Chapter 32: Do Not Say You

Sheng Yuanyao led her team in relentless pursuit along the demonic aura; the demon had been severely wounded, and its aura was easy to track—it was certain to be caught.

She scolded the brat for tricking her out of two taels of silver, but inwardly held no resentment—not even this time, when it seemed A Nuo's mishap had allowed the demon to escape, Sheng Yuanyao did not blame her.

The perfect kill had already been formed; no one wanted an accident. The demon's most severe wound was still inflicted by A Nuo—that punch had crushed its sternum.

Who could have guessed that such a tiny, soft-looking child could unleash such immense power? It was simply unbelievable.

The crippled bastard claimed it was a "graded dao cultivator"—was that even graded? Hmm, yes, it was graded.

Sheng Yuanyao grumbled inwardly as she chased after it; after all, hunting demons was her Town Suppressing Demon Bureau's duty—if this demon could still escape after being this badly wounded, the entire Xiazhou Town Suppressing Demon Bureau might as well slit their throats.

The demon, panicked and fleeing blindly into the forests beyond the city, suddenly felt a sharp pang in its chest.

Demons and monsters are actually two different things, but humans collectively call them "demonic beasts."

As for demonic entities, let's set them aside; the true forms of monsters are usually some kind of strange beast, or occasionally a plant that has attained sentience—though the latter is far rarer. The instincts of strange beasts are often far keener than those of humans; dangers imperceptible to ordinary people are frequently sensed as foreboding by them.

It felt as if a terrifying beast lurked in the mountains, like once having glimpsed the Demon Emperor from afar… just a single glance, yet the tremor and horror had sunk deep into its bones.

It froze in terror, lifting its head to look upward.

On the hill ahead, a woman in purple robes stood motionless at the summit, her face masked by a Yama demon mask.

The mountain wind brushed past, lifting the hem of her robes, accentuating her graceful figure and extraordinary aura. Though her face remained unseen, one could not help but feel she was peerlessly exquisite, unmatched under heaven.

The demon felt no admiration for her beauty—its bones chilled with lethal intent, and it cried out involuntarily: "Yama Lord!"

Outsiders knew only the Yama Lord; only a handful of people in the world knew her true name.

Yuan Muyu.

Yuan Muyu suddenly appeared before it, her phoenix eyes icy beneath the mask, her voice echoing from the depths of the Nine Heavens: "You are the one who caused him to lose control like this…"

The demon: "?"

Yuan Muyu extended her slender hand and seized the demon's throat: "How dare you!"

The demon's eyes bulged as it gasped "Huh… huh…" with meaningless sounds, unable to struggle or speak at all.

With her other hand, Yuan Muyu lightly pressed against its chest and abdomen—the demon writhed in agony as a bulge became visibly apparent there. Soon after, its demonic core burst forth from its belly, ripped clean out of its body by invisible force.

Just this single act was astonishing beyond measure.

"Boom!" The demon's corpse was tossed aside like trash beside the mountain path; Yuan Muyu had vanished, as if she had never existed.

The next moment, Sheng Yuanyao and her team arrived, spotting the corpse by the path and exclaiming in shock: "Who killed it? There wasn't even a single battle!"

A constable stepped forward to inspect it, equally stunned: "The demonic core is gone… it seems to have been ripped out alive… no, there isn't even a wound on the abdomen—it's as if it was sucked out from within!"

The entire Town Suppressing Demon Bureau shuddered, sweat breaking out across their bodies.

What kind of cultivation is this? Try sucking out a person's internal organs from afar and see what happens!

Sheng Yuanyao took a deep breath, silently staring at the demon's corpse, then said after a long pause: "Who killed it doesn't matter anymore. It intruded into human territory and was killed for its core—it got what it deserved. We have no obligation to investigate for demons. Take the body back; the case is closed."

Everyone nodded silently, knowing this wasn't about helping the demon or not—it was that the act of forcibly extracting the demonic core was too horrifying. If this were a terrifying demonic cultivator, then Xiazhou…

Forget it. One thing at a time—deal with this first. We don't even know what's going on with the city lord yet.

On the hilltop, Yuan Muyu quietly watched the retreating backs of Sheng Yuanyao and her team, her beautiful eyes lingering on Sheng Yuanyao's brisk figure for a long while before letting out a cold, ambiguous snort.

Behind her knelt a large group of Yama Palace assassins, none daring to raise their heads.

Especially those from the Xiazhou branch, who were trembling with fear. Earlier rumors said the Judge had left; no one knew why, and some even thought he had fallen out with the Yama Lord. Now, seeing this, fall out? Pfft. Thank heavens no one told Yuan Muyu about the assassination attempt on Lu Xingzhou—if she had known, everyone here would be minced meat.

Yuan Muyu had only just arrived; she had no idea where Lu Xingzhou had gone until she heard news that Xiazhou had summoned powerful cultivators from the prefecture. Remembering Lu Xingzhou's hometown was Xiazhou, she came to investigate.

She only wanted to see why Xiazhou was summoning people—it had nothing to do with those two ungrateful brats.

In her hand, faint purple flames rose as she manually refined the recently extracted demonic core; soon, its shape changed, the demonic aura vanished, and it now resembled a peculiar fruit.

Only after completing the refinement did Yuan Muyu speak calmly: "This has nothing to do with you. You performed well on this mission—each of you will be rewarded."

