Chapter 88

Sui Sui paused, subconsciously rubbed against her brother's side, and her pretty little face became serious.

Jiang Mingyan lowered his eyes to look at the kitten, whose mood was unconsciously depressed. After a brief thought, he bent down and put the little guy in his arms.

"Brother?" Suisui whispered doubtfully, hugging her brother's neck. She was a little embarrassed, but her round, bright black eyes couldn't help but sparkle, as if hiding two little stars of joy. "Why did you suddenly pick up Suisui?"

"Didn't Sui Sui say that herself? Sui Sui is still young." Jiang Mingyan chuckled, "Then isn't it normal for her brother to hold Sui Sui?"

The little fellow hummed and moaned, knowing that his brother was trying to comfort him. He felt happy but a little shy, so he simply buried his little head in the side of his brother's neck and stopped talking.

A smile flashed across Jiang Mingyan's dark eyes.

Tang Jiu was amused by the little guy's cute and adorable behavior. He slowed down his pace, and the heaviness in his heart dissipated. He said with a smile, "Oh, we are still shy?"

"It's not you." Jiang Mingyan said lightly: "You will never be shy."

Dislike him?

Tang Jiu snorted and laughed: "Are you shy?"

He glanced at Jiang Mingyan and Suisui, and said jokingly with a hint of seriousness, "You two brothers don't have much in common in your personalities."

Jiang Mingyan gave him a cold and sarcastic look, raised his chin slightly, and signaled him to stop talking nonsense and lead the way quickly.

Tang Jiu shook his head helplessly and led the way obediently.

But his mind couldn't help but think of the topic he had just talked about.

Tang Jiu sighed in his heart.

The two brothers Jiang Mingyan and Suisui have completely different personalities.

Jiang Mingyan was cold and indifferent, his sharp eyes seemingly unable to accommodate anyone other than Sui Sui. Even if the sky fell, as long as it didn't affect Sui Sui, Jiang Mingyan would simply watch from the sidelines.

He would not maliciously frame others, nor would he disdain those ghostly methods. He was as aloof and tall as a pine tree in a snowy valley. He was so indifferent that Tang Jiu often suspected that he was secretly practicing the way of ruthlessness.

But such an indifferent and cold swordsman could actually raise a cute little sweetie.

Every time Tang Jiu faced this fact, he found it quite incredible, and even wanted to ask Jiang Mingyan for advice on raising children.

But it was just a thought. If he really wanted to ask, Tang Jiu could already imagine Jiang Mingyan's mocking expression and the words, "We are always well-behaved and cute, and we don't need to be taught."

——Of course, if it’s not this sentence, it will be other similar sentences.

In short, Jiang Mingyan’s core meaning is that Suisui is unique, he did not teach her, everything is just the natural expression of Suisui’s nature.

As expected of Jiang Mingyan, his reputation as a brother-protecting maniac is well-deserved.

It’s better not to humiliate yourself.

Tang Jiu shook his jade fan and thought silently.

*

The room for placing the bodies of the civilians was built specifically for this purpose behind Jiangping Pavilion. It was underground and had a separate staircase leading to it.

Under Tang Jiu's leadership, they quickly reached the end of the stairs.

A tightly closed black iron door stood steadily, solid and silent.

Tang Jiu looked towards the iron gate, and his mood, which had been lightened by Sui Sui's cute gesture, became heavy again: "This is it."

Sui Sui hesitated for a moment, then slowly rubbed her face against her brother's. Then she raised her little head and whispered in her brother's ear, "Brother, let Sui Sui go."

Jiang Mingyan stroked Sui Sui's back, and then put Xiao Jiasen down as he was told.

As soon as Suisui stood firm, he took his brother's hand and walked forward a few steps, and stood with Tang Jiu very close to the iron gate.

"It's a bit cold." The little guy tilted his head to feel it, then pointed at the mysterious array symbol on the iron door and asked Tang Jiu: "Tang Jiu, can you unlock it? The Pavilion Master should have taught you the formula to open the iron door, right?"

"Corpses decay quickly, so to preserve the bodies of the dead, every wall of this room is engraved with runes that cool and freeze. The chill seeps in. Although it's not as cold outside as inside, you can still feel some chill." Tang Jiu first explained the little guy's previous question, then raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Sui Sui is thinking of the Pavilion Master now?"

