"What the hell?! What... what kind of murder is this?!"
"It's too horrible to even look at! I'm going to vomit!"
"And yet... look at how it was done. It's horrifying, but it's also... deliberate. Like an art piece. A horrifying, unforgivable art."
Three Yin Lans stood pale and shaken, their eyes fixed on the grotesque scene before them. The villagers, gathered behind, were in various states of hysteria: some weeping, some vomiting, some already unconscious, while others begged the Lans to investigate and bring justice.
Lan Kansai clenched the handkerchief that Lan Suji had given him tighter against his nose. His breaths were shallow, eyes wide with revulsion.
The room was a macabre masterpiece. Blood painted the walls, but the servants..though dead..lay untouched, as if they had not been the true targets. The main male victim had been reduced to nothing but disassembled parts. His head was severed and placed in a pool of waste. His bones had been arranged into a grotesque necklace, flesh laid beside them like discarded meat. His chest was torn open, heart pulled out and stomped beside him, crushed yet untouched by hands. A haunting inscription was carved across his body:
"Lustful Insect" on his cheek. "Heat Removed Forever" across his chest. "Rice Problem Solved" etched just below.
As for his lower body...mutilated beyond recognition. His genitals were stuffed into his own mouth, already bloated with rotten food. The stench was unbearable.
The female victim hadn't fared any better. Her breasts were severed...one shoved into her mouth, the other into her lower body. Her hair had been pulled and knotted like puppet strings. Her eyes were missing. Legs spread apart, her corpse was displayed shamelessly, publicly. The words carved into her skin mirrored his:
"Lustful Insect." "Heat Removed Forever."
A paper, inked in blood, lay before the bodies. Its writing sharp, haunting:
"Torturing is more painful than death."
And beside that message lay a single red spider lily.
Kansai fell to one knee to pick it up, but immediately stumbled backward, pushing through the crowd. His handkerchief remained tight against his face, his eyes red and watering.
"Something this horrifying happened right under our noses, and no one heard a thing?!" he shouted . For a while he forgot he was a bit nervous before those . He knows he's the older one here at this group of 5 lans..so he can't be silent and that murder..that was totally something else .
The villagers shook their heads. None had noticed anything until the foul stench gave the atrocity away.
"Lan Kansai, look at this... we hadn't noticed it before," one of the younger Yin Lans murmured. He had soft brown hair and light blue eyes, his voice shaky.
Kansai stepped forward.
Outside the village borders, faint energy flickered like glass catching moonlight. It was a weakening barrier... detailed transparent dome of energy. They called it the Yan yin jei jei the "Total Censor Shield."
Designed specifically to seal spiritual interference, it blocked communication, senses, and detection. Even the natural pull of the Fukaki Forest could not break through it completely. It was a rare, forbidden shield—crafted to suppress.
"That explains why we couldn't sense a thing," Kansai muttered. "Why Kaito and Utsushi couldn't even send a butterfly message."
"Who the hell placed it?! The Lanxie cult? But they stopped using rituals like these long ago!"
"No... This doesn't look like the work of Lanxie. They may be cruel, but not this... not this creative. This is one person. One psychopath."
Kansai frowned. "It's something else entirely."
He turned to the villagers. "Did anything unusual happen before we arrived?"
A trembling man raised his hand. "Two nights ago... there was a festival for Lord Kyoren. During the ceremony, something happened. He was attacked. They said it was an unknown, special-grade yokai. Some villagers died."
Another villager chimed in. "And your members... two young Yin Lans. They went into the forest. They didn't come back. We thought they got lost chasing some mysterious music."
The pieces weren't fitting together. The shield, the silence, the scale of mutilation..it all suggested precision. Yet the sheer horror spoke of madness.
Meanwhile, Deep in the Fukaki Forest
Another group of Yin Lans had entered to search for their missing members. As they cut through layers of dense trees and humidity, they stumbled upon a chilling sight.
" we found them ! We finally found them ! "
Others said in relief yet also worried . They rushed towards them .
Its Kairo and Utsushi . They really found them...
Both were alive...but barely.
Kairo's right arm was bloodied, the stain dried and rust-colored. His face pale, eyes unfocused.
Utsushi sat frozen, like a deer trapped in ice. Wide-eyed. Unmoving. As if the slightest twitch would shatter him.
Kairo had his arms locked tightly around him, his face buried in Utsushi's shoulder. His whole body trembled , murmuring something soundlessly .
Their broken guqin lay nearby, splintered, strings cut. The scent of fear lingered in the air more than blood.
"Utsushi! Kairo! Look at us! It's alright now! You're safe!" Lan Suji rushed forward, catching Utsushi in his arms. The moment he touched him, Utsushi collapsed like he had been holding his breath for days.
His expression didn't change. The trauma had carved too deep.
Lan Suji poured water over Utsushi's dry lips. He coughed faintly, then clung to Suji's robe like a child. A dry sob escaped him as his throat finally relaxed. He swallowed dry and tightly , closes eyes like those eyelids were really tired for staying open for too long .
Kairo, meanwhile, was reluctant to let go. His fingers gripped the fabric of utsushi's robe like lifelines . Others manages to separate them .
They were quickly bundled into robes, carried in bridal style , making sure they are comfortable , and flown through the trees, racing toward the Yin Lan Clan territory.
As they approached the edge of the forest, Lan Suji felt something invisible strike him. His spiritual energy flared in warning.
The Yan yin jei jei again...this time lan suji also noticed it by now .
He gritted his teeth, pushing through it without alerting the others . He decides to think about it later , it's not time for this , Utsushi and kairo's safely comes first right now then finding who might have did that.
"You three! Alert the rest! We found them. Bring reinforcements."
The others nodded and flew back toward Bayakuya Village.
In the Shadows
Behind them, hidden among the twisted trunks of the Fukaki Forest, a thin black silhouette stood watching.
His presence like a smear in space.
It chuckled softly.
"Just because I let you leave doesn't mean you won. The curtain hasn't even risen yet. Watch closely... the real performance has yet to begin."
[ End of Chapter 12 ]
Author's Thoughts : sorry for writing my thoughts here instead if author thoughts section😅..it's actually bc the system Glitches a lot and doesn't takes my words here..well I want to say thank you to all of you for 4k views..keep supporting me , like , comment , support with power stones and let " Eyes of broken lilies " echo everywhere 🤍☺