Chapter 32: Three Feet Above the Head Dwell the Gods!
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The group traveled in fits and starts.
The journey should have taken four hours, but unfortunately, the weather was against them.
A light drizzle began to fall from the sky.
The autumn rain carried a lingering chill, and it was deeply unpleasant against the skin.
“We cannot go on,” Du Xiu said. “Judging by the sky, a heavy downpour is probably on its way.”
Hearing this, the driver gave a sharp cry and reined in the donkey cart.
The group took shelter from the rain in a dilapidated temple not far away.
“What kind of deity is that?”
“It looks terrifying!”
Three children of the same age gazed up at the statue in the ruined hall.
Du Xiu and two servants were starting a fire. At their words, he laughed and said, “That is a yaksha. According to legend, yakshas are evil spirits from hell who delight in eating people alive. Wherever they appear, devastation follows!”
“What?”
“If it is such a terrifying demon, why would anyone worship it?”
Gu Xiaoyue’s pretty face had gone pale with fright.
“That is called using evil to suppress evil!” Cheng An said with a teasing smile. “People and gods are all the same. When reason fails, the only solution is force. As long as you have done something wicked, it will follow you like your shadow.”
“I…”
Gu Xiaoyue’s lovely eyes went blank, and she staggered backward in terror.
“Why are you so frightened?” Cheng An asked, fixing her with an expression of feigned seriousness.
In a low voice, he continued, “Could it be that you really have done something bad? Then you are finished! The yaksha god will eat you!”
“No, I haven’t!”
“Stop… stop talking nonsense, all right? When have I ever done anything bad? Even if I had, Father says I am still young. Mistakes made at my age can be forgiven.”
Gu Xiaoyue’s voice grew softer and softer.
Her eyes began to redden.
She hid behind her sister, clutching her hand, and said in a trembling, tearful voice, “Sister, I’m scared.”
“All right, Cheng An!” Gu Xiaorou snapped. “Xiaoyue has always been timid. Don’t truly frighten her.”
Though they were the same age, Gu Xiaorou was as composed as Du Qingqing at that moment. There was even a trace of authority in her features that made her seem formidable without anger.
Cheng An smiled and was just about to speak when footsteps sounded outside.
A deep, hoarse voice cursed, “Damn this wretched weather! How can it start raining without warning? Could that brat have reached Pinggu County already?”
“Big brother…”
“There are people inside!”
Two burly men stormed into the temple.
In the moonlight, their fierce, murderous expressions were unmistakable.
Gu Xiaoyue was so frightened that she burrowed into her sister’s arms.
“So many people?”
The leader froze for a moment.
Then his gaze suddenly fixed on Cheng An.
“Eh?”
He turned to his companion and laughed loudly. “Ha! Did you see that, Second Brother? This is what they call finding something without the slightest effort! Who would have thought this rain would serve us so well?”
“He is Cheng An?”
“Excellent! We thought he had escaped.”
The second man bared his teeth in a sinister grin.
By now, even the slowest among them understood what the two men intended to do.
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“Who are you?” Du Xiu asked, a trace of tension in his voice.
He was a scholar. In all his years, he had almost never had to fight.
The two servants from the Gu household might be able to hold their own for a while, but judging by the vicious appearance of these men, they were clearly hardened killers. Even all three of them together might not be able to win.
“Enough nonsense!” The leader sneered. “I came here for this boy. If you know what is good for you, leave at once. Otherwise, not one of you will live.”
“You mean me?” Cheng An asked blankly, pointing at himself.
He blinked twice.
“But my name is not Cheng An. Does the person you are looking for also have double eyelids?”
“Not Cheng An?”
The burly man frowned slightly.
Cheng An nodded with an innocent expression. “My name is Huang Shiren. This is my father. Those two girls are child brides we just bought from the neighboring village.”
“You little scoundrel! Who are you calling—”
Gu Xiaoyue had just begun to protest when Gu Xiaorou gave her a sharp tug.
Then, looking timidly at the two men, she said, “Gentlemen, you look like kindhearted men. Please, show us mercy and let us go.”