Everyone rejoiced: "Thank you, Yama Lord."

Yuan Muyu handed the "fruit" to the fifth-rank assassin: "This is called… hmm, Blood Flesh Revival Fruit. It contains pure life energy, highly effective for crafting related pills. Most people in the world won't recognize it—and Lu Xingzhou certainly won't either."

The assassin took the fruit, utterly bewildered.

Yuan Muyu clasped her hands behind her back: "Take it to him. Say you found it by accident. Do not say you've seen me."

The assassin bowed his head: "Yes."

If Lu Xingzhou could see the assassin's expression beneath his head, he'd think it looked exactly like beads of sweat.

Yuan Muyu fell silent again for a long while, murmuring softly: "The Huo family was tricked once—next time they'll be far more cautious. Difficulty will double. With this, at least he won't need to take such desperate risks—he can proceed more calmly."

"That kind of loss of composure… doesn't suit him."

Her voice faded into the air; she vanished, leaving only the lingering scent of perfume.

Xiazhou, so close at hand, she ultimately did not enter.

On the other side, Lu Xingzhou didn't think the loss of the medicine he'd waited ten years for was any problem at all—he didn't care.

As soon as A Nuo recovered, he felt as if he'd been reactivated, regaining his calm demeanor, turning to Shen Tang with a smile: "Where is the city lord?"

Shen Tang stared at his legs for a long while, then at A Nuo, and finally smiled and shook her head: "I've already killed him. Chen Zhangsi can verify—Xu Bingkun is saturated with demonic aura, his cultivation runs deep."

Chen Jinnian bowed slightly and went in the direction Shen Tang indicated.

Moments later, he returned with Xu Bingkun's corpse; no words were needed—anyone with sharp eyes could see the dense demonic aura lingering on Xu Bingkun's body, even hairs growing on his hands…

Chen Jinnian gave Shen Tang a meaningful glance.

Xu Bingkun died with all his bones shattered, struck by an extremely forceful and tyrannical technique—nothing like Shen Tang's previous swordplay. But he said nothing, only sighed: "This case can now be concluded. Xu Bingkun coveted demonic cultivation methods, raised demonic beasts, and caused the death of Young Master Huo Six—witnessed by thousands. No doubt remains."

Sheng Yuanyao returned with the demon's corpse, weary: "Correct. I have audio recordings as ironclad evidence. Please have the Pill Bureau issue a report on the city lord's body detecting demonic cultivation, and submit it to the capital along with my evidence."

Chen Jinnian nodded: "Naturally."

Sheng Yuanyao's gaze fell on A Nuo's face; seeing she seemed unharmed, she felt a surge of relief: "You're alright?"

A Nuo smiled sweetly: "Pretty sister is so nice."

Sheng Yuanyao glared at her, then glanced at Lu Xingzhou, opened her mouth, then closed it: "Never mind. As long as you're fine. We'll talk in detail tomorrow."

That night, Xiazhou would be sleepless. The onlookers, having witnessed the earth-shaking turn of events, departed with varied thoughts, chatting along the way—leaving only Lu Xingzhou and his disciples, Shen Tang, and Du Guo Qingli, two pairs of people pushing two wheelchairs, slowly walking through the night streets.

Lu Xingzhou handed a pill to Miss Qingli first, saying apologetically, "Sorry, I was distracted by A-Nuo's condition and forgot that Miss Qingli was also injured... This pill has some effect on treating internal injuries."

Miss Qingli wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and shook her head. "For a swordsman slaying demons, injury is common. I only suffered some internal damage from backlash; I can heal myself through meditation."

"But you chose such drastic measures to help me; otherwise, there was no need to take such risks."

Miss Qingli thought for a moment, agreed that this was indeed the case, and took the pill.

Only then did Lu Xingzhou turn to Shen Tang. "I seem to have done something superfluous?"

Shen Tang laughed. "Not necessarily superfluous; mutual corroboration is real, though."

The two exchanged smiles.

Lu Xingzhou deliberately had Huo Yu publicly expose that Xu Bingkun was raising a demon, while Shen Tang deliberately forced Xu Bingkun to use demon cultivation methods before killing him, leaving corpse evidence. Both parties had the same goal. In fact, either one alone would have basically achieved the effect, especially since Lu Xingzhou's move carried some risk and truly could have been unnecessary.

But Lu Xingzhou didn't know Shen Tang would do this... The two hadn't discussed it at all, yet they acted in unison, nailing Xu Bingkun's crimes so firmly that the aftermath almost vanished entirely. Of course, Lu Xingzhou's move wasn't without benefit; it completely cleared the blame for Huo Yu's death.

Miss Qingli swallowed the pill, and Sheng Yuanyao's assessment crossed her mind again: lover.

She spent every day with Shen Tang and still couldn't figure out how the two could be so synchronized.

Shen Tang added, "So if you had laid your cards on the table with us earlier and planned together, this matter would have been much easier, and you wouldn't have needed to contact the Netherworld Palace... Do you still think you know better?"

Why did that tone sound like scolding a husband... Lu Xingzhou coughed dryly. "Xu Bingkun's injuries don't look like the result of a sword cultivator. Even now, I don't know Shen Tang's mysteries; can we really discuss everything?"

Shen Tang chuckled lightly. "Before you try to extract my secrets, you should first figure out the change happening to A-Nuo. As for my matters... there will be a time when I seek you out."

(End of this chapter)