After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 30

Encounter (Part I)

The inn was brightly lit. After such an event, the cultivators had no heart to rest and gathered on the first floor. Ji Yanshu carefully examined the silver needle and said to the crowd, “There is no poison.”

“No poison was used, yet several people were killed in the blink of an eye. This is…” Shi Su’s eyes were filled with shock.

“And they were several Golden Core stage cultivators. It seems the strength of that evil cultivator cannot be underestimated.”

The people inside the inn fell into a heavy silence. There were no lack of Soul Transformation stage cultivators among them, yet an evil cultivator had managed to kill people right under everyone’s noses and depart leisurely.

Ji Yanshu looked up slightly and happened to see Zhu Shengxi walking over slowly. She hurried forward to ask, “Fellow Daoist Zhu, did you catch them?”

Zhu Shengxi shook her head and said calmly, “I didn’t see the evil cultivator who committed the murders. In fact, there wasn’t even a trace of a related aura.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the others grew even more solemn. If even Zhu Shengxi couldn’t catch up, could the other person’s cultivation realm have reached the Void Refinement stage?

Yao Zhixin spoke up in doubt, “Why did you stay outside for so long then? If there truly was no aura at all, wouldn’t you have come back immediately upon failing the chase?”

At this moment, these words were clearly inappropriate. Shi Su couldn’t help but defend her: “What do you mean by that? Are you doubting our Senior Sister Zhu?” The other disciples of the Guiyun Sect also turned their gazes toward Yao Zhixin.

Yao Zhixin said, “I’m just telling the tr— Hiss, Senior Sister, it hurts, hurts, hurts!”

Ji Yanshu pinched her ear and scolded, “Stop causing trouble here.”

Zhu Shengxi didn’t care about the suspicious words. She stepped forward to inspect the corpses and said softly, “Besides sword wounds, there are also claw marks.”

Hearing this, Ji Yanshu released her hand and also stepped forward to check. After a moment, she pondered, “So, that person was using a sword while also being assisted by a demonic beast.”

“There aren’t many who know beast-taming techniques. It can be certain that the one taking people’s Golden Cores is the head of the Xie family, Xie Funing.”

The incident involving the Xie family in Jiyu City five years ago had terrified many cultivators. Now, a similar event had occurred in Chaosheng City—taking Golden Cores silently. For a moment, everyone was in a state of panic.

Hearing the whispers around her, Ji Yanshu thought for a moment and comforted the cultivators, “Everyone, go back to rest for now. That evil cultivator has already drawn everyone’s attention by killing people; they likely won’t appear again during the latter half of the night.”

Once the cultivators had dispersed, she looked at Zhu Shengxi. “Fellow Daoist Zhu, a word in private.”

At the same time, in a certain room on the second floor.

Ning Xu tapped the table and asked, “How is it?”

A figure peeled away from the darkness in the corner, forming a young girl with delicate features.

“They examined the corpses and speculated that it was Xie Funing of the Xie family who killed them. Ji Yanshu told the others to rest first…”

“Get to the point,” Ning Xu interrupted her impatiently.

“The point?” The girl blinked, then realized and continued, “Miss Zhu said she didn’t catch the evil cultivator who did the killing.”

Upon hearing this, Ning Xu lowered her eyes slightly.

So, her chasing after them at that time was to catch the evil cultivator, not because she had recognized her.

Including letting her go later—it was only because she wasn’t the person Zhu was looking for.

What a perfectly business-like attitude.

Ning Xu suddenly felt a mix of complicated emotions. Did Zhu Shengxi truly have no feelings for her at all anymore?

However, they hadn’t seen each other for five years. After how she had hurt her back then, Zhu likely felt nothing but loathing for her now.

Seeing her looking dejected, the girl seemed to remember something and added, “Oh, there’s more.”

Ning Xu’s eyes brightened slightly as she looked at her and asked, “What else?”

To her surprise, the next sentence was: “Miss Zhu went with Ji Yanshu to Ji Yanshu’s room.”

“What?” Ning Xu furrowed her brows, the flicker of hope in her eyes vanishing instantly, replaced by a touch of disbelief.

Zhu Shengxi would never go to someone else’s room casually. Now, she had gone with Ji Yanshu… Had their relationship already reached such a close level?

At this thought, Ning Xu could no longer sit still. She abruptly stood up and walked to the door, but the moment her hand was about to touch the wooden door, she began to hesitate again.

What was she going to do? To put it another way, if Zhu Shengxi really had feelings for Ji Yanshu, what could she even do if she went there?

The words “favorable feelings” surfaced in her heart, triggering bursts of stinging pain. Ning Xu let her hand drop weakly and leaned against the door.

The girl didn’t understand the reason for her inner conflict and asked in confusion, “You gave up everything to come here and follow Miss Zhu, why are you hesitating now?”

Hearing the girl’s words, the phrase “Don’t follow me” also surfaced in her mind. Her heart ached intensely. Ning Xu clenched her hand and couldn’t help but whisper a rebuttal, “Who said I was following her?”

Her face was cold, and her mood was clearly foul. Seeing this, the girl pursed her lips. “Oh.”

After a long while, Ning Xu suppressed her various emotions and walked slowly back to the table. The girl thought she didn’t care anymore, but in the next moment, she heard the person ask, “Chongying, which room is Ji Yanshu’s?”

Zhu Shengxi had originally thought she wanted to talk about the Xie family, but unexpectedly, the woman rambled on about a lot of irrelevant things.

Seeing Zhu Shengxi frown slightly, Ji Yanshu stopped wasting words and stated her purpose directly: “My junior sister was quite offensive earlier; I ask for Fellow Daoist Zhu’s forgiveness. She comes from a prominent family, and after joining the Kunchen Sect, Master has looked after her with great care. Who would have thought it would result in her current arrogant temperament? I have already sent a voice transmission to Master to report this, and Master has ordered her to return to the sect for reflection.”

