Free Web NovelChapter 91: Chapter 79: Vicious Demon, Poisonous Heart
「A few days later.」
Hui Ming had been persuaded by Xu Lei and had come with him to the city where Qi Yang and the two Snake Demon healers resided.
After all, obtaining and refining a Demon Spirit’s Inner Core was greatly beneficial for increasing one’s Magical Power.
So, naturally, Hui Ming was willing to come.
He’d had the same motivation back when he and Zhi Jian had descended the mountain to hunt for Demons.
It was just that last time, they hadn’t found any Demon Spirits, and Zhi Jian had ended up falling head over heels in love instead.
This time, however, it was Xu Lei who had found the trail of a Demon Spirit.
If they succeeded in subjugating the Demon, then according to convention, the final spoils would certainly be split between them.
’That Seal Master is actually Qi Yang?’
Of course, when Hui Ming saw Qi Yang from a distance, his expression shifted slightly. "He’s the one who’s been sensing you all these years, Junior Brother?"
"Qi Yang? Is his name Qi Yang?"
Xu Lei feigned ignorance. "I don’t know either.
Back then, Master took me to a cave estate, and that’s when I fell into the trap.
What do you think, Senior Brother? Are you confident you can deal with this Qi Yang?"
"My Cultivation has also increased a lot over the years."
Hui Ming nodded. "I’m not afraid of him now, of course. It’s just..."
"Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I understand."
Xu Lei immediately chimed in. "It’s just that... in this waning Cultivation Era, Cultivation isn’t about casually fighting to the death.
Achieving enlightenment is what matters most!
It’s not that we can’t fight and kill!
If there’s a conflict of interest, then we definitely go for it.
But if there isn’t, we can’t just fight recklessly.
This Qi Yang’s Magical Power is probably not weak, and he wields Evil Techniques to boot!
So naturally, there’s no reason to ask you, Senior Brother, to help me ambush and kill him just to rid me of the trouble of this Black Seal.
We should stick to what we discussed: plan first, then act.
We’ll avoid fighting him if we can.
The main thing is to snatch those two Snake Demons for ourselves!"
"If Qi Yang is heavily injured and his Magical Power reserves are low, I can make a move for you and kill him."
Hui Ming nodded. "In short, the price of killing him cannot be too high.
Although it’s a bit embarrassing to say,
we are both Cultivators.
So I won’t say any more."
"It’s fine, Senior Brother, please don’t say that."
Xu Lei said, "Anyway, Qi Yang can’t sense me now!
Instead, I’m the one who can sense him. He’s in the shadows, and I’m exposed, but the advantage has ultimately shifted to me!
And this is all thanks to you, Senior Brother, for clearing my confusion and teaching me that Dharma Gate.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to reverse the sensing and track him!"
After their discussion, the two disguised themselves and moved through the city to get a handle on the current situation.
A few days prior, the Scholar husband of Sister She had yet to poison his wife.
Because Xu Lei had talked him out of it.
After all, Xu Lei had felt his own Magical Power was too weak at the time.
If he let Qi Yang succeed so easily, then Xu Lei would get nothing out of it.
So Xu Lei had offered a few words of persuasion to the Scholar.
Sure enough, the Scholar still had feelings for his wife and didn’t go through with the poisoning.
But seeing the Snake Demon sisters acting as they always did, it seemed they hadn’t noticed anything unusual about the Scholar.
Nor had they detected Qi Yang’s arrival and covetous gaze.
After all, while disguised and living among humans in the Mortal World, they didn’t dare to casually use their Magical Power to sense their surroundings.
Sometimes, if they used their Demonic Power just as a Cultivator happened to be passing by with a Magical Artifact like a Demon-Recognizing Compass, it could spell disaster.
And while it might be hard to pinpoint them in a crowd, using Demonic Power was always a risk.
Those whose disguises were too weak were either forced to flee back to the mountains or were captured by human Cultivators.
