When the Immortal Venerable Picked-Up the Demon Cub - Chapter 45

Zhu Ning nodded heavily. What else could she do? But whenever she pictured the silver-haired old woman kneeling by the bed, weeping, she couldn’t shake the feeling that what the old man had said didn’t match what she had seen.

“That old woman didn’t seem like that kind of person, and the hunter had such a kind face. How could they have done such a thing?” Zhu Ning shook her head repeatedly, never imagining she could be so swayed by appearances.

Lin Xiayan noticed Zhu Ning’s dazed expression and understood that Zhu Ning’s belief in the inherent goodness of humanity had been shattered. She couldn’t help but find it amusing.

Humans clung to the stereotype that all people were inherently good, demonizing every ghost, monster, and demon as utterly evil. Any supernatural being who disrupted their normal lives was met with deep-seated hatred and revulsion.

This divide between humans and demons had persisted for millennia. For tens of thousands of years, demons and monsters had been forced to live in the shadows, unable to bear the light.

“Humans have both good and evil within them, and demons too have their virtuous ones,” Lin Xiayan said, her voice devoid of emotion. Her words snapped Zhu Ning out of her reverie. Zhu Ning felt a pang of guilt toward Lin Xiayan, realizing she had been constantly avoiding her, labeling her as a villainous demon, and making all sorts of assumptions.

Zhu Ning looked at Lin Xiayan with a hint of apology. “I used to be so rigid in my thinking, always seeing the bad guys as good and suspecting the good ones. This whole thing has really opened my eyes.” As she spoke, they reached the door of the main hall. The door wasn’t fully closed, and through the crack, they could faintly see the elderly woman still kneeling beside the bed, clutching a yellow talisman tightly in her hand.

Lin Xiayan didn’t give Zhu Ning time to hesitate. With a swift kick, she slammed the wooden door open, the loud crash echoing through the room.

The elderly woman, thinking a monster had broken in, panicked and began flinging the yellow talisman around wildly. Her silver hair was now disheveled and tangled, making her look utterly pitiful.

“It’s not a monster. It’s me,” Lin Xiayan said coldly, then pulled up a stool and sat down.

The elderly woman finally let out a sigh of relief. Seeing no further commotion outside and the two women back, she understood what had happened and couldn’t help but exclaim, “As expected of you two! You handled what should have been a dangerous night so easily. I don’t even know how to repay you…”

The elderly woman clearly hadn’t finished speaking, but Zhu Ning cut in, “Since that’s the case, we don’t need you to repay us. Just answer a few questions. You must tell us everything you know, without holding anything back.”

The elderly woman seemed confused by Zhu Ning’s sudden coldness, but she nodded anyway. “Immortal Venerable, ask away. If I know the answer, I’ll tell you.”

Zhu Ning hesitated for a long time before asking, “Fifteen days ago, did your son go hunting, or did he sneak into town to gamble?”

The elderly woman frowned, struggling to recall the events of fifteen days ago. A glimmer of recognition flickered in her eyes. “I’m old, so I can’t remember the exact date. But it’s true, my son didn’t go hunting those days. He lied to me and went to town to gamble. When he came back, he was penniless. That’s how I found out. I gave him a good scolding.”

The timing matched.

Zhu Ning pressed on, “When he returned that night, did you notice anything else unusual? Like a bloody smell on him?”

As she spoke, the elderly woman’s expression suddenly shifted, and her words became hesitant and stammering. Zhu Ning’s gaze flicked to the bedside, where the Hunter’s face was twisted in a grimace, as if desperately trying to warn the old woman.

The elderly woman fell silent for a long moment. Lin Xiayan snorted coldly and nearly teleported behind her, a dagger materializing in her hand and pressing against the old woman’s neck.

“What did we say earlier? We told you to tell us everything you know. Now you know these things, but you’re not telling us?” Lin Xiayan’s hand tightened around the dagger. Though aged, the elderly woman, like all humans, clung to life.

She finally sobbed, “That night, my son did drag a large black burlap sack home. I thought it was his hunting catch and didn’t ask. Later, when I noticed all his money was gone, I realized he’d been gambling, not hunting. When I asked him what was in the sack, he just said it was game for a friend tomorrow… I was too angry to press the matter further…”

Lin Xiayan frowned, tossing her dagger to the ground as if she’d held something disgusting. But the elderly woman truly seemed unaware of the truth; her reaction just now proved her words were genuine.

“Then, after this monster tormented you for so long, didn’t you notice anything strange? For example, did you ever hear any clues in the crying?”

Compared to Lin Xiayan’s sharp questioning, Zhu Ning’s approach was far more gentle and roundabout. Her voice was naturally soft and soothing, and her face had that classic “girl next door” appeal. Even the elderly woman, who had just been threatened, readily answered Zhu Ning’s question.

