Return to the County

Return to the County

Ugly Slave halted, staring in disbelief at the scene that seemed frozen in time.

The long saber served as a spear, and the spear shot forth like a dragon.

A vicious dragon lunged out, piercing through the chests of a man in purple robes and another who clearly seemed to be a Demon-Plague Warrior, carrying them through the air as time, as though someone had pressed a "slow-motion button," pushed them backward frame by frame.

Disbelief filled the eyes of those two as well.

Not only them—even the fleeing lesser demons and the Monkey Demon pinned beneath the golden mountain had frozen expressions as they stared dumbly at the sight.

Everyone had clearly seen the ghost-faced Daoist Boy struck squarely by the Celestial Master Seal, then fall solidly to the ground.

But he had merely fallen once. After that, he actually got back up as though nothing had happened.

After getting up—

He ran.

Ning Xuan ran.

He switched back to [Yin Wind Ox], his Constitution returning to 5.0.

His speed reached its utmost limit. Every time his feet struck the ground, he unleashed the Swallow Cry Force beneath them. The earth shattered and dust billowed; each step carried him more than ten zhang. In just four or five steps, he had already charged before the purple-robed man and the Demon-Plague Daoist Boy.

He even had time to seize the long saber that had only just landed.

He leaped up, gripping the hilt with both hands, his face twisted savagely and his lips pulling into a vicious grin.

His gaze was focused, utterly absorbed, and ruthless.

From above, he drove down heavily upon the purple-robed man and Daoist Boy who had just hit the ground.

Yan He!

BOOM!!!

Violent force, compounded threefold with the force from that throw, smashed into the purple-robed man and the Daoist Boy.

Then, the flesh and blood of the purple-robed man and Daoist Boy began to come apart.

Flesh, sinew, bones, and organs all began to disintegrate.

They disintegrated in every direction.

BANG!!

Flesh and blood shot outward, blooming across the earth like an incomparably bloody dahlia.

There was no one left beneath Ning Xuan's blade or feet.

Both men had exploded into minced flesh. An eyeball rolled and rolled until it struck a rib wrapped in a scrap of purple cloth and came to a stop.

He stood atop the flower of scattered flesh, the savage curve of his lips stretching wider and wider.

For some reason, he wanted to laugh.

So he laughed.

One hand clutching his saber and the other bracing his forehead as he raked back his hair, he burst into wild laughter.

"Ha ha ha!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!"

The Ghost Shadow Horse Monkey stared blankly at the scene, with only one sentence rising in its heart: As expected, you truly are a demon.

It had already smelled demonic aura from this ghost-faced Daoist Boy before, which was why it had called it strange earlier.

It suddenly looked at Ugly Slave with pity in its eyes.

Sure enough, after laughing madly, Ning Xuan started running again.

With every run came an explosion.

Amid the rolling dust, he charged toward Ugly Slave, rushed past Ugly Slave, and arrived beside the Ghost Shadow Horse Monkey. His saber spun through the air, the monkey's head flew up, and he dipped a finger in demon blood. With a blink of his eyes, he refined it in an instant.

The Ghost Shadow Horse Monkey's Constitution was similar to that of the Yin Wind Ox; only its Innate Demonic Art differed.

Its Innate Demonic Art was:

[Concealment Art: Transform the form into emptiness, hide the shadow and conceal the tracks; its shape is difficult to discern.]

One hour later

Ning Xuan and Ugly Slave searched the cave, dealing cleanly with all the demons. But the Sheep Demon had always excelled in speed and had escaped, while some lesser demons had been too scattered and fled as well.

As for the missing townsfolk in the demon cave, all of them were rescued. The two spoke to them gently in reassurance, then led them to Manfeng Mountain's exit.

The soldiers stationed outside hurried forward to receive them and led the townsfolk away. Upon hearing that the demons had been exterminated, they all cheered.

The two brothers did not leave to join the government troops and Fangshi outside. Instead, citing unfinished trouble, they entered the mountain once more.

After walking for a while, both remained silent.

Ning Xuan recalled the attack he had just made.

