Chapter 3

In the dimly lit hall, the fire was barely enough to illuminate the entire room. The door to the hall was pushed open, and a cold wind rushed in, stirring up sparks.

The firelight cast a long shadow of the black-clad youth.

The black-clad youth turned his head and glanced at the girl who had burst into the hall. His eyes showed a hint of suspicion, but it quickly dissipated. However, this turn of his head allowed the girl to see his face clearly in the firelight. His face was very delicate, not exactly handsome, but his eyes were particularly beautiful, like two bright stars, making it hard to forget them at first glance.

"Traveler? Not quite."

The black-clad youth raised an eyebrow and said to himself, "To appear alone here at this time, I'm somewhat impressed."

The girl looked at the black-clad youth with some tension, unsure of his identity. According to the book, those demons who had achieved cultivation could transform into human form, and ordinary people could not tell the difference.

Seeing the girl standing there, looking at him nervously, the black-clad youth quickly figured out the reason. Just as he was about to speak, a gust of wind suddenly blew in from outside, bringing in a cold wind and snow, making the entire hall bone-chillingly cold in an instant.

A wave of demonic aura flooded the hall, and the girl's face turned pale.

The black-clad youth, on the other hand, became inexplicably excited. After waiting all night, he finally had some action.

The next moment, a mass of crimson surged into the hall with the wind and snow, appearing before the two of them. As the crimson mist dissipated, the true form of the demon was revealed.

It was an extremely hideous demon, covered in blood-red scales that shimmered with a dark red light. Its limbs were equipped with extremely sharp claws.

Seeing this hideous demon, the black-clad youth's eyes began to shine.

The girl, on the other hand, had lost all the color from her face, her small face turning as white as a fragile pear blossom.

Upon seeing the blood demon, she knew that her Uncle Song and the guards had no chance of survival. Pain flashed in her eyes.

The blood demon, with its grotesque face, also showed a satisfied expression when it saw the girl. The girl's flesh was the best it had seen in years. Just the smell of it made it feel extremely comfortable.

Eating her would definitely allow it to take another step forward. At that time, transforming into a human form would no longer be a luxury!

But soon, it noticed the black-clad youth who had been sitting by the fire.

And the sword hanging at his waist.

The sword was short, half the length of the standard long sword of the Great Li Dynasty.

A broken sword!

In an instant, the blood demon recalled a legend that circulated in this area.

As it looked at the youth, the youth was also looking at it, and he was smiling.

The blood demon was instantly chilled to the bone and exclaimed in fear, "It's you?!"

The black-clad youth stood up, looked at the blood demon, and said with a smile, "Of course, it's me."

With just those words, the blood demon's face turned extremely ugly, confirming the black-clad youth's identity.

The black-clad youth excitedly rubbed his hands and said, "Tell me, where are your kind hiding?"

The blood demon was furious at the black-clad youth's demeanor but dared not take another step forward. Its two crimson eyes constantly surveyed the surroundings, already planning to retreat.

Even though it still coveted the girl's flesh, it was clear to it that with the black-clad youth present, it now had to consider how to survive.

The black-clad youth saw the blood demon's not-so-secret actions and raised an eyebrow, teasingly saying, "Want to run? Why don't you try?"

Before he finished speaking, the blood demon opened its mouth and spat out a large mouthful of blood mist. The demonic aura surged, and the entire hall shook instantly.

The blood demon was already quite powerful; otherwise, Master Song wouldn't have died at its hands. Now, with its sudden attack, the demonic aura was so thick that it was hard to imagine.

The black-clad youth looked at the demonic aura and nodded in satisfaction. Then he took a deep breath, shifted into a bow stance, and clenched his fists.

At that moment, the youth's entire body tensed, gathering strength.

"Break!"

A punch

exploded, shattering the sky full of blood aura.

The black-clad youth's hair flew up, like a human beast, the terrifying aura under his black shirt rippled out, pushing the wind and snow that had rushed into the hall into disarray.

The blood demon, which had retreated to the hall's entrance, was hit by this punch, and blood blossomed on its body, falling into the snow in the courtyard, its fate unknown.

When the girl finally saw the black-clad youth clearly again, he was already at the hall's entrance.

The youth's black hair fluttered in the wind.

The slender figure, reflected in the girl's eyes, made her momentarily dazed.

She had never seen such a youth before.

Stepping outside, the black-clad youth lightly touched the ground and landed on the tall incense burner that was only half exposed in front of the hall.

The broken sword was sheathed and hung at his waist again.

The blood demon lay in the snow, its eyes full of hatred as it looked at the black-clad youth.

"Why are you looking at me like that? It makes it seem like you're the victim."

The black-clad youth looked at the blood demon indifferently.

"This place isn't your territory, why are you here?!"

Since it knew the legend, the blood demon naturally dared not approach the forbidden area. However, this place was still quite far from the county town. Why was the black-clad youth here?

"Hunting."

The black-clad youth was a bit frustrated and melancholic, rubbing his forehead and saying seriously, "Since you don't go to the county town, I can only come out to find you."

The blood demon gritted its teeth. To the ordinary people of the Great Li Dynasty, these flesh-eating demons were true devils. But here, to these demons, the black-clad youth with the broken sword was the devil.

Seeing the blood demon remain silent, the black-clad youth suddenly became amiable and asked softly, "Is there a possibility that you've changed your mind and want to tell me where your kind is hiding?"

The blood demon's expression became extremely complex, and it suddenly leaped up, pouncing on the youth.

But the next moment, the youth's sword moved.

A flash of sword light.

A hideous

head shot up into the sky, splattered with blood. But when it fell, the black-clad youth split it in half with another strike. He reached in and took out the crimson demon pearl from the head, glanced at it, and put it in his pocket.

When he turned around, he saw the girl standing at the hall's entrance, looking at him. She still held the silver hairpin in her hand.

The youth grabbed a handful of snow, cleaned the blade, and sheathed it again.

...

...

"I'm not a demon."

Jumping down from the old incense burner, the youth dragged the blood demon's corpse past the girl.

He threw the corpse into the fire, which immediately grew larger, bringing much warmth to the entire hall.

Seeing the girl still standing at the hall's entrance, the youth waved at her and called out, "Really going to stand there all night? You just survived, and now you want to freeze to death here?"

Hearing this, the girl, who had been silent, no longer hesitated and quickly came to sit by the fire, feeling the warmth from the fire, her tense mood easing considerably.

The youth soon smelled a pleasant herbal scent, which made the youth, who often dealt with demons, feel somewhat unfamiliar.

"It seemed quite afraid of you."

The girl finally spoke, her voice pleasant. She reached up and re-pinned her hair, inserting the silver hairpin back into her bun.

The youth smiled and said something nonsensical, "I wish they weren't so afraid of me."

Lifting his robe, the youth took out a black waistplate that had been tied to his waist and handed it to the girl.

The girl hesitated for a moment but still took it. In the firelight, she could clearly see the words engraved on the palm-sized waistplate:

"Guardian of Tianqing County."

Flipping it over, there was only one name:

"Chen Chao."

The youth introduced himself at the same time.

The girl, upon hearing this, bowed her head and spoke softly.

"Xie Nandu."

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The new book will be updated twice a day, occasionally more. I'm back, ah ah.