Rise of The Demon General

Yang Li saw Xa Jien walking over from the opposite direction. He seemed anxious when he noticed Yang Li. He said, ”Your Majesty, you shouldn’t be down here.”

”Why shouldn’t I be? And whose scream is that?” Yang Li asked in return.

”It is from the assassin we captured.”

”Is that the interrogator at work?”

Xa Jien hesitated a second before answering, ”Yes.”

”Where is my son?”

Xa Jien didn’t say anything this time. It was Amon who answered, ”Your son is the interrogator.”

Xa Jien finally addressed Amon, ”Who the hell are you?”

Amon removed his hood. ”Hello, Xa Jien. It has been some time.”

Xa Jien was baffled, both by the stranger’s appearance and by his statement implying they were old acquaintances. It clicked soon. Amon’s appearance might have drastically changed, but he remembered those eyes. Those black eyes as dark as the abyss.

”A–Amon...?” He asked. His questioning tone quickly turned aggressive. ”Amon, you bastard...! I will avenge His Majesty Huang San!!”

A long sword materialized in his hand, and he thrust it in Amon’s direction.

Xa Jien’s cultivation had improved to the Intermediate Spirit Stage, but he was still too weak for Amon’s current cultivation level. The tip of the sword stopped an inch before touching Amon. It couldn’t push through the defensive aura surrounding Amon’s body.

Xa Jien was shocked by this. Amon grinned. He grabbed the blade of Xa Jien’s sword and crushed it. He then released his aura. The pressure took both Xa Jien and Yang Li aback. They couldn’t move or speak. Yang Li had expected Amon’s cultivation to be way above hers, but it was still worse than she thought.

”Xa Jien, I suggest you rein in your emotions,” Amon said. ”I can easily slay you, but I prefer not to, and I suggest you don’t leak who I am to Huang Bei. If you do, you will be the reason for his death. You don’t want to do that to Huang San’s son, do you?”

Amon retracted his aura. Xa Jien and Yang Li could move again. They panted as cold sweats ran down their foreheads.

”Now, run along,” Amon told Xa Jien. ”I want to show Yang Li what her son really is like.”

Xa Jien didn’t move. He was still in shock. Amon ignored him and continued walking onward. Yang Li recovered first out of her concern for her son. She chased after Amon, who was already ahead.

They arrived at a door, where the screaming was coming from. Now that they were here, they could hear a second voice. This second voice was laughter. Amon opened the door and ushered Yang Li to enter.

What Yang Li saw when she entered shocked her. It was the last assassin from earlier, or what’s left of him. All four of his limbs had been amputated. He was strapped to a chair. His head was forced to look upward. His eyes were kept open by a tool resembling a modern eye speculum. From above him, water continuously showered over him.

The shower seemed to have been going on for a while, and the water must have been blisteringly hot, because the skin on his face where the water touched seemed cooked. His white eyeball appeared half-melting from the heat, and he struggled not to choke on the water that kept entering his screaming mouth and burning his tongue.

The only person in the room aside from the tortured assassin was Huang Bei. He had his back to the door, so he didn’t notice Amon and Yang Li entering. He was so absorbed that he also didn’t sense them. His laughing was what they had heard from the outside. In here, his laughter sounded louder than the assassin’s scream.

”Bei Er... Bei Er!!” Yang Li called, but Huang Bei didn’t respond. He seemed to be in a trance.

Amon entered the room and stood to the side. He chose to be a spectator in this matter.

Yang Li finally lost her patience. She grabbed Huang Bei and yanked him back. To her disbelief, Huang Bei remained laughing, even after she forced him to look at her. His expression was that of someone in ecstasy. His eyes were unfocused.

After several unresponsive calls, she resorted to dragging her son out of the room. She pinned him to the wall and slapped him a few times.

Finally, Huang Bei’s eyes regained their focus. His mad laughter stopped. He appeared confused. He asked, ”Mo–Mother...? Why are you...”