So, all that talk was purely to apologize on behalf of Yao Zhixin.

Zhu Shengxi shook her head. “It is no matter. I did not take those words to heart.”

Hearing this, Ji Yanshu felt a bit relieved. Yao Zhixin was used to being outspoken; if a conflict arose with Zhu Shengxi because of it, their Kunchen Sect would be the one losing out.

Sensing she had stayed there long enough, Zhu Shengxi said calmly, “It is late. If there is anything else, we shall speak of it tomorrow.”

She had only walked a few steps when she saw the figure standing there, and she couldn’t help but pause.

Ning Xu looked at her with a calm gaze, saying nothing. The anxiety and tension from her wait earlier seemed as if they had never existed.

Zhu Shengxi’s expression was indifferent. Her gaze only lingered on her for a fleeting moment before shifting away.

However, Ning Xu stared at her without blinking. Just as she was about to open her lips to say something, Ji Yanshu’s voice suddenly rang out:

“By the way, Fellow Daoist Zhu, I haven’t asked you yet—how did you break through the mist and come out from the forest back then?”

Before Zhu Shengxi could answer, Ning Xu responded, “It was I who assisted her in escaping from the mist.”

Hearing this, Ji Yanshu was surprised. “Fellow Daoist Zhu, you and this lady… know each other?”

“We do not know each other.” Leaving these words behind, Zhu Shengxi departed directly.

Ning Xu lowered her eyes, an inexplicable irritability churning in her heart. In front of Ji Yanshu, Zhu Shengxi wasn’t even willing to admit they knew each other.

Was it because she didn’t want Ji Yanshu to misunderstand?

But according to the information, she and Ji Yanshu had only just met. How could she have developed feelings for this person so quickly?

Yet, since she couldn’t probe information from within the Guiyun Sect, perhaps they had met more than once during these five years. Ning Xu suddenly didn’t want to think about it anymore and instead looked up at the person before her.

Zhu Shengxi’s room was at the other end, so she would inevitably pass by her side. Ning Xu felt certain of this as she watched the person get closer and closer.

The quiet face was just as it had been before, though she seemed to have grown a bit thinner. Looking at her from a distance earlier, she seemed not to have changed much, but now that she was close, Ning Xu clearly saw the indifference and disregard in her eyes. Only then did she realize the massive changes of these five years.

When they first met, they were wary of each other, but Zhu Shengxi had never ignored her like this.

Now, they were truly less than strangers.

A piercing pain spread like ripples. Ning Xu’s heart was filled with bitterness. Her expression must be quite hideous right now, she thought, as she silently lowered her head.

Until the moment they passed each other, Ning Xu couldn’t help but turn her head slightly. She only saw the person’s ink-like hair and the azure hair ribbon.

The last time she saw that azure hair ribbon, Zhu Shengxi had held her hand and led her out of the darkness. But at this moment, Zhu Shengxi’s expression was icy, and she did not linger for a second as she passed.

The contrast between the two moments made her feel even more lost.

But all of this was her own doing. She had betrayed sincerity and engaged in so many schemes and calculations; what right did she have now to hope that the person would remain the same as before?

For the first time, Ning Xu discovered her own cowardice. At this very moment, she couldn’t even manage to say half a word. She could only freeze in place, letting that person pass her by.

Seeing her troubled expression, Ji Yanshu nearby asked, “Miss, you…”

“My surname is Ning. I also took on the Xie family’s task. I can help you all find Xie Funing together.” The string of words she blurted out seemed like an attempt to cover something up.

Ji Yanshu didn’t think much of it. Xie Funing’s whereabouts were unknown; to them, an extra person meant an extra hand. She continued to ask, “Then do you know Fellow Daoist Zhu?”

Ning Xu fell silent for a moment, then shook her head with a bitter smile:

“We don’t know each other.”

“Just now… I mistook her for someone else.”

Returning to her room, Zhu Shengxi drew the Chenque sword. A faint trace of blood remained on the blade. She lightly touched the bloodstain and then applied force to wipe it away, the blade becoming bright and clean once more.

“Hee hee, she said she wants to join you, and Ji Yanshu agreed.” That voice rang out again. It was no longer as hoarse as before, gaining a touch of cunning and triumph.

Zhu Shengxi furrowed her brows and said coldly, “Shut up.”

The voice soon dissipated. Zhu Shengxi closed her eyes in annoyance and looked inward at her spiritual consciousness. Within her consciousness, there were still faint traces of black Qi.

She had spent five years and had still been unable to remove the black Qi. Furthermore, as time passed, the black Qi grew more and more. If things continued like this, in a few years, her spiritual consciousness would be covered by it. When that happened, she wouldn’t be able to hide it from anyone.

How truly absurd. She had left the sect once, and instead of finding many remnant jade pieces, she had developed a heart demon. What was even more terrifying was that after just two brief contacts with that person, the heart demon had become increasingly restless.

She took out the Chenque sword again, using the cleansing spell over and over, completely erasing the traces left by that person.

After repeating it an unknown number of times, Zhu Shengxi put away the sword and thought of Ning Xu’s hesitant appearance.

Standing there in the empty corridor, who knows how long she had waited. When she saw her come out, those slightly bright eyes looked just like they did in the past.

Ning Xu seemed to want to say something, but it didn’t matter anymore. She didn’t want to hear it, and she didn’t care to know. Between them, what was left to be said?

This person appearing in the inn and happening to stay on the second floor was clearly no coincidence.

She didn’t know what kind of scheme was being plotted again, but if Ning Xu secretly moved against the crowd, she would absolutely not be soft-hearted.

The Chenque sword, taking a life was but a moment’s work.