"It's getting dark, we need to find a place to rest for the night," Su Heng suggested, watching the setting sun slowly descend behind the mountains.
"Okay," Su Li expressed no objections.
After moving continuously for more than three days, she indeed felt quite fatigued.
They searched around but found no inns or stations, so Su Heng and his companions could only continue forward. Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, their luck seemed to turn for the better—they stumbled upon an abandoned land temple.
Half of the temple's structure had collapsed, and the other half was draped with dust and cobwebs.
Bright moonlight shone through a hole in the roof.
One arm of the Earth Deity had disappeared, while the other was extended forward.
Su Heng struck with his hand.
Crack!
The remaining arm was also broken off by him, cleaved into appropriately sized pieces of wood, and casually thrown to Su Li.
"I'm going to look around outside to see if there's any danger," Su Heng said, "and also grab something to roast and eat."
"The second half of your sentence is the most crucial, isn't it?" Su Li's smile was somewhat teasing.
Over the days traveling with Su Heng, Su Li had gradually gained a clear understanding of her brother's fearsome appetite.
"Gurgle!"
A rumbling sound came from Su Li's stomach.
Her smile stiffened and slowly turned red as she covered her mouth with her hand.
"You better go now!" Su Li elbowed Su Heng in the waist, and he sighed before disappearing into the dense forest.
Rustle!
The sound of flowing water came from not too far away.
Peaceful water, reflecting the moonlight, a small deer with beautiful patterns was bending down to drink.
The deer's gaze was alert, and its ears trembled lightly, constantly aware of the surrounding noises.
Whoosh!
A sudden swooshing sound cut through the air.
The deer abruptly lifted its head and leaped.
Unfortunately, it was a step too slow—a stone hit the deer right on the forehead with precision.
The deer's head burst open, half of its brain disappearing into thin air, and the skull cap flew more than ten meters away, brain matter mingling with fresh blood gushed out.
"Not bad!"
"Pity my family of thirty people, overnight... ah," Xu Ziyi's face was full of sorrow.
As she spoke, she sighed repeatedly and tears welled up in her eyes, trickling down her cheeks.
"Sister, mourn with restraint," Su Li saw her genuine distress and was moved, thus she spoke to comfort her. Su Li then asked, "May I know what misfortune befell your family? Was it bandits, or some other cause?"
"It wasn't bandits, but..."
Xu Ziyi looked around cautiously before lowering her voice, "I heard from an old Taoist who passed by that it was caused by demons."
"Demons!?"
Hearing this word, Su Li suddenly became alert, "Could there really be demons in this world?"
"Who knows?" Xu Ziyi replied sadly.
She shook her head, recalling the painful events, and did not continue speaking, simply bowing her head to cry silently, her shoulders shaking continuously.
Su Li was curious but felt it improper to keep asking, and the atmosphere dipped into silence for a moment.
"For you two ladies to travel alone in the martial world is truly impressive," Xu Baixia looked at the long sword beside Su Li and hinted with his words.
"I merely followed a master and learned some techniques for a couple of years," Su Li answered evasively.
At this moment, however, she was thinking about Su Heng, wondering why he had not yet returned.
Could it be that he had encountered some trouble?
But...
That shouldn't be the case.
With the monstrous strength of Su Heng, even if he really encountered a demon in the mountains, the unfortunate one would definitely not be him.
Just as Su Li frowned in thought, feeling somewhat worried,
a sudden gust of wind arose outside, the trees on both sides rustling, clouds rolling, obscuring the moonlight, and within the dim firelight, several vague figures appeared out of nowhere.
Su Li's elegant eyebrows slowly raised, "Who's there!"
She suddenly stood up, sword in hand.
"Xu Ziyi, Xu Baixia, did you truly think you could escape?" a chilling voice came, "Hand over the Heavenly Net Treasure Book, and I can make your deaths quick!"
At the entrance of the dilapidated earth god temple, a gaunt man wearing a conical hat slowly walked in.
The man's face was wrapped in white cloth, soaked yellowish-brown with pus, exposing only his eyes.
As this man entered the temple,
a thick stench of rotting flesh spread, almost solid in its intensity, making it hard to breathe.
"A demon!?" Su Li was startled, but quickly realized, "No, it must be a demon servant! His target isn't me, but the two beside me."