Chapter 16: Killing Ling Song p3
Under Ling Song’s gaze, Xie Bailu could only walk to his side, but she was still far away from him, with enough space for four more of her in between.
Ling Song didn’t pay much attention to this and walked forward.
Xie Bailu followed closely.
Without complete certainty, she would not make a move. She would wait until she found the Absolute Demon and let it fight with Ling Song, then she would reap the benefits.
As the saying goes, “the mountain looks close but is far to run.” The place Ling Song pointed to looked close, but they had to walk along the street, winding and turning, and after a long time, they still hadn’t reached it.
Xie Bailu looked at the wooden buildings around them and said, “Is it possible to burn all these houses down? At least to force out the Absolute Demon. If we’re lucky, we might be able to burn it to death.”
Ling Song looked at her in surprise. “The world calls me a madman. I don’t think Miss Xie is any different.”
Xie Bailu was speechless. “…” So he knows that others call him a madman.
She pretended to be calm. “Just tell me if this method will work!”
Ling Song’s lips curved, and this smile was almost gentle, making him look no different from an ordinary noble young master. “We can give it a try. We can always burn something.”
Xie Bailu felt a chill run down her spine. The “something” in “burn something,” did that include her?
Xie Bailu silently took a step back. “Then let’s find some tinder and kindling, and also a safe place to watch the fire.”
Ling Song said meaningfully, “Miss Xie is very skilled.”
Xie Bailu was speechless. “…” I’m just well-informed!
She smiled. “Then shall we split up to look?”
Ling Song looked up at her. “Are you sure you want to split up to look?”
Xie Bailu pretended to be confused. “Can’t we?”
Ling Song smiled. “Of course we can.”
The two agreed and separated.
Xie Bailu knew what Ling Song’s last question meant. She had deliberately played dumb, but he clearly didn’t care.
At the very beginning, when Xie Bailu had just opened her eyes and killed the first “Ling Song,” the Absolute Demon certainly hadn’t expected her to react so quickly and directly. Therefore, the Ling Song who had watched her kill “Ling Song” was the real one.
Because the Absolute Demon could disguise itself as another person, once they separated, it was uncertain whether the person they met again was the real one.
And this was exactly what Xie Bailu wanted.
As she had thought before, in this Absolute Demon Domain, this was her best chance to kill Ling Song. Between the Absolute Demon and Ling Song, of course Ling Song was more dangerous! After thinking it over, she would rather get rid of Ling Song first and then slowly kill the Absolute Demon, so setting a fire was just an excuse.
But didn’t Ling Song know she wanted to kill him? With the two of them walking together like this, he would always be on guard against her, and she wouldn’t be able to make a move. Besides, she was probably no match for him in a head-on confrontation.
At least they had temporarily reached a friendly agreement of alliance. She couldn’t be the first to openly break the agreement. She had discovered that Ling Song had a bit of a “fun-loving” personality. Even though he had seen her kill “him” with his own eyes, he hadn’t killed her directly.
After they separated this time, if she attacked Ling Song again, she would have a legitimate reason: “I suspect you’re the Absolute Demon in disguise.” If he accepted this explanation, great. If not, she could just run if she couldn’t beat him.
She guessed that Ling Song probably knew what she was thinking, but he still agreed, perhaps out of arrogance, or perhaps he also had the intention of luring out the Absolute Demon. Or perhaps, as he had said, playing with her like this brought him “pleasure,” and he clearly placed himself in the position of the hunter.
After separating from Ling Song, Xie Bailu ransacked the various shops on the street. In the back kitchen of a restaurant, she found a boning knife and a cleaver. She wrapped them in cloth and tucked them into the back of her belt.
The restaurant had everything except people. She found a tinderbox and a few jars of strong liquor.
With that, she had done all the superficial work she needed to do. Next was the hunting time.
Xie Bailu felt that her excitement at this moment was a bit abnormal. In the past, she had only killed when she had to, but today, she was more proactive.
