The resentful male demon slowly raised his cloth-wrapped hand, stroking his half-exposed cheek.
The long scar slashed diagonally from his brow bone to his jaw, the old, mangled flesh dark red and hideous, a stark, jarring contrast against his nearly translucent pale skin.
A low laugh escaped his throat, thick with an indescribable bitterness and malice. “Do you see? This is the price of believing those sweet words.”
“Back then, they knelt at my feet one by one, swearing to the heavens that they would never abandon me no matter what I became, claiming their hearts and minds held only me.”
His voice suddenly grew shrill, his chest rising and falling sharply beneath the white cloth. “But now? Seeing me like this, aren't they all scared out of their wits anyway?”
Song Yao sneered at his words, executing a reverse sword flourish and slashing forward. “What are you bragging about? Isn't it enough that you can scare people away with just your face?”
“?”
Bragging?
Before the blade could reach him, the white cloth surrounding the resentful male demon surged violently, rushing forward like a tide to clash with the sword light.
Countless strips of cloth stiffened in midair, packed with condensed resentment, whistling as they sliced through the wind.
Song Yao flipped to avoid them, her sword light sweeping out in a perfect arc as she spun. With several sharp tears, the cloth strips severed into multiple pieces, falling to the ground and dissolving into black smoke.
Amidst the chaotic currents of interwoven resentment and spiritual energy, Jingyu repeatedly drew his bowstring.
Several silver arrows shot through the air, but the moment they entered the fray, they were blown off course by the turbulent gales, scraping past the fluttering cloths to embed themselves into the stone wall.
He was left with no choice but to watch helplessly as the pale green and white silhouettes clashed furiously within the violent currents.
Shreds of white cloth filled the air, sliced to ribbons by the sword qi. Yet, the resentful male demon remained seated upon his grand armchair, utterly motionless, relying solely on the surging waves of fabric around him to manifest into ten thousand weapons.
His single exposed eye locked onto Song Yao's near-invisible, rapid movements. His raspy voice drifted out: “Your swordplay is as formidable as ever. There probably still isn't anyone in the Tianshu Realm who can surpass you, is there?”
Song Yao pressed forward with a strike. “Hard to say.”
He was finally forced to move. Dragged by the white cloths, his grand armchair shifted, narrowly dodging the blow.
“Though your swordplay is powerful, your cultivation and spiritual energy are far too weak compared to before. They are truly holding you back.”
A trace of bewilderment flickered in his eye. “Back then, when you went alone to find Venerable Qianhuang, I advised you to stay by my side and not act on impulse. It seems you didn't meet a good end either. Are you still refusing to listen to me now?”
Song Yao dodged a fierce gust, her lips curving upward at his words. “Well, I'm not dead yet. How is that not a good end?”
“...To lose all your cultivation, to have a frail body, and to be missing parts of your soul... and yet you actually consider that a good end.”
The resentful male demon abruptly halted his attack. All the flying banners retracted instantly, wrapping back around his body like a receding tide.
His beautifully shaped, though slightly cloudy, eye fixed on Song Yao. “Do you know how many people are looking for you right now?”
Song Yao had clashed with him a few times before. After he slaughtered the Tianqi Kingdom, his obsession had been resolved, so his killing intent was not particularly strong. He was merely prone to occasional bouts of madness, inexplicably wanting her to stay by his side under the guise of preventing her from repeating his mistakes.
She lowered her sword as well and smiled. “I'm so amazing, it would be stranger if no one were looking for me, wouldn't it?”
The resentful male demon did not understand how she could speak of everything so lightly.
He fell silent for a moment before warning her, “The command the Immortal Venerable gave me was to break all the Nine Saints Hall cultivators and pry your whereabouts from them.”
He possessed the ability to read people's obsessions; he had known exactly who she was the moment he laid eyes on her.
Song Yao stepped closer, placing one foot on his grand armchair as she leaned in slightly. “So, now that you know I'm me, are you going to sell me out?”
Since he had become a fierce ghost, no one had ever dared to stand as close to him as she did.
“I have never thought of hurting you. You know that,” the resentful male demon said, looking up at her.
“The Immortal Venerable is thoroughly debauched and won't spare a thought for this place anytime soon. If he doesn't ask, I won't volunteer the information.”
The implication was that if he were directly asked, it might be a different story.
The two of them were mere casual acquaintances...
Actually, no.
They weren't even casual acquaintances.
Back then, Song Yao had simply wandered around on her way to the Earth Realm to find the Great Demon of Qianhuang, stopping to ask for directions out of curiosity to see what the legendary monsters and demons looked like.
Having crossed paths with the resentful male demon by chance, and being genuinely curious about his title as the number one beauty, she had pulled back his bandages to take a peek.
He probably hadn't expected anyone to look at his face without showing fear, which led to him inexplicably trying to keep her there to live with him in the Earth Realm.
Song Yao figured his state of mind was probably similar to a lonely old person seeing a child.
Desperate for company.
A bit prone to depression.
Other than that, he wasn't really a bad guy.
Having only met that one time, his willingness to cover for her slightly was already more than generous. There was no need for her to push her luck.
“Alright, you're a real pal,” Song Yao said.
Then, she looked toward the dense tide of resentful spirits behind him.
Concealed behind them was a dark red barrier.
Layers of white cloth wrapped around it like heavy burial shrouds, trembling softly in the yin wind. Figures could be faintly seen moving within.
Following her gaze, the resentful male demon explained frankly, “Your people from the Nine Saints Hall. By the Immortal Venerable's order, their mouths are being pried open to find your whereabouts.”
In short, they were locked up and being tortured.
Song Yao said, “I'm taking them.”
The resentful male demon glanced at her. “Don't you dislike the people of the Nine Saints Hall?”
Song Yao: “I don't like them, but I'm still taking them.”
Resentful male demon: “...”
He sighed softly. Raising his cloth-wrapped hand, he gently stroked Song Yao's face. “I cannot give them to you. I told you, do not be soft-hearted. Do not be soft-hearted toward anyone. Being soft-hearted to them now is being cruel to your future self.”
Song Yao laughed. “Why have you become so overly dramatic? Have you still not recovered from your heartbreak after all this time? We'll deal with the future when it comes. What does it have to do with the present?”
She thought for a moment and added, “Besides, now that you know who I am, there's no point in questioning them further anyway...”
*Boom!
Before she could finish her sentence, a majestic burst of sword qi erupted from within the barrier.
The white cloths were shredded to pieces from the inside out. The walls of the barrier cracked like brittle ice before shattering completely, the exploding shockwave sending the surrounding resentful spirits shrieking and scattering in all directions.
Three figures tumbled out from the dust and smoke. It was none other than the Ninth Elder and two disciples of the Nine Saints Hall.
Their spiritual energy was clearly completely depleted, their Daoist robes tattered and stained with blood. They stumbled several steps upon landing, barely keeping themselves upright by leaning on their swords.
But as they warily scanned their surroundings toward the resentful male demon, Song Yao's figure was the first to catch their eyes.
The group gasped in shock. “Seventh Senior Sister?!”
“Lin Mu!”
“Why are you here?”
Song Yao kicked the resentful male demon's grand armchair, sending him and his chair flying into the swarm of resentful spirits. Landing right in front of them, she said, “What else? Negotiating with the demon to let you go, of course.”
She swept her gaze over them. “Good. None of you are dead, and you managed to break out yourselves.”
Rate on N.U.
