Stranger Danger

Chapter 296: Fate Cannot Be Changed

“You did? Strange. I don’t remember such a thing.”

Xiao Feng replied unhurriedly, “In fact, I remember a certain someone making a bet with me on whether the Xiangqi Demon could create his Xiangqi of Heaven and Earth and become immortal. I wonder who it was?”

“It definitely wasn’t me!” The bold voice denied immediately. “There’s nothing I hate more than gambling. Anyway, you can wipe your own ass!”

“What do you say, Moonbearer, Wu Wang, Swordlord?” Xiao Feng ignored the voice and asked. He didn’t hear any response, however.

“Hahaha! Not even Sister Tuo Yue and Bai Shuang are gonna help you this time! Looks like you really have to handle this mess yourself!” The bold voice laughed.

“Okay then. Since no one cares, then I don’t care either.” Xiao Feng shrugged. “I’m already dead anyway. I was a free soul when I was still alive, and I’m not going to change even after I’m dead. No way I’m going to shackle myself to a responsibility I can’t bear.”

“Goodbye, world! It was nice knowing you!”

As soon as Xiao Feng finished, an honest, compassionate voice broke out, “Enough playing. The Boundless Heart Demon must not escape its prison.”

“Mountain Bearer, you will strengthen the Mountain of Demons and delay the speed at which it’s falling apart. This poor monk shall suppress the Boundless Heart Demon itself to prevent it from causing any more problems. Xiao Feng, you will find the Xiangqi Demon’s main soul and resolve this as soon as possible.”

“Fine. I’m only helping you because the bald donkey asked me to, Xiao Feng!”

As soon as the bold voice finished, a giant stepped out of the fog and appeared at the outer edge of the Mountain of Demons in a single step. After poking his gums with its hill-sized fingers, he opened his arms wide and embraced the Mountain of Demons. As he exerted strength into his limbs, the crumbling mountain abruptly froze as if it was pinned by some sort of unknown power.

“Aha!” Not only that, the cracks on the mountain’s surface were gradually healing and returning to normal.

At the same time, an old, emaciated monk sitting inside the temple perched atop the shell of a snail Stranger opened his eyes. As he rose to his feet, nine shining gold mountains appeared across the Mountain of Demons. Although they looked as small as seeds, they possessed seemingly infinite weight and size.

A seed could hold Mount Meru[1]. Nine mountains could hold nine worlds. It was also why the old monk’s Dharma name was Nine Mountains; nine Mount Merus to be exact.

The next moment, the nine mountains fell from the sky and grew larger and heavier. They sat on the giant face’s eyes, ears, mouth, nose, forehead and the top of its skull. A Buddhist chant filled the world, and both the demonic qi in the air and the giant face was temporarily suppressed.

“What are you waiting for, Xiao Feng? Go look for the Xiangqi Demon’s main soul already! The old monk can’t last too long!” Mountain Bearer urged after noticing that Xiao Feng remained unmoved even after the old monk had suppressed the Boundless Heart Demon.

“Heh. Just come out and say that you’re the one who can’t keep the mountain intact for long.” Xiao Feng chuckled before countless images of himself walked out of his body and scattered across the world. They were all searching for the Xiangqi Demon’s main soul.

“Xiao Feng, Nine Mountains, and Mountain Bearer are all on the move. Demon Lord Wu Wang, Precursor Blood Fiend, Heaven Annihilation, we should make our moves as well. Our master’s escape must not be compromised!” A man said inside a hall. He was accompanied by three other people.

“Yes. We must act as soon as possible. Demon Lord Wu Wang, Heaven Annihilation, the two of you will deal with Nine Mountains. Precursor Blood Fiend, you will tackle Mountain Bearer. I will keep Xiao Feng busy.”

An old man wearing a conical bamboo hat said slowly, “Kill them if you can, delay them if you cannot. We simply need to wait until the Mountain of Demons collapses.”

“Even the likes of Xiao Feng and Nine Mountains are but ants before our master. Once our master is freed, it will be all over.”

“We’ve plotted this for so long, and we are so close from succeeding. We must not fumble on the last step.”

“The master is infinite.”

“The master is infinite.”

The flames of zealotry burned in their eyes. A disturbing smiling face was also reflected in their pupils.

Back at the Demon’s Tomb, Xiao Feng was still searching for the Xiangqi Demon’s main soul when suddenly, he sensed his doppelgangers vanishing one after another. He was just wondering what was going on when he saw a decrepit old man slowly making his way toward him. Behind him was an ungodly tidal wave that was so tall it touched the sky itself.

Every time the old man took a step, the sea wave would inch forward a little. It was as if he was wearing the sea wave as a mantle.

“Whalerider Demon. You’re the one who destroyed my doppelgangers?” Xiao Feng asked with a frown.

“It is I,” Whalerider Demon replied with a smile.

“Why are you doing this?” Xiao Feng asked.

Whalerider Demon let out a low chuckle before asking seriously, “Because you’re trying to prevent our master from breaking free, of course.”

“You’re one of the Boundless Heart Demon’s lapdogs?!” Xiao Feng sighed sorrowfully. “You were quite the character when you were still alive. To think that your afterlife would be so pitiful!”

Whalerider Demon didn’t get angry, however. In fact, he seemed proud of his subordination. “It is my honor to be able to serve under my master. Xiao Feng, you should help us. My master will resurrect you as a reward for your service if you do.”

“And why would I be a dog when I can be a human?” Xiao Feng scoffed.

“Why not?” Whalerider Demon smiled. “My master is escaping one way or another. It is fate, and fate cannot be changed. In that case, why not choose an option that will benefit you? Here, listen.”

