Chapter 49 - 43: I Really Didn’t See Anything
Jiang Mu found the place where the two were fighting.
To avoid getting caught in the crossfire while spectating, he first sent out Demon Shadow Number One to set an anchor point in a safe location. Only then did he find a spot behind a broken wall, crouching to watch the battle from afar.
In the center of the fray, Ling Ye wielded an ice sword, her attacks a torrential storm.
The Snake Mother struggled to parry with her Blood Saber, but her body was already covered in several sword wounds.
Her demonic qi was in disarray; she was clearly at a disadvantage.
For some reason, even from a great distance, Jiang Mu could feel the rare, violent rage emanating from Ling Ye.
It looked less like she was slaying a demon and more like she was venting her anger.
"You bitch!"
Her situation growing more desperate, the Snake Mother’s scales were flipped and torn all over her body, leaving her in a wretched state.
She roared as she defended against the impenetrable net of sword strikes,
"I just mentioned your shameless master, and you’re coming at me like you’ve got a death wish?! Fine! If you want to die, I’ll take you with me!"
Before her voice faded, the Snake Mother spat a mouthful of Essence Blood onto the Blood Saber in her hand.
Her other hand rapidly formed a series of seals.
In an instant, the night sky seemed as if it had been doused in a layer of fresh blood.
The ground trembled violently.
Countless streams of blood-red qi seeped from the ground, converging mid-air to form the spectral image of a blood-colored serpent dozens of yards long.
The sinister pressure it radiated alone made Jiang Mu’s chest tighten, leaving him short of breath even from a distance.
He subconsciously tightened his grip on his saber’s hilt, ready to use Instant Teleportation to escape at a moment’s notice.
But faced with this terrifying assault, the corner of Ling Ye’s mouth curved into a smirk.
"I was waiting for you to use this move."
She held her ice sword vertically before her brow.
The next moment, Ling Ye’s entire body was suddenly covered in brilliant frost, as if she had been transformed into a transparent ice sculpture.
In that instant, she and the sword in her hand seemed to merge, becoming one and the same.
Between heaven and earth, only a single, ultimate white light remained.
The Snake Mother’s pupils contracted violently.
"No! This aura..."
She let out a piercing shriek and, ignoring the backlash, forcefully broke off the spell, preparing to retreat in a hurry!
But it was too late.
The incandescent white light shot out, directly piercing the spectral giant serpent and the protective demonic barrier the Snake Mother had hastily thrown up.
It entered through her chest and exited through her back.
A spray of blood filled the air.
The Snake Mother froze in place, looking down at her chest.
There, a fine line of ice was rapidly spreading, slowly splitting her body apart.
The Snake Mother’s face first showed confusion, then twisted into a mask of terror and ferocity.
"You lunatic! You actually dared to cultivate a Forbidden Skill like this!"
"I’ll take you down with me!"
She reversed her grip on the Blood Saber and viciously stabbed it into the fissure that was about to split her body apart.
"Let’s die together!!"
BOOM—
The Snake Mother’s body exploded.
It transformed into a dark red shockwave that swept out in all directions!
’Self-destruction?’
Ling Ye’s pretty face changed as she hurriedly retreated. Her body was thrown back by the powerful shockwave, and she landed on the ground.
"Cough..."
She staggered, using her sword as a crutch to steady herself on one knee.
The black dress she wore had been torn in many places by the force of the explosion.
The fabric over her chest, in particular, had completely disintegrated.
The sight was dazzling.
Jiang Mu muttered, "I knew it. It’s definitely not convenient to fight while carrying watermelons."
"Who’s there!?"
The words had barely left his mouth when an icy killing intent and the tip of a sword arrived in an instant.
Startled, Jiang Mu decisively turned his back.
The next moment, a bone-chilling ice sword was pressed against his back, right over his heart.
"Lord Ling?"
Jiang Mu’s body stiffened as he feigned a questioning tone.
Seeing it was Jiang Mu, Ling Ye relaxed slightly, pulling the ice sword back a few inches.
She was about to ask him something when she suddenly realized what was wrong. Looking down, she hastily covered herself with one hand.
Her cool, jade-like face, no longer hidden by a veil, instantly flushed crimson.
Then, it turned pale with a mixture of shame and anger.
She grit her teeth, tightened her grip on her sword’s hilt, and her voice was so cold it seemed to drift out of an ice cavern.
"Did... you see?"
Jiang Mu asked in confusion, "See what?"
"Did you see or not?!"
Ling Ye asked again.
Her voice was even colder this time.
"What on earth is Lord Ling talking about? I just heard the commotion and came over... See what, exactly?"
Jiang Mu was the very picture of innocence.
Seeing his reaction, Ling Ye’s tense body relaxed a little.
"...It’s nothing."
Her gaze shifted, and she spotted a woman’s coarse cloth dress hanging on a clothesline in the adjacent courtyard. She retrieved it from a distance.
After putting on the dress and her veil, she sheathed her longsword.
"What are you doing here?"
Only then did Jiang Mu turn around and say, "I was worried about you, Lord Ling, and wanted to help."
"You?"