She had suffered under Ling Song for too long. The thought of being able to kill him excited her.
It didn’t matter if she ran into Ling Song or the Absolute Demon next. Besides her, they all deserved to die.
To complete the act, Xie Bailu pretended to be looking for Ling Song and began to search along the street.
A figure suddenly appeared in front of her. It was Ling Song. He was clutching one arm with his other hand, and blood was dripping from between his fingers. When he saw her, his steps faltered, and then he quickly walked towards her.
Xie Bailu stopped and spoke first, “Young Master Ling, let’s keep our distance first. Did you encounter the Absolute Demon?”
Ling Song said, “That’s right. She’s chasing me from behind.”
Xie Bailu said, “Does Young Master Ling trust me so much that you’re sure I’m not the Absolute Demon in disguise?”
Ling Song said, “The Absolute Demon can only create one clone at a time. Since she’s chasing me from behind, you’re naturally not her.”
Xie Bailu said, “Then how do I know that what you’re saying is true, and you’re not the Absolute Demon in disguise?”
Ling Song spread his hands. “I don’t have a weapon. Miss Xie can check.”
Xie Bailu’s face showed a hint of suspicion. She sized him up for a long time before her guard finally dropped. She nodded. “I’ll believe you for now.”
She then put on a concerned expression. “How is your wound? We don’t have spiritual energy. If we can’t stop the bleeding properly, we’ll die of blood loss.”
Ling Song said, “It’s fine, just a small wound.”
The two of them walked closer as they spoke. Xie Bailu’s gaze was fixed on the wound on Ling Song’s arm, her expression seemingly pained.
Ling Song glanced at Xie Bailu’s expression. When they were very close, his body suddenly swayed, as if he was about to fall. Xie Bailu quickly reached out to support him.
A faint smile had just appeared on Ling Song’s face when he felt a pain in his abdomen, followed by his throat. His body was thrown out and fell to the ground like a rag doll.
He looked at Xie Bailu, who was holding a boning knife upside down, in disbelief, his eyes filled with the same shock as last time.
He was, of course, the Absolute Demon in the form of Ling Song, and Xie Bailu sighed after seeing his final expression. It really wouldn’t even give her the slightest bit of hope.
From the moment she had seen him, Xie Bailu knew he wasn’t Ling Song. Although she wasn’t very familiar with Ling Song, perhaps this Absolute Demon’s acting was too poor, and she had seen through its disguise at a glance.
Seeing the Absolute Demon’s unwillingness to die, Xie Bailu was also very confused. She squatted down beside it and asked with confusion, “You’ve already been killed by me once. Why did you still dare to get close to me so easily?”
The Absolute Demon’s windpipe was cut, and it couldn’t speak. He was going crazy!
What was wrong with this woman!
After dying once, he had of course observed them from a distance. Seeing that she and the male cultivator were wary of each other, but not fighting to the death on sight, and could even talk and laugh, he couldn’t help but suspect that she had somehow seen through his disguise, which was why she had attacked him on sight.
Therefore, he had added an extra step this time, and she had clearly gone from being wary to slowly accepting him. He had thought she already believed he was that male cultivator. Why did she still want to kill him! Before he had attacked, no one had ever been able to see through his disguise. What was wrong with her!
The Absolute Demon ultimately died with its eyes open. Although Xie Bailu understood its confusion, she of course wouldn’t tell the truth.
No matter how well you pretend, if you’re Ling Song, you have to die.
Somewhere not far away, a pair of green eyes opened once again.
The Absolute Demon was so angry it was about to smoke.
He hadn’t failed in a long time. Why had he failed twice in a row at the hands of that female cultivator? Where had he revealed a flaw? In his domain, everyone couldn’t use spiritual energy. She shouldn’t have been able to find out!
Was his disguise not good enough? But the first time, she had attacked him before he could even speak!
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out how he had been exposed. That female cultivator was too strange!
But he naturally wouldn’t give up easily. He would think of a new way to kill her!
At the scene of the other murder.
