Chapter 131 Lu Yuanyuan gritted her teeth: "He's my lover!..."

Although she closed her eyes, Lu Yuanyuan couldn't fall asleep no matter what she did after that.

As if she were resting with her eyes closed, Lu Yuanyuan lay motionless on her side. After an unknown amount of time, she was finally awakened by Xi Ye.

"It's time to go."

"Hmm? Oh..."

Lu Yuanyuan pretended to have just woken up, yawned, and sat up. While he turned away, she stretched her stiff joints a few times. Her sleeve slipped down, and in a casual glance, she discovered that the red mark on her forearm had completely disappeared.

Lu Yuanyuan was taken aback.

Back when she was still a mortal, riding a horse would chafe her inner thighs until they bled. Now, she's improved in many ways and isn't so delicate anymore, but her skin still leaves marks easily. Perhaps this is just an innate constitution that's hard to change.

However, she usually doesn't bother with such things. As a cultivator, setbacks are inevitable; they'll fade away after a while anyway.

How could it have cleared up so quickly this time? She probably only slept for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn...

Is there a problem?

Seeing that she was still sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze, Xi Ye looked over and asked her.

Lu Yuanyuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Ah, it's nothing, let's go."

Although she had some doubts, it was actually a good thing for her. She should get down to business first.

At midnight, the time of day when yin energy is at its peak, the marshland is a scene of a hundred ghosts roaming at night. Will-o'-the-wisps dance in the air, creating an eerie and unsettling atmosphere.

The human market is easy to find. It looks just like any other market, except the goods are human beings.

Since they had already passed through the city gate checkpoint, this time Xi Ye only tied her wrists. Furthermore, at Lu Yuanyuan's insistence, the blindfold was replaced with a gauze one, so that she could vaguely see the outside world.

It turns out that the human market didn't just sell living people; it also sold pre-slaughtered human flesh. On various tables and hooks, bloody bodies, like slaughtered cattle and sheep, were cut open, skinned, and hung to sway in the wind.

"Immortal meat...immaculate and trustworthy immortal meat...come and take a look..."

Living people were treated like livestock, bound together with ropes and picked over. Arriving at this place, seeing their fellow human beings lying on the chopping block, they seemed to have accepted their fate, their eyes vacant, their faces ashen, their expressions numb, unable even to cry.

Even after experiencing many bloody dungeon missions and being mentally prepared, Lu Yuanyuan still felt an urge to vomit in this hellish place.

At the same time, she noticed that many eyes seemed to be fixed on her body and face.

At a glance, Lu Yuanyuan realized the reason—the kidnapped people, regardless of gender, all had disheveled hair and unkempt beards, and some even reeked of the fearful stench of urine. She, on the other hand, was neatly dressed, and even with her hands bound, she looked completely out of place as a piece of merchandise.

Lu Yuanyuan's jaw clenched slightly.

No wonder the shopkeeper used the phrase "delicate skin and tender flesh" several times today to describe her.

Suddenly, a monster blocked their way, its eerie green eyes staring greedily at Lu Yuanyuan: "Brother, how much do you want for this? Name your price."

Xi Ye's voice remained calm: "This isn't for sale; it's mine."

The monster glanced at Lu Yuanyuan twice, but didn't give up. He shamelessly said he would buy just one of her arms or legs. After being rejected again, he left dejectedly.

Lu Yuanyuan frowned, and suddenly, everything went dark. Xi Ye raised his hand, moved the veil over her eyes, and lowered it, obscuring her face.

"What's wrong?"

Xi Ye stopped, pursed her lips, turned her head, and said coldly, "If someone comes to ask about the price, it might distract me and cause us to miss the real clues."

Lu Yuanyuan had no suspicions.

That's true. They came to the human market tonight hoping to encounter the legendary ghost clan that specializes in buying young women for exorbitant prices. With so many people here, they'd better not get distracted.

However, as dawn broke, they saw no similar transactions and had no choice but to leave.

Leaving the human market, they returned the way they came and entered a small alley. It was much quieter here. Lu Yuanyuan finally untied the ropes, stretched her wrists a couple of times, and was about to say something when she suddenly heard a faint sound in the air. She abruptly looked towards the other end of the alley.

"I think I heard some strange noises, come this way!"

Without thinking too much, Lu Yuanyuan grabbed Xi Ye's wrist and pulled him forward. Perhaps because the move was so sudden, she felt his fingers tremble slightly when she touched his hand, but he didn't resist.

Reaching the other end of the alley, Lu Yuanyuan cautiously peeked out. At that moment, a carriage stopped in front of a dark building. The carriage was large and completely covered with dark cloth, so it was impossible to see who was inside. However, the sound of girls crying could be heard, indicating that more than one girl was being held inside.

