So what mattered was that this Demonic Sword Cultivator was actually the Demon Abyss City Lord—or that Pei Ling had destroyed Demon Abyss City outright? And judging by that brief exchange between the Demonic Sword Cultivator and Ji Qingming, did Ji Qingming know him?
Qiao Ranran's thoughts ran wild for a moment. Something flashed through her mind, but she couldn't catch it. Most of her attention was still on Pei Ling; she had no idea what had happened to him. After his initial panic and confusion, something about his eyes was still off, but he had calmed down. She also noticed that the dark stains on his red robe all reeked of blood.
"Pei—"
"Shh..." Pei Ling set a hand against the back of Qiao Ranran's head, supporting her neck so she could curl against his chest. He savored the feeling, as though his long-lost heart had finally found a place to rest. Right now, he didn't want to deal with anything else, or hear her say anything else. "It's not my blood."
Qiao Ranran, nestled in his arms, was of one mind with him. He knew what worried her, and found that he didn't want her to worry at all.
His red robe was indeed soaked through with blood, but it wasn't his. It was the Killing Aura left from his slaughter in the Demon Realm. That aura, along with the Curse borne on the resentment of those Demonic Cultivators, had seeped into his clothes. It gave the already vivid robe an eerie hue, as though blood were flowing through it, and a pungent stench to match.
"I don't like this smell..." Qiao Ranran mumbled. Her nose was sharp to begin with, and she was especially sensitive to the smell of blood. Otherwise, she wouldn't have found injured people