Love & Redemption
Chapter 59 - 19 Qu Ru’s Truth (6)

Chapter 59: Chapter 19 Qu Ru’s Truth (6)

For this man, everyone had been busy for two days and nights, chasing until they were drenched in sweat, unable to suppress their anger upon seeing him. Linglong rushed forward, intending to teach him a lesson, and said with a harsh tone, "Let’s see where you can run to now!" With that, the sword in her hand readied to strike.

Ruo Yu hurriedly stopped her, "Miss Chu, don’t be impulsive! We must focus on the matter at hand!"

The man’s other hand clutched tightly at his severed arm, his half-soaked body was drenched in blood, yet he didn’t utter a sound of pain, which admittedly earned him some respect from them.

Zhong Minyan sheathed his sword and asked sternly, "Who are you? Why were you controlling those Iron Marbles?"

The man just responded with a cold laugh, and after a long while, he said hoarsely, "Why bother with pointless talk, just come and kill me."

Ruo Yu calmed the others’ tempers, took a step forward, and spoke gently, "Your stubbornness is uncalled for, as the saying goes, ’A wise person adapts to circumstances.’ We simply wish to ask you a question, why are you disturbing the peace here? What’s your aim? If you are willing to tell us the truth, I can assure you we will not harm your life."

With a bitter laugh, the man scoffed, "You people are always hypocritical and untrustworthy. In one word, if you want to kill me, just do it. I won’t even frown."

"That’s not something you can say." Ruo Yu smiled faintly, "I am Ruo Yu from Lize Palace, and everyone here is a disciple from well-known righteous factions. We always stand by our word. If you reveal who is behind this and their exact purpose, we promise not to go back on our word."

The man gave a sneering laugh, "Pah! All the so-called righteous sects are just harborers of filth, none dirtier than you!"

"Why bother talking with him! If he wants to die, let’s grant him his wish!" Linglong furiously exclaimed.

Seeing the man’s stubbornness, Ruo Yu didn’t know what to say for a moment. Lu Yanran stepped forward gracefully, gave a slight curtsy to the man, and said with a smile, "Big brother, why speak such harsh words. Even if you stubbornly refuse to speak, we can more or less guess the truth. Judging by your appearance, I suspect you’re not human, are you?"

Upon these words, everyone looked a bit lost, but Zhong Minyan, with his quick reaction, immediately realized this wasn’t an insult. It meant— "Exactly! He is a demon!"

Linglong exclaimed, "Ah," as she had always imagined demons to look like the Iron Marbles or Heavenly Dogs. She hadn’t considered that they could also take human form and speak human languages. Looking at the man in the moonlight shining through the cave entrance, he indeed resembled a wild beast. She had initially thought his appearance was merely odd, not realizing he was actually a demon.

The man snorted but said nothing.

Lu Yanran continued, "I’ve heard before that there are many demons in human form who can speak like us, usually living scattered and on their own. Some do stir up trouble, claiming dominion over mountains and waters, and are often exterminated by cultivators. Although you refuse to say who is behind this, we can still guess it’s likely a mob attempting to harm the people. We wanted to give you a chance to live, but you rejected it. Don’t blame us for being impolite!"

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone raised their treasure swords, their tips directly aimed at him, filled with Sword Qi, ready to strike him down on the spot.

With a mournful laugh, the man said softly, "It seems my luck has run out. Well, at this point, what is there to fear!"

Suddenly, he reached into his bosom and took out a half-length object, igniting it with a pinch of his fingers, and poised to throw it at them.

Linglong and the others, inexperienced as they were, prepared for his deceit by hurriedly covering their heads and retreating. Yet they saw the man’s arm swing unexpectedly, tossing the object not at them but toward the cave entrance!

Although the sword net could block people and demons, it had no effect on inanimate objects. They watched as the object was thrown out, exploding with a "boom," scattering blood-red sparks in mid-air.

Linglong realized he had released a signal flare; surely, there must be other accomplices nearby. She couldn’t help but look towards the cave entrance.

