How to Dispel Sorrow? Only Killing

With a toss of the ropes in his hands, the man and woman inside the black cloth sacks were bound tight. Qi Yuan handed the ropes to Huo Mushi and instructed, "You lead these two. We're heading to... Mount Xianlong now!" Mount Xianlong lay more than three hundred li from Mount Shuyao. The demons on this mountain were no fewer than those on Mount Shuyao—perhaps even more. However, unlike on Mount Shuyao, the demons of Mount Xianlong were not an organized force, but scattered. "Understood!" Huo Mushi gripped the ropes tightly, his expression flushed with excitement. Meanwhile, the demon and the human—shrouded in black sacks with their mouths sealed shut—felt as if ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through their minds. The flower demon, in particular, was utterly baffled. Who had just shown up? What did he want? Why had he tied her up? She desperately wanted to speak, but she couldn't make a sound. Yet the conversation that followed between the two shocked her to her very soul. "After gripping a staff all night, my hands are sore. I really want to call my wife over to massage them for me." "My Lord... is mighty!" "When we go to Mount Xianlong this time, after I slaughter the thousands of demons up there, I'll have to keep two pretty demonesses around to give me a massage. Once they finish, I'll kill them." "My Lord... is incredible!" Regardless of what was said, Huo Mushi acted like a broken record, offering nothing but praise. Sacked in darkness, the flower demon scoffed inwardly at Qi Yuan's words. This guy was boasting way too hard! Slaughter all the demons on Mount Xianlong?! If you're so amazing, why don't you go pluck the stars from the sky? Before she could dwell on it for long, she heard that abominable man bragging again. "Mushi, do you know any good ways to make money?" "Ah... My Lord is short on coin?" "Yeah, a little bit." "If My Lord returns to Zhenyang, the county magistrate would surely rally the entire city to raise enough silver for you!" Qi Yuan had wiped out all the demons on Mount Shuyao, an act of salvation and new life for the people of Zhenyang City. Even if Qi Yuan raised the banner of rebellion, the magistrate and the county commandant would probably raise both hands in favor. What did a bit of silver matter? "That's not enough. I want to buy a planet—yeah, something like the Arch Star." "Huh?" Huo Mushi fell silent. As expected, he still couldn't keep up with Qi Yuan's train of thought. In the ancient times of this world, the concept of planets had already existed. The common folk knew they lived on the surface of a celestial body. Thus, hearing Qi Yuan talk about buying a planet left Huo Mushi speechless. Inside the black sack, the flower demon wanted to sneer even more. "What a pity there are no buyers in your world. Otherwise, if I sold it, I could definitely make a fortune!" Hearing this, the flower demon found Qi Yuan all the more arrogant and ignorant. Yet Qi Yuan was simply too powerful. He had sealed her power and silenced her. She couldn't flee or talk back, reduced to nothing more than a prisoner. Her heart was full of bewilderment. These two must have had a reason for capturing her. Was it for wealth, lust, or Tong Tianyou? They had to interrogate her at some point, right? In the end, it was as if they had completely forgotten about her and Tong Tianyou. They just kept traveling. If that child-like lackey hadn't fed Tong Tianyou once along the way, she would have been certain they had forgotten them entirely. She really wanted to shout, *I may be a demon, but I need to eat too, okay?!* Unfortunately, she couldn't speak, and Huo Mushi never fed her. Now, her only wish was to reach Mount Xianlong as fast as possible, so these two arrogant fools would hurry up and die at the hands of other demons. That way, she could be saved, and finally get to... take a proper piss! ... Meanwhile, as Qi Yuan made his way from Mount Shuyao toward Mount Xianlong, the people from the Demon Suppression Division in Zhenyang City gradually set off toward Mount Shuyao. Over these past days, they had largely figured out the mission's details and learned that Tong Tianyou was in the hands of the Flower Demon Manluo. As long as they went to Fenghua Cave and found the Flower Demon Manluo, everything would be brought to light. The only two dangers in this mission were potentially running into other great demons on Mount Shuyao, and the threat posed by the Flower Demon Manluo herself. Therefore, the agents of the Demon Suppression Division moved cautiously through Mount Shuyao, intent only on locating Fenghua Cave to find the Flower Demon Manluo and Tong Tianyou. At that moment, on Mount Shuyao, Yang Guang was draped in a wild boar pelt, disguised as a boar demon. His nose twitched as a strange look crossed his face. "Odd. Why do I smell such a heavy stench of blood?" "You're not a dog. Leave this sort of thing to the professional." An Qiao tugged on the leash. The trail-tracking hound ambled over reluctantly. "Actually, I think he's pretty dog-like himself. Very professional." As usual, the trail-tracking hound's tongue was sharp and venomous. Yang Guang glared at the hound and snapped crossly, "Watch it, or I'll catch a male dog demon to breed with you!" Hearing this, the hound tucked its tail between its legs and dared not talk back. "Sniff out Mr. Qi's scent