Watching Su Yan collapse to the ground beneath his punch, Wu Yi could not help but sneer inwardly.
It had not been in vain for Wu to play along with you for so long. At last, he had found his chance.
That was right. From the moment he had encountered Su Yan at the dock until now, Wu Yi had been playing along with her act.
Wu Yi was no lecherous fool. How could he be captivated by such flimsy beauty?
When a woman—especially a particularly beautiful woman—took the initiative to approach you, you had better be careful.
Wu Yi understood the weight of those words well. Thus, when Su Yan had struck up a conversation with him at the dock, he had vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
He instinctively called up the panel and, sure enough, found a problem.
[Bronze Energy: 0 (Accumulating) Realm: Mid Qi-Channeling Realm Status: Suffering internal injuries; half of meridians blocked. Under continuous influence of bewitchment.]
Seeing the newly added line in the status column, Wu Yi knew there was something wrong with the woman before him. She was very likely a demon.
He immediately circulated true qi in secret to protect his body, ensuring that he would not be further bewitched.
Afterward, he continued to play off Su Yan, all to uncover her telltale flaw.
Just now, Su Yan had finally been unable to hold back and exposed herself, allowing the long-prepared Wu Yi to catch her completely off guard.
Wu Yi had controlled that punch with exquisite precision. It could inflict the greatest possible damage upon Su Yan while keeping the commotion to a minimum and ensuring that the tower ship would not be punched through in a single blow.
Even if it made some noise, others would presumably think it was the waves crashing against the ship.
Without knowing exactly how many demons were aboard this vessel, caution had to come first.
Looking at Su Yan again, there was already a bloody hole as wide as a bowl in her body. Her clothes had been soaked crimson, and splattered blood dotted the area around her.
Though she had fallen to the floor, she had still forced herself upright.
Ordinarily, if an ordinary person took a punch from a Meridian-Piercing Realm Martial Artist at such close range, even if they did not die on the spot, they should have been crippled on one side, utterly drained of strength, and left quietly waiting for death to arrive.
Yet Su Yan not only still had the strength to prop herself up, she was even touching her wound.
Su Yan gently touched the wound below her abdomen, then lowered her head to look at the bloody hole where flesh had turned outward.
She looked at Wu Yi with a face full of grievance.
"Brother Wu, how could your heart be so cruel~"
She looked pitiful and delicate. If not for the fist-sized bloody hole in her body, ordinary people might truly have believed she was some household's frail young lady!
"Hmph, you brazen demon! How much longer do you intend to keep pretending!"
Wu Yi glared at Su Yan, feeling nothing but disgust.
Nearly his entire family had been buried at Demon Suppression Pass. Wu Yi hated demons and monsters with every fiber of his being!
If one asked what Wu Yi loved doing most, aside from drinking, it was killing demons!
Earlier, he had merely endured his disgust and humored her. Now that Su Yan had completely revealed herself yet still put on such an act, it was more than Wu Yi could tolerate.
Seeing Wu Yi so enraged, Su Yan knew she could no longer keep up the pretense.
Under Wu Yi's gaze, Su Yan slowly rose to her feet as a layer of skin-like clothing gradually peeled away from her body.
That layer of skin was unmistakably Su Yan's former appearance!
"Brother Wu, I seem to want—"
Her voice was no longer soft and gentle as before. Instead, it sounded like iron sheets being torn apart.
Wu Yi focused his attention, wanting to see just what kind of fiend this was.
The demon's body was long and slender, slick and pitch-black. Its limbs were thin and elongated, while its hands were wet, fleshy claws.
Its face was smooth and blank, without eyes, nose, or mouth. There was only a horizontal slit across it, and when it opened, a full row of fine, sharp teeth could be seen.
Wu Yi took a closer look. This was likely the legendary Skin-Painting Demon.
"Brother Wu, you smell so good..."
Seeing that more than half of Su Yan's skin still had not fallen away, Wu Yi immediately decided to strike first.
Strike while he was sick and take his life—who could possibly resist attacking?
Wu Yi immediately charged forward in a single stride.
At this point, he could no longer care whether the commotion would be too great. Just do it!
