Chapter 101: 101: Looking for Death? 6K Subscribers Wanted

After hearing Shu Niang's words, Wang Wu immediately realized that he must have encountered that so‑called "oddity" again.

Or perhaps something else, but whatever it is, a glance in the past would have revealed it.

Following the red light, he hurried forward, and in no time Wang Wu reached a clearing.

But there, aside from a dead‑silent village farther away, there was nothing else.

A gust of wind blew, lifting leaves from the forest into the sky.

No red light, nothing at all, the village over there was also pitch black. Yet through his Heavenly Demon Eye, Wang Wu could still see the lingering heat radiation in the village.

The people in the village had only just vanished, and it was unknown what caused them to all flee.

Shifting his gaze from the village, Wang Wu looked at the clearing before him.

He could see many chaotic footprints on the clearing, most of which led to the same spot.

Wang Wu is not a wild monster, so he lacks outdoor tracking skills; he can only rely on cheats… no, his innate divine ability, the Heavenly Demon Eye.

But the several female monsters have lived in Wang Gu Lin for a long time; tracking footprints is their forte.

"Wu Lang, look, those footprints all point to the center of this clearing," the female monsters said after surveying the surroundings, all noticing something amiss on the clearing and voicing the warning.

"I see it," Wang Wu nodded. With his Heavenly Demon Eye active, he didn't need the female monsters to notice the direction of the footprints on the clearing.

He followed the footprints to the middle, scrutinizing the central clearing. Yet even with the Heavenly Demon Eye, Wang Wu still could not discern anything wrong.

"Hmm…"

Wang Wu stroked his chin, falling into thought. Then he turned and scanned the forest, but aside from some beasts dwelling in tree hollows and a few pairs of eyes of his kind hidden in the grass, there was nothing else.

"How strange," Wang Wu muttered, rubbing the stubble on his chin.

He kicked the soil on the ground; aside from a faint earthy smell, there was nothing amiss.

So Wang Wu turned and walked back the way he came, soon vanishing into the forest.

The first minute, the second minute, the third minute after his disappearance.

Until the fifth minute, the air at the center of the clearing suddenly rippled. Immediately a gust rose, lifting a mass of leaves from the ground into the air.

When the wind ceased, a square house suddenly stood in the middle of the clearing.

The house, coffin‑like, had blood‑red lanterns hanging from the pillars at its doorway.

The lanterns swayed in the wind, their light flickering, making the four large characters "Travelers' Inn" above appear even more eerie.

That was exactly the place Wang Wu had visited before and caused a ruckus inside.

"Boom—!!"

But at that moment, a huge roar came from the distant forest, followed immediately by an excited shout:

"Ha ha! Damn bastard, playing hide‑and‑seek with me!??"

A figure darted out of the forest like lightning, arriving before the coffin‑like inn.

Wang Wu, with a smug expression, looked at the inn and kicked the main door with his foot.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by the roar, Wang Wu's kick flung the inn's wooden door open, and he strode inside.

The same diners as before were there, but there were more people. Besides some diners, Wang Wu also saw plates of dishes on their tables.

Dishes made by humans.

Now Wang Wu knew where the villagers had gone; apparently they had fled to the inn to eat.

The diners in the inn wore varied clothes—some luxurious, some ordinary, some tattered.

But without exception, they all had no faces.

And the inn's waiter had reversed facial features, the owner's skin was stretched tight. Yet now there was an additional type of staff.

It had no skin; red muscle tissue was exposed, and it held a sharp knife.

This "new staff member" was pushing a grill, and on the grill lay something coated in oil…

But as Wang Wu entered, everyone's movements halted.

The diners all turned their heads in unison, looking toward Wang Wu.

"What the hell, you guys, is this a shady shop?" Wang Wu said, looking at the items on the table, recalling that he had previously intended to buy something here to eat later.

Now that this happened, his mood instantly felt as miserable as if he had eaten shit.

The moment his words finished, his skin began to twist and swell, then he transformed into a Heavenly Demon, membranous wings unfurling behind him, emitting a sharp buzz as he roared toward the diners and staff inside.

In an instant, golden light burst throughout the inn, ferocious metal energy raged unchecked, engulfing and melting everything.

After a dozen minutes, satisfied and refreshed, Wang Wu reverted to human form. He patted the back of his clothes, glanced back at the wrecked inn, laughed heartily, then kicked the door open again and walked out.

"Wow, Wu Lang, you're out?"

In Shu Niang and Zi Yuan's surveillance footage, Wang Wu appeared out of thin air and vanished out of thin air. From start to finish, they saw nothing else.

