Chapter 14: The Marked Pursuit

“As you’re aware, other demons are also operating on missions within this city.”

Upon hearing this, Mo Qiu, who had been leaning against the wall, furrowed her brows ever so slightly.

“Are your people stationed in every city?”

“Naturally.” The black goat, hovering in mid-air, cackled, “The Imperial Organization has long since permeated the fabric of your human society.”

Unlike common demons, those affiliated with the Imperial Organization largely moved through cities with a distinct agenda.

In both her previous life and this current one, Mo Qiu possessed remarkably scant knowledge of the Imperial Organization, knowing only that they served a figure referred to as “the Emperor.”

Mo Qiu moistened her parched lips, then inquired, “Is the orchestration of these serial murders also a component of your grand scheme?”

“No, that’s merely his personal predilection.” The demon envoy smiled, shaking their head. “Provided it doesn’t incite widespread harm, we tacitly permit our members to feed in private. However, he has indeed caused quite a stir.”

The serial killings had no connection to their plan?

Mo Qiu remained silent for a moment, then pressed, “What mission, then, is he currently executing?”

“That, I cannot disclose.” The demon envoy quickly shook their head. “While I hold the position of a mere messenger, the higher echelons deem it more fitting to personally oversee certain affairs.”

“What, then, is his name?”

“Saluk.”

****

Exiting the narrow alley and ascending to the rooftop of a nearby building, Mo Qiu found herself repeatedly incanting the name under her breath.

‘Saluk,’ she thought, ‘he is the one orchestrating these serial murders, and in doing so, he has disrupted my meticulously laid plans. Had it not been for his recklessness, Libelle would never have encountered Bai Chen so prematurely.’

Reaching the precipice, her black dress, adorned with red lace, swayed gently in rhythm with the evening breeze.

The brilliantly illuminated cityscape stretched out beneath her, visible in its entirety. Against the backdrop of towering structures, she appeared as insignificant as a single grain of sand.

To locate him within such a sprawling city, conventional methods would undoubtedly prove futile. Moreover, enlisting the demon envoy’s help was out of the question, as it would surely provoke their suspicion.

Mo Qiu rolled up her sleeve, revealing a slender arm. Upon her jade-white skin, terrifying claw marks stood out like fissures on the surface of pure white jade.

By channeling her demonic power, she could temporarily quell the searing pain, and the wound had ceased to bleed.

Though she had possessed an opportunity to evade that vicious claw, she had deliberately raised her arm, interposing it before her body.

Only by doing so could she ensure direct contact with him, thereby imprinting her unique mark upon his person.

Saluk had fled with such haste; he surely wouldn’t suspect that he had already been marked.

The girl’s fingers gently grazed the wound, her brow furrowing intermittently in response to the throbbing pain.

Guided by her own mark, Mo Qiu’s lithe form wove effortlessly between the towering skyscrapers.

Her revitalization extended beyond her spirit; her physical body, too, felt invigorated. While she had only ever witnessed parkour across buildings in films, she now found herself executing such feats with effortless grace.

As the faint scent of the mark wafted from the old park, Mo Qiu planted a single foot on the ground, vaulting gracefully over the perimeter wall before landing silently on the earth.

The lawn beneath her feet, neglected for years, had grown sparse and patchy. The park truly lived up to its moniker: “old.”

Marble pathways lay broken and incomplete, trees and undergrowth sprouted wildly, and the fitness equipment scattered across the open spaces had long since succumbed to mold.

The dilapidated streetlights, long past their prime, cast only a faint, struggling glow that did little to pierce the pervasive gloom.

Before Mo Qiu even drew close to the mark, she distinctly heard the thud of heavy footsteps.

The silhouette belonged, unmistakably, to Saluk.

His physique was even more exaggerated than that of a bodybuilder, a mass of taut muscle with every vein visibly bulging. His face, rather than human, bore a striking resemblance to that of a lion.