“At first, the crying did mention ‘gambling debts’ and ‘false accusations.’ But I was so terrified back then, I didn’t dare think about it too deeply. Later, it was just plain crying. With my son gravely ill in bed, I had no energy to analyze the cause and effect.”

“So, has this monster been tormenting our family all these days because of my son’s own misdeeds?” After several rounds of questioning, even the elderly woman, slow-witted as she was, began to sense something was wrong. She cautiously voiced her suspicion, her expression reminding Zhu Ning of how many modern parents end up paying off their adult children’s debts in their old age.

It was both heartbreaking and realistic.

Zhu Ning nodded, making no attempt to hide her understanding. She turned her gaze to the Hunter, whose face was flushed crimson. He seemed to be caught in a web of guilt, his attempts to conceal his actions ultimately failing, leaving him exposed and humiliated.

His voice, which had been weak moments before, now surged with a desperate energy. “Their gambling den was exploiting people! I lost every last coin I had, and they made me strip naked in public to shame me. If they love humiliating others so much, why shouldn’t they pay the price themselves? What’s wrong with that?!”

Only now did Zhu Ning grasp the full picture. It seemed the bloodthirsty Hunter had gone to gamble, only to lose every last coin he had.

Later, the gambling den made a particularly cruel demand. The Hunter complied, but his resentment festered. He seized an opportunity to kill the gambling den’s owner.

But here lay the mystery.

Even if the gambling den owner’s resentful energy was overwhelming, he should have merely transformed into a vengeful ghost to seek retribution. Yet throughout the entire investigation, Zhu Ning had found no trace of such a ghost or any clues related to the owner.

Instead, what they found was a spirit celebrating its birthday, completely unrelated to the entire affair. This was the most baffling part of the whole situation.

Lin Xiayan maintained a calm expression, but she was secretly trying to avoid Zhu Ning’s gaze. She knew the case was full of inconsistencies, yet it perfectly aligned with the Demon Realm’s way of doing things.

They cared little for details, focusing solely on achieving their goals.

Though Zhu Ning was filled with doubts, she ultimately kept them to herself. She feared that asking would only complicate matters further. Having been in this world for less than a month, she marveled at how quickly she had learned to think so deeply and carefully.

“As the saying goes, a life for a life. Your son lost at gambling first. While the gambling house owner acted inhumanely, he wasn’t entirely wrong. Your son, however, took the man’s life directly. Heaven’s justice is cyclical; the heavens never spare the wicked. The spirit’s torment has already driven your son to the brink of death, beyond recovery. Prepare for the end.” Zhu Ning realized for the first time what it felt like to deliver a death notice. A complex mix of emotions swirled in her heart.

Having spoken these words, Zhu Ning swiftly packed up the yellow cloth bag, ignoring her injuries, and left the Hunter’s home with Lin Xiayan under the cover of night.

As they stepped outside, a chorus of weeping erupted behind them. There were the Hunter’s cries of regret, and the Elderly woman’s wails of despair as she watched her son slowly die.

In the pitch-black night, the weeping sounded even more eerie and terrifying than before. Yet amidst this eerie and terrifying atmosphere, Zhu Ning sighed, her pace slowing noticeably. Zhōng Yuè, who had proven to be a great help, now lay peacefully in her palm, reduced to a tiny, easily carried form.

Lin Xiayan couldn’t quite understand why someone like Zhu Ning was always so sentimental. She empathized so deeply with the Elderly woman’s grief, and when she saw evildoers meet their just deserts, her first reaction wasn’t satisfaction, but… this current state.

“Perhaps you think the Hunter didn’t deserve such a fate?” Lin Xiayan asked, supporting Zhu Ning and trying to understand her thoughts. Zhu Ning gave her a look, as if she were observing her disciple gossiping. “If he didn’t deserve it, why would I let him fend for himself? My disappointment isn’t just about tonight’s incident. I feel like everything is only just beginning.”

Lin Xiayan nodded in agreement. The Demon Realm’s actions had only just begun, all driven by the Immortal Bone. Since Su Mi hadn’t descended the mountain yet, their other plans had to be postponed.

The true storm of blood and carnage would likely erupt once the Demon Realm discovered Su Mi.

Lin Xiayan wondered how Zhu Ning, who was so sentimental over minor matters, would react when faced with a series of major events.

Lin Xiayan’s original plan had been to infiltrate Yun Cang Mountain, sow discord between the master and disciple, and then collaborate with the Demon Realm to kill Su Mi when she was alone.

But now, Lin Xiayan found herself wanting to know what choice Zhu Ning would make if forced to choose between her two nominal disciples.

What would she choose?

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