Demonic Appearance

Yan Dan grabbed the unsharpened longsword, stood up quickly, and without even brushing off the dust on her clothes, ran past Nan Zhao and the others, saying, "Can I borrow this sword?"

She hurried past the village entrance, following the path to Fuyun Temple. She stopped to catch her breath only when she reached the spot where she had been surrounded by corpse beetles. Her hand, gripping her sword, trembled slightly with excitement. She stood there for a while, then heard a faint rustling sound. This rustling grew louder and more intense, echoing throughout the entire forest.

Yan Dan let out a long sigh, then looked around intently. She saw clumps of corpse beetles crawling toward her from the bushes, the sunlight shining on their hard shells, making them gleam.

Just as she expected.

Yan Dan sheathed her longsword, turned around, and used her demonic energy to fly over the swarm of corpse beetles. She heard light footsteps behind her and instinctively turned around to see Liu Weiyang approaching from behind, his sleeves fluttering. The corpse beetles stopped in their tracks when they saw him, wanting to swarm him, but they seemed afraid of him and could only stand still.

Liu Weiyang walked along the path without looking to the side, while the corpse beetles stood there motionless.

He approached, noticed the long sword in Yan Dan's hand, and said calmly, "So you thought of that too."

Yan Dan finally calmed down from her earlier excitement. After thinking about it carefully, she realized something was wrong: "I got this sword from Nan Zhao Shui Xing and the others. It has a bloody smell on it. The reason we were surrounded by corpse beetles this morning when we returned from Fuyun Temple was also because of this bloody smell. But Shui Xing and Nan Zhao don't seem like the kind of murderers who would kill three people. I have a feeling it definitely wasn't them."

Liu Weiyang's expression was calm and composed as he whispered, "Feelings?"

Yan Dan nodded: "Not to mention that they can't kill anyone with this unsharpened sword, besides, I've been with them and I think they are all very kind."

Liu Weiyang flicked his sleeve and slowly walked along the path: "Even what you see with your own eyes may not be true, let alone what you feel. Besides, without real evidence, I will not conclude that this is related to them."

Unable to argue with him, Yan Dan could only mutter under her breath, "I've known them for so long, I know this has nothing to do with them."

Liu Weiyang suddenly stopped and said in a low voice, "Yan Dan, do you remember why you were able to see through their tricks so easily when you were at the Shen family in Qing Shi Town?"

Yan Dan replied without hesitation: "Those two people are full of loopholes, there are clues everywhere. If I still can't see them, then all these years of my life have been wasted?"

“Back then, you were looking at things from an outsider’s perspective.” He turned his head and said softly, “But here, you’re in the wrong place. This is the Demon Portal. Everything here may have existed before, but it has nothing to do with us. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you.”

Yan Dan was stunned for a moment, and then asked blankly, "Have you never acted on impulse?" She had completely forgotten that Liu Weiyang couldn't even remember who she was, so even if he had been deeply moved, he wouldn't remember.

Liu Weiyang smiled slightly, his smile as gentle as a breeze: "Of course there are, and they still exist now."

For the next few days, nothing significant happened in Luoyue Village. The mysterious assailant seemed to have given up and disappeared without a trace. The unsharpened swords were taken from the Luoyue clan's storeroom; any martial arts practitioner would take them. Thus, this lead was essentially cut off.

With Nan Zhao's birthday approaching, Shui Xing became unusually enthusiastic about celebrating it, even suggesting they steal a jar of wine from her father's room, insisting on dragging Yan Dan and Nan Zhao along to join in the thievery. Nan Zhao, being naturally docile, although he felt it was inappropriate, still went along with Shui Xing's wishes. Seeing their enthusiasm for the matter, Yan Dan had no choice but to accompany them.

Shuixing's father was usually not in the room during the day. Shuixing was also very bold, so she barged in and started rummaging through the drawers and cabinets: "I only heard about this from Sister Nongcui a few days ago. She said that her father got four or five jars of good wine. She had been begging for a long time but couldn't get it. It's better to just take it directly like I did, and her father won't know."

