The Yuanrang Monster Hunter
12. Zhengyi Zhi Mao's
“Where is my sword?!” yuanrang said, “We slashed the heads of bandits!”
“Quiet, Yuanrang!” whispered Mengde, “Shut up first and we observe the movement of the enemy!”
The sound of horses approaching. Then pass the house where they are staying. Then the sound of the horse's roar disappeared for a moment. A few minutes later, the horse's roar sounded again. Not to be told away either. The sound of the horse's roar did not immediately disappear. Yuanrang's sharp hearing concluded that this horseman was like surrounding an entire rural location.
“Maybe bandits,” says Mengde, “Only a fool goes around in this village these nights.”
“Bandits?? By himself?? I heard, about only one horse,” said Mengde.
“Who knows a group of bandits sent one messenger to monitor the ambient conditions, right?” answer Miaocai, “Then come back again and report to their leader if the situation is safe.”
“Ah, true too. It's good for bandits. We kill wild animals and they just enjoy it,” said Yuanrang, “We catch it. Miaocai, open your ice defense!”
Miaocai looked at Mengde. Mengde also just said, “Bby too. After all, it's only one person, right, our opponent? We'll just catch him, hide him home, tie him up and it's done. Stay interrogated. Bandits won't report to their leader.”
“Then a herd of bandits will come here for the loss of their comrade,” Miaocai said.
“Capture it or not we catch it, same thing, the bandit group will come here, Miaocai. Let's just finish this one first,” Yuanrang said.
“This is our plan,” says Mengde, “First, remove first the ice that seals the front door. Second, when the sound of the horse starts to drift away, we climb the house. Third, after he approaches, we ambush from above. Don't kill the horse. Good for us to sell.”
“Means stay until he loses his balance,” said Miaocai.
Yuanrang shook his head, “We just stiffen until it falls. I borrow your spear and let my metal control play. Your arrows are already thinning, right?”
Miaocai only nodded because Yuanrang's words were quite effective. Reality also supports that Miaocai arrows can also be counted with fingers. It would be futile to waste arrows just to catch bandits. They also began to carry out all the plans. Yuanrang stood alone on top of the house. While Mengde and Miaocai were standing in the opposite house. Miaocai's spear was already placed horizontally in the middle of the road. Ready to take down the bandits. In order not to be discovered, they remain in a down position.
“As usual, we use whistles to communicate,” Yuanrang said.
The sound of horse footsteps drew closer and came from the east. Then the horse turned south. Unfortunately, things did not match expectations. The horseman now simply told his horse to walk. Free. Even if Yuanrang raised the spear with metal restraint, the bandit would not fall.
As soon as he got closer, the horseman said, “Did you ambush the enemy in such a way? How sad! It really disappointed me!”
The sound of three very recognizable warriors. The voice of the person nicknamed Zhengyi Zhi Mao. It means the Spear of Truth. To be sure again, Mengde threw a fire near the horseman. The light of fire illuminated the horseman's face. It was a teacher they respected a lot. Yudhishthira.
Yudhishthira was a hermit who had a lot of fighting experience. He won a great war on Indian soil thousands of years ago. Against his own cousin. After all life as a Kshatriya caste was completed, Yudhistira devoted himself to becoming a Brahmin.
“You want to kill your own teacher, Mengde??” said Yudhistira who then laughed,
“I don't think my own teacher came here,” said Miaocai.
“I also did not expect you to meet a very rare enemy,” said Yudhistira who came down from the horse and reined the horse rope to the pillar of the house buffer, “Come. Down immediately. I brought food for you.”
In the midst of a situation full of potential death and pastina like now, the appearance of Yudhishthira was enough to make their hearts happy. It was as if anxiety, fear and tension were all gone. Like a man who strays in the desert and finds the source of a spring. Three warriors soon descended. They bowed together before Yudhishthira. In his heart, Yuanrang also realized, If until Master Yudhistira himself intervenes, this time the case is quite dangerous.
“Sorry I'm late,” said Yudhistira, “I've seen the corpse of a werewolf. You guys are great. Able to face enemies that are quite difficult without my help.”
“Where did the teacher know that we were going to ambush?” Yuanrang.
“We thought bandits were coming,” said Miaocai.
“Good vigilance,” praise Yudhistira, “Do not be too optimistic in the face of all situations.”
Perhaps, when one hears the word ‘pertapa’, one would imagine an old, wrinkled, haired and white-bearded figure. But not for Yudhishthira. Despite being thousands of years old, Yudhishthira's physical appearance looked like that of a thirty-year-old. She is white like the Aryan ethnicity in general. White people are normal like humans. Not like the strange fanged creature that three warriors encountered in the cave. Yudhisthira also wore Han Dynasty armor as worn by his disciples. Right hand holding a spear. On his back, he carried a bag made from a combination of wood and cloth.
Not only strong, Yudhistira is also very wise to detect the talents and weaknesses of a young man. From that detection, Yudhishthira was able to educate and maximize all potential and minimize all weaknesses. All aspects of excellence in these three warriors were honed by Yudhishthira. Mengde the most prominent brain, honed science analysis and strategy formulation. Yuanrang who is talented in close combat, gets the science of metal control. While Miaocai, who is an expert in long-range and medium-range combat, got the science of playing spears and archery.
