Chapter 80: Pity
“A dog meddling in a rat’s business?” It seemed this was a rather well-read rat.
But Bai Jingxue was a cat demon. Meddling was in her nature.
The scene was gruesome, the little rat’s appearance repulsive. Without hesitation, Bai Jingxue unleashed a burst of fire, its golden-red flames illuminating the darkness.
The rat demon, who had been lazily gnawing on the corpse, sensed the approaching threat, his instincts screaming at him to flee.
He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the flames, which scorched his tail, leaving behind a trail of blisters.
The blisters spread rapidly, and he quickly severed his tail.
This was a problem. He had assumed his opponent was only at the early Golden Core stage. He, at the peak of Golden Core, should have been able to easily defeat them.
But this cat demon’s flames were strange and dangerous. He could be killed if he wasn’t careful. But he had lived a long life. His cunning mind quickly devised a plan.
A malicious grin spread across his furry face, and in a blink, he vanished, reappearing before Bai Jingxue, who was too inexperienced to react in time.
He lunged, his jaws snapping at Bai Jingxue’s neck.
His cultivation had been achieved through devouring others. The more he consumed, the stronger he became. He could also absorb the abilities of his victims. He was eager to claim those powerful flames for himself.
But a fist slammed into his face, sending him flying. He stumbled, his vision blurring, blood and teeth spraying from his mouth.
Lü Qingyan, having successfully punched the rat demon, rushed over to Bai Jingxue, her voice filled with concern. “Are you okay, Jingxue?”
Bai Jingxue, pushing aside Lü Qingyan’s frantic hands, said calmly, “I’m fine. Just a bit nauseated by his breath.”
Lü Qingyan, relieved, felt a surge of anger. She had been an athlete in her past life. Her reflexes were far sharper than Bai Jingxue’s.
She was about to teach the rat demon a lesson when she realized he was gone.
“Where did he go?!”
Bai Jingxue stepped in front of Lü Qingyan, shielding her. The rat demon was incredibly fast. Her flames, though powerful, were useless if they didn’t connect.
The faint, lingering scent of demonic energy suggested the danger hadn’t passed. He was hiding, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
He was a powerful demon resorting to cowardly tactics. Bai Jingxue scoffed.
He thought he could hide from her, but she possessed a unique ability.
She closed her eyes, then opened them, her vision enhanced. She could now perceive the flow of all gases, even the subtle movements of air. She scanned the area, then her gaze fell upon the ground.
Lü Qingyan sniffed the air, then also looked down.
She summoned her guqin, levitating it with her spiritual energy, then began to play.
Her music, unlike the gentle tunes she had played for Bai Jingxue in their past life, was filled with a murderous intent, its tempo rapid and aggressive.
Bai Jingxue also drew her sword. Luo Nianshang was a sword master, so Bai Jingxue had been learning swordsmanship, though her skills were still rudimentary.
Moonlight glinted off the silver blade as she channeled her spiritual energy into it, striking the ground. The earth split open, but the rat demon had already moved, his speed enhanced by his demonic energy.
Lü Qingyan’s music had slowed him down, but Bai Jingxue’s second strike still missed.
This brought back unpleasant memories. She had always been unlucky, especially when it came to games.
Whenever she had accompanied Lü Qingyan to the mall, they would often visit the arcade. Lü Qingyan had always been a master at claw machines, effortlessly winning prizes, while Bai Jingxue had even managed to knock a prize back into the machine.
She had also been terrible at whack-a-mole, her slow reflexes failing her. But she had refused to acknowledge her own shortcomings, attributing her failures to her bad luck.
She had often stared at the bright red “0” on the arcade machine screen, her frustration so intense that she had wanted to smash it to pieces, but her poverty and her upbringing had restrained her.
But this situation was no different from whack-a-mole.
Her anger boiled over. She sheathed her sword, then landed gracefully on the ground. She unleashed her frustration upon the earth, ripping it apart, creating a deep chasm.
The rat demon, exposed, his eyes wide with terror, his mind frozen, stared at her, forgetting to flee.
She hadn’t used her spiritual energy. She had done it with her bare hands.
Her flames surged towards him, and he dodged, then, his relief short-lived, he looked up to see a sea of fire surrounding him, blocking his escape.
His heart pounding, he transformed into his rat form, burrowing into the ground, but the flames pursued him, their heat searing his fur.
He glanced back, his fear intensifying as he saw the flames approaching. He dug frantically, but he couldn’t escape.
He tried to extinguish the flames with his demonic energy, but it was useless. His magic simply fueled the fire. He resumed his desperate flight.
He ran and ran, finally breaking free from the flames, their heat fading behind him. He changed direction, digging upwards, finally emerging from the earth.
He couldn’t defeat those strange flames, but if he eliminated the cat demon, the threat would vanish.