That’s why these two Snake Demons usually acted just like ordinary people, showing no signs of anything unusual.
But since they didn’t use their Demonic Power, they had no special abilities to rely on.
Thus, they didn’t notice anything strange about the Scholar’s behavior.
Xu Lei and Hui Ming were also being very careful.
After witnessing all this, they simply watched in silence, waiting to see what would happen.
They guessed that Qi Yang wouldn’t give up and was sure to make another move.
Sure enough, that very night, Qi Yang made his move.
He used his Magical Power to sneak into three other homes on the same street as the Scholar’s house.
From a distance, hidden by the night, Xu Lei and Hui Ming watched this unfold.
But neither of them intervened.
The next day arrived in a flash.
The elders in the three households Qi Yang had infiltrated the night before had all died suddenly overnight.
One was an old man of sixty, so his death wasn’t entirely unexpected.
However, in another household, a couple in their fifties had also dropped dead.
In the last household, a couple only in their forties had also died.
What’s more, their eighteen-year-old son had died as well, leaving behind his newly pregnant wife.
All three families holding funerals at once was a sudden affair, and it sent a shockwave through the entire street.
By noon, a rumor had begun to spread from an unknown source.
It claimed that the deceased from all three families had only run into trouble after visiting the clinic run by the Scholar and the Snake Demon sisters.
Many who visited the clinic, while their illnesses seemed to get better at first, would often end up with Qi deficiency, weakness, white hair, and wrinkled skin—clear signs of a shortened lifespan.
There must be a problem with the clinic’s treatments!
The couple in their forties from the third family were both dead.
And their son died at just eighteen!
Why did he die so young?
Initially, the three families were too deep in grief to consider anything suspicious about the deaths as they prepared for the funerals.
But as the rumors grew more vicious, the pregnant woman from the third household could no longer ignore them.
After all, she felt that the deaths of her father-in-law and husband were extremely suspicious.
So, she went to the other two families and voiced some of her doubts.
The other two families immediately echoed her concerns.
They called over many of their relatives, and soon a massive, clamoring crowd was blocking the clinic’s entrance, demanding an explanation.
From the window of a teahouse, Xu Lei and Hui Ming sipped their tea and watched everything unfold.
’They knew this had to be Qi Yang’s handiwork!’
’He was pinning the blame for these deaths on the two Snake Demons!’
’Trying to turn the husband against them!’
’To make the husband believe that Demons are truly harmful creatures!’
That afternoon, gazing at the crowd outside the clinic, the Snake Demon sisters’ faces were pale. They offered denials and explanations, their guilt evident.
After all, they had indeed been secretly absorbing the Essence Qi of the patients who came for treatment!
By their calculations, these people shouldn’t have died after having their Essence Qi drained.
It would only secretly shorten their lifespans by about ten years, which would normally manifest as symptoms like weakness, sensitivity to cold, and paleness.
And for a patient to feel weak for a while after treatment... no one would think it strange.
But they couldn’t be certain that draining their Essence Qi hadn’t triggered some kind of internal chain reaction that led to their sudden deaths.
The human body was, after all, a marvel of complexity.
Even modern medicine on Earth couldn’t claim to fully understand it.
"My dear neighbors, my elders, I understand the grief you must feel, having lost loved ones."
Just then, the Scholar rushed over. He shielded the Snake Demon sisters behind him and shouted, "But our clinic has always been about healing people and saving lives! We have never, ever harmed anyone!
Aside from some incurable diseases, under normal circumstances, it’s impossible that we would take a life!
If it really is the clinic’s fault, I promise I will take full responsibility!
After all, many of the deceased were my own relatives!!!
If people from the Government Office come to investigate, our clinic will cooperate fully..."
The chaos lasted the entire day.
Finally, with great difficulty, the Scholar managed to persuade the crowd to leave for the time being.
He was mentally and physically exhausted.