as well, and see if we can locate him and rescue him!" An Qiao said, full of worry. Right now, Mr. Qi was trapped on Mount Shuyao too. Perhaps he was surrounded by demon soldiers at this very moment. If they could find him and rescue him, it would be a blessing. "Right, we must find Brother Qi! I gave my word to keep him safe!" Having recovered his blood-martial qi, Yang Guang had regained his confidence. "Yeah, got it." The trail-tracking hound pressed its snout to the ground and snuffled vigorously. Yang Guang waited in silence. The heavy stench of blood left him somewhat uneasy. Suddenly, the hound's tail stiffened upright, and a human-like terror filled its canine eyes. "Blood... so much blood! I smell mountains of corpses and seas of blood!" As it spoke, it lifted its head toward the north, sheer panic on its face. "What?" An Qiao asked quickly. "Over there... blood is everywhere! A demon purgatory!" The hound stared northward, its eyes wide with dread. "That's where the demon camp is!" Yang Guang's expression turned solemn as he looked in that direction. Could it be that some monumental disaster had struck Mount Shuyao? "What about Mr. Qi?" "Not good! Mr. Qi's scent is in there too!" the hound barked loudly. "What?! No, I promised to keep Mr. Qi safe!" Yang Guang's heart seized up, fearing Qi Yuan had met with misfortune. After all, piecing together the hound's words, it seemed very likely that Qi Yuan had been besieged in the demon camp and engaged in a desperate fight. That had to be why the bloody stench was so overwhelming. "I have to go take a look!" Yang Guang was a man of his word. ... From summer to autumn, and then to winter. For many insects, that was a whole lifetime. For wanderers on the road, it was a year of toil, a mixture of joy and sorrow upon returning home. In this single year, far too much had happened in Fengyuan. The Four Seasons Restaurant stood by the banks of the Xi River. The Xi River, dividing north and south, was covered in thick ice. The banners of the Four Seasons Restaurant snapped in the freezing wind as goose-feather snowflakes swirled thickly through the air. Despite the bitter cold, the restaurant was alive with warmth and bustling steam. Patrons held large bowls, drinking wine, eating meat, and listening with relish to the storyteller's impassioned narration. "On that day, thunderclouds gathered thick and black clouds pressed down on the mountain! "The Lizard King of Mount Xianlong, a formidable Demon Hero three hundred zhang long! If it so much as rolled over, Mount Xianlong would shake with tremors! "When it took to the skies, it blocked out the sun, plunging Mount Xianlong into darkness!" "Stop dragging it out! No matter how strong that Lizard King was, wasn't it beaten to death by the Red Staff Demon Butcher anyway?!" "Skip Mount Xianlong! I want to hear about the Red Staff Demon Butcher's grand battle against Princess Jasmine!" "Yeah! Word is that when Princess Jasmine heard the Red Staff Demon Butcher was coming, she staged a wedding right then and there to marry him!" "Hmph, a demoness? As if she's worthy of the Red Staff Demon Butcher!" scoffed a young woman in a ruqun dress, her tone dripping with disdain. "I'd wager only the greatest beauty of Fengyuan, Empress Xiao Zhou, is worthy of him!" "Mind your tongue! That is Her Majesty the Empress!" "Hmph! If the Red Staff Demon Butcher wants to be emperor, I'll follow him into rebellion right now! "Back then, when the demon soldiers ran amok, that little boy of an emperor fled south with the noble clans, abandoning the people of the Northern Lands! And they had the gall to call it 'preserving the sparks of civilization.' Bah! If the people are gone, what bloody civilization is left to preserve?!" "The Red Staff Demon Butcher is a real man! In a single year, he fought his way across three thousand li and slaughtered tens of thousands of demon soldiers!" "If only I could marry the Red Staff Demon Butcher, I'd even be willing to stay forever young!" Inside the restaurant, young men and women gathered, drinking wine, chatting, and brimming with delight. Over the past year, far too much had happened. Among it all, the figure commanding the most attention was naturally the Red Staff Demon Butcher. His origins were unknown, his name unknown; yet wielding a red wooden staff, he routed the demon race across the north. Wherever he went, corpses littered the land for ten thousand li! With formidable power, he battled thousands of demon soldiers single-handedly, like an undefeated god of death. He forged legend after legend. At first, when word spread that the Red Staff Demon Butcher had single-handedly annihilated the three thousand demon soldiers of Mount Shuyao, the world was stunned—though met with far more doubt and disbelief. After all, how could such a mighty warrior exist in this world, fighting three thousand demon soldiers alone? Even the foremost martial artist in the Taige of Fengyuan couldn't accomplish such a feat. After all, three thousand demon soldiers led by a Demon Hero-rank great demon could even slay a Martial Spirit. Yet... the Red Staff Demon Butcher had done it. How was that possible?! Yet later, demon factions at Mount Xianlong, Fenggu Ridge, Taizi River, and other locations were wiped out one after another. Eyewitnesses had all seen a handsome man in blood-red robes wielding a bloody staff, like a demonic