Chapter 16 She's found someone else and is ignoring me now.

Jiang Zhishui had not seen this person in the illusion of her first life.

She is now a witch, with maids serving her, holding a prestigious position and being addressed as "Lord." It seems she has fallen into demonic possession and joined the demon race, doing quite well in the demon realm.

Jiang Zhishui didn't recognize the person in front of her, but seeing that he knew her name, she was afraid of giving herself away, so she could only give perfunctory replies.

"I said no, and that means no." Jiang Zhishui deliberately acted tough, trying to walk around him to the right, but the man blocked her way again. She snapped, "Get out of my way!"

The woman on the bridge suddenly ran over, grabbed Jiang Zhishui's hand, and pleaded tearfully, "Girl, please save us!"

Jiang Zhishui looked behind her and saw that the man she was eloping with was being brutally beaten on the ground by her fiancé.

Now is not the time to meddle in their affairs. She knew that one of the three was a demon in disguise, and getting involved would only waste time. She had to find the core of the formation first to solve everyone's predicament.

Just as she was about to shake off the woman's hand, the demon stepped forward and said, "Alright, let's help her, Zhishui."

As he spoke, he snapped his fingers, and the onlookers on the bridge suddenly paused, stepped forward to separate the two men who were wrestling, and brought them to Jiang Zhishui.

The fiancé, Qi Hong, hadn't realized something was wrong and was shouting, "Let me go! What are you doing! Let me go!!"

Jiang Zhishui frowned as she looked at the group of people on the bridge. They were expressionless and controlled by the demon.

It seems that getting away won't be so easy.

These demons are no ordinary demons.

The three were taken to a restaurant. The blindfolded demon gestured to Jiang Zhishui, who had no choice but to follow along with Jing Qianheng.

Hongmanlou, the largest restaurant in Qiyun City, is where several powerful families were hosting a banquet for the immortal sects that day.

The demon led the way inside, where it was bustling with activity. Inside the hall, there were all sorts of monsters and demons, including ox-headed and horse-faced demons. Some humans were among them, but they were not afraid at all. They drank and laughed with the demons.

"Everyone, please be quiet. We have something to decide today." The man turned to look at Jiang Zhishui and smiled gently. "Isn't that right, Zhishui?"

Jiang Zhishui gave an awkward smile, frowned slightly as she looked at the several floors above filled with inhuman and ghostly monsters, and swallowed nervously.

Oh no, have we stumbled into a den of demons?

"Your Majesty, who is she?" A stunningly beautiful woman, dressed in revealing clothing, clung to the demon. Her gaze swept over Jiang Zhishui, then fell upon Jing Qianheng behind her, her eyes gleaming slightly.

Jiang Zhishui glanced back at Jing Qianheng, who looked around at his surroundings with a relaxed expression, showing no sense of danger whatsoever.

Seeing the woman staring intently at Jing Qianheng, she subtly moved aside, blocking Jing Qianheng's path.

"My friend."

The man stared at Jiang Zhishui, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said sadly, "But now that she has someone else, she doesn't want to talk to me anymore."

The woman clinging to him giggled, "Your Majesty, don't you still have me here?"

The man put his arm around the woman's waist, and soon several stunningly beautiful women around him also came close to him, some kissing his face, some caressing his chest, doing their best to comfort him.

Jiang Zhishui couldn't stand it anymore, so she turned around and walked away, pulling Jing Qianheng to sit at an empty table to the side.

"Is he your friend?" Jing Qianheng sat opposite her. Jiang Zhishui originally wanted to pour herself a cup of tea, but suddenly realized that this was the territory of the Demon Clan. She put down her teacup, looked at the Demon Clan surrounded by beauties, and casually said, "Probably."

She wanted to ask, "Who is this person? He wasn't in the first illusion."

The man pushed aside a group of beauties around him, his face covered in red lipstick marks, and sat down without any hesitation, complaining, "Why are you leaving me to play by myself again?"

Jiang Zhishui asked impatiently, "What exactly do you want?"

The man poured himself a cup of tea, his eyes changing slightly, and said in an unpleasant tone, "I've been good to you, so are you taking this for granted and giving me attitude?"

The alluring woman sat down next to Jing Qianheng and was about to reach out to touch him when Jing Qianheng suddenly stood up and stepped back.

The woman said with a look of fascination, "What a novel expression! He hasn't been used before, has he?"

Jiang Zhishui was sweating profusely. If they found out she wasn't fooled by the illusion here, she and Jing Qianheng would definitely be skinned alive by these demons.

"Your Majesty, has she truly fallen to demonic possession?"

In an instant, Jiang Zhishui's heart jumped into her throat.

The blindfolded demon drank a cup of tea, his fingers lightly pinching the rim of the cup, and said calmly, "I'm not sure either. By the way, why haven't you called me by my name since earlier, Zhishui?"

Within the illusion, all identities and experiences are false, and memories are also distorted. As soon as Jiang Zhishui entered the illusion, she was already addressed as "Master" by the maids, which means that she should have had the experience and memories of being converted to demonic possession and joining the demon race.

However, she was not deceived by the illusion and maintained her own consciousness, so naturally she would not have those unfounded memories from before.

This demon clearly appears to be a high-ranking member of the demon race, and his identity is extraordinary.

Jiang Zhishui was allied with the demons here, so it was impossible for her not to recognize the person in front of her.

She tried to brush it off, but the man clearly saw through her act and was deliberately bothering her.

The hall suddenly fell silent as all the demons turned to look in their direction.

