Chapter 93: The Ancestor's Belated Rebellion (20)

Ling Qiong had swindled a tidy sum from Yan Weishan, and her spirits were exceedingly high as she sent Jiang He into the city to enjoy himself.

Jiang He was reluctant to go. Crowds were dangerous these days.

But an ancestor is an ancestor, and no matter how unwilling Jiang He was, he couldn’t win against Ling Qiong. It was like dealing with a rebellious child at home, one you couldn’t scold or hit.

...

Lou Xingluo remained outside the city and did not accompany Ling Qiong. He sat in the carriage, guarded by two disciples. Lifting the curtain for a moment, Lou Xingluo confirmed the two were far enough away before yanking out the Ink Snake.

“What are you doing?” Lou Xingluo opened the antidote and, pinching the Ink Snake, forced it to swallow a bit.

The Ink Snake: “!!!”

Are you even human?

Unable to escape Lou Xingluo’s grip, the Ink Snake was compelled to swallow the antidote. Once certain it had gone down, Lou Xingluo released it.

The Ink Snake slithered away, coiling up nearby, flicking its tongue and retching.

But nothing came up.

In the end, it could only curse, “You... you lunatic!”

Last time he made it test poison, now he made it test medicine! Never had it seen such a wretched human.

Lou Xingluo let the Ink Snake rant, his expression cold, those jet-black eyes betraying no emotion.

The Ink Snake: “...”

Under his gaze, the snake felt inexplicably uneasy, its curses trailing off to mutters, body coiled in anger, tail trembling like a rattlesnake.

If something happened to it, it would drag this despicable brat down with it—even in death!

If it dies, everyone dies!

...

Ling Qiong, amid Jiang He’s endless nagging, ended her revelry and started toward the outskirts.

“Would you stop talking? Even an old woman’s mouth isn’t as tiresome as yours,” Ling Qiong snapped.

Jiang He: “...”

You think I want to?

If I take my eyes off you for a second, you’re bound to stir up trouble. Who could bear this? We’re the continent’s biggest thorn, you know? Can’t you be a bit more aware?

Jiang He swallowed his retorts and tried to persuade her, “Little Ancestor, let’s go join the elders now.”

Ling Qiong grew impatient. “Go, go, go, you’re so annoying.”

Jiang He: “...”

I don’t want this either.

“The elders are worried about you. The continent isn’t safe right now—”

Ling Qiong suddenly stopped. Jiang He nearly collided with her, forcing his words back.

---

Jiang He called out in confusion, “Little Ancestor?”

Ling Qiong stared ahead, not answering.

Jiang He followed her gaze.

That was where they had parked the carriage.

The world was silent; the carriage sat alone, the two disciples nowhere in sight.

Ling Qiong walked forward a few steps, then stopped and turned to Jiang He, “Go have a look.”

Jiang He went and lifted the carriage curtain. Inside, it was empty.

He circled around to the other side.

The next moment, Jiang He’s voice rang out, “Little Ancestor!”

The two disciples had tree branches pierced through their brows, pinning them to the carriage.

Their bodies were as dry as old bark, drained of all blood.

It was the exact same death as Cheng Tinghan.

They had seen this at the Tianqing Sect.

Had Tianqing’s people still not caught the culprit?

Why attack them?

Jiang He’s expression darkened, “Little Ancestor, Young Master Lou is missing, and there are no signs of a struggle. This matter—”

Jiang He suspected Lou Xingluo.

Except for the two corpses, the scene was just as they had left it, with no signs of a fight.

Anyone who could follow him out was no weakling. They wouldn’t have been taken down unawares.

Unless it was someone they knew...

Ling Qiong glanced thoughtfully into the carriage, everything neat, not a trace of disorder.

She didn’t respond to Jiang He, “Take them down first.”

“Yes.”

Jiang He and his men removed the bodies.

Examining their necks, Jiang He found two fang marks.

He inhaled sharply, “Little Ancestor, do you think Young Master Lou did this?” That snake of his matched the evidence perfectly.

Ling Qiong pondered, asking slowly, “You think it was him?”

Surely the brat wasn’t so ungrateful?

Money spent shouldn’t be wasted!

Jiang He voiced his suspicions, “His Ink Snake is highly suspicious. They say it’s a beast, yet there’s no trace of demonic energy. These bite marks fit perfectly...”

The snake itself was strange.

And Lou Xingluo was odd, too.

He got the antidote from Xundie Mountain but didn’t take it immediately. Today, he volunteered to stay behind...

“Little Ancestor, do you think he did it?” Jiang He didn’t know what Ling Qiong thought, so he cautiously put the question to her.

Ling Qiong was silent for a moment. “I don’t know either. So let’s go find him!”

Jiang He: “???”

---

...

Ling Qiong lazily reclined on the soft couch at the back of the carriage, before her unfolded a catalog visible only to her.

Lou Xingluo (1/20)

The “Golden Wind and Jade Dew” card had been flipped.

The youth leaned against the Ink Snake, his scaled armor reflecting a halo of light over him, a smile on his lips and faint ripples in his eyes, like peach blossoms blooming in spring.

His robe, embroidered with hidden patterns, hung loosely, caught on his fingertips, slipping downward to reveal glimpses of his collarbone.

Ling Qiong stared at the youth on the card, tossing and turning restlessly on the couch.

Lou Xingluo was definitely not as he appeared.

The scoundrel had used her before.

Now he’d vanished again...

However you looked at it, he was no good.

[Dear, drawing cards can help you find the target~] The sparkling system tried to coax her to spend.

Ling Qiong rolled her eyes and shut the catalog.

Daddy won’t fall for that!

...

A month later.

Corpses began appearing across the continent, dead in the same manner as Cheng Tinghan. Some were powerful sect members, others ordinary folk.

Apart from their identical deaths—drained of all blood—there were no other similarities.

Rumors spread across the land, until somehow they turned into—

“I heard it was Yue Luo Zhu who did it. Is that true?”

“Of course. That demoness could do anything. Why haven’t Tianqing’s people caught her yet?”

“It’s horrifying! You haven’t seen the bodies—just thinking about it makes your scalp crawl.”

“If she keeps killing indiscriminately, retribution will come sooner or later.”

“The demoness, blah blah blah...”

Ling Qiong, the so-called demoness at the center of it all: “???”

What nonsense?

What had she done?

She hadn’t killed even an ant lately!

Ling Qiong seethed, the gossip next door growing uglier by the minute. She could barely contain herself, bracing the table to stand.

But suddenly, the conversation shifted.

“Did you hear about the theft at the Flying Dragon Sect’s beast cemetery?”

“That news is everywhere—who doesn’t know?”

The Flying Dragon Sect was famous for its beast mastery; the cemetery held the remains of many powerful beasts.

Just days ago, disciples discovered the beast cemetery had been robbed.

For the sect’s disciples, the theft was akin to desecrating their ancestors’ graves.

Now the Flying Dragon Sect was hunting down the thief everywhere.