Xue Liang shrieks upon returning to his quarters for the night. He did not have to enter Bright Courtyard to see a familiar figure sitting on top of his roof. His blood rushed to his head as soon as he shouted. "Wu Yong, how did someone like you get up there? No, a better thing to say right now is get out!"
Wu Yong fiddles with a bamboo flute he found inside the house. With a smug expression, he leisurely twirled the instrument between his fingers. "Get out of where, brother? I trespassed into your chambers hours ago. Finally, you came back so I can start having fun. Let me take a wild guess, you and your parents have been discussing the matter with the Sacred Stone throughout the day."
"Give me back my possessions! If my father hears of this he would kick you to Hell after burning you alive with his powers. If you do not give me the flute back I will scream." Xue Liang cleared his throat, threatening to shout. They both knew Xue Liang had the guts to disturb the peace of the house and he would not be held accountable. Wu Yong surrendered the instrument by dropping it onto the ground with an apologetic expression. Xue Liang squeaked when the bamboo instrument chipped.
"Here, that thing was poorly made anyway. I was looking for new instruments to play but I think the only instruments you have are blades, how boring. That flute isn't like the ones I used to hold." Wu Yong pretends to hold the first flute he ever received. The ebony instrument was light and with his help, it had produced loud melodies. Xue Weifeng and Xue Xian Tou would pause their affairs to listen to his playing but now, they would hit his head whenever he touches any instrument around them.
Xue Liang picked up the slender flute from the floor only to toss it into a lot of dirt. He grinned upon seeing Wu Yong frowning. "You are such a nuisance! I'll forgive you for touching that waste of wood but you dare to climb onto my roof? Get down here so I can test your real strength! I have been waiting to tear you to pieces."
Wu Yong puffed his cheeks and shook his head. To taunt the young master he tipped his head from side to side, acting like a child throwing a temper tantrum. "You cannot order me around anymore. If you are so skilled, hop on. Use your sword to fly up or something. It has been a while since I left the Forbidden House and I just want to play with you, big brother."
"You have lost your marbles," Xue Liang muttered under his breath. He nodded but did not show signs of wanting to approach Wu Yong. He would like to fight the lunatic at this exact moment but he refrained from doing so. "Humph! Then, don't come down and stay there for the night. Make sure you do not make noise or I will come out and drag you down myself."
Wu Yong crossed his arms with a smirk on his face. He felt his cheeks heat up the more he saw Xue Liang looking flustered. Today, he won the struggle and Xue Liang retreats into his house like a sulking tiger. Wu Yong heard his rival growl as the door slammed shut. Wu Yong knew that Xue Liang is fuming right under him. "First victory!"
Wu Yong heard Xue Liang shouting curses at him. He knew he was creating so much noise just by sitting on top of the roof. Xue Liang had ordered him to stay on the rooftop but Wu Yong felt the need to defy the command. "His days of treating me poorly are over! The Xue Sect will regret knowing such a crazy man like me existed. When the time is right, I will reveal my new identity."
Wu Yong happily pushed himself off the roof, grimacing after a dozen tiles collided with his falling body. He put his feet on the ground triumphantly, proud of being able to land on his feet and not his face. He clutched his chest, feeling winded out of nowhere. It felt like a strong cultivator punched him in the chest. "Ack! I must recuperate before proving anyone wrong. Must it take a whole year until my body stops betraying me?"
"Hey, didn't I tell you to shut your mouth? I'm trying to learn from technique books my father recently gave me. You would not know the amount of concentration needed to understand a single sentence." Xue Liang sounded more annoyed than angry. He was never a scholar since he is naturally smart but he wanted to show Wu Yong who Xue Xian Tou considers his son. The greatest gift a cultivator father could give to his children would be technique books.
"Fine, I'm leaving your boring place. Who would want to read about thousands of ways to kill? Continue being the young master and I will be the carefree joker." Wu Yong leaves the courtyard without turning back. He felt he had helped Xue Liang by allowing him to sleep in peace but at the same time, he is glad he could leave the lifeless house. Xue Liang has servants and guards but they are all hidden from view, making his house seem empty and cold.
"I cannot go to my house, I cannot go to other quarters, I cannot leave Xue house. I am tired of being trapped in this prison," Wu Yong found his way to the main entrance of the Xue house. In the dark, it was hard to tell if guards were standing at the archways or not. A life of cowardice took its toll and Wu Yong abandoned his plans to escape. "Even if I make it out of here, I cannot go anywhere."
"There are so many things I cannot do!" Wu Yong kicked a pebble that was waiting in the middle of the path. The pebble smacked a wooden column, starting Wu Yong until he realized the sound was his own doing. He smiled smugly. He anticipates the moment all is revealed but he is also fearful. It would not be long until he becomes the true Demon King and he would have to run for his life. "I can do It!"
He attempted to pump his fist in the air, doubling over when his shoulders started to ache. Wu Yong forced his arms to straighten despite the uncomfortable sensation. He rolled his eyes and hobbled onward, "The Demon King must be happy to see me suffer like this. The Xue family would gloat over this too. I cannot believe my life has come to this."
A lantern suddenly crosses his line of vision. A young male shrieks in terror, dropping his lantern as he does so. The servant stumbled over his feet as he raced to get away from Wu Yong. His hands flailed in the air as he shouted loudly, awakening the entire house. He seems to want the attention of the whole house. "A ghost! There is a jiangshi*, help! He is going to eat me alive!"