‘Could this, then, be his clandestine lair?’

Trailing silently behind him, she considered the old park. Though desolate, its limited expanse left her momentarily stumped as to where he might have established a hidden refuge.

At that very moment, Saluk, who had been leading the way, abruptly halted his steps.

“You’ve arrived.”

A deep, resonant voice emanated from him, instantly causing Mo Qiu’s senses to sharpen.

‘Was I discovered? No, that voice wasn’t directed at me.’

After a brief moment of hesitation, Mo Qiu cautiously glanced towards Saluk’s position, and her suspended heart finally settled.

Saluk, it was clear, remained oblivious to being tailed; he was, in fact, engaged in conversation with another peculiar individual.

In stark contrast to Saluk’s overtly muscular presentation, the other person’s attire was diametrically opposed in style: a flowing robe obscured their entire form, leaving no skin exposed to view.

Mo Qiu narrowed her eyes, observing that beneath the individual’s hood lay an impenetrable darkness, completely obscuring their face.

‘An accomplice, or merely a subordinate?’

“How fares the task I assigned to you?” The mysterious person’s voice was utterly gender-neutral, sounding akin to an antiquated radio broadcasting through a veil of indistinct static.

“I have yet to acquire it. That particular human is excessively timid; merely a slight threat was enough to utterly terrify him.”

Despite towering over the mysterious figure by several magnitudes, Saluk exhibited profound deference, keeping his voice as subdued as possible.

“Must such matters truly depend on humans? This was, after all, a direct command issued to you.” The mysterious person’s tone was laced with palpable dissatisfaction.

“I am endeavoring to comply.”

“I have already informed you that this item is of paramount importance. Entrusting it to unreliable humans—do you comprehend the repercussions should anything go awry?”

“…It would undoubtedly provoke the Emperor’s profound wrath.”

“It is good that you comprehend the gravity. I bestowed this mission upon you out of trust.” The mysterious person turned away. “Time is of the essence; do not incur the Emperor’s displeasure.”

‘The Emperor, an important item…’

Mo Qiu did not fully grasp the specifics of their conversation, yet a potent possibility unfurled in her mind, causing her to instinctively clench the hem of her dress.

‘That mysterious individual must be intrinsically linked to *that* particular event.’

As one who had been granted a second chance at life, Mo Qiu had meticulously logged the unfolding future within the confines of her memory.

In the not-so-distant future, Fengling City was destined for annihilation, consumed by a catastrophe wrought by demons!

In her previous existence, Mo Qiu had been far removed in another city, merely registering the news in passing headlines without delving too deeply.

Now, with both her and Bai Chen residing in Fengling City, this presented an unparalleled opportunity. Ever since her arrival, Mo Qiu had been relentlessly investigating the true cause of the city’s impending ruin, even attempting to extract even the slightest hint from the demon envoy.

Her individual strength was, admittedly, profoundly limited, but tonight had, at last, yielded some tangible progress.

That enigmatic individual, she surmised, was almost certainly inextricably linked to the city’s destruction. Saluk was merely a subservient minion; the true focus lay with the mysterious figure.

The reason she considered this an unparalleled opportunity was precisely because Mo Qiu had no intention of evacuating Bai Chen before the disaster struck. On the contrary, she planned to leverage this very catastrophe, guiding Bai Chen to immerse himself within it, and through his actions, rescue the city.

In doing so, Bai Chen would be transformed into a celebrated hero, propelled to a prominence he had not sought. Should he then wish to shed his identity as a demon hunter, it would prove exceedingly difficult.

For once a person has shouldered a burden, casting it off is no simple feat.

Such, however, was the nature of heroism: Bai Chen needed only to concern himself with saving the city, while Mo Qiu’s deliberations extended far beyond that.

With this thought in mind, Mo Qiu subtly craned her neck, eager to discern the nuances of their conversation more clearly.

“Why do you carry the scent of blood?” The mysterious person’s tone shifted abruptly.

