Fox Spirit: One Sword Sweeps the World

Page 30

"I thought you were angry and embarrassed because your thoughts were exposed, Ya Ya."

She paused deliberately, watching Ya Ya's body tense up instantly, and added, "I thought you were missing your sweetheart, that's why you were so absent-minded."

"I didn't!" Tu Shan Ya Ya suddenly raised her voice and slammed her hand on the stone table, making the teacups on the table shake slightly.

She stiffened her neck, but her ears drooped down in protest. "I...I don't have anyone I like! Rongrong, don't talk nonsense!"

"Yes, I know, I know."

Tu Shan Rongrong replied with a smile, "I just thought, I just thought, it was just a guess."

As she spoke, she gave Honghong a look, and the two sisters exchanged a knowing smile.

Tu Shan Ya Ya watched the two's little actions and her cheeks burned with anger, but she couldn't find any words to refute them. She could only grab the plum juice on the table and gulp it down.

The cool sweetness slid down my throat, but it couldn't suppress the chaotic heat in my heart.

Chapter 38 Heading to Beishan

"Big brother, are we really going to challenge the Demon Emperor of Northern Mountain?"

Li Zizai's voice was trembling as he looked up at Wang Quanba Ye, who was flying on his sword ahead.

The sword tassels fluttered in the strong wind.

Wang Quanba, dressed in white robes that fluttered in the wind, his dark hair billowing behind him, his long sword humming, did not turn around, but simply responded indifferently.

"Now that we have set our goal, there is no reason to back down. If he insists on stopping us, then let's fight."

His tone was calm and steady, as firm as a rock.

However, his breathing was slightly rapid, indicating that he was not entirely at ease.

"I feel it's risky, really risky."

Mu Shenqi frowned and wiped his face.

"With just a few of us, the Northern Mountain Demon Emperor might not even need to use a single finger. One slap from him and we'd be reduced to pieces of paper, scattered by the wind."

He spoke while gesturing, but his exaggerated movements did not lighten the atmosphere at all; instead, they added to the heaviness in everyone's hearts.

"Then stay away from me," Ji Wuji suddenly moved to the side, causing his flight path to veer slightly.

He glanced at Mu Shenqi with disdain, "Don't let your 'paper scraps' get on me."

“I was prepared.” Zhang Zheng pulled a palm-sized sandalwood box from his waist, shook it, and the runes carved on the box flashed with a faint light.

"I'll try my best to collect all the fragments for you and see if I can find a skilled restorer to piece them back together. Maybe I can still leave you with a complete body."

His tone was serious, yet his eyes held a playful glint.

"You two bastards!"

Mu Shen was both angry and amused, and raised his hand to slap the two of them.

"The Demon Emperor is very strong."

Everyone looked at Mu Qinghan, rarely seeing him with such a serious expression.

As soon as he finished speaking, the scene from that night involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

At the top of the city wall, a red mist surged and billowed.

The figure in red stood in the rain, and when the scarlet pupils swept indifferently over him, a fear originating from the depths of his soul instantly seized him.

At that time, he was already at the peak of the Demon King realm, but in front of those eyes, he felt as if all his strength had been drained away, and he was almost unable to move.

The overwhelming demonic power was so thick and heavy that it seemed capable of tearing his body apart with just a gentle touch.

Even though he is now at the peak of the Great Demon King, and has taken a big step closer to his former self, he is still like an ant trying to shake a tree when facing the Demon Emperor.

He felt that if Tu Shan Hong Hong wanted to kill him now, it would still be an instant.

However, he also has his own ultimate move. If the enemy lowers their guard, he is absolutely confident that he can unleash astonishing power the moment the move is activated.

Even a demon emperor, unless possessing an exceptionally powerful physical body, would inevitably suffer severe injuries if caught off guard by this attack. (Humans have high attack but low defense.)

But then he thought about it again and breathed a slight sigh of relief, his tense shoulders relaxing a little.

Although this journey involves challenging the Demon Emperor of Beishan, according to ancient records, this Demon Emperor is not a bloodthirsty and violent person.

It is said that he once served as a guard, accompanying the princess of the Demon Kingdom for many years and living with humans.

Having witnessed the hustle and bustle of human life, she harbors no deep hatred for humans and has even intervened to mediate disputes between humans and demons on several occasions.

Having experienced living among humans, the Demon Emperor is unlikely to kill them easily, so this journey shouldn't be too dangerous.

Moreover, their purpose in this trip was not simply to be an enemy of the Northern Mountain Demon Emperor, nor was it to cause trouble in the Northern Mountain territory.

They ventured into this demon realm solely to hunt down a wicked demon whose hands were stained with blood.

That monster was inherently cruel. While roaming the human world, it successively murdered five innocent girls, and even more insanely dismembered and disposed of their bodies. Its cruelty was appalling.

Knowing that his sins were grave and that he had nowhere to go in the human world, the evil demon fled into the North Mountain with a fluke mentality, hoping to rely on the prestige of the North Mountain Demon Emperor for protection.

