"Dimly lit within the great hall, the fire failed to provide the brightness needed to illuminate the entire room. As the hall doors swung open, the cold wind rushed in, stirring up several sparks.
The firelight stretched the figure of the young man in black attire.
Turning his head, the young man in black looked at the intruding girl. His eyes held a hint of suspicion for a moment, but it soon dissipated. However, this slight turn allowed the girl to see the young man's face clearly by the firelight. He had a rather refined countenance, not exactly handsome, but his eyes were particularly attractive, resembling two bright stars that once seen, were hard to forget.
"Traveler? Doesn't quite seem like it," remarked the young man in black, raising an eyebrow. "To appear here at this time, I almost admire you."
The girl, somewhat nervous, stared at the young man in black, unsure of his identity. According to the book's records, those who had successfully cultivated could assume human forms, indistinguishable to ordinary people.
Seeing the girl standing still and gazing nervously at him, the young man in black was about to speak when suddenly, a gust of wind swept in from outside, bringing in the biting cold. The vast demonic energy rushed into the hall, causing the girl's complexion to turn unpleasant.
However, the young man in black seemed unexpectedly excited; after waiting all night, action had finally come.
In the next moment, a scarlet mist surged into the hall along with the snowstorm, appearing before the two figures. As the mist dissipated, the true form of the monster was exposed.
It was an extremely ugly creature, entirely blood-red with scales covering its body, shimmering with a dark red glow. Its limbs bore extremely sharp claws.
Seeing this hideous monster, the eyes of the young man in black started to shine.
In contrast, the girl's face had lost all its color, her delicate face turning as pale as a pear blossom. Upon seeing this bloodthirsty monster, she already knew there was no hope left for her companions, including old Mr. Song. Pain flickered in her eyes.
At the sight of the girl, the bloodthirsty creature revealed a satisfied expression. Her flesh and blood were undoubtedly the finest it had seen in years. The mere scent of her flesh was refreshing and made it feel extremely comfortable.
Eating her would undoubtedly enable it to advance further. Once it consumed her, it would have the opportunity to transform into a human form, a hope not too far-fetched!
But soon, its attention was drawn to the young man in black sitting by the fire pit.
And the blade hanging at his waist.
The blade was short, about half the size of the standard long swords in the Great Liang Dynasty.
A broken blade!
In an instant, the bloodthirsty creature recalled a legend passed down in this land.
Just as it glanced at the young man, the young man was also looking at it, and he was smiling.
The bloodthirsty creature was instantly filled with horror, shouting in terror, "Is it you?!"
The young man in black stood up, gazing at the bloodthirsty creature, smiling faintly, "Of course, it's me."
With just this sentence, the bloodthirsty creature's face turned extremely ugly.
As the conversation continued, the young man became more excited. "Tell me, where are your kind hiding?"
The demeanor of the young man unsettled the bloodthirsty creature, but it dared not take another step forward. Instead, its two crimson eyes continued surveying the surroundings, contemplating a retreat.
Though it still coveted the girl's flesh and blood, it realized that with this young man in black around, its priority was to survive.
The blatant actions of the bloodthirsty creature did not go unnoticed by the young man. He raised an eyebrow, jokingly remarked, "Thinking of leaving? Wanna give it a try?"
Before it could answer, the bloodthirsty creature spewed a massive cloud of blood mist. Its demonic energy surged, causing the entire hall to tremble.
The strength of the bloodthirsty creature was already formidable. Otherwise, old Master Song wouldn't have fallen to it earlier. Its sudden attack and potent demonic aura were unimaginable.
The young man looked at this energy and nodded in satisfaction. He took a deep breath, prepared himself, and with a swift movement, unleashed a punch.
"Break!"
The fist struck, shattering the blood mist instantly.
The young man's whole body tensed with restrained force.
The bloodthirsty creature, which had retreated to the hall's entrance, was hit by the punch, blood spraying everywhere. It fell into the snow in the courtyard, its fate unknown.
As the young man turned his gaze, he noticed the girl standing at the door of the great hall, watching. She still held onto the silver hairpin.
The young man scooped up some snow, cleaned his blade, and sheathed it once more.
…
"I'm not a monster."
Jumping off the somewhat aged incense burner, the young man brushed past the corpse of the bloodthirsty creature and
the girl.
He tossed the corpse into the fire, causing it to blaze higher and bring warmth to the hall.
Seeing the girl still standing by the hall's entrance, the young man waved to her, calling out, "Are you planning to stand there all night? You've barely survived, don't rush to freeze to death here."
Hearing this, the silent girl no longer hesitated and quickly sat down by the fire pit. The warmth from the fire eased her previously tense state.
The young man soon caught a whiff of a pleasant herbal scent, something unfamiliar to him after dealing with demons for so long.
"It seems to be quite afraid of you," the girl finally spoke, her voice pleasant. She reached up, retying her hair, and reinserted the silver hairpin.
The young man smiled and said something nonsensical, "I wish they weren't so afraid of me."
Opening his robe, the young man removed a black waist token that had been tied to his waist and handed it to the girl.
After hesitating for a moment, she accepted it. In the firelight, she could clearly see the palm-sized waist token engraved with a few words:
"Guardian of Tianqing County."
Flipping it over, there was only one name engraved:
"Chen Chao."
The young man introduced himself at the same time.
After hearing this, the girl bowed slightly, speaking softly.
"Thank you. I'm Xie Nandu."