The Demon's Chosen.

Hair Stream In Confluence Village Story. (2)

One year, the two oldest villagers passed away, and following this, two families were able to have children, each birthing one.

The Anderson family had a boy.

The Lee family had a girl.

The children were born on the same day, which coincided with a strange occurrence in the village.

That day, someone walking past the Tai Chi pond caught a glimpse of something in the corner of their eye. Initially unsure of what it was, they stopped to observe and realized something horrifying that had never happened before.

The water in the pond was completely still, no longer moving.

This slowly rotating stream of water had long been regarded by the villagers as a source of life, but now it had ceased to flow.

That very night, a heavy rain suddenly poured down, the wind howled like a sweeping storm, and thunder roared deafeningly. Amid the echoing booms, one thunderclap, louder than the rest, seemed to shatter the sky and earth, striking a bolt of lightning directly into the Tai Chi pond, splitting the pond in two.

The crack in the pond meandered, crossing over the yang eye rock and the yin eye well within it, causing both to shatter.

Only then did the villagers discover that both these elements hid mysterious objects within them.

The yang eye rock broke open, revealing a sword emitting a bright red glow. The hilt was inlaid with nine rubies, carved into the shape of dragons coiling from the hilt to the base of the blade, with the dragons' mouths open, spewing pearls towards the tip of the sword.

Meanwhile, the shattered yin eye well revealed nothing but long, jet-black hair.

The crack running through the Tai Chi pond on the ground gradually widened, forming a stream that ran across the entire village, from one end to the other, disappearing underground at the village edges.

As the water from the Tai Chi pond poured into this new stream, it began to swirl around the sword and the hair, moving chaotically further away, without any discernible pattern.

From the long hair, strands began to float in the water. At first, there were only a few strands, but they multiplied over time. The problem was that the hair didn't flow away completely; it got caught on both banks, covering them entirely.

The villagers decided to remove the hair from the stream to maintain their water supply. But then came the question of how to dispose of it? Human hair, being extremely durable, doesn't decompose easily, even after many years buried in the ground. Someone suggested burning it, so they tried it.

To their horror, as soon as the first pile of hair was set ablaze, agonizing screams and mournful cries filled the air, followed by blood oozing from the fire. The burning hair emitted a pungent, unbearable smell. Seeing this, everyone quickly doused the fire with water and dared not burn the hair again. Instead, they decided to collect and pile it at the village outskirts.

After a while, a villager eating a meal felt a foreign object in their mouth and, upon spitting it out, discovered a strand of hair on their tongue. Thinking it was a common occurrence, they disregarded it. However, a few days later, the same situation occurred, but this time they spat out a clump of hair.

This incident wasn't isolated to just one person; it began happening to others, one after another. No one knew where the hair was coming from, but people started coughing up strands of hair from their mouths. Gradually, the occurrence of spitting out hair became commonplace, and hair could be seen scattered everywhere by the villagers.

Hair on the ground, hair caught in trees, hair floating in the wind.

Stepping outside without a strand of hair sticking to one's face became unusual.

As time passed, the hair grew more abundant, to the point where even the blowing wind was filled with it.

And the closer one was, the less clear it became, while those standing afar could see the entire scene. From a distance, one would notice that the village was enveloped in a dark atmosphere, formed by countless strands of hair fluttering in the air.

Four years swiftly passed, and the two children born on the day Hair Stream formed were now four years old. By then, the villagers had gathered the hair into large mounds surrounding the area.

One day, a sixty-year-old man named Gregory Simmons entered Confluence village, parting the hair as he walked. He headed straight to the center, where a sword was embedded in a white rock, amidst the chaotic swirling of the water, and a lock of hair floated aimlessly. He stood there, deep in thought, observing the scene.

Later, the village head, hearing of the stranger, came to inquire. Gregory, ignoring his questions, solemnly asked: "How long has it been since the villagers ventured beyond those hair mountains?”

The village head, puzzled, replied: "About four years.”

Gregory sighed: "For four years, those two children have lived in solitude for quite a while.”