In an instant, Lu Yuanyuan thought of the rumor that he "only accepts young human women," and her scalp tightened slightly. She looked up at Xi Ye, who was also looking at her, clearly having the same idea as her.

At that moment, besides the crying, a weak shout of cursing came from inside the carriage.

"You bunch of bastards! If you know what's good for you, let us go! My father and mother are both great sword cultivators! If you dare to do anything to me, they will definitely not let you get away with it..."

The road was deserted, and they couldn't get too close. They could only watch helplessly as the entire carriage was unloaded and carried into the yard.

Lu Yuanyuan's expression turned slightly serious: "If we follow them in, we might be able to get some relevant clues."

They certainly couldn't just swagger in through the main gate. They went around to the back, climbed over the wall, and sneaked in. They came to a clump of plants and just happened to see several familiar ghost messengers walking out of a hidden door.

Lu Yuanyuan held her breath and watched them disappear at the end of the corridor before following suit and opening the hidden door. A staircase leading to the ground floor appeared in front of her.

It was a cold, dark cell, and a box covered with a black cloth was placed against the wall.

Lu Yuanyuan walked over and was about to reach out when another hand reached out faster and lifted the cloth covering the cage.

Lu Yuanyuan looked closely and was shocked to see that nearly ten young girls were crammed into the narrow cage. Because the cage was less than a person's height, even these slender girls could not stretch their arms and legs.

On the other side, two unfamiliar figures appeared outside the cage. The girl inside the cage let out a terrified scream and kept shrinking back, trying to get away from them.

Fearing their screams would attract attention, Lu Yuanyuan quickly made a shushing gesture: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person, I'm human too!"

Hearing this, the girls' screams subsided a little. Suddenly, someone spotted the figure behind her and screamed again:

"A monster! It's a monster!"

"You're definitely lying to us. If you're human, why would you hang out with monsters!"

Lu Yuanyuan hesitated for a moment, then looked back at Xi Ye and said, "He's not a bad demon. He's with me."

The girls looked at each other, some wiping away tears, others still half-believing and half-doubting.

To gain their trust, Lu Yuanyuan gritted her teeth and said, "It's true, he's my lover!"

At the same time, she squeezed Xi Ye's hand tightly, signaling him to cooperate.

Xi Ye seemed to glance at her.

The way people looked at them finally changed. Just then, a weak, cat-like voice suddenly came from the corner: "Then can you save us?"

Once this began, pleas and cries rose and fell like a flood.

"Please, open the cage, let us out, save us!"

"We don't want to die, we don't want to be eaten by ghosts..."

"I miss my mother, I want to go home!"

Lu Yuanyuan grabbed the fence and reassured them, "Everyone, please calm down. I will definitely get you out of here. But I also came here to save someone, and I need your help too. Tell me everything you know."

Just then, a voice rang out from the crowd: "Go ahead and ask."

It was the voice of the only girl who still dared to yell and curse.

Lu Yuanyuan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a delicate, baby-faced man in the dim light. His face was a little dirty. "What's your name?"

"Jiang Qiao".

"How did you get caught and brought here? Do you know why they brought you here?"

From Jiang Qiao's fragmented account, Lu Yuanyuan finally understood what had happened. These girls were all daughters of ordinary families in the cultivation world, who had been captured and brought here. The only one with any connection to cultivation was Jiang Qiao, but she wasn't from a prestigious family as she claimed; she was merely a descendant of a fallen clan, whose parents had long since passed away.

Jiang Qiao's voice trembled: "The one who captured us was a monster, but he was probably acting under someone else's orders. The birthday of the Lord of Zhaolan City is coming soon. On that day, he will hold a sacrificial ceremony in the palace. His subordinates, knowing his desires, have been searching everywhere for human girls, hoping to give him a big gift on that day. We were all captured to be sacrificed."

A thin girl standing nearby chimed in with a mournful face, "Sister Jiang originally had a chance to escape, but she was captured because of us, and even her weapons were confiscated."

Lu Yuanyuan frowned slightly.

Sure enough, the rumors were true. The system said that Yue Qi wanted to sacrifice Xiao Ruo. It seems that Xiao Ruo's death is Yue Qi's birthday. The rumor that someone in the inner city was buying a human girl for a large sum of money is also just a baseless rumor.

At this moment, Xi Ye spoke up: "The city lord's subordinates should all be vengeful ghosts, but the ones who captured you are monsters?"

His tone was calm, and his attitude was not harsh; his glassy eyes gleamed with a cold light. But compared to Lu Yuanyuan, the girls were clearly somewhat afraid of him and dared not answer.

Finally, Jiang Qiao bit her lip and said, "The monster that captured us isn't one of Lord Zhaolan's subordinates. He just wants to use us for some benefits. But he must have already made contact with one of the lord's subordinates. I saw it with my own eyes. When he led us through the city gate, he showed that ghost messenger a waist token. I heard that with that thing, you can enter the inner city without any hindrance."

