Chapter 188: Evil Old Demon Xuan E:… Huh?
Ke Qinhux, who was originally about to leave, now looked back with a cold face at the man slowly putting on a mask behind him.
“…You all are the Demon Cultivators under Hua Jianglian?”
“Let me introduce myself.” Young Master Sang leered as the demon mask gradually covered his face. “Head of the Punishment Department, Young Master Sang.”
(Disclaimer: Branch of the Water Gate is about to take over.)
“Heh, seems like I underestimated you.”
Ke Qinhux narrowed his eyes and coldly replied, “I didn’t expect you all to be so well-prepared with this tactic of drawing the tiger away from its lair. Looks like you’ve done quite the investigation on me.”
“Too kind.” Young Master Sang grinned. “Our Demon Cultivators aren’t troublemakers by nature. So, we’d rather avoid hostility with Sect Leader Ke if possible.”
“And Sect Leader Ke surely has no reason to create an irrevocable feud with us over a thoroughly evil and deserving person… right?”
Though Young Master Sang smiled, an inexplicable pressure beneath the demon mask made Ke Qinhux’s heart race with alertness.
Especially since standing next to him was Yu Xia, eyeing him sharply, sword drawn and on edge.
Ke Qinhux suddenly realized he had no options left.
Even if he rushed back now, these two could definitely hold him up long enough.
After all, as long as they didn’t need to fight to the death, just keeping him entangled wouldn’t be easy to escape.
Besides, the other party was clearly prepared; at this moment, Xuan E Lao Yao had probably already suffered some nasty fate.
Damn it… Ke Qinhux inwardly cursed.
Actually, he didn’t have any feelings for Xuan E Lao Yao.
He was simply annoyed by this feeling of being schemed against.
“Looks like… I have no room for options?” Ke Qinhux glared coldly at Young Master Sang.
Young Master Sang, however, responded leisurely, “Let’s keep things friendly. We just put on quite a show for Sect Leader Ke; it’s not like you came here for nothing.”
“If Sect Leader Ke missed it, I have exclusive treasures from Fusa Pavilion like ‘Little Times’ and ‘Light Snow Floating,’ guaranteed to leave you satisfied.”
Watching Young Master Sang pull out a few strange-looking discs, Ke Qinhux felt a fleeting temptation but cleared his throat and snorted coldly.
“I don’t covet your stuff.”
“However, I can ignore Xuan E Lao Yao. But the Zhaohun Bell… you can’t take that.”
“Once it’s in my Fierce Tiger Sect’s possession, it belongs to us. No one’s taking it away!”
“Good point.” Young Master Sang smiled. “But according to what I know, the Zhaohun Bell requires the unique martial arts of the Ruthless Blood Hall to activate.”
“After Xuan E Lao Yao dies, what use does Sect Leader Ke have for a useless bell?”
“Why do you care so much?” Ke Qinhux glared at him angrily.
Young Master Sang understood this was merely about face-saving for Ke Qinhux, looking for an excuse to back down.
He didn’t press further and simply smiled, “In that case, the treasure stays with Sect Leader Ke.”
“As for the person, we’ll just take him.”
“Goodbye~”
As he watched the smiling Young Master Sang get ready to leave, Ke Qinhux grew angrier and couldn’t help but yell:
“Wait!”
“Does Sect Leader Ke have more business?”
“…Leave me those three dramas you mentioned.”
——
——
When Xuan E Lao Yao groggily woke up, all he saw was a galaxy in front of him.
Looking at the surrounding chilly woods and the starry sky overhead, he suddenly felt his bald head was also feeling cold.
Looking down, several fierce-looking men and women were glaring at him, making him shiver in fright.
“Who… who are you?”
“Old man.” Young Master Sang squatted down, casually patting his bald head, “Ever heard of the Punishment Department of the Demon Cultivators?”
“That one, the most terrifying, brutal, and wicked hell-level prison in the world?”
Xuan E Lao Yao froze for a moment.
He had vaguely heard that the Punishment Department was notorious in the cultivation world, but he had never seen it for himself.
“Are you… going to torture me?”
“Who told you, an old geezer, to cross our leader?” Young Master Sang smirked. “It’s our duties as employees to relieve the troubles for our boss.”
“Heh heh, now that we’ve caught you, you’re in for a world of pain!”
Seeing Young Master Sang grinning wickedly, even someone as experienced as Xuan E Lao Yao couldn’t help but swallow hard.
But the next moment, a weak voice chimed in from the side:
“Alright, stop messing with him.”
Upon hearing this voice, Xuan E Lao Yao felt like he had found a ray of hope.
He began to wail desperately: “Young Master… I was wrong! Young Master, please spare me!”
“We are the only ones left in the Ruthless Blood Hall; you can’t wipe us out completely!”
Hua Jianglian merely glanced at him with indifference.
In her beautiful eyes, a touch of confusion seemed to flicker.
“What are you thinking?” Young Master Sang sat down beside her gently.
“I thought I would feel a sense of satisfaction from avenging my grievances.”
Hua Jianglian looked down dejectedly: “But even though I finally have the opportunity to kill him, I’m not happy at all.”
“When he dies, the existence of the Ruthless Blood Hall won’t vanish.”