"Ha ha, these black‑shop bastards, I've dealt with them again," Wang Wu said cheerfully, then headed back the way he came.

"Immortal?"

But after only a few steps, a cautious voice came from behind; Wang Wu turned and saw a monster.

Though he didn't know why, this creature, being a monster, dared to approach the vicinity of his true realm "human" and even initiated conversation.

"What?"

Wang Wu turned, looking at the handsome male monster before him.

Seeing his very frightened yet steadfast posture, Wang Wu couldn't help but smile: "You just pop out like that, aren't you afraid I'll slay demons?"

The other shivered at his words, clearly terrified, yet did not leave, standing still.

"Immortal, did you just… did you go into that shop?" After a brief inner struggle, the monster finally mustered the courage and stammered the question to Wang Wu.

"Yes," Wang Wu nodded.

"Then…"

"There are no living people inside; they're all dead," Wang Wu replied directly. "Whether it's the first floor or the second floor, whether it's the lobby or those guest rooms, there's not a single person inside."

"They're all dead; the ones who didn't die became diners, forever part of those oddities. And the dead have entered the stomachs of those oddities."

After hearing Wang Wu's words, the male demon staggered back a few steps, his face ashen, nearly stumbling to the ground. Wang Wu gave him a pull, averting that outcome and helping him regain his senses a bit.

"M-Many thanks, Immortal..." he stammered, his eyes reddening, bowing respectfully toward Wang Wu.

"Who do you have inside? Or are they monsters?" Wang Wu asked curiously.

"Yes, it's my sworn brother, a human..." the male demon said bitterly.

"Oh?" Wang Wu was momentarily surprised by the answer. But recalling Xi Men Pei of He Dong Xian and his demon concubine Can Niang, it wasn't that strange.

Can Niang was willing to sacrifice herself for Xi Men Pei, and although Xi Men Pei clearly had nothing to do with the good kind, he indeed loved that Can Niang.

To prevent Can Niang from being taken by many, he even planned to betray the Luo Family, confessing everything he knew to Si Tu Jin. But it failed; a real person from his own family smashed his head.

"He's a human, why is he here?" Wang Wu looked toward the village on that side and asked curiously, "I recall there are no villages or towns between Tian Bin County and Yuanqing Lake, right?"

"He is, he is..." faced with Wang Wu's question, the male demon stammered, seeming unsure how to answer.

But he needn't answer anything, for Wang Wu had already guessed.

"He's a bandit, perhaps?" Wang Wu asked with a smile, looking at the demon before him.

Immediately, the male demon's voice faltered, and he said nothing.

"But he's already dead, and I don't intend to pursue anything," Wang Wu waved his hand. "Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll be going. Bye."

Having said that, Wang Wu turned and left, not glancing at the male demon again.

This male demon had devoured only a few people, even fewer than Wu Er Niang. Yet even if he had eaten Wang Wu, he wouldn't care; demons eating humans is a matter of course.

Moreover, he himself is a demon, so he wouldn't hunt the other just because a demon ate someone.

Returning to the forest edge, he continued along the Guan Dao. Yet as he walked, Wang Wu stopped again, looking to the other side.

"What are you doing?" Wang Wu asked, curious, staring at a silhouette in the darkness.

"Why are you following me?"

But the other party gave no reply, merely standing silently. After it remained motionless for a long while, Wang Wu stared at it for a moment, and when it made no move, he stopped paying attention and kept going.

Maintaining an eighty‑kilometer‑per‑hour pace, Wang Wu leapt swiftly across the tree trunks in the forest.

On his right, the silhouette in the woods kept following him, doing nothing of its own, just trailing. Wherever Wang Wu went, it followed.

After nearly two hundred kilometers, Wang Wu could see the massive lake in the distance, his ultimate destination—Yuanqing Lake.

"Ho ho ho, we're almost there."

Gazing at the pitch‑black lake surface shrouded by night, Wang Wu felt exhilarated.

But at that moment, a flash of silver light surged with a strong wind. While Wang Wu was mid‑air, he tilted slightly, and the silver light flew past him from a point still some distance below him.

Ding—

As a crisp, bell‑like sound rang out, an invisible ripple spread from the silver light's path, radiating in all directions.

Wang Wu's movement halted; he perched on a tree, looking toward where the silver light flew.

That spot was exactly where the strange humanoid that had been tracking Wang Wu was located; since it never showed aggression toward him, Wang Wu had ignored it.

But Wang Wu's decision not to mind didn't mean others wouldn't; the attack that came from his side was aimed at that humanoid.