The person bellowed fiercely, "Even if I die today, I will drag someone to Huangquan Road with me!"

After the roar, his hands grew wildly long and he lunged at Linglong desperately, clearly intending to take her down with him. Linglong had been distracted just now and he had seized the initiative; seeing that he was about to grab her, it was too late to swing her sword, and she could only stare in horror.

In the blink of an eye, Zhong Minyan and Ruo Yu acted simultaneously, and the person let out a miserable cry as he was hit by several Iron Marbles in the vital points of his chest. The sword in Zhong Minyan’s hand also accurately pierced through his abdomen.

Linglong only saw the person in front of her quickly loom larger, turning into a blood-soaked figure, which scared her legs weak; suddenly someone pulled her back forcefully. Looking back, she saw it was Lu Yanran. With an I’m-returning-the-favor look, she frowned and said, "Spacing out at a time like this, do you want to die?" Apparenty using the same argument Linglong had used when she saved Lu Yanran the last time.

Linglong was stunned for a moment, unable to say thank you, she could only hang her head and pretend to be mute.

Zhong Minyan sheathed his sword, flicked the blood off it, and said, "At the end of the day, the investigation is still unclear. But at least one threat is eliminated. We need to take the body back to show Uncle Zhao and the others to wrap this up."

Ruo Yu, seeing the demon lying on the ground, breathless, and a large pool of blood beneath it, looked somewhat forlorn and could not help but sigh, "It’s not easy for a demon to take human form, walk upright, and be able to speak after developing a throat. Unfortunately, due to its malicious nature, it deserved this fate. But from its actions just now, it seems to have accomplices still out there, and it doesn’t look like mere mischief. I wonder what plans are still unknown to us."

Lu Yanran withdrew the sword net, and everyone gathered at the mouth of the cave to look outside. They saw the barren mountains and wilderness, with no telling how many more caves there were; they could not possibly find them all at once, which made everyone sigh.

Zhong Minyan said, "Let it go, it looks like the demon that was controlling Qu Ru is this one, and its accomplices must have already fled by now and won’t come back any time soon. Let’s investigate later; we’ll eventually find some clues."

He bent down to pick up the demon corpse, and everyone flew out of the cave on their swords, just passing a large area of rocks when they saw two people flying towards them in haste on a sword, it was Xuanji accompanied by Yu Sifeng.

Linglong hurriedly rushed up, anxiously saying, "Sister, why have you come! Have you encountered any mishap?"

Xuanji’s eyes widened, "Eh? Wasn’t it you who sent out the warning signal? How come..."

Zhong Minyan laughed, "It wasn’t us! Look, it was him!"

He shook the demon corpse he was carrying, and blood dripped down. Xuanji, seeing the ghastly and terrifying appearance of the corpse, couldn’t help but shudder, and murmured, "Is this the one who controlled Qu Ru? How is he dead..."

Linglong chuckled, "What person! He is not a person, he is a demon! He was looking for death himself, refusing to reveal who was behind him. Of course, we had to oblige!"

Xuanji was speechless, and Yu Sifeng asked, "So the disturbance caused by Qu Ru here is settled?"

Zhong Minyan nodded, "You could say that. He probably has accomplices, but for now, they would not dare to come to Wangxian Town. I think we should leave Wangxian Town first and continue to gather news along the way. We will be able to investigate clearly eventually."

Yu Sifeng saw the motionless demon corpse in his hand and wondered, "Is he really dead? But..."

Zhong Minyan nonchalantly shook it again and laughed, "Dead for sure! A sword through the heart, plus Ruo Yu’s Iron Marbles blossoming in his chest, even a Daluo Golden Immortal wouldn’t survive!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the demon corpse he was swinging about suddenly twitched its limbs. Amidst the exclamations of the crowd, it gave Zhong Minyan a strong push, breaking free from his grasp and falling to the ground.

"Ah!" Zhong Minyan himself was startled, just about to chase after it in haste, when Yu Sifeng said, "Demons don’t die so easily. Hurry up and chase it!"