"Xu You... how has he not returned yet?"
The pale light of the lamp flickered as Shen Yan paced anxiously in the room, wearing only a thin overcoat.
"To kill a Xie Zhen, does it really take this long?"
Suddenly, she felt unease.
From Northern County to Qing State, she had tested many times and indeed, there was no Primordial Energy in Xie Zhen.
By inference, he should only be a Qi Refining Master who had a slight understanding of the art of talismans, at most with some connection to the Taoist sects.
With Xu You's level in the Qi-controlling Realm, killing such a Qi Refining Master would only take the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
"Squeak."
A light sound of a door opening startled Shen Yan, who turned around with joy, but her complexion turned deathly pale the next moment.
The one who returned was not Xu You.
It was Xie Zhen.
"Miss Shen, we meet again..."
Xie Xuanyi's face bore a faint smile, and he spoke in a calm tone, as if greeting an old friend.
Yet this tone sent shivers down Shen Yan's spine.
For his white clothing was still stained with splotches of blood.
"I had thought that we would never have to meet again."
Xie Xuanyi closed the door and slowly paced to the jade desk where Xu You had worked, sitting down with an air of composed ease.
Xie Xuanyi went about making tea for himself and said softly, "Perhaps we are truly fated."
"Xie Zhen..."
Shen Yan was a smart woman.
She quickly calmed herself and, suppressing the fear in her heart, sat down opposite Xie Xuanyi.
"Xu You, is he dead?"
Some things, she had already guessed the truth, but she still couldn't help asking now.
That was the Deputy City Lord of Tai'an City!
The peak of the Qi-controlling Realm!
"In Demon Country, there is a term called 'transcendence'. Many years ago, when Mo Zhen Great Venerate sowed discord, he would tell those foolish Cultivators that as long as they served the Demon Country, even death wouldn't be dreadful... As long as they made sufficient contributions, they could leave behind a thread of soul thought in the Demon Country, and this thread would be the hope for 'transcendence'. Those 'humans' who sold their lives to Demon Country, despite rushing into death, no matter the outcome, the Great Venerate would give them a chance to 'live once more'."
As he sipped his tea, Xie Xuanyi continued in an even tone, "Using their term, Xu You hasn't died... I've sent him to 'transcend'."
Shen Yan's face drained of all color in an instant.
More frightening than Xie Zhen killing Xu You, were the words Demon Country that Xie Zhen uttered.
"Transcendence, isn't that term laughable?"
Xie Xuanyi lifted his head and stared at Shen Yan with a mocking smile, "But there are indeed people who believe it. How can those who die live again? What good comes from selling your soul to Demon Country?"
Hanging conspicuously in this pavilion were plaques with the inscriptions "Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty" and "Preserve a Loyal Heart".
The writings and paintings Xu You left on his jade desk all underscored a spirit of patriotic devotion, with vows to serve to the last breath, to the point of death, no wonder the citizens of Tai'an City thought of Xu You as a hero, and no wonder Xu Jing, his adoptive son, regarded him as a role model.
Looking at it now, the irony was extreme.
Unexpectedly,
Shen Yan neither begged for mercy nor confessed.
She just coldly eyed the young man in white before her, "Then what good comes from serving Da Chu?"
Xie Xuanyi slightly furrowed his brow.
"Emperor Chu has passed away, the Heavenly Dao collapsed, the people of Northern County live in misery, war ravaged the lands, and following that, a year of great famine. Before the blood on the rafts had dried, the land was again littered with bones of those frozen to death."
"In the Imperial City, they shirk progress, demote the garrison commanders, close off the remote borders of the Northern lands, look away from the suffering of the citizens. It's said that in Yongyuan Building, there's constant mirth and dance, but do you know with every song in the Imperial City, how many people in Northern County starve, exhaust, or sicken to death?"
Shen Yan's expressionless face responded, "I serve Da Chu with no expectations of remembrance for my good deeds. Serving Demon Country, at the very least... I can survive, and I can live well."
"..."
Xie Xuanyi fell silent.
After being asleep for ten years, he truly did not understand much about the present Da Chu.
Only, the way he saw it, the desolation of Northern County seemed even worse than before.
"So you could even bring yourself to kill your own birth parents?"
When Soul Searching Xu You, Xie Xuanyi found out what Shen Yan had done for this mission.
To enter the city smoothly.