Yan Dan leaned against the door, listening to the sounds outside while watching Shui Xing search for something. Although she wasn't the mastermind, she was still an accomplice, and it wouldn't be good if someone happened to come in and catch her.

Shui Xing turned over all the cabinets in the room, but couldn't find even half a wine jar. She then turned around and ran to the bedside to knock and bang on it.

Nan Zhao couldn't help but say, "If you don't have one, then forget it. It's just a birthday celebration."

Shui Xing didn't look up. "I knew it had to be here. There's a hidden compartment here. I once saw my mother putting things in it." Just as she finished speaking, there was a click, the mechanism activated, and the wooden plank beside the bed suddenly loosened. This plank was slightly larger than a typical drawer. Yan Dan straightened up, watching with considerable curiosity. Shui Xing's mother was the first person to die suddenly; could what she had hidden be related to this bloodshed?

Suddenly, the water lily jumped back two steps, waving its hands and looking disgusted: "What's in here? Why is it so greasy?"

Yan Dan's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stepped forward to block Shui Xing and Nan Zhao's view: "Turn your heads away."

Nan Zhao immediately turned his head to look out the window, while Shui Xing hesitated for a while, still a little unhappy: "Why do we have to turn our heads?"

Yan Dan, with a stern face, said coldly, "Turn your head around!" She was usually all smiles and easy to get along with, but now that she suddenly put on a stern face, Shui Xing was startled and immediately did as she was told.

Yan Dan turned around, removed the loosely covering bed board, and a greasy, black liquid gushed out. She hesitated for a moment, then pulled down a bed curtain, wrapped it around her hand, and slowly reached inside. Before she could even touch what was inside, she withdrew her hand, stood up, and took two steps back.

The greasy, black liquid increased, and with a soft "plop," a severed limb fell out. Yan Dan's breath hitched, and she murmured, "How could this happen?"

Just then, a round object rolled out and landed right at her feet. A refined and handsome man's face came into view. The man even had a slight smile on his lips and his eyes were slightly open, as if he were a living person!

Yan Dan stood there, completely unable to think.

She heard a loud crash behind her, as if a coffee table had been overturned. Turning around, she saw Nan Zhao's face was deathly pale, his eyes slightly red, and he was making a gurgling sound in his throat. He couldn't resist turning around to look. Shui Xing, standing beside him, saw his appearance and asked curiously, "Nan Zhao, what's wrong with you?" As she spoke, she made a move to turn around.

Yan Dan immediately reacted and quickly stepped in front of him, saying, "Shui Xing, don't turn around!"

Nan Zhao's eyes were vacant as she slowly turned to Yan Dan, her voice barely a whisper: "That is... my father..."

Yan Dan still remembers the look of longing and admiration on the face of this frail young man as he said, "My father is indeed an ordinary person, but he is a good person, which is why my mother fell in love with him."

She slowly reached out and covered his eyes: "Nan Zhao, don't look, don't look anymore..."

Nan Zhao gripped her hand, his eyes already red, and his voice grew louder: "This is my father! This is my father! How could he have become like this?! Tell me why?!"

Yan Dan let him hold her hand and whispered, "Nan Zhao, if you want to cry, then cry out loud."

Nan Zhao looked up at her, tears streaming down his face, but he didn't cry out. Yan Dan looked at him worriedly; he was holding back his sobs, and it was easy for him to choke. Her mind was also a mess, and she didn't know what to do. Perhaps she had taken this too seriously. Even though this was the Demon Realm, and everything here had nothing to do with her, she was still overwhelmed by this sudden change.

Yan Dan forced herself to come back to her senses, only to hear a few light footsteps outside the room. Nong Cui's voice was already close at hand: "Shui Xing, what are you doing here?"

Nong Cui and Liu Weiyang were standing at the door.

Yan Dan looked at the two of them, unable to think of an excuse for a moment. Then, Nong Cui walked over, not even glancing at the scattered corpses on the ground, and pulled Shui Xing away, scolding lightly, "Who gave you permission to rummage through your parents' room?"