The woman had resumed her usual icy demeanor. "In the future, don’t blindly get involved in fights between Demons like this," she said coolly. "Be careful or you’ll lose your life."
"Yes, I understand."
As they spoke, a firework exploded in the distant sky.
It was clearly a signal from other members of the Demon-slaying Bureau who had noticed the commotion and were on their way.
"Give me the melon."
She held out her hand.
Jiang Mu quickly handed over the watermelon, unable to resist asking curiously,
"Lord Ling, why are you carrying a watermelon in the middle of the night?"
Ling Ye hesitated for a moment before saying flatly,
"Someone I know likes to eat them. I was planning to drop it off on my way. After all... we haven’t seen each other in a long time. Think of it as a gift."
Jiang Mu was a little speechless.
’Who brings a watermelon as a gift when meeting someone?’
He glanced around and saw a large, charred crater where the Snake Mother had self-destructed. There were some shattered scales faintly visible at the bottom of the pit, but no body. He couldn’t help but find it strange.
"Was the Snake Mother completely blown up?"
"She escaped."
Ling Ye’s tone was level. "I thought she was actually going to self-destruct, but she played me.
However, after this battle, the foundation of her Cultivation Level is destroyed, her Demon Pill is cracked, and her realm will surely plummet. It will be nearly impossible for her to recover."
’She escaped?’
Jiang Mu was a little disappointed.
He had come all this way just to charge up his cheat.
But she got away.
Just then, his eyes were suddenly drawn to a dark red glint on the edge of the rubble-filled crater.
He went closer and saw that it was a saber.
A bloody light seemed to flow within the blade. Although it was somewhat damaged, its spiritual essence was not lost.
’A Magical Treasure?’
Jiang Mu’s eyes lit up.
Ling Ye glanced at it and said coolly,
"It’s a rare and precious saber. If you want it, take it."
"I couldn’t possibly."
Jiang Mu said, but he was already hugging the saber to his chest.
He was in desperate need of a good saber.
The standard-issue saber from the Demon-slaying Bureau was fine for dealing with ordinary Demon Fiends, but it was too weak for high-level Demons. It would get chipped every time he finished a fight.
This saber had a heavy, evil aura. It was perfect for him to take back and refine with his Demonic Qi.
’It might even evolve.’
"You helped me find this Snake Mother. If you hadn’t tipped me off, I wouldn’t have been able to corner her. Consider this saber your reward."
Ling Ye suddenly noticed the bloodstains on his clothes and asked, "Did you go help Wang Ershang and the others earlier?"
"Yeah."
Jiang Mu nodded. "Yeah. If I’d been a step slower, they’d probably all be dead. I killed that fourth-rank handmaiden Snake Demon with a single strike."
Ling Ye was taken aback. "That Demon... you killed it by yourself?"
"That’s right."
Jiang Mu nodded.
Ling Ye fell silent for a moment.
’This guy... he always manages to do something unexpected.’
A sudden thought struck her, and she asked, "Jiang Chen, are you interested in becoming a Patrol Envoy?"
"A Patrol Envoy?"
Jiang Mu was stunned. He pointed at his own nose. "Me?"
"Yes."
Ling Ye nodded seriously.
"You have a decisive nature, impressive combat strength, and the potential to stand on your own. The position of Patrol Envoy offers the freedom to train, allowing you to accumulate a great deal of practical experience and resources. You’ll grow much faster than you would cooped up in the little Demon-slaying Bureau branch in Hu State."
Jiang Mu thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"With my current Cultivation Level, how could I be a Patrol Envoy? I’m afraid I wouldn’t make it two steps out the door before some passing Great Demon swallowed me up as a snack.
I’d rather develop safely for a while first. Besides... I only became a Hall Master by pulling strings."
Hearing this, Ling Ye thought for a moment and felt that what Jiang Mu said made sense.
He did indeed need time to settle down and accumulate experience.
"That’s true. There’s no rush. If you change your mind in the future, you can tell me anytime."
Ling Ye said.
Jiang Mu, however, was a little curious.
"I’ve heard the selection criteria for a Patrol Envoy are extremely strict. It can’t be easy to become one, right?"
"They are indeed strict."
Ling Ye admitted frankly, "For anyone else, I wouldn’t bother. But for you... I can make an exception."
She looked at Jiang Mu, her gaze from under the veil clear and sincere.
"I’m not someone who rigidly sticks to the rules. If you’re willing, it wouldn’t be a problem to let you in through the back door."
"I’ll think about it."
Jiang Mu said.
Seeing the figures of Demon-slaying Bureau personnel appearing in the distance, Ling Ye prepared to leave and change her clothes.
Just as she was about to leave, she couldn’t help but ask one more time,
"You really didn’t see anything just now?"
"What?"
Jiang Mu had a blank look on his face.
Ling Ye stared at him for a moment before saying, "It’s nothing."
Just as Jiang Mu breathed a sigh of relief, the woman suddenly pointed at the watermelon in her arms and asked quickly,
"Which is bigger, it or me?"
"You are," Jiang Mu blurted out without thinking.
Ling Ye: "..."
Jiang Mu: "..."
A gust of wind blew past, swirling the leaves on the ground.