Chapter 24
Actually, Wei Jie did subtly remind Cui Xiao Xiao under the table at first.
Considering that she had helped him burn the Golden Core, he couldn’t just watch the little beauty ruin her stomach.
But after seeing her eat a whole shrimp and still remain unharmed, he couldn’t be bothered to remind her anymore.
Wei Jie was also very curious about what background this so-called master of his had. Why did she seem so strangely out of place everywhere?
At that time, he had been drinking alone on the hillside for a long time when this girl seemed to appear out of nowhere and suddenly barged into his sight.
Could she really be a demon in disguise trying to sneak into the forbidden area of the Wei Family, as his grandmother suspected?
Wei Jie watched with interest, waiting to see what kind of demon his master was transformed from.
However, Cui Xiao Xiao was not as leisurely and relaxed. When people eat their fill, blood tends to flow to the stomach, and the brain also becomes drowsy and muddled.
Originally, it was a time to let out a belch and relax, but she had a knife placed at her neck instead.
Cui Xiao Xiao once again lamented that this era two hundred years ago was not a place for people to stay. Seeing her disciple Jie’er’s carefree demeanor of watching the show, Xiao Xiao knew she couldn’t count on him.
Her sluggish brain was forced to start clicking and whirring as she slumped in the chair, trying hard to think of a countermeasure.
But she had long been through the wringer and had been surrounded in street corners with her adoptive father countless times. Staying calm in chaos was a necessary tool for walking the jianghu.
When the knife was at her neck, no matter how flustered Xiao Xiao was in her heart, she still looked as calm and composed as ever on the surface.
Such a pretense actually made the Wei Family matriarch quite appreciative. She thought: If she wasn’t a demon, she really had the style of my younger days!
Xiao Xiao had also made up her mind: First, she couldn’t tell the whole truth. Otherwise, would she say that she had accidentally crossed over from two hundred years later? Then go on to describe in detail how this eldest grandson of the Wei Family became a demon king who brought calamity to the world and caused living beings to suffer, and then persuade the Wei Family to eliminate the harm for the world and kill him as soon as possible?
Hmm… Even Cui Xiao Xiao felt that this reality was too bizarre and would easily make people unable to accept it, leading to misunderstandings and endangering herself.
Since the truth was not good to tell, she had to embellish it a little, half true and half false.
Thinking of this, Cui Xiao Xiao said softly, “Because I was unwilling to marry the young pavilion master of Soaring Cloud Pavilion, I was framed by him and possessed by a Demon Bead, suffering the torture of yin poison day after day. Old Ancestor, if you kill me, so be it. Although I haven’t become a demon, I’ve been suffering. If I die, I can at least be spared a lot of pain… It’s just that I still have disciples waiting for me to return to the Talisman Sect. If I’m not there, won’t the sect’s inheritance be hopeless… Jie’er, your master’s mantle will depend on you from now on. Don’t worry, your master won’t blame your family for indiscriminately killing the innocent… After I die, you can chop off your master’s hand and free yourself.”
As she said this, she turned her head to look at her beloved disciple who was leisurely drinking wine on the side. Under the table, she tightly gripped the hand that was shackled together, her slender fingers desperately scratching his palm.
Damn unfilial disciple, he was actually watching the show so gleefully beside her!
Even considering their previous bond of going through life and death together, he shouldn’t be standing by idly like this. At the very least, a guest is a guest. Is this how the Wei Family treats their guests?
If it weren’t for the pain in his palm, just looking at his master’s slightly reddened eyes and her attitude of being tired of the mortal world, Wei Jie would have really thought she was upright and willing to die alone!
But before he could speak up to plead for mercy, his second uncle Wei Jingfeng beside him glared at him angrily, “It’s all because of you causing trouble. Without knowing her background, you took her as your master. Do you want to bring disaster to the Wei Family again?”
When Wei Jingfeng finished speaking, the elders of the Wei Family sitting beside him also unanimously glared at Wei Jie angrily. It was obvious that they also believed that this half-demon child who suddenly returned after leaving a few years ago wouldn’t bring anything good.
