Chapter 90: Demonic Transformation – 5K Subscription Request, Second Update at 5:30

A night passed, and the next morning as soon as he stepped out, Wang Wu, after only a short walk, ran into Wang Lan, who was dressed in training robes and heading to the arena to practice.

"Morning."

Wang Wu greeted Wang Lan, and upon seeing Wang Wu, the latter's face flushed instantly to a deep red.

"Morning…"

Wang Lan lowered his head, muttered a sound, then fled toward the arena.

"Your injury isn't fully healed yet; don't go training today or you'll twist your neck again."

Watching his back, Wang Wu called out.

The other's movement froze for a moment, then he turned and headed the opposite way.

"I'll wait a bit and treat you at noon; if you want to train, you'll probably need another two or three days."

"…Alright…"

From Wang Lan came a faint reply that could barely be heard without careful listening.

Wang Wu didn't mind, nodded, and headed straight toward the Wang Clan's main gate.

"Young hero, good morning. Skipping breakfast?" Xiao Yun asked after walking a while, having trailed behind.

"No, I'm going out to get some noodles." Wang Wu replied, then waved at Xiao Yun, "You go have breakfast; you don't need to follow me, I'm leaving now."

After speaking, he leapt in place, sprinted across the Wang Clan house's roof toward the street.

"Boss, five bowls of sour‑spicy noodles, please."

Leaping across the county town's rooftops, Wang Wu arrived at the stall he'd eaten noodles at yesterday. The boss's cooking was indeed excellent; after eating yesterday, he wanted more today.

But early morning was peak business time, and the stall's surroundings were already crowded. Wang Wu didn't mind; he walked straight to the stall and shouted at the boss.

"Remember to pack it for me!"

"Got it!" the boss replied enthusiastically, "There are three more ahead of you, please wait a moment!"

Wang Wu nodded, leapt onto the roof behind the stall, and sat, looking down at the bustling county town.

After the heavy snow comes the Winter Solstice; it's only a few days away now. After the solstice, the city won't be this lively; people generally stay home.

In the minor and major cold periods, demonic hordes dance wildly; this isn't a joke. Even if the city is safe, people rarely take that risk.

As for the villages outside, by now hardly anyone goes out.

At most, when the sun's still up, they go out briefly to run errands, then return quickly.

"Young hero! Your noodles are ready!"

The stall owner was swift; after a short wait, Wang Wu heard the call. He jumped down, approached the stall, and took the five bags of sour‑spicy noodles handed to him.

The packaging was a oil‑paper‑like bag with a string for carrying. Wang Wu didn't know if it was biodegradable, but it looked eco‑friendly.

Carrying the five bags, Wang Wu quickly left that street and arrived at the entrance of another.

"Time to eat."

Inside the spherical fortress, Wang Wu appeared in the first‑floor hall, holding the five bags, and called out.

In no time, three monsters and a demon whooshed into view before him.

Wang Wu saw that Shu Niang and the others were a short distance from Zi Yuan, and smiled. He then walked over, handed three bags to the three female monsters, and went to Zi Yuan to give her a bag.

"Try this sour‑spicy noodle; it's quite tasty."

After a simple breakfast with the four women, a brief moment of intimacy, and storing yesterday's purchases in the warehouse, Wang Wu vanished from the fortress again, reappearing at a street corner in He Dong Xian.

He vanished in an instant, then reappeared just as quickly, without drawing anyone's notice.

To ordinary people, a transcendent's appearing and disappearing at will is perfectly normal.

As for anyone watching him, Wang Wu hasn't attracted that level of attention, so no one is monitoring him.

As for that Colonel who likes to peek, the woman hasn't gotten up yet; it's only 7:30 a. m. now.

According to regulations, she should have risen around five in the morning and might still be on duty at midnight.

The county town is truly bustling; in his previous life, Wang Wu never imagined he'd willingly spend so much time shopping. Well, the truth is he simply has nothing to do.

Wang Wu plans to spend this winter in the human city, returning occasionally to his family's girls. Unfortunately he can't bring them to live here; otherwise he could rent a house and…

Ahem.

