Heartfelt wishes
Xu Caiyou changed He Wenwen's dressing again. His injuries were mainly on his back, with a broken left leg, a cut on his right arm, and three broken ribs. Otherwise, he was fine, which was considered a minor injury within the category of serious injuries.
Just as Xu Caiyou finished everything and was about to leave, He Wenwen suddenly called out to him from behind.
"What's wrong, senior brother?"
"Um..." He Wenwen hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "Have you heard about Xiangxiang's situation? How...how is she?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Caiyou immediately turned back, her eyes shining with admiration. "I heard, I heard! Sister Xiangxiang is amazing! Everyone's heard about it. As expected of Liugongxian's disciple, she actually developed the art of borrowing demons and can even fight against the Yueshan clan leader. You don't know, Uncle Lan's disciples are planning to ask Sister Xiangxiang for advice when she wakes up. She's really incredible!"
"So, she's still not awake..." He Wenwen's mood suddenly dropped.
Xu Caiyou, who was rambling on, paused for a moment, then changed the subject and said, "By the way, how did you make that demon claw? Those demon-slaying disciples are also very interested in yours and want you to make some for them too."
He Wenwen had no interest whatsoever and casually replied, "The refining method is in my notes, you can do it."
"But……"
"My wound hurts, I need to rest."
He Wenwen impatiently gave the order to leave. Xu Caiyou muttered to herself, picked up the basin, and walked away, looking back every few steps.
Is Xiangxiang still not awake?
So many days have passed! He Wenwen's mind was filled with images of Ren Xiangxiang, who had been transformed into a demon under the ruins. She was covered in wounds, but her gaze was unusually resolute. Even though her opponent was stronger than her, she did not back down and stubbornly blocked the opponent's attacks time and time again.
Was it for that demon?
She was resentful yet powerless, but why? What was so special about that demon that made her risk her life for it?
Frustrated, He Wenwen couldn't help but sit up, looking at the cane in the corner, feeling agitated.
Two days later.
Kou Huai was picking up a piece of green vegetable with his little finger in the courtyard, but before he could put it in his mouth, footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate.
He paused, put down his chopsticks, and just as he stood up, he saw He Wenwen coming over, leaning on her cane.
"Wow! You can get out of bed now! I heard you were badly injured! Are you alright? There's no doctor here."
As Kou Huai spoke, he glanced out of the courtyard to make sure he really came alone, then clicked his tongue twice and asked, "Want to sit down and eat with us?"
"No need." He Wenwen's face was still a little pale, and there was a layer of cold sweat on his forehead. He must have had a hard journey. I wonder why he ran to this place.
The oblivious Kou Huai followed the other person's gaze to Ren Xiangxiang's room and asked in confusion, "You came to see Junior Sister Ren? She hasn't woken up yet. That... um... that demon woke up and has been watching over her. Don't worry."
He Wenwen was suddenly shocked, her pupils shrinking sharply. "Who are you saying is guarding Xiangxiang?"
"That demon! He's badly injured himself, but he won't listen to advice and insists on staying by Junior Sister Ren's bedside. He doesn't really pay attention to me either, so I'll just leave him be. Anyway, it looks like he won't die anytime soon," Kou Huai replied casually. Just then, he saw He Wenwen walking step by step towards the door with her crutch.
"Hey! Are you alright? You look terrible. I think you should go back and rest!" Kou Huai subconsciously reached out to help him, but the other deliberately avoided her.
He reached out and found nothing, his expression slightly distorted. He muttered to himself, "What does this mean? My good intentions have been taken for granted. Do you think I want to care about your lives? I'm just afraid that if something happens to you, I'll be the one who gets scolded."
"Hey! Junior Brother He..." Kou Huai chased after him with a dark face, following closely behind and advising, "What exactly do you want to see? I already said she hasn't..."
The door creaked open, and Mo You, hearing the commotion outside, glanced towards the door. After meeting He Wenwen's surprised gaze, his indifferent eyes returned to Ren Xiangxiang, remaining silent and focused.
