Who Was the Unlucky One?

The Eight-Armed Man left in peace.

When he flashed Li Chu a savage grin with eight eyeballs, Li Chu was genuinely startled.

"To die beneath This Lord's Thousand Spider Demon Poison is the good fortune of an ant like you! Your soul will become part of my Thousand Spider Demon Poison and follow This Lord in further slaughter! Hehehe, while you are still alive, fear to your heart's content! The greater your fear, the purer the Soul Poison refined from it!"

The Eight-Armed Man cried cruelly. His face was terrifying, his voice was terrifying, and his words were terrifying. Anyone even slightly weak-willed might already have been frightened weak in the knees.

Perhaps he wanted his prey to be afraid.

And indeed, he got his wish.

The more Li Chu listened, the more formidable this demon seemed. If he were allowed to unleash Demonic Arts again, Li Chu feared he would have a hard time resisting!

With that fear in his heart, Li Chu chose to strike first.

With a clang.

He drew his sword and struck in one fluid motion.

In that instant, the Eight-Armed Man, whose speech was not yet finished, suddenly saw the most dazzling sight he had ever witnessed in his life.

A line from one of the few poems he had heard suddenly sprang into his mind.

One Sword Light Cold... how many prefectures was it again?

Like a soaring dragon descending from the heavens, like a bolt of white silk streaking across the sky—could such vast and surging sword qi truly exist in the Human Realm?

His face with its eight eyeballs twisted wildly, and all eight pupils dilated in an instant.

At that moment, an absurd thought suddenly arose in the depths of his heart.

I am merely a tiny Spider Demon with over a hundred years of cultivation...

What virtue or ability could I possibly possess...

To die beneath such a sword...

Am I worthy?

Beyond that, he was filled with deep confusion.

For instance, how could a human with no fluctuations of true qi slash out such a sword?

Why could one casually encounter someone like this by the roadside outside an insignificant little town?

Even if this was retribution for his evil deeds, was this not a little too excessive?

Tonight, appearing here... who exactly was the unlucky one?

But he had no chance to learn the answer. He did not even have time to finish thinking the question.

A thousand words condensed into two words as they burst from his mouth.

"Misunderstanding—"

It really was a misunderstanding... He had thought this was a mortal he could deal with at will. Had he known he was this sort of person, only a fool would leap out to seek death.

It was as though a thunderbolt had flashed past, and the sky above the forest was lit for an instant by White Light.

The black figure with its eight waving arms was swallowed up in an instant.

Li Chu blinked.

Just now... did someone shout "misunderstanding"?

Forget it.

He would pretend he had not heard.

After all, anyone who intended to harvest Living Souls to refine poison could not possibly be a good demon.

A huge mass of dense Experience Points gathered into him, and Li Chu was quite satisfied. Although it had delayed him somewhat, the gains from this one strike equaled several ordinary days.

But...

It had truly been far too dangerous.

It was better to encounter such things less often.

Although Monster Grinding increased the spiritual power within him and strengthened his mind, it had not greatly improved his physical body.

Right now, he was like a high-attack, low-defense damage dealer in a game. Though he could One Sword Instant Kill certain "weak" Evil Things, a single lapse in caution could still cost him his life.

If that eight-armed demon had not wasted so many words just now, he might already have been refined into poison.

What if he encountered a mute next time?

At that thought, Li Chu could not help but feel a lingering chill of fear.

He made up his mind then and there that he had to find a way to become tougher!

With the death of the eight-armed demon, all the intricate Spider Webs it had laid within a hundred zhang fell away and became ordinary, fragile Spider Silk.

Just as it had said, the poison on those threads was connected to souls. With its soul scattered, the magic power and toxicity on the Spider Silk vanished as well.

Li Chu strolled onward, continuing toward Virtuous Cloud Temple.

He decided to put Monster Grinding aside for now. Tonight had been somewhat unsettled, and wandering around outside might invite trouble.

Fortunately, the rest of the journey was calm and uneventful.

Under the night sky, the tiny Daoist Temple on the slope glowed with a faint yellow light.

It was the glow of home.

Li Chu had originally told his master that he would not return tonight, yet unexpectedly, he had come back much earlier than usual.

But it was all the same to the Old Daoist Priest. His routine was exceptionally healthy: he worked at sunrise and rested at sunset.