Never mind, that's unimportant.

Morning shopping, noon meal, afternoon training. That's Wang Wu's schedule for today.

He didn't visit Sun Da's family nor see Wu Lian, who also lives in the county town; instead he wandered around, seeming rather idle.

But his usual life in Wang Gu Lin is the same: idle all day, doing nothing but eating, drinking, and playing.

What the heck are you doing, who told you? Stop screwing around.

Walking along, Wang Wu arrived at the county office. Actually, it wasn't aimless; he intended to look for someone there in the morning, not just wander.

"Young hero Wang."

Two clerks at the entrance clearly recognized him and respectfully called out.

Wang Wu didn't know them, but responded politely:

"Good morning, both of you."

"'Wang, young hero Wang as well.' The two clerks, flattered, nodded repeatedly."

"I'd like to see the county jail; may I go in? There was a female cultivator locked there yesterday, right? I want to check on her," Wang Wu asked.

"'Of course, of course!' the clerks nodded, and one of them led Wang Wu to the county jail."

The county jail isn't inside the office; it's elsewhere outside, guarded by soldiers, and not far from the barracks.

A moment later, the jail.

"This is where Zhuang Lan Xue is detained," a fully armored soldier said, standing before a row of cages, addressing Wang Wu.

"Take a look." He walked to the wall opposite the cage, pulled a rope. The ceiling lamp instantly flared, flooding the modest space with bright light.

Right there.

The prison chief pointed to the leftmost cell, where an expressionless woman was curled up and sitting.

Her skin was pallid, and her lips had no color at all.

When the light was turned on, she lifted her eyes and looked toward Wang Wu outside the cell.

"Go, go inform the Demon-Subduing Army." Their gazes met, and after looking at each other for a while, Wang Wu turned his head toward the prison chief beside him and said.

"Huh?" The prison chief was startled for a moment, but quickly recovered, bowed to Wang Wu, and hurried up the stairs.

When the prison chief left, this floor's cells were left with only Wang Wu and Zhuang Lan Xue in the cage; the other cells were empty, and even the doors were left open.

The Great Zhou Dynasty currently appears quite prosperous, and not to mention the cell's environment is surprisingly decent, because it's fairly clean.

Just by looking at the food on the plate in Zhuang Lan Xue's cage, one can tell that life here is indeed tolerable.

There is meat inside, though only a few pieces of fatty meat, and there are also some vegetables.

"Senior brother, senior brother…"

Zhuang Lan Xue only stared at Wang Wu for a moment, then lowered her head again. Yet she did not remain silent; instead, she kept muttering there.

She kept calling out Song Yu with her mouth, but Song Yu was not here.

He doesn't need to be imprisoned, because he hasn't committed any crime, and whatever he says, he can be considered a victim; he has no knowledge at all of what Zhuang Lan Xue had done before.

After being interrogated yesterday, he was sent back and now lives at the Wang Clan. Wang Wu didn't see him, because he went back to sleep early that night, and the next day he didn't attend the Wang Clan's early banquet.

On the ground in front of her and on the walls, the characters "Senior brother" written in blood could be seen everywhere.

At first the handwriting was neat and graceful. But the higher up the wall, the closer the ground to the cell door, the more the "Senior brother" characters became scribbled, twisted, and by the end they looked rather eerie.

This woman has already become demonic.

Wang Wu never imagined that a human's demonic transformation could be so simple; although it may not show on the surface, Wang Wu himself is a Heaven Demon, so he naturally sensed the change in this woman.

There was a sign of it yesterday, but it was extremely subtle—so subtle that Wang Wu almost didn't notice.

But today, merely a dozen hours later, the woman's demonic progression had surged forward by a large margin.

Wang Wu wasn't in a hurry; he casually found a chair behind him, placed it at the entrance of Zhuang Lan Xue's cell, plopped down, and began to observe the woman before him closely.

The woman was also quite beautiful, with a lovely appearance; although she couldn't compare to Wang Lan, given her cultivator status, she should certainly be worthy of Song Yu.