Realization came to his face. He peered into the room at the poor assassin who was still screaming before returning his attention to his mother. His expression changed. It was as if he were struggling within, unsure about how to feel. Ultimately, one feeling took charge: Shame.

He balled up on the floor and cried. ”Mother, no... You shouldn’t see this side of me... I tried so hard to hide it from you...”

Yang Li didn’t know how to respond. This discovery came as a shock to her. She knelt and caressed her son’s hair. She was thinking about what to say, but the damn screaming was so distracting. She peered into the room with a murderous look.

Surprisingly, a small knife stabbed into the head of the screaming assassin. The scream stopped then. She gave Amon an appreciative glance.

She felt much better with the silence. She hugged her son. ”Bei Er, there is nothing you need to keep from me. I will always be by your side, no matter what. However, you must rein this demon in. Otherwise, you will get into trouble sooner or later.”

”I... I can’t help it, Mom... I tried... I can’t help it... Xa Jien has been helping me. He supplied me with prisoners and low lives. Those who will not be missed if they are gone... I... Please don’t blame him for this...”

Xa Jien stood a distance away from there. He had come over after recovering from Amon’s pressure. His head was hung low in a guilty pose.

”I don’t blame him,” Yang Li said. ”We will work this out together...”

Amon exited the room. He told Yang Li, ”You understand now why I must show you this. Otherwise, you will encounter trouble if you learn of this while hiding. Go to the coordinates I gave you. You can bring anyone you wish, but not too many, or the hiding place’s effectiveness will be compromised. I hope you make it past this calamity.”

”Am... Hei Mo!” Yang Li called before Amon walked away. ”I don’t believe you when you said you help me because of the benefits I can provide in the future. I think that is just bull. Why do you truly help me?”

Amon glanced back at her but didn’t answer. He resumed walking. In his mind, he thought, ’Hopefully this will turn down the accursed voice of Madam Lin in his head a bit lower.’

*

Coming out of the catacomb, Amon was greeted by an old acquaintance. He sensed the person even before he walked out of the exit.

”Sir Amon, it has been some time. For you to show up again, I figure you no longer fear the world’s persecution.”

Amon had donned his hood before he walked out, so he was rather surprised that this man identified him. This man was at the Intermediate Spirit Stage, so he shouldn’t have been able to sense his aura unless he allowed it.

Amon removed his hood and turned to the man. The man seemed rather taken aback by his appearance. He addressed the man, ”Lei San, I remembered you could also sense me in the past even when I used concealment art. Is it the ability from your special constitution?”

Lei San nodded with reverence. ”That’s right, Sir Amon. I gained the special constitution thanks to the Thousand Year Mandrake that you so kindly bestowed on me when we were young.”

”Kindly? Hehe. That’s not how I remember it. Anyway, why do you draw my attention? If you can sense me, you should know my power. Aren’t you afraid that I might silence you to keep my existence secret?”

Lei San laughed lightly. ”Sir Amon, we have known each other since we were teenagers. You have disappeared for more than thirty years and only appear now, with a cultivation level that none of us can imagine. I don’t believe you care even if your existence is revealed. On the contrary, I believe your reappearance will bring great change to this world, and I don’t wish to be in the back seat as in the past. If you don’t mind, I wish to be of use to you.”

Amon chuckled. ”It seems being a regent has given you a taste of power, and you like it. You want more, eh?”

”Please don’t make fun of me, Sir Amon. You know my title is only a smokescreen. I have no actual power. It is Farghous’ ambassador who calls all the shots. If it is up to me, I will gladly bash that ambassador’s head in if it can liberate Echos.”

”Spare me the lies, Lei San. I know you will gladly sell Echos out if it benefits you, just like how you will sell me out if it benefits you. That said, I will take you up on your offer. You might not know, but I have issued a call for all the world leaders to meet at Xandar City. You should come as well.”

”I don’t think King Dim Loog will take my presence kindly,” Lei San said.

Amon scoffed. ”You let me deal with him.”