A single Cloud-Piercing Arrow.
Afterwards, the lakeshore returned to silence.
The demon wife called Liu Wanâer looked at the woman whose throat was being pierced by Zhexiu and sighed. "My lady, although you obstinately insisted on your own path and were injured because you underestimated the enemy, we canât just watch you die like this."
She turned to Chen Changsheng and the gentle smile reappeared on her face. She sincerely said, "Little friend, you see, what do you think about exchanging hostages?"
Along with her voice, that middle-aged demon man called Teng Xiaoming slowly turned around, bringing the basket that was behind him to the front.
Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu could clearly see the marks of tears still evident on that female cultivatorâs face.
Zhexiu was expressionless. It was his custom to never do anything meaningless on the battlefield, let alone throw himself into a dangerous position.
Regardless of the status of the woman that he currently had his fingernails dug into, as long as she was truly able to use the Peacock Plume, then she was qualified to serve as their protective charm.
As for that unconscious human girl who might have been the female disciple of that eastern hidden sect, what did she have to do with him?
Chen Changsheng was also not one to do meaningless things, but he had a difference in opinion. He believed that as long as this human girl would be able to live, this matter most definitely had meaning.
However, he also clearly understood that whether it was fighting or dealing with demons, Zhexiu by surpassed him in terms of experience. As a result, he maintained his silence as to not disturb Zhexiuâs decision.
"Once we exchange hostages, you two can just kill us." Zhexiu said to the demon couple.
Liu Wanâer said to him very seriously, "I will swear on the name of my ancestors that you must die within the Garden of Zhou. However, I can also vow that as long as you agree to this exchange, I can give you a one hour head start. If I break this vow, then may the heavens punish me and the earth extinguish me."
Zhexiuâs expression remained unchanging. "The promises of demons are equivalent to the promises of humans, all lies."
Liu Wanâer calmly replied, "How could I make you trust me?"
Zhexiu responded, "The first thing you could do to make us trust you is to tell us what sort of person this woman is, to be worth honoring your pledge for."
Liu Wanâer glanced at her husband, then said, "She is Lady Nanke......"
"I donât believe you." Zhexiu did not wait for her to finish the sentence. "If she really was Nanke, then even if Chen Changsheng and I had been even more prepared, we would still be lying dead in the lake."
The word he said were like so, and his heart was also certain of it, and yet he was puzzled. Previously when he had examined that womanâs hair, he had confirmed that there were no demon horns. For such a proud and powerful demon woman to face him and Chen Changsheng, underestimate them, and not even have demon horns, who else would it be other than the legendary Nanke?
Chen Changsheng did not know who Nanke was, but whenever that name was mentioned, the demon coupleâs faces grew very solemn and respectful, while Zhexiuâs breathing became somewhat ragged.
"Those human cultivators in the Garden of Zhou, it seems to me that it was you lot that poisoned them?"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Seeing Liu Wanâer with the pot in hand and Teng Xiaoming with the carrying pole on his shoulder, he suddenly thought of this matter.
Liu Wanâer did not respond directly to his questions. With a gentle and sincere gaze, she said, "From the time you all entered the Garden of Zhou, we knew your exact positions. The people we want to kill were also you. After we kill you, we will take our leave. If you want less people to die, then you might as well cooperate with us."
Cooperate? How should we cooperate? Cooperate by you killing us? Or was it suicide? This clearly preposterous matter, but when it was said so sincerely and seriously by her, it actually gained an indescribable type of persuasiveness. Chen Changsheng stared blankly at her and said, "For you to infiltrate the Garden of Zhou, how many people do you plan to kill? Just the two of us?"
Liu Wanâer gave off the feeling that she would say everything she knew, and that she would not stop until she had finished. She said, "The venerable Military Advisor said that you were the future of humanity, and so you must die. Besides the two of you, there are still other targets, but itâs inconvenient to inform you of them."
Chen Changsheng replied, "The Divine Stateâs Seven Laws sent two people......Liang Xiaoxiao and Qi Jian, these are definitely people you want to kill."
Liu Wanâer smiled. "Makes sense."
Chen Changsheng continued, "Although there are several other upper level Ethereal Opening seniors that have entered the Garden of Zhou, they are already too old. Their chances of breaking into the next realm arenât that great."
Liu Wanâer nodded. "Not bad, there is no way the venerable Military Advisor would care about such rotten and incapable seniors."
In the world of cultivation, no matter how one looked at it, the upper level of Ethereal Opening was already considered the realm of experts. Even if it took slightly longer to cultivate to that level, was it deserving of being called rotten and incapable? Chen Changsheng was somewhat at a loss for words as he said, "Since you are targeting younger people, then youâve definitely been carefully observing this yearâs Grand Examination examinees...... Zhuang Huanyu?"
Zhong Hui and Su Moyu had remained in the Mausoleum of Books, and he could only think of Zhuang Huanyuâs name.
"Who is Zhuang Huanyu?" Liu Wanâer knit her brow and turned to her husband.
Teng Xiaoming obediently replied, "Heavenly Dao Academy Mao Qiuyuâs student. Heâs rather good."
Liu Wanâer chuckled and shook her head, then turned back to Chen Changsheng, "I donât even remember his name, so how could the venerable Military Advisor remember it?"
Chen Changsheng continued, "To be remembered by the famous Black Robe......I donât know if I should be honored or scared."
