The night was as still as a pool of water, and there were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the road. A chill spread through the air, and beneath Li Hongyi, her mount seemed uneasy and restless.
She tightened the reins, her expression wary, and glanced at Li Fan in front of her before she couldn't help but ask.
"Do you feel a trace of sinister energy?"
The alleyways were far too quiet; the cold seeped into her body, an eerie breeze invaded her soul, making her unsettled.
"Miss Li, would you prefer to head back for now?" Li Fan turned around and suggested. Lin'an City's nights were not only heavy with sinister energy but also thick with demon energy.
Li Hongyi shot Li Fan a glare, turned her gaze away, and ignored him.
*Again, he's trying to get rid of me?*
Seeing the expression in her eyes, Li Fan said nothing further. This Li Hongyi had a strong personality—cool on the outside, warm underneath.
If it were Huang Yan instead, he wouldn't have bothered to care.
A frigid gust swept down the street, carrying with it a stabbing chill. Li Fan's gaze shifted toward the source of the icy wind, where a figure dressed in white emerged amidst the alleys.
"A ghost cultivator," Li Hongyi said as she rode her horse beside Li Fan, gripping her spear tightly.
The piercing wind rolled forward, and the figure in white, eerie like a specter, cast a glance in their direction from a distance before drifting away in another direction; it seemed as if the ghost was merely warning them.
"Ghost entities can consume human energy to cultivate, but this female ghost seems to harbor no malicious intent."
Li Hongyi's horse appeared more agitated beneath her. She tightened the reins, feeling a strange sense of unease.
*Could it be that the female ghost recognizes them as cultivators?*
Li Fan said nothing. This ghost appeared to merely want to frighten them.
He raised his eyes to the heavy night sky, his figure leaping upward to land atop a rooftop, ensuring a clearer view.
"All demons and ghosts can prey on humans to cultivate; it's dangerous," Li Hongyi reminded him. Though she knew Li Fan's abilities were formidable, the oppressive darkness of Lin'an City left her uneasy—unknown dangers lurked everywhere.
"Miss Li, you'd better head back early," Li Fan told her. And with that, he dashed forward across the rooftops.
Li Hongyi bit her lip lightly as she watched his retreating back, wanting to ride her horse and follow, but her mount refused to move forward. With a swift leap, her figure soared into the air, landing on the rooftop as she chased after Li Fan.
Li Fan heard the sound behind him and turned to glance back, about to speak when Li Hongyi abruptly cut him off. "Shut up!"
Li Fan: "…"
Gazing at her frosty yet beautiful face, Li Fan couldn't help but think of his senior sister. It had been a while since she'd scolded him. The corners of Li Fan's mouth unwittingly curled into a warm smile.
*What's he smiling about?* Li Hongyi caught sight of his strange expression and felt a twinge of confusion.
*Did telling him to shut up actually make him happy??*
Having been urged multiple times by Li Fan to leave, she was genuinely upset now. Wasn't she considered something of a "genius woman" in this corner of Lin'an City? When had anyone ever despised her so openly?
Thinking of this, Li Hongyi felt disgruntled and cast one more glare toward Li Fan's back before quickening her pace to catch up.
The two of them moved, one ahead and one behind, darting across the rooftops.
The night in Lin'an City grew increasingly cold. Ghostly presences appeared sporadically on the streets, and amidst the silent alleys beneath the stillness of the night sky, occasional screams of terror could be heard alongside the sounds of buildings being shattered. Demons were rampaging through Lin'an City.
A chilling aura settled across Li Hongyi's gentle features.
From a nearby alley, the sounds of screams broke out. Both figures leaped toward the source, and in their view ahead, they saw a gaunt demon. Its skin was yellowed; its face bore the marks of a jackal, and its arms were skeletal with hands shaped into hooked claws. Blood dripped from the corner of its mouth, and lying at its feet was a corpse.
"Beast!" Li Hongyi's face turned icy upon seeing the grisly scene. How had the demons in Lin'an City grown so brazen?
The jackal demon heard the commotion and turned its bloodthirsty gaze toward them, its demon energy swirling furiously. The jackal demon was already halfway into its humanoid form, charging toward Li Fan and Li Hongyi with rapid strides, fresh blood still dripping steadily from its mouth.
"Bang!"
The jackal demon vaulted into the air, hurtling toward Li Fan and Li Hongyi on the rooftop. Sharp energy surged around Li Fan, and just then, a figure in red streaked past him. In her grasp, the Fiery Flame Spear surged forth with blazing fury. Li Hongyi leapt upward, and before the jackal demon could evade, her spear pierced its body mid-air.
Her figure landed gracefully, and Li Hongyi flung the jackal demon's corpse aside. Her gaze drifted to the mangled corpse on the ground—the body so disfigured it barely resembled a human. Her heart sank heavily.