Wu Yi condensed true qi around his right fist, took a bow stance, and drove a fierce punch straight into the bloody hole beneath Su Yan's abdomen.
A muffled boom burst forth, blasting straight through the Skin-Painting Demon. The immense impact sent it flying backward.
It smashed through the room's wooden pillars along the way, then crashed through the wooden wall with a crack. Broken planks clattered to the floor as splintered wood scattered everywhere.
Though the Skin-Painting Demon had no facial features, Wu Yi could still sense its astonishment. It had clearly been beaten into questioning its entire existence.
The greatest difference between a Meridian-Piercing Realm Martial Artist and a Skin-Flesh Realm Martial Artist was that the former could mobilize the true qi within their body. Their destructive power was as different as heaven and earth.
If a Skin-Flesh Realm Martial Artist could stir their qi and blood to shatter steles and split stones with one punch, then a Meridian-Piercing Realm Martial Artist, going all out while mobilizing true qi, could blast through a wall a meter thick.
Wu Yi looked at the large hole the Skin-Painting Demon had smashed through and immediately chased after it.
Yet he was not pursuing it to finish it off. Instead, he charged straight beneath the deck.
He was certain that Zhou Man was down there!
Even a young lady of the Su Household like Su Yan had been impersonated by a demon. Who knew how many demons were still hidden across the ship?
The worst possibility was that the entire ship was full of demons!
Wu Yi did not dare gamble. After driving back the Skin-Painting Demon, he immediately went to search for Zhou Man.
He arrived at the cabin beneath the deck, where cargo was piled everywhere.
The air was thick with the scent of various spices, mixed with a faint yet lingering musky stench.
Wu Yi covered his nose and found it useless, so he simply stopped bothering.
The urgent matter was finding Zhou Man first. If he truly was not aboard the ship, that would be for the best.
Wu Yi wound through the passageways between the cargo, twisting and turning, until he finally arrived before a door.
The musky stench that had filled the air earlier seemed even stronger here.
The door was not shut tight but left half-open, with faint light shining from inside.
At the same time, waves of soul-stirring, intoxicating sounds drifted from within.
Wu Yi had no time to care about anything else. He only wanted to find Zhou Man as quickly as possible, so he pushed the door open and entered.
What met his eyes was a scene so spicy it stabbed at them.
He saw a figure over a person tall, its entire body covered in tawny fur and a fluffy tail behind it, facing away from Wu Yi.
It was straddling a burly man and indulging in pleasures with him. Judging by the man's expression, he was utterly intoxicated by it.
Once Wu Yi saw clearly, his eyes widened in shock.
Wu Yi said he did not understand, but he respected it.
In a corner nearby, several unconscious men had been tied together. Their hands and feet were bound, and something had been stuffed into their mouths as well.
Only one person looked over when the door was pushed open. Upon seeing Wu Yi, he became extremely excited and began struggling desperately, trying to draw Wu Yi's attention.
Wu Yi naturally noticed the movement in the corner. Once he saw the man's face clearly, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Clearly, this person was Wu Yi's disciple, Zhou Man!
Meanwhile, the two figures on the bed were locked in fierce battle, utterly unaware of Wu Yi's arrival.
Wu Yi hurried forward and untied Zhou Man.
"Xiao Man, hurry and leave. This is not a place to linger."
"Master, that is Uncle Liu. Can we take him with us?"
Zhou Man looked pleadingly at Wu Yi and pointed at Uncle Liu, who was likewise unconscious beside him.
Wu Yi nodded in agreement. One in his left hand and one in his right—just right.
As for the others, Wu Yi glanced at the remaining unconscious men.
Forgive me for being powerless. I can only hope the authorities arrive soon.
Without hesitation, Wu Yi grabbed Uncle Liu in his left hand and Zhou Man in his right, then turned to run.
Suddenly, he felt a faint chill down his back. He spun around and delivered a flying side kick.
An object gleaming with cold light was immediately kicked away by Wu Yi's immense force. It veered from its original path and lodged firmly in the ceiling.
"Young sir, where do you think you're going~"
Before you continue