After wrapping up the fight against the Black Mountain Demon, Yan Chixia looked over at Xiao Han, who stood nearby with his head lowered in thought, and patted him on the shoulder.
"A Han, why do you look so strange? Are you hurt?"
"Huh... hurt? No, no, you've got it wrong."
Pulled out of his thoughts, Xiao Han looked at Yan Chixia and said a little sheepishly, "Hero Yan, don't you think our fight with the Black Mountain Demon ended rather abruptly?
"I thought I'd be able to fight for quite a while after summoning my Demon Armor. I didn't expect it to end in such a rush."
"Things can change in an instant on the battlefield. Isn't it better to finish early?"
Yan Chixia raised an eyebrow. "We took down the Black Mountain Demon so easily mainly because your Demonic Qi scared him out of his wits and killed his Fighting Spirit. Otherwise, even two Buddhist Scriptures couldn't have suppressed him so easily."
"Come on. The Black Mountain Demon was a centuries-old fiend who'd lived for thousands of years. How could he lose his composure over something so trivial?"
Xiao Han wore a deadpan expression.
"Hmph, what would you know?"
Yan Chixia put the Sword Case on the ground back into his Storage Ring, then glanced at Xiao Han. "The longer someone lives, the more they cherish their life.
"Your Demonic Qi is even more terrifying than any fiend I've ever encountered. Someone who didn't know your true strength might really take you for an unparalleled demon!"
"Just like when you first met me?"
Xiao Han grinned mischievously.
"Exactly! Back then, I thought you were some demon with a knack for staying young. I even planned to risk my life to kill you and rid the world of evil." As he spoke, Yan Chixia jokingly made a throat-slitting gesture at Xiao Han.
"Ugh..."
"You're still young. What are you sighing for? You sound like some old man in his seventies or eighties."
Yan Chixia patted the back of Xiao Han's head, looking exasperated. "You're so young, yet you're so low on energy. Why don't you smile a little?"
"You don't get it. I'd already summoned my Demon Armor, and then the Black Mountain Demon just died like that. It's like, 'I've already taken my pants off, and this is all you're showing me?'"
Xiao Han looked utterly miserable, as if he'd just been ready to finish, only for the other person to say they didn't want to anymore.
"What a strange way of talking."
Yan Chixia glared at Xiao Han and stopped paying him any attention, striding over to Ning Caichen and the others.
After Xiao Han impaled the Black Mountain Demon with his sword, the temporarily assimilated Yin-Yang Realm vanished in an instant. Sunlight spilled across the land once more, accompanied by the wails of Wrathful Ghosts as they disintegrated beneath its rays. The Reincarnators, still caught up in the thrill of battle, finally came back to their senses.
The Reincarnators cleaned some of the blood from their clothes, then happily checked the astonishing number of Reincarnation Points they'd earned from the slaughter.
Each Ghost Soldier was worth 10 Reincarnation Points, while a Ghost General was worth twice that—20 points.
If Xiao Han and Yan Chixia hadn't held off the Black Mountain Demon, whose cultivation was the most terrifying, the others could never have made such a fortune. All in all, the Reincarnators were quite satisfied with their alliance with Xiao Han.
Though the battle had been intense, thanks to Mage Chen Lan's support, they hadn't suffered many injuries. Even those who were hurt had only minor cuts and bruises. After the battle, Chen Lan personally treated the wounded members of the team.
Ning Caichen watched Chen Lan tenderly and carefully tend to his wound. A rare blush appeared on his face, and his breathing quickened.
Miss Chen Lan was not only a Taoist nun with great Magical Power, but her Taoist arts had also supported us in battle. I wouldn't have been able to fight so effectively against those Ghost Soldiers without her.
And Miss Chen Lan is beautiful and kindhearted. I wonder if she's married.
She's treating me so gently. Could she be interested in me?
Well, this world's Ning Caichen hadn't managed to court a female ghost, so he'd set his sights on a Reincarnator instead.
But as a Reincarnator, Chen Lan wasn't thinking along those lines.
She was only treating Ning Caichen because it was part of her routine to tend to her teammates and because she was naturally gentle. After all, they would need Ning Caichen, a newly emerged fighting force, when they went after the Thousand-Year Centipede Demon.
After treating everyone, Chen Lan saw Yan Chixia approaching with Xiao Han.
"Thankfully, A Han and I managed to overcome a bitter struggle... and so on and so forth...
"...and finally destroyed that thousand-year-old demon.
"That demon was immensely powerful. If we hadn't brought out two Buddhist Scriptures to suppress him at the very last moment, we might have died without a trace."
Yan Chixia lied through his teeth, describing their battle as an earth-shattering, bloody struggle. Xiao Han could only stare at him, speechless.
You don't have a single scratch on you. What struggle?
That's enough—keep it up and you'll give yourself away!
"Thank you for your efforts, Heroes."
The Man in Sunglasses copied the ancient way of greeting and cupped his hands toward Xiao Han and Yan Chixia. "Without you two, there's no way we could have killed the Black Mountain Demon, who had plagued the world for a thousand years."
"We cultivators need only lift a hand to vanquish demons and defend the Way."
Yan Chixia accepted the Man in Sunglasses' praise without a hint of modesty and laughed heartily.