And she was on the ground, while the other one was in the air, playing that cursed guqin. They were separated. He wouldn’t be caught off guard this time.
He channeled his demonic energy, overcoming the suppressive effects of the guqin, then charged towards Bai Jingxue, his jaws open, aiming for her neck.
But before he could reach her, a black guqin materialized before him, then slammed into his face, sending him flying.
He rolled across the ground, his vision blurring, blood spraying from his mouth. “How?!” he gasped, his voice filled with disbelief.
Lü Qingyan wiped the guqin, her voice satisfied. “That worked well.”
It was a good thing Zhu Chi wasn’t here. The sight of this unorthodox attack would have given her a heart attack.
The rat demon couldn’t understand what was happening. He had simply wanted to enjoy a nice human meal. How had he encountered these two powerful demons? If he didn’t escape now, he would become their dinner.
He abandoned his attack, letting out a shrill cry, and the ground around them began to tremble.
Countless rats surged towards them, their numbers so vast that they covered the ground, a writhing, squeaking sea of fur.
They devoured everything in their path: grass, trees, even the walls, their teeth sharp, their appetites insatiable.
Bai Jingxue, her scalp tingling, grabbed Lü Qingyan, pulling her into the air.
Lü Qingyan plucked the strings of her guqin, her music exploding, sending rats flying, but their corpses were quickly devoured by the others, strengthening them, rendering her music ineffective.
Bai Jingxue’s flames, however, still worked, reducing the rats to ashes.
Bai Jingxue, staring at the devastation, felt a surge of frustration. She had intended to slay the rat demon, but he had escaped.
Lü Qingyan’s frustration was more vocal. “Damn it!” she shouted, stamping her foot. “He got away!”
Bai Jingxue quickly regained her composure. They had done well. Two newly transformed Nascent Soul demons had forced a peak Nascent Soul demon to flee.
She patted Lü Qingyan’s shoulder. “Let’s go back,” she said.
Dwelling on it was pointless. He had escaped.
Lü Qingyan, her shoulders slumped, followed Bai Jingxue, leaving the carnage behind.
A while later, two figures arrived, one of them carrying the rat demon’s severed head.
Fang Xin stored the head in her spatial ring, then landed, examining the charred remains of the rat demon’s army.
Fang Yue Lian, remaining in the air, her gaze sweeping over the scene, her voice laced with a hint of surprise, said, “Those two demons are quite special.”
Fang Xin, collecting a sample of the ashes in a small jade vial, nodded. They had arrived a moment too late, witnessing the battle between the cat and dog and the rat demon. They hadn’t intervened, but this area, though secluded, wasn’t completely deserted.
The commotion, the music, the fire, the earth-shattering attacks… if Fang Xin and Fang Yue Lian hadn’t concealed their presence, rumors would have spread throughout the mortal realm.
Fang Xin joined Fang Yue Lian on the rooftop. “I’m staying here for a few more days,” she said.
That rat demon’s unexpected appearance had piqued her curiosity. She wanted to investigate.
Fang Yue Lian, her chin resting on her hand, her gaze fixed on Fang Xin, nodded. They had completed their mission, but she shared Fang Xin’s curiosity. “I’ll stay with you,” she said. “But we should inform the Imperial Advisor.”
The mission had been issued by the Imperial Advisor. She wasn’t sure how a mere mortal had learned about the existence of cultivators, but then she remembered that she and Yue Lian had also been mortals once. She dismissed the thought.
Technically, they were overstepping their boundaries. This area was under the jurisdiction of another sect, but that sect was weak, unable to even handle a peak Nascent Soul rat demon.
But the Ejian Sect, by handling this matter, would earn both spirit stones and a good reputation. That was important for a growing sect.
Fang Xin, her thoughts drifting, suddenly had an idea. Those two demons seemed to be righteous. They would be valuable assets to the sect.
They were demons, which was a problem, but with a bit of disguise, no one would know.
She suddenly thought of the Imperial Advisor, and she couldn’t help but sigh. “If only we had met him ten years earlier,” she said. “Such a waste of a good ice spiritual root.”
Fang Yue Lian knew who she was referring to. They had met the Imperial Advisor and had discovered his exceptional talent. His ice spiritual root was incredibly pure, almost overwhelmingly powerful.
But it hadn’t been properly nurtured, and it had eventually damaged his body. He was now nearing the end of his life.
Fang Yue Lian, however, was an optimist. “It’s a shame he doesn’t have any children,” she said. “Judging by his constitution, his descendants might have inherited his talent.”
Her words, spoken casually, sparked an idea in Fang Xin’s mind. Her eyes lit up. “You’re right.”
Seeing her excitement, Fang Yue Lian’s smile faltered. “Sister, what are you thinking?”
“Matchmaking,” Fang Xin replied, her voice filled with a mischievous glee.
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