"See? Junior Sister Ren hasn't woken up, and this demon isn't paying any attention to anyone either." Kou Huai instinctively sensed that the atmosphere was strange and tried to take He Wenwen away first, but the latter remained motionless.
"...You're Mo You?" He Wenwen opened his mouth, having considered what to say to the other person before coming. Just a demon, what qualifications does he have to make Xiangxiang sacrifice so much? Just a demon, you two are not even from the same world, how could you possibly be together?
Just a demon...
But just now, the unwavering focus in the other person's eyes seemed to instantly kill him.
He was actually outshone by a demon. So this was Xiangxiang's choice?
Receiving no answer, He Wenwen gave a bitter laugh and let Kou Huai help him out.
Completely bewildered, Kou Huai broke out in a cold sweat. What was going on between this human and this demon? Did they have a grudge? Wait a minute! This demon had just arrived at the Yang Palace, and the first person he saw after regaining consciousness was him. Had they met before?
"You know him?" Kou Huai asked abruptly.
He Wenwen, leaning on her cane, walked step by step toward the courtyard gate, shook her head and said, "I don't know him, I've never seen him before. I only know his name from Xiangxiang."
After saying that, he seemed unwilling to stay a moment longer.
Or rather, he couldn't stay any longer.
Memories flooded his mind. If Xiangxiang had become his disciple with him back then, would things have turned out differently?
The girl who brought light to dispel the gloom in his heart was like a passerby in his life, coming and going in a hurry.
But he clearly had a chance to seize it, he just missed it by a hair's breadth...
He reached out and grasped at the sky; the warm light slipped through his fingers, seemed to linger briefly, but ultimately fell back to the earth.
It was like an illusion.
The journey back was exceptionally long. He saw his disciples bustling about everywhere, and when they saw him struggling to walk, they all came to help, but he sent them all away.
The Yang Palace was struck by a great calamity, and everything was in ruins. Some disciples helped treat the wounded, while others helped build houses. The ordinary people who were displaced temporarily lived in one place, helping each other.
Everyone was busy doing what they could to rebuild their homes, but what about him? He was thinking about why Xiangxiang would choose a demon.
At that moment, he suddenly felt that he was not worthy of being his master's disciple at all. His master was trying to defeat those damned demons until the very last moment, but what did he do?
"Senior Brother!!!"
Xu Caiyou saw He Wenwen, who was struggling to move with the help of crutches, from afar and angrily rushed over, waving her fists.
He Wenwen stood there stunned, only to hear Xu Caiyou roar in exasperation.
"I was just cooking a meal and you disappeared? You're still injured, what are you running off for? Do you want to stay in bed a few more days? Do you know how hard it is for me to take care of two patients by myself! You were fighting to the death with the great demon, and I was doing my best too! I helped, I was just lucky not to get hurt, but that doesn't mean my heart wasn't broken! My heart is broken, do you hear me? I—"
"I'm sorry..." He Wenwen's expression darkened, and she suddenly interrupted him, "Junior Brother, you are stronger than me. Fortunately, I have you..."
"I..." Xu Caiyou was momentarily speechless. In the past, even if his senior brother made a mistake, he would scold him harshly and never apologize to him honestly. "Senior brother, has your fever not gone down yet?"
He subconsciously reached out to touch the other person's forehead, but He Wenwen's face darkened, and she slapped him away, "You've done so little work and you still have the nerve to complain? The demon corpses outside the yard are stinking so badly and you haven't even bothered to clean them up!"
"Senior brother, are you even human?" Xu Caiyou was furious and aggrieved. Seeing He Wenwen turn to leave, he was about to help her up when he was slapped again. "Don't touch me!"
Damn it, he hasn't changed at all; he's still just as annoying.
Xu Caiyou cursed inwardly, but still obediently followed behind him.
