Li Niang was utterly horrified. Turning to look at Third Young Master Yuan in disbelief, she stammered, “Third Young Master…”
“You didn’t have it with you yesterday, but you must have brought it today, right?” Without waiting for her response, Third Young Master Yuan snatched her bundle and began rummaging through it.
Previously blinded by love, Li Niang now saw everything clearly. She let out a cold laugh, “Well, well, Third Young Master. You’ve deceived me thoroughly. You want the Jade Pendant? It’s right here on me. Come and take it—” With these words, she grabbed Third Young Master Yuan and leaped off the cliff with him.
Caught off guard by Li Niang’s suicidal determination, Third Young Master Yuan failed to react in time. Dragged by her grip on his arm, they both tumbled down to the cliff base.
The cliff appeared deceptively deep. Upon landing, both survived the fall. Though physically robust and normally capable of descending effortlessly using his Light Body Skill, Third Young Master Yuan had been taken by surprise this time and sustained significant injuries from the uncontrolled plunge.
“Third Young Master, it hurts so much—” Li Niang lay on the ground, clutching her abdomen and moaning in agony.
Third Young Master Yuan remained unmoved, watching the large pool of blood spreading from between her thighs. After the sharp pain in his leg subsided, he felt relieved: Fortunately, only his calf was broken. As long as he could get out, it could be treated. He retrieved dry rations from his bundle and began eating voraciously. He needed to replenish his strength to escape. Thankfully, he had planned ahead and brought both the Treasure Map and supplies to maintain the ruse fully.
After about half an hour, he managed to stand with the support of a wooden stick. Glancing at Li Niang lying nearby on the brink of death, he thought darkly: This madwoman still clings to life! If the other four find us and discover I’ve killed someone, wouldn’t that hand them leverage against me? No, I must dispose of her quickly—can’t let this lunatic hold me back.
With this resolve, cruelty flashed in his eyes. Deciding to see it through, Third Young Master Yuan hobbled over to Li Niang using his stick and began searching her for the Jade Pendant.
“Where exactly have you hidden it?” Finding nothing after a thorough search, he lost patience and snarled viciously.
Li Niang was in too much pain to speak, but she clenched her fist tightly and curled her lips in a mocking smile. Noticing the subtle movement of her hands, Third Young Master Yuan seized her arm and pried open her fingers by force—the Jade Pendant was indeed in her grasp!
“Li Niang, we shared affection once, and I didn’t want to go this far. It was all an act, never meant to be real. But you, shameless and delusional, insisted on clinging to me. Don’t blame me for being ruthless.” Having said this, he began rearranging the tree branches according to the daytime Formation, activating the Mechanism. Suddenly, an eerie small temple with red walls and black tiles materialized before them!
He grabbed Li Niang, intending to drag her into the temple. Once the Mechanism sealed it shut, no one would ever find her, and his hands would remain clean.
Just as he was about to step inside, a cloaked figure in black descended from above and stated coldly, “How utterly foolish. How dare you defile this sacred temple with your filthy mortal blood?”
Third Young Master Yuan stared in stunned silence before suddenly exclaiming, “It’s you—”
The black-clad figure summoned a powerful gust of wind that hurled both Third Young Master Yuan and Li Niang far away. Then, retrieving a scroll—the Treasure Map—from Third Young Master Yuan’s bundle, the figure struck them both dead with a single palm strike.
Hearing this, Wang Chuan widened his eyes in astonishment: “There’s actually a temple down there? How do you activate the Mechanism?”
Li Niang stared blankly, “I don’t know.” Then her gaze shifted to Yan Wuyou and Lin Yao, her eyes suddenly brightening as she exclaimed excitedly, “You must be able to open the mechanism! Perhaps Sanlang is inside!”
Lin Yao said coldly, “Didn’t Sanlang die here with you?”
“No! He must still be alive.” Li Niang appeared deranged. “When I woke up, Sanlang was gone! He must be hiding somewhere!”
“You, Sanlang, and those three accomplices all died,” Yan Wuyou pointed toward the nearby raised grave mound. “You’re all buried there.”
“You’re lying! I’m not dead, and Sanlang isn’t dead either!” Li Niang looked at her own hands and laughed hysterically. “I’m standing right here—how could I be dead?”
Yan Wuyou shook his head and sighed. “Love obsession truly destroys people… Even in death, she remains delusional…” But Lin Yao suddenly looked seriously at Li Niang and asked, “How did you wake up?”
Li Niang froze, her eyes vacant. “I… I don’t know. It felt like I just fell asleep. One day, I heard a child constantly calling ‘Mother’ by my ear. When I opened my eyes, I was here.”
“Mother—”
“Listen! He’s calling me again! I must find Sanlang—find him to meet our unborn child—” After saying this, Li Niang tried to dash out of the forest, but Yan Wuyou drew a Talisman and struck her with it, immobilizing her on the spot.
“It seems she’s lost her mind. Whenever she hallucinates a child calling her, she goes out to capture people, just like she did with me!” Wang Chuan said indignantly.
“Mother—”
If the first call of “Mother” was as faint as a mosquito’s hum, the three had attributed it to being influenced by Li Niang’s delusions. But now, this clear, infant-like cry sent chills down their spines, compelling them to turn around. Even Lin Yao, a seasoned Demon Hunter who had encountered numerous evil spirits, couldn’t help but be horrified!