But evidently Song Yu had no such thoughts about this woman, just as Wang Lan had no such thoughts about Song Yu.

"Is your mind still clear?"

After looking at the woman in the cell for a while, Wang Wu asked.

But the other party didn't respond at all, merely continuing to mutter Song Yu.

"Senior brother, senior brother, I love you so much, I really—clearly, clearly I've already given my whole body to you, senior brother, senior brother, why, why do you still have to be with that…"

"Senior brother—"

Continuously muttering Song Yu, Zhuang Lan Xue's speech speed grew faster and the syllables she uttered became increasingly garbled.

From the initial whisper to the rapid low moan, her voice grew more distorted and more frantic.

Besides the vocal changes, Zhuang Lan Xue's eyes widened more and more, spewing a flood of blood vessels.

'The corners of the eyes seem about to split'

Wang Wu recalled a term he had learned back in school, which perfectly described Zhuang Lan Xue's current state.

'Thump thump dong'

Footsteps sounded, and Wang Wu looked toward the stairs; several members of the Demon-Subduing Army had now descended the stairs and arrived at the cell.

"Young Hero Wang, the Demon-Subduing Army you summoned has arrived."

From behind the Demon-Subduing Army, the prison chief's voice came.

"This woman is about to demonic transform," Wang Wu said, looking at the foremost member of the Demon-Subduing Army.

That guy was actually an acquaintance, Colonel Zhao, who had troubled him in the corridor that day.

Colonel Zhao naturally also saw the man who annoyed him, but his face remained expressionless.

He walked to Wang Wu's side, glanced at the crouching Zhuang Lan Xue on the ground, who kept muttering, her mental state clearly abnormal.

Then Colonel Zhao looked toward the prison chief at the stairs and said, "Open the cell."

The prison chief immediately came over, took out a key, opened the door, and then stood respectfully to the side.

Colonel Zhao entered, took out a milky‑white stone fragment and placed it on Zhuang Lan Xue's forehead.

But nothing happened.

"It's merely a collapse of longing, a hysteria," after a while, Colonel Zhao put away the stone fragment, turned and said to Wang Wu:

"Young Hero, caution is paramount, but there's no need to be overly careful. It just seems a bit of needless worry."

"I still suggest you all should deal with her," Wang Wu shook his head, also walked into the cell, and looked at Zhuang Lan Xue on the ground.

"There's no need to be so vindictive, right?" Colonel Zhao glanced at Wang Wu, "Let those who can be spared be spared; besides, this female cultivator is already insane, and the senior brother she mutters about daily has also suffered a great blow."

"I guess the marriage alliance between the Song family and the Wang family will fall through because of this; I think that's enough."

"What are you talking about?" Wang Wu looked oddly at Colonel Zhao, "What does her demonic transformation have to do with this? I was just kindly warning you, and if something really…"

"Hmph," Colonel Zhao snorted coldly, "Could your eyes be sharper than this Demon-Manifesting Stone?"

"I am indeed skilled in this," Wang Wu nodded, "I think I'm more accurate than the Demon-Manifesting Stone."

"Hehe, since you say so, I have no objection," Colonel Zhao stepped out of the door, then stood at the doorway watching Wang Wu inside, and extended his hand toward him:

"Since you have decided to handle it, then you should do it yourself."

"Damn it, I'm not the Demon-Subduing Army; why do I have to do it?" Wang Wu became displeased at the remark, as if he were being forced to work for free.

He doesn't mind killing; out of his kind nature, he's willing to warn the authorities here. But not every task should be left to an outsider like him, right?

"This matter falls under the Demon-Subduing Army's jurisdiction, right?" Wang Wu looked at him, "What's the deal? I helped you discover that this person is about to demonic transform, and now you even make me handle the disposal, huh?"

"Is your salary and stipend perhaps a bit too easy to obtain?"

"Killing without evidence—that's a wanton disregard for life." Colonel Zhao stared coldly at Wang Wu, "I've already investigated; I found no problem. Since Young Hero Wang thinks his eyes are more accurate than the Revealing Demon Stone, why doesn't Young Hero Wang act according to his own…"

"Brother Wang truly excels at this."

