The monster-hunting squad was stunned to find that the legendary Peach Blossom Great Fiend was actually a delicate and charming young girl.
Guo Nanjun and the swift-blade Wei Lun looked toward Guo Hengbei with a hint of hesitation.
Feng Gu, a burly, stout man, spurred his horse forward, brandishing a large axe as he shouted, "You peach fiend! Hengbei’s monster-hunting squad is here. Why haven’t you come over to meet your end yet?"
The girl in pink had been focused on weeding. At the loud shout, her brows furrowed slightly. "Another wave of monster hunters?"
She set down her small hoe and turned to face the group. "Make it quick. Once you're done, head down the mountain. I still have weeding to..."
Mid-sentence, she noticed the leader, Guo Hengbei, was a Fourth Realm martial artist. She froze instantly, her expression turning wary.
Guo Nanjun, clad in a striking red outfit, stared at the girl. She looked so delicate and radiant that it was hard to believe she was the same Peach Blossom Great Fiend described in the bounty as having a green face, fangs, and a bloody, cavernous mouth.
Guo Hengbei also frowned and asked, "Are you the Peach Blossom Great Fiend who has been lingering here on Xiufeng Ridge?"
"Not 'Great'," the girl replied. "Just a Peach Blossom Fiend."
Guo Hengbei was speechless for a moment; he hadn't expected the fiend to be so particular about her title.
"I have accepted a bounty from the Zhang family in Yuyang County," he said. "I am here to eliminate you, the Peach Blossom fiend who has been plaguing the region and taking hundreds of lives—"
"I haven't killed anyone," the fiend interrupted. "Not a single soul!"
"But the bounty says—"
"Those are lies!" the fiend interrupted again.
Guo Hengbei’s gaze narrowed. Before he could speak, Feng Gu shouted, "Boss, why bother talking to it? Every monster claims to be innocent before they reveal their true form. Let's just kill it!"
With that, he leapt from his horse, pushing off its head, and swung his axe down through the air toward the fiend.
Recalling that the Zhang family’s bounty bore the official seal of the County Magistrate—which couldn't possibly be a fake—and mindful of reports from several surrounding villages about the fiend charging down from the ridge to terrorize locals, Guo Nanjun and Wei Lun were worried for their comrade and joined the attack.
Guo Nanjun swept her right hand, and the three throwing knives tucked at her waist flew out, sealing off the fiend’s path.
Wei Lun rolled along the ground like a burrowing mole, appearing instantly before the fiend to deliver a sweeping blade strike along the earth.
Top, middle, and bottom.
The squad moved with such practiced coordination that they needed no words to launch a simultaneous three-pronged assault.
The Peach Blossom Fiend dared not be careless. With a flick of her dainty hand, dozens of fallen peach petals gathered into a floral whip, lashing out at Feng Gu as he descended with his axe.
Simultaneously, she spun in her pink dress, dancing like a fluttering peach blossom, and nimbly dodged both the throwing knives and the ground-level blade strike.
She remained unscathed, but Feng Gu, who had led the charge, was struck by the floral whip and sent flying with a sharp *crack*.
"Bang!"
Feng Gu hit the ground, his heavy body kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Fourth Realm Late Stage?" Guo Hengbei stared at the fiend, his expression grave. He had never imagined that this small ridge could harbor a flower fiend of such power.
Although monsters and spirits vary in their classification, they generally share the same hierarchy as humans. When fighting within the same realm, humans are not afraid of monsters, but some creatures possess unique, lethal techniques born of their origins or fortuitous encounters. One cannot be too careful.
This fiend had held the ridge for years, and many monster hunters had fallen to her. She clearly had something to rely on.
In his own squad, Feng Gu was only Second Realm; his sister and Wei Lun were Third. Only he was in the Fourth Realm. He had to be cautious.
"Humans, your squad is quite formidable," the fiend said, looking at Guo Hengbei. "Since we are both at the Fourth Realm Late Stage, a fight will only result in mutual destruction. If you leave now, I will offer a gift to compensate that axe-wielder for his trouble. How about we all go our separate ways in peace?"
"I have accepted a bounty."
"I told you, the charges on that bounty are false. I have never left this mountain, nor have I harmed a single human."
"What proof do you have?"
"A Peach Blossom Fiend does not tell lies."
"That is not enough to trust," Guo Hengbei replied, thinking for a moment. "If you are truly innocent, are you willing to come with me to Yuyang County to meet the Magistrate and the Zhang family’s young master to clear up this misunderstanding? I will vouch for you."
The fiend shook her head.
"Why?"
"I'm not stupid. If I go with you and fall into the hands of that Magistrate and whoever this young master is, whether I'm good or evil will be decided entirely by you."
"Then we have no choice but to fight."
Guo Hengbei slowly drew his six-foot-six monster-slaying blade from his saddle.
Seeing this, the fiend’s pink cheeks puffed out, and she produced an exquisite peach-wood sword.
"Strike!"
With a roar, Guo Hengbei unleashed a "Sky-Shattering Blade." The blade-aura shattered the air, fierce and unmatched.
Guo Nanjun, Wei Lun, and Feng Gu attacked as well.
The fiend moved like a phantom, raising her sword to meet them. In an instant, the peach orchard on Xiufeng Ridge was filled with violent blade-auras and swirling, chaotic petals in a fierce battle.
...
Half an hour later, the fighting ceased.
Guo Hengbei stood leaning on his blade, his chest and waist covered in sword wounds, blood flowing steadily.
