A person's transformation into a demonic creature takes time. In the case of that farm, for instance, the people closest to the groom had their minds controlled, while those a bit farther away were merely eroded. This process could take anywhere from a few years to just a few days.
How long had Senior Brother Huo Chongxiao and Junior Sister Yue Yunqiao been here? Only a single day. Therefore, there was only one possible explanation for the guard's transformation: he had already turned into a demonic creature long ago, but his outward appearance had been so well concealed that it was previously undetectable.
How many people like that were there in the Bai Family estate? Had this place long since become a demons' den?
A chill ran through Bai Mengjin's heart.
Perhaps she ought to be thankful that her grand-uncle had not been insane enough to drag everyone down to their deaths with him; otherwise, she never would have been able to leave the Bai Family.
"What are you doing?" Bai Mengxing poked his head out and asked when he saw her gesturing beside the corpse.
Bai Mengjin wrapped her fingers in a strip of cloth, dipped it in blood, and drew back and forth on the ground. Hearing his voice, she flashed him a smile: "I'm eating!"
A few drops of blood had splashed onto the collar of her tunic, and her hands were covered in black blood. Combined with her smiling face, she looked particularly eerie and terrifying.
Bai Mengxing let out a startled shriek and backed away with a terrified look in his eyes: "You, you, you..."
Bai Mengjin rolled her eyes and lowered her head to continue drawing.
Bai Mengxing watched cautiously for a long time, and feeling that there was no danger, he timidly crept back over.
"Are you drawing an array diagram?"
"Mm."
"Did we learn this?" Bai Mengxing scratched his head.
Of course they hadn't; this was the Jade Demon's own exclusive secret technique. But Bai Mengjin had no intention of telling him, preferring to let this fool sink into the realization of "I really am quite stupid."
As she sealed the final stroke, a sudden whirlwind whipped up from the flat ground, swirling up the fallen leaves and dust on the ground with a rustling sound. The demonic qi radiating from the guard's corpse floated and spun within that circle, contained and refusing to dissipate.
Bai Mengxing's jaw dropped: "What... what is this for?"
"To save our lives," Bai Mengjin discarded the soiled strip of cloth, got up, and continued walking forward.
"Wait for me!" Bai Mengxing hurriedly followed.
There were truly quite a few demonic creatures wandering around the estate like this. Bai Mengjin killed every one she encountered and then drew an array diagram right on the spot.
"Where is everyone?" Bai Mengxing muttered under his breath. "Third Uncle, Third Aunt, and what about Eldest Sister and Third Sister?"
A good question, and one Bai Mengjin also wanted answered.
Everyone living in this mansion belonged to the direct line of the Bai Family. Even if their talent was mediocre, they had still used medicinal pills to undergo Qi Condensation, just like Eldest Aunt; there was no reason for them not to be here.
Arriving all the way at Qinghe Courtyard in this manner, Bai Mengjin's brow furrowed at the sight before her.
The courtyard gates were wide open, and the corpses of demonic creatures were scattered all around, looking as though a fierce battle had just taken place here.
She went in and searched around. Neither Huo Chongxiao nor Yue Yunqiao was there, but there were patches of bright red blood on the ground, which should have belonged to one of them.
"Are they dead?" Bai Mengxing asked.
"They're not dead," Bai Mengjin snapped impatiently. Judging by the situation, the two of them had fought their way out. Huo Chongxiao possessed considerable strength and had defensive magical treasures, so he wouldn't die so easily.
"What should we do then? Should we go look for Grand-uncle?" Bai Mengxing still had no idea that all of this was thanks to their grand-uncle, and asked foolishly.
Instead, Bai Mengjin smiled: "Right, let's go look for Grand-uncle."
Since their grand-uncle had set up this formation, he certainly wouldn't let anyone escape. As the saying goes, capture the ringleader first to catch the thieves, and strike a snake at its seven-inch mark; if they wanted to survive, they had to find him.
The two of them changed direction and headed toward the back mountain, still killing a demonic creature and drawing an array diagram for each one. After passing through two more courtyards like this, Bai Mengxing spotted someone lying on the ground: "It's Eldest Sister!"
Bai Mengjin walked over. The unconscious young girl on the ground was indeed her eldest sister, Bai Menglian. She looked disheveled, still clutching a sword in her hand, and her clothes were splattered with blood.
"Is she alright?" Bai Mengxing asked.
