The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 16

Yin Wu’s warning fell on those people like something solid. After being noticed, several of them rubbed their noses, turned around awkwardly, and pretended to start talking with others. She lifted her brows without much cheer and placed her hand on Li Lingjiang’s cape. Without showing it, she shifted position and covered most of Li Lingjiang, pulling the cape inward with a face full of displeasure.
“Demon Lord, do not catch cold,” she said in a muffled voice.
Li Lingjiang lowered her eyes to look at her and, for some reason, laughed softly. Most of her face was completely buried inside the cape. She hooked it down to reveal her lips. “Are you trying to smother me? What are you angry about?”
Yin Wu muttered, “Are you someone they can profane? Sure enough, once there are more people, there is more trouble.”
“If you know that, then why be angry?” Li Lingjiang soothed her a little, then turned toward Wen Si, who was chewing a fasting pill. “When can we leave?”
Almost everyone in this group had prepared fasting pills. It seemed they had truly spent heavily.
She looked toward the depths of No-Return Mountain, her eyes darkening. Usually, the demon clan did not guard this place too closely. First, ordinary people could not find No-Return Mountain, and the demonic energy was the first barrier. Second, the mountain was full of danger. Once someone entered too deeply, they could forget about coming out alive. Most of the time, only demon clan members came here for training or to pay respects.
Over time, the defenses had weakened. If this matter did not involve so many people, they would at most protect the souls of their ancestors. A few people dying would have nothing to do with them. It would not have turned into supervision and caution.
Wen Si put away the pill. He looked at the remaining people and, seeing they were about ready, said, “We can leave at any time.”
Ling Xin leaned to the side and said coldly, “Then let us go. Otherwise, how long do we plan to delay? Are we waiting for you to eat three meals a day?”
“Naturally not.” Wen Si still smiled warmly, but a trace of disgust flashed through his eyes and was quickly hidden.
Ling Xin and the other three had slipped in through muddy waters to begin with. Along the way, they had not talked much, and because they already held prejudice toward these people, their attitudes were naturally not good. Their disdain was not an act. Wen Si, however, seemed like someone easy to stick to.
Wen Si’s mind turned quickly. His attitude could be called attentive and fawning. Ordinary people might have been somewhat moved. Unfortunately for him, the ones he had met were not people, but demons, beasts, ghosts, and spirits standing against him.
And they were a group of old foxes who had lived for thousands of years.
Packing up still took some time. Li Lingjiang walked a little toward the crowd. Her two beast ears trembled, and her steps stopped. She tilted one ear slightly, listening to a discussion from one place. Words like “serving,” “four people,” and “sickly” came out again and again. Listening, she set aside her original thought of ignoring it. Her eyes gradually sank.
Li Lingjiang turned and faced them directly.
“Look at that seductive fox-spirit look of hers. One glance and you know she is a fox spirit. I bet those four are tightly hooked by her.”
“That sickly look is probably all on purpose, so she can serve people.”
“Who knows? Senior Brother Wen might be her next target. She can play with four people, so her body must be pretty good.”
“…”
Yin Wu heard everything clearly and gave a light sneer. Her eyes chilled, and her voice hardened. “Demon Lord.”
Ling Xin and the other three were walking ahead. They only noticed that something was wrong with Li Lingjiang and did not know what had happened. Just as Ling Xin was about to come over in confusion, Li Lingjiang lazily lifted her eyes and gave him a quieting look.
Ling Xin froze. Feng Luan walked over and patted his shoulder, his expression heavy. In a low voice, he said, “There are some things where you should draw a clear boundary.”
In an instant, Ling Xin was faintly surrounded by the others. He widened his eyes, his teeth grinding, his finger bones turning white from force. He closed his eyes. In the end, he still breathed out and turned away, no longer interfering.
Wuzhi and Feng Luan looked at each other, and an almost imperceptible bitterness flashed through their eyes.
Li Lingjiang did not notice the turbulence among them. She calmly pressed down on Yin Wu and said softly, “Is that red thread still with you?”
Yin Wu’s expression sharpened. She narrowed her eyes slightly and lowered her head to find the red thread, quietly hooking the corner of her lips.
When she raised her eyes again, she looked thoroughly angry. “Demon Lord, what are you going to do?”
Li Lingjiang took the red thread. She wound it twice around her fingertip. Against the pure white gauze, it formed a strong and vivid contrast. Her fingertip lightly touched beneath her lips, making her lips seem to have gained a little color. She laughed softly, yet there was no emotion in it at all.
More people meant more trouble. That saying was indeed correct. Li Lingjiang had not wanted to care. In the past, this kind of baseless speculation had not been rare, but no one had dared mention it to her face. Now she was “human,” without that layer of status to make others cautious. Naturally, people feared her less. But that did not mean she could endure it again and again.
Yin Wu followed nervously beside her and covered the restless black dragon with one hand. “Why not let me do it?”
Li Lingjiang did not move and did not answer. She only clenched her fingers tighter.
Her gaze remained fixed on them. The two people who had been talking first sensed something was wrong. They coughed dryly and wanted to slip away.
How could Li Lingjiang give them the chance?
Both were cultivators with some foundation. Li Lingjiang pressed her lips together, and her eyes suddenly turned sharp. When her finger bones flicked outward, a soft crack could be heard. The soft red thread flew out as fast as a sharp blade. The two people retreated in fear, but the red thread followed like a ghost. Li Lingjiang lifted her fingertip and narrowed her eyes. In the next second, several screams rang out.
