The White Tiger of Tiandu City favoured a black blade.
Ask the mortal world who its foremost swordsman is, and there would be endless debate. But ask who stands at the peak of blade cultivation, and the Tiger King of Tiandu City would call himself second. Because no one alive would dare claim first.
He had begun as a nobody in the wilderness, a rootless creature from the mountains. By some stroke of fate he gained a chance, awakened as a spirit, and went on to defeat a host of demons with the bloodlines of divine beasts. A mere mortal thing, defying the heavens, seizing the crown and becoming king.
Cruel? Not particularly.
Charitable? Certainly not.
He lived only for brawling and bloodletting, and would gladly trade his lord for the thrill of a single strike.
His city, too, differed from all others. No temples offering incense, no shrines to any righteous gods. The only ancestral hall was dedicated to the forebears of every clan.
And even that was only allowed twice a month on the new moon and the full.
“Xianghuo is not the righteous path. Immortal cultivators are hardly paragons of virtue. When I one day set foot on the Heavenly Road, I’ll carve out a place where only mortals and little demons may live.”
The little demons, loyal to their king to the bone, chorused, “The King speaks true!”
A tall, burly fish demon edged closer, kneading the king’s shoulders and legs. Cautiously, he ventured, “My lord… recently, evil spirits run rampant across the human realm. Not only mortals… even we demons must tread with care.”
“I’ve heard mortals say that in the Eastern Lands there is a place called Wendao Palace, home to countless treasures and cultivators. Our Tiandu City sits in the west and faces east. If we were to join the Wendao Palace, earn the title of Blade Saint or Tiger Immortal, we’d gain a powerful patron, calm the hearts of our demons… it would be profit on all sides, would it not?”
Yin Feixue let out a soft laugh. The sound alone made the fish demon tremble. The Tiger King stroked his whiskers, utterly at ease. “Go on, eh.”
Seeing he was not angered, the fish demon grinned sycophantically. “To tell the truth, an immortal asked me to bring a message. If you’re willing to submit, you’ll enjoy endless wealth and splendour, with celestial dew, immortal nectar, all at your disposal.”
He lowered his voice. “And there are hundreds of fine young tigresses, all long admiring Your Majesty, waiting eagerly in their dens.”
“Hahaha.” Yin Feixue laughed aloud. Seeing the king’s delight, the fish demon laughed as well.
Then, all at once, Yin Feixue grabbed him by the collar and hauled him clean off the ground. The fish demon’s face drained of colour. “My king, what does this mean?”
Yin Feixue said mildly, “There are all kinds in this world. Many who cling to life, but none who rush towards death.”
“You’d abandon your life as a demon to become breeding stock for a sect? If that is your wish, I won’t stop you.”
The fish demon flew into a rage, whipping out his twin axes. “Yin! I call you king out of courtesy. Without that courtesy you’re nothing but a low-born stray from Fangzhou’s wild mountains. What you can do as king, I cannot?!”
Yin Feixue arched a brow and laughed. “Yu Zhenhai, I won’t even use my blade. I’ll give you both hands.”
“Arrogant bastard!” Yu Zhenhai snarled.
He had once been a Red-Hearted Carp and one of the twelve spiritual creatures of the Eastern Lands. He had long despised Yin Feixue. And now they were at sea. How could a land-bound tiger who couldn’t swim possibly prevail?
The little demons shrieked and scrambled up the mast, the drummers stamping in panic, scratching their heads.
Yu Zhenhai swung his twin axes, wind spitting fire, fire feeding wind, rocking the entire vessel. He seized a talisman and slashed with deadly intent. He was determined to maim Yin Feixue.
“Ho.”
Yin Feixue moved suddenly, weightless and effortless, like a leaf riding the wind… graceful, unrestrained.
Striking as he spoke, he commented, “Your footwork is sloppy. Your axe-work lacks force. And a water demon dabbling in fire arts? Wrongwrongwrong, wrongwrongwrong.”
Yu Zhenhai’s face flushed dark red, talisman heads clashing with loud metallic cracks. “Shut up! What do you know?! I carry the blood of an ancient divine beast. How dare you criticise me!”
“To refine that scrap of bloodline you abandoned the water arts. Yu Zhenhai, not only are you impatient for quick success, you’re a fool of the highest order.”
Yin Feixue was exchanging blows freely when he suddenly sensed danger.
