Yuzhu Town, the Deng Family mansion.
Deng Chicheng ordered the mansion gates to be closed, forbidding anyone from going out.
The events of tonight were simply too horrific... Even without Deng Chicheng's orders, the servants in the mansion dared not venture outside.
Everyone was waiting for Xie Xuanyi to return.
But they waited until dawn, and still there was no news whatsoever.
"That young man looked to be only fifteen or sixteen, can he really handle exorcising demons on his own?"
"He hasn't come back after so long... Could something have gone wrong?"
"I heard that not long ago an Immortal Master passed through Yuzhu Town, provoked Tu Fei and its kind, and then was skinned and eaten!"
A few servants gathered in a corner, whispering among themselves.
With a "bang"—
Suddenly, there was a loud noise outside the door, startling the servants.
"Keep wagging your tongues and you'll all be thrown out!"
Deng Baiyi had returned, radiating a murderous aura.
Instantly, the whole mansion fell silent as the grave.
There was much to handle tonight, as Tu Fei was dead and a pit had to be dug to dispose of the body.
Deng Baiyi directed the servants to get busy, then walked alone towards the main room. Without greeting, she pushed open the door and entered.
As expected, her father was packing his belongings.
Upon seeing his daughter return, Deng Chicheng breathed a sigh of relief and quickly spoke up, "Baiyi, you're back? Hurry and pack your things, we'll leave this place of trouble together soon!"
Previously, several Great Demons lingered near Yuzhu Town.
If he were to flee, he would surely be discovered and then devoured...
But it was different now.
The young man who crawled out of the coffin possessed extraordinary combat strength. Regardless of how tonight's demon-slaying concluded, at the very least no one would be paying attention to tail him.
Now was the perfect opportunity to flee Yuzhu Town.
"I'm not leaving."
Closing the door behind her, Deng Baiyi shook her head and softly spoke, uttering three words.
"Not leaving?"
Deng Chicheng was stunned for a moment.
He anxiously said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Shutting the gates of the Deng Family mansion was simply a delaying tactic.
It was a stance, as well as a method of observation.
If the young man returned successful from slaying demons, he wouldn't mind offering up gold and silver to ward off disaster...
But the fear was that in attempting to drive away a wolf, he might swallow a tiger instead!
The young man who slew the Great Demon was even more fearsome and violent than the demon itself!
Neither beast was something Deng Chicheng could afford to offend.
Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing was the best.
"Father..."
Deng Baiyi's expression was more serene than it had ever been.
She pulled over a wooden chair, sat down in front of Deng Chicheng, and gently said, "I understand very well what I'm saying, what I'm doing."
Deng Chicheng looked bewilderedly at his daughter.
It seemed to him that ever since half a year ago, he sensed... his daughter had changed in some way.
He couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed.
It seemed to be her spirit, perhaps her eyes. In any case, her entire demeanor had undergone a radical transformation!
Deng Chicheng began to find his daughter's bizarre behaviors incomprehensible—
She had unearthed a coffin from a desolate wilderness!
Then, despite his opposition, she insisted on forming a netherworld marriage with the "dead person" inside the coffin!
But the events of tonight helped him understand something.
Perhaps not everything his daughter had done was wrong.
If it weren't for the youth who emerged from the coffin, tonight the Deng Family mansion would have been annihilated!
"That 'dead person' will win."
Deng Baiyi gazed into her father's eyes and calmly said, "Choosing to run away is not the wise move."
"If he can kill those demons so easily... wouldn't killing us be even simpler?"
Deng Chicheng said instinctively.
The youth's sword that instantly slew Tu Fei earlier in the night was too fast, too clean.
Even now, he was still frightened, unable to stop his body from trembling uncontrollably.
This was actually a normal reaction.
Facing such a situation, anyone would feel fear... Ants would naturally fear an elephant, and the gap between him and Xie Xuanyi was even greater than that.
"If he wanted to kill, he would have done so long ago."
Deng Baiyi continued to speak calmly: "You fear death too much, which actually makes it easier for death to come."
Deng Chicheng opened his mouth but realized he had no rebuttal.
"I know you've always been curious why I brought back that coffin, why I wanted to marry a 'dead person',"
Deng Baiyi smoothed her hair at her temples.
Sitting in the dim chamber, she thought for a long time and spoke earnestly, "I met someone. A very strange person, one whose casual predictions always came true. That person said I would be extremely fortunate after surviving a great disaster, that person said I would encounter a great opportunity... I want to take a gamble."
"I'm staying here, waiting for him to return."
...
...
Dawn broke, dispersing the gloom.
"Whoosh."
In Yuzhu Town, streets were strewn with paper money.
Xie Xuanyi carried Jiang Huang on his back, slowly making his way through the dilapidated town.
Due to his heavy hand years ago, Jiang Huang's legs remained broken, and even after taking human form, she could not walk freely.
