Something's wrong with this demon.

Chapter 2

the next morning.

After finishing some chores, Luo Qingchen went to inform Tian Feng that she was preparing to go down the mountain.

After finishing his medicinal bath, Tian Feng was cultivating. Upon hearing this, he simply said, "Go and come back soon. If you run away, you should know the consequences."

"This disciple understands."

Luo Qingchen respectfully withdrew.

Zhang Dashan escorted him out of the cave, gave him a dagger, and told him to be careful on the road.

"Take the main road when going down the mountain to avoid encountering wild animals."

"Once you arrive in town, speak as little as possible to others, and absolutely do not reveal your current location."

"You must be back before dark."

After thanking him, Luo Qingchen took the dagger and walked down the mountain.

This cave is located halfway up a mountain in the Demon-Controlling Mountains.

The road was rugged and the forest was lush; only birds could be seen, not a single person.

After all, this was the location of the Demonic Sect, a place that struck fear into the hearts of many. Even woodcutters dared not approach it easily, so naturally there would be no one else around.

Wild animals do exist, but most are frightened away and rarely appear during the day.

Even so, Luo Qingchen still dared not be careless.

He gripped a dagger and hurried down the mountain along a path overgrown with weeds, not daring to stop for even a moment.

At the same time, one must be observant in all directions and attentive to all sounds.

Thankfully, the journey was safe.

When he emerged from the woods and arrived at the foot of the mountain with a wide-open view, he looked up and immediately saw the blurry outline of the town in the distance.

Qingshui Town is not too far from here.

That's why the people from the Demon Exorcism Sect were the first to arrive when the incident happened that night.

Of course, it's also possible that those demons were deliberately lured by the Demon-Slaying Sect so that they could openly abduct the townspeople and use them as cultivation materials.

After a short rest, we continued our journey.

Around noon, he finally arrived in the town.

But that once familiar town has now become unrecognizable.

Everywhere you look, there are collapsed houses, broken rubble, scorched earth, and blackened bloodstains.

A deathly stillness permeated the air.

When the wind blows, black ash rises from the charred ruins, like a layer of gray mist drifting in the air, shrouding the entire town in a dim and gloomy light, as if it were another dark world.

The once bustling Wind Chime Street is now just ruins.

The colorful wind chimes that used to hang in front of shops, decorated in vibrant colors and making a crisp sound in the wind, are now all buried in the dust.

"elder brother……"

"Ah Chen..."

He stood there, and suddenly a picture flashed through his mind of playing and running on this street with his sister and friends when he was a child.

However, everything before my eyes makes those images seem distant and fragile.

Like a bubble, it bursts at the slightest touch.

"My son—"

Suddenly, a heart-wrenching wail came from the ruins not far away.

An elderly man is paying respects to his relatives.

Luo Qingchen woke up from her memories, bought paper money and offerings from a vendor not far away, and went to the other side of the ruins, where she knelt down in front of a small mound.

"Paper money—"

"Paper houses, paper horses, paper figures, we have everything!"

Today is the seventh day after the death of a resident of the town, so many stalls selling offerings have already been set up outside the town.

Many people came from nearby Qinghe City and other towns to pay tribute to their deceased relatives.

"Ah Chen!"

As Luo Qingchen was silently burning paper money with her head down, a familiar voice suddenly came from the side path.

Looking up, he saw five boys and girls, about his age, each carrying a basket, walking along the path.

The five people looked at him with different expressions.

The one who had just called out to him was a tall, thin boy wearing a blue shirt. When he saw him, the boy's face lit up with surprise and he was about to come over.

At this moment, the girl in the emerald green dress next to him grabbed the boy.

"Wang Ziliang, what are you doing? You dare to talk to someone like that? Aren't you afraid he'll chop you up with an axe too?"

The girl spoke sharply, her gaze towards Luo Qingchen filled with fear and unfamiliarity.