Yu Zhenhai had gone still. His rage vanished, replaced by eerie calm. In his fingers was a needle. It was really fine and extremely cold: a Soul-Piercing Needle.
All his anger had been an act, merely to draw close. His true killing move was not the twin axes, but the needle hidden at his fingertips.
“Die!”
Yin Feixue’s expression shifted. At that range, he truly could not evade.
In that instant, the wind froze. The clouds halted.
Yu Zhenhai’s pupils widened, then shrank.
He had struck… but the needles had not pierced.
Snap—
His hand was caught in a tiger’s claws. The needle flew from his grip, landing neatly in Yin Feixue’s hand. The movement was so fast he could not even perceive it.
Yin Feixue pinched the needle, gave a short laugh, then seized Yu Zhenhai’s jaw and forced him to swallow it.
The little demons erupted into cheers, clapping wildly and waving the Yin banners high.
Yu Zhenhai writhed on the deck, screaming as though torn apart by a thousand ghosts.
Yin Feixue drew out the Lake-and-Sea Overturning Seal, tossing it casually. It was that seal that had blocked the needle’s strike. “Strip him. Throw him into the sea to feed the fish.”
“Yes, my lord!”
Delighted, the little demons tied several great barrels to Yu Zhenhai’s body. Ignoring his blood-soaked pleas, they hurled him into the sea.
“My king! My king, spare me! I curse your ancestors!”
“Aaah!”
The demons chattered and laughed, hoisting up the king’s chair. “The sky is vast! The sea is blue! Our king is mighty!”
Yin Feixue twitched his ears, fingertips stroking the Lake-and-Sea Seal. A thought crossed his mind. Leisurely, he said, “There is a kind of butterfly that is as blue as the sky. Born in the wind, living above the clouds. That’s beauty.”
The demons blinked at one another. “Butterfly?”
“Yes. A butterfly.”
Yin Feixue narrowed his eyes and made a grasping gesture. The demons did not understand, but they laughed and showed off their moves. Then they asked how they were compared to the young heroes of the human race?
Yin Feixue propped one foot upon his chair, ears flicking. “Humans?”
“Gu Ruhui, the Young Sword Immortal whose name rises swiftly in Wendao Palace. He wields the Twelve Heavenly Sword Forms.”
“Among the disciples of Wendao Palace, he is unquestionably first.”
One little demon piped up, “Is Your Majesty inferior to him?”
Yin Feixue laughed. “I’m no blade, but he is a sword… heartless, desireless, free of thought or yearning. One day, when I’ve forged my Dao Heart, I’ll challenge him.”
The little demons nodded earnestly, committing this mysterious figure to memory. Yin Feixue went on, “As for Young Master Xin Pu of the Buddhist sect, he’s roaming the mortal realm these days. I met him once. A young monk with the heart of a bodhisattva and the methods of an asura. He even asked after someone called Xue Cuo. If you lot want to curry favour, you can go pay him a visit.”
The little demons hissed through their teeth, but also jotted the name down in their hearts. Who knew when they might end up begging for mercy at some monastery. One more way to survive was never a bad thing.
“Your Majesty, who else?”
“Three-Wonders Qiushui, the Saltless Blade Maiden, Ghost-Bird Suspended Needle… and another. He’s a talisman cultivator. You haven’t seen him.”
A little demon scoffed. “A talisman cultivator? Isn’t that just a dead end? Even the frauds in the human world don’t bother using talismans as props anymore.”
Yin Feixue pillowed his head on his arms, ankles crossed. “How can a genius be lumped in with mediocrity?”
Just then, he sprang upright atop the mast.
The little demon followed his gaze. “Your Majesty, there seems to be someone on that island.”
…
Xue Cuo lay flat on the sand, staring as a crab crawled right across his forehead.
He sighed. After more than an hour roasting under the fierce sun, his spiritual domain was still empty.
At last, he gathered enough strength to push himself upright. Hands trembling, he attempted to draw a talisman. Then only did he realise his gold and water were completely exhausted, and his fingertips throbbed with pain.
Foetal Fire.
It really was no ordinary thing.
As he was thinking this, he heard a low laugh that was followed by an unrestrained, mocking voice. “Well now, what a meeting. Mountains and rivers truly do bring people back together.”
Xue Cuo turned instinctively.
