Watching the three women take Lin Ling away, Xiu Jiming’s expression remained unchanged.
He turned his gaze toward the nearby tombstone and beckoned with his hand.
A massive surge of energy gathered in his palm, and he struck the tombstone with a single blow.
A loud bang echoed!
The entire tombstone shattered upon impact, sending stone fragments flying in all directions.
A pitch-black figure leaped up from beneath the tombstone.
Xiu Jiming’s figure flickered slightly, following like a shadow as he threw a palm strike at the dark figure’s back.
The dark figure groaned and fell from the air.
Xiu Jiming drifted down slowly from the sky.
“Thinking of running already?”
The black figure stood up.
Under the moonlight, his incredibly pale face was revealed.
Xiu Jiming stared at the face and chuckled.
“It really is King Jing.”
“You recognize this body?”
King Jing smiled slightly, seemingly unbothered by Xiu Jiming’s attitude.
“How pitiful. Deceived while alive, and even after death, you are refined into an external incarnation.”
Xiu Jiming sighed and pulled a golden token from his robes.
The front bore the words Emperor’s Decree, while the back was engraved with five large red characters: Heaven-Patrolling Evil-Suppression Envoy.
Along with this token, a golden light illuminated ‘King Jing’s’ body.
In the next moment, the man’s body began to tremble uncontrollably, twisting and contorting.
‘King Jing’s’ expression changed drastically.
“How is this possible?! It is just a corpse, yet it still has a self-awareness capable of resisting me?!”
“A member of the imperial family will naturally react upon seeing the Emperor’s Decree. You should just come out now. I do not wish to make things too ugly; blowing King Jing’s corpse to smithereens wouldn’t be appropriate.”
Xiu Jiming kept his hands behind his back, quietly watching the person before him.
In his current state, ‘King Jing’ even had trouble walking.
After his expression shifted between light and dark for a moment, he finally decided to leave the physical body.
In the next moment, King Jing’s corpse began to shudder violently.
Then, his body split down the middle like a molted shell, and a somewhat bizarre figure stepped out from within the corpse.
Shi Yinghuan’s body immediately shriveled up like a deflated balloon.
Xiu Jiming sighed, and then a flame ignited, burning Shi Yinghuan away.
Seeing Xiu Jiming’s miraculous methods, the monster before him felt a sense of dread.
“Who exactly are you? How can a being like you exist in such a remote wilderness!”
E
“So, is your next plan to invade Yunzhou? Is Yuzhou no longer enough for you to ruin?”
Xiu Jiming sneered.
Recalling certain memories he would rather forget, a surge of righteous fury welled up within him.
, , ,
“It seems you are not only powerful but also someone who knew the truth back then.”
The demon suddenly stopped being timid. He smiled slightly, revealing a look of smugness.
“Yuzhou is so large that it naturally won’t be digested so quickly, but then again, who would complain about having too many resources?”
“Not just Yunzhou, we want Zhenzhou above it as well. Since you were an insider back then, I most likely won’t be able to escape. You should just enjoy your final moments of peace.”
He let out a cackle and immediately flew toward the sky.
Xiu Jiming raised his hand and made a gripping motion toward the air.
The demon, his eyes filled with terror, instantly exploded in mid-air.
Blue flames illuminated the night sky, looking quite spectacular.
The citizens in the city thought someone was setting off fireworks and did not pay much attention to it.
A few drops of slime that had not been completely purified dripped onto the wasteland below, instantly corroding the dry grass with a sizzling white smoke, leaving a small charred mark on the ground.
Xiu Jiming’s expression was somewhat grim.
He knew that demons always moved in large numbers; there couldn’t possibly be only one.
If he wanted to prevent Yunzhou from falling like Yuzhou, he had to take action.
Perhaps this was also a chance to make up for his past mistakes.
Xiu Jiming looked up and sighed before turning to leave.
Shi Yinghuan’s body was gradually burned to ash by the flames and dissipated.
This grave site returned to tranquility once more.
The next day, Lin Ling came here on her own.
Looking at the wasteland that had been leveled by Xiu Jiming, she felt a bit of regret.
It was just a fake King Jing; she had thought she might have a chance to take some revenge or something.
