Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Chengbi, would you... marry me?"

Li Huan's voice was hoarse, grating like a blunt saw. Lin Chengbi was startled and stepped back, saying, "Have you gone mad?"

Just a few days ago, he was perfectly normal. How had he suddenly turned into this state, neither fully human nor ghost?

Lin Chengbi scrutinized him and noticed an extremely deep knife wound on his chest. Any normal person would have died from a wound like that long ago.

What... what exactly was he? Human or ghost?

Lin Chengbi's legs trembled slightly as she leaned against the table to steady herself.

"You don't like me? Why won't you marry me?" Li Huan asked.

"No, I really don't like you."

"Then why did you save me back then?"

"You collapsed at my doorstep, for heaven's sake!" Lin Chengbi retorted.

Two years ago, Li Huan's hometown suffered a severe drought. The crops failed completely, leaving the people without stores of grain. They had no choice but to flee their homes as refugees. It was during this time that Li Huan arrived at Jingtao Town. Starving and exhausted, he fainted right outside the Lin family's gate. Coincidentally, Lin Chengbi was heading out and found him, taking him in and thus saving his life.

Lin Chengbi never could have imagined that a single act of kindness would bring such disaster upon herself!

Li Huan seemed to ignore her answer, continuing as if to himself, "If you didn't like me, why did you help me write that letter home back then?"

Lin Chengbi asked, puzzled, "Didn't you ask me to write it for you?"

After recovering, Li Huan felt it wasn't proper to keep living with the Lin family and wanted to seek refuge with relatives. He wished to write a letter to inquire about their situation, but being illiterate, he had to ask Lin Chengbi for help.

Lin Chengbi waved it off—writing a letter was no big deal, a trivial matter—so she helped Li Huan write and send the letter.

Lin Chengbi was about to lose her mind. She said helplessly, "You *asked* me to! It was a favor!"

In the reply, the relatives expressed sympathy upon learning of Li Huan's plight, but regarding his wish to seek shelter with them, they lamented that their own circumstances had been difficult in recent years. They could barely take care of themselves and feared they wouldn't be of much help.

Lin Chengbi thought these relatives were truly not good people, speaking in lofty terms while essentially refusing to help, hiding behind excuses about their own hardships.

Knowing he couldn't rely on his relatives, Li Huan decided to settle in Jingtao Town, find some work, and earn a living. Lin Chengbi suggested he could stay and work for the Lin family.

But Li Huan refused, only borrowing some money from her. Lin Chengbi didn't insist, seeing he still had some ambition, and gave him the money.

Who could have imagined that her simple acts of kindness would be interpreted by him as having ulterior motives?

Lin Chengbi looked at him with shock and bewilderment. Li Huan was ordinary in appearance, average in build, and his family background and education were likewise unremarkable—not even average, really. She couldn't fathom where this bizarre notion of his came from. How could he be so confident?

What kind of men hadn't she seen? Handsome ones, wealthy ones, talented ones—there were plenty, each superior to him in some way. How could she possibly like him?

Li Huan kept advancing on her slowly, raising his hand gradually. "You clearly like me..."

Lin Chengbi felt she was going insane. She smashed a vase against Li Huan's head. The vase shattered upon impact, and blood seeped from Li Huan's temple, trickling down his cheek and dripping onto the ground.

Li Huan seemed to feel no pain, not even blinking.

In a sudden burst of strength, he gripped Lin Chengbi's neck, snarling, "Why are you still marrying Wu Jingchao? You fickle woman!"

Lin Chengbi felt suffocated. She gasped for air, but the hand clamped on her neck made breathing impossible. In agony, she pounded Li Huan's arm, thinking bitterly, *Am I really going to die here today? If I die in such a humiliating way, I swear I'll become a vengeful ghost and settle accounts with Li Huan!*

Li Huan didn't intend to strangle her. Instead, he threw her onto the bed by her neck. "In what way am I inferior to him?"

After catching her breath, Lin Chengbi spat fiercely, "You're not even worth one of his hairs!"

Li Huan let out a cold, sinister laugh. "It doesn't matter. You'll soon be mine."

