I Still Want to Live a Few More Days
Sang Ying had been born a favored child of heaven, with outstanding innate talent. Though she had suffered some grievances later on, she had never been utterly powerless.
Only upon seeing these mortals locked up like wild beasts did she realize, with a start, just how many times more fortunate she was than those who could not cultivate.
In a world where the weak were prey to the strong, Sang Ying could gradually grow stronger and protect herself, while those mortals could only become fish and meat beneath cultivators' knives, the most wretched of ants.
"Sang Ying, we can't stay here any longer. The city lord and the others will come back. We have to escape so we can expose his collusion with the Demon Cultivator and his use of mortals to test medicines!" Nan Gurong quickly recovered her wits, and her first thought was to flee with Sang Ying.
The city lord, Luo Fengyuan, was now a Soul Leaving Stage cultivator. The two of them, at the Foundation Establishment Realm, were no match for him.
Sang Ying knew her own limits. After the incident with the Cold Crow Devil Lord, she was even less willing to take on such mighty figures recklessly.
The two gathered some evidence from the stone chamber, intending to place it in the right hands and win justice for the villagers of Listening Willow Village!
The underground palace Luo Fengyuan had built was vast. At the very front were the quarters where he handled affairs and traded with the Demon Race. The stone chamber in the middle was where the human test subjects were imprisoned, while the rear connected to the moat outside.
As long as they passed through there and entered the moat, they would have a chance to leave the city lord's residence and seek help outside.
They had already spent a long time there, and by now the fire outside had probably been put out. Once everyone discovered they were missing, they would inevitably search the underground palace.
As Sang Ying fled with Nan Gurong, she did her best to absorb the Spiritual Qi in the ice spirit crystal, hoping to have the strength to protect herself if they ran into danger.
"I really didn't expect it. Cultivators nowadays are starting down such crooked paths of the Evil Dao, even daring to make friends with the Demon Race and Devil Cultivators. Aren't they afraid of being gnawed down to the bone?" Gu Shu, inside the spirit sword, was still muttering away. It seemed the earlier scene had left a shadow in the young sword spirit's heart as well.
Sang Ying could only comfort Gu Shu for a while, promising that she would certainly rescue those innocent people.
The sound of trickling water reached their ears from afar. Sang Ying and Nan Gurong exchanged a glance, both pleasantly surprised.
The two were about to hurry forward and see whether there was an exit ahead when a sound of something slicing through the air came from behind them.
The hairs on Sang Ying's body stood on end. Before she could think, she had instinctively shoved Nan Gurong aside, and the two narrowly avoided the blow.
A purplish-black whip struck the stone wall in front of them. The wall exploded instantly, sending countless fragments of stone flying in all directions. One grazed Sang Ying's cheek, leaving a bloody mark on her face.
She looked back to see a middle-aged man in splendid robes holding a long whip and staring coldly at them. Beside him stood a man with golden vertical pupils. When he noticed Sang Ying looking at him, he parted his lips slightly and flicked out his long, slender snake tongue.
This was probably the Demon Cultivator the Red Snake Demon Race had sent to make contact with Luo Fengyuan. The mortals locked in cages were his and the Cold Crow Devil Lord's handiwork!
"Since you two have already come, why are you leaving so soon?" The Demon Cultivator spoke first, his tone as cloying as ever.
Luo Fengyuan withdrew his whip and frowned slightly. "What's there to say to them? The sooner we get rid of them, the sooner we can focus on dealing with those two Rogue Cultivators."
So the young man in black had not been caught yet. For some reason, Sang Ying was actually a little happy to hear it.
"I know, I know." The Demon Cultivator waved a hand, looking thoroughly impatient. "Leave the sword-wielder to me. Sword cultivators are my favorite thing to eat."
When he said the word "eat," the Demon Cultivator's vertical pupils shone especially brightly, as though he had recalled some delightful memory.
Sang Ying did not think the Demon Cultivator was merely trying to frighten her. This snake had probably already swallowed quite a few cultivators.
She glanced at the sword in her hand, suspecting that it, too, would break before long.
"Remember, finish this quickly!" Luo Fengyuan added. His slender whip shot straight at Nan Gurong's face.
Nan Gurong was a medical cultivator and was not skilled at fighting at all.
Luo Fengyuan's whip came fast and viciously. If it struck Nan Gurong, she would probably die on the spot.
Sang Ying had no time to think. She hurriedly moved to block it.
But at that crucial moment, the Demon Cultivator stepped in her way, intercepting Sang Ying and leaving her no time to save Nan Gurong.
Seeing that the whip was about to strike Nan Gurong, Sang Ying did not even dare watch.
Just then, a jade-white hand seized the whip, forcibly stopping City Lord Luo's attack.
Everyone's gaze turned to the owner of the hand, and soon they saw a face that was impossible to forget once seen.
This was the first time Sang Ying had looked so closely at him. Earlier, she had been busy fleeing for her life, and the night outside had been dark, so she had not gotten a clear look at him.
Now that she looked carefully, this Rogue Cultivator's bearing was on par with Gu Huaiwei's. He even looked somewhat more refined than that master of hers in name only.
His sudden intervention startled everyone, yet he was still in the mood to joke with Sang Ying. As soon as he spoke, he asked, "Didn't you tell me you were fleeing for your life? How did you run around in a circle only to end up in this underground palace?"
If he had not seen Sang Ying running around the city lord's residence and coaxed his friend into following her with him, the girl would probably have died here without a sound.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Sword cultivators these days-each one is bolder than the last!
Sang Ying knew nothing of the young man in black's thoughts. All she saw was that the expressions on Luo Fengyuan's and the Demon Cultivator's faces were growing uglier and uglier because of him.
"Si Jing, are you determined to oppose me? And to think I wanted to marry my daughter to you. Is this how you repay me?" Luo Fengyuan raised his hand to pull the whip back, but the young man opposite him held it so tightly that he could not budge it in the slightest.
The city lord ran his tongue over his back teeth, feeling somewhat regretful. After all, he had personally led men to tie up the man before him and bring him back to the city lord's residence.
The young man in black named Si Jing smiled faintly, but his words were infuriating. "I couldn't possibly marry your daughter, City Lord. Not only does she whip people at the slightest provocation, but after a hundred years she'll even have her husband buried with her. I may not be able to ascend and become an immortal, but I still want to live a little longer."
With that, he tossed the whip aside himself.
The gesture made Luo Fengyuan's face turn red with anger in an instant.
"Well, well, where did this young fool who doesn't know life from death come from? How dare you speak to City Lord Luo like that? Is that any way to treat an elder?" Now that someone new had arrived, the Demon Cultivator naturally stopped paying Sang Ying any attention. Instead, he slithered over to Luo Fengyuan's side and confronted Si Jing alongside him.
Sang Ying took the opportunity to retreat behind Si Jing, shielding Nan Gurong.
Si Jing quietly positioned himself in front of them and continued to retort, "Whether I should or not, that's my attitude. City Lord Luo hasn't even spoken yet, so what gives a neither-man-nor-woman demon like you the right to chime in?"