On top of the grave mound crouched a creature shaped like an infant. Its entire body was ash-gray, as if coated in moldy flour, with its head and torso fused together—no neck, no limbs. On its round, large face, a pair of pitch-black pupils, bottomless and without any whites, stared intently at the three—
Seeing the living humans before it, the creature suddenly grinned widely, then extended thin, spindly limbs from its plump body and began crawling toward them step by step.
Seeing this, Wang Chuan set aside his fear and swiftly moved to shield Lin Yao. Yan Wuyou gripped his Wind Piercing Sword, activating his Swordplay. The Sword Qi around the blade intensified, ready to strike. Lin Yao had already secretly formed hand seals, purple energy gathering fiercely in her palm—
Witnessing this, Li Niang suddenly let out a piercing roar: “No one harms my child! No one—You all shall die! You shall all feed my child—” As she roared, her previously immobilized body began emitting green smoke! She spread her fingers, her nails elongating rapidly, while her once meticulously made-up face instantly became covered in dark patterns. The “infant” on the ground suddenly darted onto her shoulder, extending a slender “tongue” from its mouth that plunged straight into the top of her head—
Li Niang seemed to draw some form of empowerment from this. Her eyes turned crimson, her strength surged, and countless black, slender tendrils erupted from her body, lashing out sharply toward them!
Yan Wuyou urged the Wind Piercing Sword into action, its blade swiftly rotating to form a row of Qi Swords that shielded the group. Then, shifting from defense to offense, he ignited Talisman Fire and hurled it toward Li Niang. Lin Yao crossed her hands, transforming the Purple Fire into several small blossoms that scorched the supple branches.
The Talisman Fire and Purple Fire intertwined, as if moving in harmony, racing toward Li Niang—
Seizing the momentum, Yan Wuyou drew his sword and soared into the air, using Qi Sword Control to guide the Wind Piercing Sword with unstoppable force, striking Li Niang with sharp precision—
“Ah—” Li Niang screamed in agony, and in mere moments, the once vivid Li Niang instantly turned into a pile of black ashes.
“That infant is gone too!” Wang Chuan exclaimed in shock.
During the earlier struggle with Li Niang, the infant had clung motionless to her shoulder, seeming like nothing more than an ornament, its dark pupils fixed intently on the group. Now that Li Niang had been vanquished, the infant had disappeared. Lin Yao wondered, “Could it have dissipated along with Li Niang?”
“Miss Shen’s reasoning makes sense. The infant relied on its mother; with the mother gone, it would dissipate as well.”
But Yan Wuyou raised a hand to signal silence: “It’s still here. Be careful.”
The three cautiously searched through the woods—
“What’s that fragrant smell?” Wang Chuan said, sniffing hard. “Miss Shen, do you smell it?” He turned to find Yan Wuyou missing, while Lin Yao seemed oblivious.
“Miss Shen, where is that mage?” Seeing that Lin Yao remained unresponsive, merely walking ahead on her own, Wang Chuan grew alarmed: Could Miss Shen be possessed?
Just as he worried about what to do, Lin Yao spoke: “He’s checking behind us. Let’s go ahead.” Relieved, Wang Chuan nodded and followed her forward. But after winding around, they remained in the same patch of woods. Lin Yao found a flat rock and sat down, gesturing for Wang Chuan to join her: “Let’s rest here and wait for him.”
Wang Chuan thought it made sense—he and Miss Shen were amateurs after all; catching demons was best left to the mage. His role was to protect Miss Shen and avoid causing trouble. So he sat down beside her.
“Why sit so far away? Come closer.”
Wang Chuan had initially felt a bit shy; though he wanted to be nearer, propriety between men and women held him back. Hearing Lin Yao’s words, he shed his hesitation and boldly sat close to her. He thought to himself: Girls are naturally timid; she must be scared.
With their proximity, her faint, elusive feminine fragrance tickled his heart, making his ears burn hot, and he almost dared not look at her.
Lin Yao suddenly lifted her delicate, fair face to gaze at him, her starry eyes sparkling brightly. She parted her red lips softly: “Do you like me?”
Wang Chuan started, his heart pounding like a drum, his lips dry: “M-Miss Shen…”
“Do you like me?” she asked again.
Wang Chuan was overjoyed, yet it felt somewhat unreal—how could Miss Shen suddenly… Never mind, even if he were possessed, to have her favor for a moment in a dream was worth it! Mustering his courage, he nodded: “Of course I like you. From the first moment I saw you at the Old Man of the Moon Temple, I’ve liked you.”
Lin Yao curved her eyes into smiles, her glimmering pupils filled with delight.
That radiant smile completely captivated Wang Chuan—the little fairy he’d longed for day and night was smiling at him! So he grinned foolishly along with her.
She braced her hand on the ground, leaned forward, and stared intently at his lips as she slowly drew closer. Wang Chuan’s heartbeat quickened even more, his lips trembling as he closed his eyes.
Smack—
A Clarity Talisman slapped heavily onto Wang Chuan’s face. His eyes snapped open—what stood before him was no Lin Yao, but the “infant” that had vanished earlier!