The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 55

Li Lingjiang’s brows tightened. She hurriedly retreated and quickly lifted her eyes to find Yin Wu. In an instant, the distance between her and the little immortal had widened.
“Watch your feet!” Li Lingjiang shouted in a low voice. She stared closely at the ground. Small whirlpools had appeared in different places, and they were spreading toward her.
Li Lingjiang shifted sideways. She judged where she could land, her waist and stomach tightening. Hidden beneath her clothes were lean muscles. With a few light leaps, she arrived beside Yin Wu, her robes rising and falling after her.
“My Lord,” Yin Wu said quickly. Her hand caught Li Lingjiang’s arm and tightened at once. She did not use much strength, but she easily pulled Li Lingjiang into her arms. With one arm around the other woman’s waist, she lifted her a little and stepped back. Her eyes stared darkly at the spot where Li Lingjiang had just stood.
A huge sinking whirlpool had appeared there.
Li Lingjiang placed both hands on Yin Wu’s shoulders. She looked back and spoke in a low, urgent voice. “Perhaps we were truly right. It wants to wear us down.”
Yin Wu let go. Through the clothes, she held Li Lingjiang’s arm. Her gaze was proud. “Next time, I will not speak.”
“Wen Si.” Li Lingjiang broke away from Yin Wu. Her eyes seemed to carry a calming magic. Her voice was steady. “Do not get separated!”
Wen Si had barely dodged one. The pull of the sand whirlpools was not especially strong, but the moment one sank in, their legs would go weak on their own. His nerves were tense. He grabbed two people who had not reacted in time and dragged them away.
Hearing her, he clenched his teeth and finally decided to expose everything. He shouted, “Senior brothers, stop hiding!”
The sand whirlpools appeared very suddenly. In the next moment, someone might step straight into a trap. It was like missing a step and finding no place to stand. They were already exhausted in body and mind, so this shock tightened everyone to the limit. Their bodies reacted far faster than their slow minds.
“Damn it, I cannot get out. Can someone pull me?” A female cultivator had been caught. She was so anxious that sweat poured down her face. Suddenly, she felt an arm wrap around her waist and lift her whole body. Stunned, she turned to look back, then cried out in shock, “Shi Baisheng!”
“You actually…” The female cultivator also sensed something was wrong. The man who had looked like an honest, simple person before now seemed tall and sharp, as if his whole presence had been replaced.
Shi Baisheng lowered his eyes and swept a cold glance at her. He immediately let go. His tone carried an indescribable annoyance. “You should call me Senior Brother.”
After saying that, he went to pull the next person. His movements were smooth and practiced, leaving the female cultivator frozen for a few seconds before she finally remembered to avoid danger.
Liu Ying also noticed that three people among them were showing strength completely different from usual. She cursed several times. “So they really kept a hand hidden from us. But I have never seen any of these people before.”
She removed the sword from her waist and threw it hard to one side. The cold, pale blade stabbed straight into the sand and stood there firmly, trembling with a faint ring. “How were you so careless? Save yourself.”
Her tone was poor, but she kept watching until her friend escaped danger. Within this small group, they had the best relationship. But because that friend had too soft a nature, her presence was not strong.
“Sorry.” The other woman ran to Liu Ying’s side. Her voice was soft and gentle. Liu Ying naturally shielded her behind herself.
Hearing that, Liu Ying could not get angry. “Why apologize? I am just worried about you.”
Liu Ying was about to say more when Shen Duoyi suddenly spoke behind her. “Liu Ying, take four or five people and run forward. Wen Si said so. Be careful not to pull too far apart. It will be bad if we scatter.”
Shen Duoyi looked back at Qi San and the others several times. The four of them were much more at ease. Unlike the rest of them, who were packed together in groups, making movement even harder.
If only he could be like that too. Shen Duoyi pressed his lips together and straightened his back a little.
“Shen Duoyi, move!”
Shi Baisheng had two people tucked under his arms and was carrying them as he ran. He stood not far away and pulled Shen Duoyi’s drifting thoughts back. Shen Duoyi let out a heavy breath, drew his long whip, and casually looped it around someone’s arm. He gathered inner force and leaped quickly over several sand whirlpools. His strength was great. In one breath, he took six or seven people away. With Shi Baisheng, Liu Ying, and the others working together, the group was not slow to spread out.
The sand whirlpools kept growing. At the edge of the endless desert, the blazing sun bled into the sky. The sinking quicksand was as mysterious and terrible as a galaxy. Harsh breathing nearly covered every small sound. Messy footprints were soon scattered even more, and sweat blurred their sight before dripping down.
Wen Si turned his foot and slid several yards over the sand before stopping with force. His palm was full of rough sand. The scraped skin stung fiercely from the grit. He watched the people gradually catch up and let out a heavy breath, but his expression was still tense.
The sand whirlpools had no pattern. Along the way, they nearly stepped into them countless times. With panic and exhausted strength added in, everyone wished they could find a place to lie down and rest. Only after a full two hours did the whirlpools gradually show signs of stopping.
“It seems to have stopped.” Shen Duoyi was gasping too. He did his best to steady his breathing. Beside him was a group of people with weak legs and dizzy heads. If they had not been supporting each other, they might have knelt straight onto the ground.
The others also rushed over. Everyone’s face was flushed red. Their eyes could hardly open. Their throats were so dry they hurt, and the taste of rust spread straight through their mouths. Shi Baisheng was in somewhat better condition. He swept a calm glance over his senior brothers and walked to Wen Si.
