Chapter 36: Why Did You Hurt Her

Lin Xue watched as Yang Yuting was blasted in half, his upper body flung more than ten meters away, and finally let out a breath of relief.

That terrifying enemy, Yang Yuting, had at last been dealt with.

She was very satisfied with the power of her new move.

This battle had been truly perilous—had she made even the slightest misstep, Yang Yuting could have split her in two with a single slash, or riddled her with his endless flying needles.

She’d been forced to use the Paper Substitute Technique five times, her Demon Power nearly drained to nothing.

She stood where she was, waiting for the System prompt to pop up, to see how much Experience she would gain from this fight.

But after waiting quite a while, she still didn’t see any prompt from the System.

For a moment, Lin Xue wondered if she had accidentally missed the notification on the panel.

She opened the panel and looked at the status at the top.

Name: Lin Xue

Race: Snake

Experience: 170 points

Her Experience was still 170 points—it hadn’t increased.

Yang Yuting wasn’t dead yet.

Lin Xue was a little shocked.

Blasted into two pieces, and he still wasn’t dead?

Such a stubborn will to live?

She stepped forward and looked toward Yang Yuting.

Yang Yuting was sprawled on the ground, lips trembling, clutching a bottle as he desperately poured Sevenfold Resurrection Pills into his mouth as if they were food, his eyes brimming with terrified tears, mumbling incoherently,

“I can’t die, I, Yang Yuting, will not die! I can’t die!”

The few precious Sevenfold Resurrection Pills in the bottle had all been consumed by him.

But he soon realized that these life-preserving pills couldn’t halt the loss of his life in the slightest.

His face was panic-stricken, tears and snot running down in streams.

Lin Xue stopped at a distance, not getting closer, just watching from afar, waiting to collect the spoils.

But then Yang Yuting started muttering again:

“Foundation-building Pill! Right, Foundation-building Pill! I still have a Foundation-building Pill!”

He trembled as he pulled a delicate box from his sleeve, his hands shaking as he opened it—inside was a red pill.

“If I eat this, I can reach Foundation Establishment! Once I reach Foundation Establishment, I’ll definitely survive!”

Yang Yuting shakily tried to put the Foundation-building Pill into his mouth.

What?!

Foundation-building Pill?!

Lin Xue instantly sprang into action.

She dashed forward in a flash, kicking Yang Yuting’s hand just as he was about to shove the invaluable Foundation-building Pill into his mouth, sending it flying away.

The Foundation-building Pill rolled far away across the ground.

You damn fool, you’re about to die, and you still want to waste this Foundation-building Pill!

Such a waste!

This Foundation-building Pill is useless to you now—it’s mine!

She bent down and quickly scooped up the Foundation-building Pill, clutching it in her hand.

But suddenly, a pair of hands gripped her ankle tightly.

Lin Xue was startled and looked down at her feet.

Yang Yuting reached out and grabbed her ankle, his face wild and deranged, screaming hoarsely, “The Foundation-building Pill is mine! It’s mine! Give it back!”

His grip was fierce, and Lin Xue’s ankle ached from his grasp.

She struggled desperately to shake Yang Yuting off, but couldn’t break free from his hands.

She raised Zhanfeng and slashed at his arm, but it felt as if she were hacking at stone.

Yang Yuting’s Protective Divine Weapon was still dutifully shielding his broken body.

Yang Yuting’s face was filled with madness.

He howled hysterically, “It’s all because of you! It’s you, demon, who ruined me!”

“If I can’t live, neither will you! I’ll self-destruct! We’ll perish together!”

His body suddenly began to swell.

Lin Xue was horrified, her face drained of color.

She never imagined that Yang Yuting would try such a desperate move, unleashing the Jade-and-Stone Perish Technique, dragging her down with him.

She had barely any Demon Power left in her body, unable even to use the Paper Substitute Technique.

Was she just going to watch herself get blown up by his self-destruction?

In a flash of desperation, Lin Xue instinctively reached into her Storage Pouch and pulled out an item, hurling it fiercely at Yang Yuting’s head.

She didn’t even have time to think—it was pure instinct.

It was only as the object left her hand that she realized it was the small black-gray ball she had obtained from Chang Feng’s Storage Pouch.

Zhang Zongnian had said it was a throwable explosive, similar to those Thunderbolt Balls from the Tang Sect.

Now, in this moment of crisis, she didn’t hesitate at all and just threw it.

She had no idea what effect it would have.

Nor did she know whether, with her and Yang Yuting so close together, using this little black ball would affect herself as well.

But now, there was no time for second thoughts.

The ball struck Yang Yuting’s head.

“Boom!”

A loud explosion.

Lin Xue’s vision went black, and she lost consciousness.

At the same time, in front of Bai Cao Tang, the Tracking Bee that had been faithfully hovering in the air on surveillance duty suddenly stopped flapping its wings, dropped from the sky, and lay motionless on the ground.

……

Sun Daoyuan carried Zhang Zongnian across the yard and into the bathhouse.

He opened a hidden door in the corner, hoisted Zhang Zongnian onto his back, and slowly descended the stairs.

A loud bang echoed outside in the sky, but he didn’t pay it any mind, thinking it was just some mischievous child setting off firecrackers.

He went down to the basement.

The basement was pitch black.

Sun Daoyuan groped around and set Zhang Zongnian down, saying to the unconscious man,

“Junior Brother, you’ll have to endure hiding here for a while. Once your Senior Brother has exchanged that demon for the bounty and advanced to Qi Refining Late Stage, I’ll send you out of Xichuan.”

“Senior Brother knows you’re fond of that demon, but that’s all the more reason I can’t let her live. Humans and demons are different. Senior Brother can’t watch you walk the same path as Master. Don’t blame me.”

He turned his head and called into the side room, “Qiu Tong, I’m about to reach Qi Refining Late Stage. I’ll be able to stay with you another twenty years. I’ll definitely cure you, and you’ll speak to me again.”

He waited for a response from inside.

But there was no sound at all.

The usual noise of iron chains dragging, the scratching of nails on the door, and the inhuman snarls—all were strangely absent tonight.

Sun Daoyuan froze.

A sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

He took out an Oil Lamp and lit the wick with a fire striker.

A flame sprang up, bringing a bit of light to the dark basement.

Sun Daoyuan saw the door half ajar, and the lock lying on the ground.

His hand shook, and the Oil Lamp fell to the floor.

“No…”

Sun Daoyuan staggered toward the door, pushing it open.

The Oil Lamp lay overturned on the ground, lamp oil spilled everywhere, and the remaining wick still burned stubbornly.

By the faint flame, Sun Daoyuan saw his wife, Wu Qiu Tong, lying motionless on the floor, her neck twisted at a strange angle.

“No… no… no…”

His face was filled with despair. He stumbled a few steps and knelt at his wife’s side, holding her in his arms despite the stench of her corpse.

But all he lifted was her body; her head was still on the floor.

Sun Daoyuan’s whole body trembled.

He gently laid his wife’s body down, hands shaking as he picked up her head.

He saw the neat cut at her neck.

Tears streamed down Sun Daoyuan’s old face, grief and anger battling across his features. He opened his mouth and let out a beast-like howl.

“Ah—!”

“Why? Who? Why?”

“Qiu Tong never bit anyone, never hurt anyone. I locked her up here—she couldn’t harm anyone. Why wouldn’t you let her go? Why did you have to hurt her?”