Chapter 144: Resolution

It was truly pathetic. Wen Ying's mind echoed with Lan Jiaying's furious words. It was truly pathetic that a demon could sink to Lan Jiaying's level. This was still the great prince of the Demon Realm.

Although Lan Jiaying was considered a genius in the Demon Realm, human school exams would overwhelm him even if he were a prodigy. He'd have to study day and night to catch up.

Wen Ying relished in his misfortune, finally a demon was experiencing what he had felt. A few months ago, when he looked at the words on the Demon Realm textbooks, each character was understandable, but together they were as incomprehensible as a book from heaven.

"Lan Jiaying, how did you end up here?" Lan Jiaying wasn't stupid. After being tricked by Wen Ying multiple times, he instinctively distrusted him.

"You recognized me," Wen Ying chuckled. "You must really have feelings for me."

"Get lost! Did you do something to me again?"

Wen Ying shook his head. "No, it's just that you happened to bump into the exorcist we were planning to deal with." If Lan Jiaying was weaker, he might have been able to execute that immoral "barely breathing" plan.

Remembering what had just transpired, Wen Ying asked in confusion, "After leaving the old city, why did you return to this human's house? You can't be that foolish, can you?"

Lan Jiaying fell silent. His expression didn't seem as angry as before, but it gave off a sense of "storytelling". When he was quiet, his expression seemed somewhat absent-minded.

Wen Ying expresses his astonishment: "Given that you were ambushed in the old town district, you must be aware that there are exorcists lying in wait for you here in this neighborhood as well. Returning so recklessly doesn't seem like your usual character. Did you leave something of great importance behind?"

Amidst their conversation, an exorcist approached them. Wen Ying knocked the person unconscious, then turned back in surprise. Lan Jiaying had her eyes closed, seemingly having fainted.

Wen Ying approached and extended his finger beneath the other's nose, detecting a faint breath.

Wen Ying suddenly felt a bit like an unlucky soul. He stared at the unconscious demon for a while, then sighed. On the other side of the battle, Wang Run was desperately fighting against the inevitable end.

Hell Orange Xiao Le sensed an eerie silence in the neighborhood, and upon returning to the leisure lawn equipped with fitness equipment, he caught sight of a battle unfolding not far away. His pupils constricted, leaving him no time to ponder; he hurried over to lend a hand.

Wen Ying, in his true form, noticed Xiao Le and ceased to sparing his magical power. Before Xiao Le could charge over, he dealt with Wang Run.

Boros conjured black flames, while Wen Ying added a miniature tornado. Xiao Le had no time to pursue the two unknown demons; he had to extinguish the fire first, or the vicinity would be engulfed.

While fires could be manageable with water-based exorcist magic, drawing attention from the residents would be troublesome.

By the time he doused the flames, the two demons had vanished. Gazing at the corpses of Wang Run and his fostered demon on the ground, Xiao Le's expression turned grim. Suddenly, he recalled something and took out his phone to send a message in the work group.

"Wang Run is gone. You all immediately head to the assembly point. Two new demons have emerged. Be cautious."

By the time Xiao Le finished his tally, he discovered that only Wang Run was dead. The other three exorcists claimed they had also encountered pitch-black demons but were merely knocked out. This led Xiao Le to ponder over other possibilities.

Perseus observed Wen Ying carrying someone over and walked over for a closer look. Discovering that the person was unconscious, he asked, "Did you do this?"

Wen Ying replied, "Not me, it was those exorcists."

Muershi stroked his chin. "How strange. How could Lan Jiaying sustain such severe injuries? He didn't seem like he would end up in this condition back in the old town. I casually scouted the neighborhood earlier, and there weren't any particularly powerful exorcists there."

The three demons were all puzzled.

Recalling Lan Jiaying's complicated expression when he had asked the question, Wen Ying felt that there was more to the story.

"We can ask him when he wakes up," Wen Ying paused, "But where should we put him?"

"Yang Shiming has a house specifically for spending the night with his lovers. It's very private." With just one sentence from Perseus, Yang Shiming was on the verge of tears. He had gone through great lengths to find a secluded house, making it difficult for anyone to notice even if he brought a celebrity there.

What were they waiting for? Wen Ying immediately said, "Lead the way."

Wen Ying didn't send his original body back to the demon world; instead, he had it accompany him.

Yang Shiming's house was located in the city center, within an upscale residential area where only homeowners were allowed entry. The apartments had a private entrance per floor, ensuring high levels of privacy.

Exorcists would likely not come to such a place in search of them, as Yang Shiming seemed to have no apparent connection to the demonic incident that night.

Upon entering the house, Wen Ying intended to place the possessed Lan Jiaying directly on the sofa. However, upon catching a strong smell of blood on him, he paused and instead laid him on the ground.

Muershi crouched down and prodded Lan Jiaying repeatedly. Only when he received no response did he stand up and say, "Seems like he's really unconscious."

Wen Ying: "…"

Persephone: "…"

With such a pungent smell of blood, it was highly unlikely that the person was faking unconsciousness; the loss of blood must have been significant.

Wen Ying said, "You should tend to him."

His matter-of-fact tone caught Muershi's attention, who looked at him quizzically. Wen Ying mouthed two silent words: bathroom.

Muershi's eyelids twitched, and he let out a series of "Oh dear, oh dear" sounds, pretending to be reluctantly indulgent. "Fine, fine, I'll do it then."

Beros glanced at Wen Ying, a hint of confusion flickering in his eyes. Clearly, Muershi had been unwilling just now, but what had Wen Ying hinted at that made Muershi suddenly agree?

