How to Handle a Sickly Yandere Demon God - Chapter 17

The man appeared to be in his early twenties, with a demeanor as gentle and refined as jade, exceptionally elegant. However, his lips were pale, and a faint aura of illness seemed to linger between his brows. He smiled softly and said:

“Brother Xu mentioned a few days ago that you would be arriving to investigate. I calculated that you’d likely arrive today, so I came specifically to wait for you. The weather is cold, please, come inside to warm up.”

Fang Zhiming bowed slightly. “Senior Qi, warming up can wait. We’d like to see the severely injured fellow cultivator first.”

Qi Rongli nodded and led the way.

As soon as they stepped into the residence, a wave of warmth enveloped them. Unlike the desolation outside, the interior was lush and vibrant.

Artificial hills were arranged in an orderly yet natural manner, and the soft murmur of flowing water accompanied the scene. One could say it rivaled the beauty of a spring garden.

“Qingzhou is usually like spring all year round. If not for this heavy snow, the streets would be filled with such scenery,” Qi Danxuan sighed. “What a pity. If Senior Sister had come a few months earlier, we could have explored together!”

“There will be other chances,” Xu Xingxing said, looking up at the glowing pearl above the Qi residence. “Is this the Cold-Avoiding Pearl?”

“Yes, that’s it. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? This is the mother pearl. The child pearls have already been distributed to the city’s residents by my brother.” With that, Qi Danxuan took Xu Xingxing’s hand. “Senior Sister, why don’t you sleep with me tonight?”

“Um…” Xu Xingxing glanced subtly at Xiao Hei beside her and declined, “No, I prefer sleeping alone.”

Even as she said it, she felt a pang of guilt, everyone in the Spirit Beast Mountain knew who she slept with at night…

Sure enough, Fang Zhiming looked at her meaningfully, his expression full of amusement.

Xiao Hei, however, showed no particular reaction. He merely glanced at her before turning his attention to their surroundings.

She sighed inwardly: These are the days when Xiao Hei is most needed. I must let him rest properly…

“Ah…” Qi Danxuan was visibly disappointed, pouting as she said, “Alright then. I’ll have the servants prepare guest rooms for you.”

After Qi Danxuan left with the servants, Qi Rongli guided the group toward the inner courtyard.

Willows lined the steps, and flowers bloomed in the courtyard, while winding corridors stretched elegantly. Walking through it felt like strolling through a painting.

“This Cold-Avoiding Pearl is truly effective,” Qin Feng remarked, taking off his cloak in a rather jarring manner. “I’m almost overheating.”

“Truly worthy of the Star-Gazing Pavilion,” Fang Zhiming praised. “To obtain such a treasure is no small feat.”

“The Star-Gazing Pavilion? Are you talking about the one that can find any treasure under heaven?” Qin Feng’s eyes widened in surprise. “The Star-Gazing Pavilion… something, something, something about geese? How does that poem go again?”

“In the Star-Gazing Pavilion, one cups the moonlight; under brocade night and flower candles, one detains the moon goddess,” Lin Yue recited softly.

“Yes, yes, that’s it! Basically, it means you can buy anything in the Star-Gazing Pavilion, even pluck the moon from the sky or marry the moon goddess.”

Xu Xingxing pondered the lines of the poem and glanced at Xiao Hei.

Xiao Hei shook his head slightly.

She had informed him earlier that there were traces of a spirit beast in this area. Xiao Hei’s sense of smell was keen, but from his reaction, it seemed he hadn’t detected any spirit beast aura within the residence.

“That poem was composed by my father when he was drunk,” Qi Rongli explained. “He was young and impulsive at the time, so it carries a somewhat frivolous and arrogant tone. I apologize if it amuses you.”

Fang Zhiming praised, “The Star-Gazing Pavilion truly lives up to the poem. The old master once donated many treasures to Kunlun during the war, including numerous rare and priceless items. His contributions were of great help to Kunlun, his generosity was truly awe-inspiring.”

