Chapter 22 022 Does Your Highness, the Demon of Desire, find this filthy and disgusting...?
This ghost caused quite a commotion, so why did no one mention it when they inquired about it in the city before?
Yun Tianjiao voiced his doubts, and the old man sighed, "Please don't be offended, this is a tragedy for Huaicheng." He stopped the boat, took off the wine flask hanging from his waist, uncorked it, and took a sip.
"The island's history can be traced back to a hundred years ago. What exactly happened back then is now unknown. All that is known is that after the island's inhabitants were born, the entire city of Huai was almost completely slaughtered overnight, leaving behind either deaf-mute people or toddlers who were just learning to speak."
"What a vicious ghost!" Yun Tianjiao exclaimed in surprise. "What happened next? Did this ghost come out again to harm anyone?"
The old man shook his head. "No, so for the past hundred years, whenever someone has asked about the person on the island, everyone keeps quiet, and things have remained peaceful."
Yun Tianjiao said to Zhiwei, "No wonder everyone was so indifferent when we inquired during the day."
The old man said, "Yes, no one wants to say something that will cause trouble. If you two hadn't insisted on coming to the island, I wouldn't have told you about this."
The island in the middle of the lake is located in the southeast of Huaicheng. The two of them have been staying in the west of the city for the past few days. Yun Tianjiao thought that if they had come here earlier, they might have discovered the anomaly sooner and wouldn't have been delayed for several days.
With only two days left until the five-day deadline, and still not knowing the details of that demon, things are getting a bit tricky.
Seeing the two remain silent, the old man got up and rowed his boat, preparing to return home, but unexpectedly his wrist was grabbed by the handsome young man.
"Keep moving forward, let's go to the island." The handsome young man smiled.
The old man never expected that, even after things had been said to this extent, the two still wanted to go to the island!
"Heavens, Gods, I still want to live..."
"Zhiwei, don't scare him," Yun Tianjiao said reproachfully.
Zhiwei immediately released the old man's wrist, her face showing pure innocence.
Yun Tianjiao took out a gold ingot from his purse and gave it to the old man. "Old man, we are determined to go to this island in the middle of the lake. You can just drop us off on the shore and leave before dark. Nothing will happen."
The old man looked down at the gold ingot in his hand, his cloudy eyes filled with conflict. "Then I'll be leaving. What will become of you two?"
"Come pick us up from the island in the middle of the lake at dawn tomorrow. If you can't pick us up then, come back the day after tomorrow. If you still can't pick us up the day after tomorrow, then don't worry about it anymore."
Those rough, old hands, like tree bark, gripped the gold ingot tightly, revealing the owner's unease and hesitation.
Finally, the old man gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, then we'll do as you say!"
After all, he was all alone and had only one life left. Today, he was going to take a gamble, and maybe he wouldn't have to ferry people across the wind and rain anymore!
So the old man adjusted the boat and rowed, carrying the two of them to the small island in the middle of the lake.
The closer you get to the island, the more abundant the lotus flowers become, almost completely surrounding the island.
Yun Tianjiao said, "This place must have been a scenic wonder in the past."
The old man chimed in, "Who says otherwise? I've heard that back in the day, wealthy gentlemen and dignitaries from the Jiangnan region would flock here to enjoy the scenery. They would row boats, admire the lotus blossoms, and listen to operas all night long—it was quite a lively affair! Alas, what a pity!"
As the small boat reached the island, the sun was setting in the west, just about to disappear into the water. The old man looked nervous, glancing at the sunset as if worried it might disappear into the distance in a moment of inattention. As for the island, he dared not even glance at it.
Yun Tianjiao and Zhiwei went ashore and turned to the old man, saying, "Let's go back. Don't forget our promise."
"Take care, you two!"
The old man pushed the oar forcefully against the shore, and the boat and the man quickly disappeared into the lotus flowers.
"I hope this old man is alright," Yun Tianjiao thought with some unease.
"Since he hasn't harmed anyone in the past hundred years, he probably won't make things difficult for an old man like him. After all, it's not him who's disturbing our peace, but us."
Yun Tianjiao nodded, "That makes sense."
Zhiwei, standing to the side, observed her with a half-smile, then suddenly asked, "Isn't Your Highness afraid?"
"I'm scared." Yun Tianjiao shaded his eyes with his hand to block the glaring sunlight caused by the excessive westward slant of the sun, and looked around to check the activity on the island.
Overgrown with weeds and littered with rotten wood and dead branches, a once magnificent but dilapidated building occupied almost half of the island, but now only ruins remain.
"What's the use of being afraid? Since we've decided to come, let's see what kind of person they are."
Zhiwei stared intently at the person before her. The exquisite young girl, bathed in golden light, stood on the slope, stroking her sword and gazing into the distance. She exuded an aura of unyielding strength, completely different from the pampered princess in the deep palace.
"Strange, why is there still no response from the incantation?" Yun Tianjiao muttered to himself.
Even after arriving at the Ghost Nest Demon Cave, it still obediently hung on her waist.
"She's probably still half asleep," Zhiwei said calmly, withdrawing her gaze.
Yun Tianjiao didn't understand at first, but when he turned around and saw Zhiwei looking towards the west, he followed his gaze.
The setting sun was slowly sinking into the water, gradually becoming a sunset.
After sunset, it gets dark.
Almost in the blink of an eye, the golden-blue sky darkened, the wind became cold and desolate, the sound of the water was mournful, and the barren vegetation on the island lost its daytime color.
After the last rays of sunlight faded, all that remained was a blurry outline in the darkness, with scattered shadows creating a ghostly illusion.
