Chapter 11: Facing the Past

When Guo Yang woke up, he was in the main hall of the patriarch's pavilion. His entire body wracked with pain and the taste of blood was in his mouth. His spirit energy was in disarray and he quickly calmed it through his neidan. He heard gasps as his spirit energy calmed and noticed he wasn't alone.

"So you're all here," Guo Yang said indifferently as everyone stared at him. He stared at his snakes and they knew to leave to guard the poisonous herb garden. He took out the rainbow colored gourd and drank the monkey wine.

"Yang'er, you went too far today. You actually displayed your might and bullied those below your cultivation. I can understand you did it to strike fear into the hearts of the third year students, but you also attacked your brother and tried to kill the magical beast of the prince," Guo Feng said.

"So I wasn't wrong in what I saw. It still lives...." Guo Yang snarled.

"Yang'er! Why go so far? I know you hate avian, but you said revenge this time. Revenge for what?" Ji Ting asked.

"Is it because you reincarnated?" Guo Li asked, everyone staring at the matriarch in shock.

"It's true?" they all cried as they saw the shock on Yang's face.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"I am powerful, at the fourth stage of cultivation. I know that making poison practitioner arts of your own making is not difficult, but making element practitioner arts is too astonishing. I also watched you over the past two years and Jing has watched you grow up. It wasn't until today, that my suspicions were confirmed," Guo Li answered.

"Reincarnated?" Guo Feng and Ji Ting gasped.

"Lin'er and Mei'er were meant to be twins?" Guo Feng asked, staring at his mother in shock.

"No. However, it is because of him that their talents are so high. Since the snakes respect Yang so much, I made inquiries through several friends of mine. Yang, you should be that snake that reached the immortal stage a thousand years ago. You would have been the first to ascend, but you chose rebirth," Guo Li said, Yang staring at her with his fists clenched.

"So this is why you never grew close to us, were friendly to snakes, and hated birds. No wonder, no wonder your mother and I could not get close to you," Guo Feng said.

"It's not the only reason. We focused more on mediating the inferiority complex of Guo Mei towards Guo Lin," Ji Ting snapped.

"So the truth is revealed," Guo Jing sighed. "No wonder you're cultivation is so monstrous. You already knew practitioner arts and what kind of training would suit you. Still, why hate the Heaven Swallowing Phoenix so much?"

Guo Yang stared at the sky and said softly, "I was only a few days old. I had caught my first prey, a mouse, and appeared before my mother......three of those fucking phoenixes came and not only butchered my mother to feed their fucking children, they desolated my home and slaughtered all the snakes I ever befriended. I...closed my heart and pursued immortality. I...killed so many avian magical beast only to fuel my hatred. Eventually, I slaughtered almost the entire race and thought only one escaped by ascension. Today, I learned I was wrong. Still, I slaughtered entire species of eagle, crow, vulture, and phoenix magical beasts. Even if a thousand years has passed, there should not be many of the other species."

"Slaughtered entire species?" Guo Feng gasped.

"Could it be, you are that snake from legend? The Sand Feather-Maned Gold Tyrant Snake?" Ji Ting gasped. "You were the terror of the world for many centuries and indeed disappeared. You also destroyed many sects, academies, kingdoms, and empires."

"They attacked me and pursued to attain my magical beast core," Yang scoffed. "A few hundred million is no loss to the world. Actually, many magical beasts were thankful as their populations were allowed to rise because of fear from me."

"To think the very snake that created the Snake Era was actually reincarnated as my grandson," Guo Jing realized. "Still, you are my grandson and you are not at the apex of power anymore. Humanity progressed during your absence and you are very much weak than they are. A lot can change, and did change, over a thousand years."

"You have a psychological problem. Your hate of phoenixes sets aside your rationality. You need to learn to let go of the past. Don't run from it. Your hate is your means of escaping it. Embrace it. As a snake, killing must be all that you know. You probably never interacted with others. Humans live and thrive in societies. We also make more enemies. Should you not learn to control your rage and hate, your enemies can use it against you. They will know this if they had seen what you did today," Guo Li warned. "You can't keep closing off you heart. Evidently, it only increases the pain."

"How can you believe all this? Yang used to be a snake on the verge of ascension? How does that make sense?" Guo Feng cried.

"We have thought about this matter for a long time, me especially," Guo Jing shook his head. "You dwelt too much on the others, especially Guo Lin. If you had paid a better attention to your youngest son, instead of frustrated on how to become closer by your own means, you would naturally reach the same suspicions."

