Demon Person's Pursuit

When Ning Xiu returned to Spring Breeze Pavilion, Lu Hao and the others had already started clinking glasses, beauties nestled in their arms.

Seeing that Ning Xiu had taken so long, Lu Hao urged him at once, "Brother Ning, that was one hell of a trip to the latrine. Come on, sit down and drink three cups as a penalty."

"Fair enough." Ning Xiu found a seat with calm composure, no one able to guess that he had just killed several Evil Spirits on the third floor of Spring Full Pavilion.

Just then, Lu Hao grinned slyly and pulled a white bottle from his bosom, asking mysteriously, "Take a look at this, everyone. Know what it is?"

The others leaned in, all puzzled.

One of them pressed, "Brother Lu, don't keep us in suspense. Just tell us."

"Heh, this is called an Essence Locking Indomitable Pill, the favorite tonic of high officials and nobles these days. Take one, and you can go at it tirelessly for an hour or two. This little bottle costs fifty taels of silver. I'll give each of you one later, so you can truly know the taste of prowess in the bedchamber."

Someone laughed, "As expected of Brother Lu, young as you are, you've already grasped what others haven't. Admirable."

After several rounds of wine, the atmosphere in the room grew warm and easy. As they drank, the sense of unfamiliarity among them vanished entirely.

Seeing Lu Hao and the others looking thoroughly pleased, Ning Xiu figured this was the right time to ask. He spoke up, "Brother Lu, do you know who opened Spring Full Pavilion? To run a brothel of this scale in Chaotian Capital, the person behind it can't be ordinary, right?"

Hearing this, Lu Hao chuckled, "Brother Ning, you've asked the right person. I do know. Have you heard of Marquis Wuyi?"

Ning Xiu nodded. "I know. One of the thirty-six marquises of Great Shang, a member of the Imperial Clan of the Son of Heaven."

Lu Hao sighed with feeling, "Marquis Wuyi used to be a devoted man, doting only on Madam Han, whom he married in his youth. But fate is fickle. Madam Han died of illness a few years ago, and the marquis changed overnight. He took to whoring and carousing, partying night after night. The young women he brought into his mansion numbered no less than a thousand. And a year ago, he personally opened this Spring Full Pavilion for pleasure-seekers."

"Does Marquis Wuyi meddle in the daily revenue and management of Spring Full Pavilion?" Ning Xiu asked.

"Brother Ning, what a question. Marquis Wuyi is one of the thirty-six marquises. He has countless people working for him. A single Spring Full Pavilion doesn't need his involvement. Naturally, he has someone running it flawlessly."

Ning Xiu picked up his wine cup and said nothing. Spring Full Pavilion, as an establishment owned by Marquis Wuyi, had become a place where Evil Spirits lurked and preyed on the people.

He wondered whether the marquis himself had a hand in this, or if someone was using his protection to operate in the shadows.

Just as Lu Hao was rambling on, the door to Spring Breeze Pavilion was suddenly shoved open from outside. A plump woman barged in, leading three servants.

The commotion startled Lu Hao, who had no idea what was going on.

But he quickly recovered, stood up, and snapped angrily, "What's the meaning of this? How dare you barge into my private room? Trying to drive away customers?"

Amid the chaos, Ning Xiu quietly activated his Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique. Behind the plump woman, he saw the three servants with rotting sores on their faces, empty eye sockets, and arms so long they dragged on the ground—a hideous sight. They were Evil Spirits in disguise.

Outside the room, a long-limbed Evil Spirit, thin as a bamboo pole, crawled slowly past. The wealthy young men walking beside it paid it no mind at all.

"My apologies, my sincere apologies, young masters. This servant entered the wrong room." After scanning the room, the plump woman immediately put on a fawning smile and bowed repeatedly. "I'm so sorry for disturbing your enjoyment. This servant will have two more jars of fine wine sent over as an apology."

Watching them come and go in such a strange manner, Ning Xiu guessed that the other Evil Spirits had likely discovered he had killed their kind.