Wei Jie was already used to it. In the Wei Family, he had always been an oddity. Except for his grandmother, everyone regarded him as a fierce beast.
From this perspective, this girl who was desperately scratching his palm for help seemed to be cuter than the so-called relatives. If she was a demon, wouldn’t she be a perfect match for him, the half-demon disciple?
With a rebellious backbone, he stretched out his long arm and poured the remaining liquid in his cup into the flower bush beside him. Without even looking at his second uncle, he only said to his grandmother, “Whether she is human or demon has nothing to do with the Wei Family. I have already paid respects to my father. It’s time to leave. Since she is my master, naturally she won’t stay here either. Grandmother, take care!”
After saying that, he stood up, swung his arm, and brought up a gust of true qi, instantly shaking off the swords placed on Xiao Xiao’s neck.
Then, taking advantage of Xiao Xiao scratching his palm, he grabbed her delicate hand and pulled her to leave.
Caught off guard, Xiao Xiao stumbled as she was pulled by the tall man, crashing into his embrace.
Wei Jie looked lean, but he was actually all muscle. Xiao Xiao’s nose tip even hurt a bit from the impact.
“Stop right there!” The Wei Family matriarch called out to Wei Jie.
Then, the old matriarch slowly stood up, leaning on that gold crutch that was two heads taller than herself. She took short steps and came to Cui Xiao Xiao.
When she raised her hand, her wrinkled palm glowed with a faint silver light. When her palm approached Cui Xiao Xiao, Xiao Xiao’s exposed arm seemed to become transparent under the old woman’s palm light, even revealing the blood vessels and meridians hidden under her skin.
It seemed that this old matriarch had a unique ability. Her palm light could illuminate the meridians of the human body, which was truly amazing.
The old woman moved her palm unhurriedly. Even the parts of Xiao Xiao covered by clothes seemed to be thoroughly examined by her.
Finally, she slowly put down her palm, and the light in her palm scattered and disappeared like fireflies. Then she said, “Hmm… You didn’t lie, girl. There is indeed a Demon Bead lurking in your body… It seems to have fallen into deep sleep and is harmless for now, but if it stays in your body for too long, with your current cultivation, I’m afraid you won’t be able to suppress it and will be controlled by it… How did you come across this Demon Bead? I’ve lived for so long, but how come I’ve never sensed such a sinister Demon Bead causing chaos in the mortal world?”
Cui Xiao Xiao thought: Of course you don’t know. This Demon Bead was personally refined by your eldest grandson. No wonder it’s so evil!
But since the misunderstanding was cleared, she quickly said, “Old Ancestor, do you know of any way to force this Demon Bead out?”
The old matriarch squinted her eyes and stared at Xiao Xiao for a while, then smiled slightly and said, “Young lady, you haven’t told the whole truth, so this old body can’t help you for now… Just now, when I observed your meridians, the yin poison toxicity of that Demon Bead is not small. It has already spread to your entire body. Probably every twelve hours, you will have an attack. I have a few pills here that can suppress the toxicity. If you trust me, you can take them and see if they can temporarily prolong the onset of the toxicity.”
This old lady was not tall, seemingly weighed down by her shrewdness. She was very astute and immediately saw that Xiao Xiao’s words were reserved.
Cui Xiao Xiao knew that her half-true and half-false words couldn’t convince the old lady, but her willingness to give her medicine to suppress the toxicity indicated that she wouldn’t treat her as a demon for the time being.
So she quickly took the pills and sincerely thanked the old matriarch.
At this moment, the old matriarch turned around and waved her hand, ordering someone to bring over an inch-long, black and shiny coffin nail. She solemnly handed it to Wei Jie.
“Ah Jie, now that you are bound to her, you have the responsibility to monitor her. If she becomes a demon, remember the responsibility of the Wei Family to subdue demons and eliminate monsters. Don’t hesitate. You must immediately drive this soul-slaying nail into her Baihui acupoint. You mustn’t be soft-hearted!”
Xiao Xiao stared at that long coffin nail in shock, not knowing for a moment whether she should be angry with this shriveled old woman. After all, she had just kindly given her pills to take.