"I....was wrong," Guo Feng sadly admitted and was startled as his father was right.

"I will leave my magical beast in the courtyard. You are to tolerate its existence and learn to let go of your hate. It will follow you everywhere and you are currently not its match," Guo Li said to Guo Yang.

"It....what is it? It can't be..." Guo Yang began until he saw his grandmother's wicked smile.

"I have two magical beasts. Both are phoenixes. The Guo Clan is not the strongest, but that doesn't mean I'm not. It is just that my husband's clan has too weak potential," Guo Li grinned.

"Hey! It's not our fault that our talent is low at birth!" Guo Jing said. He was sixty years old and finally reached the Meteor Vessel Stage through his snake magical beast. Sadly, he was the first of the Guo Clan's bloodline to ever reach that cultivation stage. Guo Li just married into it but entered the fourth stage over a dozen years ago.

"Face the past or be consumed by it. You decide. Go out onto the courtyard. The rest of us need to speak to Guo Lin and Guo Mei about their misgivings," Guo Li ordered and Yang's eyes seemed empty as he walked out.

"Face the past or be consumed by it....." Guo Yang muttered as he sat by the pond, staring at his reflection. "My past consists of several centuries. That human expects me to let such a long grudge go? Does that human realize how many I've killed? How many times my life was in danger? However, she is right about my enemies being able to exploit it. It seems I must make some covert efforts. Red Death, bring Red Shadow to me."

"Yes, Exalted Master," Red Death hissed and slithered off, returning with the large snake shortly after.

"Exalted One," Red Death dipped its head. "You summoned me?"

"It seems my rage went too far. I need to make preemptive measures. You must have known what happened in the arena, your master being Guo Jing. Tell me, how extensive is the city's water supply? How are they segregated?" Guo Yang asked.

"Exalted One?" Red Shadow hissed in confusion. "Well, the city has sewer gates that filter the dirt. There are several valves which open and close to distribute fresh water. Each human land has its own water tank where the humans extract their water. Exalted One, you can't mean..."

"Naturally, I must take action on those who plot against me. I have a poison that takes should be delayed until sunrise. That is usually when the water supply is drained for use. Well, poison is medicine and medicine is poison. Medicine, prescribed incorrectly, is a poison. Poison, if applied correctly, is a medicine. Alchemy and poison are one and the same, like yin and yang. I'll put in medicine into the water supply, its content too much for a safe dosage. Some will live, many more will die. Find out the identities of the people who tried to attack me from the stands. There are many garden snakes in the city, tolerated as they scare mice away. Use them," Guo Yang ordered.

"Yes, Exalted One," the snake nodded and slithered away.

Later at night, Guo Yang learned of who and where the people who targeted him lived. Some of them lived in brand new houses while others were forced to buy some of the poorly built houses as there were no inns or houses available.

Those people would be his main targets. Those areas were abandoned, even by the homeless because of Guo Mei. She killed a few here and there, but the numbers gradually reached a decree that even idiots would notice many gone. As more homeless mysteriously died, or went missing, in those areas; it was quite easy to kill someone in that area at night.

Guo Yang handed the garden snakes several small vials. In each vial was medicine made by his jade spirit energy. He was forbidden from making elixirs due to the toxicity of his spirit energy, but that did not mean he could not make them. Spirit pills were powdered balls, making them easy to dissolve in liquid. He sneaked through the streets, using his Light Puppet Art on the guards or people near the wells.

He smirked as he dropped little green pills into each well in the area. By morning, the color would be blended into the water and no one would be the wiser.

When morning came, many would wake up to a nasty surprise. Not only was the water tainted, the air would be as well. There would be no spirit energy or smell detected until sunrise. If they awoke to survive the air, the water would finish the rest.

"Just like killing wolves and deer," Guo Yang rubbed his hands as he returned home, seeing Guo Mei arrive behind him as he heard footsteps.

"What were you doing outside during the dark?" Guo Mei asked.

"I could ask you the same thing. The only difference is that I know what you did and you don;t know what I did. If you find out, let me know," Guo Yang smiled and left to his room, accompanied by Red Death and Red Shadow.

The next morning, many people screamed in the poor areas of the city. The homeless were not the ones who died this time. Now, cultivators from outside the city died in those areas. No one discovered that the air was toxic, the effect long gone.

However, people discovered that the water was poisoned and closed all the water valves leading to the area. No one was able to identify the poison, but the Alchemist Association was ecstatic. This poison was unlike any they had seen, not even being dissolved in water. The poison still existed in the water

The water was drained and the wells emptied and burned to be replaced soon after. However, not even the homeless decided to return to the area. Many had died before, but most people did not care if they died or went missing.

