The Tale Never Ends Chapter 141 Wiped off

The howls of the Forest Sprite were unbearable. Anyone walking past the Center outside would surely be frightened by its ghastly voice.

We waited for minutes as the Sprite continued weeping before it realized that we were staring at it. It choked back a sob. "I was alone after my sibling was killed. Somehow the floods of the river only occur once a year since then. I could only wait for 12 months before I was able to absorb any more energy. Then came three years which persisted without a flood. I was famished and became worried. The river could be drying up at any moment. With my survival at stake, I had to flee from the river. My chance came when a heavy storm battered the town of Yahong Bridge and I took off under cover of the night and returned to the lake. The lake was as miserable as when we left it, if not worst. But there was still plenty of water there in the reed-infested mere. I could no longer hope to be able to absorb any more vitality from humans, but I might be able to live on. Days went by, and the water levels were gradually dropping yearly. It was time to leave again. But in my distress, I found only a well to live in. There I hid, until two years ago when a man tried to commit suicide by drowning himself in the well..."

Lin Feng's brows rose curiously. Cutting the Sprite off with a voice steely and quiet, he hissed, "Did he fell into the water on his own, or did you drag him down?" The sudden question sent a shudder through the Sprite. It collapsed to its knees again, begging profusely, "Please, Lord! I speak the truth! The man was one of the miners who used to work at the nearby coal quarries. Long has he been away from home that his wife became involved with another man. Grief took him before madness claimed what was left of him and he tried to kill himself! I swear, that was not me!" I looked hard at Lin Feng and raised a hand to him. Then I said grimly to the Sprite, "I know. Go on!"

The Sprite took an easy breathe to calm itself. "Somehow, the grounds around here began sinking. More began collapsing until much of the lands were engulfed by the lake. Eventually, some of the villagers and settlers started to rear fishes in the lake and the fishes began growing more and more by the day. Realizing my chance, I slipped into the lake once more. A few days ago, I saw a human in the water, one of those who came to the lake to fish. Driven by hunger, I was about to drag him underwater when another human, one of the few who came to the man's aid, was wearing a Buddhist bead that shone brightly in the water. Fearing of its magic, I could not even open my eyes before its sacred brilliance and I fled deeper into the lake. When you used your Spirit Gourd to seize me earlier, I recognized it instantly as the instrument of my kins' doom! Please, my lords! Spare me a chance, I will do no evil anymore!"

So, this Forest Sprite had been in the lake for quite some time. The angler falling into the water could have been his first meal in years. What a fateful coincidence it was that the man came knocking on our doors and this Sprite immediately remembered the Spirit Gourd that caused the deaths of its kind and had tried to burrow and hid within the mud on the lakebed.

With a dismissive wave, I gestured to the Forest Sprite that there was no more need to continue with its tail. "But there remains one other question. I used a Soul-banishment Curse earlier to seize you. What should have been only your soul has instead become your entire self being drawn into my Gourd. Do you know why?" After so long of deliberation, I have yet to find an explanation to the inconsistency that had occurred. Father had yet to teach me the full usage of the Spirit Gourd; hence the Soul-banishment Curse was one of the few spells I could utilize. If there were indeed other functions of the Gourd, I was afraid I was still not yet trained in them. The Forest Sprite was surprised to hear my question and was speechless. For seconds it struggled to find any hypothesis to my question. At last, it mumbled hesitantly, "B-but, but it was the same centuries ago when you seized my kinsmen... All of them just, just gone..." He flailed his arms to illustrate his point, his limbs swaying to mimic the motions of how an entity was drawn into the Gourd.

My head shook wearily. "I was not the one who slew your kinsmen..." I admitted flatly. The Forest Sprite bellowed, "AH?!" It sprang to its feet, all hints of humility and defeat completely evaporated. "It was my father who killed your kin, not me," I added bluntly, and the Forest Sprite sank to the ground on its knees once again just as quickly as it got up, cowering as if a bolt of lightning from the sky might reach down to hit it. "Relax. You should thank the stars that it was me, not my father, who got you, otherwise you would not have left the lake alive! Now just wait aside. I'll come back to you!" The Forest Sprite quickly slunk to a corner, still on his knees but very much glad.

Edelweiss could not help but feel a knot of pity for the creature. She walked to it and held it up, looking at it as if it was a pet, and led it upstairs, saying something about giving it a bath.

As they retreated up the stairs, the rest of us traded quick looks. "So... what now?" Chongxi first asked. I shook my head. "I'm not sure myself. We'll need answers. I'm afraid there's more to it than meets the eye." I went to a desk and rummaged in a drawer for a yellow-colored talisman strip. It was time for another chat with the Hell Guards to find out more about this Forest Sprite. Knowing what I was up to, Chongxi went to the windows and opened it.