At that moment, a visible ripple spread rapidly from the humanoid's former spot. It affected nothing around, but the humanoid had already vanished.

"Why didn't you dodge?"

A voice sounded beside Wang Wu's ear, cold and sharp. Glancing sideways at the source, it was a face that perfectly matched that voice:

Sword‑shaped eyebrows, phoenix eyes, a face chiseled like a blade—sharp angles yet retaining feminine grace.

Cold and sharp—that was the first impression the woman gave Wang Wu.

"Because I'm not afraid," Wang Wu said, recalling a movie he had seen back home, his interest instantly piqued, and replied.

"..." But the other party didn't respond; after Wang Wu finished speaking, she simply stared at him calmly, leaving him somewhat disappointed.

After a while, she finally spoke again:

"Do you feel anything wrong about your body?"

"No," Wang Wu shook his head. "Thanks for the assistance, fellow Daoist..."

Before the words finished, a cold blade had already reached Wang Wu's throat.

Seeing the long sword in the other's hand, and the unchanged, utterly serious cold gaze, Wang Wu asked with some puzzlement:

"What? Are you planning to kill me yourself after rescuing me?"

"No," the woman said. "Saving you is one thing; this is another."

As she spoke, her long sword trembled, and a surge of energy rippled outward from its tip.

"Who are you, and why did you trespass into the sacred grounds of my Qingping Sect? This place is not open to outsiders; if you were chased here by those oddities, please return at once."

"I'm here to deliver goods," Wang Wu replied, then produced a jade tablet between his fingers.

Glancing at the jade tablet on Wang Wu's fingertip, the woman nodded, and lowered the long sword pointed at his throat.

"Apologies, but extraordinary times call for extraordinary actions; I hope you understand, fellow Daoist."

"No problem," Wang Wu waved his hand.

"Please follow me. This lake is sealed with numerous prohibitions; if you wade or fly recklessly, you'll be treated as an enemy and slain." After speaking, the woman sheathed her sword, her form swaying, and leapt among the trees ahead of Wang Wu.

"Can't you fly?" Wang Wu asked curiously, following behind the woman as they leapt through the forest.

"No," the woman replied succinctly.

"Why?"

"I'm a sword cultivator."

"What is a sword cultivator?"

The woman gave no further reply to Wang Wu, quickening her pace; in the blink of an eye she was dozens of li away from him.

She stopped at a simple pier by the lake, then halted there, waiting for Wang Wu to come over.

"Wu Lang, what should we do? Can't we cross this lake?"

The female demon in the sphere‑shaped fortress also heard the conversation between the woman and Wang Wu, and asked.

"Can we?" Wang Wu glanced at the great lake before him.

The sphere‑shaped fortress can glide underground, so it can also glide in water; the deep sea is no problem.

Moreover, the sphere‑shaped fortress can reach Si Hun Shan, let alone this tiny Yuan Qing Lake.

"If we can't get through, the system will give a prompt."

"Oh."

After finishing the chat with the demons, Wang Wu also hurried to the pier.

He can leave the sphere‑shaped fortress's range because he has parental permission; distance is no issue.

But once he leaves, he cannot use the instant return function, which will undoubtedly reduce his survivability dramatically.

As someone with a fallback, Wang Wu would certainly not allow that to happen.

"Why aren't you faster?"

When Wang Wu reached the woman's side, she slightly frowned, untied the rope binding the small boat to the pier, and asked.

"I'm a bit slow," Wang Wu gave a casual excuse. The woman didn't press the matter, untied the rope, boarded the boat, and gestured for Wang Wu to get on as well.

After both got on the boat, Shu Niang and their sphere‑shaped fortress also entered the water; just as Wang Wu said, such a place is completely beyond the sphere‑shaped fortress's control.

"Yao Qing."

The woman paddled and said her name.

Though she was paddling and the motions looked small, the boat's speed was actually fast, probably forty knots, close to eighty kilometers per hour.

"Wang Wu." Wang Wu also said his name, looked at the mist on the lake surface, and took a piece of dessert from the fortress's food storage area and shoved it into his mouth.

Yao Qing was tall and slender, about the same height as Wang Wu. Wang Wu was 1.85 m; she was slightly shorter, around 1.83 m.

Among monsters she might not stand out, but among human women she was certainly exceptionally striking.

She wore a men's‑style white shirt, her long hair tied in a high ponytail. The plain long sword hung at her waist; judging from the patterns on the scabbard and hilt, it was a typical Yin‑Shang style.

This woman didn't like to talk much; after introducing her name she fell silent.

