Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The nest the Water Yaoguai had deliberately built should have been pitch-black, but the stone walls glimmered with faint blue specks, providing a weak source of light.

Qiao Ying did her best to ignore the severed limbs and scraps of flesh on the ground. She was, after all, an ordinary person. In a place lit only by that dim glow, walking over the uneven, pitted ground was terribly unsteady, not to mention the foot that had been struck was still aching dully.

So she simply grabbed a corner of Shen Qingyu’s robe and followed him forward with great care. In a low voice, she asked, “How did you find me?”

Shen Qingyu seemed to be in a decent mood. Smiling, he said, “I followed the scent, and there you were.”

Was he a dog?

Qiao Ying asked again, “Then how did you get here from outside in an instant?”

Shen Qingyu thought for a moment, then lifted the corners of his lips. “Just like that: whoosh, and I was here.”

Qiao Ying: “…Then can you whoosh again and take me out?”

Shen Qingyu shook his head. “No.”

Qiao Ying said, “Why not?”

“Because this place is very interesting.” His faint smile carried a deeper meaning. “There’s something very intriguing hidden here.”

Qiao Ying looked again at the stone walls around them.

On closer inspection, the faint blue glow seemed to be flowing. It was not light emitted by some kind of mineral, but rather as if something was releasing a strange power in every direction.

Qiao Ying very much wanted to say that in the face of life and death, anything interesting became completely uninteresting. Unfortunately, the decision of whether they left or stayed was not in her hands.

In the dim space awash with that ghostly blue light, a tiny green insect suddenly flew over, strikingly out of place and impossible to miss.

Qiao Ying recognized it at once and ducked behind Shen Qingyu. “It’s a Demon Insect!”

Before, she had only gotten a bit of water mixed with the Water Yaoguai’s blood on her, and the Demon Insect had chased her relentlessly. This time, not long ago, she had even been splashed with the Water Yaoguai’s blood.

Shen Qingyu let out a laugh. Just as he raised his hand, a man’s voice rang out from not far away.

“Young master, please stay your hand!”

Xue Heting appeared with Ming Caihua, with Zhao Zhiyi following behind them. Xue Heting quickly took out a small bamboo tube. The Demon Insect made a turn and flew back into it. Only after Xue Heting replaced the lid did he let out a breath of relief.

Ming Caihua, always happy to stir the pot, said with a strange, mocking tone, “The illustrious Eldest Young Master Xue finally managed to obtain two Demon Insects after much effort, and one has already been crushed to death. If the other one dies too, then from now on, when he goes looking for Yaoguai, it’ll be like a blind man trying to catch fish.”

Shen Qingyu withdrew his hand. Having failed to kill, he seemed rather regretful.

Qiao Ying poked her head out from behind Shen Qingyu. “I’m sorry, Young Master Xue. Last time, that Demon Insect chased after me without letting up, and I was really afraid it would bite a piece of flesh off me. Shen Qingyu definitely didn’t mean to kill your Demon Insect.”

“Last time, I was careless and frightened you, miss. You need not apologize. However…” Xue Heting said, “Demon Insects merely like to suck the blood of Yaoguai. Even if it sensed the lingering scent of blood on you, it would not truly harm you.”

Qiao Ying’s expression changed. Then she narrowed her eyes, lifted her face, and looked at the young man’s jade-white, flawless features.

Back then, he had deliberately told her that if a Demon Insect bit her, it would gouge out a chunk of flesh. That was why she had been scared into screaming like a lunatic!

Shen Qingyu’s smile remained the same as ever, without the slightest hint of guilt, as if he had forgotten the rotten thing he had done.

Zhao Zhiyi stepped forward impatiently. “Miss Qiao, do you know Yunshu’s whereabouts?”

Qiao Ying shook her head. “When I woke up from being unconscious, I didn’t see Miss Mu.”

Zhao Zhiyi’s face turned very ugly.

Mu Yunshu did not know martial arts. She was just a weak young woman. The odds were that disaster had already befallen her.

Xue Heting said, “Miss Mu is blessed by fortune. She will definitely be all right.”

Zhao Zhiyi tightened his grip on his sword, turned, and walked away. “I have to find Yunshu.”

Xue Heting felt this matter had arisen because of him, and with guilt in his heart, he naturally followed at once.

Ming Caihua could not stray too far from Xue Heting, so he could only be forced to follow as well.

Qiao Ying looked at Shen Qingyu, lips pressed together, still sulking in silence.

Shen Qingyu said innocently, “Aren’t we going to follow them?”

Qiao Ying asked in a rather unfriendly tone, “You want to follow them?”

Shen Qingyu said, “Aren’t you the one who loves being kindhearted and helping others most?”

The way he said it made Qiao Ying feel as if there was a hint of mockery in his words.

Qiao Ying glanced at the three figures ahead. “I do hope Miss Mu can be safe and sound. But compared to them, I can’t kill Yaoguai. I might even get killed by one. If I go, it seems like I’ll only drag them down.”

Shen Qingyu’s smile was faint and gentle, like a clear breeze under a bright moon. “Have you never thought of asking me to help? After all, I am quite powerful.”