Another thin boy beside him whispered, "Ah Liang, that guy is ruthless. He chopped off his sister's head with an axe. Now that he's joined the Demonic Sect, I'm afraid..."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

The boy named Wang Ziliang immediately said, "You must have all misunderstood Chen. Chen would never do such a cruel thing! He loves Xiaoyu more than anyone else, how could he possibly cut off her head?"

Another young man, dressed in a scholar's robe, sneered, "Brother Tian saw it with his own eyes. He even saw this guy kneeling before a white-haired demon from the Demon Sect, crying and begging him to take him as a disciple. Hmph, this guy probably chopped Xiaoyu's head off with an axe to show off his ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness."

"Definitely!"

The girl in the emerald green dress glanced over again and whispered, "I heard that the Demonic Sect prefers to take ruthless people as disciples. This guy turned against his own family to get into the Demonic Sect, even beheading his own sister. He's become a demon. Let's go, stay away from him."

Another short, stocky boy said with hatred in his eyes, "Everyone says that the monsters that slaughtered our town were released by those demons from the Demon Extermination Sect. Those demons want our blood to cultivate..."

The two sides are not too far apart.

Luo Qingchen heard all these words, but her face remained expressionless.

After hesitating for a moment, the boy named Wang Ziliang broke free from the girl's hand and walked towards him.

"Ah Chen..."

The boy's voice trembled slightly, and he seemed to be feeling a little scared.

Luo Qingchen smiled and said, "A Liang, you're here too."

Wang Ziliang's rapidly beating heart calmed down a bit, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then he knelt down beside him, took out a stack of paper money from the basket, and put it into the fire.

As the paper money burned, he turned to his friend and asked, "Ah Chen, are you... are you alright?"

Luo Qingchen said, "It's fine. How about you?"

Wang Ziliang smiled and said, "I'm doing well too. I'm in Qinghe City now, helping my second uncle with his business. My second uncle and his family have been very good to me."

Luo Qingchen nodded and said, "That's good."

Then silence fell between them.

Crimson flames burned the paper money, and black ashes swirled in the wind.

Yesterday's memories seem to be gradually fading.

After hesitating for a long time, Wang Ziliang finally mustered up his courage and asked the question that had been lingering in his mind: "Achen, they all say that night... that night you killed Xiaoyu and cut off her head, is that true?"

Luo Qingchen stared at the burning flames before her, remaining silent.

Wang Ziliang forced a smile and said, "It must be fake. You're so good to Xiaoyu, she's your sister, how could you possibly kill her? Brother Tian must have seen it wrong."

Luo Qingchen was silent for a moment before speaking, "I did indeed cut off Xiaoyu's head."

Wang Ziliang's smile froze on his face, but he quickly said, "Achen, you must have had your reasons, right? I believe you wouldn't hurt Xiaoyu. You must have been forced into it, forced by those ruthless killers, right?"

Luo Qingchen's eyes reflected the leaping flames, her expression blank, and she did not answer.

Wang Ziliang stared intently at his expression for a long time, then, not daring to bring it up again, forced a smile and began talking about his other friends: "Wenzu went to work as an apprentice at a pharmacy, Acui got a job in a nobleman's household, and Anian got into the academy as she wished, preparing for the imperial examinations next year. The most impressive one is Brother Tian, ​​who's now practicing martial arts at a martial arts school..."

He smiled as he talked about the lives of each of his friends, and then about his life with his uncle, his tone brimming with anticipation for a bright future.

Then, he hesitated for a moment, looked at his friend and said, "Ah Chen, why don't you come to Qinghe City with me? I'll talk to my uncle and ask him to let you work there too, okay?"

Luo Qingchen remained silent and did not speak.

Wang Ziliang's face was full of worry as he whispered, "I've heard that the people of the Demonic Sect are ruthless and kill without hesitation. Brother Tian even said that if you go to the Demonic Sect, you might end up as a drug slave for those demons..."

Luo Qingchen did not hide anything and said calmly, "I am indeed their drug user now."