As the small boat pushed further into the lake, the surrounding mist grew denser. About twenty minutes had passed, and Wang Wu's mouth never stopped moving.

He glanced at the woman rowing opposite, twitched his cheek muscles, then took several pastries from the refrigerator and handed them over.

"I won't eat." Yao Qing looked at the pastries in Wang Wu's hand and refused.

"You look like you want to eat them, why not?" Wang Wu asked, puzzled.

"I don't want to." Hearing this, Yao Qing stopped looking at the pastries and stared at Wang Wu, her face expressionless.

"But you saved me, and I have nothing to repay you; these pastries aren't valuable, so I'll give them to you." Wang Wu said, still extending his hand.

After a while, Yao Qing grabbed the pastries Wang Wu offered, put them in her mouth, and ate them bite by bite.

"Then thank you."

After a few bites, she nodded at Wang Wu.

Continuing to eat the pastries, he occasionally handed Yao Qing another piece. She no longer refused; each time Wang Wu passed a piece, she took it.

About forty minutes later, the boat finally stopped at a pier on an island.

This Yuan Qing Lake was indeed enormous; a camera lifted into the sky to view the whole gave a surface area of fifty thousand square kilometers—astonishingly large.

The island in the lake's center was also huge, estimated at three hundred square kilometers, inhabited by many people, a great number of cultivators, and even more civilians.

Wang Wu saw bustling commercial streets there and a large pier where giant ships were moored.

"This place is called Qing Ping Island." After disembarking, Yao Qing walked ahead of Wang Wu, told him the name, and then led him onward.

Soon, the two entered the Qing Ping Sect's base on Qing Ping Island.

It wasn't the ethereal, mist‑filled "cultivation sect" of imagination with jade towers; although it truly had jade towers, the architecture was ingeniously crafted, the kind only seen in fantasies of past lives.

"Senior sister, who is this?"

As Wang Wu was about to unload the cargo at the spot Yao Qing led him to, a voice came from behind.

Both turned around together; it turned out to be a beautifully‑featured young cultivator.

About fifteen or sixteen years old; although at that age secondary sexual characteristics should be developing, this youngster still had an androgynous face.

Of course, very beautiful, almost as good as Wang Wu the monster himself.

"I'm here to deliver goods for your Qing Ping Sect," Wang Wu said, then took batches of boxes from the sphere‑shaped fortress's warehouse and stacked them on the plaza ground.

"Junior brother, why aren't you resting so late?"

Yao Qing, now beside Wang Wu, addressed the young cultivator. Her tone was as cold as when she spoke with Wang Wu, yet a hint of gentleness could be felt.

He glanced at Yao Qing's junior brother, then at Yao Qing, and his eyebrows twitched.

"What are you doing?"

Yao Qing naturally noticed Wang Wu's slight movement and turned her head to ask.

"A rather pretty junior brother." Wang Wu laughed and made a chuckle.

"You flatter yourself; junior brother may be handsome, but not as refined as you." Yao Qing looked at her junior brother and said.

If earlier the junior brother's gaze at Wang Wu carried seven parts caution and three parts hostility, now it carried full caution and full hostility.

"You honor me," Wang Wu continued stacking the boxes; he certainly noticed the junior brother's gaze, but he didn't mind.

Can't help it; good‑looking people are like that.

He hasn't done anything, yet he often makes same‑sex companions feel uneasy, especially when he's with those same‑sex‑attracted friends.

Of course, when no attracted opposite‑sex friends are around, most same‑sex peers treat him very well.

"Why are you still staring at me?"

But when Wang Wu finished setting the box down and looked toward the other person, he discovered that the youngster was still staring at him. So Wang Wu asked.

"You slick‑faced fellow, stay away from my senior sister!"

The junior disciple spoke coldly to Wang Wu.

"Nerves…"

Wang Wu ignored him, merely rolled his eyes, muttered a word, and then turned to leave.

But at that moment, a stabbing pain suddenly came from behind. Wang Wu instantly sidestepped, evading the sword that was aimed at his dantian.

Immediately, Wang Wu's true Qi surged rapidly, a mighty, ferocious force erupting from his body. In an instant he turned, a claw catching the young cultivator's neck.

Wang Wu has always met others' hostility with an equal degree of hostility.

The kid clearly used a lethal move, so Wang Wu naturally held nothing back.

"Do you want to kill me?"

Wang Wu looked at the youth whose neck he had seized, split open with streams of blood, and said coldly.

The metal qi in his hand tore his skin, rushing wildly into his body, colliding chaotically within.

"You little brat looking for death?"

(End of chapter)