Demoness's Art of Vengeance

Approximately two hours passed, and the disciples found themselves fully rested and rejuvenated for the road ahead. They packed everything they needed back into their Interspatial Ring, before standing up and patting the dirt off their bodies. Then, they continued to forge ahead towards their next destination – a small town some distance away.

Strangely, the disciples no longer seemed to dissociate themselves with Jun Xiaomo and Ye Xiuwen, and they even started to gravitate towards them in twos and threes. Perhaps the Demonvine’s pursuit had left an indelible impression in their minds, but it was apparent that these disciples felt a greater sense of security if they stuck close to Jun Xiaomo and Ye Xiuwen. From time to time, some disciples would even throw a glance over at Jun Xiaomo and Ye Xiuwen to check that they were still around, before heaving a sigh of relief. Then, they would continue chatting with their fellow disciples as though nothing had happened.

Jun Xiaomo had long since noticed this strange phenomenon out of the corner of her eye. When the next disciple glanced over at her, she mischievously returned a meaningful smile at him, causing that disciple to involuntarily cough twice as he shifted his gaze away awkwardly.

“Brother Ye, I think your fellow martial brothers and sisters are all scared stiff by the Demonvine. Previously, these disciples used to treat us as though we were invisible, but now they’re all gravitating towards us as though our presence clothes them with a sense of security.” Jun Xiaomo minced her way over to Ye Xiuwen’s side as she relayed to him her observations thus far with a bemused expression on her face.

Ye Xiuwen did not verbally respond to Jun Xiaomo’s observations, and he only gently patted Jun Xiaomo’s head. At the same time, Jun Xiaomo seemed to be able to tell that her martial brother wore a warm smile on his face under that veiled conical hat of his right now.

Jun Xiaomo’s voice wasn’t too small, and the other disciples walking close to them awkwardly scratched their noses when they heard what Jun Xiaomo had said. It was a fact that they did not particularly like Yao Mo as a person, and they certainly would not wish to hover about this young man if they could have it their way.

But it was just as Yao Mo had said. They had all been scared stiff after their close shave with the Demonvine earlier. When death stares a person in the eyes, what did a person’s pretense and appearances count for?

Furthermore, even if Yao Mo did not intend to rescue them, staying by Yao Mo’s side might give them an opportunity to glean some of Yao Mo’s unorthodox yet potentially life-saving methods which they could then themselves use to ensure their survival.

Qin Lingyu’s expression was dismal right now. Ever since that last encounter with the Demonvine, he felt as though his stature in the eyes of these fellow martial brothers and sisters had fallen substantially. He was the one at the twelfth level of Qi Mastery, yet these martial brothers and sisters seemed to be gravitating towards a person at the measly second level of Qi Mastery, hoping that he would be able to protect them? This was absolutely humiliating to the First-Seat Disciple of the Sect Leader!

Ke Xinwen took in the present scene with a derisory look in his eyes. He had not forgotten how Qin Lingyu had treated him while they were escaping from that Demonvine earlier – Qin Lingyu had activated the poison in his body to make him fall behind the pack!

Therefore, his hatred towards Qin Lingyu was no less than his hatred towards Yao Mo and Ye Xiuwen at this moment. In fact, he longed for these three persons to duke it out with each other so that he could reap the benefits of their conflict.

But when it rains, it pours. Not only did Fate seem to disregard Qin Lingyu’s feelings, it even seemed like Fate wished to aggravate matters and rub salt in Qin Lingyu’s wounds. As they walked on, Di Yue gradually regained his consciousness once again. This was the result of the fact that the medicinal pill which Ye Xiuwen had given to Di Yue was far more effective than the medicinal pill Qin Lingyu had given to Di Yue earlier. Therefore, when Di Yue regained his consciousness this time, he no longer fainted again.

“Ah Di Yue, you’re awake!” Yi Hong and another disciple were supporting Di Yue as they journeyed on. Therefore, they noticed it immediately when Di Yue moved.

Di Yue shifted his hands, signaling for them to let him stand on his own. As they let go of his arms, Di Yue staggered about for a bit, before he managed to regain his footing and stabilize himself without falling down.

Then, Di Yue swiftly retrieved two third-grade recovery pills and consumed them. He then promptly operated his spiritual energy to enhance his body’s absorption of these medicinal pills. Within moments, his spirit and disposition visibly improved.