“Where is the Star-Gazing Pavilion located?” Xu Xingxing asked. “It would be a shame not to visit such a remarkable place.”

“Currently, there are ten branches across the country, one of which is in Qingzhou,” Fang Zhiming replied, pausing briefly. “But with such heavy snowfall, the Star-Gazing Pavilion might not be open.”

“That’s a minor concern,” Qi Rongli said, turning slightly with an air of scholarly grace. “If we can make this snow stop sooner, it would be a great service to the people of Qingzhou.”

“Ten branches?” Qin Feng exclaimed in surprise. “I’d heard that at its peak, the Star-Gazing Pavilion had nearly a hundred branches. How is there such a discrepancy?”

“Before the Demon God descended, there were three kingdoms in the Central Plains. After the Demon God burned one of them to ashes, the Star-Gazing Pavilions in that kingdom naturally vanished along with it,” Qi Rongli explained calmly, as if recounting someone else’s story. “After the Demon Extermination War, the Tianqi Kingdom annexed Xiliang and established the current Great Xia Dynasty. During the chaos of war, the Star-Gazing Pavilion had to expend considerable resources to avoid disaster. Having endured a century of turmoil, it’s already a miracle that it still exists. I dare not ask for more.”

“Ten branches is quite impressive,” Xu Xingxing praised. “And the fact that the Star-Gazing Pavilion donated treasures during the war truly sets an example for merchants.” After a moment of thought, she added, “Since the Star-Gazing Pavilion can procure anything, do they capture and sell spirit beasts?”

“My father did,” Qi Rongli replied, looking at her seriously. “But since I took over, we no longer engage in that practice.”

“Why not?” Sensing Fang Zhiming subtly tugging at her sleeve, she knew it was inappropriate to press further but asked anyway.

“First, after the Demon Extermination War, the number of spirit beasts drastically declined, making capture more difficult. Second, I was once the leader of the Beast-Taming Sect,” Qi Rongli answered without evasion, pausing briefly as a trace of sorrow flickered in his eyes. “And third, it’s for Ningning’s sake.”

Ningning was his bonded spirit beast, which had died in battle.

She was about to ask more, but Fang Zhiming interjected, “Senior Qi, have we arrived yet?”

“We’re here. It’s just ahead.”

Pushing open the door, they saw a maid feeding medicine to someone lying in bed. The person, half-reclining, attempted to sit up upon their entry but winced in pain and had to lie back down.

Fang Zhiming hurried to the bedside, his face filled with concern. “Cheng Zhi, are you alright?”

Cheng Zhi shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. “I’m fine, but I don’t know if Wu Sheng is still alive…” He then recounted everything that had happened.

“Wu Sheng and I came here half a month ago to investigate but found no leads. Then, we suddenly discovered traces of a demon and followed them. We didn’t find the demon but stumbled upon a formation node surrounded by a barrier. As we tried to force our way in, a blinding light flashed, and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was here in this residence. Wu Sheng, however, has vanished without a trace…” By the time he finished speaking, tears were streaming down his face.

Fang Zhiming comforted him, “Don’t worry. We’ll search for Wu Sheng. You just focus on recovering.”

After exchanging a few more words, the group stepped outside.

“Senior Qi, where did you find him?” Fang Zhiming asked once they were outside.

“It was a rogue cultivator under my family’s employ who rescued him that day. I’ll summon him to speak with you,” Qi Rongli said, leading everyone to the main hall to wait. Shortly after, a middle-aged man with a thick beard and a sturdy build entered the hall. He bowed respectfully to the group, neither subservient nor arrogant.

“I am Zhang Long. Due to the relentless snowfall in Qingzhou City over the past month, and after hearing about the recent disturbances at the Ten Thousand Demons Abyss, my master ordered us to search the city for any hidden demons. That day, while scouting the rear mountains of Qingzhou, I noticed something unusual beneath my feet. After clearing away the snow, I discovered it was a person. I immediately reported it to my master, and the rest, you already know.”