god. The realm shook, the whole world was awestruck, and none dared doubt it anymore. "In just one short year, of the world's Twelve Demon Dens, eleven have already fallen! The Red Staff Demon Butcher... is truly terrifying to behold!" an old man said with a trembling voice. From his attire, he was clearly no ordinary fellow. Yet now, he sat right among the patrons in the main hall of the restaurant. "Only the demons of the Xi River remain... I wonder when the Red Staff Demon Butcher will arrive?" "Once the Xi River demons are destroyed, the realm will know peace, and we humans shall flourish!" "Heh heh, not necessarily. You think after the Red Staff Demon Butcher slaughters the Xi River demons, he might want to become emperor? "From where I stand, he's wildly ambitious and wants to seize the throne! "Demon-slaying war god? Working for the greater good of all under heaven? He's just an ordinary mortal like the rest of us." A low murmur drifted from a corner. However, he had used a special voice transmission technique, so no one present knew who had spoken. Up in a private box of the restaurant, a young girl heard this, pushed open the window, and scolded furiously, "Excessively harsh on the good, yet lenient and magnanimous toward the wicked—are you even human? "If you're a man, show yourself!" Yet the one who had spoken stayed quiet, hiding in the dark corner. Seeing this, a prominent scholar in the restaurant couldn't help but sigh. The other patrons cursed under their breath, dissatisfied. Though the Red Staff Demon Butcher slaughtered demons and achieved deeds for the ages, conspiracy theories about him abounded. People of the world always loved to judge good men with excessive harshness, accusing their good deeds of hiding ulterior motives or being done the wrong way; yet toward evil men, they developed sympathy and showed far too much lenience. Just then, a calm voice suddenly drifted in from outside. "To think there are keyboard warriors here too, and I actually ran into one. What great luck." The restaurant doors opened, and a blast of freezing wind swept inside, howling like the wails of demons. As feather-light flakes drifted in, the people in the hall turned their gaze and immediately saw a handsome man in blood-red robes, holding a wooden staff. Looking upon this excessively handsome man, the patrons showed astonishment, while others looked suspicious. This person's attire was... somewhat similar to the Red Staff Demon Butcher! Yet nowadays, with the Red Staff Demon Butcher's fame at its peak, many scions of noble families had taken to wearing red robes. This youth looked far too young, with fair, tender skin that hardly resembled that of a battle-hardened demon slayer. A brief silence fell over the hall. The handsome man walked in, followed by a tender-looking boy who nevertheless appeared weathered by the world. In the boy's hand was a rope. Trailing behind the rope were two figures covered in black sacks. When their eyes caught the black sacks and those figures, some patrons swallowed hard. Others widened their eyes, sheer disbelief in their gazes. "The Red Staff... Demon Butcher!" "He is the Red Staff Demon Butcher!" A commotion broke out in the restaurant. In the private box, the young girl leaned out, eager to catch a glimpse of the legend and see if he truly matched the tales. The moment she caught Qi Yuan's profile, she froze in a daze. To think such peerless, magnificent beauty could exist in this world. He seemed scarcely of the mortal realm. "Badmouthing me and getting caught right in front of me... Your luck really stinks." Qi Yuan's gaze fell calmly upon a wealthy merchant with chubby jowls and large ears. The merchant's face changed drastically. "It wasn't me! I didn't!" He denied it. The man beside him chimed in hastily, "Old Master Wu is a great philanthropist who donates money to pave roads! He would never slander Lord Red Staff Demon Butcher!" The people in the hall looked at the merchant with mixed expressions. This merchant had a stellar reputation in the city and was even hailed as the foremost philanthropist. Instantly, several others couldn't help speaking up on the merchant's behalf. After all, the Red Staff Demon Butcher was a peerless hero; surely he wouldn't be so petty, and would be reasonable. Seeing this, the merchant breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. At the same time, he silently warned himself to be more cautious in the future and never let his slip-ups be caught again. Just then, the corners of Qi Yuan's mouth curled into a smile. "Mushi, play the music." Huo Mushi skillfully produced a suona. Instantly, a bleak, sorrowful tune arose within the restaurant. Terror struck the merchant's face as realization dawned on him. "You can't—!" Yet what greeted him was a blood-red wooden staff. The staff came down squarely on the crown of his skull, as if cracking open a watermelon. His head burst apart like an overripe melon. Silence fell over the restaurant, broken only by the wail of the suona. Among the onlookers, some were stunned, some terrified, and some felt a grim satisfaction. "How to dispel sorrow? Only... killing!" Qi Yuan lowered his staff, his voice bright and hearty. Even those who had felt satisfied a moment ago now felt a chill creeping into their hearts upon hearing those words. The Red Staff Demon Butcher's tone didn't sound like an act at all.