When the four people arrived at the Black River bank, the sky had darkened again.
The previous rain seemed unsatisfied; it was holding back its strength, and now it had returned.
Raindrops the size of beans smashed onto the river surface, splashing up ripples that were quickly swallowed by more rain.
As soon as the group stepped close to the area.
A cold, sticky Demonic Qi was hovering upstream.
"..."
The gentleness on Li Qingyuan's face had long vanished, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.
"This... this is..."
Shi Chongyue also lost his usual flippancy. He looked ahead in astonishment, "This Demonic Qi... how can it be so dense? The Demon here is definitely not an ordinary creature!"
This statement was equivalent to nonsense.
Not to mention that a Martial Artist's senses were sharp.
Even an ordinary person standing here would feel an inexplicable palpitation.
Jiang Yuechu sat calmly on the horseback, one hand holding the reins, the other resting casually on the hilt of the blade at her waist.
No one noticed that the hand gripping the reins was faintly trembling.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging desire within her body.
Even when facing the corpse of the Old White Ape back then, she had never felt this level of loss of control!
It's not just an ordinary creature... it's at least a Core Formation Great Demon!
It might even be superior to the Old White Ape... Li Qingyuan nudged the horse's belly, urging the already trembling Red-Eyed Colt beneath him to walk forward.
"Let's go, let's check upstream."
Shi Chongyue was stunned, "Are we really going?"
Li Qingyuan didn't turn back, merely saying flatly, "How can we ignore Demonic Qi of this magnitude? We'll investigate the situation. If it is a Core Formation Great Demon, we will return and inform the Dusi."
"..."
"Let's go."
Jiang Yuechu's voice was hoarse. She urged her Red-Eyed Colt forward, walking side-by-side with Li Qingyuan.
Zhao Yi coughed lightly and followed suit.
Only Shi Chongyue remained, cursing and struggling with indecision for a while, but finally gritting his teeth and following... The further they walked upstream, the denser the Demonic Qi became.
None of the four spoke.
Only the sound of hooves stepping in the mud could be heard.
Finally.
The dilapidated Dragon King Temple appeared at the edge of their vision.
The temple was still the same temple.
However, the Demonic Qi hovering above the temple had already transformed into a visible black cloud, churning endlessly.
The four dismounted, tied their Red-Eyed Colts far away in the woods, drew their weapons, and approached the temple gate step by step.
The temple gate was slightly ajar.
Li Qingyuan walked in front, took a deep breath, and was about to push the door.
Just as he was about to push the door, the Demonic Qi hovering in the sky vanished without warning.
"..."
All four were stunned.
"What's going on?"
"Where is the Demon?"
Before the words had finished.
The slightly ajar temple gate slowly opened inward.
A pretty young girl appeared at the entrance.
She wore ragged sackcloth, her small feet were bare, and her face still held traces of unshed tears. She was trembling as she looked at the four people outside the door.
"Official... Official Sirs..."
The three exchanged glances, seeing suspicion and surprise in each other's eyes.
The girl was clean; there was no residual Demonic Qi on her body.
It wasn't her.
Li Qingyuan put away his weapon, stepped forward, and tried to make his voice sound gentler.
"Little girl, don't be afraid. We are people from the Demon Suppression Division... What is your name?"
The girl timidly lifted her head, and when her gaze fell upon Jiang Yuechu behind Li Qingyuan.
Her whole body stiffened abruptly, and she instinctively shrank back half a step.
"It's... it's you!"
Everyone subconsciously glanced at Jiang Yuechu, but she remained expressionless and did not speak.
But combining this with what Jiang Yuechu had said earlier on the road, the three men already had a few guesses.
This girl, perhaps, was Water, whom Jiang Yuechu had mentioned on the road?
Li Qingyuan gave a look to Zhao Yi beside him, while continuing to gently reassure the girl, "Little girl, don't be afraid, we mean no harm. Can you tell us if there was anyone else in this temple just now?"
Zhao Yi understood. Taking advantage of Li Qingyuan talking to the girl, he flashed his body and slipped sideways into the temple.
"My name is Water..."
The girl sniffled, her eyes turning red again, "Dragon King Lord... The Dragon King Lord has already been killed by you, why are you still coming here..."
"..."
These words left the group unsure how to respond.
Just then.
Shi Chongyue stepped forward and shouted, "You little brat, stop messing around with this old man! The Demonic Qi was soaring here just now, but now it's gone, and you're the only one left in this temple. In my opinion, even if you aren't a Demon, you must be colluding with one!"
Having said that, he made a motion to draw his blade and approached the girl aggressively.
"Die!"
Clang—
The Horizontal Saber was drawn from its sheath.
It sliced through the gloomy daylight, tracing an arc.
It slashed straight towards the girl's face!
"Ah—" The girl screamed, terrified, and closed her eyes.
Li Qingyuan's pupils contracted.
As a colleague, he naturally knew what Shi Chongyue meant.
His body subconsciously tensed, ready to strike at any moment.
Buzz.
The blade edge stopped barely short of the girl's nose tip.
"..."
The expected appearance of the Demon did not happen.
The girl was only trembling all over, her eyes tightly shut, too scared even to cry.
The tough flesh on Shi Chongyue's face twitched; he felt a little awkward.
No reaction to that?
Could it be... that she really was just an ordinary village girl?
Just then, Zhao Yi's figure emerged from the temple.
He shook his head gently at the group.
"There's nothing wrong inside."
Shi Chongyue cursed as he sheathed his blade, but, refusing to believe it, he strode quickly into the temple.
"I refuse to believe it! I can't even find a ghost shadow!"
Li Qingyuan and Zhao Yi exchanged a look and followed him inside.
Jiang Yuechu's gaze lingered for a moment on the girl huddled in a ball and shivering at the doorway before she stepped inside.
Soon after.
Inside the temple, the few people searched every corner thoroughly.
There was indeed nothing unusual.
"Damn it... Is this really haunted?"
Shi Chongyue kicked aside a broken clay pot and cursed.
The few people walked out of the temple gate.
Li Qingyuan looked at Water, who was still squatting at the threshold, hugging her knees and sobbing softly, and his brows furrowed tightly.
Shi Chongyue leaned close to him and lowered his voice.
"Old Li, I still think this girl is suspicious."
"With the Demonic Qi so pervasive, why isn't she dead? Do Demons also respect the old and cherish the young?"
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. "If you ask me, we should just cleave her with a single strike. Better to kill the wrong person than to let a suspect go!"
"We cannot."
Li Qingyuan shook his head.
Shi Chongyue said indignantly, "Why not? Is what I'm saying unreasonable?"
"The reasoning... is sound, but we, the people of the Demon Suppression Division, must act according to the law. If we don't have absolute certainty, how can we lay hands on an unarmed girl?"
This was his nature; he prided himself on following the Righteous Path of the human world.
He could not bring himself to commit the indiscriminate killing of innocents.
Zhao Yi coughed a few times and slowly began to speak: "This matter is indeed too strange."
"The Demonic Qi was soaring earlier, but as soon as we got close, it vanished without a trace, and only this girl remains in the temple..."
"If you tell me this girl has absolutely nothing to do with that Demon, I won't believe it."
Li Qingyuan remained silent.
How could he not believe it?
Believing it is one thing.
Taking action is another.
Just as the group was at a stalemate.
Jiang Yuechu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly walked up to the girl and slowly squatted down.
Her action caused the other three to freeze in surprise.