CHAPTER 79

Irreconcilable

"Thud!" "Thud!"

"Ouch!"

"Ah..."

Following a series of heavy thuds came continuous groans of pain.

With her fluent Shangqing sword technique, Tong Tong swiftly dealt with the fierce half-beasts that lunged at her, whether they were powerful minotaurs, agile leopard-men, or cunning fox-men... all fell before her blade.

She flicked her sword with a cool flourish, placed one hand behind her back, and gazed skyward at a perfect 45-degree angle, sighing softly, "Ah, now I finally understand how the legendary Dugu Qiubai felt back in the day... It's lonely at the top, ah!" The last note of her lament suddenly cracked and rose sharply, as grating as nails on glass, unbearable to the ears.

A sharp glint flashed through Su Yan's half-squinted eyes. Her grip on her sword tightened, but she remained still.

Following the sound, she saw Tong Tong clutching her side, grimacing in pain, her teary eyes glaring at the wolf-tailed girl crouching opposite her, clearly, she had been successfully ambushed.

'Silly girl.'

Su Yan shook her head, displeased with Tong Tong's underestimation of her opponent. Her gaze swept over Ah Huang, turning as cold as frost, as if looking at a corpse.

"Hey! That's cheating!" The wound on her side wasn't deep. At the critical moment, she had relied on her honed reflexes to avoid a vital hit, only suffering a muscle graze, bl0od seeped out steadily, and it really hurt.

Tong Tong's face paled, annoyed at her earlier carelessness: 'Ouch, ouch, ouch, it hurts! How long has it been since you trimmed your nails, you jerk! Who knows if the wound will get infected! In this backwater place, where am I supposed to get a tetanus shot?!'

'Also, should she get a rabies vaccine...'

Licking the bl0od from her pale nails, Ah Huang smiled indifferently and cruelly, "Don't you humans have a saying, 'All's fair in war'?" This girl looked naive and easy to bu1ly, but her sword technique was unexpectedly exquisite, unlike an ordinary person... The taste of her bl0od, though a bit complex, was still a great tonic!

However, the beautiful human behind her was the real formidable enemy, with unfathomable strength. Ah Huang was no match for her. She didn't know why the other hadn't simply slaughtered them all but instead proposed a duel. In any case, for Ah Huang, it was the only chance to escape.

Thinking of this, Ah Huang's round eyes suddenly narrowed, a bl0od-red line appearing in her brown irises. Even her nails took on a heavy, eerie black hue. Her thin lips curled slightly, revealing a pair of protruding fangs. In an instant, her ferocity erupted, affecting even the nearest half-beasts, who began to transform as well.

Tong Tong hadn't intended to k!ll these half-beasts, only injuring their limbs to incapacitate them, in a way, she had left them alive. But now, her mercy backfired, turning them into a sharp blade threatening her own safety.

She didn't know what mutation had occurred in Ah Huang, nor why the fallen half-beasts, like soldiers hearing a rallying cry, surged toward her with beastly fervor. All she knew was that her once-proud swordsmanship now seemed utterly insignificant! All she knew was that her soft-heartedness would be the original sin that k!lled her.

The suddenly berserk half-beasts swiftly closed in, forming a dense encirclement that trapped her within, their flesh and bl0od bodies rendering spells and sword techniques insignificant against their fearless onslaught.

Tong Tong finally panicked.

Just before being torn to shreds by the frenzied half-beasts , she turned her head back in despair, her gaze piercing through the gaps to fix firmly on Su Yan, who seemed either slow to react or utterly indifferent, standing there, her eyes meeting Tong Tong's, deep enough to draw one in.

Tong Tong wanted to leave her with a brilliant smile, but unexpectedly, her eyes welled up with tears, and an urge to cry surged within her.

"Sayonara..." She wanted to add a few sentimental words, but only managed to utter these four before the situation on the battlefield shifted once more.

