Chapter 127: “The more people, the more fun”
At an inn outside the Xie family residence, Yu Le sat by the window, gazing at the distant, high-walled eaves of the mansion.
Senior Brother must be feeling very uncomfortable now. The demon-trapping formation that Xie Ji painstakingly set up would cause immense suffering for anyone with demonic energy inside them.
The longer one stayed there, the harder it became to control the demonic energy, which would be drawn out and exposed, leaving nowhere to hide.
In the original plot, Mo Cunzhi had stayed there too long, and his demonic energy was exposed, which caused Xie Ji to suspect his identity and sow the seeds of disaster.
Xie Ji, that man, was truly pitiful.
He was originally the second son of the Xie family’s main branch, with an older brother of extraordinary talent.
However, many years ago, that highly promising elder brother suddenly turned to the Demonic Path, killing their parents overnight and fleeing the Xie family to join the demonic sects.
That brother was now the very demonic cultivator occupying the Demon Palace and Demon City of Yeyuan.
Because of this, Xie Ji developed a deep hatred for all demonic cultivators, harboring an especially deep grudge against the brother he once revered.
The Xie family kept this matter hidden, erasing the elder brother’s name from the family genealogy.
Xie Ji, having lost both his parents and elder brother, grew up relying on his younger brother, Xie Xun. Unlike Xie Ji, who harbored a bitter hatred for demonic cultivators, Xie Xun was a gentle and kind-hearted person.
He met a female demonic cultivator who had fled the Demonic Path, and while nursing her back to health, he fell in love with her. To help her avoid pursuit, he hid her in his own courtyard.
So, this Xie Ji—his brother was a demonic cultivator, his younger brother fell in love with one, and even his best friend was a natural-born demon.
Yu Le thought to himself: With such deep ties to demonic cultivators, Xie Ji might as well cultivate the Demonic Path himself.
After watching the Xie family estate for a day, Yu Le finally saw the person he had been waiting for as night fell.
A carriage emerged from the small side gate of the Xie residence and headed straight out of the city.
A graceful woman jumped down from the carriage and turned to look back. A man’s pale fingers slightly lifted the curtain, and he too was gazing at her.
“Be careful out there on your own,” he said.
“Don’t worry, Axun. The night wind is cold, you should hurry back,” she replied.
“I’ll come to get you when things settle down.”
“Alright, I’ll be waiting for you.”
The two lingered, one standing by the carriage and the other inside, exchanging words for a while before the carriage finally turned around and left.
As the woman watched the carriage disappear, she was about to slip into the darkness when Yu Le, who had been following them the whole time, stepped out.
“Hold on.”
The woman was startled and backed away, her first reaction was to cover her face and draw a weapon.
“Who are you?”
Yu Le had already realized that these two, who in the original plot had been forced to commit s**cide by Xie Ji, were the same man and woman who had tried to “rescue” him in the black market earlier.
So, they had already met before.
“Qi Ling, disciple of the Blood Sea Demon Lord Xue Chou, right?”
Upon hearing this, the wariness in Qi Ling’s eyes immediately turned to murderous intent, and the demonic energy around her was no longer hidden. “Are you from the Demonic Path, sent by Xue Chou to kill me?”
With his hands behind his back, Yu Le smiled. “Don’t you know? Xue Chou is already dead. I killed him.”
Qi Ling froze, staring at him in disbelief.
“So, you should thank me. Otherwise, you’d still be hiding, living in constant fear,” Yu Le said as he slowly approached.
“Y-you, is what you said true? Did you really kill the Blood Sea Demon Lord? Who… who exactly are you?”
Two figures suddenly appeared behind Yu Le. One was a woman in a soft yellow dress, as graceful as a lotus flower—Xiao Niang. The other was a man with a carefree demeanor—Su Yugou.
“Qi Ling, you don’t need to know our lord’s identity,” Xiao Niang said with a smile. “All you need to know is that our lord can help you.”
Qi Ling was not so naive. She recognized Xiao Niang and Su Yugou’s identities, and after taking another look at the young man in front of her, she understood that no matter what he wanted, she likely had no power to refuse.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked.
“I told you, I’m here to help you,” Yu Le replied. “Xie Xun…”
He deliberately paused, and as expected, he saw the flash of anxiety on Qi Ling’s face.
Chuckling softly, Yu Le continued, “Xie Xun’s brother, Xie Ji, despises demonic cultivators to the extreme. As long as he’s around, you and your lover will never be able to be together.”
