The Journey of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 218 - 140: The Seedling That Cannot Be Saved_2

Chapter 218: Chapter 140: The Seedling That Cannot Be Saved_2

"You." The demon finally turned towards her, with a tone that betrayed no emotion, "Aren’t you with them? Why warn me?"

Only then did she lift her head to glance at him, quickly lowering it again: "Esteemed gentleman, I am not with them. My siblings and I missed our lodging last night and were pursued by a wolf pack, so we came here seeking refuge by the fire, little did we know they were not good people!" Curiously, the demon’s pupils were dark red, barely visible in this pitch-black night.

"Our horses are still tied over there." Following her gaze, the red-clothed demon looked and indeed saw several tall horses beside an unmistakable aged and frail horse. This old horse was kicked several times by the powerful ones of its kind as soon as it arrived at the camp, so it had to stand off to the side, now cowering with a drooping head, listless.

Thus, the demon uttered a soft "Hmm," knowing she wasn’t lying. Otherwise, why would the horse bandits take such a slow horse on their journey, against the principle of military swiftness?

She earnestly said: "Thanks to the gentleman’s arrival, otherwise that man—" Shel pointed to the corpse on the ground with a brutish face, "that man would have molested me!"

The red-clothed demon smiled slightly, apparently very pleased, then walked towards a sack and turned it over, causing the contents inside to clatter all over the ground.

By the light of the campfire, she could see yellow gold bars, shiny silver ingots, various jewelry, ornaments, exotic treasures, and even several painting scrolls. Anyone who took these items could live lavishly for a very long time.

But the demon bent down and rummaged through the treasures for a long while, not taking a liking to anything; instead, he frowned in thought. The flickering firelight made his face seem even more dim and obscure, adding an erratic allure.

She spat in her mind. He was too demonically charming, although he was essentially a demon. Among people she had seen, only Changtian could compare to him in beauty, not even Zhang Sheng from Deng Hao’s merchant team could match his striking appearance.

The handsome demon rotated his eyes, looking up at her: "This group of horse bandits killed a team of people before. Do you know where the corpses are?"

She nodded vigorously, needing to show her usefulness to increase her safety.

She led the demon to a clump of bushes, pushing aside the branches and pointing: "Just ahead."

Since they were already here, the red-clothed demon didn’t need her to guide any further and gracefully walked over.

The wolf pack had already feasted, now resting beside the corpses. The large meal here was sufficient for two or three days; they wouldn’t leave until they’d gnawed every last bit of flesh. Survival in the wilderness was not easy; they ate with particular care.

Upon seeing the red-clothed man, the wolves immediately stood up, baring their stark white teeth as a warning. However, with just a stern glance and emitting demon energy, the wolves instantly cowered like frostbitten eggplants. All the bristled fur lay flat and the ferocity in their eyes vanished. The big Black Wolf whimpered softly, turning around without hesitation and ran, tail squarely tucked between its legs, in a complete panic.

Animal instincts are indeed much sharper than humans.

The unfortunate victims on the ground had already been thoroughly plundered by the horse bandits; clothes on one of the bodies were even slashed open, revealing several hidden pockets. The red-clothed man rummaged through the bodies, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

Finally, he turned over one of the bodies, uncovering two delicate plants packed beneath it. Changtian, with his sharp eyesight, noticed that they were just two small green sprouts, hardly the length of a finger, each stem bearing only three narrow leaves with tiny serrations on each.

They were originally wrapped in a handkerchief, but when the horse bandits saw them, deeming them worthless, carelessly tossed them aside. The two delicate plants fell to the ground, first crushed by a corpse then trampled by the wolf pack for hours, completely mangled—half of their tender leaves torn, the delicate stems broken. Worst of all, the roots, which had initially been wholly extracted, were now broken into several pieces.

It was clear to anyone: these two sprouts were beyond saving.

The expression of the red-clothed demon finally changed. Clenching his teeth, he squeezed out two words from between them. From a distance, only Changtian could hear him clearly: "Dammit!"

He warned Ning Xiaoxian, "This demon is enraged, be careful."

She dared not look anymore, turning around and hugging the two little bat demons in her arms. So when the red-clothed demon man turned to look her way, he saw her back to him, softly comforting the two children: "Don’t be afraid, sister is here, everything will be alright by morning."

"Did she see what I was looking for? I can’t let the world know this thing has fallen into my hands." He pondered, then thought again, "What does it matter if she saw? These sprouts are dead anyway." Ah, what a false joy. He sighed softly, tossed the small sprouts to the ground, and turned back.

"You." The voice came from in front of Ning Xiaoxian, she looked up and there the demon already stood directly before her, "Why disguise yourself?"

He had indeed seen through her disguise.

She answered softly: "For ease of travel on the road, to avoid complications." Ah, her modest appearance was utterly overshadowed by this demon; if he were to dress as a woman, he would undoubtedly be an alluring beauty.

"If the gentleman hadn’t arrived tonight, tomorrow morning the death of Li Mengxue would have been certain! I truly do not know how I could ever repay the gentleman for saving my life!" Her eyes were filled with sincerity. Indeed, if this chap hadn’t come, she would still be worried about how to escape. Of course, that wasn’t really a problem; it was not as if she appeared in her original form anyway, she could just hide in the God Demon Prison when needed. The band of horse bandits would just think they had seen a ghost during the daytime. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast a recommendation ticket and Monthly Ticket. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)