The Sword of the Five Elements, Chapter Ninety-Three: The Yellow Leopard’s Request
For several days, life had been tranquil, like a breeze slipping through a crack.
To shoulder the Mandate of Heaven was to forgo, in the end, some of the steady joys and comforts of ordinary living.
With the phoenix jade pendant hanging at her waist, a treasure that nurtured the soul, Luo Jinghong’s complexion was rosy, brighter and more radiant than before.
Su Ye took her hand and cautioned her, “While you refine artifacts at home to supply the Demon Suppression Bureau, do not overexert yourself. When the time is ripe, I will head to Cloud Capital and help the Human Emperor free the Demon Suppression Bureau from its restraints. By then I will write to you and have you come with me into the imperial palace.”
“I await your summons, even unto death,” Luo Jinghong said with unwavering resolve.
Su Ye left the barrier and set out once more upon the road.
He would have to make a trip to Greenstone Mountain sooner or later.
As he climbed the mountain path this time, he sensed the hidden power of a formation.
A wisp of smoke gathered into the shape of a strikingly handsome man.
“When we first met, you were still a poor fellow with death hanging over you,” the Yellow Immortal said, handsome eyes gleaming with reminiscence. “And now, everything has changed beyond recognition.”
“I have crossed mountains and rivers, and I have come to understand my mission,” Su Ye replied with easy composure.
A heart that had weathered wind, frost, rain, and snow was firmer than stone.
“All those who helped you along the way, all those who gifted you magical treasures, did so hoping that you would bear the Mandate of Heaven and save all living beings,” the Yellow Immortal said, now that the answer was plain and there was no need for concealment.
The Yellow Immortal, the storyteller beneath the arch bridge in Greenhill City, Shopkeeper Hu, Zhou Yu, Feng Yu'an, Master Pure Moon, Daoist Heavenly Vault...
Their acts of righteous aid had all carried, beneath the surface, a fervent hope for the well-being of the world.
The magical treasures they had given him were already in his possession.
There was no retreat now.
It was not merely comfort; it was also the severing of every road back.
All common folk were lazy by nature and disliked toil.
If a way back remained, the heart would never settle.
Su Ye had risen and fallen, weathered hardships that ordinary people could scarcely endure, and all of it had tempered him into a calm as still as water. Smiling, he asked, “The last time we met, you said I had talent no less than the Sword Saint’s or the Sword Demon’s. In truth, that was not quite right...”
“Your talent for cultivation is unique,” the Yellow Immortal said, staring straight at Su Ye, admiration impossible to conceal in his gaze. “If it were me, I would never bear to give up such talent.”
“And what of it?” Su Ye asked with a smile. “Even without spiritual roots, I can still become the one chosen by destiny.”
The Yellow Immortal gave him a thumbs-up and said sincerely, “You’ve got guts.”
Su Ye’s life, and the trials that had tested his heart, made it no surprise that he might even have fallen into the demonic path.
Yet a Dao heart as immovable as a boulder had carried him to this day.
If a man achieved greatness in fair weather, he was worthy of respect.
But a flower that bloomed in a winter of despair was even more moving.
“I have lived for countless ages, and I have admired very few people,” the Yellow Immortal said leisurely. “The Human Emperor is one; you are another.”
“You have met the Human Emperor?”
“I met him long before he was favored, when he was still an uncherished imperial prince.”
Su Ye looked at the Yellow Immortal and asked, “What kind of man is he?”
“Just like you... burdened with every kind of suffering, yet his state of mind remains utterly undisturbed,” the Yellow Immortal said after a moment’s thought. “Perhaps only people like you can accomplish extraordinary deeds.”
“You flatter me too much.”
“So long as you keep your original intent steady and unshaken, you will surely accomplish greatness. Character shapes destiny... from ancient times to the present, no one has ever escaped that law.”
“I came in such a hurry this time that I forgot to buy an offering.”
“Even if you had brought one, I would not dare accept it again,” the Yellow Immortal said gravely. “Disaster is approaching, and all of us must do our utmost.”
“Immortal, take care.”
The Yellow Immortal dissolved into smoke and vanished within the formation.
Before the last traces of dust and haze had even dispersed, a spirit sparrow messenger flew straight toward Su Ye.
It landed on his shoulder and extended the right leg that carried a message tube.