Jiang Zhishui sensed that things were about to end. She appeared calm on the surface, but inside she was panicking.

"Pei Jing!!"

Just as Jiang Zhishui was contemplating a desperate gamble, someone on the second floor shouted in her direction.

A boy who looked to be eleven or twelve years old jumped down and ran straight towards their table, calling out, "Pei Jing, Pei Jing, I called you, why didn't you answer?"

He had a ponytail, and the demonic markings on his forehead were exceptionally bright red. He was not tall, had a cute appearance, and looked about the same as an ordinary human child.

"So many people, what are you playing? Can I join you?" He sat down next to the eyepatch-wearing demon, turned his head, and said with a cute smile, "Pei Jing, what are we playing?"

He kept mentioning Pei Jing, which conveniently helped Jiang Zhishui out of her predicament.

Pei Jing smiled faintly, did not continue to probe, and got up to walk to the center of the hall.

Qi Hong was so frightened by the strange and grotesque monsters in the restaurant that he collapsed to the ground, his face pale.

His fiancée nestled in his friend's arms, and the two of them clung to each other, sobbing.

"Today I will stand up for the three of you. You may speak of any grievances you may have."

The three men no longer felt aggrieved; their eyes were filled only with fear.

While they were all gathered around, Jiang Zhishui got up and pulled Jing Qianheng, trying to sneak away.

The child suddenly blocked her way, smiling strangely, and said, "You're leaving without saying goodbye to Pei Jing?"

Jiang Zhishui looked at him, unsure whether to knock him unconscious or say something nice to get him to move aside. The child tilted his head and looked at the person behind her, his face full of curiosity. "My name is Pei Yan, I'm Pei Jing's younger brother. Who's that behind you?"

Making a scene now would only cause more trouble. Reluctantly, she was dragged by the child to watch the verdict against the three men on the bridge.

Regarding the dispute between the two men over the woman, a monster suggested splitting the woman in two and letting each of the two men take half.

Upon hearing this, the fiancée was so frightened that she burst into tears.

A female demon said, "There are two men. Why not just kill one and see which one the woman likes more?"

Someone stood up and said, "Let them duel! Let these two men fight to the death, and the one who survives will win the beauty."

The three people were surrounded, their eyes filled with fear and blankness, clearly gripped by extreme terror and completely unable to think.

Jiang Zhishui looked at Pei Jing, who was sitting on the high steps, his chin resting on his hand as he looked down with a pleased expression, as if he were watching a good show.

These demons have such a twisted sense of humor; they love this kind of drama where people are driven to the brink of despair and forced to kill each other.

Pei Jing wasn't trying to make a fair judgment for the three of them; he was clearly just trying to toy with them.

Jiang Zhishui couldn't tell which of the three was a demon in disguise. They were currently in a wolf's den and needed to create chaos to have a chance to escape.

She slowly tightened the rope around her hands, pulled Jing Qianheng to her side, and then tied the other end of the rope to her own hand as well.

The two were sandwiched between the monsters, while the people around them were still excitedly offering ideas on skinning and dismembering them. Jiang Zhishui quietly took Jing Qianheng's hand.

He touched her hand, and his hand trembled. Jiang Zhishui thought he was going to struggle, so she quickly gripped it tightly and whispered, "Don't move. No matter what happens later, don't let go of my hand."

She wasn't sure if Jing Qianheng would obey, so she added a spell to the rope so that even if he tried to run away, he wouldn't be able to break free.

The paper figures and talismans in the Qiankun bag had already quietly slipped out and disappeared into the dark corners of the restaurant.

Just as several monsters were approaching the three people, a loud bang erupted from the second floor.

The restaurant trembled, followed by a series of explosions. The demons were splashed with the scattered purification water, screaming in pain, and the scene immediately descended into chaos.

After the explosion, countless plumes of smoke gathered around, filled with a pungent odor—the kind of smoke made from the Xuan Yue wood that the demons disliked the most. They choked on the smoke, tears streaming down their faces, and collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain.

Jiang Zhishui rushed into the smoke, and with her sword, she helped the three men cut the ropes. In the thick fog, she urged them to escape quickly. The three men dared not delay and immediately got up and ran for their lives towards the door.

Pei Jing stood in the mist and saw a red shadow drift by. He was about to chase after it when he stepped on something. He looked down and saw a toy mouse with a talisman on it.

The laser flashed, and the booming explosions grew louder and louder.

Jiang Zhishui pulled Jing Qianheng out of the smoke and ran straight into the mountains and forests.

She pulled Jing Qianheng along as they ran through the mountains, a victorious smile on her face. Jing Qianheng looked at the ropes in their hands, his fingers tightening involuntarily. Jiang Zhishui turned to look at him, her face showing surprise, and suddenly stopped.

Jiang Zhishui noticed that someone had followed them into the woods.

As the footsteps approached, she pulled Jing Qianheng behind her, her expression wary.

"Wait for me, wait for me!"

It was Qi Hong, one of the three.

He looked disheveled, one of his shoes was gone, his hair was messy, and his face was covered in tears. He wiped his nose and walked over pitifully, saying, "Don't leave me alone... those monsters are terrifying..."

Qi Hong was truly terrified. He didn't know what had happened here, or how so many monsters had suddenly appeared. Afraid that Jiang Zhishui would abandon him, he hurriedly offered his treasure, saying, "My family has something good that can suppress evil spirits. My grandfather said that our house is a feng shui treasure land, and evil spirits cannot enter. I can take you there."