Three warriors invited Yudhishthira into the house. They want to talk about the experience today. But Yudhistira immediately arrested them. Or even tell them to sleep. The story can be continued tomorrow morning at breakfast.
Tomorrow morning, as planned, all these fighters eat and tell each other stories. Mengde recounts a fight against two giant centipedes. Starting from jungle exploration, encounters with mysterious beasts, killing male centipedes, getting into caves, meeting two pale humans and then. While Yuanrang recounted the encounter with Xing Lian and the fight against the beasts.
“When I read a letter from you, my mind and heart are raging,” said Yudhistira, “I myself feel astonished and at the same time can't believe you met such a creature. Supposedly, in the plains of China .. no. almost all the lands of East Asia, very rarely exist. My question is, why are they here? Well, thanks to Xing Lian. You guys are lucky to meet Xing Lian.”
“How is Xing Lian's condition now?” ask Mengde.
“That's what you're asking, Mengde? Seriously?” laughter Yuanrang, “Yesterday, you insist on getting information about fighting humans and furry animals. Now, all you think about, is just Xing Lian?”
Miaocai also laughed, “In case of a beautiful girl, instantly disperse all the puzzles that appear in your brain, Mengde.”
“Hey, hey, hey ...,” said Mengde, “Not wrong, right .. if I ask you about the person who helped us.”
“Already, already,” Yudhistira terbahak, “Xing Lian is still safe and healthy, really. After this, he will probably come bring you arrows and groceries.”
“Thank God,” says Mengde.
“Thank God,” Yuanrang repeated in a mocking tone.
Then Yudhistira said, “Again, I apologize to you for being late. Well, there's a little business at the lake. There are reports of Goushe sightings in the river. I need to investigate for a moment.”
Goushe is a Chinese mythological animal that is a large snake. In modern world measurements, Goushe is approximately twenty meters long. The tail section is shaped like a hooked fork. Goushe is poisonous, cruel and aggressive. Usually, Goushe lives in streams in the mountains. Usually Goushe spends most of her time at the end. When hungry, Goushe often abducts animals and humans. Then drag the victim into the water. Report obtained from the local authorities, there are some small children who play too close in the lake. Then, they were dragged away by Goushe. Yudhishthira had to fight Goushe. However, Goushe managed to escape. But, Yudhistira managed to take a sample of the poison. It's good to make a poison cure.
“Later we will face Goushe,” said Yudhistira, “We focus on working on the cursed forest first.”
“So I explained first, my students,” said Yudhistira, “The two creatures you met yesterday, are monsters from Europe. Actually called monsters are also ambiguous. Because, when we use the word ‘monster’, it is identical to creatures with animal instincts and low intelligence. What you're dealing with, they have intelligence like ours. Forget about definitions. Obviously, not from China.
“They come from a very distant European plain. In the territory of the Roman Empire. Two fanged and pale creatures, the Romans called them strigoi. Blood-sucking creatures. If our primary need is food, the strigoi need blood. Their movement and regeneration abilities were quite fast. Their lives are longer than ordinary humans. The werewolves you see are also from the Roman Empire. Although not as fast as a strigoi, werewolves are stronger. The skin of the werewolf is also quite hard. Of course you already feel the hardness of werewolf skin.”
Yuanrang's mind wandered far away and imagined what the Roman Empire would look like. Yuanrang lived in present-day China during the reign of the Han Dynasty. In the lands of the far west of China, there was a high civilization called the Roman Empire. Its civilization was able to rival the Han Dynasty. It was ruled by an emperor named Aurelian. Yuanrang was only able to imagine the conditions there from the paintings of the merchants.
“Do they have any weaknesses?” ask Miaocai.
“Strigoi is not sun resistant and is easily poisoned with garlic concoction. Able to weaken them. There are two ways to kill a strigoi. With their beheading and piercing their hearts. We can hurt werewolves with silver. Moreover, the werewolf that lacked energy would soon turn back into a human. They have a time of transformation. For silver, I have brought twenty pieces of sharp silver. Plus two silver swords for Mengde and Yuanrang and twenty silver calves as well as a silver spear for Miaocai. Just in case to face if another werewolf.”
“Do teachers know Jiangshi? What is the difference with strigoi?” ask Yuanrang.
“Beda. As we know Jiangshi is an undead that is not fully alive. Physically they look alive. But their bodies are filled by ghosts or demons in lieu of souls. The point is an empty container filled by something that is not the owner of the container itself. The demon or ghost filler acts as an intermediary for the witches in controlling Jiangshi. In short, Jiangshi is not really free and alive,” says Yudhistira, “While strigoi. They're just like us. Freer. Their own bodies and their own bodies. Not controlled by anyone. They really live. It was fortunate that the bodies of strigoi and werewolves were not as hard as Jiangshi. It takes a very strong energy to just scratch the skin Jiangshi.”