Chapter 35: This First Place, I Claimed It Fair and Square—Don’t… Part 2

Gu Changhuai raised a brow and said darkly, “I haven’t forgotten.” His voice turned icy. “I just don’t like people acting on their own. Where’s your sword?”

He paused, then softly added, “Draw it.”

“I’m not fighting you.” Xue Lao Er’s eyes chilled. He reached out, and a small, exquisite red drum appeared in his palm. “And don’t forget, I control the demon gu. I can take your life anytime!”

Better not to mention it.

At the reminder, Gu Changhuai laughed—a low chuckle echoing through the quiet woods. He laughed heartily, making his already striking, cold features even more exquisitely beautiful.

The ancient tree’s shadows enveloped him in darkness, lending his smile an eerie edge, his laughter turning eerie.

Once done laughing, Gu Changhuai lifted his gaze, eyes still crinkled. “Am I too kind, making you think I’m easy to bully?”

With that, he swung the longsword toward Xue Lao Er.

Xue Lao Er’s expression hardened. He abruptly urged the red drum, the drumhead vibrating more fiercely than before, intent on costing Gu Changhuai half his life.

But the swordsman’s face remained unchanged. The sword intent split a fissure beside him, exuding endless chilling aura.

“Madman!” Xue Lao Er cursed, intensifying the drum’s rhythm. With a sleeve flick, a longsword appeared in his hand.

Clang—*

It blocked Gu Changhuai’s next slash. The two ring-pommel longswords clashed, buzzing and ringing as demonic energy erupted, startling birds into flight.

The demon gu had crawled to his heart, surging with heart-wrenching pain as if to devour it into countless shreds.

Gu Changhuai felt a sweet tang rise in his throat. Blood overflowed from his mouth, exciting him further. Odd light flickered in his eyes.

“Since you’re so out of control, I’ll just eliminate you on behalf of the Demon Venerable!” A ruthless glint flashed in Xue Lao Er’s eyes as demonic energy surged out, deflecting Gu Changhuai’s oncoming long saber. He summoned the Golden Bell as support, making the Red Drum thump even more violently.

But in the next instant—

A massive force flipped him over. The Red Drum leaping in midair was snatched by Gu Changhuai, and Xue Lao Er’s expression changed drastically.

“Don’t be nervous.” Gu Changhuai’s gaze was icy cold. He let go, and the Red Drum fell to the ground. With a light step, he crushed it into powder. He chuckled softly at Xue Lao Er. “It’s just a broken toy. Did you really think this thing could control me?”

Xue Lao Er hadn’t expected the Red Drum given by the Demon Venerable to be destroyed so easily. Realizing something, his pupils contracted. He immediately flipped backward and leaped up, not daring to be careless as he charged at Gu Changhuai with his saber.

His left hand wielded the saber while his right formed a palm, attempting to seize Gu Changhuai’s vital points.

Every move—

Was a technique they had exchanged in the Shadow Clan. Back then, in that dim training ground, Gu Changhuai had barely managed, even needing Xue Lao Er to fake a sprained ankle to eke out a win.

But now—

The same techniques.

Gu Changhuai handled them with ease. He even clasped one hand behind his back, lazily yawned, and blocked Xue Lao Er’s full-force assaults with just his single saber hand.

The more they fought, the more alarmed Xue Lao Er became.

Until Gu Changhuai grew bored and lifted his eyes.

Just then, Xue Lao Er’s right hand clamped onto Gu Changhuai’s shoulder. Gu Changhuai decisively kicked him in the body, breaking free and sending the man flying.

The long saber then pressed against Xue Lao Er’s neck, the blade drawing a thin line of blood. He warned, “Don’t move.” His tone was casual. “I can’t guarantee your head won’t roll.”

Xue Lao Er clenched his fists and demanded, “Gu Sanbai, you’ve been hiding your cultivation level?”

“Nah.” Gu Changhuai thought for a moment and said, “I’ve always been upfront.”

Xue Lao Er: “You’re still pretending?”

Gu Changhuai dabbed his ring finger at the corner of his mouth, smearing a bit of bright red blood on his fingertip. “I told you already—this first place, I claimed fair and square.” His lips curved upward. “Who told you not to believe me? You had to shove that Night Luminous Pearl at me.”

Blood stained his lips, giving him an air of eerie malevolence. Even a casual downward glance carried a heart-stirring beauty, the kind that made people want to throw themselves at him heedless of danger.

Han Ya cawed chaotically nearby. “Caw caw caw caw!! Kill him! Kill him!”

Han Ya’s cheering made Xue Lao Er’s face change. “Han Ya only obeys the Demon Venerable’s orders. How did you convince it to betray the Demon Realm?”

Han Ya: “I’m the Ancient Demon Crow!! That old geezer isn’t worthy to be my master!”

Xue Lao Er: “…?”

Stunned, Xue Lao Er asked Gu Changhuai, “Who does it mean by that?” Don’t tell him the old geezer was the Demon Venerable.

Gu Changhuai shrugged. “Exactly what you’re thinking.”

Xue Lao Er cursed Han Ya in disbelief. “Traitor!” No, he corrected himself. “Traitorous bird!”

Han Ya spun in a circle on the tree branch. Bird droppings plummeted from the sky onto Xue Lao Er’s head, then it flapped its wings and circled nearby, continuing its mocking caws.

Xue Lao Er burned with rage, his face flushing red.

“Eww.” Gu Changhuai sheathed his saber in disgust, even viewing Xue Lao Er as tainted. “So gross.”

