Chapter 67: Questioning: Shen Mingjin Would Never Let Go of Her Hand Part 1

Ye Xi’s blood came from all the vital energy that Ni Yueying had collected. The sources of that vital energy included remnant bones and leftover items, encompassing the bloodlines of all the deceased Ye clanspeople. The fact that this woman’s blood could be stirred by her own bloodline not only proved that she was a Ye clansperson but also that she was one of the Ye clanspeople who should have been dead long ago.

Ye Xi’s body contained her blood.

Ni Yueying was her mother, so Ye Xi’s father was this group of over ten thousand Ye clanspeople, and the woman before her was one of her “fathers.”

Her body was hollow, without a heart, like a puppet, but her head seemed alive, possessing life and flowing blood.

Ye Xi couldn’t quite figure out the woman’s situation, so she immediately transmitted all the information through the Spirit Web to Ye Tan and Ni Yueying. The meeting on their end seemed not to have ended yet, as no response came back. This complete uncertainty about the woman’s identity felt very unsettling.

The only silver lining was that after the blood intertwined, the woman’s attacks on Shen Mingjin and Ye Xi gradually stopped.

She touched her cheek, her fingertip coming away with a faint bloodstain, and asked Ye Xi in return, “Who am I?”

Ye Xi wanted to know too, but there was no one to explain it to them right now.

The only one who might know the truth, Ye Li, wasn’t here.

The woman seemed to recall something. Suddenly, she hugged her knees and slowly squatted down. The flashlight slipped from her hand, and her freed palm slapped her head hard, letting out a pained whisper: “I’m not Ye Yao. Who am I?”

It could have been years of control or her body’s incompleteness, but her memory appeared to have serious issues as well.

Ye Xi and Shen Mingjin exchanged a glance, and Ye Xi took the initiative.

No matter who the woman was, given that she had tried to kill them, it was best to subdue her first.

This was a perfect opportunity.

The hand Ye Xi reached out was suddenly gripped by the woman: “Ye He.”

A brilliant light burst from the woman’s eyes, an unignorable determination: “I am Ye He.”

She was indeed surnamed Ye, but Ye Xi didn’t know much about her ancestors and couldn’t determine the woman’s exact situation from just a name.

Ye Xi stayed silent, but Shen Mingjin let out a surprised sound: “You’re Physician Ye He?”

The benefits of living a long life were evident now. Shen Mingjin didn’t recognize all ten thousand Ye physicians, but she knew the famous Demon Bone Physicians.

Ye Xi: “Sister, you know Ye He?”

“I do. Physician Ye He is Vice Director Qin’s own aunt. By seniority, Xiao Xi, you should call her Great-Aunt.” Shen Mingjin nodded without hesitation. After answering Ye Xi, her gaze turned hesitant: “But they don’t look alike.”

Great-Aunt?

Ye Xi was a bit dazed by the sudden family connection.

This was a life-or-death moment, yet a great-aunt had suddenly appeared, making her lose her sense of reality. For a moment, she couldn’t tell if she was really being hunted. Just as Ye Xi hesitated, familiar voices came through from the other ends of the Spirit Web connection.

Ye Tan: “Xiao Xi, you said you encountered a Ye clansperson? Who is she?”

Ye Xi: “Grandma, she says she’s Ye He, but Sister says the face is different.”

“Auntie.” Upon hearing Ye He’s name from Ye Xi, Ye Tan’s voice grew agitated: “Xiao Xi, hold her there and wait for me! I’m coming right now!”

Ye Tan had only ever heard news of deaths before; the first time she heard that a deceased relative was alive, how could she not be emotional?

Ni Yueying was much calmer than Ye Tan: “Ye Xi, don’t listen too much to A-Tan. Ye He died over two hundred years ago and suddenly shows up—things are definitely not that simple. You and Mingjin’s safety comes first. The situation is unclear now, so avoid her and leave. We’ll handle everything once we arrive.”

Ni Yueying was worried about Ye Xi and Shen Mingjin, but the crisis seemed to have lifted now.

As the assassin, Ye He had stopped attacking. Apart from being restrained, they seemed to have no immediate life threat.

No, it couldn’t be that simple.

Just as Ye Xi sensed something wrong, the unconscious bodies on the sofa began to stir, and the broken people in the corners started to writhe slowly.

Their bodies had become strange, thick vital energy and demon energy intertwining. The power in these frail half-demons without complete demon bodies multiplied exponentially, and their bodies underwent varying degrees of mutation, with animal features emerging one after another, increasing in number.

The half-dead remnants in the corner crawled to the sofa’s edge and were quickly devoured by the mutating half-demons as nourishment.

After fully consuming the living flesh and blood, their bodies underwent even more obvious changes.

They climbed to their feet, complete human bodies appearing within their mutated animal forms. They no longer looked like half-demons but like stitched-together hybrids of human and demon, carrying human shells on demon parts as they advanced. At first, their speed was extremely slow, but it gradually increased.

A dangerous aura approached them. Ye Xi quickly broke free from Ye He’s grip and pulled Shen Mingjin, trying to leave the living room.

She had only moved two steps when her legs were grabbed by a hand.

Her slender calf was rubbed red by the thick calluses, a faint pain creeping up her leg.

Ye Xi looked down and saw only the unconscious Xiong Xin.

