008 Who Is the Real Evil Seed.
The three hired thugs were utterly desperate.
Why?
Why did they have to run into this ancestor here?
Although they hadn’t returned to their own territory for years, they still remembered this little troublemaker vividly. After all, she was the legendary figure who, as a child, used the Demon King’s Soulslay Blade to chop radishes, drew rainbows on the Celestial Venerable’s Void Palace walls, and made the Demon King transform into a beast to serve as her mount.
Given how precious she was, if Nan Yao so much as scraped her skin, those three venerable ones could flatten the entire imperial capital.
And now these people dared to kidnap her?
The thugs were broken.
They were just here to earn some extra cash. Weren’t they supposed to just stand around and scare people? Why was the difficulty level suddenly increased?
Nan Yao felt that in such a situation, she shouldn’t act too arrogantly, or she might easily expose her identity and attract the attention of the Heavenly Dao’s spies. So she cooperatively said, “Wuwu, what should I do? I’m so scared.”
“…”
If you can’t cry, then don’t.
You sound like you’re mocking everyone.
But she clearly wasn’t the only one with poor acting skills, because—
The Orange Peeler said, “I don’t kill women.”
The Kitten said, “I can’t bear to see girls cry.”
The Sleep Soother said, “She looks like my long-lost sister. I can’t bring myself to harm her.”
The General: …Since when did you all become such saints?
Xie Diao tilted his head, staring at Nan Yao for a long while. His right hand rested on the saber at his waist but didn’t draw it. After a brief pause, he started walking toward her again.
A youth who appeared no more than seventeen or eighteen years old stepped over corpses that hadn’t yet cooled, leaving bloody footprints with each step, like an asura emerging from purgatory, inspiring fear in all who saw him.
“St-stop right there!” The General grabbed Nan Yao and pressed his blade against her neck. “Take one more step, and I’ll kill her.”
The Orange Peeler, Kitten, and Sleep Soother gasped in unison.
It’s over. Everything’s over.
This General was already a dead man.
Nan Yao carefully raised her index finger to push the blade away slightly, protesting the position: “It’s a bit tight.”
The General didn’t care whether it was tight or not, tightening his grip and pressing the blade closer: “Xie Diao! If you don’t stop now, let’s see whether you’re faster or my blade is!”
Xie Diao paused, as if finding the man’s words ridiculous. Not bothering to restrain his emotions, he pressed his palm to his forehead and laughed mockingly.
Each laugh sent chills down everyone’s spines.
Nan Yao seized the opportunity: “Actually, we’ve had a falling out. Our love has turned to hatred, so I think you should just let me go.”
The General had never encountered such a situation. Panicking and seeing Xie Diao becoming increasingly unhinged, he treated Nan Yao as his only lifeline, pressing the gleaming blade even tighter.
Nan Yao felt quite helpless. As her right hand moved to the sword at her waist, ready to exert force, she heard Xiao Huang’s voice from the jade pendant: “Don’t move. Look, Xie Diao seems… off.”
Yes.
Earlier, when Nan Yao was unexpectedly kidnapped, Xiao Huang had wisely hidden inside the jade pendant.
Reminded by this, Nan Yao finally noticed the abnormality.
Xie Diao had killed too many people.
In what seemed like just a trip to the restroom, the busiest street in Nameless City had become littered with corpses, blood paving a crimson path. The bodies were mutilated beyond recognition, with not a single one left intact.
Nan Yao activated her Spiritual power to sharpen her vision, allowing her to perceive the crimson aura of killing intent and pitch-black death energy seeping from the hundreds of corpses, nearly corroding the entire street.
She could almost hear the tormented wails of the Dead souls, which continuously swarmed toward Xie Diao and seeped into his body. Yet, they couldn’t harm him in the slightest—instead, they intensified the malevolent energy radiating from him.
Nan Yao understood.
The Evil Seed grows stronger by feeding on despair and Dead souls.
Clearly, if Xie Diao continued killing like this, he would transform into a darkened version of himself.
By then, he might truly lose his sanity, indiscriminately attacking even her.
She had to do something.
And so—
A crescent moon hung in the pitch-black night sky, obscured by clouds, with not a single star in sight.
The long street was bathed in blood, children wailed, commoners mourned, and Dead souls drifted on the wind. Dark clouds churned as blood trickled along the rugged grooves in the ground, eventually reaching the feet of a young girl.
Nan Yao lifted her head, gazing at Xie Diao standing amidst the corpses, his entire being radiating ferocity. Her feather-like long eyelashes trembled slightly, her voice tinged with reluctance and a sob: “Xie Diao, stop. Don’t kill anymore.”
The general froze.
Was the pure, flawless maiden finally about to move the heart of this vicious Death Spirit General?
Xie Diao looked at Nan Yao, his pupils dark as ink, devoid of light or shadow.
“If you insist on killing, then let me do it.”
Nan Yao said, “I hold a strong grudge against these lawless scoundrels who kidnapped innocent people and nearly suffocated me. So why not let me have some fun too?”
Xie Diao: “?”
But clearly, whether Xie Diao agreed or not, Nan Yao had decided to intervene forcibly.
Thus, the citizens of Nameless City watched in astonishment as the seemingly delicate and pitiful girl effortlessly broke free from her restraints, drew her sword, and began chasing the general, hacking at him. In a few swift moves, she bound him tightly and, using her Spiritual power, suspended him from the eaves.
Then she turned and summoned a Sword swarm. The swords began herding the swarming minor thugs like ducks, driving them left and right until Nan Yao ruthlessly captured them and hung them all from the eaves as well.