The sunlight was dazzling.
A white-furred tiger wearing black soft armour stood upon a drifting leaf, arms folded, floating with the wind.
Tall, long-limbed, waist like a whip, his overly fluffy fur spilling from his collar, looking warm enough to sleep in. Who else could it be but Yin Feixue?
With the crash of the surf behind him, Yin Feixue stepped lightly from the leaf. A black blade hung on his back. Seeing his old rival again, he bared his teeth in a grin.
He reached for Xue Cuo’s wrist. Xue Cuo’s expression darkened; they traded several blows. Skin to skin, flesh to flesh.
Reunited after so long, yet every move aimed to kill. Still, each dismantled the other’s technique with equal ease.
At last, Xue Cuo’s strength gave out. Yin Feixue caught him. Xue Cuo looked faintly startled, but Yin Feixue, eyes blazing, smiled. “Don’t bother with your Shrimp-Soldier, Crab-General Fist. I’ve spent a whole year thinking this over a hundred and eighty methods at least. Your footwork’s already inferior to mine.”
Xue Cuo naturally refused to accept this. He snorted. “Pei! Taking advantage of the injured. What kind of man does that? You’re shameless beyond measure!”
Yin Feixue’s brows lowered. He scooped Xue Cuo clean off the ground and held him in his arms. “Say that again.”
Xue Cuo’s face shifted. “Yin Feixue!”
“Calling me grandfather?”
Xue Cuo’s brows shot up in fury. He struck him again. Yin Feixue laughed, leaping left and right, refusing to put him down.
Truly, misfortune never comes alone; a man fallen low will always be bullied by a tiger. Xue Cuo struggled breathlessly. “If you’ve any guts, give me a few hours. Once I recover my spiritual force, I’ll beat you until you kneel and beg for mercy!”
Yin Feixue snorted. “And I’m supposed to be afraid of you?”
The little demons only saw their king land in a gale of fury and charge straight for the beach.
Perched upon the mast, they provided a running commentary: “The King’s ashore!”
“The King’s beating up that human. Could he be an old enemy? What’s the truth behind this…?”
“Aiya! They’re talking. Must be a warning from the King!”
“The King’s struck! A fine move. Black Tiger Rips the Heart, White Tiger Lifts the Leg!”
“The King’s caught him!”
“The King… the King’s lifted the human!”
“What nonsense are you spouting, old crow!”
Unconvinced, all the demons scrambled up the mast and squinted into the distance.
What they saw made their eyes pop. A fox wailed, “See? I told you! The King must have a sweetheart outside! Tiandu City has so many charming tigresses, but no. His Majesty’s gone looking elsewhere!”
“Spouting foxy rubbish! That’s a man!”
“What? A man?!”
Some of the little demons who’d been smitten with their king were devastated. Soon the debate circled back: “That human’s got no claws and no fur. What on earth does the King fancy about him?”
“Could it be that His Majesty likes humans?”
“Nonsense! I saw the King grooming his own fur in secret. If he liked humans, why wouldn’t he take human form?”
The demons squabbled noisily. Until someone shouted, “The King’s coming back!”
At once they stretched their necks, elbowing and pushing to see.
There he was. Their king, a mighty tiger, a mountain incarnate. And in his arms, a beauty: fresh as spring wind on the Yi River, an ink painting come to life.
The demons fell into instant silence. Hundreds of eyes stared at the human the King had forcibly swept into his embrace.
A gentleman like a polished jade tablet, a beauty like a pendulum of fine stone.
A pity, though. Still no fur.
Such a pity. Why didn’t the human grow a bit more hair?
And… did the King no longer fancy tigresses? H-h-had the King changed?!
Holding Xue Cuo, Yin Feixue stood atop the mast and sneered, “How many years have you lived in the human realm, Xue Yinbing? You’ve now fallen into my hands.”
Though held tight, Xue Cuo still struck viciously. Yin Feixue refused to yield, trading blow for blow.
Xue Cuo sneered, “You invited me here. Easy to invite a god, hard to send one away. Yin Feixue, I suggest you take care.”
“What invite? I captured you!”
The two of them continued to fight fiercely.
While below, the little demons saw only their king clasping the human on the high mast. They were pushing, shoving, advancing, retreating, chasing and fleeing in a flurry that looked suspiciously like something else entirely.