Liu Wanâer smiled, then replied, "The venerable Military Advisor wanted to kill Luoluo, but then you came out of nowhere to destroy his plans. How could he forget you?"
Chen Changsheng remained silent.
"Letâs quickly exchange hostages then." Liu Wanâer said with a sincere expression. "With an hour to run away, youâll be able to live another hour at the very least. If, while chasing after the two of you, we happen to come upon those two children from Mount Li, perhaps you can live even longer."
"If......she really is Nanke."
Zhexiu glanced at the dying demon woman in his grasp and impassively continued, "Then regardless of who that girl in your carrying pole, what qualifications does she have to be exchanged with Nanke?"
Liu Wanâer replied, "You should be able to guess that this girl is a disciple of that secluded sect in the east. If weâre discussing groups, then sheâs in the same group as the Pope. Are you saying that she doesnât have the qualifications?"
Chen Changsheng said nothing, while Zhexiu indifferently said, "Iâm not a member of the Orthodoxy, so I donât have any relationship with the Pope. In exchanging hostages, I only care about fair or not fair."
Liu Wanâer sternly replied. "Fair? Thatâs reasonable......youâve destroyed all her clothes, so we canât give the clothes along with the girl."
As the words fell from her mouth, without her seemingly taking any action whatsoever, with only the sound of tearing, the undergarment of the unconscious split apart like butterflies and danced into the air.
In an instant, that girlâs body was devoid of clothing. Her fair and youthful body was revealed, looking just like a white lamb.
Her arms wrapped around her legs, curled up in a basket; this picture had a sort of indescribable attractiveness.
Chen Changsheng angled his body so that he could not see it directly.
Zhexiu had no reaction. He stared right at it, as if he had seen nothing at all.
They were both alike in the cool-headedness, not showing the slightest sign of panic.
Liu Wanâer continued to smile. Her expression remained gentle, but in her heart, she was somewhat surprised. After a moment, she slowly continued, "Only without clothes......itâs still not fair."
Chen Changsheng seemed to think of something and his expression changed. He was prepared to say words to stop her, but he was not fast enough.
An extremely beautiful blade glow appeared on the lake shore.
A scarlet spray of blood spilled out.
The pretty girlâs right hand had been severed at the wrist.
The severed hand plopped on to the ground.
Teng Xiaoming slowly crouched down and picked it up, then turned to Liu Wanâer and said, "For tonightâs dinner, should we steam it or fry it?"
This was the second sentence this demon general had said today.
He was talking about eating human flesh.
As he said these words, he maintained his straightforward and honest expression, as if he were discussing a very ordinary matter.
Liu Wanâer thought the matter over, then said, "Itâs better to boil it in plain water, it will be more fragrant."
She said this very calmly and casually, just like when she was speaking from the forest, as if describing how to cook pot-roast. This time she was describing how to cook a hand.
Chen Changshengâs face paled somewhat, and his body grew stiff.
Zhexiu remained calm. He knew from the rumors of the cruel deeds that this seemingly straightforward and plain demon general couple were famous for.
In addition, on the snowy plains, he had also eaten meat that was forbidden.
Liu Wanâer chuckled, "You see, isnât it fair now?"
Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu had cut off the demon womanâs hand.
Now, demon general couple had severed that human girlâs hand.
It seemed to be very fair.
In Chen Changshengâs eyes, this demon wifeâs amiable and sincere smile had suddenly become extremely frightening.
He looked at her in silence for a while, then said very earnestly, "Can you not eat human flesh?"
Liu Wanâer could only stare. She had thought of many ways in which these two human teenagers would respond to this scene. Perhaps they would put up a strong front and say they that were not afraid, or perhaps vomit in revulsion, or maybe coldly ignore it. However, she had never imagined that Chen Changsheng would so earnestly urge her to not eat human flesh.
She saw that Chen Changsheng was so earnest, so she also became more earnest than she had ever been.
In this world, there was some earnestness that was truly worthy of admiration.
She asked Chen Changsheng, "Do you eat meat?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "Yes."
She asked, "What crimes did chickens and ducks commit?"
Zhexiu suddenly said, "The weak are prey to the strong."
Liu Wanâer smiled, "We are stronger than you humans, so why canât we treat you as food?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "You are all intelligent. We can speak and communicate."
Liu Wanâer looked into his eyes, then said very earnestly, "But you humans once ate dragons."
Chen Changsheng was speechless. He really had not known that humans had once eaten dragons.
At this moment, he realized that the hilt of his dagger was trembling.
"I am a human, so I have to advise you to not eat human flesh."
After a moment of silence, he continued, "Just as if I were a dragon, I would prevent humans from eating dragon flesh."
"So in the end itâs still a matter of perspective." Liu Wanâer smiled.
Chen Changsheng shook his head. "I would never eat a dragon that could talk, even if it would give me all sorts of benefits......I think that, perhaps, the person who ate dragons could not even be considered a person......at least in my view."
At these words, Liu Wanâer was quiet, and then said, "That person may already not be considered a person."
As this housewifeâthe twenty-third demon generalâwas recalling the past, Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu glanced at each other.
Afterwards, Chen Changsheng took a step back.
The two teenagers stood shoulder to shoulder.
Then, afterwards, Chen Changsheng used his right hand to grab onto his dagger and move it behind his waist.
An extremely thin black shadow emerged from between his fingers.