizon.

The minor demons on the walls had begun to yawn. There were few guards to begin with, and some of the higher-ranked ones had long since retreated to the towers to sleep. Less than half of the squad remained, and those who did were leaning against the battlements, eyes closed in rest.

The soldiers, draped in grass and debris, crept toward the walls, waiting for the signal to strike.

Suddenly, a minor demon on the wall seemed to sense something. Its nostrils twitched, and it opened its eyes, gazing blankly toward the foot of the wall...

A black shadow surged from the ground, sprinting across the earthen wall as if it were flat land, rapidly closing in on the ramparts. Only when the demon saw this did its muddled brain snap to attention, and it let out a cry: "Ene—"

The shout pierced the silent dawn. Before the demon could finish, half its head was swept away by a staff, flying straight into the sky. Such a minor demon was the lowest of cannon fodder; how could it withstand the full force of Six-Ugly’s blow?

The soldiers erupted, charging forward to attack the mottled, heavy gate of the pass.

Guanlan and his two attendants scaled the center of the earthen wall, exerting their strength to leap onto the battlements just moments after Six-Ugly. Meanwhile, Moyun and the others swarmed the gate. Moyun let out a strange cry, his iron staff crashing down with such force that it split the thick wooden door with a violent crack.

Cries and roars of demons erupted from the walls. A frantic gong sounded from within, followed by chaos as countless figures surged from the low shacks, rushing toward the fray.

The fighting on the walls was the most brutal. The minor demons had gathered mostly in the gatehouse, and Guanlan and his attendants were soon compressed into a tiny space, fighting desperately. It was then that Guanlan was truly shaken by Six-Ugly’s combat prowess; despite being alone, Six-Ugly showed no fear, his staff dancing like a dragon, sending demon soldiers and generals fleeing in terror, leaving a trail of death and injury.

Moyun and the soldiers were still furiously hacking at the gate. Despite its thickness, it could not withstand their combined strength. Soon, a gap wide enough for a man to pass through appeared. As the demons inside tried to block the breach, Moyun and the soldiers let out a roar and slammed into it together, widening the hole and pouring inside.

The first to enter faced heavy resistance, suffering casualties in an instant. Yet, having been tempered by Six-Ugly’s days of training, these soldiers possessed great courage. Ignoring the danger, they fought to the death, stabilizing the situation. As more and more soldiers flooded in, the tide of battle turned instantly.