That was why they were now using the excuse of entering the wrong room to search for suspicious people.

But they probably never imagined that the culprit, after making his move, hadn't fled. Instead, he was right under their noses, drinking freely.

Meanwhile, in the deepest room on the third floor of Spring Full Pavilion.

The entire building was brightly lit, but this room was pitch black. The owner had no intention of lighting a candle.

The window was open, and the pale moonlight fell on the dressing table by the window, the room's only source of light.

Before a bronze mirror, a woman hummed a soft tune, holding a wooden comb as she tidied her jet-black hair.

"Steward Chu, we've searched the entire Spring Full Pavilion and found no suspicious person." A disheveled figure pushed open the door and entered, speaking in a voice that shifted between male and female.

"If a suspicious person could be spotted by the likes of you, they wouldn't be suspicious." The woman set down the comb and gently stroked the bronze mirror.

In the mirror, a hideous face faintly appeared. No matter how splendid the woman's clothes or how delicate her grooming, it could do nothing to change her appearance.

After she touched the mirror for a moment, the image slowly shifted. Several beautiful faces flashed across the glass, then turned into skulls.

After several transformations, the mirror finally showed the blurry features of a young man.

"Lady, your Soul Searching Technique grows more refined by the day," the disheveled figure praised.

"Go ask if anyone has seen this person. The secret of Spring Full Pavilion must not reach the Demon Subduing Bureau. Otherwise, even with that one's protection, we'll be beyond saving."

"Yes."

Young men have the least self-control. Aside from Ning Xiu, Lu Hao and the others all planned to stay the night at Spring Full Pavilion, spending the evening with the girls who had accompanied them.

Knowing the dark secrets of Spring Full Pavilion, Ning Xiu naturally wouldn't do something so suicidal. After trying in vain to persuade Lu Hao and the others, he had no choice but to return to the Demon Subduing Bureau alone.

If Lu Hao and the others didn't come back by tomorrow, he would report the matter to Su Qianqian.

Stepping out of Spring Full Pavilion's main gate, it was already the Hour of the Ox. The night wind carried a chill, and with a bit of wine in him, Ning Xiu felt a little lightheaded.

The carriage Lu Hao had hired was long gone from the street, so Ning Xiu had to walk back to the Demon Subduing Bureau.

Although Chaotian Capital had no curfew, aside from the wealthy, no one would be idly wandering the streets at this hour. Once he was far from Spring Full Pavilion, the streets fell silent, devoid of any human figures.

Clop, clop, clop!

Listening to his own footsteps, Ning Xiu suddenly stopped in his tracks.

His pupils turned white—he had quietly activated his Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique. In his vision, Evil Qi swirled all around. An Evil Spirit must be lurking nearby.

"As an Evil Spirit, you've got some nerve. Show yourself," Ning Xiu said, turning around.

As he spoke, a figure emerged from behind a shop pillar not far away. Dressed in black, with disheveled hair obscuring his face, he was impossible to make out clearly.

Evil Spirit? Or a Demon Person?

Primordial Yang Fist: Seventh Layer (730/3000) (+)

Golden Bell Shield: Fourth Layer (112/800) (+)

Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique: First Layer (21/200) (+)

Great Sun Profound Scripture: Fourth Layer (910/1600) (+)

Universal Proficiency: 1700

Ning Xiu cautiously summoned his panel and added 700 points of Universal Proficiency to the Golden Bell Shield, directly raising it by one layer.

The remaining 1000 points of Universal Proficiency he poured entirely into the Great Sun Profound Scripture, also raising it by one layer.

Immediately, Ning Xiu felt his Internal Energy within his dantian swell somewhat, and his physique seemed to grow tougher as well.

Boosting his combat power on the spot gave Ning Xiu a bit more confidence when facing this mysterious figure before him.

"You're quite alert, but unfortunately, finding me will only make your death more miserable."

This person spoke very strangely—within a single sentence, his voice shifted between male and female, as if a man and a woman were speaking at the same time.

Before the man could finish speaking, Ning Xiu charged forward and threw a punch straight at his head.

