“Oh? There’s a beauty too?”
“Could she be one of us?”
“Look at those two burly fellows, probably hired muscle or something. Would a cultivator bring mortal thugs along?”
“Maybe it’s a rich young lady on a trip, trapped here by the flood?”
“Aren’t we just too lucky?”
The two quickly approached, circling the area once before fixing their gazes on the high ground outside the village. With a leap, they landed not far from the group.
The villagers cautiously stepped aside, and Du Yueyao tightly clutched Liu Qingyan’s sleeve.
Liu Qingyan’s expression remained calm, while Hua Yixing and the other four women looked at the two newcomers with interest.
Two minor demons with decades of cultivation, daring to act so brazenly and stir up trouble?
“Hahaha! Such a beautiful lady, come back with us to the Water Palace. If you serve us well, we’ll grant you cultivation techniques to stay youthful forever and live a long life!”
The round-headed demon stared at Liu Qingyan, his eyes gleaming with greed. Rubbing his hands, he approached step by step with a predatory look, like a cat stalking a mouse.
“You lecherous fish, you do have an eye for beauty, but I prefer the spirited ones.” The long-faced demon grinned at Lin Jing’er and Hu Cainiang, sticking out his tongue to lick his nose.
“Was just worrying about the dry rations, no meat to go with them, and here they come!”
“Hm?”
“What’s that?”
The two demons’ instincts screamed danger as they noticed Lu Zheng standing among the ordinary villagers.
They stepped back, but before they could speak, Lu Zheng flicked his finger, and a red jade sword shot forward.
“Sword cultivator!”
“Run!”
“Spare us!”
The round-headed demon rolled backward, trying to slip into the water behind him.
The long-faced demon dodged, attempting to evade the incoming sword.
“Split!”
Two thin, nail-sized blades detached from the sword, growing in the wind to become two more red jade swords.
“Swish!”
“Crack!”
One red jade sword reached the long-faced demon’s neck, spinning swiftly to sever his head cleanly.
Another red jade sword, like a dragon, pierced the round-headed demon’s shoulder, pinning him to the ground.
“Thud!”
A headless, three-metre-long yellow eel fell to the ground, its body twitching.
The round-headed demon was terrified.
They were just two minor demons, taking advantage of the disaster to have some fun, eat human flesh, and abduct a few beauties. They didn’t dare cause trouble in cities or larger towns, only wreaking havoc in rural villages.
But just a few days of fun, and they hit a wall?
That was too quick, wasn’t it?
“Senior, spare us! This is our first time out. We haven’t done anything heinous or taken lives. Please, as first-time offenders, spare us!”
“Swish!”
The other red jade sword didn’t pause, slicing through the demon’s protective aura like a knife through tofu, aiming to behead him.
The round-headed demon twisted, shedding his clothes to reveal his true form, a fat carp.
The sword pinned to the ground only took a chunk of flesh and a few scales from his side. Spraying blood, he dodged the second sword and lunged toward the muddy water in the village.
Though the water was only knee-deep, it was enough for him to use his water-control skills to escape swiftly.
“Whoosh!”
“Thwack!”
A third red jade sword struck from the side, piercing a hole through the carp’s heart.
“Thud!”
The two-metre-long carp crashed to the ground, twitched twice, and went still.
“Wow!”
“Immortal Master! Immortal Master!”
Liu Qingyan remained calm, and Hua Yixing’s group was unfazed, but Du Yueyao’s eyes sparkled, joining the villagers in their exclamations.
The two guards were quietly amazed, thinking Lu Zheng was truly formidable.
With a wave of his hand, Lu Zheng used a retrieval technique to bring the demons’ corpses closer.
Raising an eyebrow, he smiled at the group, “Extra meal tonight!”
“Great!”
The two demons, weighing hundreds of pounds, along with the salvaged dried grains, would be enough to sustain them through the short-term disaster. With government aid or fishing later, their lives were secure.
That night, the rescued and well-fed villagers held a bonfire gathering to express gratitude, especially to Liu Qingyan for healing and Lu Zheng for slaying the demons.
At the event, Bai Ting’er played music, Yu Mingxin sang, and the villagers of Fish Head Village had their happiest day since the flood.
The next day, leaving some rations and checking on nearby villages, they promised to return in two days for follow-ups. Then, they set off for another village near Fish Head Village.
Over the next few days, they stayed around Fish Head Village, saving thousands, distributing porridge, and treating the sick. The only regret was not encountering more reckless demons.
Well, not exactly. They were just late once, arriving at a stockade to see a monk subduing a green snake.
The monk from Guishan Temple, a local from Yuzhou, was travelling to aid disaster relief and slay demons.
Seeing Lu Zheng with several ordinary mortals and five female demons, the monk was initially puzzled. But after witnessing Liu Qingyan and Lu Zheng treating the sick, and the mortals and demons distributing porridge, he respectfully bowed with clasped hands and left.
Three days later, the crises in the surrounding villages were resolved, patients recovered, and Liu Qingyan developed the best formula for treating malaria.
Then, they bid farewell to the villagers and continued their journey.
“Thank you, Immortal Master!”
“Thank you, fairy maidens!”
“Thank you, Lady Qingyi!”
Dressed in green and being a woman, Liu Qingyan was respectfully called Lady Qingyi by the villagers.
Over these days, Liu Qingyan had saved countless people, especially from malaria. Without her innovative formula and acupuncture skills, many elderly patients might not have survived.
Lady Qingyi, a title well-earned!
The next moment, Lu Zheng sensed a shift in his spirit. Golden light flashed around Liu Qingyan as streams of merit light shimmered and merged into her body.
At the same time, faint light glowed around the others.
Besides Liu Qingyan, Du Yueyao had the most, followed by Lu Zheng and the five women from Xiuzhuang, then Yulan and the two guards.
But combined, their merit was less than a fifth of Liu Qingyan’s.
