After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 4

An unknown amount of time passed before A-Xu slowly woke up. Reaching out, her hand met the icy floor.

They had finally landed.

A-Xu felt around the area beside her, but there was nothing. She shouted, “Zhu Shengxi? Zhu Shengxi!”

“Stop shouting. I’m here,” a familiar voice rang out from ahead. A Fire-Bright Charm ignited, and A-Xu looked toward the source.

Under the pale yellow firelight, Zhu Shengxi’s face was exceptionally pale, with dried blood staining the corners of her lips.

“I lost consciousness after being injured. I want to ask you—how did we land safely?”

A-Xu hadn’t expected her first words to be a question. After a few seconds of silence, she replied calmly, “I used a secret technique.”

Hearing this answer, Zhu Shengxi didn’t speak, but her brows knitted slightly.

“You doubt me, don’t you? If you doubt me, why did you bother to save me?” A-Xu stared at her, her voice turning several degrees colder.

Zhu Shengxi responded tonelessly, “You suppressed the Cold Poison for me.”

So that was it. She didn’t want to owe a favor, so she had risked her life to save her.

Expressionless, A-Xu brushed past her and began walking forward. After a few steps, she realized the person behind her wasn’t following.

Sensing something was wrong, A-Xu turned back.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Zhu Shengxi’s breathing was heavy. “I don’t know. It feels like I was bitten by some kind of insect just now.”

A-Xu asked, “Where is the wound?”

Leaning against the stone wall, Zhu Shengxi said slowly, “It should… be no big deal.”

A-Xu clicked her tongue in annoyance and stepped forward to seize her wrist. Zhu Shengxi was startled by the sudden movement.

“What are you doing?”

By the firelight, A-Xu saw a needle-sized wound on Zhu Shengxi’s neck; the blood flowing from it was already a dark, murky red.

“You’ve been poisoned,” A-Xu concluded after examining her condition.

Zhu Shengxi ignored the statement, simply saying, “Let go of me.”

“Poisons within the Heaven’s Dry Realm aren’t as easily cured as ordinary ones. Aren’t you afraid of dying?”

Zhu Shengxi’s eyes were half-closed, her consciousness already becoming blurred. A-Xu’s words seemed to echo and slow down in her ears. Her face was flushed a faint red as she leaned heavily against the stone wall.

Seeing her like this, A-Xu knew things were bad. She pulled her wrist over to look.

A faint black Qi was flowing through the veins of her wrist.

A-Xu looked at her again, and after a moment of deliberation, leaned in close. Though her mind was hazy, Zhu Shengxi could feel the sudden proximity. She tried to push A-Xu away but lacked the strength.

“What… are you doing?” Zhu Shengxi forced out the question, clinging to her last shred of clarity.

In the next moment, a warm, soft sensation touched her neck. The wound was gently sucked; amidst the slight stinging pain, there was a confusing mix of tingling and numbness.

Zhu Shengxi instinctively wanted to push her away, only to find that her acupoints had been tapped. She couldn’t move.

The warm, moist sensation continued. Zhu Shengxi pursed her lips tightly, silently reciting the Heart-Cleansing Incantation. Just as she was feeling overwhelmed by the humiliation, she felt the other person’s tongue lightly flick across the wound.

She froze in place and heard the woman murmur lowly, “So sweet.”

Days of accumulated anger surged uncontrollably in her heart. Zhu Shengxi glared at A-Xu, her expression icy.

A-Xu, focused on the wound, didn’t notice the gaze.

She turned her head to spit out the poisoned blood, repeating the process several times until she saw the blood turn a healthy, bright red. Only then did she stop and unseal Zhu Shengxi’s acupoints.

A-Xu took a pill from her storage bag and was about to hand it over when she saw Zhu Shengxi’s gaze, which was as piercing as winter ice.

“Wh—”

Before she could finish, Zhu Shengxi shoved her away violently and turned to walk forward without looking back.

“There is still residual poison in your body. Don’t blame me for not warning you,” A-Xu called out toward her.

But the woman didn’t stop for a second, acting as if she hadn’t heard a word.

Helplessly, A-Xu put the pill back into her storage bag and hurried to catch up.

“Fellow Daoist Zhu, what happened just now was a desperate measure of necessity. You don’t need to take it to heart,” A-Xu explained as she walked side-by-side with her.

A flash of cold light erupted as the Chenque Sword was suddenly leveled at A-Xu’s neck. Zhu Shengxi’s voice was frigid: “Do not get close to me again.”

The light was too dim for A-Xu to see her expression clearly, but she could feel the fury laced in her tone. She stepped back slightly and said, “Alright.”

This “alright” sounded exceptionally obedient. Zhu Shengxi retracted her sword, and the anger in her heart dissipated slightly for some reason.

