Exorcising evil spirits

"Autumn's Breeze? Are you up?"

It was already early the next morning, and there was still no movement from inside. Qi Yuan knocked on Qiu Yi's door.

"Ugh... wait a minute..." Qiu Yi was punished by the system last night because of what she said yesterday, and now her whole body is in pain.

She carefully got out of bed, and accidentally pulled her foot, letting out a hiss.

"System, are they going to catch demons today?" she asked while changing her clothes.

[BE System]: Yes. Your task is to trap the male and female protagonists in the courtyard until they are killed by a monster.

Qiu Yi stiffened for a moment, then said, "Well, I'm still injured. Can you increase my physical strength? Otherwise, it will be difficult to complete today's mission."

[BE System]: Okay. You must not show any mercy in this mission; you must kill them.

"……good."

When she came out, Qi Yuan and Mu Qinghuai had already eaten breakfast and were well prepared to capture the demon.

Qi Yuan gave a reassuring smile: "You can stay at the inn today. We have a demon-catching mission to complete, which is quite dangerous, so you should get some rest."

"Okay!" Qiu Yi shouted crisply.

"Okay. We're leaving then." A hint of surprise flashed in Qi Yuan's eyes; she hadn't expected Qiu Yi to agree so quickly this time.

"Please wait patiently, Fairy Qi!"

Mu Qinghuai noticed Qi Yuan's urgency and whispered, "Qi Yuan, your injuries haven't fully healed yet, so please be careful."

"Okay. I'll be careful." Qi Yuan nodded.

*

"Will this work?" She felt irritated and uncomfortable facing the demonic energy covering her body.

Qi Yuan always preferred to wear white or light-colored clothes, but now, in order to appear as a demon, she changed into black clothes and suppressed her magic power.

Mu Qinghuai feigned discomfort and said confidently, "This is a top-quality pill that can make the person who takes it surrounded by demonic energy for a short time. It will definitely fool that evil thing. No matter how powerful it is, it will only be deceived by appearances."

What pills? They were actually demonic energy he injected himself, but the effect was the same.

The two lingered at the foot of the mountain for a while. Mu Qinghuai winked at her obediently and spoke first, "Let's give it a try."

He was originally a demonic cultivator, and now he no longer had to smell that disgusting spiritual energy. He could openly and legitimately exude a rich demonic aura, and the thin layer of spiritual energy that he had deliberately concealed to cover his demonic energy had vanished.

They had walked a short distance down the mountain, and hadn't even reached the foot of the mountain, when the woman's heart-wrenching cries reached their ears.

Although Qi Yuan is a fake demon cultivator, the person next to her, Mu Qinghuai, is a true demon lord with genuine demon blood. A faint aura drifted from the courtyard, guiding people down another path.

Qi Yuan couldn't sense this aura, and Mu Qinghuai couldn't very well say directly that it was a mutual resonance between evil cultivators, so he had to tell her in another way.

As they approached the gate of the courtyard, he reached out and stopped Qi Yuan: "Wait, don't go in yet. There might be other exits around here."

Qi Yuan didn't speak, but only gave him a slightly suspicious look.

His gaze toward Qi Yuan was clear and innocent, as if asking her, "How could you not believe me!"

Mu Qinghuai actually walked around the house, looking left and right, and exclaimed in surprise: "There's a hidden entrance here!"

The direction he was pointing was precisely the endpoint indicated by the breath.

At first glance, the wall looks perfectly fine, but if you touch the door, you'll find that a person can walk right through it.

She walked along the rough cobblestones to the location Mu Qinghuai had mentioned. It was on one side of the back house in the small courtyard, a rather secluded place where a hidden door would go unnoticed unless you looked closely.

The door is the same color as the wall, and only the small door frame prevents it from completely blending into the wall.

Qi Yuan stretched out a finger, and it turned out the door wasn't solid; she could actually walk right through it.

"Is this really not a trap?" Qi Yuan said, but still followed the boy through it.

They had barely stepped into the house when someone appeared silently at the entrance to the courtyard.

It's autumn.

The room was dark and gloomy.

The window didn't even look like a window; it only had a small crack, and the rest was completely covered up.

The house was large, and they could only avoid the tables, chairs, and tea sets by the dim light from the cracks in the windows.

A door that wasn't there slammed shut with a loud "bang," and even though the entire space was sealed, a chilling wind could be felt blowing in.

Mu Qinghuai was originally standing in front of Qi Yuan, but Qi Yuan took the initiative to walk around him and stand side by side.

Strangely, the room suddenly became quiet, without any sound.

They were not subjected to a sudden attack.

This room is eerie. All the furnishings are similar to those of an ordinary home, but on the tallest wooden cabinet is a... portrait?

If it's just a matter of making offerings, that's not surprising, as most people make offerings to gods or burn incense to commemorate their deceased relatives.

But this is a portrait, which not only exudes evil energy, but the content of the portrait is also covered by a red cloth, with only a black border showing.

Qi Yuan drew her sword and gripped it tightly in her hand: "No wonder, even the most reckless mortals would be scared away. It's not that they don't want to come out, but that the doors and windows are tightly closed and they can't get out."

If it weren't for the hidden door that could be easily passed through, then the real main door would definitely be tightly closed now, just like the windows.

