Chapter 401: Chapter 401
401: Chapter 388: The Good Child No One Wants…
401: Chapter 388: The Good Child No One Wants…
Su Jing noticed his gaze but said nothing more.
His slender fingers came together in a sword-pointing gesture, lightly touching one of the Demon Butterflies.
On the snow-white handkerchief, the purple-patterned butterfly, as if truly struck by a sword, had its wings sharply severed, leaking out crimson blood in copious amounts.
At once, a rich and unusual sweet fragrance diffused through the air.
This sweet scent was particularly ancient and odd, not particularly pleasant or refreshing, yet it vaguely made one feel addicted, longing to breathe in every remaining trace of it.
This feeling was terrifying.
Even though one knew it was wrong, control seemed impossible.
Su Jing’s fingertips released a faint blue Lotus Fire, which engulfed the bloody remnants of the butterfly, burning it along with that peculiar fragrance as if purified by a great fire, leaving only a refreshing scent in the air.
With the scent gone, Fang Geyu and Li Jiujiu’s complexions finally improved.
The two of them broke out in a cold sweat, realizing that if they had worn this item without any scrutiny, they would have been utterly defenseless, unaware even as their minds were consumed.
Baili An was unaffected by the scent, but he noticed a very serious problem.
If destroying the butterflies in the handkerchief caused such a rich odor, why were the two vanished Demon Butterflies silent and scentless?
He voiced his doubt, “What about the other two?
You didn’t kill them, did you?”
A chill lurked in Su Jing’s eyes, deep as the ink-black night, and his gaze was ice-cold as he looked over at Baili An.
“The handkerchief is Ning Feiyan’s instrument of murder, but it can also be my bait.
Once a Demon Butterfly that hides objects senses a threat and reveals its true form, its first instinct is to seek the protection of a powerful member of the Demon Clan.”
Baili An furrowed his brows.
Li Jiujiu and Fang Geyu did the same.
That’s because they all saw two graceful butterflies with purple wings, quietly perched on the sleeve of the young girl in Baili An’s embrace.
Butterflies on the sleeve, just like blossoms amid ink.
The two butterflies were quiet and obedient, seeming very much at ease, without releasing that terrifying scent to assault everyone.
A girl who had not yet spoken seemed to sense the sudden calm, lazily sticking her head out from Baili An’s embrace.
Following everyone’s gaze to the butterflies on her sleeve, her bright, large eyes narrowed slightly.
After a long examination, she reached out to grab both butterflies and, with a forceful pinch, killed them.
Until their death, the butterflies did not release any strange fragrance.
The girl looked at everyone and said, “If I tell you I’m not from the Demon Clan, would you believe me?”
Li Jiujiu and Fang Geyu both showed faces of disbelief.
Su Jing’s expression was very cold, but his killing intent was deep.
Baili An said, “I believe.”
All three people simultaneously turned to look at Baili An.
Baili An added, “From the moment I saved her, I checked her aura and meridians.
The nodes of her cultivation’s spiritual power are all severed; she is fundamentally unable to cultivate.
She is not lying about not having any cultivation.”
Su Jing said indifferently, “That does not prove anything.”
But the Demon Butterflies were compelling evidence.
Baili An did not argue with Su Jing; he trusted his instincts and looked down candidly at the girl in his arms, asking, “Who are you, exactly?”
The girl was just as candid, “I’m not human.
From a cultivator’s point of view, I should be considered a Ghost Immortal.”
Suddenly, a blush of embarrassment washed over her face, and with the tip of her little finger pointing upwards, she added, “Although, a very weak Ghost Immortal at that, I’m not good at fighting.”
“It shows,” Baili An said, glancing at the blood in his palm, and asked, “Does the wound hurt?”
The girl hissed sharply, feigning misery well, with a quivering voice as if holding back tears, “It hurts so much I’m about to cry.
Big brother, am I going to die?”
Fang Geyu questioned, “Since you’re a Ghost Immortal, why were you able to attract the Demon Butterflies?”
The girl’s face fell into sorrow, “You’ve touched upon my sorrow.”
“So you won’t explain?”
The girl replied, “It’s rather complicated to explain, and you’re not the sort to kill first and ask questions later, so why should I waste my breath?
Dear sisters and brothers, I really mean no harm.”
Baili An saw that the mysterious girl deliberately avoided discussing her identity and origins, so he tried a different approach, “What about your parents?”
She claimed to be a Ghost Immortal, and Baili An thought this was no lie.
The girl’s soul appeared heavily damaged; if she were a mortal or even a cultivator, it was doubtful her physical body could keep her soul from scattering.
Yet, within her, there was an ancient and magical force that stabilized her fragmented soul in her body.
Only the true method practiced by Ghost Cultivators who have deviated from the Immortal Path, ranked among the divine, could achieve this.
In the Central Netherworld Dynasty, it’s almost impossible for one among a hundred thousand spirits to achieve a Ghost Immortal’s physique.
Since the establishment of the You Dynasty, only the Empress of Central Netherworld and the four Yin Kings have cultivated the Immortal Path’s physique, deemed peerless beings at the pinnacle of humanity.
And now this frail Ghost Immortal girl, barely thirteen years of age, declares she cannot fight.
From this deduction, it could be inferred that she must have faced some misfortune in her youth, and her parents, with unimaginable supernatural abilities, sought out a way to turn her into a Ghost Immortal to save her life.
In the current world, who else could do such a thing?
Baili An was puzzled.
The girl’s tearful eyes suddenly filled with melancholy, and she sniffled, “My dad died, and after my mom went out to chase men, she ran away with some other guy, leaving me all alone.”
Baili An thought to himself what a terrible mother she must have had to abandon her own child and chase after pleasures – truly disgraceful behavior.
“Oh, to be so young and without family, adrift in such peril, it really is terribly pitiable,” he sighed.
“Yes, indeed,” the girl’s eyes suddenly brightened, grabbing his clothes earnestly, “I’m so pitiful, having lost my dad; big brother, can I follow you?”
Baili An looked at her and smiled, “If I say no, would you not follow me?”
The girl paused, then slightly dejected, and disappointed, said, “Ah, so you’ve seen through me already.”
Seeing Baili An’s ambiguous expression, a slight smile curling on his lips, the girl grew somewhat flustered and uneasy.
She hurriedly let go of his clothes and said, “I just really like the scent of you, big brother, it makes me want to be close without realizing it.
It was because of you that I left Ghost Mountain; I really have no bad intentions.”
Fang Geyu scoffed, “So, Si Chen, are you some kind of fragrant meat bun that attracts every stray pup to follow you wagging its tail?”
Offended, the girl’s face hardened, “Who’s some tail-wagging, tongue-lolling mutt?”