The Demon Venerable Is Delicate and Charming (GL) Chapter 58

The sound was very small, like a gust of wind rising. After it returned to calm, only a few people raised their guard. It was breathing, but it was different from a normal person’s breath.
Li Lingjiang spun the branch in her hand. After watching for a while, she withdrew her gaze and exchanged a knowing look with Yin Wu. One of her hands stayed hidden in her sleeve, unmoving. As if nothing had happened, she bent slightly and casually began drawing on the ground.
Yin Wu leaned over to look. From her angle, Li Lingjiang’s waist curved downward, forming a small arc. It looked somewhat fragile, as if it would break with a little force. It rose and fell lightly with her movements. Her white hair was pinned up, always adding a soft warmth.
The little immortal’s attention was not on what Li Lingjiang was doing. Li Lingjiang stopped her hand. She had only drawn at random to distract herself a little. She had never expected Yin Wu to have no talent in this area.
“Yin Wu,” Li Lingjiang called. She handed the branch to Yin Wu. “What are you looking at?”
Yin Wu did not hide it. “You.”
Li Lingjiang answered softly. “Why are you looking at me?”
The little immortal only smiled and said nothing. She changed the topic. “My Lord drew…”
“A tiger.”
Li Lingjiang deliberately added, “A cub.”
Yin Wu’s face fell. She muttered quietly, “I knew you were teasing me.”
“It is lucky you did not draw with me, My Lord. That would have been too embarrassing.” Yin Wu carefully looked at the little tiger. The lines were actually simple, but Li Lingjiang had drawn the spirit of it. Beside the drawing, she had even written the word tiger.
Li Lingjiang’s writing was sharp and strong. If it had been from when she was still full of spirit, it would have suited the word perfectly.
“My Lord, your drawing is beautiful.” Yin Wu opened her mouth and praised her immediately, leaving Li Lingjiang briefly speechless.
Then her voice suddenly grew much deeper. “You are beautiful too.”
Li Lingjiang looked sideways. Yin Wu crouched on the ground and looked up with a happy smile. Her eyes curved with it, making it impossible to see what emotion hid inside.
Li Lingjiang kept both hands tucked in her sleeves. Sand and wind suddenly swept up. Her veil was lifted by the wind, then accurately covered her face again.
Li Lingjiang stood straight. Her voice drifted a little, as if it might be lost. “Yin Wu, you are also beautiful.”
The flow-time dial was almost spent. Soon, Feng Luan would turn it over. After one full day, many people were already forcing themselves not to close their eyes. But sand whirlpools still appeared from time to time. Wen Si chose several people to take turns keeping watch, while the rest all tried to catch sleep in whatever way they could.
Zhou Du felt someone bump him twice with an elbow. He looked over in confusion, but his gaze was tightly drawn to the thing behind the other person. His eyes widened, and his mouth opened, but his voice seemed strangled. He could not make a sound.
The other person was still chatting with him, completely unaware. Seeing that Zhou Du’s state was wrong, he had not even moved before Zhou Du grabbed him and started running. Just as he opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, he felt sand behind his ear. He even heard a faint breathing sound. Before he could react, suffocation rushed over him. Countless grains of sand drilled into his nose, ears, and mouth.
His eyes were forced open until they burst. The fluid that exploded out splashed all over Zhou Du. Zhou Du felt the change under his hand in terror, from human skin to a rough texture. Panicked, he let go and turned back to stare blankly at the other person. He instinctively wiped his face and touched broken bits of flesh.
The other person’s body was like a bottomless pit. Endless sand drilled into him from every gap. But a human body had limits. It swelled like a ball. His lips were covered by sand and bulged. His eye sockets were empty, and the flesh around them pushed outward and tore apart. Then his body suddenly seemed to deflate. Countless grains of sand came out through his pores, making one’s scalp go numb.
Zhou Du staggered backward and fell directly onto the ground. He could not care about the pain from the burning surface. Reflected in his eyes, the other person’s body was gradually hollowed out by sand, then turned blood-red while still keeping a human shape.
“Help… help!” Zhou Du finally shouted. He crawled forward in panic, tears bursting out from fright. “Quick, run!”
The speed of being swallowed by sand was too fast. Yin Wu and Li Lingjiang had not even had time to act. The red thread dragged along the ground, its color now even brighter.
“My Lord.” Yin Wu shielded Li Lingjiang behind her body. “What is that thing?”
She had no memory of it at all and had never seen anything this evil, something that fed itself by swallowing a whole person.
“I am not sure. I have never heard of it.” Li Lingjiang reacted at once. She shouted toward Wen Si, “Run. Split up first.”
With a light step, she leaped several times and arrived beside Wen Si. “I know you carry a locating magic artifact. Decide for yourself what matters most.”
Wen Si had not yet recovered. His hand clenched the sword hilt, and he did not dare relax for even a moment as he stared at the monster. The blood-red sand had become a twisted human shape, yet it walked no differently from them. The surrounding sand was slowly floating up and already forming similar shapes. Zhou Du stood beside Wen Si with shaking legs.
Zhou Du said fearfully, “It can break down a person’s body. All of that is blood!”
Yet the ground showed no dirty stain at all.
“Shi Baisheng, Shen Duoyi, each of you take a group and go. Now! Do not fight. Escape first!” Wen Si nearly roared. After saying this, he quickly took out two paper talismans and threw them to the two men. “Use these to gather again. Run!”
The crowd did not hesitate. In an instant, they split into three groups. Messy footsteps stamped irregular prints across the sand. Their breathing tangled together, and in the next moment, they were tripped by newly appearing sand whirlpools. The things that terrified them piled up one after another, and fear covered everyone.
