Chapter 32

Zhu Youxiang was still waiting at the edge of the crowd for Xu Yan. She watched the scene calmly, a faint smile on her lips. Seeing her, knowing that the scene of his beating had fallen into her eyes, Xu Yan felt a bit embarrassed. He returned the sword to Zhu Youxiang: "Xuan Yun, I was too hasty just now. I didn't ask you and took the sword. I'm really sorry."

"Under urgent circumstances, there's no need for you to worry, young master."

Zhu Youxiang smiled faintly. Of course, she wouldn't tell Xu Yan that if she didn't willingly give it, even a hundred Xu Yans wouldn't be able to take the sword from her.

"Xuan Yun, let's go." As he spoke, Xu Yan's tone was somewhat heavy, and the vivid red stains kept flashing before his eyes.

Because a murder had just occurred, the police had set up a cordon at the west entrance of the mall, prohibiting pedestrians from passing through. Xu Yan had to lead Zhu Youxiang to the east entrance of the mall.

On the way, Xu Yan saw police officers and security guards with batons standing at various counters and exits. Police officers in riot gear with assault rifles were patrolling the mall in groups, some with police dogs. Many police officers had arrived; Xu Yan saw no fewer than dozens of them on the way, and the mall's security guards were patrolling everywhere, giving customers a sense of security.

The order in the mall had been restored. Customers were coming and going in an orderly manner, and except for the police presence, it looked no different from a normal mall.

As they walked, Zhu Youxiang suddenly asked Xu Yan, "Young master, why do you look so solemn and worried?"

Xu Yan was taken aback, then his expression turned gloomy: "The police officer named Lin Zi said that if I hadn't shouted, those few police officers might not have been injured..."

"Xu Young Master, I think that official is just venting his anger. The criminal hurting people is not your fault. You discovered the criminal and reported it to the authorities, which was the right thing to do. As for the police officers not being able to handle the criminal, that's their problem, not yours."

Xu Yan smiled bitterly: "That's true, but if I hadn't shouted, if I had been smarter, if I had waited for the criminal to move further away before reporting to the police..."

"Xu Young Master, your kindness and benevolence are commendable. But have you considered that if you hadn't exposed the criminal then, more people might have died. This is already the best outcome."

Xu Yan was taken aback and turned to look at Zhu Youxiang. Zhu Youxiang was also looking at him, her expression calm and her gaze deep. She nodded meaningfully and smiled: "Xu Young Master, you helped me out just now. I appreciate your kindness. Thank you."

Seeing her smile, Xu Yan felt a chill. If he hadn't exposed the criminal in a moment of quick thinking, what would have happened next? The female police officer Zheng Qiuyi insisted on confiscating Zhu Youxiang's weapon and checking her ID. Would Zhu Youxiang have obediently handed over her sword and surrendered?

From Xu Yan's understanding of Zhu Youxiang—no way!

As they spent more time together, Xu Yan's understanding of Zhu Youxiang deepened. Initially, she seemed naive and innocent, and Xu Yan only saw her as a young, innocent girl. But as they got to know each other better, Xu Yan gradually realized that the girl living with him was far from the innocent and pure image she presented. She was highly skilled in martial arts and had formidable physical abilities, but more frightening was her reckless and boundless behavior—this girl was very devious!

Killing a few police officers on the spot, Xu Yan believed she would absolutely do it.

Once Zhu Youxiang drew her sword, not only would the two police officers die, but all the police officers, including Zheng Qiuyi and Liu Biyun, would be killed. Killing nearly ten police officers in one go, he would become a super fugitive and face execution.

Zhu Youxiang was right; this was already the best outcome.

Xu Yan smiled bitterly. For a 20-year-old young man, the responsibility of two innocent lives on his shoulders was a heavy psychological burden. However, after hearing Zhu Youxiang's advice, Xu Yan felt much better—without him, things might have been worse, and more people might have died.

He sincerely thanked Zhu Youxiang: "Thank you, Xuan Yun, for your guidance!"

Zhu Youxiang smiled faintly. She couldn't understand why Xu Yan was so dejected. In her view, the death of a few police officers was not a big deal. Generals die in battle, and pots break at the well—since these police officers chose this line of work, they should have been prepared to die. Since they were strangers, why should Xu Young Master be sad for them?