Afterward, he felt he couldn’t bear to stay in his own home.
He remembered what Qi Yang had said—that his wife and sister-in-law were Demons!
That they secretly drained the Essence Qi of the clinic’s patients!
Seeing their reactions to today’s events, he couldn’t help but find them deeply suspicious.
So he made an excuse to leave the house and wandered the streets, utterly lost and dejected.
"Infinite Celestial Venerable."
Just then, Qi Yang, disguised as a Daoist and wearing a Daoist Robe, appeared from the corner of a darkened alley. "Worthy layman, surely you believe this humble Daoist’s words now?"
The Scholar’s expression changed. His lips trembled as he walked into the corner to face Qi Yang.
"Your wife and sister-in-law are Demons, and Demons are inherently evil!"
Before the Scholar could speak, Qi Yang continued, "And Snake Demons at that!
Have you not heard the stories of people who raise snakes as pets, only to be swallowed by them?
They think after raising it for a dozen years, the snake will develop feelings for them, that it sees them as its master!
They mistake the snake’s closeness for affection!
But they don’t realize the snake is actually sizing them up!
Once the snake is confident, it wraps itself around their throat.
It strangles them to death, then swallows them whole!"
The Scholar’s face went white.
"Do you think your wife and sister-in-law truly love you deeply?"
Qi Yang continued, "It’s because you have a special constitution!
That’s why Sister She pretended to marry you—to first absorb your Yang Qi and refine your Yang Essence!
When the time is right, she’ll devour you completely!
And those people who died before.
They secretly drain Essence Qi, shortening so many lives... can you imagine the weight of such sins?
You let them into your family’s ancestral clinic! It’s all because of you!
Now that they’re harming people, you’re a sinner too!
And your mother.
This humble Daoist did some asking around. Your mother passed away not long after your wife joined the family, didn’t she?
Although an elderly person will pass away when their time comes, this matter is very suspicious!
Demons often don’t see humans as people!
Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law have never gotten along, even since ancient times!
If she felt the slightest displeasure,
she could have secretly drained your mother’s Essence Qi.
Causing her to age rapidly and die!
Even the Government Office’s forensic doctor wouldn’t be able to find a single thing wrong!
You’ve been married for so long, why have you never had a child?
Haven’t you ever wondered?
Do you really think your wife loves you?"
After this torrent of words, the Scholar stood as if struck by lightning. The world spun around him as he began to question his entire life.
He trembled all over, seized by a wave of retroactive fear, completely at a loss.
"What should I do? Daoist Master, you have to save me! Save me!"
The Scholar latched onto him like a drowning man grasping at a final straw. "What do I do? What am I supposed to do now?"
"The medicine I gave you last time, you didn’t throw it away, did you?"
Qi Yang said, "Use that medicine. Smear it on your body, and then... be intimate with her.
That is, when you are performing the act of husband and wife, while she is lost in passion, make her fall into the trap!
As long as your Demon wife is dealt with,
your Demon sister-in-law will be no trouble.
This humble Daoist will have a relatively simple time dealing with her.
This is the only way. If we use any other Dharma Gate, they’re too vigilant and will easily notice something is wrong!
If your Demon wife doesn’t secretly absorb your Essence Qi during intercourse,
or if she isn’t a Demon, this substance will not harm her!
Last time, I told you plainly she was a Demon. Why did you hesitate for so long? Why didn’t you act?
Now you’ve caused so many more people to die!
Among them were your own relatives!
Besides those who died, who knows how many others have had their Essence Qi drained and their lives shortened!
You... you... your sins are great!"
Half an hour later, Qi Yang and the Scholar had gone their separate ways.
A cold smirk played on Qi Yang’s lips.
The Scholar gritted his teeth and strode toward home.
Meanwhile, Xu Lei and Hui Ming were like two ordinary passersby, squatting at a roadside stall not far away, their backs turned as they pretended to browse the wares.
