Dread King's Bride

After dusk, the mountain's depths became shrouded in darkness so profound that one could barely see their own hand before their face. In the dilapidated temple nestled within the woods, the flickering flames served as the sole beacon of light, drawing the predatory gaze of malevolent beings that thrived in the abyss. They lingered just beyond the reach of the firelight, poised to strike.

"They're here! Just as expected, those things have come!" a man's voice trembled with panic and fear.

"Light the fires!" Another voice cut through, firm and commanding. The flames surged, encircling the temple in a protective wall of fire. Beyond this fiery barrier, shadows emerged from the forest. They wore the uniforms of constables, yet their bodies bore deep gashes, wounds that would have bled a normal person dry.

But these figures moved unnaturally. Their eyes were vacant, their mouths stretched into grotesque grins that reached unnervingly toward their ears, as if forcibly carved into place. They resembled puppets, lifeless yet advancing toward the temple. However, as they neared the fire, the barrier halted their steps.

An arrow descended from above, piercing through the skull of one of the constables. Its head jerked back at an unnatural angle, the bones audibly cracking. Moments later, it righted itself, that eerie smile still fixed in place.

"Stop wasting arrows!" Situ Jing barked at the trembling constables nearby. "How many times do I have to tell you? They're nothing more than puppets now, controlled corpses! Cutting off their heads won't do a thing!"

The constables were pale with fear, utterly at a loss. They were truly terrified. What was supposed to be a routine search for someone in the mountains had turned into a nightmare. One by one, their comrades had fallen victim to some sinister force, becoming neither fully human nor entirely ghost. Now these twisted beings were relentlessly pursuing them.

Their panic was palpable, and Situ Jing was equally annoyed by the situation. His plan had been to enter the mountain discreetly with the Black Armored Guards, not to cause a commotion. But from the moment they set foot in these woods, he had sensed something was amiss. Though he had managed to dispel the occasional trouble from malevolent spirits, it seemed his efforts had drawn their ire.

Now, these spirits had chosen easier prey—the constables, who had no knowledge of mystical arts. They were turned into puppets, enslaved to attack Situ Jing's group.

"Master Situ, this isn't working. Those things fear the fire, but the corpses don't care at all!" A Black Armored Guard pointed out as they watched the puppet-like constables step into the flames, their bodies igniting but continuing their relentless advance as burning husks.

Situ Jing's eyes narrowed. Reaching into his robe, he pulled out a handful of yellow beans and formed a seal with his hand. "By the powers of Xuantian, transform these beans into soldiers!"

He flung the beans into the fire. A crackling sound erupted, and amidst the flames, each bean transformed into a tiny human figure no larger than a palm. These figures darted toward the puppet-like constables, swiftly attaching themselves to their bodies.

The next moment, agonizing, beast-like screams erupted from the possessed constables. One by one, the puppets collapsed, their lifeless forms hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

Relief washed over the group. The remaining constables cheered, their voices trembling with gratitude.

"They're down! The corpses have fallen!"

"Thank goodness! We're saved!"

Situ Jing remained stern, his voice carrying a grave warning: "Stay alert, everyone. The real threat is coming now."

The Black Armored Guards tightened their grips on their swords. Their earlier encounters with the spirits had yielded nothing but frustration—grasping at shadows and coming away with only scraps of fur. Several among them bore minor injuries from surprise attacks.

As he spoke, vague silhouettes began to emerge beyond the firelight.

At first glance, they resembled humans, but on closer inspection, their forms were more akin to oversized monkeys. Their bodies were covered in black fur, with long arms that nearly dragged on the ground and a single foot that propelled them forward in eerie, bounding hops. Each creature had a skull perched on its neck—some large, others small—its hollow eye sockets glowing with a sinister crimson light.

As they drew closer, an unsettling laughter filled the air. It was a blend of human and beastly tones, brimming with malice that sent shivers down spines.

"What are those things?"

"They're mountain demons!" Situ Jing spat, his voice sharp with anger. "Quick, find something to block your ears! The laughter of mountain demons can corrupt your mind. These creatures are cunning and dangerous!"

The Black Armored Guards held steady, their training and resolve keeping their minds intact. However, the surviving constables weren't as fortunate. Their eyes turned bloodshot, and they began staggering toward the edge of the fire circle, lured by the mountain demons' laughter. A few guards stepped in swiftly, knocking them unconscious to prevent disaster, but the insidious laughter only grew louder, burrowing into their ears like venom.