“Heaven Annihilation, Wu Wang, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Whalerider Demon had just finished when Nine Mountains’ furious voice erupted from the horizon.

Right after that, Mountain Bearer’s voice shattered the clouds. “Ouch! Did you just ambush me, Blood Fiend? You bloody coward!”

The sounds of clashes came after that. It was obvious that they were fighting.

“Wu Wang, Heaven Annihilation and Blood Fiend had become the Boundless Heart Demon’s lap dogs too?” Xiao Feng let out a long sigh. Only he knew if it was due to pity or helplessness.

Whalerider Demon declared victoriously, “See? This is fate. Nine Mountains and Mountain Bearer are occupied by Wu Wang, Heaven Annihilation and Blood Fiend, and even you are occupied by me. No one can stop the Mountain of Demons from crumbling, and our master from escaping.”

“This is fate, and fate cannot be resisted. Hahaha!”

“Fate?” Xiao Feng suddenly cracked a confident grin after Whalerider Demon was done laughing. “I have lived my whole life free and unfettered, and fate is the one thing I don’t believe. I only believe in myself.”

“Why don’t you listen a little longer?”

Whalerider Demon was suddenly struck by a bad feeling. It was at this moment the light of a sword streaked across the sky and brightened it so much that it was like daytime.

A round moon rose from the horizon. A person seemed to be underneath it.

Finally, white frost enveloped the ground in just the blink of an eye. Such was its color that it was near impossible to distinguish it from the sky.

“Swordlord, Moonbearer and Frost?!” Whalerider Demon murmured in shock.

When the sword had disappeared, when the moon was gone, and when the frost had melted into water, the sounds of fighting could no longer be heard. There were only nine Mount Merus suppressing the Boundless Heart Demon’s face once more, and Mountain Bearer’s unbridled laughter booming across the entire Demon’s Tomb.

“Do you hear that?” Xiao Feng asked while shrugging at Whalerider Demon.

“This was a trap. You were ready for us,” declared Whalerider Demon solemnly.

“But of course,” Xiao Feng admitted. “How else could we fish you out of your hidey-holes? Why did you think I kept Xiangqi Demon alive for so long? I’m bored, but I’m not that bored. It was because I knew someone was helping him. He alone could not have assassinated all those remnant souls and consciousness, and he definitely couldn\'t have set up an array big enough to destroy the entire Mountain of Demons.”

“Ideally, we would’ve destroyed your group long before you pulled this stunt, but you were a little too good at keeping your true nature hidden. Forget hunting you down, we didn’t even know how many of you are out there.”

“I could kill Xiangqi Demon earlier and avert this crisis, but that would only drive you and your group deeper into your hidey-holes. You would’ve come up with a better, more calculated plan as well. Rather than watching out for you people for eternity, luring you out with the Xiangqi Demon and destroying you all in one go is a much better plan, don’t you think?”

“Ah... the world has never been more peaceful. Truly, this is—hey dude, why are you leaving when I’m not done talking yet? How rude!”

Whalerider Demon abruptly jumped into his tidal wave and retreated at top speed. Unfortunately, his efforts were futile. Smiling, Xiao Feng waved his sleeve like he was trying to embrace something, and both Whalerider Demon and the towering sea wave disappeared just like that.

The sun and moon could grow inside a jar, and a world could reside within a person’s sleeves.

“This is fate, Xiao Feng! You cannot defy it!”

Whalerider Demon left one last cry before the last vestiges of his existence were crushed.

“Act like a dog, die like a dog.” Xiao Feng chuckled devilishly while shaking his bulging sleeve a little.

Rumble rumble rumble!

His joy didn’t last too long, however. It was because the world was beginning to shake again. Mountain Bearer’s silhouette was starting to turn transparent, and cracks were beginning to split across the Mountain of Demon’s surface once more. The giant face Nine Mountains had forcibly suppressed was also resurfacing bit by bit.

“Move your fucking ass, Xiao Feng! I really can’t hold on for much longer!”

They were but a figment of their true self after all. As strong as they were, they were nowhere close to their peak.

Knowing that time was wasting, Xiao Feng sucked in a deep breath and grew a million times bigger and taller than before. Then, he looked down on the entire Mountain of Demons like a god. However, he still couldn’t find Xiangqi Demon’s main soul anywhere.

As time passed, the cracks grew wider and wider, and the giant face was growing clearer and clearer. The mountains at the periphery were already starting to collapse, and avalanches were happening everywhere. At the same time, Mountain Bearer and Nine Mountains grew fainter and fainter as if they might disappear into nothing at any moment.

Is it truly fated that the Boundless Heart Demon would escape and destroy the world?

Xiao Feng still couldn’t find Xiangqi Demon despite everything. He couldn’t help but feel disappointed and dejected.

He had lived his life as a free soul. He had never bowed his head to another person, nor had he ever submitted to fate. But now, he was powerless to change what was happening in front of him.

One step. He was literally one step away from ruining the Boundless Heart Demon’s plan and sending it back whence it came. However, he just couldn’t do it no matter what.

Was fate truly unchangeable?

“I suppose that not even the Demon Lord of Freedom could avoid fate after he died!” Xiao Feng chuckled bitterly and self-depreciatingly.

Crack...

It was at this moment cracks appeared all across a certain xiangqi board. Then, it exploded into a million pieces. The next second, Ye Qing emerged from within while laughing,

“Hahaha! I’m finally free!”

1. A sacred mountain in Buddhist and Jain tradition. ?