The sender was Yellow Leopard, the demon suppressor of Danyang City.
He had once taught Su Ye his craft.
---
When Su Ye returned to Danyang City, he had no leisure to wander. He made straight for the Demon Suppression Bureau.
At the main gate stood Yellow Leopard, tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in a black brocade robe. Seeing Su Ye, he called out, “Come with me to the Chamber of a Hundred Demons.”
The letter Su Ye had received had not explained why he had been summoned.
With questions in his heart, he followed the demon suppressor through several corridors and into the Chamber of a Hundred Demons, where evil was suppressed by the Heaven-Earth Mirror and talismans inscribed with Buddhist sutras.
Upon the stone bed lay a blackened hide.
From its shape, it did not appear to be animal skin.
Yellow Leopard said in a deep, rumbling voice, “What lies on top of this is human skin... Before the person died, both forearms and both lower legs were cut off, the eyes gouged out, the nose sliced away... Then the skull was opened with a cut, and the skin was peeled off alive.”
A surge of furious flame suddenly rose in Su Ye’s once-calm heart.
Frowning, he asked coldly, “Who did this?”
From the corner of his eye, Yellow Leopard glanced at Su Ye and noticed the killing intent in his gaze.
Such concentrated murderous qi was not something an ordinary man possessed.
Only one who had been drenched in blood could gather that beastlike chill.
Yellow Leopard could tell that Su Ye had killed cultivators before, but he did not take it to heart. He said softly, “If I told you that the victim did this willingly... what would you think?”
“Willingly?” Su Ye looked at him in confusion. “Who would willingly endure such torture?”
“Ordinary people naturally would not. But if someone is too deeply steeped in fanatic belief... for the so-called coming of a demon god, there are always those willing to sacrifice their precious lives.”
Yellow Leopard’s expression was grave, his thick brows knit tightly together.
Yet his eyes were full of regret and compassion for the deluded.
“So the demon cult is stirring up trouble as well?” The rage in Su Ye’s heart surged again.
“During the brightest hours of the sun, shadows can only retreat,” Yellow Leopard said quietly. “Now that the sixty-year demon-purging cycle has arrived... all the filth that usually lurks in corners will gradually begin to surface.”
“If that is so, then the common people will suffer,” Su Ye said, and a pang of sorrow rose in him.
He came from a small village in the south-central region of Great Qian.
He had started from the lowest point and had witnessed the hardships of the people in times of peace.
In years of great disaster, they would have to face the biting wind head-on...
“This official learned from Shopkeeper Hu that you understand the art of soul-binding. I invited you here specifically because I hoped to borrow your strength and continue pursuing the broken trail,” Yellow Leopard explained the reason for his letter.
Su Ye immediately understood.
As offerings for the so-called coming of the demon god, the dead had been tortured in life, and their monstrous resentment had been stored within the skins.
If dissolved into water and combined with a rare poison, it could kill a cultivator of the Jade Garment realm.
Danyang City’s investigation into the demon cult had lost its trail.
They could only place their hopes in these resentment-soaked skins, before they were made into poison.
Su Ye glanced at the Guanyin Sutra on the stone bed, and at the Buddhist talismans and the Heaven-Earth Mirror beside the high window.
“The warding and suppression arts in the Chamber of a Hundred Demons are too strong. Pressure on the resentment here will only make it dissolve.”
“If we leave the chamber, I’m afraid the resentment will be difficult to contain... If it is eroded by that force, the body may bleed from all seven openings and die.”
“If one does not enter the tiger’s den, how can one catch the tiger’s cub?” Su Ye’s gaze was resolute.
Yellow Leopard had heard many rumors about Su Ye. Looking into those clear eyes, he seemed to glimpse that stubborn, unyielding heart.
“Mr. Su, when people in teahouses and wine shops are chatting, they often say you might become a savior,” Yellow Leopard said quietly. “I did not believe it at first...”
“The future is something no one can speak of clearly,” Su Ye said. “Right now, the urgent matter is to learn the demon cult’s movements through this vengeful soul.”
Before Yellow Leopard could speak again, Su Ye reached out and lifted the hide filled with boundless resentment.
Then he turned and strode out of the Chamber of a Hundred Demons.
That bold act stunned the battle-hardened demon suppressor.
Yellow Leopard hurried after him, so that the evil soul would not stir trouble.