Love & Redemption
Chapter 62 - 19: The Truth About Qu Ru (Part 6)

Chapter 62: Chapter 19: The Truth About Qu Ru (Part 6)

For this person, everyone had been busy for two days and nights, chasing after him until they were drenched in sweat. Seeing him, how could they suppress their anger? Linglong rushed forward intending to give him a lesson, raised her voice and said, "Let’s see where you can run to now!" As she spoke, the sword in her hand was about to stab.

Ruo Yu hurriedly stopped her, "Miss Chu, don’t be impulsive! The matter at hand is what’s important!"

The man was holding onto his severed arm, blood soaking half of his body, yet he didn’t cry out in pain, which somewhat earned their admiration.

Zhong Minyan sheathed his sword and said in a deep voice, "Who are you? Why are you controlling those Qu Ru?"

The man just sneered coldly, and after a long while, he hoarsely said, "Why waste words, just go ahead and kill me."

Ruo Yu calmed the other’s impatience, stepped forward and gently said, "Your stubbornness is truly needless. As the old saying goes, ’A wise man submits to circumstances.’ We just want to ask one question: why disturb the peace here? What is your purpose? If you are willing to tell us the truth, I can guarantee we will not harm your life."

The man let out a low laugh, mockingly said, "You people are always duplicitous, abandoning others once you’ve crossed the bridge. In one sentence, if you want to kill me, then kill me, I will not even frown."

"That’s not something you can say." Ruo Yu smiled faintly and said, "I am Ruo Yu from Lize Palace, and the people here are all well-known and upright disciples. We always mean what we say. As long as you reveal who is behind this and what their purpose is, we will keep our word."

The man gave a wretched smile, "Tsk! The so-called reputable and upright sects are merely harboring filth and accepting the corrupt—there is nothing dirtier than you!"

"Enough talk! If he wants to die, let’s oblige him!" Linglong yelled in fury.

Seeing his stubbornness, Ruo Yu was at a loss for words for a moment. Lu Yanran gracefully stepped forward, curtseyed to him with a smile and said, "Why use such harsh words, big brother? Even if you persist in silence, we can still guess. Looking at you, I assume you’re not human, are you?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was somewhat bewildered, but Zhong Minyan, who was quick on the uptake, immediately understood—this wasn’t an insult. That meant—"Exactly! He is a demon!"

Linglong uttered an "ah" in realization. In her mind, she always thought that demons were just like Qu Ru or Heavenly Dogs, never considering that they could also take human form and speak human language. Looking at the man opposite them in the moonlight that filtered through the cave entrance, he indeed resembled a wild beast. Earlier, she had just thought he was strangely shaped but now realized he was truly a demon.

The man snorted but said nothing.

Lu Yanran continued, "I’ve heard that there are many demons in the world that can take human form and speak human language. They usually live scattered, leading their own lives. There are also those who specialize in causing chaos, claiming mountains as kings and ruling waters with tyranny, often eradicated by cultivators. Although you refuse to disclose who is behind you, we can guess. It must be another mob attempting to harm the common folks. We wanted to give you a chance to live, but you don’t want it. So don’t blame us for being impolite!"

The moment her words ended, everyone raised their treasure swords, the tips pointing directly at him, brimming with Sword Qi, ready to slay him immediately.

The man let out a miserable long laugh, softly said, "It’s just my bad luck. Well, at this point, what do I have to fear!"

He suddenly reached into his bosom, pulled out a half-length object, pinched and lit it, then made a gesture as if to toss it up.

Linglong and the others, taking this as a trick due to their lack of experience, quickly covered their heads and faces and retreated. But they saw the man’s arm suddenly swing, throwing the object towards the cave entrance!

Although the sword net could block people and demons, it had no effect on inanimate objects. Watching the object being thrown out, it exploded with a "bang", scattering tiny blood-red specks of light in the sky.

Linglong saw that he had released a signal flare, presumably meaning there were other accomplices nearby, and she couldn’t help but look toward the cave entrance.

