Chapter 55: The Encounter at the Demon Palace

Shui Jingxuan followed the faint, elusive sound of a flute to the Ten-Mile Pavilion on the outskirts of the city. The eight beauties of the Demon Palace had already been waiting there for some time.

Looking at the palanquin draped in pure white gauze, exuding an elegant fragrance, Shui Jingxuan raised an eyebrow and smiled slyly.

There was no doubt about it. Such a lavish display was utterly inconsistent with Wolf Girl’s simple nature. Without thinking, he knew it was Chen Yuanyuan’s doing.

Even before they met, Chen Yuanyuan had already treated him so warmly. She clearly valued Wolf Girl greatly, and by extension, she favored him. This trip to the Demon Palace was already half-successful.

The eight beauties said in unison, expressionless, “Sect Master, the Palace Lord has prepared a banquet and awaits your arrival. Please.”

Shui Jingxuan did not decline. He nodded slightly, lifted the hem of his robe, and stepped into the palanquin.

The eight of them rose into the air as if riding the clouds, flying toward Mirror Moon Lake where the Demon Palace was located. Azhuang and his group quickly used their lightness skill to follow.

Shui Jingxuan leaned back against the soft cushions, surprised by the superb lightness skill of the eight beauties. Wolf Girl’s Demon Palace mostly housed women and children who had no martial arts foundation.

In five years, to train people with no internal energy to such a level, Wolf Girl had indeed put in great effort. Unfortunately, these skills were all forcibly generated through poisonous pills.

They damaged the body and shortened lifespans, making it extremely unfavorable for the Demon Palace’s long-term development. Wolf Girl was still that simple-minded Wolf Girl.

Even if her Demon Palace wasn’t destroyed by Feng Junjie and his group this time, it would collapse on its own in a few years.

Lost in his free-flowing thoughts, Shui Jingxuan and his group gradually approached the Demon Palace. The desolate outskirts became livelier, and they often saw female guards in white hemp clothes patrolling along the way.

However, even with experts like Shui Jingxuan and Wolf Girl present, along with several hundred guards on high alert, Ji Wushuang still silently followed the palanquin and infiltrated the Demon Palace.

Leaping between pavilions and towers, he found the main hall where the feast was held and hid himself among the beams above.

The main hall was furnished in a very simple yet grand style, imbued with a strong exotic flavor. It was clear that although Wolf Girl had been exiled, she still held lingering nostalgia for her homeland.

At that moment, Wolf Girl sat upright on the main seat, her face full of anticipation.

Chen Yuanyuan sat beside her on the floor, resting bonelessly on Wolf Girl’s lap, playing with a golden goblet in her hand as she occasionally glanced toward the hall’s entrance.

She was naturally extremely curious about the people Wolf Girl valued, especially men. Fortunately, this man and Wolf Girl shared only a sect relationship; otherwise, she would have sent a soft sword instead of a palanquin.

Shui Jingxuan walked into the main hall with leisurely steps, smiling as he looked straight ahead, not paying the slightest attention to the beauties who knelt in greeting on both sides.

When he saw the two most stunning beauties of the age, enchantingly beautiful and surpassing all others on the main seats, he showed not a trace of admiration or emotion.

His expression remained as calm and gentle as ever. His mere appearance instantly won Chen Yuanyuan’s favor.

She had never seen a man who could remain so unruffled in her presence, showing not the slightest hint of lewdness. This man was very special. Truly worthy of being Ni Chang’s junior brother.

Ji Wushuang, hidden among the beams, had darkened his face at the sight of the hall full of beauties waiting in attendance.

He barely suppressed the irritation in his heart. Only when he saw that man walk in without letting his eyes wander, and with a calm expression, did his mood improve slightly.

Although his memory told him he did not recognize the man down there, so noble and pure, the craving to possess him that kept screaming inside gave the exact opposite answer. So this time, he had to find out the truth.

While Ji Wushuang’s emotions wavered, the people in the hall had already exchanged greetings and sat down to talk. Wolf Girl never knew the art of conversation, and she didn’t engage in pleasantries.

As soon as she opened her mouth, she went straight to the point. “Five years without seeing you, junior brother. What brings you from afar?”

Chen Yuanyuan seemed to find this side of Wolf Girl adorable. She glanced at her and smiled with immense tenderness.

Shui Jingxuan appreciated her straightforward character and frankly said, “I have indeed come to ask for your help, senior sister.

Recently, Wu Sangui’s subordinates injured some of my demon sect members and took away some of our sect’s unspeakable secrets. I heard Miss Chen is here, so I want to ask her to arrange a meeting with Wu Sangui in Shu to resolve the matter.”

Although he omitted part of the truth, what he said was a hundred percent true. He was not afraid to speak frankly in front of Wolf Girl, because he knew she would just listen and not delve into the details.

Dealing with someone as straightforward as Wolf Girl was actually very easy.

Chen Yuanyuan’s body trembled at the name “Wu Sangui.” Her eyes revealed a bone-deep hatred.

Wolf Girl felt her stiffness and gently patted the delicate hand that rested on her own knee. “It’s nothing. It’s all in the past. If you want to help, help. Don’t force yourself for my sake.”