*With Lin'an City in its current state, the efforts of cultivators like them likely mean nothing. Hopefully, the Court and the major sects will reach Lin'an City soon to suppress the demons.*
Li Fan didn't pause, continuing forward, while Li Hongyi followed closely.
Soon, the pair encountered another demon feeding upon humans. With a thought, Li Fan summoned a sword from the skies, which pierced downward to slay the demon instantly. But Lin'an City's circumstances were now playing out everywhere, and their efforts amounted to a drop in the bucket.
They came across other cultivators engaged in combat with demons.
"There's fighting ahead," Li Hongyi remarked, looking toward a particular direction where intense activity could be heard.
Li Fan naturally noticed the commotion as well. The area surged with demon energy and sinister energy alike, steeped in eerie foreboding.
The two quickened their steps, moving side by side without realizing it.
A broad street appeared before them, where an intense battle was unfolding.
"Demons and ghost cultivators?" Li Hongyi halted, staring at the battlefield in confusion.
The fighters on both sides were demons and ghost cultivators. The ghost cultivators were all young women, their pale and bloodless skin heavy with sinister energy; otherwise, they were almost indistinguishable from human women. They wielded longswords as their weapons.
On the opposing side were two demons. One was a tall and lanky Long-Armed Ape Demon, its claws sharp and curved. The other was a Bear Demon of immense size, standing nearly ten feet tall with an oppressive presence. Its bear face bore hints of human-like features, its black fur rough and thick.
The Bear Demon had cultivated sorcery—when its palm imprint struck out, one feminine ghost cultivator's body was instantly scattered.
Li Fan didn't look toward the battlefield; his gaze fixed on something behind it. Amidst the carnage, a white horse lay in a pool of blood, its body partially devoured. Not far from the horse was a young girl, sprawled on the ground, her body covered in blood.
Beneath her lay a corpse.
The girl murmured faintly, as though singing a nursery rhyme. Her voice was so weak it couldn't even drown out the sound of Li Fan and Li Hongyi's footsteps. Yet, the girl seemed not to hear them, remaining quiet in place.
The girl was Qi, and the corpse beneath her was her father, Yang Kui.
Li Hongyi glanced at the corpse—bloodied and mutilated, its internal organs visibly extracted and consumed. His hands clung in place, as though his final act was to protect something precious.
*If only I had escorted them farther, perhaps this wouldn't have been the outcome,* Li Fan thought, his heart heavy with remorse.
Li Hongyi's eyes grew red. Though she'd only interacted briefly with Qi and Yang Kui, an inexplicable sorrow flooded her at this moment. And this was just a snapshot of the plight of ordinary people in Lin'an City.
With a tight grip on her spear, Li Hongyi shot a glance toward the battlefield, just as Li Fan murmured, "Take care of Qi."
As he spoke, Li Fan turned and walked toward the battlefield, his gaze shifting to the two demons. Ghost cultivators didn't devour flesh; the death here clearly belonged to the demons.
"Step aside," Li Fan said. He charged toward the Long-Armed Ape Demon. The ghost cultivators retreated as the ape demon fixed its bloodthirsty gaze on Li Fan—a foot stomped the ground, propelling its body airborne as its blade-like claws slashed downward at him.
Li Fan continued forward without pause. As the ape demon's claws came inches from his head, Li Fan's arm suddenly gripped the ape demon's wrist and, with a violent motion, slammed its body to the ground.
Before the ape demon could react, a gruesome *snap* echoed. It howled in agony as its long arm was forcibly broken.
Attempting to rise, the ape demon was crushed back down as Li Fan's foot ground into its head. Like a weapon, his hand tore through the demon's body, plunging deeply within. Blood spurted wildly, staining his white robes, as he savagely extracted the demon core.
The ape demon's bloodthirsty gaze transformed into horror. In the next instant, Li Fan's blade-like fingers ripped its throat apart.
The ghost cultivators nearby stood frozen in shock, subdued by Li Fan's terrifying display. This seemingly harmless, handsome young man was unfathomably ruthless.
"Boom." The ground trembled as a roar shattered the silence. The Bear Demon, seeing its companion slaughtered, charged toward Li Fan with large strides.
Li Fan glanced up at the Bear Demon. His golden pupils radiated a dreadful energy, causing the demon's heartbeat to accelerate in terror. Its massive hand, bristling with spikes, slammed forward, sending surging black energy into the shape of a giant palm print.
A flicker of motion passed. The Bear Demon's immense palm struck the ground, shattering the stone bricks. But blood suddenly gushed from its throat—a deep gash appeared there as Li Fan's figure materialized behind it, his fingers flickering with sword aura.
The Bear Demon staggered, clutching its neck before collapsing heavily. Blood poured forth in torrents. Its blackened eyes stared upward as the human cultivator, using the same gruesome method as before, tore open its body to extract the demon core.
*This human... How could he be more savage than demons themselves?*