“He’s set up a demon-trapping formation, trying to force you out so he can kill you. And when that didn’t work, he called upon the first disciple of the Wuyue Immortal Sect. He’s such a nuisance. How about I kill him for you?”
Qi Ling hadn’t expected this at all, and she didn’t believe for a second that this young man would really kill Xie Ji for her.
She was more convinced that Yu Le had a grudge against Xie Ji and wanted to use her to lure him out.
“Axun respects Xie Ji. He wouldn’t want to see his brother die,” Qi Ling said after some hesitation.
Yu Le looked at her in surprise. “Are you really a demonic cultivator?”
Qi Ling responded, “Becoming a demonic cultivator wasn’t my choice.”
If it hadn’t been for her circumstances, she wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to escape and break free from the Blood Sea Demon Lord’s control.
Yu Le saw something in her that reminded him of his senior brother, which soured his mood, but his smile only grew sweeter and gentler.
“You don’t want to kill him, but he wants to kill you. How long do you think your lover can keep going out of his way to protect you?”
“You’re afraid that killing Xie Ji with your own hands will make Xie Xun hate you. That’s fine, you won’t need to do anything.”
“All you need to do is ‘accidentally’ leave a clue, make Xie Ji chase after you, and let him die at the hands of other demonic cultivators. What does his death have to do with you?”
“Do you really want Xie Ji to live well, to continue tightly controlling his younger brother, dictating every aspect of Xie Xun’s life, not allowing him to do anything out of line… until he dies?”
Qi Ling lowered her eyes, trying to hide the turmoil in her heart.
She could remain in the shadows forever, but Yu Le’s words struck a chord with her hidden discontent.
She had witnessed firsthand how Xie Ji controlled every part of his younger brother’s life, never tolerating any defiance.
Axun had merely said that perhaps not all demonic cultivators were evil, and it had sent Xie Ji into a furious rage, ordering him into seclusion for reflection.
Her Axun, already grown, was not allowed to leave the house. The last time they secretly slipped away during the Sword Tournament, he had been so happy.
His life was destined to be short, yet even his desire to see more of the world couldn’t be fulfilled.
But Xie Ji, that obsessive brother, under the guise of love, did to Axun the same things that the Blood Sea Demon had done to control her.
“You’ve broken free from control. Don’t you want to help Xie Xun? You love him, yet you aren’t willing to bear a little pain and sin for him?”
The boy’s voice was filled with temptation. Qi Ling finally lifted her head. “…Fine, I’ll cooperate with you.”
After Qi Ling left, Su Yugou, who hadn’t spoken until now, noticed Yu Le’s growing smile and asked, “Is the lord in a good mood?”
“Hahaha!” Yu Le suddenly burst into laughter. “I was just thinking, convincing people to follow their hearts is truly satisfying.”
*
Mo Cunzhi sat on his mat, meditating and cultivating.
The room Xie Ji had arranged for him was the finest, with every piece of furniture exquisitely crafted, and the bed was luxurious and comfortable.
In the past, Mo Cunzhi hadn’t cared about such things, but this time, upon seeing the furnishings and the bed, his first thought was: Little junior brother might like this.
However, he quickly dismissed the thought, quieting his mind, closing his eyes, and choosing a meditation mat, never touching the soft bedding.
He could often hear inexplicable sounds, as if they came from within him, buzzing incessantly. A wave of agitation surged from deep inside, and the long-buried desire for bloodshed rose from his heart.
He opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the runes of the demon-trapping array placed in the four corners of the room, then closed them again, unable to resist touching the soul-crushing whip in his storage pouch.
As the head of the Punishment Hall, the soul-crushing whip used for punishments was displayed at the front of the hall. That whip left excruciating pain, but the soul-crushing whip that he carried with him was even more terrifying.
This whip had originally been used by his master to punish him. After he had reached adulthood and nearly achieved everything his master required of him, the whip was bestowed upon him as a reminder to reflect on himself at all times.
In his role as the head of the Punishment Hall, responsible for punishing others, he also had to punish himself.
The murderous intent, the malice in his heart, he had suppressed them many times with this whip.
As he touched the whip, Mo Cunzhi recalled how it had once been held in his junior brother’s hands.
Now, his junior brother often faced him… it wasn’t appropriate to casually leave scars on his own body. Thinking of this, Mo Cunzhi endured and withdrew his hand once more.
*
Xie Xun returned to the courtyard to find Xie Ji sitting there with a grim expression, waiting for him.
“Brother.”
“Where have you been?”
“I was just wandering around aimlessly. I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.”