Lin Chengbi felt a wave of nausea. She glared at Li Huan, burning with rage, and resolved that even if she couldn't defeat him, if he dared lay a hand on her, she would dash her head against the bed and die, then return as a vengeful ghost to fight him.

Just as Li Huan's hand was about to touch her, a sword swept his hand aside. Li Huan couldn't dodge in time, and a bloody gash opened on his arm, black blood flowing down his limb.

Liu Nanzhou stood to the side, sword in hand, flicking the blood from his blade.

Seeing someone had arrived, Lin Chengbi quickly scrambled off the bed and ran behind Liu Nanzhou.

"Hero, save me!"

Li Huan shot a murderous glance at the newcomer. "Who are you?"

Liu Nanzhou replied expressionlessly, "Your father."

Lin Chengbi: "..."

*Such boldness from the hero!*

But Li Huan wasn't angered. He was about to speak when Fang Xun and Chu Minghe arrived right after. Chu Minghe narrowed his eyes at Li Huan, shielding Liu Nanzhou and Fang Xun behind him. "Be careful. He carries the aura of a demon."

Fang Xun asked, "Miss, are you alright?"

Lin Chengbi shook her head. "I'm fine. You... you came to save me?"

Fang Xun said, "Yes."

Overjoyed, Lin Chengbi said, "Thank goodness, heroes." She pointed at Li Huan. "He... he's just a madman!"

Li Huan withdrew his gaze from Liu Nanzhou and gave Chu Minghe a grim, humorless smile. "No one is taking her away today. She must be mine. She can only be mine!"

Lin Chengbi shrank back. Liu Nanzhou rolled his eyes at him. "You're sick."

Li Huan reached out to grab Lin Chengbi, but Chu Minghe blocked him. The two were soon locked in combat.

Fang Xun asked, "Do you know this person?"

Lin Chengbi nodded. "Yes, I saved him before. But he wasn't like this back then; he seemed quite normal. Who knew he..."

Fang Xun patted her shoulder reassuringly. "It's alright. Did he say anything?"

Lin Chengbi thought for a moment. "Yes. When he first saw me, he said, 'He really didn't lie to me.' What does that mean?"

Fang Xun understood. "That confirms it. He must be possessed by a demon and has made some kind of deal with it."

Lin Chengbi stared at Li Huan in shock. "Ah? Then he... is he already dead? There's a very deep knife wound on his chest."

Fang Xun said, "You could say that."

While they were talking, Chu Minghe had already subdued Li Huan. Wu Jingchao rushed in with his men, panting heavily. "Chengbi!"

Juqing cried out joyfully, "Miss, it's such a relief you're alright!"

Seeing Wu Jingchao, the tension that had gripped Lin Chengbi all night finally eased. Tears streamed from her eyes. "Why did you take so long to come? I was terrified."

Wu Jingchao pulled her into a hug, comforting her, "It's okay now, it's okay."

Wu Jingchao turned and saw Li Huan held down by Chu Minghe, "Hey, isn't that the..."

Li Huan was still struggling, his gaze fixed fiercely on Lin Chengbi, "If you don't like me, what were these last two years all about? What was all your kindness for?"

Lin Chengbi was furious and shouted at him, "It means I was blind! It means I had rotten luck!"

Li Huan couldn't believe it—Lin Chengbi had helped him so much, and it was truly out of pure kindness.

Chu Minghe's lips twitched and he said, "You have quite the imagination."

As soon as the words fell, Chu Minghe drew a talisman in the air with his fingers and sent it into Li Huan's back.

"Out!"

Black mist swirled around Li Huan. He struggled twice before slumping to the ground, unmoving. Then, a stream of black energy burst out from his body and flew out through the cave entrance.

Chu Minghe turned his head and said, "Fang Xun, take your junior brother and the others away from here first."

With that, he drew his sword and chased after it.

Li Huan lay on the ground, breathing shallowly, muttering under his breath, "No... no... he promised me, he promised me!"