But discussing how to kill her in front of her, the person involved, wasn’t it a bit impolite?
However, after the Wei Family matriarch handed over the weapon, she smiled at her kindly, as if making up for the lack of etiquette.
Cui Xiao Xiao could only sigh in admiration and smile back at her, instructing her obedient disciple Jie’er to quickly put away the coffin nail. If it got dirty, it wouldn’t be good to use in the future.
But what the old lady really wanted to emphasize to Wei Jie was not as simple as killing his master to prove his way.
Seeing Wei Jie take the coffin nail, she continued in a gentle voice, “After all, your surname is Wei, and you have the responsibility of the Wei Family on your shoulders… A few days ago, a corpse-eating beast escaped. You take after your father and are best at capturing these exotic beasts. If you can help your second uncle catch it, I won’t have to worry anymore.”
When Wei Jie heard “corpse-eating beast,” he couldn’t help but glance at Wei Jingfeng and raised his eyebrows, “Impossible! The current head of the Wei Family has always been cautious and much more loyal to his duties than my father. Under his watch, how could a corpse-eating beast escape from the underworld?”
His words were obviously sarcastic, angering Wei Jingfeng so much that he widened his eyes again. But before he could scold him, he was interrupted by the Wei Family matriarch again.
She tapped Wei Jie’s forehead with her crutch and then said, “You, child! Can’t you see that your second uncle has a sharp tongue but a soft heart? Yet you always hold a grudge against him. I heard that you single-handedly killed the Broken Soul Snake in the deep valley. You indeed have your father’s demeanor back then… I thought, if you stayed and helped your second uncle find the corpse-eating beast sooner, you could also avoid a disaster for the living beings… Child, are you willing?”
Actually, the Wei Family matriarch didn’t really lack people to help. She just hoped that these uncle and nephew could work together and bury the hatchet. In her view, Jie’er was also grown up now. If the uncle and nephew could join hands and work together, resolving past misunderstandings, wouldn’t that be great?
Before Wei Jie could answer, Wei Jingfeng had already interjected, “Mother, there’s no need to use him for such a small matter. Your son will catch that beast as soon as possible. Let him leave if he wants to!”
The old matriarch couldn’t help but sigh: Because of the death of the eldest son, Wei Jingfeng inevitably held a grudge against that female demon, and by extension, he was also not very kind to this child. His discipline towards him was stricter than others.
When Ah Jie was young, it was fine. He didn’t understand anything. But when he grew up, he somehow learned about his own background and left Qilao Mountain in a fit of anger due to his second uncle’s strict punishment.
In a blink of an eye, seven years had passed. This little rascal had even changed his surname, clearly wanting to break ties with the Wei Family.
Wei Jingfeng was also holding a grudge in his heart and was even more unwilling to ask his nephew for help, letting the Wei Family matriarch’s persuasion fall on deaf ears.
Hearing Wei Jingfeng’s words, the corner of Wei Jie’s mouth curled up slightly. After paying respects to his grandmother again, he pulled Xiao Xiao and left without looking back.
Now it seemed that Wei Jie and his second uncle were still incompatible, mutually disgusted with each other.
The old matriarch sighed slightly, but her gaze couldn’t help but fall on the slender back beside her grandson.
That child Jie’er had always had a rebellious temperament and couldn’t get along with anyone. How come today, he seemed to be quite compatible with that Cui Xiao Xiao?
Could it be… that he, with a body full of rebellious bones, really took a young girl as his master?
As for Cui Xiao Xiao, who was being dragged along by Wei Jie, she was thinking about the “corpse-eating beast” mentioned in her master’s secret manual.
This creature was a fierce beast from the underworld. It liked to eat rotten things and could turn invisible, not easily noticed by people.
Wherever it went, it would attract all kinds of evil and treacherous beings due to its own yin energy, causing a disaster for the living beings in that area, and it would be able to feast to its heart’s content, lying in a pile of corpses and eating happily.
Back then, after Wei Jie was poisoned by the snake, he was resisting the toxicity in a cave. But the corpse of the Broken Soul Snake attracted the corpse-eating beast that had just escaped from the underworld.