Including Tong Tong, everyone felt an uncontrollable palpitation, as if an invisible hand had tightly gripped their hearts, making it hard to breathe, as though death had never felt so close, black smoke drifted and spread, its origin unknown, yet in an instant, it filled their vision, enveloping them like a massive ink cocoon.

Tong Tong felt as though time had frozen in an instant. Everyone around her stood motionless, even the sharp claws that had been aimed directly at her pupils were suspended mid-air, unable to advance any further.

Ah Huang's gloomy, pale face was frozen in a ferocious expression of k!lling intent, while a tiger-man less than half a foot to her left had his bl0ody maw wide open, revealing fangs sharp enough to easily bite through iron, his facial muscles twisted, even the coarse fur on his cheeks clearly visible.

Yet Su Yan was not among these motionless statues.

Though she was also within this scene, she seemed detached, unbound by its constraints. Her dark robes fluttered on their own, trailing with an extraordinary grace, her face like white jade, her eyes like glass, the deep, dark inkiness imperceptibly blending into an enchanting purple.

"Su... Yan..." Under the bewitching purple gaze, Tong Tong felt as though she had been drawn into a bottomless abyss, sinking deeper and deeper, without end.

She was even willing to drown in that deep, purple pool.

"You," cool fingers lightly brushed Tong Tong's cheek, the voice neither warm nor cold, yet it felt as though a cat's claws were scratching at her heart, "how can you be so foolish."

"..." Tong Tong, unusually, offered no retort.

All she could see was that shimmering, watery purple, all she could hear was that clear, chime-like voice, all she could feel was that soft, silken touch, and all that remained in her heart was a mellow, intoxicating warmth.

'Was this what Su Yan looked like after transforming into a demonic cultivator?'

'...Honestly, this woman could probably defeat all her enemies just by seducing them!'

"Don't open your eyes," Su Yan said as her hand, still resting on Tong Tong's cheek, slid over her eyelids, gently covering them. She leaned close to her ear, her warm breath causing Tong Tong's earlobes to flush crimson. "Mm."

Tong Tong obediently closed her eyes, shrinking her neck away from the source of the trembling sensation at her ear, but her hands unconsciously reached out to clutch the hem of Su Yan's robe.

Feeling the delicate sweep of long, dense eyelashes against her palm and hearing Tong Tong's submissive murmur, a softness stirred within Su Yan's heart. The corners of her lips lifted slightly, and the coldness in her eyes melted away a little.

With her other hand, she crisply snapped her fingers. "Click—"

Like a stone cast into still waters, shattering the calm and restoring all that was frozen to life, or perhaps plunging everything into deeper stillness.

With Su Yan's snap of her fingers, the halted half-beasts seemed to regain control of their bodies, continuing along their predetermined paths. Yet, in the blink of an eye, the situation reversed, they had transformed from the butcher's knife to the meat on the chopping block.

The black mist grew thick and viscous, coalescing around them like a tangible substance. It seeped into their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses, flowing through their meridians to every part of their bodies, stealing their bl0od and snatching their breath away.

"Snap!" With the second snap of her fingers, the half-beasts teetering on the edge of unbearable agony and a fate worse than death suddenly felt the pressure ease. Their ferocity vanished, their limbs grew weak, and they collapsed to the ground one by one, bl0od slowly trickling from their seven orifices.

Among them, the wolf-tailed girl, Ah Huang, suffered the most severe injuries.

The blue veins beneath her skin had risen to the surface, pulsing with dark energy. The meridians in her arms had ruptured, a gruesome mix of bl0od and flesh.

"Jiya," Su Yan said, one hand still covering Tong Tong's eyes to shield her from the sight, while the other encircled her waist, holding her tightly in her embrace with no intention of letting go.

"Awoo~" The Zhubo snorted softly, his golden eyes the size of copper bells curving with delight as he surveyed the feast spread before him, pondering where to take the first bite.

Just then, a rough male voice shouted, "It's them!"