In addition, the little one suffered severe Divine Soul injuries and fell back into a sleep after a brief exchange of words... Xie Xuanyi had no choice but to remove his outer garment to wrap her up and carry her on his back.
After several two-hour periods, he had returned to the "familiar place".
Only then did Xie Xuanyi realize that Yuzhu Town was indeed a place heavy with yin energy.
The town was no different from a dead town, its long streets littered with fallen leaves and paper money; even the sunrise couldn't dispel its ominous aura.
No one ventured outside.
Most of the houses and mansions were dilapidated and overgrown.
However, unexpectedly, every household's entrance had large red lanterns hanging, and several had numerous Paper Men leaning against the doors.
What met the eye was a bleak and ashen scene, prompting one to not linger.
...
Xie Xuanyi sighed lightly, feeling it was a pity.
Perhaps it was due to the depletion of Primordial Energy, which made it impossible to cultivate.
Since Da Chu chose to recall the garrison commander, it was akin to abandoning this territory.
When the royal family gives up, there was no reason for the common folk to hold onto it.
"I'm back."
Xie Xuanyi arrived at the front door of the Deng residence, placed a hand on the copper gate, and spoke at the same time.
This call, of course, was not to ask someone to open the door.
A dull thud sounded, and the door latch was shaken loose; Xie Xuanyi stepped into the mansion with a calm expression, witnessing the scene that swiftly transitioned from lively to deathly still, as well as the fearful gazes that fell upon him.
First, he dusted the ash off his clothes, and then picked up a teacup from the stone table, sipping lightly before finally setting down the little girl he carried on his back, passing her to a maid with a pale face and instructing her to go to the guest room to change Jiang Huang into more suitable clothes.
With these tasks completed.
Xie Xuanyi sat at the stone table, pinching the teacup, raising it above his head, examining it while waiting in silence.
In the main room at the end of the residence.
Hearing the noise outside, Deng Baiyi took three deep breaths while leaning against the wooden door.
With her emotions stabilized, Deng Baiyi took the initiative to open the door and sat opposite Xie Xuanyi, smiling as she spoke, "Back so soon?"
Xie Xuanyi set down the teacup and said nothing, just smiling back at the woman.
Deng Baiyi lifted her chin slightly, looking beyond the residence, and then inquired, "Is the killing finished?"
"Of course."
Xie Xuanyi replied indifferently, "What about you, have you thought about your answer?"
Deng Baiyi did not directly respond to this question.
"I've thought about it long ago."
She stared deeply into Xie Xuanyi's eyes and seriously asked, "But I have a question, if I give you an answer, will you take me with you on the road?"
"You should know that you have no bargaining power," Xie Xuanyi said, taking another sip of his tea.
Though they had only been together for half a night, Xie Xuanyi had a clear understanding of Deng Baiyi's scheming.
Being born in turbulent times and situated in the desolate Northern County, possessing such a fair countenance was more of a curse.
If she had no one to rely on, she would become a plaything for others.
Tu Fei was dead, but there would be another to follow.
This woman was no ordinary person; daring to stake her life and fortune, making marital ties with a dead man, gambling on an absurd prophecy to come true.
Having made the right bet at the first step,
Deng Baiyi certainly knew that she had no bargaining power.
Yet, this might be her only chance in life... Before she could get what she desired, she had to be a bit bolder.
"I want to leave this place."
Deng Baiyi fixed her gaze on Xie Xuanyi's eyes, pronouncing each word firmly, "I don't need anything else, I just want 'freedom'. To not be trapped in Northern County, not to have to look at others' faces, not to become someone else's toy."
Her voice trembled as she spoke.
But as she continued, her voice steadied.
"Without true freedom, there aren't many in this world who can truly achieve the 'freedom' you speak of."
Xie Xuanyi glanced at the woman and spoke calmly, "If you simply want to leave Yuzhu Town, there's no need to follow me. I can arrange for a Feng Shui treasure land for the Deng Family, where you will be free from demon trouble for the next twenty years."
Upon hearing this, Deng Baiyi's eyes lit up.
Leaving Northern County was a dream for many.
A border checkpoint strictly guarded, ordinary people heading south, seeking to enter legally required extensive checks, let alone the current required passes, which even the Deng Family couldn't afford with all their wealth.
This was an incredible opportunity!
But facing the proposition from Xie Xuanyi, Deng Baiyi's expression did not change in the slightest.
She merely shook her head slightly and uttered, "This... is not what I want."
Her words caused the smiles to vanish from Deng Baiyi's face, leaving her looking even more miserable than if she were crying.
"What do you want then? What is your so-called freedom?" Xie Xuanyi asked with a light smile.
He understood perfectly well but deliberately did not make clear the final barrier.
"Cultivation!"
Deng Baiyi declared resolutely, "I want to follow you and cultivate so that one day I might have the chance to wield a Flying Sword and slay Great Demons."