Cui Xiao Xiao’s master, Tang Youshu, happened to be picking herbs in the valley of Qilao Mountain and saw the corpse-eating beast attacking Wei Jie, who was meditating.
He righteously stepped forward, wanting to help Wei Jie drive away the corpse-eating beast, but he was injured by it and almost died.
Fortunately, at that time, Wei Jie had already overcome most of the snake poison and took action to repel the corpse-eating beast. Wei Jie appreciated Tang Youshu’s help and later took him as his disciple…
Thinking of this, Cui Xiao Xiao shuddered – she thought of a fatal matter.
Now that the situation had changed and the big snake was dead, Wei Jie was not in the valley.
If that corpse-eating beast still behaved like it did more than two hundred years ago, attracted by the corpse of the Broken Soul Snake to devour the snake meat, wouldn’t Master Tang Youshu encounter it alone?
At this time, her master was still an ordinary person with little cultivation. In this case, wouldn’t the odds be against him!
It was a small matter that she unintentionally changed Wei Jie’s fate, but if she caused the death of her master, even if she hit a dead end, it would be difficult to atone for her sins!
Thinking of this, Cui Xiao Xiao hurriedly tugged at Wei Jie and said, “The old matriarch pleaded with you like this. How can you refuse? Time is of the essence. Let’s join hands as master and disciple and go find the corpse-eating beast together!”
Wei Jie raised his eyebrows and looked at her, thinking she was too chivalrous. One should know that the Wei Family had just held a knife to her neck a moment ago, yet at this moment, she was helping the Wei Family persuade him to help?
Thinking of this, Wei Jie raised his hand to scratch his head and said lazily, “They clearly said they don’t need me. Why bother making a fool of myself?”
He didn’t use his free hand to scratch his head, but the one shackled to Xiao Xiao.
As a result, Xiao Xiao, who was too short, was lifted up and had to jump to avoid dislocating her hand.
With one hand raised high, she was forced to hang on Wei Jie’s body and could only pound his hard chest with her hand, “Hey, can’t you use your other hand to scratch your head?”
Wei Jie laughed, revealing his pointed tiger teeth, and looked down at Xiao Xiao’s slightly flushed face with great pleasure.
No wonder that young pavilion master of Soaring Cloud Pavilion wanted to kidnap her. Although she looked only delicate and beautiful at first glance, not a seductive beauty, her big eyes that sparkled like autumn water and stars, and her perky nose, were all very pleasant to look at.
Especially when she glared at people, her lips slightly pouted, which was quite cute. Particularly when she was pretending to be polite to his grandmother just now, she was so slick that it made one want to pinch her face…
Xiao Xiao didn’t know what was going on in the mind of her beloved disciple. Now she only had one thing on her mind – to persuade Wei Jie to rush to the valley to save her master.
They were chained together and couldn’t be separated. If Wei Jie didn’t go, Cui Xiao Xiao couldn’t leave either.
Seeing that he had no intention of helping the Wei Family, Cui Xiao Xiao couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious. Just then, Wei Jie very naturally pulled her up, wanting to continue walking down the mountain.
Cui Xiao Xiao couldn’t take it anymore. She broke free from Wei Jie’s grip and said with a straight face, “Men and women should not have physical contact. How can you casually hold a girl’s hand?”
Wei Jie looked at the nail marks on his palm that hadn’t disappeared yet, then held his palm in front of Xiao Xiao, letting his master take a good look to see if these marks were from inappropriate physical contact.
Cui Xiao Xiao knew what he meant. Now she had no time to dwell on who had taken advantage of whom, so she quickly said in a deliberately gentle voice, “Good disciple, your master won’t be harsh on you anymore. But your master dropped something in that valley. It may have been lost when fighting the Broken Soul Snake. This thing is also important. I have to go back and find it!”
Wei Jie smiled as he watched his master’s face change like the weather. He then raised his head to sniff the wind blowing around them and said lazily, “Alright, I ate too much just now. It’s just right to take a walk to disperse the food…”