Guo Nanjun, Wei Lun, and Feng Gu sat slumped on the ground, their injuries even more severe.
The fiend leaned against a peach tree, her condition just as wretched. Her body bore several scars from the throwing knives, the swift-blade, and the monster-slaying blade. One particularly deep gash from the monster-slaying blade had nearly reached her lungs.
She looked at Guo Hengbei. "Do we continue?"
Guo Hengbei shook his head. "No more fighting."
"Good. Before you leave, let me say this one last time—I have never harmed a human being."
"Then why do the surrounding villages claim to have seen a great fiend charging down from the peak to terrorize them? And why did all the previous monster hunters who accepted the bounty disappear?"
"I don't know," she replied.
Suddenly, her eyes shifted. She considered a possibility and asked, "You said you are from Yuyang County? Did Yuyang County issue the bounty?"
"Yes."
"Is Yuyang County to the southwest of here?"
"Yes."
"Then perhaps I know the answer."
Guo Hengbei, Guo Nanjun, Wei Lun, and Feng Gu shared a glance of confusion. "What answer?"
The fiend took out a handkerchief embroidered with peach blossoms and wiped the pink blood from the corner of her mouth. Instead of answering directly, she asked, "If I'm not mistaken, this bounty hasn't been out for more than three months, has it?"
"Correct. Today marks two months and twenty-seven days."
"That explains it."
"How so?"
The fiend sighed. "For years, a man-demon has been coveting my core essence, trying to seize it. Although he is a realm higher than me, I have been able to hold him off by relying on my life-bound treasure."
"Three months ago, for some reason, he suddenly went mad and tried to take it by force. Relying on my treasure and sacrificing some of my own heart-essence, I managed to wound him."
"When he fled, I used my source energy to track him with my petals. Even though he took many detours to hide his tracks, I could see that he ended up hiding in a place exactly to the southwest."
Guo Nanjun quickly realized, "You’re saying the Zhang family’s young master who issued the bounty is this man-demon? He’s using monster hunters to kill or wound you so he can seize your treasure?"
"Exactly. The villagers and the previous monster hunters were likely killed by him to frame me. I never killed the villagers, and as for the hunters, I simply let them go after defeating them."
The revelation left the siblings and Wei Lun with complex expressions.
Wei Lun asked, "How can we prove you are telling the truth?"
"As monster hunters, you know that if a spirit has harmed humans, its heart-essence will be tainted by malice," the fiend replied. "Look for yourselves!"
She tapped her chest, and a wisp of heart-essence emerged from her wound. It was indeed crystal clear and pure.
She then pulled out a peach blossom hairpin. "If I had used this life-bound treasure, you would all be dead by now."
Looking at the pure essence and then at the terrifying, power-laden hairpin, the squad realized she was telling the truth.
Wei Lun asked, "If you had this hairpin, why didn't you use it? If you had, you wouldn't be in this state."
"Because I had to be prepared in case the man-demon returned."
Guo Hengbei, Guo Nanjun, Wei Lun, and Feng Gu: "..."
A sense of shame, guilt, and remorse flooded their hearts.
"We were wrong!" Guo Hengbei apologized.
"Yes, we owe you an apology!" Feng Gu stood up, cupping his hands in salute.
Suddenly, his hands shifted into black claws and struck out with lightning speed at the fiend.
Wounded and caught off guard, the claws pierced right through her.
The others gasped in horror.
Her body disintegrated into a shower of petals, only to reform ten feet away a few moments later. Though she had reappeared, her complexion was ghastly pale; she had clearly been gravely injured. Her life-bound hairpin had been snatched by her attacker.
"You... you are the man-demon!!!" she realized.
Guo Hengbei, Guo Nanjun, and Wei Lun were stunned.
"Feng Gu" laughed. "That's right, it is I. Peach Blossom Fiend, taking you down wasn't easy, but I finally did it today."
The fiend glared at him, her pink pupils burning with hatred.
"You're the man-demon? Then where is Feng Gu?" Wei Lun shouted, desperate. As partners, he and Feng Gu were the closest of friends.
"Naturally, he was devoured by me, just like that Zhang family young master. Oh, and the villagers and those other hunters—all of them are in my belly, providing me with sustenance."
The man-demon was triumphant. His nemesis was wounded, and her life-bound treasure was in his grasp. He was so pleased that he laid everything bare.
"You... you bastard!" Wei Lun gritted his teeth.
Guo Hengbei and Guo Nanjun gripped their weapons tightly.
"Hah, seeking revenge? What foolish, ignorant humans. I am in the Fifth Realm. Even if you were all in perfect condition, could you possibly be my match?"
"Now, one Fourth Realm fighter with heavy wounds, two weak Third Realm fighters, and a flower fiend with a shattered core—even if I gave you an hour or two to recover, I could wipe you out with one hand."
"Ah, how utterly pathetic!"
"Once I devour you all and refine this hairpin, I will immediately break through to the Sixth Realm and become a mid-tier Great Fiend. I truly must thank you all, hahahahaha..."
The man-demon grew increasingly ecstatic, laughing toward the sky.
"Um, did we arrive at a bad time?"
Suddenly, a clear, slightly lazy voice drifted into everyone’s ears.
The man-demon, the siblings, Wei Lun, and the fiend all turned to look.
On the horse path, a scholar in green robes stood with a young girl in a green dress carrying a small, delicate book box, watching them from afar.