Lu Yuanyuan's eyes lit up: "Waist tag?!"

Originally, they were worried about how to sneak into the inner city, but now it's like a pillow being handed to someone who's sleepy—the route of sending someone has already been cleared. As long as they can get that waist token, they can get close to Xiao Ruo without anyone knowing.

With a plan in mind, all that was left was to take action.

After questioning them, they learned that the monster had three henchmen who would bring them food every night.

It was still early, and Lu Yuanyuan repeatedly assured them that they would definitely come back before slipping away silently. When they returned to the inn, the innkeeper looked up and seemed somewhat surprised.

Without saying anything, Xi Ye pulled her back to the room. As soon as the door closed, Lu Yuanyuan quickly pushed him to the bedside and said politely, "It's still a few hours before it gets dark, it's time for you to rest. You sleep for a while, I'll take over watching over you."

"No need."

Xi Ye wanted to refuse, but couldn't resist her, and finally lay down fully clothed.

Lu Yuanyuan dragged a chair over and sat by the door. The room was silent. She couldn't help but peek in twice. Xi Ye was sleeping very well. But he was so tall and large that the bed felt empty to her, while he lay down on it, as if he took up all the space.

The only odd thing is that he still doesn't take off his mask even at this time.

Does he never turn over in his sleep?

If he turns over, won't he find it uncomfortable?

Realizing she had been staring for too long, Lu Yuanyuan turned her head back and began to plan for the evening.

It wasn't safe here, so she didn't dare close her eyes to cultivate. She stayed in the room until it got dark, and then she went to wake Xi Ye. But before she got close, he suddenly opened his eyes, as if he had an alarm clock inside him.

Lu Yuanyuan was taken aback: "Aren't you asleep?"

“He’s not dead asleep,” Xi Ye said.

According to the plan, Xi Ye will go to steal the jade token tonight. Lu Yuanyuan will go to release the people.

With so many people, it's impossible to leave openly one by one through the city gate. Therefore, they will hide in the carriage and wait by the city gate for Xi Ye to come and join them, then leave directly using the jade token.

In this plan, time is the only variable. That's why they need to split into two groups; the shorter the time, the safer they will be. Besides, if a fight really breaks out, Lu Yuanyuan will inevitably have to use her magic, which could easily leave evidence that cultivators have been there. It's better to let Xi Ye do the killing; even if someone discovers any clues, it will only be seen as a monster double-crossing someone.

Lu Yuanyuan and Xi Ye lay in ambush on the roof. Just as Jiang Qiao had said, around the same time, the lights in the front room came on, and the demonic energy inside the room became stronger. It was time to make their move.

As soon as she parted ways with Xi Ye, Lu Yuanyuan landed silently on the ground and quickly made her way to the secret room from that morning. The girls in the cages were indeed eagerly waiting, and upon seeing her, they excitedly crowded around her.

Lu Yuanyuan channeled spiritual energy into her palm, and the iron chain, thicker than her wrist, snapped with a crack. One by one, the girls crawled out of the narrow cage. Lu Yuanyuan protected them and ran to the back door: "Quick! Get in the carriage!"

The journey was smoother than expected, without any obstacles. Arriving at their hiding place near the city gate, Lu Yuanyuan could finally catch her breath. But as she lifted the carriage curtain, she noticed a familiar face was missing from the carriage and exclaimed in surprise, "Where's Jiang Qiao?"

She clearly remembered counting the number of people.

But none of the girls in the car could say when Jiang Qiao had disappeared. After a long while, a weak voice came from a corner: "Could she have gone back to retrieve her sword? I remember Sister Jiang saying that it was a keepsake left to her by her parents..."

not good.

Fortunately, this place wasn't far from the mansion they had just visited. Lu Yuanyuan disguised the carriage and told the girl inside to keep quiet before quickly turning back the way she came.

The house was dark and deathly silent; even the lights in the front yard were off. Had Xi Ye succeeded?

Lu Yuanyuan looked around, her ears twitching slightly. She noticed black smoke coming from the second floor and rushed up in a few steps. She saw a black thing lying on Jiang Qiao's body.

...No, that wasn't a monster that kidnapped Jiang Qiao and the others!

Jiang Qiao was struggling in agony, with faint white light emanating from her nose and mouth. Clearly, her solo return to retrieve the sword was like a child carrying gold alone in a bustling marketplace; she had been targeted and followed here, her power being drained.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Yuanyuan unleashed a burst of spiritual energy from her sleeve. The pitch-black creature recoiled in pain, letting out a shriek, but it was no match for Lu Yuanyuan. In just a few moments, it was pinned to the ground by the invisible spiritual energy, and its entire body began to turn into smoke.

