Chapter 46 That damned male demon.
The problem is, Jiang Huaisu isn't pretending to be weak... she's genuinely not in good shape!
The exhaustion of the past few days has made her physical condition increasingly worse, and she is only able to hold on until now by sheer willpower.
Her vision blurred in waves, and she felt she might faint at any moment. Fate seemed to be against her; at this critical moment, a light rain began to fall, the icy water seeping into her collar and hair, making her feel even worse.
Bai Yuan also noticed that something was wrong with her and said anxiously, "I told you that the self-inflicted injury trick won't work on him!"
"...It's not a ruse." Jiang Huaisu touched her forehead; it was burning hot, as if she were really sick. "If I fainted, would he immediately rush over and send me to meet the King of Hell?"
At this point, she remembered that she had already met the King of Hell and been to the underworld, but her name was not on the Book of Life and Death.
Taking a deep breath, she suddenly felt confident again. So what if she had to restart? She had a resurrection point! At worst, she could just change bodies and come back to settle scores with Red Boy.
The margin for error in demonic life is terrifyingly high.
Spurred by illness, she dared to turn around and face Red Boy, shouting, "Stop chasing him!"
Red Boy, wielding his Fire-Tipped Spear, hadn't expected her to act so suddenly. He lost control of his momentum, and the tip of his spear veered off course, nearly severing a lock of her hair.
He roared, "Are you out of your mind?!"
Jiang Huaisu frowned and looked at him as if he were crazy: "Of course I want it, otherwise I wouldn't have persisted in running for my life for so long."
"..." There really wasn't anything wrong with what she said. But Red Boy wasn't going to back down verbally, so he brandished his spear and pointed it at her again: "So what? Now you don't want to run away anymore, you want to fight me head-on?"
"I pulled out a few strands of your hair, and you just cut off a few strands of mine. Can't we call that even?"
Jiang Huaisu was drenched in the rain and felt dizzy, but she still managed to maintain a calm demeanor and said to him, "After chasing for so long, your anger should have subsided by now, right? If there are still conflicts between you and Bai Yuan, why don't you call your father and go home to resolve them?"
Bai Yuan nervously tugged at Jiang Huaisu's sleeve, afraid that one of her words might offend Hong Hai'er and he would be stabbed through the skin in the next second.
Fortunately, Red Boy didn't seem to be provoked, but he wasn't persuaded either.
He deliberately contradicted Jiang Huaisu: "No, I'm going to kill this vixen, and then kill you."
He kept threatening to kill, yet hesitated to act. It wasn't out of mercy, but rather because he was weighing the consequences. Jiang Huaisu understood this perfectly, so she tried her best to emphasize her identity to make him more wary.
Anyone can brag.
"Speaking of which, your father and I used to call each other brother and sister. According to seniority, you should call me aunt."
"Pah!" Red Boy said with great disdain. "You little brat, you dare to challenge me?"
"..." How exactly did the Niu family educate their children? Their behavior was even more deserving of a beating than Miaolian's back then. At least Miaolian was very good at feigning politeness when she was young.
"What about Sun Wukong? He was officially sworn brothers with your father, so he's like your uncle."
"Him?" Red Boy wasn't familiar with the name; he only knew that this monkey had caused trouble and had been captured by the Heavenly Court. "Naturally, he's not worthy. Now, whether he's dead or alive..."
“This one isn’t good enough, that one isn’t good enough,” Jiang Huaisu sighed. “And who are you anyway?”
"?" Red Boy looked up in disbelief, almost thinking he had misheard. Her tone was so gentle and calm, yet the words she spoke were the exact opposite.
It wasn't that he was asking for trouble, but rather that Jiang Huaisu realized this Red Boy was impervious to both soft and hard tactics; he wasn't the type to be moved or reformed, and could only be suppressed by force. He would probably only submit and obey when his opponent completely overwhelmed him in terms of strength.
Jiang Huaisu and Bai Yuan clearly lacked overwhelming strength, so they could only let him control the pace and keep running. Their stamina would inevitably be exhausted first, so it was better to try to fight back now, before they reached the end of their rope.