"I thought of it a long time ago." Sui Sui complained: "When I was talking to my brother before, I also said that I would ask the Pavilion Master if we could investigate in Wanggui Town. The Pavilion Master is the owner of Jiangping Pavilion. He let us into Jiangping Pavilion to prevent us from being controlled by the Nether Ghost Beast. Sui Sui must know all these things."

"Sui Sui knows everything." Tang Jiu couldn't help but glance sideways at the little guy standing beside him with soft baby fat on his cheeks: "Then why did Sui Sui follow me without asking any questions?"

"My brother and Suisui followed Tang Jiu." Suisui emphasized with a serious face: "Tang Jiu, don't think Suisui doesn't understand anything."

"Tang Jiu wouldn't just take us around without the owner's consent just because we knew each other and were good friends." The child looked serious, his dark eyes gleaming brightly. "Tang Jiu must have spoken to the Pavilion Master before bringing us to see the corpses of the common people."

"... Suisui, you little guy..." Tang Jiu's expression changed, and finally turned into helplessness, with emotion in his eyes.

He murmured, "Why are you so lovable?"

Sui Sui looked at Tang Jiu strangely for sighing out loud for no apparent reason, and then slowly finished the unfinished sentence: "Besides, Sui Sui still has her brother. Even if Sui Sui made a wrong judgment, her brother wouldn't be wrong! Since her brother didn't stop Tang Jiu's behavior, Tang Jiu must be reliable."

Tang Jiu: “…”

Sui Sui continued, "And Sui Sui is a good kid. Everyone likes Sui Sui. Of course, he's a lovely kid!"

Tang Jiu: “…”

Tang Jiu: "Let's go in."

Did Jiang Mingyan give him a mocking look just now?!

This damn brother-con must be laughing at his self-conceit!

Tang Jiu was angry.

*

As soon as the iron gate opened, a chill hit me in the face.

The room was very large, with neatly laid clean bamboo mats against the wall, on which lay bloody corpses.

Jiang Mingyan subconsciously wanted to reach out and cover Sui Sui's eyes, but as soon as his fingers moved, he forcibly suppressed the impulse.

He lowered his eyes and looked at Sui Sui who was carefully examining the corpses of the common people. His eyes showed relief, but also some regret.

You will grow up every year, he thought.

He cannot become an obstacle on the road of growth.

Tang Jiu caught a glimpse of the change in Jiang Mingyan's expression and reached out to pat Jiang Mingyan on the shoulder.

This time Jiang Mingyan did not dodge like he did before.

"Brother, the book says that the Nether Beast likes to eat human organs. The organs of these people, especially their hearts, are gone." Sui Sui walked around and looked up when he returned to his brother's side.

Jiang Mingyan nodded: "That's right."

He taught: "Sui Sui, you can use your spiritual sense to investigate directly. It will be clearer if you use your spiritual sense to investigate."

Suisui tried it according to what her brother said and found that it was indeed the case. She nodded her little head and said, "Brother, I understand. I will pay attention next time."

Jiang Mingyan stroked Sui Sui's soft black hair approvingly and asked, "Did Sui Sui find anything else?"

"Are there any others?" the little fellow asked, puzzled. "They were killed by the Dark Beast, and the marks on their bodies were also left by the Dark Beast...Are there any others?"

"No, there should be another monster." Jiang Mingyan led Sui Sui to a corpse, his eyes darkening: "Sui Sui, look at the claw marks on his body."

I look down every year.

The corpse was torn from the chest to the abdomen, and the internal organs had disappeared, with several deep claw marks remaining next to it.

Sui Sui didn't notice anything unusual and asked his brother, "Isn't this left by the Dark Beast?"

"The cultivators of Jiangping Pavilion have yet to find the Nether Beast's hiding place. The Pavilion Master speculates that this Nether Beast is a fourth-grade demon beast with a Jindan cultivation base." Tang Jiu interjected, "Although the Pavilion Master was wounded, he was also a Jindan cultivator. He stood guard for several nights, and all he saw was the people being controlled and killing each other. Aside from a few people with claw marks, most of the scars on the people were inflicted by their loved ones during the fight."

Tang Jiu: "When ordinary people die, their organs are still there, but in the blink of an eye, they disappear."

"So these claw marks belong to another demonic beast?" Sui Sui was surprised. "It was the demonic beast that took the organs of the dead people and fed them to the Dark Ghost Beast."

"Jiang Ping Pavilion never discovered where the Nether Beast was hiding..." Sui Sui recalled the gray-clothed child's expression and movements when he told them about the Nether Beast. "Many people didn't even know there was another monster. They just thought it was the Nether Beast causing trouble... That monster must have moved very fast, right? No one saw it, and no one could catch up to it."