When they passed through Xujia Town, the group was resting under a big tree. This old locust tree had been growing for hundreds of years and was so lush that it seemed to be a giant umbrella providing shade for everyone.
He Wenwen looked into the distance and suddenly noticed an old man sitting on the stone pier outside the big locust tree. Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be the one who had almost killed her that day. He immediately frowned.
"Senior brother, do you know him?" Xu Caiyou followed his gaze.
He Wenwen asked coldly, "Who is he?"
"Him? His name is Weng Liangong... He's a notorious scoundrel in Xujia Town. He used to have his wife protect him when he was beaten, but this time his wife is gone too, leaving him all alone. If it weren't for his age, nobody would bother with him."
As Xu Caiyou spoke, she withdrew her gaze with disgust and continued, "I heard he wasn't a good person when he was young. He couldn't find a wife, so he forced himself on a widow with a daughter. The widow had also wandered here with no one to rely on, and ended up living with him. But when the daughter was fourteen, she accidentally fell off a cliff and died. Later, he apparently had a son, but he didn't grow up and died young. He's a complete scoundrel. He only knows how to drink, gamble, and beat his wife when he takes money. Everyone in town knows that..."
Xu Caiyue became more and more excited as she spoke, as if she had witnessed it herself. Originally, she was angry that the other party had almost killed her, but upon hearing this, she felt relieved. Perhaps this was a case of good and evil being rewarded in the end.
"Let's go, enough with the rambling," He Wenwen said casually.
Xu Caiyou immediately shut up and hurriedly followed.
After they had walked away, Weng Liangong, who was standing by the large stone pier, suddenly snapped out of his daze and stared blankly into the distance.
As soon as they reached the outside of the courtyard, the two stopped at the same time. He Wenwen, suppressing her nausea, slowly glared at Xu Caiyou, who had already run to the side and started vomiting violently.
The taste is really...
The rotting demon corpse emitted a nauseating stench, attracting countless flies and maggots, making one's scalp tingle at the sight.
"It must be cleaned up by today," He Wenwen said coldly, enunciating each word clearly.
"Senior brother! You're not human!!!"
He Wenwen ignored him and went to her master's residence with mixed feelings, only to find it empty.
A wave of heat swept through the demon refining room. Xu Jinnian picked up the demon bones that his junior disciple had painstakingly collected, took a slight breath, and coughed softly, saying, "Since you're here, come in!"
“Master…” He Wenwen hesitated at the door, “Your health…”
Xu Jinnian glanced at the blood on her palm, silently wiped it away, and said, "It's nothing... I look better than you..."
He Wenwen finally breathed a sigh of relief, putting her mind at ease, and walked in with a relaxed expression. "Then you shouldn't have come here. My junior brother and I can both make antidotes and antidote powder. If they need them, we can make them. You just need to rest well."
Xu Jinnian shook his head silently. "This is far from enough..." He paused, looking at the pile of demon bones in front of him, and continued, "We have been at peace with the demon race for too long. The Demon Refining Elder lineage has lost many things. If we cannot make powerful weapons, the Demon Slayers will just be sending themselves to their deaths."
“But…” He Wenwen wanted to say something, but Xu Jinnian raised his hand to stop him. “Do you think that only the Gu-dissolving powder can kill the demon Gu? Heh… You’re too naive… If it were that simple, then the Gu woman would have died. But not only did she not die, she even left at the last moment for other reasons. Kou Qiyu wouldn’t be wrong about that. So although the Gu-dissolving powder can temporarily suppress the demon Gu, it still can’t kill her.”
He Wenwen tensed up instantly, "Then, what do we do?"
“Sigh…” Xu Jinnian stared at the flames in the furnace, as if talking to himself, “We still know too little about demonic Gu. To kill them, we need something more powerful. And that Gu woman who almost destroyed Yang Palace might not be the Gu King… because the Gu King has the power to overthrow Qiling Mountain. No, it might not just be Qiling Mountain. The old demon refiner who created the demonic Gu back then wanted everyone to die…”
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