“I’m still that child everyone hates.”
Young Master Sang pondered for a moment and shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter at all whether others hate us or not.”
“But we must learn to love ourselves.”
“What you’re doing now isn’t for revenge or cleansing your past.”
“You’re merely reconciling with your former self.”
Hua Jianglian lifted her head, blinking her eyes as she gazed at him.
“Actually, killing him doesn’t hold any real meaning,” Young Master Sang slowly stood up, gently donned his mask, and the Soul Locking Scythe rested lightly against Xuan E Lao Yao’s neck.
“But once you’ve done it, you’ll realize.”
“It’s a lot more enjoyable to have a group of people helping you solve a problem than to face it alone, right?”
Hua Jianglian looked at him.
And then glanced at Shi Qingyan, Si Jingzhu, and Yu Xia beside her.
After a long while, she closed her eyes, pursed her lips lightly.
“…Alright. Got it.”
“Just trying to show off,” she huffed softly, yet a hint of uncontainable happiness sparkled in her eyes.
At this moment, Xuan E Lao Yao, with a blade to his neck, felt his mind was nearly going to burst.
Desperately begging for mercy failed, he started laughing maniacally.
“Hahaha, do you think killing me will end this matter?”
He looked crazed and said, “Let me tell you, you’re all going to die too!”
“In fact, apart from us, there is still one person alive in the Ruthless Blood Hall!”
Xuan E Lao Yao grinned maliciously: “He’s been missing for many years, and no one can find him.”
“If it’s someone like Yu Zijian, I could still design a way to resurrect his family and lure him out to slaughter.”
“But that runaway doesn’t have any family, no weakness, has been living incognito for many years, I couldn’t even find him myself.”
“That person… is precisely the former ledger keeper of the Ruthless Blood Hall!”
Everyone’s expression simultaneously changed.
“Hahaha, the blood worm in you is almost mature, right? Even if you kill me, you won’t survive for long. As long as that person remains at large, you can forget about lifting the blood worm’s curse!”
“Haha, hahaha—”
Si Jingzhu immediately covered his mouth, kicking him without mercy: “What’s so funny? It’s annoying.”
Hua Jianglian’s expression slightly shifted, and a moment later, gloom overtook her features.
“Is what he said true?” Young Master Sang asked seriously.
“…Yes.” Hua Jianglian nodded silently.
“The one who survived back then was indeed a ledger disciple of the Ruthless Blood Hall. But his cultivation level was low; I thought he would’ve died long ago.”
“Would it be troublesome if we couldn’t kill him?”
“It would.” Hua Jianglian whispered, “The blood worms sense each other; they can only reach maturity and reproduce if there’s only one in the world.”
“If what he said is true…”
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
Young Master Sang furrowed his brows in silence for a moment, still somewhat reluctant to ask: “Is there no other way? Like, I could break through to the Great Ascension stage during this time?”
“…The blood worm will lock my dantian.”
Hua Jianglian smiled self-deprecatingly: “If I show any signs of advancing to the Great Ascension stage, the blood worm will drain my excess cultivation to accelerate its maturation.”
“But it’s whatever. I’ve figured it out.”
Hua Jianglian gently looked at Young Master Sang, smiling: “Thank you.”
“At least in the end, you made me realize I’m no longer that child everyone hates.”
Young Master Sang looked at her relaxed and relieved expression without a hint of ease.
He unhappily asked Nian Nian: “Hey, isn’t the plot supposed to go differently? Aren’t we a comedy piece?”
“Isn’t the leader’s blood worm solvable?”
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Nian Nian’s teasing voice rang in his ear: “Oh? So worried? Feeling heartache?”
“I’m talking serious stuff here; don’t joke around.”
“Don’t worry. Hua Jianglian won’t die.”
Nian Nian’s voice casually continued: “Do you know what the last surviving ledger keeper of the Ruthless Blood Hall is named?”
Young Master Sang: “?”
Xuan E Lao Yao watched these people looking dejected with satisfaction, feeling extremely pleased.
But the next moment, he suddenly saw Young Master Sang’s expression change oddly as he exclaimed softly.
Then he walked slowly towards him and removed the cloth gagging his mouth.
“By the way, what’s the name of that last ledger keeper of your Ruthless Blood Hall?”
“Hmph.” Xuan E Lao Yao scoffed, “You think you can get clues to find him from me? Wake up, you’ll never find him.”
“Let me tell you, that ledger disciple is also cautious and ruthless; he often goes to extreme lengths to eliminate evidence.”
“You want to find him? Good luck in your next life! Hahaha!”
While Xuan E Lao Yao laughed heartily, Young Master Sang continued to question with a strange expression: “Is he dressed in a strange, revealing outfit, scrawny with dark eye circles like a zombie?”
“Yes, so what?”
“Does he like to NTR others’ wives and daughters?”
“Yes… so what?”
“When he escaped, did he head north? Towards Yaochi and Tianshan?”
“Yes… yes…”
Xuan E Lao Yao gradually stuttered.
A vague sense of unease began to rise in his heart.
“You’re not talking about him, are you?” Young Master Sang cleared his throat.
“He won’t happen to be named Wei Luo, right?”
Xuan E Lao Yao: “…Huh?”