“Junior Brother Wen, are you all right?” Shi Baisheng stretched out a hand, his eyes deep.
Wen Si looked up at him for a long moment, then placed his hand in Shi Baisheng’s with force. Their clasp made a sharp smack. He raised his voice. “Is everyone here?”
They all looked at one another. For a moment, no one spoke. The female cultivator beside Liu Ying silently raised her hand. Her voice was very small. “One died…”
Wen Si frowned. “What happened?”
“Mu Mianmian, speak.”
His tone grew heavier without him noticing. Mu Mianmian instinctively shrank her neck. She buried her head, and her voice came out muffled. “Someone twisted her ankle. Before we could help her up, the sand whirlpool sucked her in. Liu Ying and I could not save her. She died.”
Wen Si’s hands fell to his sides and clenched. He pointed lightly at Liu Ying. “This time, it was your responsibility.”
Liu Ying did not deny it. She closed her eyes. “I know.”
Wen Si shouted, “What about everyone else? Is everyone here? Stop dawdling.”
It went quiet again. Wen Si tapped his fingers against his thigh and was just about to ask again when he heard a voice filled with disdain. “Here.”
Wen Si suddenly turned to look. Ling Xin and Qi San each carried one person in each hand, while Feng Luan and Wuzhi supported a man whose face was a bloody mess and who was still barely breathing.
Many people saw this and covered their mouths in alarm. Wen Si also seemed at a loss. “This…”
Wuzhi let go and pushed the man into Wen Si’s arms. His elbow rested on Feng Luan’s shoulder, and his voice rose at the end. “These five people are the ones you dropped along the way. Here, this one.”
He lifted his chin, signaling Wen Si to look at the person in his arms. Wuzhi’s eyes were indifferent. “I do not know which one of you was so cruel as to throw him down. He was still breathing, hanging in that whirlpool and struggling upward bit by bit. My heart softened, so I brought him over.”
Wen Si’s neck was stained with hot blood. His face instantly turned pale, and he looked at Wuzhi with hatred in his eyes. “Fellow cultivator is truly kind.”
Wuzhi spread his hands, as if he did not care about the meaning in Wen Si’s words at all. “No need to thank me. As for what you do, we will not interfere.”
This was clearly a mess no one wanted. In their current situation, they could not possibly take along an injured person, especially one who could no longer walk. Ling Xin half narrowed his eyes and rubbed his wrist. If they chose to leave the man behind, he would not mind helping once. If not, then that was fate.
Wen Si held a burning problem in his arms and turned his gaze toward the others. They all understood and looked away. Only Shen Duoyi moved his lips, but quick-eyed Shi Baisheng directly covered his mouth and dragged him behind the crowd.
“Do not blame me. We do not have many medicines left. You know the situation. Rather than live in pain, it is better to end it directly.”
He closed his eyes, took out a short knife, and stabbed it into the man’s neck without hesitation. Blood sprayed out at once, splashing onto the ground and spreading into a dark stain that, for a time, did not dry.
Wen Si carried it through to the end. He held the body and placed it on the ground rather gently. Then he walked away without looking back, as if nothing had happened.
He stopped in front of Ling Xin and forced out a smile. “Were there not still two more?”
Ling Xin gave a long “mm.” He moved his hand carelessly. “What is the hurry? You are resting now anyway. Wait a little.”
Wen Si choked. He turned back to look at the group of people who were almost as soft as mud, and there was nothing more he could say. “Rest where you are. If anyone feels unwell or notices anything wrong, say so at once.”
“Finally… we can stop. I almost thought I would die from running.”
“I have never traveled like this in my life. My lower stomach hurts so much, and I am thirsty.”
“Halfway through, I was thinking I might as well die like this. It was too much. Damn it, my face hurts.”
“Me too. I am sunburned. When can we get out of this awful place?”
“…”
They did not dare sit. They only dared crouch. Even so, they could feel rolling heat rising from the ground.
Wuzhi moved close to Ling Xin and asked quietly, “Where is My Lord?”
Ling Xin watched his nose and heart. “She will be here soon. Wait a few seconds.”
It was better not to say that she had ridden over on a dragon. It might make people hate her.
Wuzhi felt suspicious. He was just about to ask more when Yin Wu’s voice came from behind them, deliberately creating the illusion that she was very tired.
“You all ran so fast. Senior Sister and I nearly fell into the trap.”
Ling Xin’s eyelid twitched, and he silently turned around.
Li Lingjiang had also not expected Yin Wu to shout this. She herself was stunned for a few seconds, then gave in and cooperated with Yin Wu. The dragons were still under restrictions, and they were afraid of alarming certain things. The black and white dragons had nearly skimmed along the ground. Their bodies had not grown much either.
“Were either of you hurt?” Wen Si came over and asked with concern.
Yin Wu pulled Li Lingjiang over in one move. She hooked her arm around the other woman’s and swept her gaze past the corpse at the side, pretending not to see it. “Of course not. As for you all, you look overworked.”
Li Lingjiang secretly patted Yin Wu’s hand. Her eye shape was actually very beautiful. It naturally carried a way of hooking people’s attention. Her brows and eyes held no feeling, yet that made hearts move even more. She lifted her eyelids softly and looked over. She was still coughing a little, pressing her lips through several coughs. The loose hair beside her face added just the right amount of…
Fragility.
“If there is nothing else, we will go rest first.”
The end of Li Lingjiang’s voice lifted, while her face was entirely cold.