Chapter 14 - The So-called 'Sui'.
When Li Shiwu woke up, he found himself in the middle of an iron cage, with a black iron yoke around his neck, clearly a prisoner.
“Heh, you monster, you’re awake?”
The burly man with a full beard sat on a tiger-skin chair, scrutinizing the person in the cage, a clear look of vigilance in his eyes.
“Speak, what exactly is your background?”
“It’s not easy for ordinary folks to make a living. You scoundrel, why do you insist on being violent and causing trouble? Are you that capable?”
Inside the iron cage, Li Shiwu slowly rose. At this moment, he seemed to have recovered some strength, but the shriveling hunger in his body had not disappeared, still tormenting him.
“Open it!” His tone held little warmth.
“You scoundrel, you’re getting temperamental now.”
The burly man held a horsewhip, cracking it in the air, seemingly wanting to stretch his muscles and teach the troublesome fellow a lesson.
But in the next instant, he saw it.
A millstone-sized bronze toad, with just a flick of its tongue, visibly deformed the iron cage, and the yokes on the man’s body fell off with it.
By the time he focused again.
Li Shiwu was already standing before him, like a grim specter, his pair of shriveled hands clutching his neck, pressing him against the wall.
“Speak, where is this place?”
The burly man struggled to twist his neck, looking out towards the dungeon entrance. His group of subordinates were outside drinking and playing finger-guessing games, completely oblivious to the situation in the cell.
“Dao… Daoist master.”
“Let’s talk… let’s talk it over.”
Li Shiwu slightly loosened his grip, glancing at Qianyuanzi’s firewood knife casually discarded in a corner, and had Coffin Master roll it up with its long tongue.
“Dao… Daoist master, my name is Liu Shaohu. I’m just a town guard, usually leading a few men to protect the peace of this area. I apologize for offending you.”
“As for this place, it’s called Jule Town, within Tangcheng territory.”
Li Shiwu nodded, a thought stirring in his mind, and probed, “Ah, last night I had a few drinks with some immortal masters from Qingyang Temple, and got a bit drunk.”
Liu Shaohu was startled, then showed a bitter smile.
“Daoist master, don’t try to deceive me.”
“That Qingyang Temple isn’t far from here. It’s just a bunch of old geezers there; I could take them out one by one with a single punch. How can they be called immortal masters?”
Li Shiwu’s face was expressionless: “Oh, then I remembered incorrectly.”
“In that case, tell me, where can I find those who cultivate immortality and seek the Dao?”
Liu Shaohu was overjoyed to hear this: “Daoist master, there are some in town right now, exactly the cultivators you’re talking about.”
“There are three of them, preparing to subdue a demon.”
“Subdue a demon? What kind of demon?” Li Shiwu’s brows furrowed tightly.
He had spent over a decade with Qianyuanzi, mostly living in desolate wilderness. Let alone demons, he hadn’t even seen human-demons. Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)
“This… this…”
“Daoist master, I’m just a town guard, very crude, how would I know such things? You’ve dealt with them before, wouldn’t you know if you just asked?”
Li Shiwu released his grip, then had Coffin Master spit out two finger-length pieces of gold, which he threw to the other man.
“This morning’s incident was my lapse in judgment. You can compensate those common folk on my behalf.”
“Good, good.” Liu Shaohu nodded cheerfully, feeling that although this Daoist looked terrifying, he was still reasonable and understanding.
But in the next moment, Li Shiwu raised his palm and delivered a solid slap to his ear.
He said fiercely: “I, your Daoist master, am a disciple of Qianyuanzi. How could I suffer this loss, letting you be locked in a dog cage for nothing?”
“The remaining gold is for you to buy medicinal wine.”
Liu Shaohu: “…”
Afterward.
Li Shiwu requested a black bamboo hat to wear on his head, and covered his face with a black cloth to conceal his current shriveled and withered appearance.
He followed the burly man all the way to a grand hall.
Inside the hall, two men and one woman were already seated.
They were a young man in brocade clothes holding a sword, an old monk in a yellow robe, and a beautiful woman carrying a bamboo basket.
“Three esteemed masters, this Daoist Li is also here to subdue the demon. That demon is fierce, so having one more person means more certainty, doesn’t it?”
Liu Shaohu bowed and scraped, full of respect, introducing Li Shiwu to the group.
“Your name, sir?” the sword-wielding young man asked indifferently, raising his gaze.
“Li Shiwu.”
