bookpub Chapter 94 Demonic Nature
Chapter 94 Demonic Nature
Chapter 94 Demonic Nature
Early morning, Medicine Man Town.
Inside the counter, two figures, one tall and one short, were diligently preparing medicine.
One is teaching, and the other is learning.
Both were dressed in plain white dresses, with long, black hair flowing freely, and both were taciturn.
Large, cool, and beautiful.
The little one had ugly scars on his face.
From the courtyard behind, the sounds of martial arts practice could be heard.
"Master, it's done."
A moment later, the younger one had already prepared the medicinal herbs.
After a thorough inspection, I found no errors.
All twenty-four kinds of medicinal materials were ground into powder, and seventeen kinds of medicinal materials were crushed into juice. They were stored in different jars without any instructions.
The jar was covered; you couldn't look at it or touch it.
Based solely on their scents, three kinds of medicine were prepared.
The little girl finished matching the entire piece in less than a quarter of an hour, without making a single mistake.
Even the amount of those medicinal powders and liquids was exactly the same, not a fraction more or less, it was practically perfect.
Bai Tang, the owner of Ziwei Pharmacy who was always calm and never praised anyone, finally said in a low voice, "You are a genius."
Ayao revealed a reserved smile.
Bai Tang collected the medicinal herbs and gave her a book, telling her to learn to read.
As Ayao was about to leave with the book in her hand, she suddenly sensed something, abruptly raised her head, and looked outside.
Outside, a tall figure dressed in a black robe appeared in her line of sight.
"elder brother!"
These two words almost came out of my mouth.
However, she held back.
She longed to run away.
However, she endured it.
She knew that living here meant she couldn't get too close to anyone.
She put down her book and walked out of the counter.
Bai Tang, who was sorting out medicinal herbs, seemed to sense her suppressed emotional fluctuations and looked up at the door.
Luo Qingchen walked in through the door.
Ayao went to greet her, calling out with a reserved yet joyful tone, "Master."
Luo Qingchen glanced at her, her expression indifferent, and ignored her. Instead, she cupped her hands in greeting to the woman behind the counter and said:
Senior Sister Bai, I've come to collect the blood.
Bai Tang ignored him, looked away, and continued to organize the medicinal herbs.
"Let's go to your room."
Luo Qingchen then looked at the little girl in front of him, who was looking up at him with bright, sparkling eyes.
Then, he took out the dagger and blood bowl that he had prepared beforehand.
"Um!"
Ayao nodded quickly, a happy smile on her face, and led him to the back.
The two of them, one after the other, arrived at a small room.
As soon as she entered the room, A Yao closed the door, then hugged him tightly, crying tears of joy, "Brother! A Yao missed you so much!"
Luo Qingchen's body stiffened slightly, but her tone remained cold and harsh: "Go sit down, I need to have my blood drawn."
Ayao hugged him tightly again, then let go, walked to the small bed next to him, sat down obediently, wiped away her tears, reached out and pulled up his wide sleeve, and said with a smile, "Brother, I've been waiting for you for so long. You can take more; my body has recovered."
Then he started talking about his life here.
"Brother, Master is very good to me. He taught me to read, and he taught me how to prepare and refine medicines—"
"My senior brothers and sisters are all very kind; they enjoy cultivation—"
Luo Qingchen came up to her and saw the scratches on her wrists and neck, her ears were also broken, and there was a faint handprint on her face.
"Close your eyes."
He grabbed her slender wrist with one hand and held a dagger in the other.
Ah Yao looked at him with her bright eyes and said, "Brother, I'm not afraid. I want to look at you a little longer."
"Shut up!"
Luo Qingchen emphasized her words, her expression turning stern.
"oh----"
Ayao didn't dare to speak again and obediently closed her eyes.
Luo Qingchen stared at her trembling eyelashes and the scars on her face for a moment, then stretched out her dagger and slashed open the skin on her wrist.
Ayao's body trembled slightly.
Luo Qingchen picked up the large bowl and placed it under her wrist, pressing two fingers on her acupoints.
Fresh blood began to flow and fall into the bowl.