Bai Mengjin felt for her pulse and shook her head: "She's fine."
Eldest Sister had the highest talent in this family apart from her. Back when Danxia Palace had come to accept disciples, her eldest uncle had secretly sabotaged Bai Mengjin, while Eldest Sister had successfully passed the assessment. Later, the sisters both practiced their arts at Danxia Palace; although their relationship was lukewarm, when trouble struck Bai Mengjin, Eldest Sister had still quietly tipped her off.
In their present situation, leaving Bai Menglian here was far too dangerous. After a moment of thought, Bai Mengjin said to her cousin, "You, carry Eldest Sister on your back."
Bai Mengxing pointed at the tip of his nose: "Me? How am I supposed to carry her?"
"Or perhaps you expect your frail and delicate younger sister to carry her?" Bai Mengjin said coldly.
"..." Bai Mengxing was left speechless. "I'll carry her, alright?"
So, with Bai Mengjin's help, he laboriously hoisted his eldest sister onto his back.
"Slow down! If you go too fast, I won't be able to walk!"
Passing through yet another courtyard in this fashion, Bai Mengjin discovered traces of Danxia Palace techniques. A surge of joy welled up in her heart; this must have been left behind by Huo Chongxiao and Yue Yunqiao—they had taken this route!
Sure enough, the two of them hadn't followed the traces much further before the sounds of combat drifted over from ahead.
Bai Mengjin halted and called out loudly, "Senior Sister Yue, Young Master Huo, is that you?"
The fighting sounds on the other side of the fog grew more intense. Having presumably finished off a demonic creature, Yue Yunqiao's voice came through: "Junior Sister Bai, we're over here!"
Responding to one another by voice, they finally rendezvoused at the pavilion.
Huo Chongxiao and Yue Yunqiao looked to be in decent shape, which suggested these demonic creatures weren't difficult for them.
Seeing that Bai Mengjin was unhurt, relief also showed on their faces.
"Junior Sister Bai, we wanted to look for you earlier, but we lost our way..." As she spoke, Yue Yunqiao caught sight of the person on Bai Mengxing's back and asked hurriedly, "What happened?"
"My eldest sister, she's just exhausted," Bai Mengjin gave a brief explanation, then asked, "Where are you two planning to go?"
Huo Chongxiao and Yue Yunqiao exchanged glances and fell silent.
With things having reached this point, they guessed that the problem originated from that Senior Brother Bai, but Bai Mengjin was a member of the Bai Family...
Time was pressing, and Bai Mengjin had no intention of beating around the bush with them. She asked straightforwardly, "You want to go to Wuye Cottage, don't you?"
Yue Yunqiao nodded with difficulty: "Junior Sister Bai..."
Bai Mengjin didn't make things hard for her: "I know. The demonic creatures are at Wuye Cottage, and there's a strong chance something has already happened to Grand-uncle. If he has already been possessed by a demonic creature, I must ask you to inform Danxia Palace to come and clear the place out."
Yue Yunqiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was best if Bai Mengjin saw it this way; whether a family elder was a demonic creature or had been possessed by one, the latter was ultimately easier to accept.
Bai Mengjin turned her gaze back to Huo Chongxiao: "Young Master Huo, do you have any other way to notify your sect's elders? From what I can see, something must have gone wrong with your transmission talisman."
Huo Chongxiao nodded: "I shattered my transmission jade talisman; my master will be able to sense it. However, Danxia Palace is not close to this place, so we have to hold on."
Hearing this, Bai Mengjin knitted her brows. Her grand-uncle also hailed from Danxia Palace, so he couldn't possibly be unaware of Huo Chongxiao's methods. If he dared to pull something like this, he certainly intended to wrap things up before the people from Danxia Palace arrived.
Yue Yunqiao couldn't help growing irritable: "What on earth are these demonic creatures trying to do? If they just wanted to silence witnesses, why go to all this trouble?"
Huo Chongxiao was also half-in-the-dark and shook his head.
Bai Mengjin, however, sighed inwardly, thinking silently: Because he wanted to devour everyone. Whether it was the Bai Family or the two of them, Huo and Yue, he needed every single one of them to become his nourishment.
Now that the unusual disturbances in Qingyun City had been noticed, he knew he couldn't keep hiding anymore, so he simply accelerated his progress, intending to condense a Demonic Heart so that he could escape scot-free before the people from Danxia Palace arrived.