Jiang Wuyan was dragged to the side of the dark, cold iron bed. Tao Youcai tried to heave her onto it, but a second later, he let out a shrill scream and tumbled backward, clutching his fingers in agony.
Jiang Wuyan steadied herself against the edge of the iron bed, leaning on her blind cane to stand straight. She then unhurriedly adjusted her disheveled clothes and smoothed back her hair.
Hearing rapid footsteps approaching, she heard the Divine Envoy’s voice in surprise: "Tao Youcai, what happened to you?"
Tao Youcai could only shriek in pain. The Divine Envoy cried out, "Your finger—!" A joint had been bitten off by something!
The Divine Envoy seemed to realize something, so instead of questioning Jiang Wuyan, he raised his hand, rang a bell, and barked at her, "You will not run wild here!"
Jiang Wuyan found the sound of the bell grating. She raised her hand, pointed a finger directly at the Divine Envoy’s forehead, and let her pale lips lightly brush together: "Snap."
The Divine Envoy felt as though his forehead had been struck by something. He stumbled back in pain, clutching his brow as he glared at Jiang Wuyan in fury. "Why is the Gu insect inside you not working? Didn't you eat all the food we gave you?"
Jiang Wuyan tilted her head. "Oh, I poured it out."
He wiped his forehead, the sharp pain already beginning to fade. Thinking it was nothing more than some petty trick, he said, "It doesn't matter. I can let you taste something else..."
Jiang Wuyan calmly cut him off. "You once had a virtuous and gentle wife, a pair of lovely, intelligent children, and a life in a quiet, peaceful forest. Simple as it was, you were happy. But then, one day, all of it was destroyed by that ancestral Gu-control technique of yours."
Her voice was elegant and detached. Though there was no fluctuation in her tone, it struck the heart like a hypnotic lullaby.The God’s Envoy’s breathing grew ragged, but he quickly regained his composure. "You must have heard some rumors somewhere and are stitching them together with your own guesses to trick me, aren't you? Heh, none of what you said is a secret. In fact, I can tell you myself!"
"I come from the Gu clan. Since I was a child, I learned the arts of raising and controlling Gu. But I only learned these things to fulfill the demands of my ancestors; I had no intention of entering the world to harm others. I only wanted to live a good life with my wife and children, but..."
He gritted his teeth. "That group of people invaded my home and slaughtered my wife, my children, and my kin!"
Perhaps this story was not truly a secret here, but the fact that he could voice it himself in such a situation proved the God’s Envoy was a ruthless man. He gave a grim, twisted smile. "Well? Is there anything else you want to know? Given that you will be brewing top-quality Beauty's Intoxication for us, I can satisfy your curiosity!"
This woman had thoroughly provoked him. By forcing him to recall his wife and children, she had stirred his violent nature. Originally, he had only been handling an "ingredient" out of habit, but now, he wanted to properly "prepare" this ingredient!
Jiang Wuyan, however, seemed completely oblivious to his intentions. Even though she could not see, she seemed unfazed by the malevolence in his eyes. Her voice did not even rise by a single note. "Your wife and children were slaughtered by those wretched invaders. They died miserably; it is truly pitiful. But..."
"What is even more tragic is your daughter!"
Jiang Wuyan took a step forward, then another, closing in on the God’s Envoy. Her voice was light and airy. "She was killed by you, by mistake!"
The God’s Envoy: "..."
The God’s Envoy: "!!!"
His eyes widened in shock!
His braided beard trembled. "You... you..."
"Want to know how I found out?"
At that moment, Jiang Wuyan curled the corners of her lips, forming a mysterious and serene smile. "I know everything about you, because I am your god!"
She wiped the smile from her face, her eyes darkening with an oppressive weight. "Kneel."The divine messenger's knees went weak, and before he even realized what was happening, he had already dropped to his knees before Jiang Wuyan.
——
Facing dozens of experienced bandits, each with blood on their hands and weapons in hand, Xiao Jinxu let out a faint sigh.
He could not tell whether his bad-luck constitution was acting up again or if he was simply being dragged down by that woman who called herself the Plague Ghost. Not only had he been chased off a cliff, but at the bottom of the cliff, he had run right into a man-eating village like this.
"As a person, I really don't like to move around much. If something can be resolved with words, I'd rather not use my fists."
Tao Dayong snorted. "What, changed your mind and want a drink now?"
Though they were somewhat wary of this man's martial prowess, they naturally had other preparations in place. With so many of them, were they really afraid they couldn't take down just one man?
Xiao Jinxu merely smiled, bent his fingers, and flicked the rim of the bowl playfully, producing a crisp sound.
"Damn it, he's toying with us!"
At a fierce shout from someone in the middle of the group, everyone was instantly incited, raising their weapons and charging ferociously toward Xiao Jinxu in the center—
"Stop! Stop, everyone stop—!"
Tao Dachai rushed in frantically, halting everyone. "Don't attack yet, hold off on the attack!"
Tao Dayong raised a hand, and the crowd paused, stepping back.
Tao Dayong asked, "What is it?"
"Da Ya! Da Ya is gone!"
Tao Dachai shouted, pointing at Xiao Jinxu. "It's him! He must have taken Da Ya!"
The crowd looked at Xiao Jinxu, whose expression showed a trace of surprise. "Da Ya? Turns out that's a girl?"
Seeing how filthy that child was, so scrawny, fierce, and baring her teeth like a little beast, at first glance he had simply assumed she was a boy.
"It really was you?" Tao Dayong's expression shifted, his gaze glaring at Xiao Jinxu with vigilance and a hint of regret.
"If the child you're talking about is roughly this tall and thin, filthy and scrawny, and supposedly the child of this Tao Dachai here, then yes, I took her!"
With that, Xiao Jinxu swept his gaze across them and smiled. "Looks like this child is pretty important to you all. She's probably the only girl left in the entire village at this point, isn't she?"
Tao Dayong gave a direct order: "Kill him!" Then they would search for Da Ya; she had to be hidden somewhere nearby and couldn't possibly have been taken out of the valley.
Xiao Jinxu sighed, lazily standing up to prepare for the fight, but then a thought occurred to him, and he grew eager. "Having a little girl accompany me to the grave actually doesn't sound bad."
Only Tao Dachai was panic-stricken as he hurriedly blocked everyone again. "W-what do you mean?"
Xiao Jinxu stretched his arms to warm up. "Exactly what it sounds like. You can all guess how much longer that kid has to live."
His absolute certainty and unhurried composure instead made Tao Dayong and Tao Dachai hesitate.
Yet in the very instant of their hesitation, Xiao Jinxu—who had been so reluctant to move and had warmed up so lazily—suddenly burst into action. With blinding speed, he closed in on Tao Dachai, subdued him in two swift moves, pulled him in front as a human shield, and pressed a dagger to his throat.
Afraid of hurting their own, Tao Dayong and the others gripped their swords and sabers in frustration, their gazes sharp and stern, ready to attack at any moment.
Clutching Tao Dachai, Xiao Jinxu slowly retreated under their closing approach until he reached a spot near the doorway. Suddenly, he shoved Tao Dachai toward them and hurled two round spheres into their midst.
The spheres exploded into a billow of white smoke, which not only blocked everyone's vision but also induced a degree of dizziness. Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Jinxu had already bolted out the tavern door and sprinted all the way toward the cave.
He hoped that woman could be of some use and wouldn't die too easily.
Yet as he neared the cave and clearly saw the person standing before it, he ground to a halt—