493 The Missing Demons
The two of them discussed some specifics about their plan. Afterward, Qin Huai made his way down the mountain toward Qingzhou City.
Arriving outside the city, Qin Huai observed the multitude of martial artists coming from all directions. Many bore scars on their bodies and faces, evidence of their battles, covering their sturdy bodies. Some, like Qin Huai, wore bamboo hats and black muslin, silently making their way through the crowd.
Qin Huai felt the aggressive energy around him as he walked, noting that he was being targeted by seven or eight individuals. A glance at his smooth palm made him realize that its delicate appearance could incite some wild ideas among these desperate people. However, he didn’t take them seriously and confidently headed into Qingzhou City.
After advancing to the visceral prefecture realm, Qin Huai’s lifespan increased by several decades. His internal organs were still strong, and his energy remained high.
He briskly entered the city, surveying the surroundings. The ground was stained dark red from fresh blood, nourishing the soil and causing some beautiful flowers to bloom amid the dirt and gravel. They flourished amongst the corpses, bones, and blood.
Suddenly, in a ruined building, he heard a woman’s scream, the splashing of water, and a man’s weak pleas for mercy. The pleas were long and desperate, filled with the man’s fury and curses.
Bang!
A door from the second floor was suddenly kicked down, landing just in front of Qin Huai. He heard slow footsteps on the veranda of the pavilion, then saw the man’s face. Despite being covered in blood and having a dull expression, the man didn’t seem scared.
The cold wind lifted Qin Huai’s bamboo hat, revealing his face for a moment.
“Hello, Mr. Qin,” the man said in a dazed tone after recognizing Qin Huai.
Qin Huai scrutinized the man’s features and the large knife in his hand, which was typically used for slicing tofu.
The man owned a tofu shop Qin Huai frequently visited when he worked in the Blood Poison Gang. The tofu was famous, and the man’s life in the outer city seemed pleasant, except for his wife’s infamy as a flirtatious woman and the spread of many rumors.
Suddenly, two dismembered corpses were thrown from the second floor by the tofu maker. They were a man and a woman, and Qin Huai recognized the woman as the tofu maker’s wife from her facial features. Then, another headless body was tossed out from upstairs.
The tofu maker, expressionless, tied a head to a hemp rope and hung it outside the corridor. The eyes, still filled with grievances, stared at the adulterous couple’s bodies.
“Watch carefully. This is what happens when you bully me!” the tofu maker yelled, his teeth gritted in anger.
Looking at the bodies, there were old people, children, and women, including an old man and a child who resembled the tofu maker. Qin Huai quickly pieced together what had transpired — the tofu maker had slaughtered the man’s entire family, possibly in front of many witnesses.
“Mr. Qin, do you want to mock me too?” The tofu maker glared at Qin Huai.
Qin Huai shook his head, walking past him without stopping. He then heard the tofu maker’s raspy voice, “Why do they have the right to bully me? They bullied me, so I’ll eat them! I want to keep their eyes, to let them see how I reached the peak of martial arts!”
Nowadays in Qingzhou, anyone could become a prodigy. He wanted to make them regret it for the rest of their lives.
Qin Huai paused and looked back at the tofu maker’s distorted face. Suddenly, there was a gust of wind, a cold sharp light in the bloody scene, and an explosion.
Looking back, Qin Huai saw the tofu maker, now half a body, teetering on the brink of death.
“I guess I’m not a prodigy after all… I always knew I’m not…” He spat out blood, mixed with tears. “Mr. Qin, I just wanted a good life. Am I wrong? Is it my fault?” His eyes were full of bewilderment and grief.
“You are not the one at fault…” Qin Huai placed his hand on the tofu maker’s head. With a loud noise, the tofu maker’s body exploded.
Even such a decent person had become part of the Sacred Heart Sect and was now involved in a mass killing. He pondered what kind of chaos the ambitious martial artists, attracted to the city with the intention of becoming stronger, would cause.
Looking at the tofu maker’s body, Qin Huai noticed red specks flying toward the bloodied sky. He threw a punch, but it only scattered the red lights — they still merged into the blood sea in the sky.
“There must be a greater plan behind the Sacred Heart Sect’s actions,” Qin Huai thought, quickening his pace towards the inner city, a likely place to find demonic traces, particularly the sects.
Soon, he arrived at a small sect. The sign of the Gao Family’s Martial Arts School lay shattered.
Using the wind breath technique, he dashed through the forest. The Gao’s disciples had now donned blood-colored robes, similar to those worn by the Sacred Heart Sect. However, despite the sect members wearing these robes, he found no traces of demons.
“If it were the Tang family, they wouldn’t wear these robes. Even if they’re currently allied, it’s unlikely they’d forsake their eight virtuous kings’ reputation to become subjects of the Sacred Heart Sect,” he mumbled.
Considering the demons’ long-established influence over various large sects, Qin Huai couldn’t help but wonder if the two forces had divided territories.
He hurriedly moved to the next sect, but again found no demon traces. The pattern continued across other sects, including the top-ranking White Cloud Sect.
Days passed, and he only saw disciples wearing Sacred Heart Sect robes. In a deep forest, he overheard two drunk disciples patrolling.
“Do you think the boss still wants us to keep watch?”
“Those outsiders have been treating us like heroes for a long time.”
“And that Qingzhou Alliance thing, started by the supposed heir of the Emperor of Qingzhou, we haven’t seen a single one of them in two weeks.”
“I bet they figured out that messing with us means asking for trouble, so they probably ran off to other places…”
The two of them stood in front of the tree, pissing on it.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, two red streaks shot past them, piercing the tree. Terrified, they turned to see Qin Huai in a black robe.
“M-My lord…”
“Is this how you’re supposed to be guarding the White Cloud Sect?” Qin Huai scolded.
“Please, sir, don’t kill us! Have mercy!”
Both of them dropped to their knees onto the wet ground with a thud, frantically bowing their heads to Qin Huai.
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