Chapter 424: She Doesn’t Look Like a Demon Cultivator at All!
Little Qi was standing under a tree outside the village, muttering to herself and Chu Chu — both of them having accepted a quest from their sect and now on the hunt for the demon cultivator (not the friendly kind) that had been spotted nearby.
“Is there no leftover demon energy?” Little Qi peered around seriously, but all she saw was the peaceful village life. No signs of any demon cultivator lurking about.
After a few moments of deep thought, she decided it was time for some undercover work. She’d hide her identity as a disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect… wait, no, the Moon-Slasher Sect — totally not the sect that might get her immediately roasted if anyone figures out who she really is. Better to pretend she’s just an ordinary girl gathering intel.
Soon, Little Qi changed into plain clothes, covered her white hair with a wide-brimmed hat, and strapped her long sword at the waist. She looked like a brave, valiant heroine — a little short in her stature, but that’s okay. Heroes come in all sizes, right?
Though her cloak was suspiciously eye-catching outside the village, as long as nobody recognized her as a Heavenly Sword Sect disciple, she’d be fine. Big sect disciples are supposed to run away if they spot demon cultivators; small sect disciples, on the other hand, might just be potential fuel for their demonic cultivation fires (talk about a “flesh and bl**d” opportunity). So, even if the demon cultivator couldn’t tell she was from the sect, they wouldn’t just leave — they’d probably get curious and come closer. Perfect!
She strode purposefully into the village, thinking: if the demon cultivator was still around, they’d be hiding nearby, secretly snatching villagers to fuel their evil spells.
And sure enough, her predictions held true. As she wandered while chatting with villagers about the missing persons, a strikingly pretty woman hurried over, her face tense with nerves.
“Um, Fairy, are you here to investigate our missing people?” the woman asked, eyes darting around.
“I’m not a fairy,” Little Qi corrected, “I’m a cultivator.” She continued, “Any clues?”
“Of course!” the woman nodded quickly. “Before they disappeared, they came here to buy tofu. I overheard them talking about some kind of fairy spirit on the southern mountain, so I think they went to check it out.”
“Got it, thanks. I’ll check that out later,” Little Qi said, nodding.
“Thank you so much, Fairy! These past few days have been terrifying — especially after hearing there’s a demon rampaging around. I haven’t slept well at all. By the way, are you from the Red Mist Sect? I’ve heard those guys ride clouds and fog around — I even wanted to become a disciple myself when I was little, but I never found them!”
That girl kept talking nonstop, probably because it was her first time meeting a cultivator. Little Qi didn’t show any airs or superiority, so the woman kept chatting happily.
“I’m not a fairy,” Little Qi said with a slight smile. “And, uh, I belong to the Red Mist Sect. I’m here on a mission from my sect to investigate.”
She nodded, playing her part. Red Mist Sect was a little tiny sect near the village — nothing major, and probably unable to handle the demon cultivator problem. Plus, they were all the way near the Moon-Slasher Sect, so the task of dealing with demons ended up on Little Qi’s plate in the sect’s task hall.
“Alright, thanks, Fairy.”
Little Qi: “… what a hassle.” She was too tired to correct her again.
“Oh, Fairy, the southern mountain’s pretty treacherous. Do you want me to find someone to guide you?”
“No need,” Little Qi shook her head. “If there really is a demon, it’s dangerous up there — I might not even be able to save them if I find someone.”
“Alright then. Take care, Fairy!”
As the woman left, Little Qi mulled over her. She found her suspicious, but not necessarily a demon cultivator in disguise. Maybe the demon used her talkative nature to leak information, luring in investigators like herself. Classic demon trickery.
After some thought, she decided to head to the southern mountain for a look-see. She was more worried about the demons catching wind of her presence and fleeing — the mountain itself was not her concern.
Reaching Nanshan Mountain, she looked around expectantly. “Nothing here?”
Frowning slightly, she wondered if the demon cultivator had already escaped. Was her disguise somehow not foolproof?
Suddenly, she caught a whiff of rotten stench. Instinctively, she looked around and spotted a concealed hole behind a tree, covered with dry grass. Inside was a rotting pile of corpses — pretty marked as “been dead for days.”
“His methods are a bit crude… and not really demon cultivator style,” Little Qi murmured, squinting at the scene.
Just then, she felt a chilling breeze behind her. She quickly turned around, drawing her sword just in time to see a pale right hand lunging at her.
But her sword went right through it — as if the hand was just a phantom.
“Not good!”
Little Qi snapped into action, swiftly retreating. The hand grabbed nothing but air and tore her hat! White hair spilled through the hole in her hat, and her eyes zeroed in on the woman who had just been giving clues back in the village.
The woman was now smiling sweetly — a completely different expression from before. Same face, but the aura was totally different.
She really hadn’t expected the demon cultivator to be so bold—disguised, brazenly appearing in front of her and even spilling clues. It was obvious this woman was exploiting her talkative nature to slip some secret info, trying to lure her into a trap. Typical demon move.
With a new resolve, Little Qi drew her sword and charged.
But the woman did not dodge or fight back. Instead, she closed her eyes as if meditating. When she opened them again, her gaze was unfocused and confused. When the spear of her sword approached, she let out a terrified scream: “Ah!”
“You demon woman, how dare you harm during broad daylight!”
Suddenly, a flash of sword light cut through the scene. Little Qi’s sword paused right in front of the woman’s face, blocked by a man stepping between them, his own sword raised defensively.
“Save me, Fairy!”
The woman, who had just escaped d*ath’s grip, was trembling in fear but clung to the man beside her.
“Don’t worry. I’m here. She won’t lay a finger on you,” the man said, smiling gently. Then, as he looked at Little Qi and the white hair hanging from the torn hat, his eyes narrowed just a little:
“So, demon woman, you’re the one maliciously killing innocents here?”
“I’m not a demon woman!” Little Qi snapped. “I’m a disciple of the Moon-Slasher Sect, and your buddy here is the demon cultivator.”
The man chuckled softly, eyeing the frightened woman in his arms. “Haha, you think I’m blind? She doesn’t look like a demon cultivator at all.”
He glanced at his trembling companion and added, “Besides, you said you’re from the Moon-Slasher Sect. I could just say I’m the senior brother of the same sect!”
Little Qi furrowed her brows even deeper, realizing she couldn’t find any flaw in his words. He looked just like an ordinary person — maybe even more boring than her. It was strange; no hints, no tricks, no signs of falsehood.
Well, that made her even more suspicious…