Yan Dan turned to look at Nong Cui, her mind racing: She knew all along; she must have known that Nan Zhao's father's body was hidden in the secret compartment under the bed. This room belonged to her parents, and at least one of them knew that a body was hidden here. But who sealed Nan Zhao's father's body here? And Nong Cui would rather falsely accuse Liu Weiyang of being the murderer than let him leave—this terrifying obsession must have started here, right?

The demonic appearance arises from the heart.

Nong Cui chased away the water plants, not even glancing at them, and walked straight to Liu Weiyang's side, saying with a charming smile, "I originally wanted to invite you to try the good wine that Father just brought back, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this."

Yan Dan slowly clenched her fists, her mind filled with a chaotic voice: Kill her, kill her right now!

Thinking this, she involuntarily raised her hand, which was shrouded in demonic energy. But before she could make a move, her neck tightened, and her wrists were clamped. All she could see were a pair of indifferent, emotionless eyes. Then, she didn't know what happened, only that she suddenly felt a chill on her face and was forcibly pressed into the water.

Yan Dan jolted awake, immediately regaining her senses. She struggled a couple of times, and the grip on her neck loosened instantly. Yan Dan choked on some water and looked up resentfully. She saw that she was already standing outside by the water vat that had been prepared in case of fire, and the person who had pushed her head down into the water was none other than Liu Weiyang.

Liu Weiyang looked at her calmly: "Are you awake now?"

Yan Dan wiped the water from her face and said angrily, "I was perfectly awake! I saw a head roll out of the hidden compartment next to the bed with my own eyes. Was I dreaming all of this?!"

"It's true."

"Alright, and then you and Nong Cui appeared at the door. If an ordinary person saw these severed limbs and remains, they would at least be shocked, right? But she wasn't. She knew all along that there was such a thing in this secret compartment! Am I wrong in my speculation?"

"Your guess is quite accurate."

"Then why did you pull me out and put me in the water?"

Liu Weiyang looked down at her, his voice low and deep: "Everything that happened in the Demonic Realm has nothing to do with you. Once you get involved, you will become a demon. You were just a little bit away from it."

Yan Dan turned around sullenly, pouting and remaining silent.

Liu Weiyang turned and went into the room, pressed the acupoint on Nan Zhao, who was curled up in the corner with red eyes, and carried him on his shoulder. Seeing him about to leave, Nong Cui quickly called out to him, "You're leaving already? It's rare for you to come in like this..."

Liu Weiyang said calmly, "I came here specifically for this matter."

Yan Dan felt a sense of strangeness. Could it be that Liu Weiyang had really seen through the scheme? He even arrived at the perfect time, neither too early nor too late. But his honey trap was far too despicable. As if Nong Cui hadn't gone far enough, he provoked her again. If he were to appear in that secret compartment again in the future, she wouldn't be surprised at all.

Sure enough, before they had gone far, a low stool came flying at them with a whoosh, narrowly missing them.

They walked back to the courtyard where they were temporarily staying, and saw that Tang Zhou and Yu Mo were both there, and they were slightly surprised to see the situation.

Liu Weiyang placed Nan Zhao on the bed and said in a deep voice, "I've investigated everything these past few days. The three people who died suddenly all have one thing in common: they were very familiar with Nan Zhao's parents. And Fayun became a monk the year Nan Zhao's mother passed away. Yan Dan, you should know the Rebirth Mantra, right?"

Yan Dan was taken aback. The Rebirth Curse was a spell that allowed one to see other people's memories. Did he mean he wanted her to use the Rebirth Curse on Nan Zhao? She had absolutely no interest in prying into other people's thoughts.

"I'm not very good at this kind of spell..."

Liu Weiyang said expressionlessly, "Is that so? I thought you were a fairy from the Nine Heavens, or at least had some knowledge of celestial arts."

As soon as he said that, Tang Zhou, who was drinking tea with his head down, looked up at her, but Yu Mo didn't react at all, not even bothering to lift her head.

Yan Dan was filled with grief and indignation, and said in a trembling voice, "We had already agreed, why did you still say it out loud..." She guessed that if she didn't agree, this Palace Master Liu would bring up other embarrassing things about her, so she had no choice but to sit down on the edge of the bed: "Alright, alright, I'll try it and see, I don't know if it will work."