However, Red Boy proved to be a perfect example of "a word to the wise is enough when there's no common ground." After only a short chat, Jiang Huaisu's fists were already hard. Coupled with her fever and injury, her head was spinning, and her emotions momentarily overwhelmed her reason, leading to some impulsive actions.
With a respawn point, the worst-case scenario won't kill you. You can just slack off for a bit, it's okay.
Bai Yuan poked her back frantically from behind, whispering, "Are you crazy?!"
Jiang Huaisu ignored her, staring blankly at Hong Haier. If he was determined to kill her, continuing to run would only lead to her death.
“I understand.” He sneered. “You really want to die.”
Red Boy attacked with his spear, and Jiang Huaisu had no choice but to parry the two blows with her sword, almost cracking her tiger's mouth.
As expected of a ruthless character who almost got to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh, his strength is unmatched by the golden eagle or the bear demon. Moreover, he didn't even use fire or unleash a killing move.
Although she was in a sorry state, Jiang Huaisu had a better understanding of the situation. Red Boy's demeanor didn't seem to be aimed at taking her life; perhaps he just wanted to teach her a lesson? Besides, when she stopped to negotiate, Red Boy's first reaction was to back down, which was enough to show that he preferred the option of "not killing."
"Hmph." Red Boy sized her up and sneered, "You really dare."
Jiang Huaisu braced herself against the ground with her sword, her body swaying.
"Want to continue?" Red Boy asked mockingly, raising his chin.
"......"
It was as if they were having some kind of inspirational martial arts tournament. In reality, whether or not to continue wasn't up to her. If admitting defeat would make Red Boy let her go, she would throw down her sword and surrender without hesitation.
Red Boy stared at her for a long time, then suddenly realized he had been focusing too much attention on Jiang Huaisu. Following the principle of distributing his attention equally, shouldn't he also fight Bai Yuan? After that, perhaps he could naturally withdraw from the scene? Chasing them for so long had been satisfying enough.
In fact, Jiang Huaisu's guess was quite right. Red Boy did have some reservations and wouldn't really kill them, but he enjoyed the feeling of tormenting his opponents.
Previously, when playing tricks on Bai Yuan, this fox would give in and beg for mercy in less than a quarter of an hour. This time, with Jiang Huaisu as an accomplice, it actually seemed much tougher. Hong Hai'er found this very novel.
The spear tip shifted, pointing at Bai Yuan. Ignoring the terror on her face, Red Boy wanted to make this cowardly fox come out and spar with him.
Suddenly, Jiang Huaisu moved and lunged at him.
"Hmm?" He was somewhat surprised by the bird demon's courage.
At this point, the distance had become too close, and if he used the tip of his spear to parry, he might accidentally puncture a hole in her. Red Boy hesitated for a moment, his hand holding the spear. He looked down and suddenly noticed that her hand holding the sword was not raised, but hanging limply at her side.
The next second, Jiang Huaisu collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Red Boy's eyelids twitched, and he took half a step back, as if trying to avoid being scammed.
Bai Yuan gasped softly, flipped Jiang Huaisu, who was lying face down, over, and shook her shoulders violently: "Susu!"
Jiang Huaisu kept her eyes closed and did not respond, appearing to have completely lost consciousness.
"She...she was killed by you!"
A flicker of panic crossed Red Boy's eyes. He pushed Bai Yuan aside and reached out to check Jiang Huaisu's breath.
"Idiot, what nonsense are you spouting?" He glared at Bai Yuan. "This Jiang something-or-other just fainted."
Realizing she had overreacted, Bai Yuan gave a dry laugh.
Good news, Jiang Huaisu isn't dead. Bad news, she now has to face this little devil alone! If she manages to get back alive, she'll definitely give Old Niu a good dressing down. And, she'll never go out alone again!
The rain continued to fall, and it seemed to be getting heavier. Jiang Huaisu lay in the rain, the blood seeping from beneath her body spreading in the water, forming a pale red stain on the ground.
"This..." Bai Yuan said weakly, "We can't let her stay in the rain forever..."
Red Boy crouched down and quickly examined Jiang Huaisu's injuries. The wounds weren't too deep—one on the shoulder and two under the ribs. They were likely caused during the earlier fight, and the chase had aggravated the injuries.
"Were these injuries inflicted by that bear?"