She ignited another Fire-Bright Charm. Using the faint light, she carefully observed their surroundings.

They were surrounded by extremely smooth stone walls. Further ahead was a narrow passage that could only fit one person at a time.

Zhu Shengxi looked up; from here, the exit had become a mere sliver of a slit. At this height, it would be difficult to fly out on a sword even at her peak strength, let alone now when both she and A-Xu were injured.

After a moment of thought, Zhu Shengxi walked toward the narrow passage. A-Xu watched her back, hesitated for a second, and followed.

“Play a few notes on your jade flute,” Zhu Shengxi said expressionlessly to the person behind her.

If the narrow passage was a dead end, the flute would produce an echo. A-Xu understood her meaning and, without a word, drew her jade flute and pressed it to her lips.

A melodious tune rang out. Zhu Shengxi had only intended for her to play a few notes to check for echoes; she hadn’t expected the woman to play an entire piece.

Words of interruption reached her lips, but Zhu Shengxi moved them silently and ultimately said nothing.

Once the song finished, Zhu Shengxi listened intently. There was no echo within the passage. Steeling herself, she continued forward.

“What did Fellow Daoist Zhu think of that melody just now?”

Zhu Shengxi: “Miss A-Xu, I am not versed in music. I cannot judge it.”

Ignoring her coldness, A-Xu said softly, “The piece is called ‘Floating Life.’ It is my favorite.”

Zhu Shengxi gave a lukewarm “Mm.”

After walking for about half an hour, they reached the end of the narrow passage. As they emerged, a stone coffin came into view. Torches hung on either side, casting a ghostly blue light that created an inexplicable sense of pressure.

“This place looks like an underground palace,” Zhu Shengxi speculated.

A-Xu casually picked up a pebble from the ground and tossed it toward the stone coffin. The stone landed on the floor without triggering anything.

“No traps?” A-Xu asked suspiciously.

“I’ll go check.” Holding the Chenque Sword, Zhu Shengxi leaped lightly and reached the side of the stone coffin in an instant.

The blade slid into the gap between the lid and the coffin. With a forceful twist, the lid flipped over and hit the ground with a loud “Boom.”

A-Xu said leisurely, “This might be the sarcophagus of some great master. Wouldn’t such an act be considered disrespectful to your seniors by your ‘righteous’ sects?”

Zhu Shengxi folded her arms and sneered, “Come see for yourself what is inside.”

A-Xu walked closer and looked into the stone coffin.

The interior was filled with dense, intricate patterns—on the bottom and all along the walls.

Zhu Shengxi said solemnly, “This should be the teleportation array we’ve been looking for.”

A-Xu turned to look at her. “You understand arrays?”

Zhu Shengxi: “I know a little.”

She frowned slightly and added, “But the array in this coffin seems to be missing a part.” With that, Zhu Shengxi injected spiritual power into the array. The lines lit up one by one, only to suddenly flicker out at a certain point.

“Fellow Daoist Zhu, do you know where this teleportation array will take us?” A-Xu asked.

Zhu Shengxi told the truth: “I don’t know.”

A-Xu sighed softly. “My home is in the Eastern Profound Domain. If we are sent to the Western Profound Domain, how will I get back?”

There was a significant distance between the four domains. Even flying non-stop on a sword from East to West would take seven days.

Zhu Shengxi glanced at her. “What does that have to do with me? I only promised to take you out; I never said I would escort you home.”

A-Xu huffed softly, leaning against the edge of the coffin and looking at the array inside with feigned indifference.

Zhu Shengxi frowned, also looking into the coffin, and said gravely, “The lines and layout of this array are exceptionally chaotic. I’m afraid it won’t be easy to complete.”

A-Xu didn’t seem to care. “What’s the rush? It’ll be another five days at the earliest before Heaven’s Dry Realm opens.”

Zhu Shengxi looked at her coldly. “Weren’t you the one in a hurry to leave and get home?”

A-Xu said, “I’m not in a hurry for those things. I’m just disappointed that I didn’t get what I wanted from this secret realm.”

After saying this, she glanced at Zhu Shengxi. Seeing that the woman remained unresponsive, she had to add, “Aren’t you going to ask me what I wanted?”

“That is your private business. I am not interested.” A response of absolute indifference.

A-Xu’s lips curled into a half-smile. “Let’s see if you can still say that in a moment.”

“You saw the two wooden boxes back then, didn’t you? After taking the item from one, the other couldn’t be opened. I took the Red Jade, but what I actually wanted was the Bone Whistle in the other box.”

Hearing this, Zhu Shengxi’s calm expression finally flickered with waves of emotion.

The smile on A-Xu’s lips deepened as she asked:

“Fellow Daoist Zhu, which one did you want?”

