Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 374 - 11 The Nightmare of Mo
Chapter 374: Chapter 11: The Nightmare of Mo
Chapter 374: Chapter 11: The Nightmare of Mo
Li Yan turned around, and there was Ox Head and Horse Face, holding an iron chain and locking up a person with disheveled hair but eyes still bright, thin lips under long eyebrows, giving off a wolfish look. That spirit and vigor belonged to none other than himself.
Li Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, somewhat uncertain.
As he was pondering, Ox Head and Horse Face brought the “Li Yan” across the bridge, brushing past him without so much as a glance.
Li Yan looked around, the countless wretched ghosts and executioners present paid no attention to him. In this underworld, he seemed to be invisible.
With that thought, Li Yan unconsciously quickened his pace, following Ox Head and Horse Face deeper into the underworld.
Nostalgia Platform, Blood Lake Pool, Nether Bridge, Strip Clothes Pavilion, Greasy Mountain, Evil Dog Village, Meng Po Village, Wrongful Death City. Such bizarre and sinister scenes invaded like cold, sticky water, and even with Li Yan’s mind as steadfast as tempered steel, he couldn’t shake off a nagging irritation.
He looked at the captured version of himself. Although his brows were furrowed, there was no sign of despair or fear.
Before long, Ox Head and Horse Face brought him to a gloomy hall, with Lu Cui, the two judges, standing on both sides, and Black and White Impermanence each holding “See Wealth” and “Great Peace Under Heaven,” their blood-red tongues hanging down to their waists.
“Is the person here Li Yan from Yanshan County, Cangzhou, Hebei?!”
The voice boomed like a bell. The person sat high on a red copper judge’s bench, dressed in a Five Dragons River Brocade Robe, with two long hat wings, a beard like steel needles, eyebrows like swords, and eyes like bronze bells – it was clearly Yama of the netherworld.
The chained Li Yan replied loudly, “Indeed, it is I.”
“What a stubborn and unrepentant villain! You have murdered countless; you shall be rolled on the Knife Mountain! Committing adultery; you shall be pierced by ice pillars! Even if we were to add up all your crimes, pulling out your tongue and peeling your skin, extracting your muscles and intestines would not suffice for atonement. Will you still not confess your guilt?”
“Li Yan” lifted his head, chains clanking about him, his eyes flashing red: “All my life, my punches, kicks, and swordplay were for self-defense! That tiger that pounces on a sheep to fight for food to survive, is it also considered a villain? I admit, I have killed many, but there are reasons for each life taken! I, Li Yan, can frankly say I have done nothing to feel guilty about. Even if I were to live another life, I would not change a single thing in my conduct!”
Off to the side, Judge Cui let out a cold laugh: “If that’s the case, would you dare to account for every deed with me?”
“Li Yan” bellowed: “Why should I not dare?”
“Good!”
Judge Cui gestured, and a battered corpse burst forth from outside the hall. Covered in blood and with bones shattered, his huge eyes stared dead at “Li Yan.”
Li Yan in the shadows saw the corpse and his own face fell.
Cheng Hunan, a murderer who had once been beaten to death by Li Yan in the ring. He was also the first man whom Li Yan ever killed with his own hands.
“Li Yan” shouted loudly, “He and I fought a life-or-death match. If I didn’t kill him, he would have killed me. Besides, this man had raped and murdered a young girl; he died deservedly. What’s wrong with my killing him?”
Judge Cui smirked darkly: “Such a glib tongue; do you still think you’re a knight performing acts of chivalry?”
With another gesture, an armored and corpulent middle-aged man charged forward. His tongue was swollen purple, his eyes glaring fiercely at Li Yan.
“This man was your superior and comrade, yet you killed him while cleaning up the battlefield, out of greed for power and clout, betraying your own conscience. Do you still have any excuses?”
Li Yan in the dark raised his eyebrows; he had already forgotten what this man looked like.
“Li Yan”‘s face darkened for a moment before he replied confidently, “Fleeing in the face of battle deserves death by law! As a military officer, he attempted to misuse authority during the war, trying to coerce his troops to disguise themselves as Joseon civilians. How could I allow such incompetence and ineptitude to endanger my life? His path to death was predetermined; I was merely decisive!”
Li Yan in the shadows chuckled softly, walking into the hall, yet none of the evil spirits saw him.
“Hahahahaha~”
Yama burst into loud laughter, “According to you, then, the Japanese pirates who died by your hand on the battlefield, people like Tachibana Muneshige and Honda Tadakatsu, those don’t count because it was warfare?”
The chained “Li Yan” nodded, “Indeed, that’s natural!”
“Nonsense!”
Judge Lu also spoke up, “Your collusion with a certain Lady Yu to murder a man, was that also warfare? In the Yan Capital Ghost City, you slaughtered many like vermin vying for power! Your cunning plots and schemes, your frequent acts of plundering! You share a mother-and-son title with the Pirate Leader Madam Shi, yet live as husband and wife, a violation of all norms!”
“Li Yan” clenched his jaw tightly, his eyes darting around, only managing to say, “The matter with Madam Shi was merely going along with the flow, I didn’t…”
Li Yan in the dark was toying with the peach wood tube on King Yama’s table, his lips involuntarily curled downwards upon hearing these words.