Blood dripped from the end of the red thread, dyeing it another shade of red. The two women covered their faces in terror. When they lowered their hands, many people drew in sharp breaths. A wound ran from the right side of each woman’s face down across the lips. The cuts were not deep, but they would not heal easily.
Li Lingjiang lifted the red thread. Before everyone could react, another ruthless lash struck out. The arms and ears of the men who had first stared at her were bound with lines of blood. They stepped back in shock and looked blankly at their wounds. None were deep. They had only been cut enough to bleed.
Yet the pain was like being roasted over fire, stinging and numbing.
Her expression turned indifferent. Her face had grown much paler, but she still showed no weakness. Li Lingjiang slowly put away the red thread and casually shook off the blood drops that clung to it. Her ears drooped a little. She said slowly, “If I hear even one more word from you, one word will mean one strike. In any case, those mouths of yours are not very useful.”
“If I brand a few words on your faces later, I think that should not be hard.”
Li Lingjiang’s voice was somewhat drifting. She turned her head and looked at the men, lifting her eyes without much interest. “This is a lesson. Next time you look again, I will make sure you never breathe again.”
She spread her hand as she pleased, her expression faint. “If you define me as a fox spirit, then I do not need to reason with you.”
Wen Si hurried over at the sound, but he was still a step too late. With an ugly expression, he walked forward. These two female disciples were proper disciples of the Immortal-Entering Sect. As their senior brother, he should not ignore it.
But Li Lingjiang had already sensed his intention. She tilted her head. The white cape hid half her face, and the visible eye was sharp enough to shock the heart. She raised one finger, the red thread coiled around it. Li Lingjiang lightly touched it to her lips.
Shh.
Wen Si’s pupils shrank. He froze in place. He took a deep breath, lowered his head, and turned toward the injured people, saying hoarsely, “Control your mouths, or get back where you came from!”
He adjusted his expression and had just wanted to turn back apologetically, but Li Lingjiang had already turned away and left, leaving him only a straight, dignified back.
The group did not waste much more time. The two female cultivators cried for a while, then stopped. Wuzhi casually tossed them a medicine bottle. It would not fully heal them, but at least they would not look too ugly.
Ling Xin hooked his lips in a cold smile. “You really do have the heart of a bodhisattva.”
Wuzhi glanced at him. “What do you know? This is how one cheats trust.”
Ling Xin sneered and ignored him.
The four blended into the front of the group. Li Lingjiang stood farther back, and Yin Wu lightly supported her. Worried, Yin Wu looked at her. “Demon Lord, are you all right?”
Li Lingjiang’s breathing had grown much rougher. Fine cold sweat seeped from her forehead, but her eyes were still clear. She denied it. “It is fine. The red thread has spirit to begin with. I did not use much strength.”
She had circulated a little of the demonic power left in her body. The red thread’s use was better than she had imagined.
Li Lingjiang wanted to brush Yin Wu’s hand away, but she nearly lost balance and fell forward. Yin Wu reacted quickly and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into her embrace. She advised softly, “Be careful. It is better if I support you. Actually, it would have been the same if I had done it.”
“It is not the same.” Li Lingjiang swallowed the coppery taste in her mouth. She could not summon much strength. Only after a long silence did she find her voice again. “No matter what, you cannot interfere too much. It is better to make them shut their mouths.”
Yin Wu rubbed Li Lingjiang’s thinned waist without much emotion. Her eyes deepened. “That is true, but you still hurt yourself.”
She steadied Li Lingjiang, her fingers remaining on Li Lingjiang’s wrist for a long time without leaving.
Dawn kept breaking. The fog on No-Return Mountain thinned slightly. At first, the road was not hard to walk. Once they entered the valley, however, it became much darker.
Li Lingjiang lowered her eyes and again looked toward one place with a small movement. It was not obvious and could be called hidden.
After noticing, Yin Wu pretended to probe casually. Her pupils shrank slightly, and she understood.
The place where the Demon Venerables of No-Return Mountain had fallen through the generations.
Rows of white stone tablets stood neatly arranged. All of them were blank. No living beings existed around them. Demonic energy seemed trapped there, winding around in especially thick layers. The demon clan had placed a powerful restriction. If one did not use magic to investigate, one likely would not sense it at all.
Yin Wu turned to look at Li Lingjiang. Li Lingjiang’s gaze fixed on one place for several seconds. Soundlessly, she hooked the corner of her lips, and her mood was clearly much better.
Yin Wu looked over. Beneath one grave marker hid an extremely tiny flower. A blue bird spread its wings to protect it. Yin Wu raised one brow in surprise and suddenly remembered that when the kings of the demon clan fell, they seemed to transform into birds.
Yin Wu had no intention of probing further. She withdrew her gaze and took some jerky from her storage pouch. Passing it to Li Lingjiang, she asked softly, “Demon Lord, do you want some?”
Li Lingjiang lowered her head and looked. She did not take it. “Demon dragon?”
“Yes.” Yin Wu naturally put it into her mouth and chewed. “The meat is quite chewy.”
Li Lingjiang: “…”
Helplessly, she said, “I will not eat it.”
Yin Wu said, “Oh.” Then she grew excited. “Then I will go ask the others.”
Li Lingjiang lifted her chin and said slowly, “Go.”
The body heat at her arm gradually cooled. Li Lingjiang suddenly frowned sharply and looked warily toward one place. Her steps also gradually slowed.
Her hand silently settled on the Jade-Bone Fan and tightened.