“Kindhearted?”
The burly man threw back his head and roared with laughter.
If an ordinary village girl had encountered such a situation, she would probably have been scared senseless. Yet this girl actually dared to speak first. Was that normal?
“Child brides?”
“Hah! Do you take me for a fool?”
The man advanced with a sinister grin.
Seeing that their bluff had failed, Du Xiu hurriedly took a string of coins from his bundle.
Forcing himself to remain calm, he stepped forward and said, “Good sir, please calm down. We are truly only passing through. Since we have met by chance, take this string of cash and have a drink on us. We hope you will be kind enough to let us pass.”
“Go to hell!”
“Do you take me for a beggar?”
The burly man snatched away the coins.
Then he drew a sharp dagger from behind his waist.
“Whether you are Cheng An or not, I will kill you first and worry about the rest later!”
“And these two little beauties…”
The other man leered at the sisters. “Look at that delicate skin, white enough to dazzle the eyes! They are already so alluring at such a young age. Just imagine what they will be like when they grow up.”
“You…”
“Ruffians!”
The two sisters clung to each other and kept retreating.
“Hey!”
“Didn’t you say they were your child brides?”
The burly man cast Cheng An a mocking glance. “Even better! This gentleman will do you the favor of inspecting the goods first.”
The two men advanced with their blades drawn.
They paid no attention whatsoever to Du Xiu or the servants.
The sisters retreated again and again until they nearly struck the statue. Gu Xiaoyue stumbled over something and accidentally knocked over the incense burner before the idol.
Crash!
Ashes scattered across the floor.
At that very moment—
Boom!
Thunder exploded across the rainy night.
Cheng An glanced outside and suddenly had an idea.
He drew a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs.
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“The yaksha god has descended!”
Boom!
Another thunderclap rang out.
The burly man instinctively took half a step backward.
Seeing this, Cheng An gave another furious roar. “The yaksha god has descended! If you persist in your delusion, your crimes will surely bring down Heaven’s punishment!”
The temple fell utterly silent.
Everyone stared at the fierce-faced statue of the yaksha god.
Their expressions varied wildly.
Most common people living under the feudal system were ignorant and deeply superstitious.
Even ruthless bandits who had killed countless people could not help feeling a trace of fear in such an atmosphere. Their terror was magnified without limit.
Cheng An took advantage of the moment and began edging toward the rear door.
“Trying to run?”
Only then did the burly man realize what was happening.
Fury surged through him at having been tricked by a mere child.
He lunged forward in a single stride and swung his blade at Cheng An.
“You dare play tricks and pretend to be a god in front of me…”
“Go to hell!”
Cheng An instinctively crouched.
Whish!
The blade passed over his head, slicing off several strands of hair.
Cheng An’s neck drew sharply inward with fright. He bent low and scrambled behind the statue.
But the wall stood directly behind the statue.
There was barely half a foot of space between them.
Fortunately, Cheng An was small enough to squeeze through.
The burly man tried to follow, but no matter how he struggled, he could not force his way inside.
He could only block the opening and curse furiously. “You little brat! Just wait until I catch you… Second Brother, go around to the other side. Do not let the boy escape!”
The two men blocked the gap from opposite sides.
Cheng An crouched between them.
In his panic, he collided with a pillar.
Perhaps because the ruined temple had been neglected for many years, some devout worshippers had found a wooden pole and propped it behind the statue to keep it steady.
What an opportunity!
An idea flashed through Cheng An’s mind.
He quietly gathered his strength.
Then he slammed himself against the pillar.
Bang!
The wooden support was knocked loose.
With its support gone, the statue toppled at once.
The stone idol weighed well over a hundred pounds. The man on the left did not even have time to cry out before it crushed his chest.
He died instantly.
“Big brother!”
The remaining man let out a howl of grief.
His eyes blazed with murderous fury as he glared at Cheng An.
“You little bastard! You killed my brother! I will tear you apart!”
With nowhere left to run, Cheng An came to an abrupt stop.
“You have desecrated the divine spirit. This is your retribution!”
“…”
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