Li Huan struggled to his feet, his eyes filled with madness and rage. He lunged toward Lin Chengbi, but Wu Jingchao blocked him, and Liu Nanzhou grabbed him by the back of his collar, preventing him from moving forward.

"He promised to make you mine, you are mine!" Li Huan ranted madly, turning his head to glare at Fang Xun, "You can't do this!"

Fang Xun said, "You do know he's a demon, right?" He looked at Li Huan as if he were a fool, "You dare make a deal with a demon?"

Li Huan, stubbornly deluded, retorted, "So what if he's a demon? He can give me what I want. Can you Orthodox Sects do that?"

Back then, he had just learned the news that Lin Chengbi was to marry Wu Jingchao. He went to confess his feelings to Lin Chengbi, but she rejected him. Resentment filled him, and it was then that the demon came to him.

Demons are experts at twisting people's minds. With just a few words, the demon gained Li Huan's trust and struck a deal: Li Huan would give him a few drops of heart's blood, and in return, the demon would help Li Huan win Lin Chengbi.

Liu Nanzhou glanced at him and cursed again, "You're sick in the head."

With that, he grabbed Li Huan by the back of his collar and threw him to the ground.

Fang Xun shook his head helplessly. This man was not only ignorant but also had his guard down completely—what was the point of having a brain?

"But he didn't give you what you wanted either."

Li Huan angrily shouted, "It's all your fault! He didn't lie to me, and he didn't harm me."

Fang Xun said with exasperation, "Didn't harm you? How long has it been since you last looked in a mirror? Look at what you've become—do you even look human anymore? You should be thanking your lucky stars you're still alive."

Li Huan had actually gotten off easy. Usually, those possessed by demons are usually left half-dead. The fact that he could still argue with them showed he still had some fight in him.

However, the next moment, black energy suddenly gushed from the wound on his chest, and dark red blood flowed out. Li Huan let out a pained cry in agony.

Liu Nanzhou stepped forward to examine him, but before he could do anything, Li Huan went still.

Lin Chengbi, shielded behind Wu Jingchao, hadn't yet processed what happened and asked, "He... is he dead?"

"Yes." Liu Nanzhou examined his body, "Dead."

Fang Xun shook his head, "Serves him right."

He picked up the circular jade pendant hanging from his waist and tapped it. The pendant emitted a faint glow. Chu Minghe lowered his head to look and heard Fang Xun's voice coming from the pendant.

"Senior Brother, that demon seems to have been injured."

Chu Minghe replied, "Alright, I understand."

The demon fled swiftly, and by the time Chu Minghe chased after it, it had already vanished. Chu Minghe searched around but found nothing.

Chu Minghe found it puzzling. If the demon was injured, it shouldn't have been able to shake him off unless someone had rescued it or it was merely a projection.

Thinking of this, Chu Minghe frowned. This was serious—he needed to report it to the elders immediately.

Chu Minghe returned to the inn and explained the situation to Qi Wuyu and Ying Nianling. Liu Nanzhou and Fang Xun had also returned. Ying Nianling stood by the window with his hands behind his back, "I understand. Are you all alright?"

Chu Minghe shook his head, "We're fine." He asked, "Elder, what should we do next?"

Ying Nianling fell silent for a moment before saying, "Tomorrow, I'll send a letter to Golden Vale first, then we'll pick up the pace. We can't afford to be lax anymore. This is Golden Vale's territory—let them handle it."

Qi Wuyu took a sip of tea, "It's late. Xiao Ning and Zhao Yi are back too. Let's all rest for now."

The group bowed and returned to their respective rooms. Ying Nianling said, "In recent years, the demon clan's movements have become increasingly frequent."

Qi Wuyu replied, "They have been cooped up for too long, that's for sure."

Ying Nianling sighed, "Let's hope sealing away one Dan Cangke doesn't lead to some Li Cangke or Wang Cangke popping up."

"That's not impossible," Qi Wuyu laughed heartily, "I'm off."

Ying Nianling watched him leave and clicked his tongue in disdain, "Tsk, tsk, tsk—You and your big mouth!"

Author's Note:

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A glimpse of the sharp-tongued Xiao Zhou~