A third-grade recovery pill can be considered to be rather effective. But at the same time, Di Yue’s injuries were extremely severe. If he hadn’t increased the dosage of his recovery medicine, who knows how long he would take to fully recover? Right now, they were still trekking through the woods, and there was a reasonable possibility that further danger lay ahead of them. Therefore, he could not be bothered conserving these two precious medicinal pills.

Di Yue drew a long breath, and he finally felt more revitalized. However, the present did not change the fact that his heart would involuntarily quiver with fear and trepidation whenever he was reminded of that horrific incident with the Demonvine.

“Ah, Ah Yue, why did you kneel towards martial brother Ye so passionately earlier? Did martial brother Ye really save you?” Yi Hong shoulder-bumped Di Yue chummily as he broached the issue with mild incredulity.

After all, Ye Xiuwen always behaved in such a cold and isolated manner. There was no way he seemed like the type who would voluntarily risk his life to rescue another person.

Hearing this, Di Yue immediately glared at Yi Hong with disdain as he rebuked him, “What kind of tone is that? What do you mean “really save me”? How could I falsify such matters?”

“Tsk tsk, I still find it hard to believe. Tell me more – how did martial brother Ye rescue you? I’d always thought it was Yao Mo who had rescued you.”

“What has Yao Mo got to do with this?” Di Yue furrowed his brows. Even though his gratitude was targeted towards Ye Xiuwen, Yao Mo continued to be an outsider to him. Furthermore, his impression of Yao Mo thus far had not been great either.

Besides, isn’t Yao Mo only at the first level of Qi Mastery? How could he possibly possess the ability to rescue me?

Yi Hong and Di Yue weren’t too far away from Jun Xiaomo at this instant, and Jun Xiaomo could naturally hear everything that they were saying right now. Thus, she turned around and smiled at Yi Hong and Di Yue as she recounted, “If Di Yue had been within the formation array when I killed the Demonvine, then he would’ve ended up with the same fate as that Demonvine.”

In other words, Di Yue would have been burnt to ashes and razed to the ground.

Everyone around who heard Yao Mo’s words couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of Di Yue’s close shave with death. Yet the irony was that Di Yue’s reaction was plain and dull because he was the only one who had not seen the final state of the Demonvine.

“Furthermore, the person who had saved him was indeed brother Ye. I’m unrelated to you, and we’re not that close either, so why should I bother to save you guys in the first place?” Jun Xiaomo played with her hair as she added, “But then, I might still consider rescuing you in the coming days if you can entertain me, or if brother Ye insists that you should be saved.”

Everyone: …… How is it that this guy can make every single statement sound so irksome?!

But at the same time, no one dared to look down on this array master at only the second level of Qi Mastery any longer. His outstanding capabilities had time and again given them figurative slaps on their faces for their ignorance.

When Di Yue learnt that Yao Mo was the one who had indeed killed the Demonvine, his face was filled with shock. But he immediately shelved that thought – after all, as Yao Mo had mentioned, it was still Ye Xiuwen who had rescued him even if Yao Mo did later dispose of the Demonvine.

Di Yue quickened his steps as he walked before Ye Xiuwen and gave him an earnest palm and fist salute to thank him, “Martial brother Ye, thank you for saving my life. I apologize for my earlier ignorance and disrespect to you. Please let me know if you have any instructions in future. I, Di Yue, shall not refuse you, no matter how difficult the task might be – even if I have to risk my life!”

Ye Xiuwen calmly responded, “You’re my team-mate; I naturally have to rescue you.”

In other words, Ye Xiuwen was saying that if Di Yue were not his team member, then he would not have bothered saving Di Yue.

Furthermore, only Jun Xiaomo and Ye Xiuwen knew that one of the reasons why Di Yue’s injuries were so severe was precisely because they had intentionally dallied in their attempts to rescue Di Yue. It was as Ye Xiuwen had said – he would rescue Di Yue’s life, but the extent of Di Yue’s injuries was certainly not within the ambit of his considerations.

After all, Di Yue’s earlier attitude towards him had truly been appalling, and he deserved to reap what he sowed.

Poor Di Yue! He did not know that this man standing before him with a distant yet pristine disposition like that of a deity in fact possessed a slightly wicked side to him as well. Di Yue continued to gaze at Ye Xiuwen with the utmost gratitude, completely idolizing Ye Xiuwen at this moment.

This sight caused goosebumps to creep up all over Jun Xiaomo’s skin. Just imagine this – a man built like a grizzly bear staring at you with affectionate, gleaming eyes. Just what kind of feeling would that give any person?