The punch's fierce wind instantly swept aside the long hair covering the man's face, revealing a gloomy-looking male visage.

What surprised Ning Xiu was that on either side of this man's face, where the ears should be, there were actually two female faces.

Their eyes glared at Ning Xiu with venomous hatred, as terrifying as any Evil Spirit.

Slap!

The Demon Person raised a hand to block Ning Xiu's attack, and a human mouth suddenly split open on the back of his hand, lunging to bite Ning Xiu's arm.

But Ning Xiu's newly broken-through fifth-layer Golden Bell Shield was no decoration. When that mouth bit into his skin, it was like biting into bronze or iron—it couldn't inflict any damage at all.

The strangeness of this person's techniques was something Ning Xiu had never seen before. This was the true strength of a Demon Person, not like those helpless creatures in the Demon Subduing Prison whose abilities were sealed by the Demon Subduing Captains.

Without waiting for the opponent to react, Ning Xiu channeled his Internal Energy into his left leg and kicked the Demon Person hard in the abdomen, sending him flying back over twenty feet.

Ning Xiu had put eighty percent of his strength into that kick, and with Internal Energy infused, he was confident he could even kick through a stone wall.

Yet the Demon Person only lay on the ground for a few breaths before struggling back to his feet.

"Martial Ninth Rank. You're from the Demon Subduing Bureau." The Demon Person wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, revealing Ning Xiu's identity in one breath.

Ning Xiu didn't answer. He charged forward again. He didn't believe this Demon Person had an undying body. If one kick couldn't kill him, then he'd just land another.

Having underestimated Ning Xiu's strength earlier, the Demon Person had taken a free kick. Though it wasn't enough to kill, it had inflicted considerable damage.

If Ning Xiu landed another hit or two, his life might truly end here tonight.

The Demon Person no longer took him lightly and unleashed all his abilities at once.

In an instant, his long hair flew up, moving without wind, and the three connected faces—male and female—were fully exposed to Ning Xiu's eyes.

"Ugh!"

The three faces spat out in unison, and three black serpents as thick as a bowl's rim burst forth, writhing through the air as they flew toward Ning Xiu.

The black serpents were covered in sharp scales, and their fangs were like beastly jaws. If bitten, it would certainly be unpleasant.

But Ning Xiu, trained in the Golden Bell Shield, had no fear of these. His body was his best armor.

Turning defense into offense, Ning Xiu grabbed one of the lunging black serpents, poured all his Internal Energy into his palm, and crushed its skull.

At the same time, the other two black serpents easily sank their fangs into Ning Xiu's shoulder and thigh. For the first time, his previously invincible Golden Bell Shield met its match.

His skin held for less than a breath before the black serpents' fangs broke through, sinking deep into his flesh.

"Hiss!" Feeling the pain inside his body, Ning Xiu couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.

But he didn't abandon his assault. If he stopped now, he would surely die without a burial place.

Grabbing the serpent biting his shoulder, Ning Xiu shoved his fingers into its eye socket, violently tore open its orbit, and ripped out its brain.

Seeing Ning Xiu grow even more ferocious and savage after being bitten, the Demon Person's expression finally cracked.

The martial Demon Subduing Captains he'd encountered before didn't fight like this. Who was the real Demon Person here?

Realizing that even his killing move couldn't subdue Ning Xiu, the Demon Person began to think about retreating.

If this continued, tonight might not end with him killing Ning Xiu.

But Ning Xiu wasn't about to give him that chance. Quickly crushing the last black serpent's skull, Ning Xiu burst forward at his top speed and appeared right before the Demon Person.

Before the Demon Person could dodge, Ning Xiu's hand shot out and seized his main face.

"No! Don't!"

Crack!

Under the Demon Person's stunned expression, his male main face was instantly crushed out of shape by Ning Xiu's grip.

The sound of skull bones cracking rang out continuously until it finally exploded completely.

The female faces on either side couldn't escape either. Ning Xiu crushed them one by one with his Internal Energy.

Demon Person killed, Universal Proficiency +700