"Is this Xu Young Master particularly kind and sensitive, or is this how everyone on Earth is?" Zhu Youxiang wondered but didn't ask.

After walking for a while, Xu Yan thought of something and asked: "Xuan Yun, there's something I don't understand. You once told me that your sword would ring an alarm when it encountered evil from the demon world?"

"That's right. Didn't you see it happen just now?"

"But that was just a mad criminal, not a demon from the demon world, right?"

"That criminal, he still looked human, but his mind had been invaded and controlled by a demonic entity from the demon world—yes, he was possessed!"

"But I saw him still able to speak and communicate with the police."

Zhu Youxiang hesitated, then said thoughtfully: "The possession by a demonic entity is very complex and has no fixed pattern. Based on my speculation, there are two possibilities.

One possibility is that the possession had just begun, and he hadn't completely lost his consciousness. He was in a half-human, half-demon state, sometimes clear-headed, sometimes insane, with the demonic aura not yet fully exposed. Over time, his clear moments would decrease, and his insane moments would increase. Eventually, he would be completely possessed, losing all his consciousness and becoming a mindless, bloodthirsty creature.

The other possibility is that the demonic entity was cunning. It absorbed the human's memories and learned to conceal its demonic aura and disguise itself to deceive the police. Therefore, the Chun Chan sword could only detect it at close range. However, its nature remains violent and uncontrollable.

Young Master, both possibilities are possible."

Xu Yan was stunned. The description of a mindless, bloodthirsty creature reminded him of zombies in horror movies. But thinking about what happened earlier, he had another question: "If the madman only knew how to kill, why didn't he attack me when I blocked him?"

Zhu Youxiang smiled: "That was your luck. The possession hadn't progressed too far, and he still retained some consciousness and rationality. Moreover, you were holding the Chun Chan sword, which is a spiritual weapon given to me by my master. This sword is extremely sharp and can destroy all evil and demons. The demonic entity could sense the power of the Chun Chan sword even without it being drawn, and it didn't dare to attack you for that reason."

Xu Yan nodded, feeling lucky. He asked another question: "Xuan Yun, where exactly is the demon world? With the advanced science today, satellites in space and submarines in the sea, we've explored the sky and the earth, and there's no place called the demon world."

"The demon world is not in the sky, underground, or in the sea. It is not in our world at all."

"Then where is it?"

Zhu Youxiang glanced at Xu Yan, her brows slightly furrowed. The concept of the demon world and the planes of existence was common knowledge in the Great Ming Empire, but on Earth, they seemed to have no such concept. Explaining the demon world to someone without the concept of planes was difficult—indeed, even in the Great Ming Empire, which had been fighting the demon world for over three hundred years, the terrifying plane was still full of unknowns and mysteries.

She simply said: "The demon world is not in our world. Where the demon world is... I really can't explain it.

The creatures that live in the demon world are called demons. They come in various forms, some with strong physical bodies, some with powerful minds, some skilled in deception, some with strong endurance, and some with rapid reproduction—basically, they are all troublesome and hard to deal with.

The demon world was originally separate from our world, but over three hundred years ago, some passages occasionally appeared between the demon world and our world. Demonic creatures broke through these passages and came to our world. Each time a powerful demonic creature arrived in our world, it caused bloodshed and countless deaths, which we call a 'heavenly disaster.'

According to the statistics of the Ministry of War and the Northern Town Command, over the past few hundred years, there have been no fewer than fifty types of demons that have been identified and fought against. However, they believe that many more demonic creatures have not been recorded—only those that survived the heavenly disasters could provide information to the government.

In the history of our empire, there have been multiple large-scale heavenly disasters, even cases where entire regions were completely wiped out. Based on the capabilities of ordinary demons, they couldn't have caused such destruction. There must be some unknown, powerful demons that could lead to the complete annihilation of a region with garrisons and cultivators."

Seeing Xu Yan's puzzled expression and his desire to ask more questions, Zhu Youxiang quickly stopped him: "Xu Young Master, the demon world and the passages to it are very complex subjects. There are specialized departments in the Ministry of War and the Jinyiwei that handle them. I am just a student and don't know much about it."

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