Even though Jun Xiaomo knew that the object of Di Yue’s affection was Ye Xiuwen, she was standing beside Ye Xiuwen at this moment, and she was unable to avoid the “collateral damage” coming from Di Yue’s deep gaze.

“Cough cough. Let’s go, let’s go.” Jun Xiaomo tugged at Ye Xiuwen’s arms as she shifted her attention away from the gaze of a particular person. Di Yue thickened his skin as he obsequiously tagged along with that party of two.

Yi Hong looked at the martial brothers and sisters around him awkwardly. Then, he thought for a moment before gritting his teeth, and hastened his steps after Di Yue and joined Ye Xiuwen and Jun Xiaomo’s group.

Yi Hong was much more discerning than the well-built yet simple-minded Di Yue. Given their previous run-in with danger, he knew that Ke Xinwen and Qin Lingyu might not necessarily be willing to save them, just like how they did not rescue Di Yue because he did not belong to their team to begin with.

Therefore, he was willing to follow in Di Yue’s footsteps and tag along with Ye Xiuwen and Yao Mo. After all, was there really any basis for comparing their safety and security; and a mere label of being “thick-skinned”?

At the same time, the other disciples gazed profoundly at Di Yue and Yi Hong – not with disdain, but with admiration in their eyes. They did not have the fortune of being part of Ye Xiuwen’s team. If they encountered another Demonvine once more, who knows what their fate would be?

Back when Di Yue and Yi Hong were assigned to Ye Xiuwen’s team, the other disciples had even expressed their pity towards the two of them.

Yet in the end, fortunes rise and fall, and the ones who had expressed their pity earlier now found themselves more deserving of pity for not being assigned to Ye Xiuwen’s team.

Right now, apart from Ke Xinwen and Qin Lingyu, practically every single disciple had “tragedy” written all over their faces.

Seeing this, Qin Lingyu’s face turned a deep green with envy. But this was not immediately noticeable if one did not pay close attention to his expressions, since this was hardly different from the usual somber and stern expression worn by Qin Lingyu to begin with.

However, Ke Xinwen picked up on this point without fail. He took pleasure in Qin Lingyu’s pain and smiled wryly as he lowered his head to hide the hatred in his eyes.

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As Jun Xiaomo had expected, they did not encounter any strong spirit beasts or spirit plants in the rest of their time in the woods. After all, the Demonvine’s domain spanned a radius of fifty-kilometers, and few spirit creatures would be able to escape its clutches within this region. And even if the spirit beasts were able to survive the Demonvine’s attack, their instincts would ensure that they left the Demonvine’s domain well behind them so as to prevent future harassment by the Demonvine and preserve their own lives.

“There seems to be a path ahead!” A disciple exclaimed as his heart leapt with joy.

The existence of a path meant that this route was frequently traversed by people. This in turn naturally meant that they were close to the small town that was their next destination. By now, the entourage of people had braved the elements and slept under the stars for well over ten days. Thus, the prospects of arriving at a town where comfort and delectable food awaited them immediately rekindled their spirits, and everyone subconsciously picked up their pace as they made haste on their final stretch.

On the other hand, Jun Xiaomo and Ye Xiuwen did not anticipate the pleasures of a comfortable inn quite as much as the others. Therefore, they simply followed after the rest in a leisurely fashion.

Slowly but surely, several paths began to converge with the path that they were travelling on, and the disciples found more and more travelers walking along the same widened path in the direction of the small town ahead.

After about an hour, a city gate finally appeared within their field of vision. Several people were waiting outside the city gate impatiently, and all they could see right now was a sea of black hair on the heads of these people.

“Seems like the size of this town isn’t too shabby, isn’t it? They even have a city gate! Ah, but why aren’t these people entering the city?” One of the disciples thought aloud to himself.

“This town is called Xingping County, and it’s a short distance away from the capital of Inferno Kingdom. Therefore, Xingping County is very well organized and constructed. Even though it’s called a “County”, its size is comparable with a small city in most other places.” Jun Xiaomo discreetly turned to Ye Xiuwen as she apprised him of the basic information of this place. As Ye Xiuwen turned around to look at Jun Xiaomo, he was immediately greeted by her pair of brightly lit eyes.

It was as though she were saying – I’m very smart, aren’t I? Praise me, please!

Ye Xiuwen chuckled as he tousled Jun Xiaomo’s hair.

“Please be patient, please be patient! Everyone, please remain calm and line up in an orderly fashion! I will need to verify your identity or personal documents before I can let you into the city.” An armoured soldier stood on each side of the city gate, preventing the public from barging into the city through the city gates.