“It wasn’t a bear,” Bai Yuan recalled. “It was a bird. A large bird with very sharp claws, which had fought with Jiang Huaisu before.”
"She has a lot of enemies."
He casually tossed out this sentence, showing no remorse whatsoever, even though Jiang Huaisu's injuries had worsened because of him. He even raised the corners of his lips, as if mocking her for overestimating herself.
Then, he bent down slightly and picked up Jiang Huaisu.
Bai Yuan asked nervously, "What are you going to do?"
"To destroy the evidence."
Red Boy erected a protective barrier around himself to shield himself from the rain, then carried Jiang Huaisu up the mountain. This place was sparsely populated and extremely desolate, and with the rain, it was indeed suitable for burying a corpse.
After hesitating for a moment, Bai Yuan followed after him, stammering as she tried to persuade him from behind: "No, no, no, you can't! She knows Nezha and has a good relationship with Erlang Shen. You'd better not touch her."
"That's exactly why we need to destroy the evidence," Red Boy said matter-of-factly. "We can't let anyone know that I killed her."
He moved slowly and leisurely, step by step heading towards a more remote place.
Bai Yuan opened her mouth, wanting to persuade him again, but she knew he would never listen to her and would only do the opposite. In the end, she decided to remain silent and follow behind Hong Haier at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
After walking a short distance further, Red Boy turned into a low cave, and Bai Yuan dared not follow. She suspected that this was the location he had chosen to "dispose of the body and cover up the crime."
She desperately wanted to win Jiang Huaisu back, but...
She took one last deep look at Red Boy's retreating figure, then turned and ran as fast as she could. Even as the thorns along the way scratched her skin, she dared not stop to rest, and ran all the way to the foot of the mountain.
She glanced back; Red Boy wasn't chasing her. Calming her racing heart, she continued on her way.
If Red Boy was just bluffing and didn't actually kill Jiang Huaisu, that would be for the best. But if Red Boy was serious, what use would she be staying here? It would be best to leave as soon as possible.
Bai Yuan pondered for a moment, then decided to go to Flower Fruit Mountain to inform the monkeys, and then return to Moyun Cave to find Old Bull. She wouldn't concern herself with what happened after that; she'd let the Bull Demon King decide, since it was his son's fault anyway.
Gritting her teeth, she walked more than ten miles westward, but she was too exhausted. She found a flat place to sit down and rest for a while. While rubbing her sore limbs, she thought about finding a flying demon and hitting it on a ride.
Looking up at the sky, she hoped to find a bird spirit to carry her on her journey, but all she could see were birds that had not yet developed intelligence and could not communicate with them.
Just as Bai Yuan was feeling dejected and at a loss, she suddenly heard a whistling sound, as if a gale was sweeping by, accompanied by a surging heat wave, which made her exposed skin feel a burning sensation like needles.
Looking up, one could see a pair of golden wheels engulfed in flames, suspended in mid-air. Nezha stood atop them, bowing slightly to look at the bushy tail behind him.
Nezha pondered, "A fox?"
He remembered the black bear mentioning that Jiang Huaisu had a helper, a fox. Adhering to the principle of better to ask the wrong question than to let it go unanswered, he asked directly, "Have you seen Jiang Huaisu?"
Bai Yuan was stunned for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up as if he had seen a savior. He stared intently at Nezha, stood up, and took two steps toward him.
She nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, I've seen her!" She was very excited, gesturing wildly, "Third Prince, you've come to save her, haven't you? She's in the east."
The amount of information was too much for Bai Yuan to handle, and he became somewhat incoherent.
Nezha frowned: "Who's chasing her?"
"It's Red Boy!" Bai Yuan sold his adopted son without hesitation.
Nezha searched his memory for the name, but couldn't recall it.
To save time, he pinched a cloud and gestured for Bai Yuan to sit on it. "Lead the way to find Jiang Huaisu."
As they hurried along, he listened to Bai Yuan explain what had happened: "Red Boy, he's my husband's son, uh, he secretly followed me to Flower Fruit Mountain, and then..."
The word order was a mess, but fortunately, no important information was missed. The cause and effect were all there, and it also mentioned the connection between him and Jiang Huaisu when he was choosing a husband back then.