Zhu Shengxi looked at her, her gaze pausing for several seconds before she spoke: “The Bone Whistle is with me. Can I exchange it for the Red Jade?”

A-Xu: “Well… that depends on my mood.”

“That Red Jade is very important to me. Miss A-Xu, stop teasing me.”

A-Xu laughed. “It seems it really is important. Fellow Daoist Zhu hasn’t even drawn her sword against me like before.”

Unable to fathom the other’s thoughts, Zhu Shengxi asked directly, “What do you want?”

“Anything?” A-Xu countered.

Zhu Shengxi pondered for a moment. “As long as it doesn’t violate morality and is within my power… yes.”

A-Xu’s eyes crinkled as she stepped closer.

Zhu Shengxi instinctively wanted to retreat, but she heard the other say, “Don’t move.”

“This request is within your power, right?”

Suppressing the irritation in her heart, Zhu Shengxi stood still.

A-Xu carefully examined the person before her. Brows like distant mountains, eyes of clear black and white that held a sense of peace and detachment. Her lips were a darker red from the blood, adding a touch of vivid beauty to her otherwise cold face.

Feeling the blatant scrutiny, Zhu Shengxi felt a surge of revulsion and said coldly, “Have you seen enough?”

If a disciple of the Guiyun Sect saw her with such an expression, they would have looked away immediately in trembling fear.

On the contrary, this woman didn’t look away; she even replied, “Mm, you’re very beautiful.”

Hearing this, Zhu Shengxi took a deep breath, feeling a throbbing pain in her temple.

Seeing her growing impatience, A-Xu dropped her playful demeanor, took the Red Jade from her storage bag, and held it out. “The Bone Whistle.”

Expressionless, Zhu Shengxi took the Red Jade and handed over the Bone Whistle.

A-Xu looked at the whistle and asked casually, “Fellow Daoist Zhu, did you see the beast in the darkness back then?”

Zhu Shengxi mused, “I only saw one giant eye.”

A-Xu turned her gaze to her and said slowly, “Do you know what that was? It was a Nightmare Beast.”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shengxi looked up at her.

“Anyone who locks eyes with a Nightmare Beast will have a Heart Demon planted within them. The longer the Heart Demon is buried, the harder it is to endure when it eventually breaks out. But for a cultivator like Fellow Daoist Zhu, who is focused solely on the Dao, without fear or dread, I suppose you won’t have a Heart Demon.”

Zhu Shengxi didn’t acknowledge the comment, only asking, “Why are you telling me this?”

A-Xu: “You blocked a strike from the Nightmare Beast for me. I’m just giving you a warning.”

“Also,” A-Xu said, handing her a small vial, “a Detoxification Pill. You still have residual poison in your body. If you don’t take it, your life will be in danger.”

“Thank you.” Zhu Shengxi put the pill into her storage bag.

Seeing this, A-Xu became annoyed and sneered, “Fellow Daoist Zhu is truly cautious. It’s a Detoxification Pill—do you think it’s going to poison you to death?”

Zhu Shengxi met her irritated gaze, her voice cold. “Miss A-Xu, based on your behavior, I simply cannot trust you.”

“Nightmare Beasts are elusive; they usually only appear in Nightmare Realms created by people. How could one appear out of thin air in a crack? Furthermore, Nightmare Beasts prefer dry environments, while the crack was dark and damp.”

Zhu Shengxi looked at her with cold eyes. “You made up the Nightmare Beast and the Heart Demon because you wanted me to feel uneasy and lose my composure, didn’t you?”

A-Xu curled her lips and clapped her hands, laughing. “As expected of the ‘Light of the Righteous Path’ everyone talks about.”

Seeing that her expression didn’t change even after being exposed, Zhu Shengxi asked icily, “What exactly are you trying to do?”

A-Xu: “What I say is half true and half false. You only need to believe half. Once Fellow Daoist Zhu becomes more familiar with me, you’ll understand my personality.”

Without waiting for a reply, A-Xu flipped herself into the stone coffin.

Fearing she would mess up the array, Zhu Shengxi immediately stepped forward to check.

She saw two new scratches on the array inside the coffin, looking incredibly out of place. Zhu Shengxi frowned and was about to scold her.

In the next instant, every line of the array lit up. A powerful surge of spiritual energy pulled Zhu Shengxi into the stone coffin.

The coffin could only fit one person; with two people squeezed inside, their bodies were forced tightly together.

“What did you do?” Zhu Shengxi pushed hard against the coffin lid, but it didn’t budge.

“Don’t move.” A soft, cold hand grasped hers, and the warm breath of the woman beside her puffed against the side of her neck.

Her consciousness gradually blurred. Feeling dizzy, Zhu Shengxi recited the Heart-Cleansing Incantation in her mind, trying to stay awake.

But this time, even the incantation seemed to have lost its effect.