NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26: Present
The stench of blood belonged to them, whereas the utter boredom belonged to himself.
While they played a relentless game of slaughter, he busied himself with arcade games.
Xu Yuan watched the red Sword Qi shuttle back and forth like a waterfall of blood rain, feeling inexplicably defeated in his heart.
Within the Sword Qi, the girl in red stood with her hands behind her back, untouched by dust, her features picturesque and her presence commanding. Each time the Sword Qi swept through, it raised a spray of blood rain.
On the other hand, Lin Qingque in her white clothes also showcased the terrifying aspect of her Heart Dao, capable of killing without bloodshed. Any rat daring to approach within a hundred meters of her was instantly confused and turned against its own kind upon entering her range.
There she stood in the field, graceful like a delicate white flower blooming in the heart of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, emerging from the mire unsoiled.
The low-minded demon race couldn't resist her ability to amplify the Heart Voice and disrupt their minds, making it unnecessary for her to lift a finger.
Xu Yuan couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with emotion.
Indeed, with his current strength, should he ever fall out with the two of them, death seemed inevitable no matter how he looked at it.
Oh, death was unlikely, but living wouldn't be comfortable for sure.
If captured by the aggressive, obsessive Tian Liuli, he would be like a bird in a cage, a fish in a pond, unable to indulge even in his only hobby of soccer. Should he carelessly glance at it, he might just go blind.
And Lin Qingque, with her hypnotic obsessive ways, would undoubtedly train him into an idiot who had eyes only for her.
One would lose physical freedom, and the other would turn into an idiot – neither scenario was what he desired.
While thinking, Xu Yuan instinctively stabbed backward with his sword, killing the forty-ninth Demon Beast—a black creature from behind attempting a sneak attack—with difficulty due to its tough hide.
Compared to last night, they were undeniably weaker, but their numbers had almost multiplied by hundreds.
As a result, Xu Yuan found them much harder to handle than he did last night.
Lucky for him, Lin Qingque and Tian Liuli took on most of the pressure, otherwise, conserving his energy wouldn't have been so easy.
Blood slowly formed streams, the night grew dim, and the stars were sparse.
When Tian Liuli and Lin Qingque returned, Xu Yuan was standing his ground, sword in hand, looking utterly exhausted.
By then, their garments were no longer bright, and a rare layer of fatigue covered their features, resembling the blood-covered ground that was thick with congealed blood.
"Is it over?"
Xu Yuan stood with his sword, too tired to keep his eyes open, and asked softly.
"It's over."
Tian Liuli nodded, the breeze lifting her black hair, swirling it peacefully.
The three of them looked around and could still faintly hear whimpering and low moaning.
Those were the screams of the surviving residents.
"There are quite a few left."
Xu Yuan said with implied meaning.
"It doesn't matter, they can't make much of a difference anyway."
Tian Liuli said indifferently. Since she had declared it was over, it truly was.
"Shall we go back?"
Lin Qingque leaned on him, her eyes closed as if she were about to sleep.
Tian Liuli looked visibly annoyed, her eyebrows twitching, but she didn't want to start a fight with her in a situation that hadn't yet cleared from danger.
It was not only pointless but could be seen as lacking sense.
...
The moon's reflection waned and wavered, stars like flickering fireflies.
After setting up a pre-warning Formation at the door, the three of them lay collapsed on the ground and fell into a deep sleep.
Unknown to them, the pair of eyes that had been spying on them from the mahogany loft had vanished.
When Xu Yuan opened his eyes and awoke again, he immediately saw the dense fog just like at the beginning, but Lin Qingque and Tian Liuli were nowhere to be seen.
Had the plot changed again?
Alarmed, he quickly broke out the door.
The next moment, a Sword Qi flew from deep within the fog and struck precisely where he had just been standing.
With a clang, it emitted a sound like the clash of metal.
"Who's there!"
Xu Yuan demanded in a deep voice.
As his words fell, the mist gradually dispersed.
The moonlight shone down, and at the end of the corridor, a girl in white approached gracefully.
Walker of the Sword Sect, Liu Ruoxue.
Xu Yuan's pupils contracted slightly.
The girl from Sword Sect, who should have appeared last night, appeared only now and seemed to be his enemy.
What had happened in the meantime?
"This time, you are not standing still."
Even though she spoke in surprise, there was no fluctuation in her tone.
Xu Yuan silently watched the Walker from Sword Sect.
The young girl's rosy lips and white teeth, her cheeks like jade, two strands of hair elegantly draping by her cheeks, a straight jade hairpin slanting on her head, and her seemingly simple skirt depicted with mountains and flowing rivers.
In her arms, she held a sword as if cradling a river in spring.
"Miss, what are you implying?"
Liu Ruoxue's half-closed eyelids slowly lifted, much like a sword being unsheathed from its scabbard inch by inch.
Fierce and brimming with cold light.
Xu Yuan was startled.
Since her role in the game's storyline was just a supporting character, he had not really paid much attention to this fairy of Sword Sect, who was renowned for her Sword Qi.
However, now that he was facing this girl, he truly felt her terror.
...
On the other hand, when the fog arose, two girls had already woken from their dreams.
But no matter how hard they looked, they could not find Xu Yuan's figure.
"Where is Mr. Xu?"
"Senior Brother, where are you!?"
Midway through her calling, Lin Qingque suddenly turned around and struck a palm towards Tian Liuli, who was just a few feet behind her.
Tian Liuli, without changing her expression, turned around and swung her palm enveloped in spiritual light, as if she had long foreseen this moment.
Clang!
Though it was just a clash between two delicate hands that had never touched spring water, the collision produced an astonishing wave of energy.
Boom!
The energy wave radiated out from the two of them, easily pushing down and overturning the walls.
"I knew you would do this."
Tian Liuli stood with her hands behind her back, poised and graceful.
"Aren't you just the same, you wretch?"
Lin Qingque sneered coldly, standing tall and proud.
"Losing Senior Brother for a moment isn't a big deal; killing you is what's important right now. I've disliked you for a long time."
"Good, I've thought the same. Always acting so weak and fragile, who are you fooling?"
Lin Qingque lifted her finger, and spiritual light danced at her fingertip.
Tian Liuli raised her palm, a layer of sparkling spiritual light emanating from her jade-like palm.
Just as the situation could trigger a chain reaction, both suddenly turned and struck the inn beside them.
"Despicable!"
But a sharp and angrily mixed shriek was heard as a dozen rays of sword light immediately scattered in flight.
"Did you really think we didn't know you were there?"
Tian Liuli frowned, her jade face filled with fierceness as she pursued them, not forgetting to throw back a sentence.
"Wait till I kill them and get news about Mr. Xu before I come back to kill you."
"Heh."
Lin Qingque responded with a cold sneer, soon leaping into the air like an eagle, reaching out toward that group of Sword Sect disciples.