Chapter 31

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Chapter 31: Killing the Father

"Hmph, childsplay."

Lin Canglan's mockery broke the silence in the room. "The old man at your age never hesitated over anything. But time spares no one..." he said then coughed repeatedly. The candlelight flickered with his voice, and Ji Yunhe's eyebrows tightened. Something was up.

Qing Shu's left hand suddenly moved and a small object struck Lin Haoqing's long sword.

The sword vibrated hard and fell out of Lin Haoqing's hand. Lin Canglan's wheelchair took this opportunity and quickly rolled out from within his reach.

Qing Shu's shadow on the curtain flashed like lightning.

Ji Yunhe had no time to think. She forcefully suppressed her pain, dashed through the curtain, and the sword in her hand met with Qing Shu's with a loud clang.

The energy from the contact burst out in a circular arc and swept through the surrounding walls and beams still under repair. The house gave out a series of creaking sounds as the entire structure seemed to tilt. Roof tiles outside began falling to the ground like rain.

Ji Yunhe stood in front of Lin Haoqing, shielding him while staring at the demon fox slave.

"The choice you made is very disappointing."

At this time, Ji Yunhe's body was enduring both Qing Shu's demonic power and the pain from the poison, but deep down, she felt great.

"Yeah?" Ji Yunhe smirked. "I don't think it's so bad."

Before Qing Shu could make another move, they heard a muffled moan. It came from Lin Canglan.

Qing Shu's eyes, which had never shown any emotion before, widened as she looked to the side with shock.

Ji Yunhe pushed against the sword and forced her off.

Qing Shu retreated three steps, but her eyes remained on the side and did not attack again.

Ji Yunhe followed her gaze.

Lin Haoqing was now standing next to Lin Canglan, holding his sword with the blade inside Lin Canglan's chest.

The wheelchair-bound Lin Canglan, old and frail, did not have the strength to defend.

Lin Haoqing was right.

After the battle with the jade phoenix, Lin Canglan's body had become useless.

He looked at his son with a face full of gloom. "Good... good…" he spoke while blood gushed out of his mouth. His voice was so muffled that it was almost inaudible. "You have the heart to kill your old man, you..."

Lin Haoqing did not care to hear another word. He pulled the sword out of Lin Canglan's chest, walked behind his wheelchair, grabbed him by the hair, and sliced his throat.

Blood sprayed out and rained onto the floor, the sound blending seamlessly with the downfall of rubble outside.

Ji Yunhe did not expect... Lin Haoqing to be so decisive, nor did she expect him to be so efficient.

He really killed Lin Canglan.

His own father.

The shock almost made Ji Yunhe forget about the pain in her body. And amidst all the blood, Lin Haoqing seemed as if he just realized what he had done.

He held the sword in his hand, opened his mouth and breathed out heavily. A few moments later, he finally made a sound. "Ha…"

He laughed. "Hahaha...! He's finally dead..."

It woke up Qing Shu who was standing frozen in shock.

"Valley Master!" Qing Shu snarled at Lin Haoqing. "I'll kill you!" She charged at him with her sword. Ji Yunhe tried to intercept, but the pain in her body made it impossible for her to catch up this time.

Lin Haoqing glared at Qing Shu. He raised his sword still dripping with blood, drew a circle in the air and blocked her attack.

Qing Shu and Lin Canglan had a master-servant contract, like Li Shu and Snow March. Qing Shu was a demon slave who had sworn eternal allegiance to Lin Canglan.

When swearing allegiance to a master, the demon slave would give up a portion of his or her power to the master as a sign of obedience. Upon the master's death, that power would return to the demon slave.

So logically speaking, now with Lin Canglan dead, Qing Shu should only be more difficult to deal with.

Yet Lin Haoqing blocked her so easily. Come to think of it, when Ji Yunhe first saved Lin Haoqing, even though she had defended him with all her might, the poison in her body was bound to affect her strength. She should not have been able to completely stop Qing Shu's attack.

Qing Shu should not be this weak, and Lin Canglan as well...

Their spiritual and demonic power seemed to have degraded too much after the jade phoenix ordeal.

Ji Yunhe could not think of a reason. She watched Qing Shu go crazy and viciously attack Lin Haoqing. He was able to resist at first, but after a while it became clear he was no match for her. Afterall, Qing Shu was a powerful demon who lived a very long time. Throughout the years serving Lin Canglan, no one knew how many battles she had won, or how many people she had killed.

Lin Haoqing was not nearly as experienced in combat.

Ji Yunhe had no choice but to go help. No matter what Lin Haoqing had done today, or what he might do in the future, she already picked a path and she would follow it to the end.

Once she made up her mind, she immediately struck her own acupoints. Her blood flow reversed throughout her body and her limbs grew numb and senseless.

The "fight fire with fire" method gave her temporary relief from the unbearable pain in her body.

This way of relieving pain was very dangerous. If she could not kill Qing Shu within three stances, her body would destroy itself and she would die a horrible death.

No more delays, she gripped her sword and lunged at Qing Shu.

Qing Shu felt the murderous aura coming from behind and backflipped into the air, avoiding Ji Yunhe's attack. Ji Yunhe changed her stance immediately and flew up after Qing Shu, aiming for her lower vitals.

Qing Shu had no choice but to turn around, receiving Ji Yunhe's killing blow with her back.

The force from Ji Yunhe's sword sent Qing Shu flying while blood gushed from her wound, but it did not hinder her from making a counter strike. Her body flipped in the air, and she shot toward Ji Yunhe like a speeding arrow.

Ji Yunhe had no way to avoid it, but then Lin Haoqing abruptly kicked her in the bend of the knee.

Ji Yunhe fell down and instinctively leaned back against the floor, her sword raising up into the air.

It sliced the entire length of Qing Shu's body as she flew over her.

Her blood spilled all over Ji Yunhe's face.

Ji Yunhe immediately struck her acupoints again, releasing what she had previously blocked.

Her blood flow returned to normal and the pain came back.

She weakly turned her head and looked at Qing Shu.

A demon that had roamed proudly all her life, now laid in a corner of the room covered in blood.

Qing Shu's clothes and face looked terrifying where the sword left its mark. She wanted to stand up again but no longer had the strength. Her gaze left Ji Yunhe and Lin Haoqing, and fell on Lin Canglan's body.

"You shouldn't have done this," Qing Shu said weakly. "If only you knew what your father was doing. Everything… was for you and for the great cause. You shouldn't have destroyed his work."

Great cause?

Ji Yunhe looked at Qing Shu. She could not respond, but Lin Haoqing could. He looked at Qing Shu coldly.

"And his great cause has ruined half of my life."

"Naive..."

Qing Shu did not move her gaze from Lin Canglan again nor did she speak again. She watched her master until her last breath, then her body turned into a puff of fine dust.

This was how demons died. The more powerful they were, the less they left behind. Li Shu was like this as well. Ji Yunhe was puzzled.

It was clear that her demonic power was about the same as Li Shu.

Before Li Shu died, he single handedly broke the seal of the Ten Square Formation. The fox demon, Qing Shu… her power should be much stronger than what was seen in today's combat...

She said Lin Canglan had a great cause... what was it?

No one could answer her. But the pain in the chest grew so intense that she could not help but let out a groan. She knelt on the ground and clutched at her heart. Lin Canglan died, Qing Shu also died, who else in this world would know the whereabouts of the antidotes?

She had told Changyi earlier that she wanted to visit the bottom of the sea in the future, but who knew... today would be her last day.

Future... she had no future...

Proofreader: Gem, Joker