The Tale Never Ends Chapter 100 The Sash of the Stretching Rainbow

I jerked my head back to look at my companions, my eyes relaying my question. But both of whom were also watching me with amazement themselves. There was no time to ask about what happened. I yelled at the evil priest, "How do you like a taste of that, you old weasel?" Filled with anger at my taunt, the wicked priest began squawking strangely with fury and charged at me again like a frenzied bull! I began regretting goading him; even in his injured state, the evil priest was still many times as powerful as I am! There was no way I could ever dream of defeating him! In my panic, I began thinking of my father, Master Six, and the founder of my father's order whose picture I saw not long ago. I was in desperate need of help! Suddenly, I remembered, Master Six! Yes!

Memories flashed back to my previous encounter with Master Six and the conversation I had with him in his car.

"Well, Master Six, you had given Mr. Chen something. Can't you give me something too, in case I ever need your help?"

"Did your father not give you any artifacts of his own, boy?"

"My father is nothing if not a stingy person... The things that he had given me are useless! If only you could..."

Master Six smiled slyly, saying nothing. With a casual wave of his wrist, an object appeared out of nowhere in his hand. "You are ordained with the destiny of your own. Nothing I do will be able to change that. Be that as it may, take this," he said, "It may be able to save you in any case of danger one day. Remember this incantation. I'll only say this once..."

I quickly summoned my broken sword to me. But the infernal priest had reached me! Grimacing with dismay and anxiety, it was too late for any more spells!

The evil priest lunged at me with his undamaged hand! I spun on my heels and was about to bolt when the older priest began shaking and convulsing violently! Before I realized anything, a number of dents appeared suddenly on his chest, following by a cascade of bangs like cannons being fired successively followed by an invisible force that slammed into the priest, sending him backward! The sudden, invisible strike from nowhere launched the priest off his feet, crashing him into the wall of the cottage! The huge impact of the debacle shook the entire hut, collapsing it on him and burying him within the fallen rubble!

I could even hardly react. Everything had happened so fast in the blink of an eye. Lin Feng, Yuan Chongxi, and also the maimed Hong Tianhua could only witness everything with startled and perplexed expressions. But we were still in bewildered bafflement when a harrowing roar boomed from within the heaps of debris! Next, came a huge explosion followed by a gust of wind so strong that scuds of dust and pebbles were whisked into the air! "Damn! That thing is still alive!" I heard Yuan Chongxi yelling with fright. Of course, I could almost scowl, otherwise, we would never have to be so pitiful in the first place! A dark, bat-like figure emerged from the piles of concrete scree and hurtled into the air! With the advent of the demonic figure flying in the air, I immediately felt a powerful and intense pressure bearing down on me. The evil priest was readying itself to come at me again! Winds began assailing me from all sides like keen blades, slicing and slashing at me relentlessly, the harbinger of the diabolic priest's impending attack!

"May the blessing of the Sages be upon me?" The evil priest's shriek rang from above in mid-air, "You will pay for the sins of your father, boy! Die!" I tossed away my broken sword, the ornament hanging at its hilt fluttering in the wind on its way down. "Come, you weasel demon! We'll end this, once and for all!" I bellowed back at the older priest still hanging in mid-air. My fingers weaved another seal; one that I had never used before: the spell that Master Six had taught me! The demonic priest saw my lips moving but he could not hear me over the din of the raging winds. "What are you saying, brat?!" He yelled at me, but I gave no response. I looked at the ornament at the hilt of my sword dancing in the wind. No! I suddenly realized! It was moving AGAINST the wind! Gashes began to appear on the skins of my face and arms. The winds, still blowing around me like the blades of scythes, were slicing at my skin with ease as blood trickled slowly out every incision they made on me! But I hardly felt any pain for my attention was entirely on the fabric adornment of my broken sword! It was rising, its ribbon growing longer and longer as its whorls, buffeted the winds, stretched swiftly towards the demonic priest!