“I stopped to feed on my way here, and I inadvertently collided with another demon, nearly escalating into a confrontation with her.”

“What was that?”

The mysterious person’s voice remained utterly flat, yet the aura emanating from them abruptly intensified, becoming terrifying. Not only did Saluk, who stood directly before them, flinch, but even Mo Qiu, concealed nearby, instinctively clapped a hand over her mouth.

It felt as though a sharp blade had plunged into her very heart, and she nearly cried out. Despite her incessant internal assurances that it was merely an illusion, her legs involuntarily trembled.

With a heavy thud, Saluk’s massive form collapsed to the ground.

“I explicitly instructed you not to engage in superfluous actions,” the mysterious person declared, their robes stirring as if by an unseen breeze. “Feed as you must, but why did you engage with another demon? Did you exchange any words with her?”

“No, truly, no,” Saluk insisted, shaking his head with fervent denial. “I mistook her for a human, delivered a single claw strike, and then departed. Not a single word was exchanged between us.”

The impenetrable shadow beneath the hood seemed to scrutinize his face for a fleeting moment before the terrifying aura abruptly subsided into a chilling calm.

Both Saluk and Mo Qiu visibly relaxed, the latter slowly lowering her hand from her mouth, her palm clammy with sweat.

“Very well, begone. The next time we meet, you had best present me with satisfactory results.”

“U-understood.”

Saluk scrambled to his feet and departed in the direction from which he had arrived, while Mo Qiu, concealed within the deep shadows, remained undetected.

Mo Qiu’s attention, no longer captivated by the hulking figure, now settled intently upon the mysterious individual.

‘They are leaving now as well; I must follow!’

Rather than tailing a bumbling lackey incapable of executing a simple task, it would be far more efficacious to pursue the very source of the commands.

‘Who exactly is this mysterious person? What precisely are they searching for? And why is Fengling City destined for ruin?’

She yearned to uncover the answers to all these pressing questions from this enigmatic figure.

The mysterious person moved with a light, swift gait, and Mo Qiu, nearly losing their trail, was forced to accelerate her own pace.

With increased velocity, the sounds she produced inevitably grew louder.

The instant the mysterious person halted, Mo Qiu’s heart leaped into her throat.

The mysterious person turned their head, remaining utterly still for an extended moment.

Mo Qiu dared not stir, her heart thrumming a frantic rhythm. Since shedding her inhibitions, she had indeed grown more spirited, no longer possessing the profound composure she exhibited in her usual demeanor.

Footsteps resumed once more, and Mo Qiu, looking up, discovered the mysterious person had already gained a significant lead, prompting her to swiftly give chase.

‘Wait, why does this place feel so uncannily familiar?’

Vaulting over the wall, Mo Qiu found herself staring at the building before her, utterly dumbfounded.

The large sign bearing the characters for “Virtue, Intellect, Physicality, Aesthetics, and Labor” hung high on the building, while inside, the classrooms remained utterly dark.

‘This is Fengling Middle School!’

‘Why have they come to the school? Where is the mysterious person?’

Mo Qiu, growing anxious, swiftly ran towards the sports field.

The very instant her small black leather boot struck the paving stones, a wave of dizziness washed over her, a sensation even her demonic power could not counteract.

The girl clutched her head, her face contorted in pain, as the scene before her eyes rapidly distorted, like a palette of colors being violently stirred.

‘No, using my demonic power only intensifies it.’

As she ceased channeling her power, the distorted vision gradually sharpened.

Yet, Mo Qiu was once again stunned; everything that met her gaze had become utterly unfamiliar.

The sports field was overgrown with weeds, surrounded by low, single-story houses, and beyond them, instead of towering buildings, lay mountains and forests.

The air was fragrant with the scent of fresh grass, as if she had been transported to a wild, natural landscape.

Mo Qiu turned around, and into her view came four familiar, large characters:

Fengling Middle School.