The boning knife was covered in blood. Xie Bailu wiped the blood off on the Absolute Demon’s clothes and looked at its face, which still maintained Ling Song’s appearance, in a rather good mood.
Although she hadn’t killed the real one, killing the person with Ling Song’s face twice gave her a strange sense of satisfaction and pleasure, as if the pent-up frustration had dissipated a lot.
A very light footstep came from behind her. Xie Bailu didn’t turn around and pretended to be focused on wiping the knife. It was only when the other person was close enough that she suddenly swung her arm back and threw the knife.
The other person leaned back slightly, easily dodging the knife, and even let out a low chuckle of interest.
Xie Bailu’s heart stirred. This time it’s the real one!
Her movements didn’t stop. Following the sword techniques Xiao Xing had taught her before, she took two quick steps to close the distance between them and stabbed at his lower abdomen.
Ling Song blocked with his left hand, grabbed her wrist with his right, and twisted it outwards. The boning knife fell to the ground. He used the momentum to twist, pinning her arm behind her back, and his left hand went to her neck, holding her in front of him with a slight pressure.
Xie Bailu immediately said loudly, “Young Master Ling, it’s really me! I thought you were the Absolute Demon trying to sneak attack me!”
A miscalculation! She hadn’t expected Ling Song’s close combat skills to be so good. She, a halfway-there amateur who could only sneak attack, was naturally no match for him. Fortunately, she hadn’t directly sneak attacked him, and fortunately, she had already thought of a legitimate reason this time.
Besides, from his actions, she inexplicably felt that he didn’t seem to want to kill her in the Absolute Demon Domain. Maybe he thought it was boring…?
Xie Bailu didn’t care what Ling Song was thinking. As long as it was beneficial to her survival, she would use it.
Ling Song laughed again. “Miss Xie thought I was the Absolute Demon and attacked me?”
Xie Bailu said with a calm expression, “Of course! We’ve already formed an alliance. Would I suddenly turn on you? The Absolute Demon is our common enemy. I’m very clear on this point.”
Ling Song didn’t immediately let go of Xie Bailu. The gentle grip on her neck at this moment seemed to overlap with the one before they entered the Absolute Demon Domain, yet it was different.
At that time, he had really wanted to kill her. The game of cat and mouse should have ended. He would kill Xie Bailu, take the Five-Star Cauldron, and end this absurd dozen or so days.
But just before he made his move, they had entered this place.
When he found her, she was in the room, focused on killing “him,” completely unaware of his arrival. At that moment, the striking red blood stained her cheeks, her eyes were determined, and every move was decisive and ruthless. At that moment, he suddenly didn’t want to kill her so easily.
She could still bring him more pleasure. He liked to see her rack her brains for her life every time, daring to say anything and do anything.
He took a light breath and seemed to be able to smell the majestic, unyielding life force on Xie Bailu.
Xie Bailu held her breath nervously, but because the hand on her neck was not strong, she was not that panicked. It would be best if Ling Song believed her words. If not, it was fine to maintain a superficial harmony. If he wanted to kill her, she would definitely struggle and take him down with her.
This was the Absolute Demon Domain. He and she were both ordinary people now. Her dying struggle might not be able to harm him.
The cool fingers, which had been on her warm neck for a long time, were now stained with another person’s body temperature and no longer felt like a snake coiling around her. Ling Song finally let go of Xie Bailu. She quickly retreated and turned to face him, naturally changing the subject. “Has Young Master Ling encountered the Absolute Demon?”
Ling Song glanced at the still tragic “himself” on the ground, his mood inexplicably pleased. He smiled. “No.”
Xie Bailu was confused. “Has Young Master Ling never encountered it?”
Ling Song replied, “Indeed.”
Xie Bailu’s face immediately darkened. What was going on? Why was this Absolute Demon only targeting her? Was it picking on the weak? If it had the guts, it should go one-on-one with Ling Song!
Although the Absolute Demon wasn’t hard to kill, if it only targeted her, how could she reap the benefits?