"Oh please, even non-cultivators know that jiangshi technically do not eat anything. They kill humans to absorb yang energy. I never heard of a lunatic being able to devour souls." Wu Yong had to cover his ears to block out loud shrieks. He knew non-cultivators are terrified of spirits and ghouls but he did not know they are also afraid of wackos. "Quiet, will you? The whole house will wake if you shout any louder."
"Wu Yong?" The servant trembled in the dark, still shocked from seeing the lunatic wandering about like a ghost. The young servant backed away quickly and ran off, unable to bear the presence of the lunatic beyond that moment. As the poor servant tripped over his feet he prayed for protection from evil spirits.
"Be careful, lad! There are hungry ghosts wandering around the villa. This house of cultivators attracts more spirits than burned paper money." The madman walked on the stone paths barefooted, grinning in amusement at the events that took place within the last hours. Rumours of his corrupt cultivation had spread faster than algae in the water. "Humans are so afraid of ghosts, ghouls and demons. I say the worst spirits are in themselves."
"The justice-loving Xue family treated me like dirt because I was a useless boy who acted too feminine? Young cultivators dare to bully the weak without thinking the people beneath them could rise above their heads? Instead of helping ghosts let go of their sufferings, we fear them!" Wu Yong had been tired of the righteous sects ever since he started submitting to the Xue family. When his newfound powers are stable and do not harm his body he would leave the house to rebel in any way he can.
Wu Yong decided he would not be too arrogant for it will mess with his plans for the future. Instead of wanting to rise to the top, he would lay low and hide his identity for a year. Once he finishes recuperating from the transfer of powers he would shoot down the Xue flags and lead the Demon Sect in rising against the righteous sects.
The new Demon King scouted the house for a safe resting spot, finding the horse stables would be the most peaceful house to use. Wu Yong also had an old friend he always wanted to visit after all these years and he hoped his friend would be willing to share his room. Wu Yong held his breath as he raised his hands against the wooden door, knocking three times.
A horse brayed loudly from behind the stall door which startled Wu Yong for a short moment. The horse inside the stall sounded older but Wu Yong knew that it was indeed his old friend behind the wooden barrier. The man placed an ear on the door and whispered, "Tao Hua, Tao Hua, can you hear me? Forgive me for coming so late my old friend, can I come in for the night?"
Wu Yong used his new demonic power to melt the lock on the door and stepped through without hesitation. He used his sleeves to cover his nose after gagging from inhaling a pungent smell. The confused man bent down to touch a large pile of dried feces decorated with horsehair. The balls of waste looked like huge spiders surrounded by colonies of flies. He balled his fists upon taking in the whole scene.
Pieces of shredded vegetables mingled with the horse feces, attracting more flies than it should. The straw laid on the ground absorbed so much urine that pools of wastewater could not be absorbed. The horse standing in the middle of the mess was poorly groomed and sickly. It seems as if the Xue family refused to give proper care to his former steed because its owner does not deserve care.
"Tao Hua, what did they do to you all these years? You grew but your face sunk in, you lost patches of hair and what is that disgusting mane? Dead flies, feces and urine made their way there," Wu Yong continued to list the many ways his horse had been neglected throughout the years. He shook his head, silently scorning the Xue family and their servants. "Move to that corner, I will clean your stall and be your roommate."
Tao Hua stomped over to the farthest corner where the amount of filth is less. Wu Yong assumed his intelligent horse had taken care of that particular area to use as a resting spot. The lunatic rolled up his sleeves and started digging his hands into the muck to throw each handful out of the stall. Tao Hua watched his former owner clean his house, waiting patiently for Wu Yong each time he stepped out.
"Finally, it looks like we can now stand around without stepping in the mixture of sickness. Tao Hua," Wu Yong ran his hands through the dirty mane that used to be smooth as silk. Tears threatened to fall from the corner of his eyes the longer he stared at his friend. "Do you remember the reason I chose you to be mine?"
Tao Hua nudged his waist with a nose. Wu Yong chuckled and looked down at the creature, "Of course you forgot. You were the smallest pony and the only horse I could mount at that time. The other horses were for older boys and I always fell off their side before I could even sit on top of them. Xue Xian Tou would put me on and the horse would throw me off but you were a nice horse."
"It pains me to see you live such a harsh life," Wu Yong leaned against the nearest wall and he could feel his eyelids droop, sleep weighing them down. Fine, he would close his eyes for a moment and continue sweeping the floor. "I should clean my hands but I am so tired. I am asking for sickness by caking my hands with waste but I want to stay with you."
Wu Yong truly lost his marbles but he does not care if he did. He smiled smugly, wondering if anyone in the Xue family experienced being nuzzled by a horse. He knew they would never dirty their hands and clean after their animals. The Xue family knows a lot about fighting and speaking about justice but do they know what he knows?
No, they do not know the joys of receiving love from sick animals. They do not know how it feels to be free, to be themselves. Those pompous cultivators will never love animals or people who are not associated with their sects. Wu Yong could choose who he loathes and who he loves. He can choose to be a lunatic and he has kept the title of Xue House Lunatic for a reason.
***
Jianshi: Also known as the "Chinese vampire" even though it behaves more like a zombie rather than a vampire (in Western cultures). They are reanimated corpses that move by hopping around and they kill living beings to absorb their energy. -Wikipedia.org