At that moment, Black and White Impermanence joined in, “You claim to cultivate only a fraction of malice through martial arts, yet rarely do you ever aid others with your prowess! Instead, you rely on the name of ‘Three Parts Malice’ to act recklessly and wantonly. Your actions have wreaked havoc, engaging in villainy! Your indulgence in lust and lack of morals! Your arson and murder! An endless list of crimes, too numerous to document! And still, you dare to argue in front of us?”
The shackled “Li Yan,” sweat flowing down the back of his neck, laughed like a madman, “All this talk, and what you really want is my life. If you’re capable, then come and take it!”
With those words, he summoned his strength and broke free from several chains, charging towards Yama’s hall!
“Hopeless! Utterly hopeless!”
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“Ahhhhhh!”
As “Li Yan” with his red eyes charged forth, Li Yan stood in front of the hall, motionless like a piece of wood.
Watching “himself” rush over, the onlooking Li Yan erupted from the ground. His toes smashed into “Li Yan’s” chin like a skyrocketing cannonball. They soared into the air together; Li Yan flipped and bowed his legs, his left knee slamming into his opponent’s head with a dark and oppressive shadow, and bright, dazzling blood mist sprayed in all directions.
Bang!
The corpse fell heavily to the ground, while Li Yan felt the many gazes converging on him.
King Yama of the Nether Palace, Judge Lu Cui, the Black and White Impermanence, and the Ox-Head and Horse-Face could finally see him!
“Is the play over?” Li Yan spread his hands, “Then let’s get started.”
“Come on, take down this outrageous and wicked man!”
Yama roared loudly.
Li Yan laughed uproariously; he rushed to the front of the hall where a tiger-head guillotine was located, and forcefully removed the blade from its stand, then turned and charged into the crowd of ghosts!
A host of sinister Evil Ghosts killed their way into the hall, surrounding the laughing Li Yan. The endlessly emerging fierce ghosts were like countless scraps of paper swirling around the eye of a blood-red storm!
The storm whirled, blood light spread, Li Yan fought with a ferocity, Disaster Water, Blood Dip, and Goddess Gu Huo all flew out together! A graceful trail of bloody shadow vanished and reappeared abruptly, carving out countless bloody Hanyings throughout the great hall.
Blood light spread, the storm whirled, Swallow Through the Curtain, Dragon’s Craned Neck, Main Frame of Combat Sword’s twenty-four forms cascaded out!
First, the Ox-Head was decapitated, then the Horse-Face was executed; Black and White Impermanence went straight to their deaths, and the bodies of Judges Lu Cui were left incomplete.
After around ten minutes, with the fall of the last green ghost’s corpse, the entire nether hall was cleansed!
Drip-drip~
Drip-drip~
Blood water dripped down; Li Yan had wounds of varying depths on his body. Holding the guillotine blade, he walked step by step toward Yama’s throne.
“You are utterly evil, but you still have the nerve to claim virtue. Such a hypocritical sinner, even if you escape by chance now, the Bodhisattvas of the nine heavens, the Arhats of the eight parts, certainly won’t spare you!”
King Yama’s face was stern, but he unconsciously retreated step by step.
Li Yan pressed forward step by step, his bloodstained face indifferent: “The world has always seen only one kind of people. I can’t see any distinction between good and evil. If there must be a distinction, it’s only between the unbending and robust, and the cowardly and ineffective. What about the Lords of the Ten Yamas? What about the relentless suffering in hell? They are nothing but futile delusions of the latter group. You don’t dare fight for justice while alive, yet expect others to avenge you after death? How ridiculous and frustrating is this wishful thinking?”
Li Yan ascended to the throne, tearing out a page from the Book of Life and Death to wipe away the greasy fresh blood on his hands.
At his words, King Yama sneered: “People only differ in strength and weakness, not in good and evil? By your logic, can a vicious person deceive themselves into believing they can do whatever they want? Simply detestable and repulsive!”
“Being born is not about being liked. Even more detestable and repulsive are those who think they can take the moral high ground simply by sitting idly.”
Li Yan revealed a mouthful of white teeth:
“Even if I’m guilty of countless murders, even if I’ve seduced countless men’s wives, whether I am a vile villain of the ages or an unbending hero, it’s not up to you guys to decide!”
With that, he picked up the guillotine blade and swung it at the neck of King Yama of the Nether Palace.
Blood sprayed in all directions!
Stars hung over the wilderness, and a vast snowfall surged towards the high mountains.
“Tonight we’ll have an extra meal; let you taste my cooking skills.”
Cha Xiaodao was dragging a small hundred-pound headless wild boar while chatting with Cao Yongchang. Li Yan in the carriage was slowly coming to.
“How is it?”
Cha Xiaodao asked from beside the fire.
Li Yan nodded: “Since Lady Dan drove me out, I haven’t slept this comfortably in a long time.”
He then looked at the wild boar: “Where did this come from?”
“Found it.” Cao Yongchang said, “It was just lying by the side of the road, headless, as if it had been guillotined.”
Li Yan stretched lazily. He opened the vermilion Sword Box to take a look: inside, the fourteen Dragon and Tiger Banners were neatly lined up, emitting a faint luminous glow.
“Save a rack of ribs for me.”
…
In Liaodong there’s a Nightmare Pig, also called a Ghost Tapir, known for being able to bewitch people.
——Liu Mazizi’s Novel Journey