Colonel Zhao's words were interrupted by a woman's voice. Before Zhao could turn around, the speaker had already come to his side.

"The Revealing Demon Stone isn't omnipotent either." Si Tu Jin glanced at Zhuang Lanxue in the cage, then said to Colonel Zhao.

Even though her life hung by a thread and any of the three people before her could easily decide her fate, she cared not, remaining immersed in her own world, continuously calling out for her senior brother.

"She gave her body to her beloved, full of joy thinking her love would finally blossom, only to receive a remark like 'reckless after drinking,' yet he swore he would take responsibility for her."

Looking again at Zhuang Lanxue on the ground, Si Tu Jin wrapped her arms around herself and said, "Waiting, waiting—thinking she could become senior brother's wife, even betraying the sister she grew up with for him."

"In the end, what she waited for was news of senior brother's engagement to the sister she had already betrayed."

"Now she's even turned demonic."

"Ha, how pitiful."

After speaking, Si Tu Jin stepped forward, squatted, and pinched the other's cheek to observe for a while.

Even with her face being pinched like that, Zhuang Lanxue still showed no reaction, her mouth continuing to call for senior brother.

Si Tu Jin released her hand, rose and returned to Wang Wu's side, looking at him with curiosity in her eyes: "But I'm curious, Brother Wang, how did you see that?"

"My eyes are sharper; I can perceive many things ordinary people can't."

"Heh." Facing Wang Wu's obviously perfunctory reply, Si Tu Jin let out a light laugh, then walked out of the cage. Wang Wu followed behind her, also exiting the cage.

"Take care of it." She waved her hand.

"Yes." Several members of the Demon‑Subduing Army answered, immediately stepping forward to act, but were blocked by Colonel Zhao with a single hand.

"Hold on!" Colonel Zhao stood at the cage entrance, addressing the advancing Demon‑Subduing troops.

"Hm?"

Wang Wu and Si Tu Jin simultaneously looked at Colonel Zhao.

"If a demonic transformation erupts in the city, can you suppress it?" Wang Wu ignored Colonel Zhao and turned to Si Tu Jin to ask.

That approach indeed had no flaw, since there was no evidence; if they acted solely on his word, it would indeed be a wanton disregard for life.

So Wang Wu was merely giving a reminder; he had no intention of actually doing anything.

"That naturally poses no problem, but there will certainly be consequences." Si Tu Jin nodded, then also looked at Wang Wu: "What, Young Hero, are you really so certain they've already demonicized?"

"You don't know?" Wang Wu was taken aback.

"Of course." Si Tu Jin smiled, "But I trust Brother Wang's judgment."

"Heh, then I'm truly flattered." Wang Wu gave a perfunctory compliment, then asked, "Is there another place of confinement? One that can guarantee she causes no impact while demonicizing, yet can be dealt with immediately?"

"No."

Si Tu Jin shook her head, "He Dong Xian has no demon‑confining stone cage, nor does it have a natural demon‑confining stone prison like Xuan Stone Mine; it's impossible."

"If Zhuang Lanxue has truly demonicized, then during the transformation her demonic aura would spread far and wide, affecting all corners of the city, and could likely convert other people into demons as well."

"Fine then." Wang Wu looked toward the cell area, "I'll solve this problem."

After speaking, he walked toward the cell, but Colonel Zhao still blocked the way.

"Colonel Zhao."

Behind Wang Wu, Si Tu Jin looked at Colonel Zhao, expressionless, and spoke.

"Please step aside?"

"I cannot comply, Colonel Si Tu." Colonel Zhao's eyes flickered with hesitation for a moment, then he simply shook his head lightly.

"I'm not trying to kill her." Wang Wu looked at Colonel Zhao, "Indeed, based solely on my words, there's little basis; arbitrarily taking another's life like this is hardly appropriate."

"I never intended to act; I merely gave you a heads‑up, and how to handle it is your business."

"But I can at least guarantee she won't cause harm elsewhere while demonicizing."

(End of Chapter)