Qiao Ying glanced at him. “You are you, and I am me. Whether you want to save someone or help out isn’t something I can demand of you. If I can’t do something myself, I have no reason to force it onto you.”
The smile at the corners of Shen Qingyu’s lips faded slightly, as though he had not expected that response. The careless air about him slipped away, leaving only a dazed, faintly bewildered look.

Not far away, Ming Caihua suddenly cried out.

“Ugh-who went this far? These bodies… ugh!”

It turned out they had seen the severed limbs and chunks of flesh scattered across the ground. Even among Xue Heting’s party of three, some had killed Yaoguai before and seen corpses, but none of them had ever witnessed anything so bloody and brutal.

The thick stench of blood bored straight into their noses. Even the air seemed dyed a murky red, steeped in a violence that chilled the heart.

This was slaughter for the sake of cruelty.

Ming Caihua turned away and leaned against the stone wall, dry-heaving.

Xue Heting and Zhao Zhiyi turned back together and looked toward the young man in green robes and white hair, more than half his body hidden in the darkness.

The young man’s figure was slender, his breathing calm, his bearing gentle and warm. He seemed the very picture of approachable friendliness, without the slightest trace of savagery. Yet precisely because of that, at this moment, he appeared all the more uncanny.

He sensed their wary gazes. His fingers lightly stroked the ebony blind cane, and as a smile that was not quite a smile touched his face, the lazy aura spreading around him seemed to shift almost imperceptibly.

Aside from Ming Caihua, who was still foolishly oblivious to everything, both Xue Heting and Zhao Zhiyi quietly tightened their grips on their swords, hands braced against the hilts, ready to draw steel at a moment’s notice.

“That was terrifying!”

Qiao Ying slipped out from behind Shen Qingyu. With an almost exaggerated flourish, she blocked herself in front of him, clutching her chest like a tragic beauty. Fear still lingered on her face as she babbled on, shaken and breathless.

“As soon as I woke up, I found myself thrown into this awful place. So many Yaoguai came running out. They said one portion of food wasn’t enough to share, and then they started fighting right in front of me. The way they slaughtered each other was horrifying. I was scared out of my wits!”

“I watched as fewer and fewer of them were left, and soon there was going to be a winner…”

“I thought I was definitely going to die. No one answered when I called to the heavens, and the earth was no help either. Thank goodness Shen Qingyu showed up. He took care of the last Yaoguai and saved me!”

Shen Qingyu let out a soft laugh.

Zhao Zhiyi said, “We only managed to track the Water Yaoguai’s den by relying on the Demon Insect. We have not yet had the chance to ask-Young Master Shen, how were you able to find the Water Yaoguai Lair before us?”

Shen Qingyu bent slightly and leaned close to Qiao Ying’s face from behind, asking softly, “Yes. How indeed?”

Cold sweat broke out on Qiao Ying’s forehead. Her eyes darted, and then she took a step back, hugged Shen Qingyu’s arm, and smiled brightly. “Of course it’s because our hearts are connected!”

Shen Qingyu’s laughter grew even more pleasant to the ear. The pleasure in it seemed both real and unreal, making Qiao Ying’s scalp tingle.

“That can’t be right!” Ming Caihua had finished retching and lifted his head. “Zhao Zhiyi and Mu Yunshu are engaged. Shouldn’t their hearts be connected too?”

Qiao Ying said with perfect confidence, “That only proves their feelings aren’t deep enough.”

Zhao Zhiyi’s temple twitched. He looked toward Xue Heting.

Xue Heting’s expression was grave. A moment later, he suddenly smiled. “So that’s how it is. We were overthinking things. My apologies. Zhiyi, we shouldn’t delay. Let’s continue looking for her.”

Zhao Zhiyi nodded.

Ming Caihua still did not understand. “Xue Heting, are you stupid? You actually believe-”

Xue Heting abruptly struck Ming Caihua’s mute acupoint. Ming Caihua could not force out a single word and could only bare his teeth and wave his claws at Xue Heting to express his displeasure.

Qiao Ying let out a breath of relief. Fortunately, Xue Heting did not want to clash with them either. At last, they had avoided a scene of flesh and blood flying everywhere.

“Qiao Ying.”

“Mm?”

Shen Qingyu bent down, a strand of white hair falling onto her shoulder. He whispered by her ear, “The arm you’re holding crushed quite a few corpses not long ago.”

Qiao Ying’s arms trembled.

Her belated fear seemed to please him. Laughter spilled from the corners of Shen Qingyu’s lips, carrying a trace of careless mockery. His breath was cold and thin as frost, as though wrapped in the scent of blood, seeping icily into her pores.

“If our hearts are connected, what are you afraid of?”

Qiao Ying immediately changed her mind about letting go of his arm as quickly as possible. Instead, she hugged that arm even tighter. Her skin crawled, but the words that came out of her mouth were bold enough to court death.

“Shen Qingyu, can you stop laughing like that?”

He tilted his head slightly.

“The more perverted your smile is, the more I like it. I’m afraid that one day I won’t be able to get enough of you.”

Shen Qingyu: “…”

Qiao Ying had long since figured it out. If she really acted afraid and tried to run away like he said, it would only excite him more.

And there was only one way to deal with a pervert: be even more perverted than he was.

See? That perverted smile on his face really did disappear.