The village head, confused, asked: "What are you talking about?”

Gregory, still ignoring the village head, pointed at the sword: "That sword is named Emperor Assassination, an Ancient Divine Sword, wielded by the Saint Sword Aubrey.”

He then pointed to the hair: "That belongs to the great demon Allison. Three hundred years ago, Aubrey and Allison fought a life-and-death battle right here. They fought for seven days and nights without rest. Finally, Aubrey managed to sever Allison's hair, the source of her demonic power, but he too had his heart gouged out by her. Aubrey, being mortal, died from the loss of his heart, while Allison, though weakened by the loss of her hair, did not die. However, Aubrey’s spirit remained in his sword, keeping Allison confined here. Later, a geomancy master dedicated his efforts to building this village and named it Eight Wonders Village.”

"He intended to use the spiritual energy of the village layout and the positive energy of humans, along with the Emperor Assassination sword, to seal Allison's hair at the negative focal point.

Nearly a hundred years ago, bandits ravaged the foothills of Ocean Scenery, leading to the decline of Eight Wonders Village. But the bandits were eventually quelled, and your ancestors stumbled upon this village, naming it Confluence Village because it housed a diverse population, and they have lived here ever since.”

The village head listened in silence, not knowing what to say, as there were no records of the village’s origins, and this was the first time he heard such a detailed account from an outsider.

Gregory paused for breath, then continued: "Spiritual beings in this world usually undergo a phase every three hundred years where their spiritual energy diminishes into the void, and then they accumulate the energy of heaven and earth to regain their original strength. Emperor Assassination has reached its three-hundred-year cycle and can no longer contain Allison’s hair, causing her demonic power to resurface. Aubrey’s spirit in the sword had to reincarnate in a later generation to continue his resolve against Allison, which is the only boy in the village. Similarly, Allison did the same, and she is the only girl in the village.”

The village chief shook his head: “You’re saying that little girl is a great demon? I’ve only seen her playing like a normal child.”

Gregory blinked once: “Go call them here.”

After a while, the village chief returned with a four-year-old boy, bright and intelligent-looking, and said hastily: "I couldn’t find the girl.”

Gregory took the boy’s hand and led him into the water, towards the sword, and said: "Pull it out, it’s your sword.” He then helped the boy draw the sword from the stone.

Strangely, this sword, which had resisted the attempts of many villagers to remove it, was effortlessly lifted by the boy.

Gregory led the boy out of the water and told the village chief: "I must take him away, to teach him. In this life, he is just a normal child and needs proper guidance.”

The village chief waved his hand: “No, we don’t know who you are, and we need to ask his parents for their consent.”

Gregory nodded: “Alright, then call his parents and everyone to the village entrance. There, I will reveal another secret.” Saying this, Gregory started walking, holding the boy’s hand.

The village chief, confused and unable to think clearly, followed them, calling out to the villagers along the way.

Soon, they reached the village gate. 

The chief, now accompanied by a large crowd, asked: "What’s this secret you want to tell?”

Gregory didn’t respond but slowly crossed a mound of hair, went outside, and then knelt down to light a red candle on the ground. He cut the boy’s finger, letting a drop of blood run down the candle. At that moment, the child’s parents arrived, rushing towards Gregory, furiously shouting: "Old man, have you lost your mind?”

But as they crossed the hair mound and got close to Gregory, they suddenly turned into hair fragments, disintegrating into dust.

Gregory spoke loudly: “All of you, for the past four years, have been devoured by the great demon Allison. She used her hair to control your spirits and her demonic power to maintain your human forms. Only these two children, the reincarnations of the Holy Sword Aubrey and the great demon Allison, still exist in their true human forms. This is the Pure Yang Beacon. As soon as you step out of the village, this light will free you from the demonic control and send your spirits to the underworld for rebirth in a new life. Everyone, come forward.”

With that, Gregory forcefully waved his hand, using a powerful energy to pull the crowd towards the Pure Yang Beacon. As the people approached, they transformed into hair fragments and then disintegrated into dust.