Chapter 259 - "You Carry the Pole and I'll Carry the Pot" Husband and Wife
The woman's clothing had been destroyed in the course of the battle and had fallen into the lake. Her silky skin was covered with tiny droplets of water. The tiny droplets faintly trembled against the chilly wind of the lake. It matched with her gentle curves that slowly moved up and down and made made for a very alluring picture— for a woman lying flat on the beach with two young men in front of her; this was a very shameful and embarrassing matter. However, her face was expressionless, not showing an opinion on anything. It was not because of her severed hand or the claws in her throat, but for some other reason.
The assassination had begun too quickly and had ended even quicker. The tide of battle had shifted so rapidly that it seemed to have never shifted at all, as if Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu had known everything from the very beginning. Consequently, the preceding sequences of events seemed very natural and logical, only… just why was this the case? How were these two human youths able to see through her plan? How come the Peacock Plume was unable to pierce through Chen Changsheng's skin? Why were the actions of these two youths so fierce and cold-hearted, even surpassing her own ferocity?
Because of the wolf claws that were still sunken into her throat, she could not move her head, and could only move her eyes. She moved between Zhexiu's face, which was very close, to Chen Changsheng's face, which was by his side. The perplexion in her eyes increased by the second. The air of immaturity clearly still hung about the faces of these two youths, so how was it that they possessed such maturity above their ages and carried such deceit?
She could not speak, so she naturally had no means to voice her question and could only communicate through her eyes. It was often the case that the victorious side would give a very mild-mannered explanation of what had happened when they saw this sort of expression. This was the victor's privilege and honor, but Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu had not given her a single explanation at all. They kept focused their attention on the surroundings, maintaining their vigilance. They had never been very good at explanations, and explaining had always been a meaningless affair. It served only as a waste of time, and to waste time was to endanger their lives. Not to mention, the matter had yet to be concluded.
"The scene of you sitting on the rock and combing your hair was truly very beautiful, but anybody could tell that something was up. Crucially, we had failed to grasp that Principal Chen had, for some reason, obtained a body that was even stronger than the one obtained from a perfect Purification. The Peacock Plume can pierce through the skin of any normal Star Condensation expert, yet it could not pierce his neck. From that point, your defeat was decided."
A voice called out from the forest. It was a very steady voice that would give people a sense of familiarity. It was like the auntie from next door that was explaining how she had cooked this pot roast. However, the color of Zhexiu's face suddenly changed as he stared into the forest. The fingers from his right hand that had been sunk into that woman's throat began to glow white, ready to kill her at any point. He seemed very tense.
His tension arose due to that voice, and even more so from the 'Peacock Plume' that had been mentioned by the owner of that voice. This made him think of only one person.
Chen Changsheng knew that Zhexiu had an innate sense for danger and an incomparable understanding of the demons, so naturally he also grew tense.
"After those two emerged from the water, Principal Chen used some sort of method to convince the wolf cub. He made you take action, then took advantage of your momentary lack of vigilance to counterattack, thus grasping the key moment. Although you are so skilled at speed and strength, displaying them to their fullest extent, Zhexiu was concealed behind you and waited for the opportunity to strike… You must know that the wolf is most skilled at patiently waiting, then making the fatal strike. You wanted to ambush and kill the two of them, but you were the one that ended up being ambushed in the end."
"Why was the sword so fast, it could directly cut off your hand? Because the true essence on its surface was too forceful. Why did your demon charm magic fail to entice him? Because his heart is guarded by the thousands of scrolls of the Daoist Canon. As for the wolf cub, everyone is an enemy in his eyes, so there is no difference to him between a man and a woman."
The voice continued to speak, full of praise and admiration. "Your cultivation was above theirs, yet they managed to suppress you in every respect......truly extraordinary children. Even I feel somewhat intimidated. They are truly worthy of being named by the venerable military advisor as the future of humanity that must be killed. If we were to let them continue to mature, in a few decades, who in Xuelao City would be their match?"
With the rustling of grass and fallen leaves, the woman who was speaking walked out of the forest, but she was not alone. By her side was a middle-aged man.
The woman's face was very composed and she had a gentle expression. Her clothing was plain and simple, and in her hand was an extremely large iron pot. As she ambled over, she continued to speak. She really did seem like the auntie from the next door. An even more prudent person would find it hard to hold any ill will towards these people or be too wary of them.
The middle-aged man's face was very commonplace and he seemed extremely well-behaved. From the start, he had said nothing. On his shoulders, he supported a carrying pole. The carrying pole was bent to an excessive degree and yet, had not snapped, making people wonder just what the pole was made of. At the same time, it indicated just how heavy the item being carried inside was.
Seeing the man and woman, Zhexiu's pupils contracted. He quickly placed his feet on the floor and stood up, then swiftly moved behind Chen Changsheng. The entire time, he still had his claws in the lady's throat. He was not using Chen Changsheng as a shield, but was rather preventing the couple from taking back the hostage.
This signified that even if he could kill the woman with the slightest movement, he had no confidence that she would not get taken away by the man and woman.
Just who were they?
Chen Changsheng looked at the two horns that sprouted from the man's head. The hand gripping the hilt of his sword felt somewhat moist. Besides the imperial clan, all mature demons would grow a pair of demon horns. As they grew in age and power, these horns would grow longer. For this man's demon horns to be so long, just how strong was he?