"Brother, I'm very happy here. I have steamed buns to eat, a house to sleep in, I can learn to read, and I can even learn about medicine—"
"Although my master doesn't talk much, she teaches me everything—"
She even praised me as a genius.
With her eyes closed, Ayao continued to chatter happily.
Luo Qingchen said, "Alright, you can open your eyes now."
"what?"
As A Yao was getting into the conversation, he paused for a moment upon hearing this, opened his eyes, and looked at the large bowl.
There was only a very small amount of blood in the bowl.
"Brother, you—"
Luo Qingchen seemed to have swallowed something, with crimson blood at the corner of her mouth. She looked at her coldly and said, "I squeezed out a big bowlful, and I've already drunk it."
Ayao stared at him blankly.
Luo Qingchen put away the bowl and dagger, took out the medicinal powder, sprinkled it on her wound, bandaged it, and said, "Alright, you can go now."
He left the room first.
Ayao silently followed behind him and they arrived at the counter in front together.
"Senior Sister Bai, farewell."
Luo Qingchen cupped her hands in greeting to the woman behind the counter, preparing to leave.
Bai Tang looked up and glanced at the bloodstains at the corner of his mouth.
Ah Yao hurriedly said, "Master, when will you come again?"
Luo Qingchen didn't answer or even look at her. She walked out of the shop indifferently and strode away.
Ayao chased after him out the door, stood outside, and stared blankly at his back as he walked away quickly, disappearing around the corner of the street ahead.
"elder brother----"
She stood outside the door for a long, long time before returning to the shop, looking utterly dejected.
Bai Tang put away the medicinal herbs, took out a pharmacopoeia, flipped through it for a while, then looked up at her and asked:
7y
How much did he take?
Ayao wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, raised her head, and smiled: "A bowl, a big bowl."
Bai Tang glanced at her rosy cheeks, then said calmly without asking any further questions, "Go and learn to read."
"Um.
"Ayao went over and took the book, stood in front of the low counter next to it, and opened the book."
However, she has no interest in learning to read now.
She was still thinking about how her brother had taken and drunk her blood in the room just now.
She did have her eyes closed and was indeed speaking excitedly.
But she wasn't stupid, nor was she deaf.
It was such a short time, and there was no sound of drinking anything.
Also, every time her senior brothers and sisters had their blood drawn, they would turn pale and become unsteady on their feet, but she felt nothing at all now.
My brother didn't actually take a large bowl of blood.
There wasn't even a small bowl, or half a small bowl.
There was only a tiny bit, not even enough to cover the bottom of the bowl.
Her brother was lying to her.
Her brother was lying to her.
"Pat, pat—"
Before she knew it, the books in front of her were soaked with tears.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
Her vision blurred.
She quickly raised her hand to wipe away the tears that wouldn't stop flowing from her eyes.
She knew it—
She knew that her brother cared about her and was concerned about her.
The brother couldn't bear to take her blood.
"Human blood is practically useless now, unless it's the blood of a highly skilled cultivator, in which case it might still be of some use—"
Walking on the streets of Medicine Man Town, Luo Qingchen thought to herself.
However, he still needed to come to Medicine Man Town frequently to collect blood in order to cover his tracks.
Next.
He went to the pawnshop and, amidst the smiling greetings of the red-haired man, redeemed his soul contract.
Then, he only had 123 taels of silver left.
:
Before going up, he bought two more skewers of candied hawthorns and arrived at Zhao Shi's stall.
Zhao Shi was sitting on the ground, shouting orders.
Many of the sweet potatoes on the stall have already been sold.
"Ah Chen!"
Upon seeing him, Zhao Shi's face was filled with surprise and disbelief.
Then, realizing what was happening, he timidly changed his form of address: "Lord Luo—Lord Luo."
Luo Qingchen handed him a string of candied hawthorns, sat down on the muddy ground beside him, and asked, "How's business?"
Holding the candied hawthorn, Zhao Shi seemed somewhat flattered and said, "It's alright, we have enough to eat."
Then, looking at him, she asked, "And you? What does it look like up there?"