The entire street was littered with the people Xie Diao had just slain.
And on both sides of the houses, Nan Yao had strung up a group of struggling, wailing lawbreakers.
It was truly a spectacular sight.
The citizens fell silent, and Xie Diao fell silent too.
Perhaps the scene was too shocking—even this Evil Seed quietly watched as Nan Yao, panting and bustling about, didn’t intervene at all, merely standing by as a spectator.
After finishing her work, Nan Yao clapped her hands and turned to find three escapees.
The lawbreakers hanging from the eaves trembled violently, casting hopeful glances at the last three remaining strong figures.
“No need for you to trouble yourself.”
The three underlings thought, how could they trouble this little ancestor with such a trivial matter? Their only worry was that she might be in a bad mood and complain to the three great figures.
Thus, the Death Spirit General and the Hopeless Immortal conscientiously flew to the eaves and hung themselves up.
The remaining Sky-Piercing Tiger, unable to climb onto the roof, was frantically hopping on the ground in agitation.
Nan Yao couldn’t bear to see it struggle and offered a suggestion: “If all else fails, why not tie yourself to that tree over there?”
The Sky-Piercing Tiger thought this was an excellent idea and happily trotted over to the towering tree, promptly tying itself up.
After completing this task, Nan Yao walked over to Xie Diao. Seeing him covered in blood, she pulled a handkerchief from her spiritual pouch and busily began wiping his hands, face, and clothes. “Look, I’ve tied them all up. We can deal with the killing tomorrow, tomorrow. Let’s rest for today.”
Xie Diao: “…”
Who’s the real Evil Seed here, you or me?
Nan Yao seemed completely unaware of how absurd her actions were. She continued fussing over Xie Diao, pushing and coaxing him to return to the tavern for a meal.
Xie Diao looked down at the petite Nan Yao, who was half-dragging and half-pulling him toward the tavern while earnestly explaining: “Look, the whole street is piled with corpses. If you kill so many in one day, the city residents won’t be able to clean up in time. Let’s take a break and eat first, then continue tomorrow, alright?Her voice was sweet and gentle, almost like she was acting coy, her lively eyes always watching others with such anticipation that it made people reluctant to refuse her.
Even though nothing she said made any sense.
When Nan Yao found she couldn’t push Xie Diao along, she was just contemplating her next move when Xie Diao suddenly strode toward the tavern. He stretched his shoulders and walked ahead without looking back: “Let’s go.”
Nan Yao quickly scurried after him, the purple bell at her waist jingling clearly, while the desperate outlaws on the roof continued their hopeless swaying.
*
Qi Guyuan hadn’t recovered.
He truly hadn’t recovered.
He contemplated his life over the past few days.
In just one night, his father had been captured and disappeared without a trace, while his brothers were either executed or imprisoned in the death row. His uncle had somehow mastered the dead souls technique, enabling dead souls to possess living bodies, forcibly taking them over and manipulating them for his own use.
Qi Guyuan had heard that to save those controlled by the dead souls technique, one must borrow the Demon Lord’s dead souls sword to sever the connection between souls.
And so, he had come to the Demon Realm.
Now, he looked at the two people before him.
Xie Diao was yawning, while Nan Yao was drinking soup.
They appeared like ordinary people having a meal, the atmosphere quite harmonious – provided one ignored the cluster of swaying human ornaments by the window.
Qi Guyuan: …Somehow these two seem more terrifying than my pursuers.
But after eating and drinking their fill, Nan Yao began feeling sleepy. She called the waiter: “We need three guest rooms.”
They would rest overnight in Nameless City before entering Demon-Guarding Mountain tomorrow.
The waiter now treated these three like ancestors and immediately went to prepare their rooms, but just as he turned around, Qi Guyuan stopped him.
Qi Guyuan spoke somewhat awkwardly: “Just two rooms will suffice. To be honest, that bunch on the roof is rather creepy. And these people are still trying to hunt me down, so I’m worried about safety at night. So perhaps… Brother Xie, could I share a room with you? What do you think?”
This remark reminded Nan Yao of something.
She once again used her subtle perception to check Xie Diao’s current state. Clearly, compared to his earlier “I’ve gone berserk” demeanor, his corruption level had decreased significantly. But if someone provoked trouble in the middle of the night and caused Xie Diao to embark on another killing spree, that would spell major trouble.
Nan Yao felt she needed to keep an eye on him, so she declared: “In that case, I believe I must share a room with Brother Xie. What do you all think?”
Qi Guyuan: “?”
Nan Yao spoke with complete confidence: “Why are you looking at me? I’m timid, I’m scared too.”
Everyone around fell silent.
They would no longer be deceived by Nan Yao’s pitifully charming face—after all, the two most terrifying people in the entire Nameless City right now were Xie Diao and her.
But Qi Guyuan clearly didn’t dare contradict Nan Yao, so after thinking for a moment, he made a decision: “How about this—let’s each take a step back and all three of us sleep together?”
Author’s Note:
Darn it
Woke up to find I’d accidentally copied one thousand fewer words for this chapter
I won’t allow anyone to miss my full three thousand words
I carefully crafted this author’s note to match the ending
Please, you 64 kind readers who clicked in before 11:11, come back and read it
Otherwise I’ll have to beg each of you individually
Xie Diao: Who’s taking a step back with you? Do you think I’m dead?
Nan Yao got caught stealing Xie Diao’s red envelope.
She’s currently writing a self-criticism. Since Nan Yao’s arrest has temporarily paused this story’s performances, I declare a seven-day vacation for myself (just kidding)