Li Daoxuan lay stiffly on the ground, his corpse-like body suddenly trembled twice before his eyes actually opened.
His eyes stared straight up at the sky, which gave Luo Shuang quite a scare, almost causing her to stagger and sit down on the ground.
"You old thing, you're alright!?" Luo Shuang's face was filled with disbelief.
"Cough, cough!" said Li Daoxuan, "The problem is not big, I still have a breath in me."
"When we left the Hong Family's earthen fortress, I had already sensed someone following behind us. Pretending to faint just now was also an attempt to take the opportunity to deal with this person," Li Daoxuan said, covering his chest as he coughed violently. Su Heng hurriedly reached out to gently support him, helping him to sit up.
Li Daoxuan's hand moved like lightning, pressing heavily on his chest, and at last, a hint of color returned to his pale, blackened face.
"I didn't expect you to be able to come, now I can breathe a bit longer," he said.
"You even deceived me," Luo Shuang exclaimed, joy mixed with shock on her face.
"That fellow is quite alert; if I didn't trick you, how could I have tricked him? I just didn't expect..." Li Daoxuan shook his head and sighed.
Su Heng noticed that although Li Daoxuan had woken up, his condition was still quite poor.
Not only Li Daoxuan, but Luo Shuang, Wang Xindong, and others were the same—seriously injured and merely holding on.
"I've brought you some healing pills," Su Heng said as he stood up and opened his long robe, giving it a couple of shakes.
Handfuls of healing pills fell from his robe, piling up into a small mound on the ground.
"Some elders from the Demon Suppression Bureau are on their way here; I arrived a bit faster," Su Heng suggested, "Stabilize your injuries here first, then we can make plans afterward."
"Alright," Li Daoxuan nodded.
"Thank you, Tower Master!" Luo Shuang cupped her fists towards Su Heng, her face full of gratitude.
"I'll keep watch for the night," Su Heng said without any pleasantries, his figure flashed, and he sat cross-legged on a large stone at the entrance of the village.
Whether in the Demon Suppression Bureau or outside.
As long as Su Heng was watching over, it was basically absolutely safe.
Luo Shuang, Li Daoxuan, and the others distributed the pills and began to meditate and heal their injuries.
The night was peaceful, with only the occasional sound of leaves rustling in the breeze and a few chirps from the summer insects in the grass.
The whole night passed in the blink of an eye.
The sun rose from the eastern hilltop, its fiery red rays streaking across the sky.
A black crow with red eyes flapped its wings and flew over Su Heng's head, landing on the twisted deadwood beside him.
"Hoo..."
Su Heng opened his eyes and retracted his senses.
His eyes gleamed with restrained brightness, his demeanor becoming even more upright and tranquil, a change brought on by gradually adapting to the immense boost from the Transformed Dragon State.
In the abandoned village before him.
Some of the elders with lighter injuries had already recovered and were up and about, while others with more severe injuries continued to sit quietly and heal.
There were even a few young faces lighting a bonfire in an open space, grilling game they had presumably hunted from who knows where on a rack.
A group of young people squatted by the bonfire, adding wood to the fire and chatting with laughter and joy.
Such a positive and heartening attitude amidst hardship was quite admirable.
Su Heng withdrew his gaze.
With a rummage in his bosom, he pulled out a diamond-shaped white snake scale.
After disengaging the fusion with the Water Ghost Poison Sack, he placed the snake scale just below his heart. The scale merged into Su Heng's dermis, bringing a cool sensation that spread outward like spring water on a summer day, eventually covering his whole body, forming a complete subdermal layer of inner armor.
This layer of inner armor fit his body as if he was born with it, perfectly compatible.
He opened and closed his five fingers, walked back and forth, and tried various movements, all without feeling any discomfort.
They soon arrived at a sunny slope behind the village.
Li Daoxuan stood on a rock on the slope, basking in the sun, flanked by more than a dozen elders standing in silence, heads bowed. Even as the sun had risen and the golden sunshine drove away the chill, the atmosphere remained tense.
Only when Su Heng approached did some of the elders nod at him, their faces showing gratitude and awe.
Luo Shuang stopped and stood to one side.
Su Heng moved forward alone, coming to Li Daoxuan's side.
Looking up, he saw the old man's face flushed with vibrancy and his eyes gleaming brightly.
But Su Heng shook his head, knowing this was the last rally. The body's cells and organs were releasing their last bits of energy. Once this energy was exhausted, the organs would fail, and there would be no saving him.
"Do you have any last words?" Su Heng asked, arms crossed over his chest, looking at the same sun as Li Daoxuan.
"I thought you might be a little sadder," Li Daoxuan joked.
"I think you would have anticipated death already," Su Heng said softly, "But as for the sun, when it sets and gathers the desolate remnants of its dying light, it is also the moment it burns anew on the other side, climbing over the mountain tops, dispersing the fierce glow of dawn."
Li Daoxuan was taken aback, seemingly not expecting such a profound statement from Su Heng, whom he thought to be a brainless brute.
Thus, Li Daoxuan asked, "Then, would you like to become the sun of Baihua County?"
He took out the jade Token, representing his identity as the Head of the Demon Suppression Bureau, from his robe. Su Heng paused for a moment, nodded, and reached out to accept it.
"I am willing," he said.
Su Heng expected Li Daoxuan might pass the Head position to him and was prepared for it.
Both publicly and privately, he was willing to accept it.
Privately, the Demon Suppression Bureau, backed by the imperial court, could provide Su Heng with the rich true energy he needed to enhance his strength.
Publicly, his family and friends lived in Baihua County. The tragedy that had struck Changqing County was still vivid in his mind, and he didn't want the same thing to happen to Baihua County.
In comparison, it would be harder to make it on his own out there.
Just gathering information on demons and roaming around would waste so much time.
So Su Heng did not ponder much and nodded in agreement.
Seeing him solemnly accept the Token, Li Daoxuan seemed relieved of a heavy burden, a smile appeared on his face, and he exhaled heavily. Read new chapters at mvl
"Is there anything else?" Su Heng asked patiently.
Although they had not known each other long, their time together had been pleasant.
Li Daoxuan taught him Tian Gang Demon Subduing and helped him recast the Ghost Sees Sorrow. Su Heng did not have many he considered friends, but Li Daoxuan was one of them. And now, this friend was about to leave.
"Do you remember the first time we met?" Freed from the burden of being the Head of the Demon Suppression Bureau, Li Daoxuan seemed to regain some vitality.
"I remember," Su Heng nodded.
"Kid!" Li Daoxuan's eyes twinkled with a golden light, "Let's have another fight, shall we?"
"You're about to die, what's the point of another fight?" Su Heng's brow furrowed slightly, puzzled.
"When I was a beggar, I fought with others over a half piece of steamed bun from a filthy gutter. When I got older, I fought desperately to prove myself to my master.
And then, perhaps due to luck or other reasons, those from my generation, who were much better than me, all died, and I became the Head of the Demon Suppression Bureau. Since then, I have fought for various heavy reasons, and I could only win, not lose."
As the sun finally climbed over the mountain top, countless brilliant golden rays shone on Li Daoxuan, casting a blurry golden halo on the old man's body.
"But now, I want to fight you for a reason that's far simpler and purer."
"What reason?"
"Curiosity," Li Daoxuan suddenly burst into a loud laugh, "I want to know, this ultimate martial force that was my lifelong dream yet never within reach, that can easily suppress everything, just how incredible a realm it is!"
Whoosh!
The moment Li Daoxuan's words ended, without Su Heng nodding in agreement,
a long punch turned into a black light, tearing through the air and whistling straight towards Su Heng's face.