Luo Qingchen looked at the street ahead, biting into a candied hawthorn in her hand, and said, "It's pretty much the same as here, nothing different."
"Is there no difference?"
Zhao Shi felt strange. He wanted to ask more questions, but then he remembered that this was the Demon Sect, and there were many things that couldn't be said casually.
After a moment of silence, he said, "It seems A-Yun is no longer here."
Luo Qingchen ate her candied hawthorn without saying a word.
Zhao Shi sighed and said, "Actually, it's quite good. She's finally free."
Both of them fell silent.
Luo Qingchen finished the last candied hawthorn and, gazing at the homeless people on the street not far away, suddenly remembered someone. She turned and asked, "By the way, Brother Shi, what about that little mute? Is he still picking up trash?"
Zhao Shi was taken aback upon hearing this, then remembered who he was asking about, and said, "She's probably dead. I haven't seen her since you left. I heard that there have been several collapses in the mines over there, killing many people."
Hao Luo nodded in the early morning and said nothing more.
I sat for a while longer.
He threw away the bamboo skewer in his hand, stood up and said, "Brother Shi, I'm going up now."
Zhao Shi had already peeled a sweet potato and handed it to him with a smile: "Here, don't be offended."
Luo Qingchen took the sweet potato and left the stall.
Above, the sky hung low, as dark as night.
The black particles floating in the air have turned almost everything in the town black.
However, the sweet potato in my hand, after being peeled, was fairly clean inside.
"Snap—"
He took a bite, walked out of the town, and climbed the steps.
m
Back on the mountain.
He did not return to his cave immediately, but went to the library on the main peak first, spent one or two taels of silver to borrow books about magical beasts, monsters, and demons, and then returned to his cave to read them.
In the evening, he left the cave and went to the pharmacy on the main peak to buy some medicine.
These medicines cost him 10 taels of silver.
He regretted not asking about the prices of various medicines at the Ziwei Pharmacy when he was in Yaoren Town.
Maybe they have these medicines there, and they'll be cheaper.
Back in the cave, he crushed the medicine, mixed it together, cut some small paper bags, and put them inside.
I'll be going to the Demon Prison again tomorrow.
Hopefully these medicines will work.
The medicine is not poisonous, but it can make those demons unleash their demonic nature and go mad.
That's what it says in the book.
He slept well that night.
The next day.
He went out as soon as it was light.
Upon arriving at the entrance to the Demon Prison, they saw a blood-soaked, headless corpse being carried out by two people from the dark steps.
Judging from the blood on the body, the person had clearly died recently.
"Senior brothers, what happened down there?"
He asked the question.
The two men glanced at him, and one of them said nonchalantly, "What could possibly happen? Can't you see for yourself? He got his head bitten off by a monster."
Luo Qingchen stood on the steps, watching the two men carry the corpse away quickly.
"His head was bitten off by a monster?"
Judging from his previous visits to those cells, as long as he doesn't get close to those magical beasts, such a thing shouldn't happen.
As for being bewitched by a demon or engaging in other careless behavior, that's unlikely.
Which disciple of the Demonic Sect isn't extremely cautious?
Unless, some magical beast breaks free of its chains.
However, those chains all looked very sturdy, and there was more than one chain binding the monster.
I'm afraid something else might have happened.
When he left that day, his senior brother Yao said, "It's safe today because no one has come to collect their things these past few days."
It seems that this is very likely the reason.
He walked down the steps while pondering.
No matter what happens, as long as it doesn't delay his blood collection today, that's fine.
Soon, he passed through the stone house and arrived at the sturdy fence.
Yao Yu was sitting at the table, looking at a list on a piece of paper. His expression was very relaxed, and he seemed unaffected by the disciple whose head had just been bitten off.
"Senior Brother Yao."
He stepped forward and greeted them.
Yao Yu looked up, stared at him for a few moments, and smiled. "Junior Brother Luo, you should have made up your mind, right? Will you give me the money, or sign an IOU?"
Luo Qingchen sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Senior Brother Yao, I have no money and I don't want to be in debt anymore. I already owe too much."