Wang Ziliang's face turned pale instantly, and he said in a trembling voice, "Achen, then you..."

"I'm fine."

Luo Qingchen's expression was calm as she looked at him and said, "A Liang, thank you for your concern, I'm really fine."

Wang Ziliang opened his mouth, wanting to continue persuading him to enter the city with him, but suddenly remembered what Brother Tian had said: once anyone enters the Demon Sect, it is very difficult to leave, unless they die there.

He lowered his head, not daring to persuade him any further, and thought to himself with pity: I'm afraid Ah Chen is already powerless to do anything, how could those demons let him leave so easily?

"Ah Liang, it's getting late, I should go back now, you should go back soon too."

Luo Qingchen got up and patted him on the shoulder.

Wang Ziliang rubbed his eyes, suppressing his sorrow, and prepared to say goodbye. Suddenly, something else occurred to him, and he hurriedly said, "By the way, Chen, do you remember Fei Xue? I ran into her in the city a couple of days ago. If she hadn't called out to me, I really wouldn't have recognized her. She's grown so tall now, and even more beautiful than when she was little. She's become a disciple of the Snow Jade Palace, surrounded by many people, like a fairy!"

"Not snow?"

Luo Qingchen was stunned when she heard this, and the image of that slender and petite figure immediately appeared in her mind.

Wang Ziliang exclaimed in surprise, "You haven't forgotten her, have you? Weren't you two engaged? My mother told me that Fei Xue and her mother were the ones who proposed to you. Your family even wrote a marriage certificate and exchanged engagement tokens. Xiao Yu was so happy back then, she bragged about it everywhere, and she would often call Fei Xue 'sister-in-law' in front of her and ask her to buy her candy."

Luo Qingchen was only briefly dazed before calming herself down and saying, "I remember she left the town five years ago, right?"

Wang Ziliang paused for a moment, then sighed and said, "Yes, it has indeed been five years."

He immediately understood what his friend meant.

Five years have passed. Everything can change, especially decisions made in childhood when one is young and naive.

The two had not seen each other for five years.

Now, one has become a disciple of Snow Jade Palace, one of the five major sects of the Feather Kingdom, shining brightly with a promising future; while the other has lost his family and become a drug user of the Demonic Sect, burdened with the infamy of murdering his sister.

One is a prestigious and righteous sect, the other is an evil and demonic sect.

What good is remembering the other person?

Good and evil have always been irreconcilable enemies; who knows, if the two meet one day, they might even turn on each other with swords drawn.

Wang Ziliang did not continue speaking.

When I met the girl a couple of days ago, she was aloof and seemed unwilling to talk about her childhood. She didn't even ask about other people in the town, including her "fiancé".

Clearly, she was no longer in the same world as them.

"I'm gone."

Luo Qingchen didn't linger. She patted him on the shoulder and left.

After he walked away, the other boys and girls came to Wang Ziliang's side and asked him questions out of curiosity.

"Ah Liang, what did you talk about with him?"

"Did he admit that he killed Xiaoyu? Hmph, he definitely wouldn't dare admit it."

"What does he do at the Demonic Sect? A menial laborer or a medicine manipulator?"

Wang Ziliang did not answer, his gaze following the lonely figure gradually disappearing into the distance beneath the grass and trees, thinking to himself: Ah Chen must have been forced, he must have... He just wanted to survive...

The sun was setting, and the town gradually became blurred.

Luo Qingchen turned around and took one last look at the town. Her younger sister's innocent and cheerful smiling face appeared in her mind again.

After a moment of confusion, he carefully took out a thick, folded white cloth from the side of his body.

The white cloth was slowly unwrapped, revealing a tattered little flag tightly wrapped inside.

The flag had faded, turning a dull, yellowish gray, and two small holes had appeared where the white skull was embroidered in the center. The slender flagpole had also cracked.

This is the most common magical artifact of the Demon Extermination Sect, the Ten Soul Banner.

And his sister's spirit is inside.