As usual, Li Chu carefully entered through the door, nodded to the Three Pure Ancestors, and returned to his room.

Used to Monster Grinding at this hour every day, he suddenly did not know what to do with his free time.

The nightlife of ancient people was truly too impoverished.

Though perhaps it was also because of him.

Thinking of Zhou Dafu and the others in Yuhang Town, surrounded by flowers and grass at this hour, their lives should have been quite rich.

Yet Li Chu had always felt that such entertainment only enriched those three to five seconds. After that brief richness came an even deeper emptiness.

Poor and empty.

Just then, urgent knocking sounded from the main gate outside.

Bang, bang, bang—

Li Chu rose again and went to answer the door.

Daoist temples and Buddhist temples both served to take in travelers. Some nighttime travelers who could not find an inn, or poor people who could not afford one, chose to lodge in temples.

Virtuous Cloud Temple occasionally received such guests as well.

He came to the front courtyard and opened the gate.

The visitor was a middle-aged scholar dressed in brown plain clothes beneath a long scholar's robe. His face was pale and beardless, and he looked refined and gentle.

A carriage stood behind him. What surprised Li Chu was that, judging by its decorations and insignia, it was actually an Official Carriage.

Usually, only someone at least at the rank of County Magistrate would be assigned such a carriage. Since the county seat of Yu Hang County was also in Yuhang Town, Li Chu had seen carriages like this before.

"Young Daoist." The middle-aged scholar cupped his hands and said, "My daughter and I have traveled to this place and wish to borrow lodging for the night. Would that be possible?"

"Please come in." Li Chu nodded and invited the scholar inside.

Seeing that he had agreed, the middle-aged scholar turned and called, "Rou Er."

The carriage curtain lifted, and a graceful woman in a watery blue dress stepped down. Her long hair was thick as seaweed, simply tied up. Her skin was white as ivory, and though her face was small, her features were distinct. Her brows and eyes in particular resembled two clear pools of water. Tall and elegant, with a serene air about her, she seemed like a white cloud emerging from a mountain pass.

The woman stepped forward slowly after leaving the carriage. When she saw Li Chu, her lovely eyes flickered.

Li Chu nodded in greeting, then said, "Our little Daoist Temple is not very spacious, and we only have two bedrooms. I will squeeze in with my master, so I may have to trouble the two of you to share one room."

"That is no problem. Young Daoist, we are already deeply grateful that you are willing to take us in," the scholar said with a smile.

The two waited briefly in the front hall while Li Chu poured them some water and went to make up the bed.

He added a new bed board to his room and replaced the bedding. It was soon ready.

He returned to the front hall and informed them, "Sorry to keep you waiting. The room has been prepared."

"Many thanks, Young Daoist." The scholar thanked him again, then said to the woman, "Rou Er, you go in first."

The woman nodded and entered the room gracefully.

Only then did the middle-aged scholar say to Li Chu, "I ask that Young Daoist Priest look after my daughter for a while. At the very least, do not let her leave until noon tomorrow."

"Hm?" Li Chu froze. From the scholar's tone, it seemed he did not intend to stay the night himself?

The middle-aged scholar seemed to see the confusion on his face and smiled. "To be honest, I... sigh, I fear my life will not last much longer. If I remain here, I may drag you into this as well. Therefore, no matter what, I must leave. But my daughter is innocent. I see that Young Daoist does not look like a bad person, so I can entrust her to you for the time being."

His tone was calm, yet he spoke entirely of life and death matters. Li Chu was unaware of the reason and could only nod in agreement.

Who would have thought that a resolute voice would suddenly ring out in the courtyard? "I am leaving with Father!"

The woman who had just entered the room had actually come back.

In truth, Li Chu had heard her secretly open the door and creep back toward the front hall. He simply had not expected the scholar's request of him to be so serious, and by the time he wanted to remind him, it was already too late.

"Rou Er, foolish child." Seeing his daughter return, the middle-aged scholar sighed. "The news I received earlier was that they spent a great sum to hire a demon from Azure Wing Tower to kill me. The Eight-Armed Asura sent by Azure Wing Tower has already declared that he will never allow me to reach Yuhang Town alive! He is certain to intercept us on the road ahead. Why must you accompany me to your death?"