The infernal priest too caught notices of the strange lengthening tendrils of the adornment, its ribbons billowing, as it drew closer towards him. "The Sash of the Stretching Rainbow!" His eyes immediately went wide with astonished recognition as he gasped with shock, and he turned in mid-air, immediately fleeing as quickly as he could for dear life! What a stark difference to the calm and reticent demeanor he wore earlier!

But the priest's desperate attempts to escape were in vain; as if imbued with a life of its own, the embroidered accessory of my sword shook itself free of the hilt and streaked across the sky like a blazing-red comet, catching up to the priest in no time! Its ribbon sash elongated in the blink of an eye like a giant squid's tentacles and coiled around priest swiftly, incapacitating him! The immobilized Hong Tianhua, realizing his teacher was beyond help, was about to bolt to freedom himself. But before he could do so, another curl of ribbon appeared from the Sash. In a flash, the ribbon extended at an immeasurable length and shot straight at him, binding him tightly like his mentor!

The two men crashed to the ground, the ribbons constricting around them so tightly like a snake trying to strangle its prey! The muscles and sinews surrounding where the ribbon gripped them began to swell due to the tremendous force and their face reddened like glowing embers! But the merciless Sash continued tightening its grip with utmost callousness that parts of their bodies began to burst, causing blood and viscera to spatter everywhere!

My companions and I clambered to our feet. Holding on to each other, we limped and staggered towards the two men. "You should have just used this from the start," Yuan Chongxi grumbled to me, "We're getting injured for nothing!" I merely ignored him. The Sash was still constricting its preys hard without remorse that the bindings were biting into their skins and their flesh, now purplish-red, were caked in their own blood! Bloodied and crippled, the priest hissed through gritted teeth, "Kill me, boy! Others will come for you! Murong Hai's protection will only last for so long..." Before he could finish, he began shuddering wildly, his body contorting violently before an acrid fetor filled the air! What remained was the carcass of a huge weasel, still shaking against the tight clench of the ribbon. The carcass became completely still just moments later. It was dead. Hong Tianhua himself too did not last long; his remains too transformed back into a dead weasel, just like his teacher!

I kicked at the carcasses, flipping them over, but the Sash of the Stretching Rainbow vanished! We ransacked both carcasses but to no avail! We then split up and looked amongst the nearby bushes; Lin Feng even used Hong Tianhua's sword to slice open the carcasses, but the Sash was still nowhere in sight!

I felt my knees giving way suddenly and I immediately fell to a sit on the ground, too tired and wearied. The Sash was Master Six's gift for me! He would surely be angry to know I had lost it!

It was only due to my badgering pesters and beggings that the immortal had only given me the Sash, I grimaced! Before parting with him, Master Six had reminded me to remember that I have to carry this item with me at all times and the item must not be exposed to fire and water and it should not be kept in extremely tight spaces. These were his explicit instructions which I had have been carefully adhering to. But the Sasha was now missing and Master Six would never forgive me for this! I turned sullen and morose despite our ultimate triumph against the Creed. We conducted another round of search again, flipping every stone that we could find and rummaged through every bush and thicket in our way. Still, the Sash continued to elude us, until I remembered suddenly Master Six's final words, "The Sash can only be used once. Use it wisely." Its disappearance might actually be fated after all!

We called off the search and relayed our location to Zheng Shuang and Zhu Jun, leaving them both to explain everything in logical terms in their investigation reports. We hobbled down the hill and into our car before we journeyed back to the Center.

The battle today has expended much of my mana and inner energies that I was so dizzy by the time we returned. "Shiyan," Yuan Chongxi's voice came as I was on the brink of a blackout, "the old weasel had said that Uncle Hai's (my father) protection will only last for so long. Is he hinting more danger for you in the future? What is he trying to imply?" But I could neither remember about nor reflect upon the demon's last words. I managed to grunt before I blacked out for good, "I am who I am... Murong Shiyan!"

Yuan Chongxi merely snorted in response and went quiet immediately, plunging deep into slumber himself.

But when I got up later, I found myself at home, my wounds fully dressed and bandaged! I shook my head, trying in vain to dispel any shred of weariness and soreness that lingered, and found Master Six beside me!

Chapter end