Song Yao felt like applauding the demon in this city once again.
Without lifting a finger, it could manipulate everyone in Frost City, from top to bottom, to do its bidding using demon toxin, pills, wealth, and power.
It had a masterful grasp on human emotions and desires, playing them like a fiddle.
Meanwhile, it only had to act like a mastermind, comfortably staying inside its Frost Flower City to watch the show while waiting for cultivators to deliver themselves to its doorstep.
Impressive.
She actually wanted to meet it.
She didn't agree. Instead, she stood up and walked over to Ning Zhou, grabbed him by the collar, and stuffed a handful of Qi-Replenishing Pills into his mouth. She then lightly pressed her hand against his head, guiding her energy to dissolve the side effects.
The woman and the surrounding townspeople exchanged bewildered glances.
Someone stepped forward to help the woman up, whispering, “Forget it, Chief. Let's just forget it. I told you before, how can we trade other people's lives for our own like this?”
“These farm tools of ours are meant for working the fields. How can we use them to fight?”
“Let's go back. Let's return to the village...”
“We should apologize to them before we leave. Though, who knows if they'll even let us go.”
“Even if they don't, so be it. We're all going to die sooner or later anyway...”
The townspeople silently dropped their weapons and hesitantly walked toward Song Yao.
However, the woman quickly rushed to block them and knelt before Song Yao once more. “Immortal, you... you must have come to the demon realm to slay the demons, right? Whatever you want to know, I... I can find a way to look into it for you. I am a resident of this city, so it will be much easier for me to move around. I only beg the Immortal to have pity on these people. Please, give them a few pills and grant them a chance at survival...”
Ning Zhou had just regained consciousness when he was caught off guard by her kowtowing heavily twice. Startled, he hurriedly went to help her up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't kneel, don't kneel! Why are you being so polite? What on earth is going on here?”
Before he could even help her up, Song Yao said unhurriedly, “I can offer you another way out. Do you want it?”
A flash of hope crossed the woman's eyes. Ignoring Ning Zhou, she asked urgently, “What way out? Please, tell me.”
Song Yao replied, “Capture us, and trade us to the demons for those pills.”
Ning Zhou: “?!”
What kind of nonsense was that?
What did she mean, trade them?!
How did he end up being sent to his death in the short time he was unconscious?!
The woman's expression froze. When she realized what Song Yao meant, she said with shame, “Before, I was indeed blinded by desperation and took the wrong path. But you overlooked my offenses and saved Ah Yao's life. How could I... how could I return your kindness with such treachery...”
Song Yao smiled. “I'm not joking. You know we came to slay the demons, and to do that, we have to actually see them. Sending us directly to them saves me a lot of trouble.”
She stood up, making a move to walk out. “If you're not willing, I can just find someone else to help us.”
The woman hurriedly cried out, “I'm willing! I'm willing!”
Song Yao stopped in her tracks. “Alright, let's go then.”
...
Ning Zhou was still a bit dazed as he sat in the carriage with his hands tied.
After swaying for a long time, he finally snapped out of it. “Wait, shouldn't we scout the situation outside first? Are we not waiting for the others to enter? Isn't going straight to their lair just suicide?”
Song Yao lay flat, resting her eyes, and said succinctly, “We aren't waiting.”
Ning Zhou looked at the soft cushion beneath her and the blanket draped over her body, instantly feeling the injustice of it all. “Wait, why don't you have to be tied up? Why am I the only one bound?”
Song Yao replied, “Because I look stronger.”
Ning Zhou grumbled, “Isn't it the other way around?”
Song Yao shot him a sideways glance. “You just ate ten of my pills. That'll be one million spirit stones, please.”
Ning Zhou immediately adopted a flattering grin. “Oh, Seventh Senior Sister, what's mine is yours! We're dear fellow disciples who go through thick and thin together. Once I strike it rich in the future, I'll definitely repay you with interest~”
Outside the carriage, someone tapped on the wooden frame. The woman's low voice interrupted them, “It's almost our turn.”
Song Yao stopped bickering with Ning Zhou. She sat up and parted the window curtain to peek outside, only to realize they were part of a massive queue.
The line was filled with highly excited Frost City citizens.
Carriages were a luxury; most of the crowd pulled crude wooden handcarts. Piled on these carts were unconscious cultivators, bound tightly with thick ropes. Most of them were completely unresponsive, though a few were in the throes of seizures, thrashing unconsciously and muttering incoherently.
Quite a few cultivators had come from all directions to investigate the demon realm recently. It seemed they had all been swallowed up when the demon realm expanded earlier.
The faces of the townspeople beamed with the joy of a bountiful harvest.
Looking toward the front of the queue, she saw a grand, frost-white palace standing at the far end, completely out of place with the rest of Frost City. It looked as if it were carved from solid ice, exuding a noble yet chilling aura.
The queue was heading toward what appeared to be a side gate of the palace.
Several guards wearing bamboo hats stood by the gate, inspecting the captured cultivators cart by cart.
Once verified, the captor would receive a porcelain bottle of pills and a bronze token.
Presumably, they could use this token to claim money and positions of power later.
Ning Zhou watched the scene with a complicated expression. “How are we any different from pork at a butcher shop right now?”
Song Yao leaned back against the carriage wall. “We're much more expensive.”
Ning Zhou sighed, “...Fair enough.”
He grew serious and whispered a warning, “We don't know what it's like inside. We have to keep a low profile. Do not pick a fight with the demons.”
Just as Song Yao nodded, the carriage curtain was abruptly yanked open.
Swirling with black mist, two heads poked into the carriage. Their necks were stretched thin and long, far exceeding the limits of a human, with a faint blue-black hue beneath their skin. Two slightly protruding eyeballs stared straight at them.
The guard's voice sounded muffled, as if speaking through water. “Why are they awake?”
Song Yao found this highly amusing. She reached out, grabbed one of their ridiculously thin necks, and squeezed it twice.
Judging by the texture, they were likely transformed demons.
Their cultivation wasn't very high, so they were nothing to fear.
However, it would be a bit troublesome if they had come from the Earth Realm.
In the Earth Realm, these kinds of demons loved to move in packs.
If they escaped the demon realm, they would likely harm many innocent civilians.
As she squeezed even harder, the guard's face contorted in utter confusion.
Ning Zhou was horrified beyond belief.
Didn't we just agree to keep a low profile and not pick a fight with the demons?!
Why did she immediately put her hands on them?!
And she was actually squeezing them?!
She truly was someone dug out of a grave!
He frantically pried Song Yao's fingers off. The woman who had brought them was scared out of her wits, offering a placating smile to the guards. “Forgive them, my lords! They've been afflicted by the demon toxin, so their minds aren't quite clear. They've gone a bit mad...”
Seeing the guards remain skeptical, she quickly added another detail, hoping to curry favor, “They are cultivators from the Nine Saints Hall!”
“Cultivators from the Nine Saints Hall?!”
The protruding eyes of the two guards instantly lit up. Wisps of black mist drifted out from under their sleeves, wrapping coldly around Song Yao's and Ning Zhou's forearms.
The thin tips of the black mist repeatedly brushed against the Nine Saints Hall marks on their wrists, as if carefully verifying their authenticity.
Song Yao was slightly surprised.
This demon actually knew the exact position and shape of the Nine Saints Hall personal disciple mark?
There had to be a traitor among them.
Once the black mist retreated, uncontrollable ecstasy washed over the guards' faces. Their shrill voices trembled with excitement. “They are personal disciples! They are personal disciples of the Nine Saints Hall!”
“Quick! Enter the palace at once and report to the Lord!”
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