He thought that as long as he hid in this territory controlled by the Demon Emperor, human cultivators would be deterred by the Demon Emperor's majesty and dare not rashly break in to capture him, thus allowing him to escape punishment.

But he never expected that a human cultivator's sense of justice and responsibility would outweigh his fear of the Demon Emperor's authority.

To seek justice for the wrongfully murdered girl and to prevent the evil demon from committing new crimes, they resolutely pursued the demon to the North Mountain, even if it meant facing the wrath of the North Mountain Demon Emperor. They vowed to bring this heinous monster to justice and make him pay for his crimes in blood.

Chapter 39 Light and Darkness

"This...this is Beishan?"

Li Quzhuo rubbed his fingertips against the mask, his gaze sweeping over the densely packed small stone houses on the slope, his tone dejected.

Most of the stone houses were built of rough bluestone slabs, with roofs covered with withered yellow thatch. Some of the thatch was so sparse that the sunlight could be seen through it, and dark green moss was crawling on the corners of the walls.

There was a sense of...old decay and dilapidation everywhere.

Mu Shenqi snorted softly through his nose and glanced at him sideways.

"How can the lives of humans and monsters compare to yours? You've grown up in luxury, with delicate skin and tender flesh. You don't understand that people are content with just a peaceful life, a hot meal, and a place to shelter from the wind and rain."

Li Quzhuo immediately straightened his back, his eyes shining brightly beneath the mask.

"Hehehe, you have good taste, you know that I'm just born with good looks."

"But don't forget, I'm a proper knight-errant, capable of slaying demons and monsters, not some delicate pretty boy."

As soon as he finished speaking, he subconsciously raised his right hand, gently pinching it between his thumb and forefinger, and slightly rotating his wrist.

The others in his group stopped abruptly and turned to look at him, their eyes behind the masks filled with speechlessness.

Zhang Zheng spoke first, his tone disdainful: "Are you sick in the head?"

Li Quzhuo suddenly came to his senses, quickly put his hand down, clenched his fist and coughed lightly twice, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

"Ahem, sorry, sorry, it's just a conditioned reflex, it's become a habit."

"You're absolutely insane," Mu Shenqi added mercilessly.

Li Quzhuo opened his mouth, but ultimately shut it up and silently followed behind the group without saying another word.

Two familiar figures were missing from the group on this trip to Beishan.

Aoki Hime has been in low spirits and silent for the past two days.

Wang Quanzui was worried about her, so he stayed to keep her company.

Apart from the two of them, all the other members of the Masked Troupe were present.

Everyone put on their masks, completely concealing their magical powers, and disguised themselves as ordinary little demons. They carefully sneaked into the North Mountain and have now reached the central area.

According to reliable sources, the wicked demon they were tracking had fled here and was hiding.

The closer they got to the center, the more unexpected the scene became.

Perhaps because of its proximity to the Demon-Controlling Kingdom, and the influence of its customs, quite a few humans can be seen here.

Most of these humans were dressed in simple cloth, and some were picking out goods at roadside stalls with the monsters.

Some people sat around a stone table chatting, while others were helping the monster repair its leaky roof. The monster handed them a bowl of steaming hot medicine, creating a remarkably harmonious scene.

Wang Quanba stopped in his tracks, his eyes filled with shock.

In their inherent understanding, humans and demons are different, and the two have always been irreconcilable enemies. Once they meet, either the human will be devoured by the demon, or the demon will be killed by the cultivator.

The idea that meeting someone inevitably leads to death is already deeply ingrained common sense.

But the scene before them completely shattered their understanding.

There was no tense hostility between humans and monsters, only a natural, neighborly relationship, and even their tone of voice was familiar and gentle.

(This might differ slightly from the original story, because in the original, the demons of the Demon-Controlling Kingdom were the weaker party persecuted by humans, like peasants who had risen up and were eager to overthrow the landlords. However, it was the princess who risked her life to grant the demons their freedom, and a considerable amount of time had passed. Through Shi Kuan's subtle manipulation, the relationship was eased.)

Everyone stood there dumbfounded, staring at the scene that defied common sense, and for a moment no one spoke.

A gentle breeze blew through the mountains, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees.

The foxtail grass in front of the stone house swayed gently, and laughter from humans and monsters drifted from afar.

These voices intertwined, yet they stirred up ripples in the hearts of the masked group members, leaving them unable to calm down for a long time.

A sudden wave of heart palpitations surged through my limbs and bones like an electric current.

Mu Qinghan's hair stood on end instantly, and he almost instinctively turned around abruptly.

Behind me was a narrow, deep alley, with the shadows of stone houses on both sides overlapping and completely engulfing the alley.

I tried to perceive it carefully, but gained nothing.

An illusion...?

No, he can't be mistaken.

Mu Qinghan frowned slightly. He had an extremely keen sense of danger, and the palpitation he felt just now was definitely not unfounded.

But the current situation... makes it impossible to find any flaws.

There are definitely people there, and they are very strong, strong enough to block his senses.

It seems... we've been discovered...