“From which sect?”
“Seed—Immortal—Temple.”
Li Shiwu slowly uttered the three words, his gaze under the bamboo hat fixed on their reactions. He still hadn’t given up on finding the origin of Seed Immortal Temple.
“Tsk, never heard of it.”
The young man shook his head with a light chuckle, “Sir, if you have no sect affiliation, how are we to know what abilities you possess?”
“On this journey, I’m afraid you cannot accompany us.”
Beside them, the beautiful woman with the basket smiled radiantly: “Daoist Li, is that Coffin Master hanging from your ear?”
“Yes. Why, do you want it?” Li Shiwu tightened his grip on the firewood knife. He was skilled at chopping wood, and chopping people should be no different.
“Daoist master, you misunderstand.” The woman chuckled lightly, continuing: “Since you possess a Sui Beast like Coffin Master, you must have some abilities.”
“You are welcome to join us on this demon-subduing journey, Daoist master.”
Li Shiwu’s gaze froze: “Sui Beast?”
Seeing this, the sword-wielding young man said disdainfully: “You don’t even know what a Sui Beast is? Are you some wild man who just emerged from nowhere?” Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)
“I just came out of the mountains, I don’t know these things. Is there a problem?” Li Shiwu’s tone was equally impolite.
“Tsk, so you’re a novice. Your master didn’t tell you these things, and just let you go out with a Coffin Master?” At this moment, a hint of envy was in the young man’s eyes.
“Oh, you mean my master? I caused him to be dismembered and flayed to death, and his body was burned to ashes. Do you want to go down and keep him company?”
Li Shiwu’s casual remark, however, struck like thunder in the ears of everyone in the hall.
Even the old monk, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, and after a quick glance, chose to act as a peacemaker.
He spoke: “Benefactor.”
“Within the Great Yao territory now, there are no longer any spirit beasts recorded in ancient texts, nor are there demon beasts. There are only ‘Sui’.”
Li Shiwu frowned: “Master, is the Great Yao you speak of the Great Yao Immortal Dynasty?”
He had heard this term from the Human Rearing Sect when buying a horse in Tangcheng.
The old monk affirmed: “Yes.”
“We are all subjects of the Great Yao, members of its myriad beings.”
He pressed his palms together, performing a Buddhist salute.
He continued: “The character ‘Sui’ implies disaster and ill omen.”
“In short, they are bizarre, inexplicable, sinister, and utterly terrifying entities.”
The old monk sighed, glancing at the bronze toad on Li Shiwu’s earlobe.
“Among them, those with lesser intelligence, like Coffin Master, we call Sui Beasts.”
“And those with intelligence akin to humans, or even wisdom like demons, we call Sui Demons.”
“Currently, in this Jule Town, there is a Sui Demon causing trouble, and it has already claimed many lives.”
The old monk pressed his palms together, chanting Buddhist prayers.
“Everyone, please work together to eliminate this calamity!”
“Benefactor Li, by now you should understand what Sui Beasts and Sui Demons are.”
With that, the old monk’s eyes closed again, as if he had entered meditation.
The sword-wielding young man and the woman with the basket, however, stared at Li Shiwu, a clear look of vigilance in their eyes.
They felt that this person, who openly spoke of patricide, was likely a ruthless and uninhibited individual.
As for Li Shiwu, savoring the old monk’s words, it turned out that Coffin Master was merely a so-called Sui Beast.
Suddenly, he spoke again.
“May I ask, since the Great Yao is called an Immortal Dynasty, are there Immortals?”
Hearing this, the woman’s expression was strange. She said: “Daoist Li, the word ‘Immortal’ is so distant; I, for one, do not know.”
“However, there have long been rumors in the world that the Great Yao holds a great secret, one that even Immortals are insignificant compared to.”
Under the bamboo hat, Li Shiwu’s expression was unclear. Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)
He was heard to say again: “One more thing, is the Human Rearing Sect very powerful? To be able to transform humans into beasts and sell them so freely?”
Beside him, the sword-wielding young man finally couldn’t help himself.
“Li, are you truly a person from the Great Yao? You don’t even know about the Human Rearing Sect.”
“Let me tell you, the Human Rearing Sect is one of the two national religions of the Great Yao, and its sect master holds the esteemed position of National Preceptor.”
“Its status is so high, it has long sat above the clouds, like a deity, looking down upon all living beings.”
Li Shiwu’s eyes showed some disbelief: “National religion? A sect that transforms humans into beasts, can it be a national religion?”