Jiang Qiao coughed violently, seemingly unharmed. She appeared surprised that Lu Yuanyuan had returned to find her; a deep sense of panic, regret, and shame flashed across her face, and her lips trembled as she stammered, "I...I...I'm sorry..."

Lu Yuanyuan sighed, but considering the reason she came back, she couldn't bear to scold her: "If your parents knew you would risk your life for this sword, they would probably rather not have given it to you in the first place. Your life is the most important thing."

Jiang Qiao's eyes reddened, she nodded forcefully, rubbed her eyes hard with the back of her hand, and was about to pick up the sword that had fallen to the ground. During the attack, the sword had been pressed under the monster's body. However, just as she turned the monster's corpse over, a thin, long object shot out from the monster's collar and sprang towards the two of them.

Lu Yuanyuan glared at it and reacted quickly, immediately drawing her sword and cutting it in two. Only then did she realize that it was a small poisonous snake, seemingly a pet kept by the monster.

Even though the head and body had been separated, the snake's head still had vitality. Unexpectedly, it sprayed a stream of venom at close range, and Lu Yuanyuan was the first to be hit. She hurriedly closed her eyes, but her eyelids still felt a sharp pain, and tears immediately flowed.

To make matters worse, another series of footsteps came from downstairs.

Jiang Qiao froze, shielding Lu Yuanyuan behind her with a death-defying resolve. But upon recognizing who it was, her voice trembled with excitement: "Sister! Don't be afraid, it's your... your monster lover!"

...

What followed was complete chaos.

They all passed through the jade token and left the city safely. Jiang Qiao was given the carriage to drive, and the two went their separate ways. In this situation, Zhaolan would have no pursuers; as long as they ran far enough, they would be safe.

Although everything proceeded according to plan, the fire in the house eventually caused a small-scale disturbance, alerting the ghost messengers at the city gate.

That night, on the riverbank outside the city of Swampland, a waning moon hung over the water, its surface rippling gently.

Lu Yuanyuan sat on a rock by the river with her eyes closed. Xi Ye dampened a cloth and wiped the stuff off her eyelids. Lu Yuanyuan shook her head, but his hand gripped her chin: "Don't dodge."

Lu Yuanyuan couldn't see his expression, but she sensed that he seemed very angry, like a silent volcano.

After thinking for a moment about the reason, she pursed her lips and said, "I'm sorry, I really troubled you this time."

Xi Ye unconsciously tightened her grip a little, and said in a deep voice, "I'm not angry with you."

He paused, then softened his touch and asked softly, "Does it still hurt?"

Lu Yuanyuan felt his gaze fall on her face from very close range. A little uncomfortable, she tilted her head back slightly and said, "It hurt a bit at first, but I don't feel anything now. If an ordinary cultivator were splashed like that, they would probably go blind. I'll be fine in a day or two. Besides, our efforts weren't in vain. Getting that waist token will make things much easier in the future; it's much better than wandering around the city for days without any progress."

Suddenly, she heard Xi Ye say in a cool tone, "Oh, you and the princess have a good relationship? Why are you working so hard for her?"

Was it just my imagination? His tone sounded a little strange.

It seemed to contain a hint of disgust towards Xiao Ruo.

On the surface, she and Xiao Ruo hadn't met more than a few times. It seemed a bit odd that she cared so much about her.

Lu Yuanyuan considered it for a moment and said cautiously, "I can't say whether it's good or bad. I just feel that it's a human life at stake. Since we're going to save someone, we should do our best."

Not wanting him to continue digging into her relationship with Xiao Ruo, Lu Yuanyuan quickly changed the subject: "Anyway, thank you so much for helping me clean up. I'll get better as soon as possible."

“The commotion just now has alerted the ghost guards at the city gate, and your eyes are temporarily damaged, so going back is too dangerous. We can’t go back the way we came.”

Lu Yuanyuan said, "Not going back? Do you have any other ideas?"

Xi Ye paused in wiping her hands: "We won't go into the city. We'll go around the outside of the city walls and take another route. Although it will be a bit longer, the Ghost Festival is in ten days, so we still have time."

Lu Yuanyuan was taken aback.

This was a very important matter, and she wanted to consult the system for its opinion.

However, after calling out in his mind several times, he did not hear a response from the system.

That's true, after all, that thing wasn't her exclusive system; it didn't have a one-click summoning function. That night, it only left Xiaoruo for a short while. As soon as the cooperation was finalized with her, it immediately returned to its place.

She could only wait for the system to contact her one-way.

The method proposed by Xi Ye seems to be the safest at present.

Although it's inevitable to sleep in the wilderness, living in the wilderness is much safer than living in that ghost town.

Seeing that Lu Yuanyuan remained silent, as if she had agreed to his decision, Xi Ye muttered to himself, "Then I'll listen to you."

His hand moved down and picked up a lock of her long hair: "Lower your head, your hair is also covered in it, let me wash it for you."