Nezha glanced at Bai Yuan a couple more times, thinking to himself, "No wonder she looks familiar. She's the fox who set up the arena near Guanjiang Estuary. I've seen her before."
Following the direction Bai Yuan pointed out, he arrived at the low cave. Faint, flickering lights could be seen on the cave walls, but there was a blind spot at the corner, so he could not see the inside of the cave directly.
He strode inside, and Nezha tentatively called out her name: "Jiang Huaisu?"
The man who answered him asked, "Who are you?"
Hearing this unfamiliar voice, Nezha's unease intensified, and his breathing became erratic. Realizing that Jiang Huaisu was very likely inside, sharing a room with an unknown adversary... he drew his demon-slaying sword and quickly turned the corner of the cave wall.
The red-haired boy was shirtless, and the fox fur cloak and undergarment he had been wearing were now piled up at his waist and hips.
Jiang Huaisu had woken up, but was still weak. She was held awkwardly in Hong Hai'er's arms, her back pressed against his chest. However, while Hong Hai'er was bare-chested, she was dressed neatly, though her posture looked too stiff and her expression was somewhat embarrassed, as if she wanted to break free from this overly passionate embrace.
A fire made of dry branches burned in the open space in the middle, illuminating the inner walls.
Nezha walked over without saying a word, took Jiang Huaisu from Red Boy's arms, carefully examined her injuries, and then infused her with spiritual power.
Throughout all of this, he maintained a completely expressionless face. Red Boy remained silent, creating an extremely strange atmosphere, like the calm before a volcanic eruption.
Jiang Huaisu deeply regretted not closing her eyes and pretending to faint the moment Nezha entered. It was bizarre, so very bizarre. She hadn't done anything wrong, so why this sudden feeling of guilt?
She wanted to explain, but firstly, she was dizzy and had difficulty speaking. Secondly, there wasn't much room for elaboration; Red Boy had already explained it clearly: he took off his clothes to warm her with his body heat... It sounded absurd, but it was true. He was simply acting as a sofa backrest!
Although Red Boy's face was indeed very handsome, and his pectoral muscles were... well, honestly, she had absolutely no improper thoughts about him! This bull was chasing her just two hours ago! Moreover, in terms of the aesthetics of muscle lines, she subjectively thought Red Boy was inferior to Nezha. The fact that she hadn't been tempted by such a handsome man was enough to show that she had strong self-control and would never be seduced by Red Boy's looks.
She reached out and grabbed Nezha's collar, looked up at him, and uttered two words with difficulty: "Really."
When Jiang Huaisu woke up in the cave, she was already leaning against the broad chest of this ox. Red Boy did not give her the opportunity to choose her own way to keep warm.
This dimwitted guy, one minute he wants to kill her, the next he wants to save her. Jiang Huaisu couldn't figure out his psychology, and she couldn't understand why he would use this method to help her keep warm. Did he not want to waste his magic power? Or was he just showing off his figure?
When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. In short, she was forced into it; she wasn't enjoying herself at all! It's all Red Boy's fault!
Nezha paused, then said gently, "Is there anything else that's bothering you? Would you like to lie down in the embroidered ball?"
“…Yes!” Jiang Huaisu seized the opportunity and decisively chose to escape.
At this moment, she could no longer look directly at the shirtless Red Boy. Nezha's unusually gentle way of speaking also made her feel pressured. She couldn't wait to leave the stage and give it to the two who were at each other's throats.
Red Boy slowly put on his clothes. He didn't feel any shame, just a little regret. If he had known that Jiang Huaisu's companions would find them so quickly, he should have left immediately after settling her in the cave.
There was nothing he could do. At that time, she was barely conscious and breathing, soaked to the bone by the rain, injured, and her lips were bloodless; she seemed very cold. So, out of compassion, he used his magic to dry her clothes and then started a fire in the cave.
But she kept leaning against him, as if he were the warmest source of warmth. He was so arrogant when he was awake, but much more docile when he was unconscious. Why didn't she just do this sooner? Why did she have to be so stubborn and fight him?
Red Boy stared at her sleeping face for a while, then got up to leave. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his scalp and realized that her fingers had somehow grabbed his hair... That wicked woman! She must have pulled out more than ten strands of his hair today!