"Guo Yang!" Guo Li and Guo Jing roared as Guo Yang appeared in the patriarch's home with his parents and siblings.

"What?" he asked.

"Did you poison the water?" they asked.

"Hey, does snake poison actually spread in the water? Poison, I know. Besides, I heard people died in their sleep and did not even drink the water. Does snake poison do that?" he asked, smiling innocently.

"Y, you had to do it! You were out last night!" Guo Mei said, everyone staring between them.

"So were you. How many people did you kill this time? Three? Five? Oh wait, maybe thirteen?" Guo Yang grinned.

"How did you...?" she began.

"Someone had to follow you to clean the mess. Red Shadow and Red Death enjoyed the meal. I thank you on their behalf," Guo Yang said as he did a mock bow. The snakes did in fact follow her to ensure she did not see him poison the wells. He needed an alibi. He got one.

"So it wasn't you. No doubt, the Alchemist Association will also know it wasn't you," Guo Jing pondered.

"Of course. You know, my canine teeth don't have venom. None of my teeth do and I don't even have a poison gland in my mouth," Guo Yang sighed. "I got my spirit energy and my snakes. That's all I got, save for the poisonous herbs. Of course, you and the Alchemist Association know the poisonous herbs in my garden. In fact, I'm thinking of buying building a stone house in the empty area behind the garden. The soil is dead and the air is toxic to the rest of you. I practically come here everyday anyway."

"That....is alright. Go ahead. We need to meet with the City Council to discuss the deaths. Guo Mei, you'll need to find a different area to hunt for souls for next month. Let's go, Jing," Guo Li said and the couple left at once.

"It wasn't you?" Guo Lin frowned, seeing Guo Yang nod and followed his parents.

"It was you. I know it was you," Guo Mei said.

"It was," he admitted, stunning her.

"Why didn't you admit it?" she asked.

"There is a time to speak and a time to not speak. This was one of those times the situation calls for the latter action," Guo Yang said as he stopped beside her, facing the door as she faced behind him.

"Why?" was all Mei could say.

"I am not one to tolerate my enemies. In the real world, where safety is not guaranteed, one must ensure to kill all enemies or potential enemies. The most ideal victory is a victory to end all battles. With them mysteriously assassinated, and all the dead and missing homeless which will soon garner attention; I'd watch my back if I were you. I don't need to eat souls. You do. Keep your emotions in check to stop the hunger or risk exposure and eventual execution," Guo Yang whispered into her ear and left the house, Mei falling to her knees in shock and fear.

"We have gathered here to discuss the deaths of the people who died here. Their estimated time of death was between one o'clock to nine o'clock in the morning," a member of the Alchemist Association said as Guo Li and many patriarchs arrived at the scene of the crime. "We suspected poison at first, but discovered signs of powder residue. Unfortunately, they could not be extracted for study."

"How did they die?" Guan Hai asked, Shen Dong and Shen Hua with him as it would be easier to protect them by his side.

"Most died by a nerve gas. I suspect it had to do with the pill. Might have been many kinds of pills. You see, even spirit pills at too high a concentration is akin to poison," the man said and pointed to a guard. "See this man here. He was supposed to guard the well but was all the way by the houses. This was no accident. These people were indeed murdered. Pills accidentally falling into one well is one thing, but all the wells in the area had powder residue. If the toxic air did not kill them, drinking the water did."

"Who would kill them and why?" a man asked.

"There have been rumors that many homeless died or went missing over the past two years. Whoever was in charge of the area didn't really seem to care. Their deaths are even more mysterious, nothing to do with poison or medicine at all," the alchemist answered. "Perhaps this is a new killing method. Perhaps there is another assassin. Whoever did this killed a lot more people than his intended target and knew this would happen. I have informed the City Guards and they will investigate all their actions in the city over the past few days and weeks. Perhaps that will provide us with the clues we seek."

"So this wasn't Guo Yang," Guo Jing said as he and his wife rode Red Shadow home.

"If it's not him, we could ask for his aid to identify the poison," Guo Li nodded. As they returned home, Red Shadow slid past Guo Yang on the way to the patriarch's house with the two masters on his back. Red Shadow winked at Guo Yang and Guo Yang made a subtle nod.

"Sometimes it is those covert actions that shine the brightest," Guo Yang laughed as he left for the gardens.