Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 82 - The Shark Demon (1)

Two people walked in from outside, a man and a woman. The man, whom Zanxing had seen in the gambling house during the day, was the blue-clad young master from the nouveau riche sect Yin Feng Sect, Nie Xinghong. The girl beside him was unfamiliar, petite and delicate, dressed in a purple skirt, with a face like a beautiful jade, with a hint of innocence in her brows.

“Who are you?” Tian Fangfang was displeased. “How can you speak ill of my junior sister like that?”

“Xiang Ling Sect’s Pu Tao,” the girl looked at Yang Zanxing provocatively. “Your junior sister is a coward, and we can’t say that? It’s true. Which cultivator is afraid of dead people?”

Xiang Ling Sect? A thought stirred in Zanxing’s mind as she hid behind Gu Baiying. Xiang Ling Sect was a well-known sect in the cultivation world. This sect only accepted female disciples. Although she didn’t know what grievances existed between Xiang Ling Sect and Taiyan Sect, Xuan Lingzi had mentioned before leaving that the relationship between Xiang Ling Sect and Taiyan Sect was far from good.

Her behavior was indeed quite embarrassing for Taiyan Sect. Zanxing was about to say a few words to salvage the situation, but she saw Gu Baiying sneer and pull her behind him.

“What’s wrong, not convinced?” Pu Tai saw this and said sarcastically, “Bringing such a useless disciple out, it’s really embarrassing. If I were her, I would have cut off relations with the outside world long ago. How can she still have the face to participate in the secret trial of Li’er Country?”

Gu Baiying glanced at her faintly, “It seems you’re not afraid of dead people anymore?”

Pu Tao: “Of course.”

The next moment, with a flick of the young man’s finger, Pu Tao’s body flew uncontrollably, hanging above the female corpse on the couch, facing the female corpse with bark-like eye sockets. Pu Tao was first stunned, then there was a brief silence, followed by heart-wrenching screams echoing in the inn.

The instigator stood with arms crossed, indifferent to the fading beauty of the girl in the air, showing no emotion. Seeing this, Tan Tianxin, standing at the door, couldn’t help but swallow his saliva. In broad daylight, he still felt that Gu Baiying was too arrogant and disregarded the Chihua Sect. Now it seemed that it was not just a matter of disregarding the Chihua Sect. Perhaps in his eyes, all sects were the same.

“Even the art of connecting spirits?” A cultivator in the room exclaimed, “If not undone, the two will remain connected.”

“Um, Fellow Cultivator Gu, let’s talk things out.” Nie Xinghong tried to put Pu Tao down, but his cultivation was not as high as Gu Baiying’s, so he couldn’t break Gu Baiying’s spell. He could only kindly advise, “After all, she’s a girl, and we’re all fellow cultivators. We should cherish and respect her. Why bother arguing with a girl?”

“I don’t care if she’s a girl,” Gu Baiying didn’t even lift an eyelid, “she’s not a disciple of the Taiyan Sect, so why should I cherish and respect her?”

Men Dong whispered, “You haven’t shown any respect for female disciples of the Taiyan Sect either.”

Meng Ying pulled Men Dong aside, silencing him.

“Hey!” Pu Tao was trapped by the spell above the female corpse, struggling to break free, and shouted, “Let me down! If my master finds out about this, he won’t spare you!”

“The younger generation often lacks manners, probably because they’ve been indulged by their elders,” Gu Baiying disregarded her words completely, “If the elders of the Xiang Ling Sect don’t understand how to educate disciples, then let me teach you how to behave.” He looked at Pu Tao, “Since you’re not afraid of dead people anyway, you can enjoy the view here tonight.”

Both inside and outside the room, many cultivators were surprised by the young man’s audacity, resorting to using his cultivation to oppress others at the slightest disagreement. What was even more terrifying was that Pu Tao, selected by the Xiang Ling Sect to enter the secret realm, was by no means weak in cultivation, yet she was utterly powerless in the hands of this young man.

Even Nie Xinghong from the Yin Feng Sect, known for his chivalry and compassion, felt powerless to rescue Pu Tao and could only stand aside.

The horrifying female corpse hung just inches away from her, with the potential for ‘intimate contact’ at any moment if the spell were to loosen. Pu Tao had been pampered in the Xiang Ling Sect since childhood and had never experienced such injustice. Unable to bear it any longer, she couldn’t help but ask with a teary voice, “What do you want me to do to let me down?”

“Your Senior Uncle Gu is not someone who ignores etiquette,” Gu Baiying’s lips curved slightly, “Apologize to my junior niece.”

Pu Tao: “…”

“It’s like two primary school kids arguing,” Zanxing remarked.

“I didn’t say anything wrong, why should I apologize?” Pu Tao protested.

“Then you can stay here.”

“Wait. Fine!” The young girl had never encountered such arrogance before and feared spending the whole night facing the female corpse like this. She reluctantly looked at Zanxing and said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called you a coward. I… I was wrong!”

Gu Baiying chuckled, and with a flick of his finger, he released the connecting spell. Pu Tao quickly jumped away from the female corpse, keeping her distance.

“Tch,” Tian Fangfang glanced at her disdainfully, “Clearly afraid of dead people yourself, yet calling others cowards. It’s really foolish to save face and then suffer. Look at my junior sister, she’s not like you, she never puts on airs, and is always straightforward.”

“Enough,” Zanxing whispered, “Let’s stop.”