“Did you only find one person there?” Fang Zhiming inquired.

“Yes, at the time, we combed through the entire rear mountain but only found this one person.”

“Was there any trace of an array formation’s core?”

“No core, but there were signs that one had been there. Afterward, we went back multiple times to investigate but found nothing.”

With very little useful information obtained, the only option was to go and see for themselves.

After discussing, the group decided to split up. Fang Zhiming and two others went to investigate the rear mountain, while Xu Xingxing and Xiao Hei headed to the location Cheng Zhi had mentioned where traces of demons were found.

The place where Cheng Zhi had detected demon activity was a village outside Qingzhou City.

Half a month earlier, due to the heavy snowfall, the local authorities had relocated the villagers outside the city into the urban area. However, after Qi Rongli distributed cold-avoiding pearls, many villagers chose to remain in their homes.

Unable to fly on their swords, the two arrived at the village late at night.

The world was pitch black, with a raging blizzard and knee-deep snow. A protective barrier enveloped them, yet Xu Xingxing still struggled to walk.

Xiao Hei, seeing her repeatedly on the verge of falling, mocked her:

“How can you not even walk properly? What happened to your cultivation?”

“No, haven’t you noticed?” Xu Xingxing pulled her leg out of the snow and laboriously took another step forward. “Ever since we got here, every time I clear a patch of snow, it just piles back up after only a couple of steps.”

As she spoke, she nearly stumbled again.

Xiao Hei steadied her, and once she was stable, he glanced around. He had noticed it too, the atmosphere around them had shifted, likely because they were nearing the village.

He summoned flames in his hand and swept them forward, instantly dispersing the cold air around them and clearing the snow from the ground.

Xu Xingxing clapped in admiration. “Amazing! As expected of my bonded spirit beast!”

Xiao Hei shot her a sidelong glance. “Are you praising me or yourself?”

“Both, haha.” Xu Xingxing suddenly gasped, pointing ahead. “Look! The snow is coming back!”

In the large area that had just been cleared, the snow rapidly accumulated again. In no time, the surroundings had returned to their previous state.

“Is this snow alive?” Xu Xingxing shrank back nervously. “It won’t bite, will it…”

“We must be getting close,” Xiao Hei turned to her with a teasing smile. “What? Too scared to go on?”

Xu Xingxing seemed to recall something disgusting, pursed her lips, and said, “These aren’t bugs, are they? Could they crawl into our clothes?” She shuddered at the thought.

Xiao Hei, feigning surprise at her fear, remarked:

“You didn’t know? Among demons, there’s a creature called the snow louse. It looks just like a snowflake, always appears in swarms, and piles up like snow. They often cling to snow in winter, and when people approach, they crawl into their clothes, then into the seven orifices, and start eating from the organs outward. Once they’ve consumed all the flesh and blood, they burrow out through the pores.”

The more Xu Xingxing listened, the more terrified and disgusted she became. It felt as if the snowflakes all around had turned into snow lice, wriggling into the seams of her clothes. With a shriek, she leaped onto Xiao Hei’s back, wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and refused to let go.

Xiao Hei: “…”

What did it mean to lift a rock only to drop it on one’s own foot? He was experiencing it firsthand.

“Get down,” Xiao Hei said through gritted teeth.

“No!” Xu Xingxing held on even tighter.

“…I was lying to you. This is just ordinary snow,” Xiao Hei’s eye twitched uncontrollably.

“Then how can it restore itself?!”

“We’ll probably find out when we reach the village.”

Xu Xingxing was half-convinced and half-doubting. She leaned forward and asked, “Really?”

Her warm breath brushed against Xiao Hei’s ear, causing his body to stiffen. It was only then that he became aware of the softness of the woman behind him. He immediately stood rooted to the spot, not daring to move anymore.

“Really,” he said again, his voice carrying a slight hoarseness he hadn’t even noticed himself.