"Let me introduce ourselves. We are husband and wife."
The wife gave Chen Changsheng a warm smile and said softly, "I am Liu Wan'er of the Treasured Vase. I am virtuous and patient. In handling things, I am honest and attentive. He is my lover, his name is Teng Xiaoming of the Green Bull. He's somewhat slow, so in the past, I've even called him Chenwen (calm). He likes to spend the entire day at home doing nothing. He truly does not have any future prospects.
To say that he did not have any future prospects seemed to be a reproach, but the gaze she gave towards the middle-aged man was full of love and admiration.
The middle-aged man gave a hearty laugh but did not say anything.
Chen Changsheng kept his eye warily on the couple. His lips barely moving, he used an extremely soft voice to ask Zhexiu, "What treasured vase and green bull?"
Although his voice had been so soft, his words had still ended up in the ears of the demon wife called Liu Wan'er.
Zhexiu's face was somewhat pale. "If you connect the stars in a region, they become an image. The demons believe that every person is associated with a different star region, which influences their fate and character.”
This was the first time Chen Changsheng had ever heard of such a thing.
Liu Wan'er smiled. "The rarer it is, the more value one places on it. We rarely get to see the stars, so within our culture, we place even more hidden meanings in the starfields. In this aspect, I've always felt you humans to be lacking respect, always wishing that this world was without the sacred Moon."
Chen Changsheng thought to himself that if he had not memorized the Daoist Canon, then he would have probably been like the rest of the people on the continent, not knowing that at the end of the snowy plains where the demons lived, a Moon existed.
Liu Wan'er's gaze swept past his shoulder and rested on Zhexiu's face. Her smile gradually faded as she asked gravely, "So you're that wolf cub?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Changsheng saw that Zhexiu's face was somewhat pale. He could not help but feel somewhat astonished. Just who was this husband and wife pair that had made Zhexiu react like so?
"The twenty-third demon general, the twenty-fourth demon general……" Zhexiu said with a hoarse voice, "How did you two enter the Garden of Zhou?"
Amongst the demons, there was an incredibly famous couple. Both husband and wife were demon generals, and their strength were tyrannical to the extreme. Moreover, it was rumored that they were extremely ruthless.
Right at this moment, they were facing that same couple.
Over the course of the years, Zhexiu had killed many demons. However, in the vast majority of these cases, he had been wandering the snowy plains, concealing himself for many of the days and then killing off solitary demon soldiers.
Demon generals were not opponents he could defeat.
Even he, who had broken through into Ethereal Opening and gained a large increase in strength, had no hope of besting the husband and wife duo.
He did not understand how this powerful demon general couple was able to enter the Garden of Zhou. It was well known that the Garden of Zhou only permitted Ethereal Opening cultivators.
Chen Changsheng had not even thought that the couple were both demon generals.
The husband and wife wore simple clothes and straw sandals. One of them held a carrying pole and the other carried a pot; no matter how someone looked at them, they were just like a couple selling food. Where was any of the bearing of a demon general?
Only then did he suddenly realize that the middle-aged man was carrying a person in his carrying pole— a young girl. Her outer clothing had already been taken off, leaving only a white undergarment. However, it was tightly woven so nothing that should not have been revealed was revealed. The girl was very pretty. With her eyes shut and her eyelashes unmoving, she was probably unconscious.
Chen Changsheng thought of a certain matter. When the woman that had been heavily injured by Zhexiu and him was combing her hair on the rock, she had been wearing the robes of a secluded sect from the east… The very pretty girl who was unconscious in the carrying pole was most likely that sect's disciple.
Originally, the mountains and lake were incomparably beautiful, and that husband and wife seemed so gentle and even simple. However, when they appeared on the scene, the entire world suddenly became much more sinister. The unconscious girl in the carrying pole and the woman that had Zhexiu's claws buried in her throat made the scene take on an even stranger atmosphere.
The demon race was blessed by the heavens. Their bodies could be considered as perfect and they would rarely get sick. Likewise, their meridians were perfect so they cultivate all sorts of different methods. They were different from humans. When they cultivated, they did not absorb starlight, but an even purer form of energy. At the same level of cultivation, demons were innately stronger than humans, let alone the fact that their opponents were two demon generals. Based on cultivation levels alone, it was enough for them to be crushed.
"Call for others." Zhexiu whispered.
Chen Changsheng understood his meaning. They had leapt from the waterfall to find the Sword Pool, and at the same, it was because they thought that Liang Xiaoxiao, Qi Jian, and Zhuang Huanyu would also be there.
In a two-on- two situation, their loss was guaranteed. If Liang Xiaoxiao and the others were to promptly appear, they had a chance of victory.
Only, how should they call out? Just yell out into the forest and the lake for someone to come quickly?
Just as he was seriously pondering this matter, Zhexiu's hand came from behind and offered him an item.
This was the Cloud-Piercing Arrow that was commonly used by the Great Zhou Army. It required the use of both hands to fire.
Chen Changsheng took the Cloud-Piercing Arrow and exerted a little strength.
With a whoosh, a firework suddenly exploded into the azure sky. An incredibly sharp sound resounded in all directions.