Xiong Xin’s body showed no changes like the other half-demons, but her eyes were vacant, her limbs stiff as she crawled on the floor in a grotesque pose. Her entire body was like a pieced-together puppet. The bear paws emerging from her were covered in wood shavings scraped from the floor, leaving uneven claw marks wherever they landed.

After grabbing Ye Xi, Xiong Xin bared her teeth at her in a grin.

Her fangs were half-exposed, lightly stained with blood-red, making her look even more terrifying.

Ye Xi felt the pressure on her calf. The Wanling Tree’s power quickly activated, tender leaves sprouting densely on her calf, green light resisting Xiong Xin’s strength. Unexpectedly, the not-so-powerful Xiong Xin didn’t shrink back from the Wanling Tree’s power; instead, her heavy bear paw gripped Ye Xi’s calf even tighter.

She seemed to have grown much stronger in an instant, enough to control even Ye Xi, who now had greater power.

Ye Xi observed Xiong Xin closely and suddenly noticed a few dead, withered hairs mixed into her pure black fur. That wilted, life-drained look let Ye Xi deduce that she was burning her life force to boost her strength. Ye Xi quickly glanced at the other half-demons held back by Shen Mingjin—sure enough, they all showed signs of burning life force to varying degrees.

It seemed Ye He wasn’t the real killer; she was just a decoy left by another force to ensure the Demon Art Barrier around Building Eight functioned properly. The true threat was these controlled half-demons.

If the plan went smoothly, every half-demon in Building Eight would be stained with the crime of eating ordinary people and devouring Ye clanspeople. Forget reporting to superiors—even if their life force burned out and they had only days left, they wouldn’t dare pass on messages upward. Just as Ye He had said, they were selfish and cold-hearted, caring only for their own interests.

From the moment she entered the demon world, the demons she met seemed like this—selfish, self-serving, and mad.

Shen Mingjin was the exception.

Humans were much more normal; Ren Shu was a good example.

With such deviations right in front of her, plus what Ye He had just said, Ye Xi suddenly wondered if the force that took You Nian wanted to destroy the Demon Clan entirely.

If they wanted to destroy the Demon Clan, then the ones behind the scenes couldn’t be demons.

Wen Shu? Or Du Qimei?

Or subordinates who refused to obey Ye Tan?

Now clearly wasn’t the time to think about that. She had to escape here and wait for Ye Tan and Ni Yueying to arrive with reinforcements. Even Xiong Xin, who had just returned to Building Eight, was being controlled—let alone the other half-demons. Ye Xi wasn’t arrogant enough to think she and Shen Mingjin alone could fight an entire building of half-demons burning their life force for power.

She was still an immature Wanling Tree, and Shen Mingjin hadn’t fully recovered her strength.

Ye Xi silently whipped a branch fiercely at Xiong Xin’s spine. A cracking sound came from the bone, but Xiong Xin gripped her even tighter, her sharp claws piercing into the flesh and wedging into the bone gaps. The bone-piercing pain was still within tolerable limits.

Ye Xi didn’t cry out. She calmly squatted down and expertly snapped Xiong Xin’s bone.

Just as she tried to escape the hand, Xiong Xin’s bone healed in an instant.

Looking closely, another tuft of withered hair had appeared on her.

It seemed Ye Li’s influence here wasn’t significant in this scheme. The one controlling these half-demons’ minds and actions wasn’t Ye Li but a higher-level demon—one who could forcibly burn these demons’ life force, and faster and faster. One could say that from the moment Ye Xi and the others were drawn here, the plot had already succeeded.

Just as Ye Xi prepared to inflict another wound to make Xiong Xin let go, Ye He suddenly leaned in.

She looked down at Xiong Xin and, without warning, kicked her squarely in the face.

At the moment Ye He kicked, her sole transformed into spider spines. The spines pierced Xiong Xin’s arm, and as her foot moved, the arm was split in two. Ye Xi pulled free her leg and tossed the pillow in her arms back to Shen Mingjin: “Sister, let’s go to the top floor!”

If they were only dealing with Ye He, they could try.

But now it was the entire Building Eight’s residents. Forget outnumbered and outmatched—whether Shen Mingjin could bring herself to strike them down was questionable.

Rather than staying here, waiting for the demons to corner them in this narrow living room, it was better to head to a more open space—at least the escape range would be wider.

Ye Xi ran two steps, then doubled back to yank Ye He: “Come with me.”

Ye He’s identity wasn’t confirmed yet, but Ye Xi hoped she really was Ye He—at least it would make Ye Tan happy.

Ye He’s mind was clearly unstable. She didn’t struggle at Ye Xi’s side, merely repeating: “I want to kill you all.”

She said she wanted to kill, but her actions didn’t follow.

Ye Xi gripped her tighter and pointed at the half-demons crawling after them: “There are plenty who want to kill me; you’re not missing. You don’t even need to lift a finger.”

Ye He went quiet for a moment, as if convinced by Ye Xi.

Ye Xi had just exhaled in relief when Ye He suddenly struggled violently at her side: “I’m not going with demons.”

She pointed at Shen Mingjin running beside them: “All demons deserve to die!”

“Ye He.” Ye Xi raised her voice slightly, trying to quell the agitated Ye He: “If you’re really Ye He, you wouldn’t hate demons. Ye He is a Demon Bone Physician. A Demon Bone Physician’s duty is to treat demons, not harm them. She would never hate demons.”