No wonder there are so many people waiting outside! Everyone thought in their hearts.

But the entourage from Dawn Sect did not bother arguing with these soldiers. So, they obediently walked to the back of the queue as they waited for their turn.

Even then, one of the soldiers with a sharp eye immediately spotted this distinct group of people. He walked over to report this to his commander and exchanged a few words with his commander. Then, the commander looked towards the entourage from Dawn Sect, nodded his head, before making his way over to Jun Xiaomo and the rest.

“Dear guests, may I ask if you may be cultivators?” The commander immediately asked the disciples from Dawn Sect as he approached them.

The disciples all looked at each other quizzically, wondering why the first thing this commander asked about them was whether they were cultivators or not.

Despite that, Qin Lingyu immediately made a fist and palm salute to the commander as he responded, “Indeed, we are cultivators. I wonder…”

“That’s great!” The commander was an impetuous person, and he immediately cut off Qin Lingyu when he received the response he was hoping for, “Since you’re cultivators, do you have any interest in a bounty-related task? This task is directly commissioned by our king. Once the task is complete, I’m certain that the Inferno Kingdom would greatly reward your achievements.”

“This…we’re currently under time constraints…” One of the disciples hesitated as he explained.

“This task isn’t too difficult. It’s just that we haven’t encountered any cultivators suitable for the task to date. Furthermore, this task requires some measure of luck as well. I invite you to take a look at the task objectives before you make your decision.” The commander continued campaigning for the entourage’s support.

A gleam flashed across Qin Lingyu eyes – he was particularly interested in the rewards to be had upon completion of this task.

Therefore, he swiftly raised his hand to tell everyone to hold their horses. Then, he politely gestured to the commander as he said, “Since that’s the case, then let’s take a look at what the task might be before we decide.”

“Please!” The commander gestured for the entourage to follow him.

“I guess there’s a silver lining in undertaking this task too – it seems that we can skip the queue and enter the city gates immediately.” A disciple murmured under his breath. Truth be told, he was not too keen to accept this task to begin with, because he knew that given his stature in the entourage, he would likely be left with nothing more than scraps from the task’s rewards even if they completed this task successfully.

But now that martial brother Qin had spoken, he was certainly in no place to object either.

In fact, all of the other disciples had the same thoughts running through their minds earlier. However, there was also no way they would be able to object right now. Therefore, they could only suppress their frustrations as they trotted along beside the rest.

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The commander brought them to an inn at the corner of the city and then asked the innkeeper to prepare a room for them. Once they had entered that room, he shut the door, and retrieved a scroll from within his clothes and unfurled it to reveal a portrait of a person.

Everyone looked on at the portrait curiously, wondering what exactly the reward for this task would be.

Then, the commander pointed at the person depicted by the portrayed, explaining, “This is the first prince of the Inferno Kingdom, but he is now also the most wanted fugitive within Inferno Kingdom. He poisoned our king, his father. When the king fell into a comatose, the first prince managed to give us the slip, and we’re all trying to locate him right now. The first prince is a cultivator as well, so mere mortals like us are unable to capture him by ourselves. That is why we require help from formidable guests such as yourselves.”

The person in the portrait was extremely handsome. He had sharp and chiseled features, including expressive eyebrows and thin lips that were curled into a slightly aloof smile, as though he were looking down at and mocking the rest of the world for their ignorance. What was most striking about his appearance was the deep, cold gaze in his eyes which seemed to oppressively stare straight into people’s hearts, even through a mere portrait of him.

It was hard to imagine that such a striking person could possibly commit such a heinous crime to become Inferno Kingdom’s most wanted fugitive! This thought immediately crossed several disciples’ minds, and some of them even began to feel for the first prince.

While everyone was silently observing and committing to memory the most wanted fugitive’s appearances, a different thought crossed Jun Xiaomo’s mind –

The first prince’s neck seems to have a small totem on it. Somehow, this totem looks rather…familiar.

As she deliberated about it, she suddenly opened her eyes wide in realization – she had seen this totem while she was looking through Jiang Yutong’s belongings in her cavern some time ago! Furthermore, she had learnt that this totem was unique to the Jiang clan, and only the bloodline of the Jiang clan would possess these totems.

Could it be that this first prince of the Inferno Kingdom was the owner of the Blood Jade – senior Jiang Yutong’s own son?!

Jun Xiaomo had thought that it was going to take her several years before she could finally locate Jiang Yutong’s son. Who would’ve thought that she would find a clue to his whereabouts immediately upon their entry into Inferno Kingdom’s territory?