Shen Yan had acted personally to ensure the annihilation of Lingluo Mountain.
Even for someone like Xie Xuanyi, accustomed to killing, such an act was "shocking".
"If they're dead, then they're dead."
Shen Yan carelessly laughed and said, "As you put it, I'm simply sending them to 'rebirth'... What's so good about living in times like these?"
Xie Xuanyi fell silent once again.
He now knew.
Shen Yan was a complete and utter madwoman.
Such a person was even more terrifying than Xu You.
"Xie Zhen, you can kill me if you like, I don't care. But let me remind you of one thing... this is Taian City."
Shen Yan's tone was cold to the extreme: "The Primordial Instrument of the Imperial Surveillance is monitoring this place at all times. The death of Xu You will surely attract the attention of those above. If you kill me, can you escape on your own?"
"I have a thousand ways to escape."
Xie Xuanyi calmly said, "The simplest one is to make the truth known to all."
"You won't do that."
Shen Yan laughed.
She tilted her head back, looking at the handsome young man in white before her: "The identity of a spy from the Demon Country may not withstand scrutiny... but compared to me and Xu You, your identity seems worth keeping more secret, doesn't it?"
Xie Xuanyi's action of holding the teacup paused slightly.
"You are the one deduced by the great efforts of the Venerates of the Demon Country, the person of interest to the Demon Race. The 'person' that the Demon Race monitors, can never be a dead soldier of Da Chu, nor can it be a loyal and righteous individual with a lingering soul thought in the Primordial Instrument. In other words... Your identity in the territory of Da Chu must be chaotic and vague."
"Connected to the Taoist sects."
"Capable of killing a peak Qi-controlling Realm with just Qi Refinement cultivation."
"I do not believe that such a person can be a nobody... Your name must be fake, and your identity must also be fake. Once the Imperial Surveillance sets its sights on you, you will become an even more significant 'person of interest' than me and Xu You. A person without an identity or background revealing a spy from the Demon Race, can the Imperial Surveillance really believe that?"
Shen Yan slowly said, "In other words, even if you say you are a good person, who knows?"
"Miss Shen, you shouldn't have been born on Lingluo Mountain."
After listening, Xie Xuanyi couldn't help but sigh deeply and said earnestly, "You should have been born in the Imperial City, to become a member of the 'Tan Yi Guard'."
Shen Yan shook her head, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
"Therefore... Young Master Xie, killing me would not be a wise move. You killed Xu You and took the token of the Demon Race, why not make full use of it?"
She slowly said, "I can help you."
Xie Xuanyi looked at Shen Yan with a meaningful expression.
"Help me?"
"Help you escape the pursuit of the Imperial Surveillance, evade the monitoring of the Primordial Instrument, and erase everything that happened tonight in Taian City."
Shen Yan appeared calm, but her ten fingers had already dug deep into the palms of her hands, leaving trails of blood.
She spoke softly, proposing a deal, "No matter what, you need to prove that Xu You's death has nothing to do with you."
Having said these words.
The young man in white across the jade case indeed fell into contemplation.
Seeing Xie Zhen's reaction now.
Shen Yan knew she had guessed right, and gambled correctly.
The identity of this young man in white was more mysterious than her own and Xu You's!
"Miss Shen, you have reminded me."
After a moment, Xie Xuanyi raised his head and said earnestly, "Perhaps at this very moment, the Primordial Instrument is watching me. Those fellows from the Imperial Surveillance all have noses like dogs; they are much more troublesome than Demon Cultivators."
Hearing this.
Shen Yan felt slightly relieved inside.
But she didn't get the chance to continue speaking.
The young man sitting opposite her at the jade case, drinking tea, suddenly snapped his two fingers together and made a swift chopping motion.
Hisss!
"???"
Shen Yan's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked down.
A slender line of blood appeared at her throat, forming a continuous streak. She instinctively reached up to cover it, but it was already too late.
Blood spurted from between her fingers, splattering on the white paper of the jade case, turning into dots of eerily crimson plum blossoms.
"As a token of thanks, I'll send you on your way."
Xie Xuanyi took one final glance at Shen Yan.
He stood up, took out a talisman from his bosom, and pressed it down.
Golden Primordial Energy leapt out, setting the entire table ablaze...
Soon the flames spread.
The entire Xu residence was enveloped in towering black smoke.