Not giving Beros the chance to ponder further, Muershi spoke up, "Beros, how do we split the points for tonight?"

Beros immediately focused on the score. "Divide it into five parts. Wen Ying and I will each take two, and you get one."

Muershi rolled his eyes. "Alright, then."

After that, Muershi began stripping the clothes off the human body possessed by Lan Jiaying. He removed the soiled garments that were stained with blood, and then cleaned the wounds.

When Muershi wiped away the blood, sweat, and dirt from the man's face, revealing his original clean appearance, Wen Ying let out an "Eh," and leaned in for a closer inspection.

"This person looks somewhat like the man who kissed that female celebrity at someone's birthday party."

Wen Ying pulled Beros, who was sitting cross-legged and meditating, over. "Do you think they look alike?"

Beros, interrupted in his meditation, wore an unamused expression, and his tone was impatient. "I didn't pay attention."

Wen Ying pushed away Beros, regarding him as a disposable tool, and turned to Muershi with his question.

Beros: "..." He couldn't pinpoint when, but he started to find Muershi annoying.

Whenever Wen Ying was with this devil, trouble always ensued.

Staring at the human's face for a while, Muershi hesitantly replied to Wen Ying, "I can't tell. Can you distinguish humans very clearly?"

Wen Ying: "Huh?" What did that mean?

Noticing Wen Ying's confusion, Muershi tilted his head and said, "Don't you mainly identify humans by their scent?"

Oops. Wen Ying quickly responded, "Yeah, but this human's aura has been heavily assimilated by Lan Jiaying, so I'm looking at his face."

Damn it! No one, not even a devil, had told him that demons couldn't recognize human appearances well!

Beros, who had been listening to their conversation, chimed in, "Perhaps it's because you grew up in the human world, allowing you to discern human faces more intricately."

Muershi sighed in admiration, "Growing up in the human world does make a difference."

Distracted by their conversation, Wen Ying had forgotten her initial thoughts about the man resembling the unfaithful partner. She sat down beside them, closing her eyes to regulate her breathing.

Once she regained some strength and Muershi finished tending to the man's wounds, they quietly left the residential area, approaching the old town. They dispelled the magical aura covering their bodies and walked out confidently, appearing on the road surveillance cameras. Wen Ying called Yang Shiming's driver to pick them up.

In Huo Jue's body, Muershi also dialed his own driver's number to come fetch him.

The three demons parted ways.

After the three "humans" returned home, with proof from the surveillance footage, the demons left their bodies, returning to their puppets.

Wen Ying's original form remained in Yang Shiming's house, serving as a guardian for Lan Jiaying.

The Yang brothers and Huo Jue were informed by the demons of the events that took place that night.

Yang Shiming was the unluckiest, as Beros had taken a close-combat, brute-force approach. When he regained control of his body, he instantly felt excruciating pain all over.

It was more painful than muscle soreness after intense exercise. His limbs felt incredibly heavy, and even a shallow breath caused pain on either side of his ribs. Upon lifting his shirt, he saw bruises all over his body. Beros, with great disdain, informed the groaning human that he had already used magic to heal him, so it was now just a minor issue.

A minor issue? Yang Shiming, who felt like his bones might be broken, almost lashed out at the dangerous black-haired demon.

Yang Shiming gazed at the virtually unscathed Yang Rixi, feeling a sudden surge of injustice. Before he could speak, Wen Ying's avatar said, "In terms of game classifications, I'm a mage, and the demon contracted with you is a Berserker."

Yang Shiming: "..."

Yang Rixi found Yang Shiming's mournful expression amusing. As an affectionate brother, he tried to use his magic to thoroughly heal him, but Wen Ying stopped him.

Wen Ying explained, "Healing magic consumes the life force of the one being healed. It's suitable for severe injuries, but not for these kinds of wounds. The cost outweighs the benefits."

Life force was closely related to magical power. If too much was lost, it wouldn't recover immediately. A decrease in life force would affect the amount of magical power that could be condensed, as well as other aspects. This was common knowledge in the Realm of Magic, but Yang Rixi and his companions were unaware.

The white light in Yang Rixi's hand dissipated before it could form. He offered, filled with both sympathy and a hint of schadenfreude, "If magic isn't an option, how about I massage some liniment into the injury?"

Yang Shiming nodded, aggrieved.

Then, sounds akin to slaughtering a chicken echoed from his room.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Gentle, gentle!

"Don't apply more pressure! Damn, it hurts!"

"Don't touch that spot!"

Everyone in the villa: "?"

Though it was late, everyone had heard the peculiar noise coming from Yang Shiming's room. Yang Zhenxing knocked on his door, ready to scold him for bringing someone back to fool around. However, when he saw that the other person in the room was Yang Rixi, his anger immediately dissipated, and his expression turned odd.

Yang Rixi said, "Dad, he's got a cramp. I'm applying muscle balm for him."

In the end, Yang Zhenxing said with a dark face, "Shiming, what are you shouting about? You're a man; just getting a massage shouldn't make you scream like Rixi is hitting you."

...

When Lan Jiaying woke up, he saw a face less than a meter away from his own, causing his hairs to stand on end. Instinctively, he swung his right arm up.

Wen Ying caught Lan Jiaying's raised hand and said unhappily, "Are you repaying kindness with enmity?"

Lan Jiaying came back to his senses. His earlier action was purely an instinctive response to danger. He glared and said, "Why were you so close to me for no reason?"

Wen Ying released his grip and pulled his upper body back.

He had been sitting by the bed just now, constantly gazing at this person's face, feeling that there was an uncanny resemblance between this individual and that unfaithful scoundrel.

"What is the connection between the human you possess and He Shengliang?"