Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

The Favour Of Heaven Part 9

With his ears ringing, Lan Zhan flies into action. Bichen in his hand, his body reacts to the threat of automatic response, years of training providing a gut reaction. By his side like a shadow, the Yiling Laozu lets loose hundreds of yellow paper talismans, all activated at once, intending to stun the animal into paralysis. Hundreds of legs bat them away as if they were nothing, leaving the beast totally unaffected.

As soon as they get within range, the Yiling Laozu draws forth two lethal blades, twirling them simultaneously in both hands.

Lan Zhan stays close but out of harm's way, allowing them both to attack the beast at the same time. The ground shakes as the creature moves, and in the glow of Lan Zhan's sword, they see its great, hulking body, readying to strike back. There are spikes all over its skin, exactly the same as the tiny teeth-infested missiles it had launched at them, but now its huge, gaping mouth vomits out globs of sticky slime. They have to separate further to avoid being subdued by its glue bombs, and thankfully, since it only has one mouth, it can only fire them out one by one.

"Distract it!" The Yiling Laozu orders him, so Lan Zhan summons WangJi and begins sending out waves of the Chord Assassination Technique. Bichen leaves his hand and attacks the creature, aiming for its many eyes and blinding it with repeated stabs. This plan has the desired effect, and the creature begins rolling forward. As soon as it leaves the gap in the trees, the Yiling Laozu begins systematically chopping off its limbs. The beast screams in pain and starts thrashing around erratically, so Lan Zhan plays with more gusto, hurting its ears in the same way. The forest is filled with cries of anguish and fury, but the beast won't give up.

At breakneck speed, it hurtles towards Lan Zhan trying to take him out, and Lan Zhan calls Bichen to him so he can in that split second fly up into the air to avoid being crushed. The Yiling Laozu takes this chance to roll under the great and terrible creature to stab its underside, and the hole created by his swords makes the animal screech out an unholy sound. Blood gushes out from its wounds and drenching the forest floor, pools of inky dark liquid staining his clothes. From above, Lan Zhan uses his spiritual energy and zooms in with Bichen at the ready, lunging with all his considerable strength. There must be a heart somewhere inside that creature, and his aim is to pierce right through its thick hide straight to that vital organ.

One last fatal cry and the lethal mass of limbs and flesh halts where it is. Its eyes blink once and then close forever.

Now that they're not fighting for their lives and it is out in the open, they can truly appreciate what it looks like. It's as big as a decent sized house and just as tall. For a few moments, all they can do is just stare at it. The Yiling Laozu is still on his back, having rolled out of the way when it bled profusely, so Lan Zhan runs to him and pulls him even further away. They're both out of breath, panting out of exertion, chests heaving but still on high alert.

"This guy," The Yiling Laozu complains, "was more trouble than it was worth." He sniffs his shoulder and whines. "I'm never getting this stench off me, am I?"

Lan Zhan doesn't bother answering. He's on edge because in all his night hunting experience, he's never come across something so wholly mutated.

"What do you think it is?"

"Some kind of sick spider mutation," The Yiling Laozu replies, standing up. "I'm going to sleep for a week after this," he grouses, drawing himself up.

The Creature lets out one final burst of wind from its gut, filling the air with toxic fumes, and they both gag. The Yiling Laozu throws down another transportation talisman, and just like that, they're back home. He stops Lan Zhan from going inside the castle.

"We can wash off the worst of it in the laundry pool," he says, tugging on his arm.

Lan Zhan pulls away out of irritation but follows him anyway. It's been a long night, and all he wants to do is lie down peacefully, but he supposes that it makes sense to clean themselves up a bit before they go inside and fall into their beds. A proper clean-up can be done tomorrow morning with hot water. For now, this will do.