The man roared fiercely, "Even if I die today, I’m taking someone to Huangquan Road with me!"

After the roar, his arms suddenly elongated, desperately lunging at Linglong as if intending to drag her down with him. Linglong, who had just lost focus, was already at a disadvantage, and as the man was about to seize her, it was too late for her to swing her sword—she could only stare in shock.

In the heat of the moment, Zhong Min Yan and Ruo Yu acted simultaneously. The man let out a pitiful cry as he was hit directly in the chest by several Iron Marbles, while Zhong Min Yan’s sword precisely pierced through his abdomen.

Linglong saw the man in front of her rapidly grow larger into a bloody figure, causing her legs to weaken with fear, but suddenly someone forcefully pulled her from behind. Turning her head, 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, are you seeking death?" She cleverly reused the same words Linglong had used to save her before.

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

Zhong Min Yan sheathed his sword, flicking off the blood, and said, "All in all, we still haven’t thoroughly investigated the matter. But at least we’ve eliminated a menace. We need to bring the corpse back for Uncle Zhao and the others to see and wrap this up."

Ruo Yu, seeing the demon lying lifeless on the ground covered in a pool of blood, looking somewhat desolate, couldn’t help but sigh, "For a demon to be able to stand upright like a human and speak, it really wasn’t easy. It’s just too bad its nature was so vile; this end isn’t unjust. But judging by its actions just now, it seems to have accomplices still at large. This doesn’t appear to be a simple act of mischief—I wonder what plans they have that we are unaware of."

Lu Yanran withdrew her sword net, and everyone gathered at the cave entrance to look outside. Gazing upon the desolate mountains and knowing not how many caverns lay hidden, they all sighed, wondering where to begin their search.

Zhong Min Yan said, "Never mind, it seems that the one controlling Qu Ru was this demon, and its accomplices have likely already fled. They won’t dare to come back anytime soon. We’ll continue the investigation later, and eventually, we will find some clues."

He bent down to pick up the demon corpse, and the group flew out of the cave on their swords. They had just passed over a large expanse of rocks when they saw two people flying towards them on a single sword, in a great rush—it was Xuanji, with Yu Sifeng.

Linglong hurriedly greeted them, anxiously asking, "Little sister, why are you here? Have you encountered some trouble?"

Xuanji’s eyes widened. "Huh? Wasn’t the distress signal from you guys? What’s going on...?"

Zhong Min Yan laughed, "It wasn’t us! Take a look, it was him!"

He shook the demon corpse he was holding, and as fresh blood splattered down, Xuanji, seeing its gruesome and dreadful appearance, couldn’t help but shiver, murmuring, "This is... the one controlling Qu Ru? How did he die...?"

Linglong chuckled, "What do you mean ’person’? He’s not a person, he’s a demon! He courted his own death, refusing to disclose who was directing him, so of course, we obliged him!"

Xuanji was silent while Yu Sifeng asked, "So, the trouble caused by Qu Ru here has been dealt with?"

Zhong Min Yan nodded, "I suppose that’s not incorrect to say. He must have accomplices, but they certainly won’t dare to come near Wangxian Town for now. I think we should leave Wangxian Town and continue to gather information along the way. We should be able to get to the bottom of this."

Yu Sifeng, noticing the stillness of the demon corpse in Zhong Min Yan’s hand, wondered, "Is he really dead? But..."

Zhong Min Yan, unconcernedly shaking the body again, laughed, "Dead for sure! A sword through the heart, and his chest was flowered by Ruo Yu’s Iron Marbles— not even a Daluo Golden Immortal could survive that!"

No sooner had he spoken when the demon corpse he had been casually shaking suddenly moved its limbs. With a forceful shove of Zhong Min Yan, it broke free from his grasp and tumbled down amidst everyone’s cries of alarm.

"Ah!" Zhong Min Yan himself was startled and was about to chase after it urgently when he heard Yu Sifeng say, "Demons don’t die that easily. Quick, go after him!" (To be continued. For further details, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available, and your support for the author and legitimate reading is appreciated!)