Su Yan's gaze swept over the source of the voice, her lips still curved in a faint smile. The purple light in her eyes had yet to fade, making her appear enchantingly beautiful, so bewitching that even a fox demon meant to seduce the world would pale in comparison.

The man leading the shout was none other than Liu Fuqing, the man whose home they had stayed in the previous night. Behind him stood his entire family and a group of farmers armed with shovels and plows.

Upon seeing those mesmerizing purple eyes, the crowd was struck not by awe but by terror, purple eyes were a mark of demonic evil!

"D-demon..." Liu Fuqing's wife, Qian, stammered, her heart filled with dread. 'Thank goodness I didn't let my guard down just because that young master was handsome... Otherwise, would I even be alive now?'

Little Liu Xiaoya, who had been eager to cling to Su Yan the night before, now hid behind her brother Liu Dazhu, tears welling in her eyes as she trembled with fear.

"Demonic fiend, get out of our village!" The farmers, led by Liu Fuqing, brandished their makeshift weapons, shouting with a mix of bravado and fear, not at the obviously inhuman half-beasts, but at Su Yan, who stood calmly in the center, distant and untouchable, all because of the color of her eyes.

The same people who had treated them as honored guests the night before now avoided them like the plague. Truly, the human heart is unfathomable.

Though her eyes were covered, Tong Tong sensed something amiss. She felt the coldness emanating from the palm covering her eyes and tightened her grip on that delicate hand, as if trying to share her warmth. "Senior Brother, I don't want to see these ignorant villagers... Let's go."

'Why did it feel like Su Yan was sad for a moment when the villagers shouted with such hatred and fear?'

'I must be mistaken!'

Tong Tong bit her lip and nestled even closer into the comforting embrace.

Sensing the small movement of the person in her arms, Su Yan's icy purple eyes softened with a hint of warmth. She chuckled softly and said, "As you wish."

'Heh, is she worried that I'll unleash a slaughter in a fit of rage?'

'What a soft-hearted, foolish girl.'

'Fine then, saves me from dirtying my hands with these insignificant ants.'

With a flick of her sleeve, she swept aside the disheveled half-beasts around her, clearing an open space. She then wrapped an arm around Tong Tong and leaped up, landing steadily on Jiya's back. "Cookie."

"Awoo!" The little black-and-white-striped creature joyfully stretched its limbs, eager to leap into its master's embrace, but a cold gaze pinned it in place.

Disappointed, it stuck out its tongue and flicked its long tail, swaying to a unique rhythm. With a burst of speed from its four hooves, it circled around once. A flash of white light erupted, and in the blink of an eye, both the two humans and the two beasts vanished from sight.

"G-gone..." Liu Dazhu muttered, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

"Sigh..." Liu Fuqing tightened his grip on the silver ingot hidden in his sleeve and let out a sigh.

Only then did the remaining villagers notice Liang Shoucai's lifeless body nearby, and another wave of panic ensued.

"That was... the ancient ferocious beast, the Zhubo, and the auspicious beast, the Zouyu..." Ah Huang lay weakly on the ground, her gaze still filled with shock. "Just who are they?"

Seizing the moment while no one was paying attention, she curled up and rolled toward the rockery, found the hidden mechanism, and quietly slipped into the crevices of the stones.

"Growl... growl—" A leopard-man's throat rumbled with a roar, his small, dark green eyes fixed fiercely on the man approaching with a hoe. Despite his broken left hind leg, his ferocity remained undiminished.

After the conflicting Su Yan and Tong Tong disappeared, the half-beasts and the villagers officially stood on opposing sides.

More and more villagers closed in on the injured half-beasts, while more and more half-beasts struggled to rise despite their battered bodies, ready to confront them, the situation was tense, on the verge of erupting.

"Stop!" Just then, two young men clad in short animal-skin garments suddenly appeared between the two sides, breaking the deadlock.

The one who spoke wore a warm smile, with a bright green feather tucked into his hair.

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