After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 20

Immediately Jade City (VI)

What?!

Zhu Shengxi suspected she had misheard, but the expression of the person before her was sincere; she didn’t seem to be joking.

“Stop talking nonsense,” Zhu Shengxi said calmly, supporting herself against a tree as she slowly stood up.

A-Xu rose along with her. “I am serious. I’m not talking nonsense.”

Zhu Shengxi lowered her eyelashes, changing the subject: “The thing that attacked me just now seemed to be a Chenze Beast.”

A-Xu frowned slightly, a flash of dissatisfaction flickering in the depths of her eyes.

Why is she changing the subject again? At this rate, when will the plan ever be completed?

“You should first tell me why the Chenque Sword attacked you,” A-Xu’s tone turned somewhat cold, carrying a hint of unhappiness.

Zhu Shengxi glanced at her and, after a moment, recounted what had just happened.

After hearing the whole story, A-Xu narrowed her eyes. “The Chenze Beast threw the sword? That shouldn’t be right. Although it’s a third-order demonic beast, its intelligence is definitely not that high.”

Indeed, a third-order beast did not possess such high intellect. Zhu Shengxi pondered for a moment but couldn’t figure out the reason.

Seeing her lost in thought, A-Xu scanned their surroundings, her expression turning grave. “Stop thinking about it for now. Look around us.”

The mist surrounding them had thickened once more. Upon closer inspection, countless dark shadows were swaying within the fog.

Zhu Shengxi knit her brows slightly, her grip tightening on the Chenque Sword. “What are those things?”

A-Xu watched the shadows warily. “I don’t know. They weren’t there before.”

Countless shadows surged forward, closing in on them. Zhu Shengxi lowered her eyes and caught sight of the bloodstains on the ground. She understood instantly. Without hesitation, she stepped forward and used the withered leaves under the tree to cover the blood.

A-Xu watched her actions but, uncharacteristically, asked nothing, turning her gaze back to the front.

The shadows gradually took shape—they were countless small demonic beasts resembling bats, glowing with an eerie blue light, their sharp fangs reaching down to their lower jaws.

In the next instant, as if receiving a command, the beasts moved en masse. A-Xu immediately raised her jade flute, and a low flute melody resonated.

Having lost her spiritual power, the power of the flute music was greatly weakened. The beasts only paused for a moment before continuing their assault. Seeing this, A-Xu’s eyes darkened, and she quickened the pace of her playing.

Zhu Shengxi held the Chenque Sword, hacking down one beast after another. The dead beasts fell to the ground, oozing green blood. When the green blood touched the withered leaves, a “sizzling” sound erupted; everywhere the blood touched was corroded into a large patch.

“Their blood is corrosive,” Zhu Shengxi warned A-Xu.

Hearing this, A-Xu avoided the carcasses on the ground. After a while, she realized that no matter how she played, it seemed useless. Countless beasts flew in waves, completely unaffected by the flute’s sound.

Pausing, A-Xu stopped playing and began to strike down the beasts directly with the jade flute.

A continuous stream of beasts emerged from the thick mist. Neither of them had spiritual power right now; staying like this was not a viable solution.

As she was racking her brain for a way out, a faint scent of blood filled the air. A-Xu’s heart sank, and she looked back.

Zhu Shengxi’s face was pale. She raised her sword and cut down another beast, her left hand clutching her abdomen, which was soaked in blood.

A-Xu moved closer to her while fending off several beasts. Looking at the shocking, mottled bloodstains on the white clothes, an inexplicable emotion climbed into her heart:

“Has the wound torn open again?” she confirmed cautiously, her voice carrying a hint of heartache she hadn’t even noticed herself.

“Yes,” Zhu Shengxi replied, swinging her sword once more to strike down a beast behind A-Xu.

Now I must find a place for her to heal. With her wound reopened, she certainly wouldn’t be able to run fast. A-Xu thought for a moment, then turned her back to Zhu Shengxi and squatted down.

“Get on. I’ll carry you and we’ll escape.”

Whether running forward or backward, staying here was a dead end.

At a moment of life and death, there should be no hesitation; one should seize every chance for survival. Yet, she heard the woman say:

“You go.”

A-Xu stood up abruptly, staring at her fixedly. “What do you mean?”

They had just killed a wave of beasts and finally had a moment to breathe—now was the perfect time to flee.

Zhu Shengxi avoided her gaze, her thin lips moving slightly: “Neither of us has spiritual power right now… taking me along will only drag you down.”

A-Xu was expressionless. “Whether you’re a drag or not isn’t for you to decide.”

She squatted down again, urging: “If you don’t get on now, when even more beasts attack, we’ll both die.”

Her tone was firm, indicating that if Zhu Shengxi didn’t come, she wouldn’t leave either.

A strange emotion grew in her heart. Zhu Shengxi gazed at A-Xu with focused eyes. After a long pause, she let out a soft sigh, stepped forward, and gently wrapped her arms around A-Xu’s neck.

After an unknown amount of time, the surroundings were still filled with white, vast mist. Zhu Shengxi leaned against A-Xu’s shoulder, hearing her slightly hurried breathing.

A-Xu’s left shoulder wound hasn’t fully healed yet.

That was the first thought in Zhu Shengxi’s mind.

“A-Xu.”

Hearing her low call, A-Xu answered softly, “Mhm.”

Zhu Shengxi looked back. An overwhelming mass of black shadows was following them closely.