The moss-green fumes snaked out of the windows and two shadowy figures floated in through the window just moments after...

As the smoky figures began to take on humanoid shapes, I began to realize who there were! The same Hell Guards whom we had always summoned, the ones we had met at Inner Mongolia! The two Guards bowed as we came face to face and greeted politely, "It has been long, Master Shiyan." "I wonder. What a coincidence." "Hardly, Master Shiyan," one of the Guards replied warmly, despite the ghastly chill they gave off, "Ever since you've granted us tremendous favors in the many souls we've been able to ferry to the Underworld, the Lord of the Underworld has ordered us to be specifically in charge of any affairs concerning you. So, is there anything we could help you with today? Some more souls, perhaps?" "I'm afraid not," I muttered, bowing courteously to them in return, "I do not have souls that require your help today. But I need your counsel this time."

"Of course, considering how close we are now. Ask away, we'll help you in any way we can!" I nodded and went to the stairwell and called for Edelweiss. She heard me and led the Forest Sprite down. Still, the dark, furless ape of the Sprite was no less dark than before. I could have sworn that he might not have bathed at all if not for the smell of shampoo lingering off it.

But the pair of Hell Guards was shocked to see it. "Impossible!" One of them gasped. "Another one who'd escaped!" "This is the very creature about which I wish to find out more," I said to them.

"I'd do well to be frank, Master Shiyan," the Guards began to speak, albeit grimly, "The matter of this Forest Sprite is beyond our authority to handle. Most of these creatures were in fact exterminated by your father centuries ago following reports of their cruelty and savagery on many innocents. The Underworld has all but destroyed all traces of the existence of their breed. One of us did encounter the soul of a Sprite who had survived your father's purge decades ago. That ally of ours was severely punished for the blunder while the creature's soul was subjected to intense excruciation to wring the truth from it. Still, even with the harrowing pain, the creature insisted strongly that it was the last of its kind. It seems that what he said was a lie. But all records of this creature's breed have been completely wiped off the Tome of Mortality. We cannot act without the directions from the Lord of the Underworld himself. Please allow us to first request His Lordship's counsel!" I bowed, indicating my assent, and the Guards muttered, "Please allow us just one moment. We'll be back shortly." As soon as they vanished out of sight, Chongxi breathed hard, "So this was why this creature's entire form was sucked into the Spirit Gourd. Without a place in the Tome of Mortality, its soul could not leave its body, lest its soul would return into oblivion!"

The Forest Sprite crumbled to the ground and began crying again, battered by the story of how his sibling had tried protecting him even in its death. We watched with grim silence. "Even creatures like them understood Love, I mused, the urge to protect one another like how us humans would."

We took the time and had a smoke while waiting. Barely after my second cigarette, the Hell Guards returned, their spectral form shimmering into view. With a bow, one of them reported, "The Lord of the Underworld had decided to leave the creature in your good hands, Master Shiyan. You may keep the creature if you wish to, otherwise, you can just eliminate it. The goals of the Underworld are overflowing with spirits and wraiths that the Lord wishes no expend and no more resources upon a creature which should be allowed to continue to exist. But he is confident in your ability to keep it out of trouble as long as it remains under your charge."

"Understood," I replied, "I will handle him myself!" The pair of Hell Guards then took their leave, vanishing into wisps of fumes. "So, I believe you've heard everything?" I asked the Forest Sprite, "What say you? You can stay in my Spirit Gourd and serve my bidding, or I can eliminate you now for good." The creature immediately begging for mercy, addressing me as its master and promised that it would serve me forever. With a shake of my Gourd, it returned to my Gourd. We shared some high-fives to celebrate our success before we went home that night.

Edelweiss and I went back home. As soon as we walked through the door, the Spirit Gourd shuddered in my pocket. It was the Forest Sprite in it grimacing with fear. Then Father's voice rang at once, "Oh? You've brought back something?" He must have sensed the creature, and it had realized itself being found. With an amused chuckle, I said, "Your veins must be coursing with ice when you slew the entire brood of Forest Sprites centuries ago." To my surprise, he merely shrugged, throwing his arms up helplessly. "I was merely performing Heaven's justice. The Sprites were responsible for the loss of countless lives. None of those who had committed the sacrilege of murder were to be spared." No one defies the Will of Heaven, a tenacious and rigid Father would always say. But the final sentence clearly meant something: he had intentionally spared the still-surviving Forest Sprite and its sibling because he deemed them innocent of murder.

The next morning at five, I rolled off my bed and got dressed as quietly as I could to not awake Edelweiss and I drove back to the Center...

Chapter end