Wolf Girl rarely considered others’ feelings. Receiving her comfort, Chen Yuanyuan immediately beamed with joy again, her mood greatly improved.

Meanwhile, Ji Wushuang, lurking on the beams, was in a state of turmoil. When he heard Wolf Girl call that man “junior brother,” he felt as if thunder had struck his head.

Wolf Girl’s junior brother, wasn’t that his own disciple? Disciple? The word echoed repeatedly in his mind, engraved deep in his soul, and his heart trembled.

He pressed tightly against the beam, striving to suppress the urge to jump down and demand answers. If he jumped down and revealed his identity, he might get the truth, but more likely, he would get lies.

Five years of scheming and deception had taught him better than ever about the baseness of human nature.

Chen Yuanyuan considered for a moment, then suddenly smiled brilliantly, as if large poppies were blooming behind her, beautiful yet poisonous.

“Fine, I’ll help you.” She drained her cup. “But you must promise to hand him over to me after settling your demon sect’s troubles.”

Glancing at Wolf Girl, Chen Yuanyuan quickly added, “I have to kill him with my own hands!”

“Deal.” Shui Jingxuan bent down and poured wine for Chen Yuanyuan with a smile. Once Wu Sangui died, the newly established bandits would scatter.

Then his difficult-to-attack valley would be even less able to guard those three gold mines. Setting aside history, from a personal interest perspective, he wanted that. However, he was confident that in the end he could deal with Chen Yuanyuan too. For now, he had to stabilize her and lure Wu Sangui first.

The several of them reached a consensus on the surface and drank up. Just then, flames shot up at the palace gate, and cries came from time to time. Clearly, someone was attacking the Demon Palace at night.

“I’ll go check.” The commotion outside was too great. Wolf Girl threw down her wine cup and flew out.

Estimating that the noise was made by Feng Junjie and his group trying to rescue Yu Qin, and that they were low in martial arts and would never make it into the inner hall, Shui Jingxuan gave a reassuring smile to the worried Chen Yuanyuan, then picked up his golden goblet and played with it leisurely.

“Sect Master has such fair hands, like white jade, with well-proportioned knuckles and smooth, delicate skin. Not a trace of martial training can be seen!”

With Shui Jingxuan, whose martial arts were not inferior to Wolf Girl’s, sitting as a sturdy presence, Chen Yuanyuan was no longer so nervous and tried to make conversation.

Shui Jingxuan smiled and was about to reply, but suddenly his expression changed. With a wave of his hand, he splashed the wine toward the doorway.

The wine froze in midair and shot out like arrows, instantly killing the five black-clad masked men who had rushed into the hall.

After killing five, there were still seventeen left, each a rare master in the martial world. Shui Jingxuan protected Chen Yuanyuan and fought them off.

Where his palm wind passed, blood splattered. Some had their chests shattered, others had their heads cut off. The scene was horrific.

Yet the murderous god wreaking this carnage wore a light smile, strolling through the blood and wind as if on a leisure walk.

Shui Jingxuan had not expected that a peerless master, superior to him in martial arts, would suddenly appear. He hastily gathered all his strength to exchange palms with the newcomer.

After the impact, he retreated five steps, but the man remained unmoved. Shui Jingxuan was shocked. He stared at his blackened palm in a daze. Two words that always stirred his emotions crossed his mind: Shifu!

In the moment of his shock, the newcomer turned and attacked the masked men who had burst into the hall. With a light flick of his sleeve, the few survivors were sent flying several zhang away.

When they landed, their eyes rolled back, and they were dead beyond death.

His initial palm strike was not meant to attack, but just to test. Having confirmed that Shui Jingxuan used the authentic Poison Demon Art, his mind was already in turmoil.

He only wanted to find a quiet place to clear his chaotic thoughts.

He gave Shui Jingxuan, who was still lost in thought, a deep look, then dashed toward the palace gate. Halfway there, he saw Azhuang running toward the main hall with a knife. He rolled his sleeve and cleanly kidnapped Azhuang.

***

In a secret room of an inn, Azhuang lay in a corner, his acupoints sealed, watching nervously as the masked man sat on the couch, clutching his head and groaning in pain.

This went on for a full half hour. Just as Azhuang thought the man would die from the headache, he suddenly calmed down.

He raised his head, his blood-red eyes fixed unblinkingly on Azhuang. He reached up to his face and pulled off the black mask.

“S-Sect Master!” Azhuang’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“It is I.” Ji Wushuang replied expressionlessly. During the excruciating pain, the lost memories flooded back into his mind like a tidal wave.

He now remembered clearly why he had angrily massacred the entire Wudang Sect five years ago and why he had been ambushed by Zhuo Yihang.

Precisely because he remembered so clearly, he became even more confused. The injury he suffered back then was on his back, not his head.

It could not have caused the loss of memory. And what disappeared was the most secret and cherished part of his memory. This was too unusual!

Thinking of the demon sect’s expertise in poison and the strange drugs the High Priest often researched, Ji Wushuang had a feeling. He might have been secretly drugged. But in the entire demon sect, who would dare to touch him? And who would benefit from erasing his memory?

Ji Wushuang lowered his head in thought, then suddenly covered his chest and laughed bitterly.

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