"That's right." Tang Jiu nodded, looking at the claw marks on the corpse, his face darkened: "It's a Fenggu Wolf."

Sui Sui was stunned: "Wind Bone Wolf?"

The little guy looked at his brother almost subconsciously, his black eyes wet, like a kitten lost in a snowstorm.

Jiang Mingyan picked up Sui Sui and stroked the little guy's back. His clear voice was calm and firm: "Don't be afraid, Sui Sui. I am here."

"You stayed in Wanggui Town because of Fenggu Wolf." Although this was a question, Jiang Mingyan said it in a statement tone.

Jiang Mingyan didn't look at Tang Jiu, but Tang Jiu knew that he was talking to him.

"Not entirely." Tang Jiu said frankly, "I returned to Wuzhou from Tianyu Gate to visit my family. I happened to pass by Wanggui Town and noticed the overly strict security in the town. I was curious, so I walked in."

"I'm now at the Golden Core stage. The Pavilion Master told me that he suspected there was more than one Nether Beast causing trouble in the town, and he hoped I could stay and lend a hand."

"After all, it concerns the safety of the entire town, so I agree."

"The Pavilion Master and I set up a trap to lure out the Wind Bone Wolf and the Dark Ghost Beast. That's when I learned about the Wind Bone Wolf. These two beasts are incredibly powerful, and the Pavilion Master and I are the only ones in Wanggui Town who can stop them. However, one of us is injured, and the other isn't good at fighting, so we could only watch them leave with minor injuries."

"Quyuan Manor suffered misfortune because of the Wind Bone Wolf, but that Wind Bone Wolf was killed. I don't hate every Wind Bone Wolf I see."

"But this has indeed made me more concerned about the affairs of Wanggui Town. And because of this, I discovered that something was wrong with the Pavilion Master."

"He seemed unsurprised by the Wind Bone Wolf's attack on Wanggui Town. I even heard him arguing with the young man beside him. The Pavilion Master said he should leave alone. He couldn't implicate the entire town after harming Quyuan Manor—they were very alert. I only heard this one sentence, but it was enough." Tang Jiu said coldly, "There may be many places called Quyuan Manor, but being associated with the Wind Bone Wolf... how could there be so many coincidences?"

Suisui listened to Tang Jiu's story and felt indescribable.

Although a long time has passed, Suisui still remembers Uncle Chen’s hearty laughter and warm hands - very warm, like sunshine.

"What are you going to do?" Jiang Mingyan asked.

"The reason I was able to hear their quarrel was because I happened to be sending the Pavilion Master the results of my divination. I knew there would be a turning point, so I had planned to wait until the matter in Wanggui Town was resolved before asking the Pavilion Master. But I didn't expect that the turning point would be you..." Tang Jiu shrugged: "And your cultivation is higher than I imagined. I think we can deal with the Nether Beast and the Wind Bone Wolf tonight."

Tang Jiu chuckled: "Then there are Daojun Mingyan and the young cultivator Sui Sui. I think you don't mind asking them now, right?"

Suisui nodded hurriedly and looked at her brother eagerly, her big black eyes full of eagerness.

Jiang Mingyan touched Sui Sui's pouty face and nodded gently: "Of course I don't mind."

They walked out of the cold room.

Sui Sui watched Tang Jiu close the iron door with a swift movement. She pursed her lips and whispered when Tang Jiu turned around and looked at her, "Sui Sui always knew that Tang Jiu was a good person."

"Brother and Sui Sui both think so."

Tang Jiu was startled, his eyes reflecting the serious and sincere look of the little boy in red robe and snow-white skin. He moved his gaze upwards, and the young swordsman nodded calmly.

"I know." Maybe after a long time, maybe just a few breaths, Tang Jiu curled his lips and said softly.

On the way back, Jiang Mingyan walked in front holding Sui Sui, and Tang Jiu followed behind them.

He watched the little red robe of the young swordsman and the snow-white robe of the young swordsman intertwining and entangled as they walked, as if flames and light snow collided, beautiful, bright and colorful, and exuding an intimacy and harmony that could not be ignored.

As a result, Tang Jiu's smile deepened.

He thought that Suisui was undoubtedly a good boy, and as for Jiang Mingyan, he could be considered a good person just barely.

So, even if it happened again, he would still be tempted by the cuteness on the crowded streets and try to seduce other people's chubby kids with a piece of cat's paw cake.