Having finally freed his hair from her grasp, she immediately grabbed his fox fur cloak and pressed herself against him for warmth. Red Boy was furious; was she using him as a heater?
She loves to lean on him, so he lets her lean on him to her heart's content!
He was merely fulfilling Jiang Huaisu's wish; Hong Hai'er believed he was the one who suffered a loss. If her companions had any conscience, they should have apologized and thanked him.
He and Jiang Huaisu reached an unexpected understanding, each silently shifting the blame to the other, both believing they were not at fault.
Unfortunately, Nezha is not a judge and is not responsible for judging right and wrong. He is only here to save people.
"You use a gun too?" Nezha said coldly. "Let's fight."
With a slight thought, the Demon-Slaying Sword transformed into a golden light and vanished into the void. At the same time, he reached out with his free right hand, and space seemed to distort for a moment as he forcefully "pulled" a Fire-Tipped Spear out of the air.
His meaning was clear: it's only fair to use the same weapons.
Actually, Nezha doesn't usually fight with such a sense of ceremony. He usually just uses whichever weapon is most convenient for him, but today is different.
The red-haired kid with the gun on the other side is too conspicuous and deserves a beating. He must win an indisputable and complete victory and poke eighteen holes in this red-haired guy with his long gun!
Jiang Huaisu naturally wouldn't stop Nezha from teaching Red Boy a lesson. Having been chased for so long, she was also seething with anger, and felt that she would rather fight ten black bears one-on-one than deal with this unpredictable brat any longer.
However, before putting the embroidered ball in, she quietly reminded Nezha, "It's best not to kill him. According to the original plot, he will be taken in by Guanyin Bodhisattva and become your second brother's colleague."
A hint of surprise flashed in Nezha's eyes, but his hand holding the gun remained steady. Even if this kid had other opportunities in the future, his desire to give him a good beating right now had not diminished in the slightest.
Judging from the other person's appearance, they seem quite resilient; they shouldn't die from being stabbed a dozen times.
“I concede.” Red Boy raised his hands, indicating that he was giving up. “Third Prince, there’s no need for this fight. I know I’m no match for you. If you want to teach me a lesson, go find the Bull Demon King at Mount Jilei. A son’s misbehavior is the father’s fault, so go beat my father.”
Bai Yuan watched in stunned silence. For the first time, she realized that Red Boy and the Old Bull, as father and son, actually shared many similarities, especially in their ability to adapt to changing circumstances. The moment Red Boy recognized Nezha, he was already thinking about how to leave, never considering fighting him.
Nezha, with a cold face, ignored the other party's attempts to be friendly and thrust his spear forward.
There's no such thing as getting away with punishment just by admitting defeat.
Red Boy quickly dodged the attack, and with a loud bang, the spear in Nezha's hand shattered the cave wall, sending dust and rubble flying.
Bai Yuan shuddered in fright and turned to flee, fearing he would be buried alive if he was even a step too slow. Given Nezha's relentless fighting style, the cave was bound to collapse sooner or later. Red Boy, somewhat annoyed, raised an eyebrow at Nezha: "Third Prince, calm down."
"Die!" Nezha finally agreed to communicate with him, but his first words were a death curse, his disgust evident in his words.
Despite his quiet and composed demeanor, he was actually seething with rage the whole way. If it weren't for Bai Yuan's initial help to Jiang Huaisu and her guiding him earlier, he would have beaten her up as well.
Because in Nezha's view, this was the Bull Demon King's family matter, and Jiang Huaisu shouldn't be involved. Red Boy's teasing pursuit was unreasonable, and his inexplicable act of stripping naked to keep warm in the cave was even more illogical!
Nezha would never believe that Red Boy didn't have ulterior motives towards Jiang Huaisu. Just look at Jiang Huaisu's unwilling expression; she must have been forced!
He knew that many demons in the mortal realm were dissolute and had no scruples about their sexual pleasures; physical intimacy was nothing to them... But in his mind, he had already labeled Red Boy's transgressive behavior as "seduction." No wonder he's the son of the Bull Demon King; inheriting the family tradition, he probably doesn't even know how to write the words "self-discipline and propriety."
Recalling the scene he witnessed upon entering the cave, Nezha's boundless rage remained unquenched. That damned male demon!
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