Situ Jing felt irritation creeping into his own mind. The mountain demons, fearful of fire, dared not approach directly. Instead, they relied on their malicious laughter to disrupt the group's sanity, aiming to lure them beyond the protective flames. Some of the guards tried shooting arrows, but the creatures moved with inhuman speed, their forms a blur in the darkness. Frustration mounted as every attempt to strike them failed.

The night stretched long, the battle far from over. This was destined to be a grueling war of attrition. Situ Jing began reciting a calming mantra aloud, his voice cutting through the cacophony, but one voice alone couldn't overpower the laughter of dozens of mountain demons. The tension grew as he noticed a few of his men beginning to falter, their resolve cracking under the relentless assault.

Then, out of the oppressive darkness, a sharp and unyielding voice rang out like a blade slicing through silk.

"How amusing! A gathering of monkeys in the dead of night—is there some kind of summit I wasn't invited to?"

The mountain demons' laughter ceased abruptly.

The sudden silence was almost jarring, and Situ Jing staggered slightly, his ears still ringing. Instinctively, he turned toward the voice. The others followed suit, their gazes locking onto the dense forest.

There, amidst the gloom, a faint ghostly light swayed—a single lantern bobbing gently in the darkness. A figure emerged, stepping out from the shadows.

She was clad in crimson robes that billowed like smoke, her lantern casting an eerie glow that gave her the appearance of someone stepping out of the underworld. The juxtaposition of beauty and menace made her presence almost otherworldly.

Situ Jing blinked in disbelief, rubbing his eyes. "The… Queen?"

The Black Armored Guards were equally stunned.

The mountain demons, however, seemed to react as predators to prey. Their excitement boiled over as they howled with glee, their grotesque forms leaping toward QingWu in unison, driven by the thrill of fresh prey.

"Your Grace, look out!" Situ Jing shouted in alarm, while the guards raised their blades, ready to rush beyond the fire circle to defend her.

But then, they all froze mid-motion.

"Get lost!"

With a single commanding shout, the mountain demons, mid-pounce, collapsed to their knees in unison. Their grotesque forms hit the ground as they let out wretched howls of agony, writhing as though enduring unbearable torment.

QingWu's eyes glinted with a cold, murderous light. "Mere wild creatures gifted by the heavens with sentience, yet instead of cultivating virtue, you choose to wreak havoc and slaughter the innocent. Such audacity from a pack of beasts!"

The mountain demons' cries grew even more harrowing, their twisted bodies trembling under an invisible weight. A suffocating aura of dread unfurled from QingWu, spreading like the shadow of a yawning underworld gate opening behind her. Even from afar, the Black Armored Guards shivered uncontrollably.

Situ Jing stared, his pupils constricting in shock.

Ordinary people might not sense the overwhelming pressure emanating from her, but as a member of the mystic arts, he felt it keenly. The QingWu before him now was an entirely different person from the poised woman he once knew.

A celestial judge of the underworld, wielding authority to discern virtue and sin, sever fates, and render judgment. In this moment, nothing in existence seemed beyond her power to command.

"By my decree! Malevolent beasts guilty of harming the innocent shall be banished to the Demonic Underworld! Their souls severed and condemned to a hundred years on the Blade Mountain, to be scalded and seared in boiling oil, never to reincarnate!"

With a flick of her Judge's Brush, a crimson stroke appeared in midair, slicing through the night like a harvester's scythe. The scarlet line swept across the demons' necks like a spectral chain, and in an instant, their heads rolled to the ground.

The next moment, their shrieking souls were drawn irresistibly into the Judge's Brush, vanishing without a trace.

The night wind swept through, gradually weakening the blazing wall of fire. Everyone stared at the enigmatic and otherworldly figure of QingWu, their faces frozen in disbelief, as though caught in a surreal dream.

QingWu nudged aside the corpse of a mountain demon with her foot, lifting her gaze. Her luminous eyes blinked slowly, and all the irritation and frustration she'd carried evaporated, replaced by a mix of speechlessness and awkwardness as her eyes landed on Situ Jing and the others. Her lips twitched, and she asked a rather foolish question:

"Why... are you all here?"

Situ Jing, after retrieving his nearly unhinged jaw, swallowed hard. "The King wasn't confident with the magistrate's ability to handle the matter, so he sent us to help search for Young Master Wang. And you, my Queen?"

QingWu: "..."

The mocking voice of the Judge's Brush chimed in her mind: "Oh my, is this about that heartless scoundrel accusing an innocent person? Could it be that our cold-blooded QingWu is actually growing a conscience?"

QingWu: "..." Damn conscience! She didn't need one!

Her inner thoughts raged as she silently cursed Xiao Chenyuan. Was there something wrong with him? Couldn't he just be upfront for once? Did he really have to be this stubborn?