"To be frank, Hero Yan, there's one more thing I'd like to ask of you!"
The Man in Sunglasses then told Yan Chixia the truth: the current Imperial Tutor, Pu Du Cihang, was actually a Thousand-Year Centipede Demon. The demon had taken the name Pu Du Cihang and become the National Protector Grandmaster in order to cultivate into a True Dragon. In reality, he was draining the nation's fortune and devouring countless court officials.
That was why the Imperial Court was in such chaos and the entire nation had fallen into turmoil!
In terms of sin, he was no less evil than the Black Mountain Demon.
However, Pu Du Cihang was still far weaker than the Black Mountain Demon.
And since Yan Chixia had once been a renowned Judge throughout the Guandong Guangxi Twenty-Six Provinces, the emperor knew him well. If he were to expose the Imperial Tutor's true identity to the emperor, the emperor would surely believe him.
Of course, the main goal was to kill the Centipede Demon and restore peace to the land!
"How outrageous! I've been wondering why the world's been in such chaos these past few years. It really is as the saying goes: 'When a nation is on the verge of ruin, demons and monsters will appear.' There's no time to lose. We'll head to the Capital City at once and expose that demon's true face!"
Yan Chixia was furious. No wonder the Imperial Court had been in turmoil for years. A thousand-year-old Great Demon had been causing trouble; how could things possibly be peaceful?
With so many skilled people by his side, killing a Centipede Demon would be no problem.
"I'm sorry, but I may not be able to help. I have to go."
Just as everyone was gearing up to set out, Xiao Han's voice came from the side.
"A Han, what's going on? Why do you suddenly have to leave?" Yan Chixia turned to look at the young man he'd spent some time with, puzzled.
"Yeah, what's going on, Brother Xiao?" Ning Caichen asked, looking just as confused.
Xiao Han shook his head with a wry smile. "Something very important has come up, and I need to leave right away. I'd planned to tell you after we defeated the Tree Demon and the Black Mountain Demon, but then another Thousand-Year Centipede Demon appeared.
"It's not that I'm unwilling to vanquish demons and exorcise evil. I truly have something urgent and important to take care of. So I'd like to say goodbye here. I hope you'll understand!"
"Ah... never mind. If you have something urgent to attend to, then we'll part ways here."
Yan Chixia waved a hand and walked away. It was clear that he was reluctant to part as well.
After spending all these days together, he'd already come to regard Xiao Han as a true friend. It was only natural; if he hadn't accepted Xiao Han, why would he have passed on everything he knew?
"Brother Xiao, you're leaving so soon?"
Ning Caichen took Xiao Han's hand. "I haven't even had the chance to thank you for teaching me the Sword Flying Technique. I can't believe we have to part after knowing each other for just over half a month. Take care, no matter what."
"Brother Ning."
Xiao Han hadn't expected Ning Caichen to truly consider him a close friend, and he couldn't help but feel touched.
But then Xiao Han smiled and shook his head. "Books say there's no feast that doesn't end. A true man has ambitions far and wide; what's a brief parting between friends?"
As he spoke, Xiao Han pointed toward the sky.
"Look at those clouds. They gather, then scatter, and scatter, then gather again. Life's partings and reunions are just the same."
Ning Caichen paused, then cupped his hands toward Xiao Han with a wry smile. "You're right. I was being sentimental. Then, Brother Xiao, let's part here."
"Mm..."
Xiao Han nodded, then went behind Yan Chixia, who had his back turned to him, and said with some reluctance, "Hero Yan, I'm leaving. I'll always remember your kindness in passing on your teachings."
"Go on. For people like us, who roam the world, all this fussing and fretting is unbecoming." Yan Chixia turned around. Xiao Han noticed that his eyes were red, as if he'd been crying. In the end, Yan Chixia was a man of deep feeling.
"Also, that story you made up about 'Muye Daozhe Village' was terrible. If you're going to make up stories to fool people, at least come up with a better one next time."
"Huh!? You—you knew?"
Xiao Han felt awkward.
"I figured out you were lying the next day. I've been a Judge for years, after all. Did you really think I was an idiot?
"But after spending time with you, I could tell you were a cultivator who hated evil. I didn't look into it further. Everyone has their secrets."
Yan Chixia took a deep breath. "Go on. I've taught you everything I can. Your Sword Intent is already stronger than mine."
Xiao Han gave Yan Chixia a long look, nodded, and bowed.
Then he cupped his hands toward everyone present. "Everyone, this is goodbye. Until we meet again!"
With that, Xiao Han walked away, one step at a time, with his back to the others, until he disappeared into the dense woods.
"What a shame. With someone as powerful as him helping us, we'd have been safe from harm."
The Man in Sunglasses watched Xiao Han leave. "Looks like something happened on the Main God's end, and they deleted his mission to help us destroy the Centipede Demon."
"This kid's origins are unclear. He said the Main God sent him, but he was still difficult to control. According to the Main God's guidance, once the mission was complete, he'd return to his own Reincarnation World."
Chen Lan walked up beside the Man in Sunglasses, her brow relaxing. Facing Xiao Han, a handsome young man who seemed harmless, had always made her feel uneasy.
Now that Xiao Han had left, she could finally breathe easy.
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