A deathly silence filled the whole house. It was so quiet that even the sound of breathing seemed deafening. The subtle rustling of the trees and the chirping of the insects coming from outside constantly kept on strumming on Yu Qingyu's nerves, who was already feeling on edge, ready to spring into action at any moment. The air was sultry and heavy, as if a storm was about to break out soon, even though there was not a single cloud in the sky.
As per Zhao Weixin's deduction, another demon attack was likely to happen here tonight.
Yu Qingyu came to the house before nightfall with his disciples, to warn the residents and evacuate them to safety. Which, surprisingly, turned out to be much harder than he expected. Despite there being multiple attacks that happened in the town recently, the master of the house was unwilling to leave. As if not understanding the danger, he insisted on staying with the cultivators. Thankfully, his son eventually managed to drag him away to the inn. It seemed that someone close to him was one of the previous victims, making him far more terrified of the demon. He pleaded with his father desperatedly, until he finally agreed to go.
And now, Yu Qingyu, Liu Wei, and Zhao Weixin were sitting in the middle of the empty house, waiting for the demon to appear.
All of a sudden, Liu Wei spoke up, interrupting the silence, with a hint of a smirk on his face, "Shizun, you look a bit pale. Is everything alright?"
Yu Qingyu shot him a quick, warning glance. "Quiet. Focus on the task." His face was indeed pale, breathing slightly uneven, and he was covered in cold sweat, but…
Considering his position, Yu Qingyu couldn't exactly admit to being scared. After all, it was just a low-level demon. For Gu Huiji, whom he was impersonating, it should have been no threat at all. He defeated demons like that a thousand times! But more importantly, it was not the time for chit-chatting. If they were to get distracted, they might miss the moment the demon appears.
Yu Qingyu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to focus on the spiritual energy he could sense in the air.
Time seemed to have dragged endlessly, while everything remained perfectly quiet and still…
Until Yu Qingyu's eyes suddenly snapped open, his sight turning to the right. "It's coming. Weixin, get ready," he whispered in a hushed, barely audible voice, his whole body tensed, but remaining unmoving.
Zhao Weixin nodded lightly, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to attack at any moment.
A few seconds later, he jumped to his feet, unsheathing the sword. The demon finally appeared.
It was a grotesque creature, around the height of an average adult man. Its yellowish eyes glowed in the dark, its scaly skin covered in a sickly sheen. The facial features of the demon were twisted, with needle-like teeth sticking out of its mouth. Each of its four limbs was armed with long, razor-sharp claws. As a low-level demon, its demonic qi was weak, and it was unable to transform in any way, forcing it to fight in its original form.
Yu Qingyu and Liu Wei moved out of the way. Yu Qingyu assigned the task of defeating the demon to Zhao Weixin. He was not going to interfere in the fight, unless Zhao Weixin were to be in danger.
Not wasting any time, Zhao Weixin rushed to attack. The demon moved just in time to dodge his sword, but Zhao Weixin was undeterred. He immediately launched another attack, this time getting blocked by the demon's claw.
They exchanged blows for quite a while, causing a frown to appear on Yu Qingyu's face. It was just a low-level demon… Any other disciple of his would have been able to deal with it much, much quicker! Zhao Weixin was way too weak.
But at least he slowly started gaining an advantage in the fight, and eventually, he managed to deliver the final blow.
The demon dropped to its knees, before falling flat on its face with a thud. Zhao Weixin stood above him, panting heavily, his sword still raised in readiness to fight. He only relaxed after Yu Qingyu went over to him, and confirmed that the demon was dead.
"Good job," Yu Qingyu praised his disciple, making Zhao Weixin exhale deeply in relief.
Of course, calling it a 'good job' was highly exaggerated. It barely deserved a passing score. However, it was Zhao Weixin's first actual mission. Instead of giving a harsh critique, Yu Qingyu wanted to encourage his disciple, and raise his confidence. Everything else could come later.
Having finally relaxed after being tensed for so long, Yu Qingyu felt like a deflated balloon, tiredness taking over both his mind and body. He suppressed the yawn and rubbed his eyes. "Let's clean it up quickly and return to the inn. We will deal with the-"
Sensing the oppressive surge of demonic qi right behind his back, he immediately kicked off the ground, jumping out of the way and avoiding the attack.
There was another demon around! And this one was far more powerful. At least a high-level one, if not the elite!
Caught by surprise, Yu Qingyu reacted instinctively, completely forgetting that he was not the only person within the demon's attack range. And the other person was far, far weaker than him…
Blood splattered on the ground as the wounded young man staggered a few steps back, his sword slipping out of his hand. He was swaying on his feet, looking as if he was going to fall down at any moment.
Upon noticing the danger, Zhao Weixin also attempted to dodge the attack. However, his reflexes, as well as his speed were very much inferior. He managed to avoid getting critical injuries, but the flesh on his shoulder, chest, and side still got completely mangled. The wounds were not deep, but they were extensive, making him lose a lot of blood.
Seeing the state his disciple was in, Yu Qingyu gasped loudly, his mind going blank. He stared at the mass of demonic qi swirling in the air in front of him, concealing the creature.
He recalled the reports from the investigation his disciples told him earlier. Liu Wei seemed as if he was hiding something back then. Was it about that…?
As Yu Qingyu was getting lost in his thoughts, the demon launched another attack, effectively making him snap of it. Whether Liu Wei knew about the other demon or not, it didn't matter! It was not the time to think about now.
First of all, he needed to take Zhao Weixin to safety…
As he glanced to the side, his eyes opened wide. Liu Wei has already jumped onto his sword, and pulled Zhao Weixin over, moving him out of harm's way!
Liu Wei was about to fly away, when Zhao Weixin tugged on his sleeve. "Wait! What about Shizun?"
"Hmm?" Liu Wei glanced at Zhao Weixin, before turning his sight to Yu Qingyu, with a wide smirk on his face. "Shizun can handle it on his own! Let's just leave, so that we won't be getting in his way!"