Chapter 287 — Guarding the Remains

"Little Red!

" Long Jiaonan's shrill cry came from afar; the three women had fought their way out over the sea and were battling furiously on the water. Controlling water in the sea was simplicity itself; Long Jiaonan's yuan qi merged with the seawater and became flood-dragon pythons that struck in all directions with terrifying force.

Yet Ling Yuxiu's and Si Yunxiang's yuan weapons were too fine and too powerful.

Ling Yuxiu met Long Jiaonan's assault head-on, the Nine-Dragon Weapon dividing into nine dragon-shaped blades that struck again and again from above and below, left and right across the sea, breaking her spells, and at any moment it could shift into a defensive state, becoming the Nine-Dragon Shield to block Long Jiaonan's attacks. And Si Yunxiang's art was the strangest of all, as elusive as her Thousand-Silk yuan weapon, now vanishing into the water, now appearing above Long Jiaonan's head, impossible to guard against.

Slender though the Thousand-Silk yuan weapon was, it was deadly; it was this weapon that posed Long Jiaonan the greatest peril.

With the red snake dead, Long Jiaonan's mind was thrown into chaos; Si Yunxiang saw the opening, and the Thousand-Silk yuan weapon stabbed into Long Jiaonan's back, piercing into her heart.

With a hum the weapon became a thin blade that ran her heart through, its tip emerging from her chest.

Scarce had Si Yunxiang succeeded when Ling Yuxiu beckoned, the nine dragons became one, and a hammer blow crashed down upon Long Jiaonan! From within Long Jiaonan's body came a crackling of explosions; heaven knew how many bones had broken, the splinters piercing her skin, jagged ends jutting out, slick with blood — a horrifying sight.

Si Yunxiang drew out the Thousand-Silk yuan weapon; Long Jiaonan's body swayed and began to sink into the sea. Ling Yuxiu said hurriedly, "Our yuan weapons are still on her!

" Si Yunxiang hastily caught Long Jiaonan's corpse, nearly letting it fall into the sea, and complained, "I had already finished her, and you still had to give her a hammer blow.

Look, her bones are all shattered now — I can hardly even hold her.

" The two women dragged Long Jiaonan's corpse onto the island and began searching her for treasures; they found only the Taotie pouch, and opening it they saw that their yuan weapons and all their other treasures were inside. Si Yunxiang poured out the contents of the Taotie pouch, and saw that besides their own few belongings there were countless corpses of yellow essences, heaped into a small hill.

Nearly ten thousand yellow-essence corpses piled together stood no more than a zhang high, yet these yellow essences were human in shape, and ten thousand bodies heaped in one place was a sight to shake the heart, stirring an indefinable grief. "Cult Leader, I finally understand. This is not the strong preying on the weak.

. .

" From the corner of her eye Si Yunxiang saw Shen Mu drawing near; a desolation hard for others to notice showed in the eyes of this Saintess of the Demon Cult, and she said softly, "This is absolutely not the strong preying on the weak.

It is. .

.

it is lording over the lives of others to vent one's own private desires. When she killed these yellow essences, she must have felt herself a god or a demon.

.

.

" Shen Mu came to her side and said, "To follow nature purely — that she does not understand. These yellow essences are a kind of spirit medicine; though they are dead, their roots remain.

Planted beside that spirit spring, they may yet come back to life. Let us plant them.

" The two girls nodded. Planting nearly ten thousand yellow essences was no small labor, but fortunately they were all possessors of divine powers; it took them several hours, planting until nightfall, and at last they finished.

Si Yunxiang went to gather firewood, and Ling Yuxiu went to the spirit spring for water to irrigate the yellow essences. Shen Mu tidied the Taotie pouch, put the two jade eyes into it, and laid more than three thousand jade pearls out on the island's beach; the pearls gave off a captivating radiance of many colors.

Si Yunxiang brought the firewood she had gathered, came to the beach, lit a bonfire, then took off her outer clothes and, in nothing but her undergarments, leapt into the sea.

Her undergarment was a dress with straps over the shoulders, like a dudou but somewhat larger, woven of pure white silk and embroidered with nothing at all. Below she wore white underdrawers whose legs were very short, only three inches, with thin cords tied about her snow-white thighs. After a while Si Yunxiang came walking out of the sea holding a fish a zhang long, tossed it down beside Shen Mu, then circulated her yuan qi to steam her undergarments dry before dressing again.

Only then did she see that Shen Mu had at some point dragged Long Jiaonan's corpse over and laid it by the bonfire, and had also dragged over the two halves of the red snake's body. She asked, puzzled, "Cult Leader, what are you doing?

" Shen Mu said, "Keeping watch over the corpse, waiting for her to wake. " Si Yunxiang burst out laughing.

"Wait two more days and she will stink.

I ran her heart through, and Princess Xiu shattered every bone in her body — can she still live? " Ling Yuxiu came over, frowned at the sight of Long Jiaonan's corpse, and ventured, "Cowherd, is there some strange rule in the Wasteland again?

" Shen Mu kicked Long Jiaonan's corpse and sneered, "No more pretending, Sister Long.

I have seen you shed your skin!

" The two girls laughed.

"Best to bury her soon. " Shen Mu sneered, "Before we bury her, we must first cut off her head!

This blade of mine is just thirsty for blood! " With that he drew the Beast-Slaughtering Blade, his face unfriendly.

Ling Yuxiu and Si Yunxiang were both startled.

Ling Yuxiu whispered, "Saintess Xiang, is there a rule in the Wasteland about cutting off corpses' heads?

" "I do not know either.

Perhaps the Wasteland really does have such an odd custom.

.

. " Si Yunxiang had barely said this when suddenly, from the top of Long Jiaonan's head, came the sound of human skin splitting open.