“Um, “the city guard leader at the inn’s entrance finally breathed a sigh of relief as the situation calmed down, “Immortals, let’s take a look at this corpse first.”

The female corpse lay on the couch, with a grimace of pain on her face, and there were no signs of struggle around her. The monster must have controlled the victim from the beginning. Zanxing didn’t dare to look directly and hid behind Gu Baiying, only giving it a cursory glance. It was clear that the blood of this corpse had been completely drained, something impossible for ordinary humans to accomplish.

Next to the female corpse stood a young couple. The woman wiped her tears and said, “We’ve been staying at this inn for three days. This evening, my sister said she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to rest. My husband and I went downstairs for dinner, and I asked the inn’s chef to prepare some light food for her. I intended to bring it to her, but as I pushed the door… pushed the door…” She covered her face and started crying.

Nie Xinghong walked to the side of the female corpse, fanning himself, and said, “Fellow cultivators, when the incident occurred, Pu Tao and I were in the nearby market. When we heard someone screaming and rushed over, we felt a demonic aura leaving this inn. Pu Tao and I followed it, but the demonic aura disappeared deep into the redwood forest.”

“Did you get a clear look at what kind of monster it was?” Meng Ying asked.

Seeing that it was Meng Ying who asked the question, Nie Xinghong immediately walked over to her enthusiastically and answered, “No, we didn’t. But that demonic aura was very strong, much stronger than ordinary monsters. Miss Meng, please rest assured, I will do my best to capture that monster as soon as possible and prevent it from disturbing you.”

Zanxing felt a bit disgusted by this person’s oily flattery and glanced away.

The style of this inn was different from that of the Xian Xun Hai Inn. After all, the Xian Xun Hai Inn was a high-end seaside villa, focusing on a mystical atmosphere, with tents made of the most fashionable noble white fabric. When the sea breeze blew in from the window, the white curtains billowed like clouds, elegant and graceful.

The current inn, however, had slightly lower prices, and you get what you pay for. Although it looked decent at first glance, upon closer inspection, the fabric of the curtains seemed rough. The beds were not well-made, and there was even a round mirror nailed to one of the bedposts. Wait, a mirror?

Why would someone nail a mirror to a bedpost?

“Zanxing, Zanxing.” Someone spoke beside her, bringing Zanxing back to reality. She saw Tian Fangfang staring at her with concern and asked, “What are you thinking? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“I’m thinking,” Zanxing pointed to the mirror nailed to the bedpost, “why is there a mirror here?”

Everyone was momentarily stunned, and their eyes all fell on the mirror.

Meng Ying stepped forward fearlessly towards the female corpse on the couch and simply reached out to take the bronze mirror down, bringing it in front of everyone.

The bronze mirror was not large, and if it were meant for grooming and dressing, it was indeed a bit small. Moreover, it was unlikely for someone to hang a grooming mirror on a bedpost. Pu Tao remarked, “There seems to be something on the back of this mirror.”

Meng Ying flipped the mirror over and saw that the edge of the back was indeed carved with a circle of runes. She frowned, “A demon-expelling spell?”

Tan Tianxin, who had been standing by the door without daring to enter, also walked over. He looked at the mirror and then extended his five fingers, channeling a surge of qi over the runes carved on the bronze mirror. After a moment, he withdrew his hand and cleared his throat, “This demon-expelling spell is quite potent. It seems someone intentionally left it here.”

“Intentionally left?” Zanxing wondered, “Does that mean someone knew beforehand that there would be a demon causing trouble here?”

Everyone looked at the innkeeper, who was taken aback and stuttered, “Th-this is… how could it be? This was left by a cultivator before, it just happened to be here.”

“It’s probably not just a coincidence,” Gu Baiying looked at him, “In your city, there must have been quite a few disturbances lately, and tragedies like this aren’t uncommon, right?”

“What do you mean by that, Senior Uncle?” Mu Cengxiao asked.

Zanxing was also puzzled.

“Previously, at the Xian Xun Hai inn courtyard, I saw a bronze mirror nailed to a phoenix tree. I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, but now thinking back, I’m afraid the back of that bronze mirror was also engraved with a demon-expelling spell,” Gu Baiying said. “The demon-expelling spell on the back of the bronze mirror specifically targets demonic entities. Every inn is like this. Such incidents should not be the first time.”

As he spoke, Zanxing recalled the phoenix tree in the courtyard of the Xian Xun Hai Inn, indeed adorned with a mirror. She had even checked her appearance in it before leaving. Now thinking about it, why would there be a mirror deliberately left on a tree in the inn courtyard? It was indeed very strange.

“This isn’t the first time this demon has caused trouble?” Pu Tao wondered, “But we’ve been in Li’er Country for two days already, why hasn’t anyone mentioned it before?”

The innkeeper’s expression flickered as he avoided the gaze of the crowd.

Zanxing was also puzzled. If this wasn’t the first time an incident occurred, then why not just speak the truth? What was the purpose of dodging and hiding? It couldn’t be because they were afraid of affecting the impression of safety in the minds of cultivators, causing a major blow to the tourism industry here, could it?

The innkeeper continued to evade, “No, it really is the first time. Esteemed cultivators, it’s actually just a coincidence.”

“What coincidence?” The sister of the deceased woman, who had been crying, suddenly raised her head, her eyes red with anger, and said fiercely, “Clearly, it’s because that shark demon has come for revenge! Why are you dodging and hiding?”