Yun Tianjiao suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine, followed by a chill down his spine. Then the mantra at his waist began to vibrate violently, emitting a faint ringing sound.
She quickly gripped the knife handle and looked back at Zhiwei, "Is she awake?"
Zhiwei straightened his expression and looked towards the water.
"Your Highness, please be careful."
At some point, the lotus flowers that Zhiwei had conjured on the water's surface began to multiply wildly, and their colors became increasingly vibrant and intense.
Vast expanses of lotus leaves unfurled freely, and lotus blossoms in full bloom brazenly exposed their large stamens to the air, swaying with an elegant charm. Segments of white lotus roots emerged from the water, emitting soft, melodious sounds.
Yun Tianjiao broke out in a cold sweat and involuntarily took a step back, bumping into Zhiwei's arms.
Those weren't lotus roots at all; they were clearly naked human arms and legs!
Red lanterns rise on the island, and melodious music echoes through the air.
Naked men and women crawled ashore from beneath the lotus blossoms, their figures alluring and delicate. Like water spirits, they swayed their hips, their skin smooth and white, their long black hair dripping with water droplets. Their eyes, filled with lust, gazed at Yun Tianjiao, their lips licking, as if they were starving.
Come on, let's have some fun!
"My lord, my wife, come with us..."
"Oh, don't be shy, let's do fun things together..."
The dozen or so demon spirits closest to Yun Tianjiao reached out, seemingly wanting to drag her down. Among them were many in male form, shamelessly exposing themselves.
"roll!"
Yun Tianjiao heard Zhiwei's low, suppressed voice of anger.
Without warning, the countless naked arms that were reaching out to entangle her spontaneously combusted in an instant, eliciting screams of agony.
In the blink of an eye, it turned to ashes.
"Anyone who touches her will die." Zhiwei's eyes were cold and sharp as she warned the demons.
The demons who hadn't yet stepped forward seemed to understand, and were too timid to approach the two. However, they seemed to be of low intelligence and had extremely poor memory, and soon forgot about their tragically killed companions, and groped their way closer.
By this time, a large number of demons had already climbed ashore from both sides, gradually surrounding the two like a tide.
"Zhiwei, you take charge of the back, and I'll take charge of the front."
Yun Tianjiao drew his True Word and slashed horizontally. With a crackling sound, limbs fell to the ground, but no blood flowed; new limbs grew back in an instant. Yun Tianjiao continued slashing, one after another, until he finally forced the demons to stop advancing.
Since they couldn't recruit Zhiwei and Yuntianjiao, they simply indulged in their own pleasure with their nearest companions, writhing and entwining like serpents, their moans rising in waves, their faces flushed and their sweat pouring down.
The bright red lanterns hung in mid-air, swaying with the rhythm of the undulating spirits.
Pairs of mesmerized eyes looked over, filled with a seductive and alluring intent to win.
Yun Tianjiao turned his head away, unable to bear it any longer. The thought of Zhiwei right behind him made his cheeks burn.
"Your Highness, don't look."
Zhiwei's voice trembled in a way that was hard to describe.
"There are too many, easily over a thousand. We can't possibly kill them one by one..."
As Yun Tianjiao was speaking, she suddenly felt a bright light around her, and a wave of heat rushed towards her. She was stunned for a moment, and when she looked up again, she saw that the surroundings were already a sea of flames.
Meanwhile, the demons screamed in agony in the fire as they continued their sexual intercourse, as if possessed.
Yun Tianjiao then noticed something amiss. Throughout her slaying of the demon, Zhiwei seemed to have remained completely still, like a puppet with its strings cut, lost in meditation.
"Knowing the subtle? Knowing the subtle?"
Zhiwei's hands were engulfed in flames, which almost covered her entire arms, but her face was completely bloodless. In the firelight, she looked as pale as paper, no different from the skin color of those demons.
His eyes were dark and deep, like an abyss, with only a single point in the center of his pupils glowing with a fiery red light.
Yun Tianjiao was terrified and tentatively reached out to tug at Zhiwei's sleeve.
Zhiwei then snapped out of her daze, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, extinguished the flames in her hands, and when she opened her eyes again, she had returned to her usual gentle and mild demeanor.
"Your Highness, were you frightened?"
At this moment, the fire gradually died down. What was burned to ashes were not only those demons, but also the lotus flowers that Zhiwei had conjured with divine power for Yun Tianjiao at dusk.
The beautiful lotus pond is gone, replaced by scorched earth that emits a foul odor, mixed with mud and filth, a truly unsightly sight.
"What are those things? Lotus spirits?" Yun Tianjiao felt a chill run down his spine.
Such a spectacle is truly unprecedented.
Zhiwei paused for a moment in a strange silence before slowly saying, "No, those things are lustful ghosts."
A lustful ghost?
On the day the two of them traveled to the ghost realm together, Zhiwei explained to her that a lustful ghost is a ghost that has become a ghost through lust and died from sexual acts. It is the lowest and most lowly existence in the ghost realm.
"So this is what a lustful ghost is..." Yun Tianjiao couldn't help but sigh, feeling that his eyes had been opened.
"Does Your Highness find it filthy and disgusting?" Zhiwei looked at Yun Tianjiao with a strange smile, as if she were laughing, or perhaps suppressing some kind of disgust.
What appeared before Yun Tianjiao's eyes were those lustful ghosts who were burned alive by raging fire, yet their lust was still insatiable. Unwilling to judge them with harsh words, he said, "They are also very pitiful people."
"Pitiful?" Zhiwei chuckled very softly. "Your Highness is truly... compassionate."
Yun Tianjiao inexplicably felt a chill, as if Zhiwei was watching her. However, when she turned around, she did not find anything unusual and assumed it was just her imagination.
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