Qi San and Wuzhi followed Shen Duoyi. Ling Xin and Feng Luan went with Shi Baisheng. Yin Wu and Li Lingjiang stayed with Wen Si. The three groups ran in different directions, and the flow-time dial was turned over at that exact moment.
A new day began once more.
The monster chased closely. It could slide along the sand. The faint breathing sound nearly broke the minds of those in the rear. Liu Ying heard it and grew irritated. She looked sideways at the panting Mu Mianmian, gritted her teeth, and pulled herself out of the group. She drew her sword and faced those monsters with firm eyes.
When Mu Mianmian saw Liu Ying actually go forward alone, her eyes filled with confusion. People around her kept looking at her. Even the few friends she got along with had followed Liu Ying’s steps. Mu Mianmian clenched her hand, closed her eyes, and rushed out too, cursing nonstop in her heart.
Whoever wanted this glory could take it!
Seeing Mu Mianmian follow, Liu Ying’s brows tightened. Her tone was not very good. “Why did you come?”
Mu Mianmian stopped. Her eyes turned red, and her voice carried a sob. “I came to see if you were dead!”
In Liu Ying’s memory, Mu Mianmian rarely said such rough words. Most of the time, her tone was soft, and this side of her was rarely seen. Strange satisfaction rose in Liu Ying’s heart. But there was no time for that now. She drew her sword. Her hand did not tremble as she aimed at the monster, thinking she had to protect Mu Mianmian no matter what.
The monster seemed very clear-minded. Seeing people come out to die, it also stopped. Its face had no features, yet its mockery was plain.
“You really are worthy of being Liu Ying’s friends. Loyal.” Liu Ying curved her lips in a smile. She raised her hand level with her eyes and turned the sword edge, sending out a proud cold light.
There was no other movement behind them. Only their last desperate attempt remained.
Liu Ying raised her sword first and drove her power to eighty or ninety percent. She stabbed straight at the sand figure. But when she was about to touch it, a thick rope of sand appeared beneath her feet in the air, clearly aiming to drag her down.
The others saw it and could no longer care about anything else. One by one, they rushed up and tried to stop it. Several sword blades filled with their inner force actually chopped it apart, the crossing blades ringing clearly.
But when Liu Ying touched the sand figure’s body, her sword passed straight through. Sand had gaps. It was formless. A human did not. Her eyes widened, but before she could react, she was flung away. She crashed heavily to the ground, and blood flowed straight from the corner of her mouth. She propped herself up and shouted at Mu Mianmian, “Run, idiot!”
Mu Mianmian stepped back twice. None of them had expected the difference in strength to be so great. Fear rose in her heart, but she held it back and did not run. Instead, she supported Liu Ying up. “Are you all right?”
Liu Ying pushed her hand away. Covering her lower stomach, she still wanted Mu Mianmian to leave. Blood filled her mouth. Seeing her injured friends beside her, she hardened her heart and charged up again with her sword. Mu Mianmian watched her back, full of the urge to retreat.
The sand figure likely found it boring and no longer wanted to play with them. It was about to deal with this group directly. Just as it was about to touch Liu Ying, a red thread pierced through its body and instantly hooked tight.
Liu Ying flipped and landed. Stunned, she turned back and looked at Yin Wu and Li Lingjiang rushing over, disbelief filling her eyes.
Their choice had meant giving up their own lives to lay out a path for the others. Even Wen Si had not said a word about it.
“You…”
Yin Wu hooked the red thread out and, without mercy, flung Liu Ying over. She reached out to catch her, then slapped at her own clothes in disgust. “Stop wasting words. Why are you not leaving? Are you staying here to become its food?”
She pushed Liu Ying away. At first, she and Li Lingjiang had not noticed anyone was missing. Only when they realized the monster had not followed did they understand something had happened, and no one present had mentioned it.
Li Lingjiang stood beside Yin Wu. Her eyes were cold, and her tone was faint. “If you keep walking, you can still catch up. Do not stay here.”
Liu Ying held her chest. She looked at them, then at Mu Mianmian and her friends. In the end, she said nothing and led the others to slowly chase after the group.
Yin Wu wound up the red thread and stared at the monster as if it were a dead thing. Her fingertip hooked the thread. Faint traces of power appeared in her palm. She gave a cold laugh, and the thread seemed to gain awareness as it hooked straight around the monster’s neck. This time, the red thread did not pass through the monster’s body. Flames rose from Yin Wu’s fingers and surged toward it with the blazing sunlight.
The monster struggled. Its limbs began turning into loose sand as it tried to escape. Yin Wu did not want to give it that chance. She silently tightened the thread, thinking of how to quickly deal with this trouble.
“Yin Wu.” Li Lingjiang suddenly called her. “Let me.”
Yin Wu was startled. “My Lord!”
Li Lingjiang ignored her. The Jade-Bone Fan opened fully in her hand, and surging demonic energy turned inside it. Her toes landed on the red thread. Lightly, she stepped along the line all the way upward. Her robes rolled in the air. She seemed to casually throw the fan into the monster’s body. Then she flipped through the air and landed. Her finger only trembled lightly.
The monster instantly burst into a pile of dead sand.
Li Lingjiang turned around and picked up the Jade-Bone Fan. With a proud look in her eyes, she walked toward Yin Wu. The red thread lay across the fan surface. She wound it up little by little, moving closer to Yin Wu bit by bit. Softly, she said, “I almost forgot. For this kind of demon that relies on swallowing strength, you only need to turn its own power back on it and kill it.”