He felt that this clearly resembled the behavior of a cult.
The woman with the basket smiled: “Daoist Li, do you happen to know someone from the Human Rearing Sect? Tsk, if you get acquainted with them, it’s also a form of Immortal Opportunity.”
Li Shiwu nodded: “A few days ago, when I passed through Tangcheng, I bought a Five-Fingered Horse from a Human Rearing Sect cultivator named Pang Dahai.”
“Hence, this question.”
The sword-wielding young man showed surprise, “Surname Pang?”
“That surname, within our Great Yao, is unspeakably noble.”
Then he said with some regret: “Heh, you’ve encountered all the good things.”
“The Human Rearing Sect, as its name suggests, specializes in rearing humans, transforming humans into beasts.”
“The livestock that come from their hands are all desirable goods, with many people scrambling for them.”
“And often, they are already divided up by important figures, rarely sold externally. Even if they are, one needs the luck to encounter them.”
The young man regretted: “Ah, what a pity.”
“If I had known about such a good thing earlier, I would have gone to Tangcheng to buy one myself.”
As if remembering something, he suddenly smiled broadly, trying to curry favor: “Daoist Li, I apologize for any offense I may have caused earlier.”
“I wonder if I could… buy your horse for triple the price?”
Li Shiwu nodded directly: “You give the money, I’ll take it, but whether I deliver the goods, I’m not sure.”
“You’re toying with me!” The young man glared angrily.
“Not at all, it’s just that the Five-Fingered Horse isn’t with me.”
After Li Shiwu finished speaking, he looked at the woman with the basket.
He asked: “I find the Human Rearing Sect quite sinister. How can it be called a national religion?”
Hearing this, the woman couldn’t help but cover her lips and chuckle: “Daoist Li, don’t be so shortsighted.”
“Although the Human Rearing Sect transforms humans into beasts, the people they use are mostly those who commit crimes, engage in rape and plunder, and have committed grave sins.”
“Rather than killing them, it’s better to transform them into cattle and horses, making full use of their utility.”
“For example, there was once a trafficker who abducted infants. Afterward, he was found by a Human Rearing Sect cultivator, who transformed the trafficker into an ox and gifted it to the family, where it served as an ox for decades, often suffering beatings, and eventually died from exhaustion.”
“Given this, how can it not be called a national religion?” Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)
The woman took a sip of tea, then smiled again: “The Great Yao has two national religions. The Human Rearing Sect is considered the better one.”
“As for the other one, that’s truly sinister!”
“And it is called the Ten Forms Gate.”
For a moment, the few people in the hall fell silent, seemingly all having heard of the Ten Forms Gate and unwilling to mention it further.
“Ten Forms!” Li Shiwu chewed on these two words, and instantly, he also felt something extraordinary.
He had come to meet these people intending to gather some information. Now, it seemed that although the gains were mediocre, it wasn’t a wasted trip.
Besides that, he also wanted to see for himself just how terrifying the so-called Sui Demon truly was.
At this moment, the old monk, who had been resting with closed eyes, twirled the prayer beads in his hand and suddenly spoke: “Everyone, it’s getting late. Let’s go early and return early, so we can restore peace to this area.”
With that, he strode out with large steps.
The young man and the woman followed closely behind. Seeing this, Li Shiwu didn’t hesitate and immediately chose to follow.
The burly man Liu Shaohu hurriedly followed, shouting: “Esteemed masters, Jule Town is relying on you…”
...
The red sun set in the west, and dusk began to rise.
Birds lightly touched the water surface, splashing circles of fragmented gold, dazzling the eyes.
Outside Jule Town, there was a ten-zhang wide river.
Li Shiwu and the three stood by the river, gazing at the entire town, only then realizing that although Jule Town was called a town, its scale was immense.
Houses were arranged horizontally and vertically, orderly and continuous, with smoke curling upwards.
The woman with the basket sighed: “Alas, in this current era, I wonder how those ‘Sui’ actually appeared.”
“There’s no choice. Our Great Yao can only order its subjects to gather and live together as much as possible, because if it were a remote small village, even encountering a single Sui Beast would lead to complete annihilation.”
“As for us cultivators, whether from sects or families, we also live among people, hidden within them.”
Hearing this, Li Shiwu suddenly understood.
For all these years, they had slept in the wilderness, yet never encountered any cultivators rumored to bathe in morning winds and drink morning dew.
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