“You sent the carriage out of the residence. Didn’t I tell you that your health is too poor for cultivation and that you shouldn’t leave? Now, you won’t even listen to me!”
Xie Xun didn’t argue, merely lowered his head and said, “It was my mistake. It won’t happen again.”
Xie Ji suppressed his anger. “When you saw Brother Mo today, why did you avoid him?”
Xie Xun tensed up, coughing as the wind caught in his throat. He forced himself to reply, “You misunderstood, brother. I’ve never met a sword cultivator with such a commanding presence before. I was a bit intimidated by Senior Mo.”
“…It better be so,” Xie Ji said, giving him a deep look. “Tomorrow, I’ll ask Brother Mo to search the courtyard for demonic cultivators. Although we have demon-trapping arrays set up throughout the estate, it’s unlikely any demonic cultivators would be hiding here, but just in case, everyone in your courtyard must be inspected.”
Hearing this, Xie Xun felt a surge of relief. Fortunately, he had already sent Qi Ling away.
Even if his brother grew suspicious or blamed him, as long as Qi Ling stayed hidden, she would be safe.
“Yes, I’ll follow your lead, brother.”
After saying this, Xie Ji didn’t leave right away. He suddenly asked, “Where is that maidservant who usually follows you around?”
Cold sweat instantly surfaced on Xie Xun’s palms, but he calmly responded, “A couple of days ago, she mentioned she wanted to visit her family, so I made the decision to let her go.”
Xie Ji let out a cold laugh but said nothing more, flicking his sleeve as he left.
Upon returning to his own courtyard, Xie Ji instructed his men, “Investigate the maidservant who suddenly disappeared from Xiao Xun’s side! Find her and bring her to me!”
If it hadn’t been for Brother Mo’s comment today about something being off with Xiao Xun, he wouldn’t have suspected that there might be an issue with someone right under his nose.
Very well, excellent. Once he figured this out…
Xie Ji suspected that a cunning demonic cultivator had infiltrated his younger brother’s side and bewitched him. He immediately sent people to investigate.
It hadn’t occurred to him before, but now that he had set out to investigate, it didn’t take long for something to come to light.
That “maidservant” was likely a demonic cultivator.
She had appeared a few months ago, always inseparable from Xiao Xun, and even the demon-trapping array in Xiao Xun’s courtyard had been secretly sabotaged.
Just as Xie Ji’s anger was about to explode, he received a report from the men stationed at the side gate: the maidservant had secretly returned, attempting to meet with Xiao Xun.
“She dares show herself again, does she? Excellent!”
Xie Ji, accompanied by two subordinates, rushed to the side gate and saw a cloaked woman waiting there.
The moment she saw him, the woman immediately turned to flee.
Such a reaction was as good as a confession. Xie Ji realized what it meant, and fury surged within him as he gave chase.
He quickly noticed that the demonic cultivator’s skill level wasn’t high. Watching her flee in a panic into a barren forest, he immediately followed.
“Damn demonic cultivator!”
Suddenly, the slender figure came to a halt, and from behind her, another man appeared, fanning himself leisurely.
Xie Ji sensed something was off. “You lured me here on purpose?”
With a wave of his hand, he signaled one of his subordinates to go back and fetch Mo Cunzhi for help.
Qi Ling didn’t speak, quietly stepping aside.
Su Yugou stepped forward, ignoring the subordinate who was fleeing to seek help, and raised his hand toward Xie Ji.
Xie Ji snorted coldly and drew his sword to face his opponent.
Outside the barren forest, Yu Le sat on a tree branch, bored, picking at the bark. “Just knock them out and toss them aside.”
Xiao Niang responded with a laugh and knocked out the servant who had run out to seek help, tossing him to the side.
Her lord was peculiar in how he did things. He never killed anyone himself, but every time she saw him torment those demonic cultivators whose demon cores he had taken, leaving them in a state worse than death, she found it hard to associate him with anything resembling kindness.
“Hurry! Cough, cough, hurry up!”
Two people rushed toward the forest—Xie Xun and a middle-aged steward with a pained expression.
“Young Master Axun, perhaps it’s best if we head back. If Young Master Ji sees that you came, he will certainly be furious.”
“No! I can’t let my brother kill her!” Xie Xun, coughing incessantly, urged the steward to quicken his pace.
Xiao Niang, standing beside Yu Le, asked, “My Lord, Su Yugou hasn’t finished dealing with Xie Ji yet. Should we stop those two?”
Yu Le smiled. “Why stop them? The more people, the more fun.”