The wound in her abdomen was tearing with pain. Zhu Shengxi coughed a few times, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of her lips.

“Put me down. Those beasts are coming for me.”

Her voice was even weaker than before. When A-Xu heard her bring this up again, a surge of anger inevitably rose in her heart.

For the first time, she refused with a cold, hard tone: “I will not leave you behind.”

The decisive tone made Zhu Shengxi’s heart tremble. No one had ever said such words to her before. During trials in the Guiyun Sect, she was always the one to cover the rear when danger struck; the other disciples took leaving for granted.

For the first time, someone insisted on taking her along.

But now, with no spiritual power, both were struggling to survive. She and A-Xu were merely in a partnership; they would go their separate ways after getting what they wanted. Why should A-Xu gamble her life for her?

“Why go to such lengths?” Zhu Shengxi asked in a hoarse voice after a moment of silence.

A-Xu remained silent. Truthfully, she couldn’t explain why herself. If it were just for the plan, it wouldn’t matter if it failed; it wasn’t worth risking her life.

She made up a random excuse to brush it off: “I said I wanted to take something from you. If you die now, I won’t be able to get it.”

Is it… because of that?

A baseless sense of loss spread through her heart. Zhu Shengxi lowered her eyes and said nothing.

So she had overthought it. A-Xu risked her life to save her only to obtain something.

The pain in her abdomen intensified again, and her consciousness became hazy. Zhu Shengxi felt waves of heat and cold. Her hands around A-Xu’s neck tightened slightly, and she couldn’t help but press closer.

Feeling her closeness, A-Xu knew something was wrong. If Zhu Shengxi were fully conscious, she certainly wouldn’t take the initiative to get so close; this unconscious proximity meant she was losing clarity.

A-Xu glanced back. The beasts behind were still in hot pursuit. She gritted her teeth: Do I really have to use that method again?

After a while, she stopped her pace and slowly turned around.

A-Xu looked at the swarm, her eyes cold. At this moment, her eyes were not the distinct black and white of a human, but an eerie, blood red.

The beasts stopped one after another. Within moments, they began to retreat.

As her consciousness gradually returned, Zhu Shengxi woke up. After seeing the person so close to her, she froze in place.

Those eyes, which she remembered as clear and agile, were now tightly closed. A-Xu’s brow carried a hint of fatigue, and her lips were somewhat pale.

Zhu Shengxi gazed at her, involuntarily tracing the clear features of the face before her with her eyes. In this moment, under this silent gaze, threads of soft emotion welled up in her heart.

The two were currently in a very intimate posture, almost hugging each other. She was covered by A-Xu’s outer robe, and her own hand was wrapped around A-Xu’s slender waist.

The temperature beneath her palm was burning. Realizing this belatedly, Zhu Shengxi hurried to withdraw her hand.

“Mhm?” A-Xu was startled awake by her movement, her eyes carrying the haziness of just waking up.

Zhu Shengxi stared at her without blinking, discovering that her eyes were blood red.

“What happened to your eyes?” she asked hesitantly, her tone worried.

Hearing this, A-Xu snapped awake instantly, quickly closing her eyes and turning her face away.

Zhu Shengxi asked softly, “Why did you turn away?”

A-Xu’s tone was somewhat off. “I’m afraid of scaring you.”

Zhu Shengxi didn’t speak. After a moment of silence, A-Xu sneered inwardly. They are all like this. They say they don’t mind or won’t be disgusted, but in truth, they care very much.

If you loathe it, why not say so directly? Why must you put on a hypocritical front, making me mistakenly think I could be accepted?

After spending some time together, she thought Zhu Shengxi was different from those sanctimonious righteous cultivators. It turned out they were all the same.

A-Xu pursed her lips tightly, her heart churning with coldness and an indescribable trace of disappointment.

Just as she was thinking of saying something to skip the topic, a cool hand suddenly reached out to gently cup her face. A-Xu’s expression stiffened, but she still didn’t open her eyes.

“I won’t be afraid, and there’s nothing to be afraid of,” Zhu Shengxi’s voice rang out, carrying an imperceptible tenderness.

A-Xu opened her eyes vengefully and stared at her.

She wants me to open my eyes and look at her. Fine. In all likelihood, after staring for a moment, this person will turn away in disgust.

The righteous families of the past were all like this; the eyes that looked at her never failed to carry loathing. Zhu Shengxi came from the Guiyun Sect, one of the three great immortal sects—how could she not hate a freak like her? How could she be an exception?

A-Xu stared unblinkingly at Zhu Shengxi, trying to find emotions like disgust in her eyes. But there were none. Just as the first time she saw her blood-red pupils, there was no contempt or dislike, only a calm and gentle gaze.

After a moment of staring, A-Xu was the first to look away, lowering her eyes in silence.

Zhu Shengxi handed her back her outer robe and said warmly, “Thank you.”

A-Xu took it expressionlessly and put it on. “I reapplied medicine to the wound on your abdomen.”

No wonder the pain had lessened significantly. Zhu Shengxi replied, “Mhm, thank you.”

“Does Daoist Zhu only know how to give verbal thanks?” A-Xu glanced at her, her voice carrying a strange hint of annoyance.

Zhu Shengxi was stunned, not understanding why she had suddenly become angry. She asked, “How… would you like me to thank you?”

This was the sentence she was waiting for.

A-Xu smirked slightly and said leisurely, “For the grace of saving one’s life, one should give themselves in marriage.”

“Has Daoist Zhu never heard that saying before?”