Xue Lao Er felt deeply aggrieved: “…”

Gu Changhuai waved him off lightly. “Get lost.”

Xue Lao Er: “?”

Xue Lao Er: “You’re just letting me go? Aren’t you afraid I’ll report you to the Demon Venerable?”

Gu Changhuai gave him an inexplicable glance. “Go ahead and report. Tell me, besides beating you up, what else did I do?”

“…” Xue Lao Er thought carefully. In this operation, Gu Changhuai had indeed followed orders. All the chaos had been stirred up by those sword cultivators from the Xinnan Immortal Sect…

Gu Changhuai tallied it up for him. “Besides telling you to let that kid go, did I ever fight you over him?”

“Then what’s this for now?” Xue Lao Er pointed to the blood on his neck and his tattered clothes. “Did these injuries fall from the sky?” He jabbed at the Red Drum shattered into pieces nearby. “Did it explode on its own?”

Gu Changhuai replied candidly, “Wasn’t that because you provoked me with the Demon Gu? If you hadn’t provoked me, why would I have laid a hand on you?” He smiled at Xue Lao Er. “Right, colleague?”

Xue Lao Er couldn’t help but shiver.

From this incident, he grasped a truth—the Shadow Clan’s rumors were no lie. A deranged Gu Changhuai was absolutely not to be crossed.

The brighter the smile, the crueler the strike.

His gaze swept over Gu Changhuai again. Gu Changhuai smiled at the corner of his lips as he touched the blood on his ring finger to his tongue, then squinted his eyes in satisfaction.

“…”

A bit perverted.

“Be good. When you report back, say it nicely.” Gu Changhuai beckoned to Han Ya circling nearby. Once it approached, he handed over a prepared letter.

It detailed the content for fobbing off the Demon Venerable—omitting minor details, adding embellishments, inflating their achievements, and praising the other side even more.

“I’ve credited all the merits to you this time.” Gu Changhuai said warmly. “Rest assured, as long as you don’t provoke me, we’ll be good partners like before.”

With that, he met Xue Lao Er’s eyes sidelong. “After all, we’re the last two Shadow Demons from our batch, aren’t we?”

“…”

Xue Lao Er’s gloomy eyes dropped, his emotions complex.

Gu Changhuai was right. Over three thousand Shadow Demons had been born from the Blood Pool in their batch, and only the two of them survived.

The three hundredth born from the Blood Pool: Gu Sanbai.

And the second born from the Blood Pool: Xue Lao Er.

But he dared not defy the Demon Venerable’s orders. The Demon Venerable had said—If the mission failed, kill Gu Changhuai. If any anomalies were detected in Gu Changhuai, kill.

Two kill orders in a row, yet he had held back from striking the moment he sensed something off.

“Lady Mengying is dead, and she took an elder from the Xinnan Immortal Sect with her. That’s enough to report to the Demon Venerable.” Gu Changhuai smiled faintly. “Live well. Sometimes, there’s no need to take things so seriously.”

Xue Lao Er fell silent: “…”

Seeing him lost in thought, Gu Changhuai started to pat Xue Lao Er’s shoulder but noticed the bird droppings on his head and held back. He only said, “Remember to wash your hair. It stinks.”

With that, he turned and left, planning to check on Pei Tianyi first. The kid had lost both parents and his prized spiritual power— who knew how he’d react upon waking.

Moreover, baleful energy filled Zhuangzi Manor, and there was a baleful ghost to reel in. Thus, his figure quickly vanished before Xue Lao Er.

“…”

Xue Lao Er sneered coldly.

Then, without pause, he recited a cleansing incantation.

Once cleaned, as Xue Lao Er prepared to leave, he suddenly sensed a pressure descending from the heavens.

The pressure came abruptly, with extreme ferocity, giving him no chance to breathe or resist. It slammed him face-first into the ground in a prone position, his face pressed tight against the mud, breathing labored.

He struggled to open his mouth, squeezing a word through gritted teeth. “…Who?!”

In the next moment—

A hem of dark cyan robes appeared in his vision, bringing a chill and a killing aura. Xue Lao Er’s hand reached out uncontrollably.

He rarely encountered this ‘man as the butcher’s blade, I as the fish on the slab’ feeling. Under the pressure, he couldn’t muster even a shred of resistance. Even if the other wanted to flay him alive piece by piece, he was powerless to struggle.

Xue Lao Er panicked a little.

“Who the hell are you!” He swallowed and called out in panic. “Gu Sanbai! Gu Sanbai!”

“Crack.”

The sound of a finger bone breaking rang out. Xue Lao Er watched as an invisible force snapped his index finger. Cold sweat beaded all over him. He wanted to shout again, but another low, cold voice sounded. “Shh.” It carried a warning. “Quiet.”

Before the words finished, another “crack” of bone breaking. Instantly, cold sweat poured from Xue Lao Er, but he didn’t dare make another sound.

He recognized this voice.

Qing Lian—Rong Ye.

Then, three more cracking sounds echoed in the woods. Xue Lao Er’s entire right hand’s five fingers were mangled, twisted into a grotesque shape.

The shattered bones would take a long time to heal.

Rong Ye glanced over, his calm eyes flashing with sinister coldness, his voice indifferent yet laced with killing intent. “Don’t touch him again. No next time.”

With that—

The pressure vanished.

The dark cyan robes disappeared from view.

Xue Lao Er finally rolled over, gasping heavily on the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief. Gu Sanbai… Gu Sanbai and Rong Ye?

What was their relationship!