Yao Yu's smile gradually faded. She stared at him for a while, then sneered, "Junior Brother Luo, it's a pity you arrived too late. You didn't see how Junior Brother Zhao died. He didn't do anything. He just opened the iron gate, and before he could even go inside, a tail wrapped around him, and then his head was bitten off."
Luo Qingchen asked, "Wasn't that magical beast chained up?"
Yao Yu had a half-smile on her face: "Of course he's chained up, and he's chained up with four chains."
Luo Qingchen remained silent, waiting for his explanation.
Yao Yu laughed and said, "Junior Brother Luo asked me before what use these demonic beasts are for us? I'll tell you today. We can use many things from them. Of course, not just ordinary disciples like us. The scales, flesh, blood, a hand, a foot, or a head of the demonic beasts, even their fur, demonic souls, etc., are all very useful."
"Junior Brother Luo, try to imagine this: if one day someone cut off one of your fingers and ate it, would you feel anger and hatred?"
"Of course, those magical beasts are not just angry; they go berserk and unleash the demonic nature within them, making their strength and frenzy terrifying for a short period of time."
"They may have been afraid, subdued, and restrained before, because at that time they still retained some rationality."
But at this moment, all they possessed was rage and bloodlust; they even forgot who they were, their only desire being to tear apart everything alive they saw.
He paused here, looking at him with a smile.
He believed that saying all he needed to say was enough.
"So, someone came to collect their things today?"
Luo Qingchen asked.
Yao Yu laughed and said, "Not today, but yesterday. When we take the things off them, we need to make them unconscious."
And today, they are all gradually waking up.
Luo Qingchen paused for a moment, then said, "Senior Brother Yao, then I'll sign the IOU."
95
"Hehe, Junior Brother Luo is indeed a smart man."
"7
Yao Yu's smile grew even wider, and she immediately took out the IOU she had prepared beforehand from the drawer.
The IOU stated 1000 taels.
"It was 450 last time, but the price has gone up now. There's nothing I can do; everyone else is raising their prices, so I have to follow suit, otherwise I'll get scolded by the other senior students."
He said with a smile.
Luo Qingchen picked up the IOU and glanced at it. Suddenly, she said, "Senior Brother Yao, I can sign this IOU for 1000 taels of silver, but could you give me 1000 taels of silver first? I'll use it to tide me over and pay you back in a few days."
Yao Yu's smile froze instantly, and she sneered, "Junior Brother Luo, are you playing me?"
Luo Qingchen: "Of course I wouldn't dare, but my debts to my fellow senior brothers and sisters are about to expire. How about this, I'll sign this IOU for 1000 taels of silver right now, and then you can lend me another 1000 taels of silver, and I'll sign another IOU for that. Is that alright?"
Yao Yu's eyes gleamed as she stared at him for a few moments, then glanced at the IOU in his hand. She seemed to be thinking about it seriously for a while before refusing, "No, I won't give you any money except for this IOU."
This kid has so much debt. If he suddenly dies, who will he ask for the money from?
Luo Qingchen placed the IOU on the table and said, "Since that's the case, then I won't sign this IOU. I'm afraid I owe too much debt and really can't pay it back."
Are you sure?
Yao Yu narrowed her eyes.
Luo Qingchen said, "Confirmed."
Yao Yu snorted coldly, said nothing more, took the bunch of keys from before, tossed them to him, and said, "Go on, continue cleaning cell number five. Remember to clean it thoroughly, not a single hair can be left behind!"
Luo Qingchen took the keys and then turned and left.
"Hmph, you're asking for death!"
Before he had gone far, Yao Yu coldly cursed, then added, "What a poor bastard! He's drowning in debt, and he still dares to come to me for money! If you can still bounce around like last time, I'll change my surname to yours! Even if you don't die, you'll probably be missing an arm or a leg!"
Luo Qingchen quickly arrived at cell number five.
The medicine I bought last night for ten taels of silver looks like I won't need it today.
The monsters inside have gone berserk; they don't need any medicine at all.
Once we go in, we can just start sucking blood.
Let's suck that naked snake demon first, since she keeps saying she's itchy.
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