“Big Sis, so you’re here. Boss Xiu says we’re heading back.”
Bai Yunyun yawned as she approached Lin Ling.
Lin Ling looked up at the sky, sighed, and nodded.
“Mhm. Let’s go.”
The two of them arrived at Wu Que’s house and saw Xiu Jiming and a young man giving Wu Que a lecture.
The two of them immediately stood to the side.
When they saw Lin Ling standing there, Xiu Jiming beckoned, signaling for her to come over.
Lin Ling looked back at Bai Yunyun, who didn’t dare to make a sound.
She shrugged helplessly and walked toward the two men.
The man beside Xiu Jiming looked somewhat delicate and didn’t seem very old, likely only in his teens.
Seeing Lin Ling approach, the man smiled slightly.
“I didn’t expect there would be a survivor of the Yuzhou Fox-kin. Are you the only one left of your clan?”
Lin Ling shook her head and wrote on her paper: “Who are you?”
“I am a friend of Xiu Wenshu.”
The man smiled slightly.
Xiu Jiming waved his hand and said, “Don’t make things difficult for her.”
Then, he turned to leave. Lin Ling grabbed his sleeve and wrote on her paper: “Where are you going?”
ใHey, hey, hey, Old Xiu, you’re not going to leave me here alone, are you?!ใ
Xiu Jiming said, “I’m going to call a carriage for you. Do you still want to walk back?”
Lin Ling shook her head and let go of Xiu Jiming’s sleeve.
The man glanced at Xiu Jiming and smiled.
“How could I? I’ve always been kind-hearted.”
“Do you have anything else?”
Lin Ling turned back to look at him, flipped a page in her book, and continued writing to ask.
The man hesitated for a moment and shook his head.
“Since there is still a descendant of the Yuzhou Fox-kin, I will pay the young lady a visit another day. May I ask where you live?”
“โฆ”
Lin Ling squinted her eyes at him, wondering what he was plotting.
“Oh, the lady has misunderstood. My surname is Shen, and my family has some influence. I was entrusted by an old acquaintance to help you out. The Yuzhou Fox-kin performed great service for the court; you needn’t worry that I’m a bad person.”
The man hurriedly explained.
ใWho knows what you’re thinking, you don’t look like a good person at all.ใ
Lin Ling rolled her eyes, ignored him, and turned to chase after Xiu Jiming.
ใBesides, even the records of the Patrol Blessing Ministry were destroyed by someone. Why would I trust people like you?ใ
Lin Ling jogged all the way without stopping.
Watching Lin Ling’s petite figure from behind, the man sighed, folded his fan, and intended to head toward King Jing’s tomb to take a look.
Xiu Jiming was strolling leisurely along the road, and Lin Ling soon caught up to his side.
Lin Ling followed silently without speaking.
“Watch where you’re going.”
Xiu Jiming didn’t even turn his head.
Lin Ling hurriedly lowered her head but quickly wrote on her paper: “Who was that person just now? He seems to know about the matters of Yuzhou.”
“Mhm. The matters of Yuzhou involve a great deal; I can’t say much for the time being. However, that man is barely trustworthy. He loves meddling in other people’s business; staying away from him won’t do you any harm.”
Xiu Jiming answered.
Lin Ling stared at his profile and suddenly wrote again: “Just now, were youโฆ a bit unhappy?”
Xiu Jiming’s footsteps faltered imperceptibly.
He didn’t answer, but instead raised his hand and messily ruffled her hair.
“Don’t go snooping around, kid. Let’s go. We’re going back to Wu Que’s house to drink your medicine. Gu Xiao has already brewed it for you over there. Your yin energy hasn’t been cleared yet; you’ll really get sick if you keep running around.”
Lin Ling looked at him with disdain.
ใYou have the nerve to say that. You brought a strange person here to ask all sorts of things, who could stay there?ใ
Seeing him walking further away, Lin Ling finally spoke up, “Was that a demon?”
Lin Ling’s soft, gentle voice came from behind. Xiu Jiming paused, then nodded.
“Yes. They are a kind of disgusting monster. We will be dealing with such things frequently in the future.”