He let out a soft sigh.

After being eaten by demons and monsters so many times, after enduring that agony of being bitten into piece by piece so often, some things were bound to change.

In his nightmares, when facing those powerful demons and monsters, he was no longer merely calm and ruthless, bent solely on putting them to death. There was also a trace of release, a trace of madness, a trace of distortion.

The moment he felt his life was threatened, he would react as though triggered, recalling the pain of being eaten alive. Then he would lose control and begin to move, to kill, doing everything in the most efficient, most frenzied way possible.

When all was said and done—

He was afraid.

He was truly terrified.

He was terrified of being eaten.

But that disposition was not him at all.

The way he had looked then—he did not even want to think about it now.

All he wanted now was to return to Star River County, swiftly complete the procedures, become a general, help the Ning Family stabilize its power, and then stay on his father's and eldest brother's turf, never going anywhere else.

This place was delightful, with plenty of fine wine and plenty of beautiful women. He had no need to go chasing greater Dragon Qi resources in some grander place, so why bother striving for advancement?

This was who he truly was.

Suddenly, Ugly Slave took the initiative to speak. "Though the corpses were badly shattered and carried nothing to prove their identities, that Daoist Boy was definitely a Demon-Plague Warrior, and that man in purple robes was a Celestial Master."

He patted Ning Xuan on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Well done."

After leaving the mountains, he had checked again and confirmed that there was no demonic aura on Ning Xuan.

Since that was the case, what was wrong with his younger brother being strong?

Why ask so many questions?

After some thought, he added worriedly, "The way you looked just now was somewhat..."

He could not describe the bloody, explosive sensation of that scene. Perhaps some demons and monsters were crueler than his younger brother, but there were absolutely none that could display that overwhelming, crazed, demonlike sight from moments ago.

That scene had been far too shocking.

Ugly Slave suddenly stopped walking.

Ning Xuan stopped as well.

Ugly Slave said solemnly, "Ning Xuan, do not tell anyone your secret, including Father and me. And I will absolutely not reveal what happened today."

Noticing the change in how he addressed him and the gravity in his tone, Ning Xuan nodded.

Ugly Slave continued, "It is just that your state is very wrong. If you did not have no demonic aura on you, I would have suspected that you had contracted the demon plague."

Ning Xuan explained, "Maybe it is because I learned that demons and monsters really exist in this world, so... I was afraid."

Ugly Slave's mouth twitched, but he still maintained the attitude of an elder brother, an elder. He gave a quiet laugh and said evenly, "You are still better than I was.

"The first time I saw demons and monsters, I was so frightened that I wet my pants. The second time, I did not wet myself, but my face was still deathly pale. I was so terrified that I seemed frozen solid.

"Master said I was not suited for this line of work, but I still made it this far.

"Do not put too much pressure on yourself. I am not criticizing you.

"Being vicious toward demons and monsters is not a bad thing. It is just that... you must not lose yourself."

Ning Xuan nodded heavily.

He had made up his mind.

His eldest brother was right.

Being vicious toward demons and monsters was not a bad thing, but he could not lose himself.

To keep from losing himself, he needed to go to Chenxiang Pavilion and listen to some music.

He had once thought Chenxiang Pavilion was too far away, since it was in the Prefecture City, so he generally only went when traveling far from home.

But now that he knew all of Wangyue Prefecture was his father's territory, what was so far about it?

He was going to buy the residence opposite Chenxiang Pavilion.

Concubines brought home would eventually grow tiresome after long familiarity. How could they compare to the ever-changing freshness of Chenxiang Pavilion, where there was wine and stories?

Ugly Slave said, "Now, we should head back."

His expression shifted slightly. "We should go see who exactly arranged for a Celestial Master and Daoist Boy pair to intercept us. If you had not caught them off guard this time, both you and I would already have been buried in the bellies of demons and monsters."

As he spoke, he pressed a hand onto Ning Xuan's shoulder. Golden light surged, and they crossed several li in an instant, shifting again and again without regard for the cost. At last, the clamor of Star River County drew near.