“This portrait is likely a trap, but it’s also the only way out for us right now. We have no other choice but to take this step.” Mu Qinghuai slowly approached the portrait.

Noticing that Qi Yuan also wanted to follow, he stopped her, saying, "Stay where you are. Have you forgotten your injuries?"

Mu Qinghuai added, "If I can't tame this evil creature, it's not too late for you to try."

"Hmm." Qi Yuan stopped.

He reached out and approached the portrait, and just a second before the red cloth was torn off, a dark figure suddenly rushed towards Qi Yuan behind him.

The attack came suddenly, and Mu Qinghuai trembled. He turned and ran towards Qi Yuan.

But before he could even make a move, Qi Yuan had already swiftly blocked the attack with her sword hilt.

The shadow vanished the instant it touched the scabbard.

Mu Qinghuai rushed to her side and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

Qi Yuan was silent for a few seconds, then said seriously, "I am strong enough on my own to defeat many enemies. You really don't need to protect me."

"..." Mu Qinghuai was stunned; he had never seen a woman like this before.

In his memory, those demon women always deliberately hid behind him because of his identity, sweetly seeking his help, and he always showed a disdainful look without any mercy.

The women of the human realm hate him because he is a demon.

Those who always hide behind others are utterly irresponsible.

He knew that women in the human world were indeed brave and independent, but he had never seen anyone like Qi Yuan before.

Mu Qinghuai knew that Qi Yuan was capable enough to become the chief disciple, but he always subconsciously protected her, believing that this was the only way to truly ensure her safety.

Especially after the demonic cultivator stabbed Qi Yuan in the back, he became even more worried about her acting alone.

but.

Praying for mandarin ducks is not necessary.

She is able to stand out from the crowd and face a battle alone.

A mix of emotions welled up in Mu Qinghuai's heart, and he said with a smile, "Okay. Let's go together."

The two leaned close to each other, looked at each other, and simultaneously pulled back the red cloth.

A beam of red light shot out, heading straight for Mu Qinghuai. Qi Yuan immediately tackled him to the ground, dodging the attack.

"Thank you." Mu Qinghuai immediately got up and looked again at the spot where the portrait had been placed—the blank wall was empty, without even a trace.

The portrait vanished into thin air!

Like a shadow.

No! The shadow didn't disappear! It flew out from the ground, split into two, and burrowed into the hearts of Qi Yuan and Mu Qinghuai respectively.

Before Qi Yuan could think, she suddenly collapsed to her knees, clutching her chest in anguish.

Her Dao heart was being eroded by the black energy, and the spiritual energy and demonic energy within her body were fiercely vying for control of her body. The red bead on her wrist shone with a faint light.

Thanks to his cultivation of demonic arts, Mu Qinghuai's body had already accepted this evil energy and was not affected by it.

It must have discovered Qi Yuan's identity!

He turned to the prayer: "I pray for you..."

Qi Yuan interrupted him, squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth: "You have to believe me...! Go find that thing!"

"Okay!" Mu Qinghuai now completely trusted her and stood up without hesitation to look for the evil object.

He had to act swiftly and decisively! He set up a defensive barrier for himself and Qi Yuan, and since they couldn't see each other, he attacked aimlessly.

It's a bit too aggressive, but it's still effective.

All the lights in the room turned on instantly.

That thing probably only concealed itself; after being attacked, it revealed its true form amidst a mist.

It's not a woman, but... a group of children?!

The children looked like innocent, ordinary little kids, giggling all the while. They looked to be only three or four years old, wearing only old red and yellow bibs and still having baby hair on their heads.

They circled the two of them, laughing and running around, occasionally making faces, but their voices were those of adult women.

The children's voices were in unison, as if they were speaking as a single person: "Lulu, you two big idiots~ The righteous demons are nothing special~"

Mu Qinghuai's face darkened.

He didn't move, but just watched the "children" warily. The demonic energy within him surged and churned, eager to fight, but he had to suppress it.

Without warning, with a "thud," all the demons fell to the ground, their short hands clutching their abdomens in unison, their expressions remarkably similar: discomfort, nausea, and... excitement.

It's hard to imagine these expressions appearing on the faces of such young children; the incongruity is chilling.

The sound stopped abruptly, and the room became quiet.

Before long, the silence was broken by the sound of vomiting. The sounds of vomiting rose and fell as the demons frantically vomited unidentified objects. One of them even slid a woman's head out of its throat.

Upon closer inspection of the other demons, what they vomited out were either limbs or torsos, all of which were human body parts.

They wiped away the unidentified liquid remaining at the corners of their mouths and worked together to piece these organs together into a complete woman.

Mu Qinghuai did not stop her; based on his intuition, this woman was the real breakthrough point.

When they were first put together, the woman's head and body were reversed. One of the demons quickly stepped on the shoulders of the other demons and twisted the woman's head with his bare hands, easily turning it so that it was on her neck.

From a distance, the woman appeared no different from an ordinary person, but up close she looked extremely eerie. She was not a demon; she was wearing a long red dress.

But rather than wearing it, it was more like the red dress was clinging tightly to her body, with sticky liquid seeping from her almost sickly white skin, squeezing and squeezing the red dress.

"Hello~ It's been a long time since I've seen a demonic cultivator." The banshee spoke, her tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of anger.