Ze Tian Ji

Afterwards, the lakeshore returned to silence.

The demon wife called Liu Wan’er looked at the woman whose throat was being pierced by Zhexiu and sighed. "My lady, although you obstinately insisted on your own path and were injured because you underestimated the enemy, we can’t just watch you die like this."

She turned to Chen Changsheng and the gentle smile reappeared on her face. She sincerely said, "Little friend, you see, what do you think about exchanging hostages?"

Along with her voice, that middle-aged demon man called Teng Xiaoming slowly turned around, bringing the basket that was behind him to the front.

Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu could clearly see the marks of tears still evident on that female cultivator’s face.

Zhexiu was expressionless. It was his custom to never do anything meaningless on the battlefield, let alone throw himself into a dangerous position.

Regardless of the status of the woman that he currently had his fingernails dug into, as long as she was truly able to use the Peacock Plume, then she was qualified to serve as their protective charm.

As for that unconscious human girl who might have been the female disciple of that eastern hidden sect, what did she have to do with him?

Chen Changsheng was also not one to do meaningless things, but he had a difference in opinion. He believed that as long as this human girl would be able to live, this matter most definitely had meaning.

However, he also clearly understood that whether it was fighting or dealing with demons, Zhexiu by surpassed him in terms of experience. As a result, he maintained his silence as to not disturb Zhexiu’s decision.

"Once we exchange hostages, you two can just kill us." Zhexiu said to the demon couple.

Liu Wan’er said to him very seriously, "I will swear on the name of my ancestors that you must die within the Garden of Zhou. However, I can also vow that as long as you agree to this exchange, I can give you a one hour head start. If I break this vow, then may the heavens punish me and the earth extinguish me."

Zhexiu’s expression remained unchanging. "The promises of demons are equivalent to the promises of humans, all lies."

Liu Wan’er calmly replied, "How could I make you trust me?"

Zhexiu responded, "The first thing you could do to make us trust you is to tell us what sort of person this woman is, to be worth honoring your pledge for."

Liu Wan’er glanced at her husband, then said, "She is Lady Nanke......"

"I don’t believe you." Zhexiu did not wait for her to finish the sentence. "If she really was Nanke, then even if Chen Changsheng and I had been even more prepared, we would still be lying dead in the lake."

The word he said were like so, and his heart was also certain of it, and yet he was puzzled. Previously when he had examined that woman’s hair, he had confirmed that there were no demon horns. For such a proud and powerful demon woman to face him and Chen Changsheng, underestimate them, and not even have demon horns, who else would it be other than the legendary Nanke?

Chen Changsheng did not know who Nanke was, but whenever that name was mentioned, the demon couple’s faces grew very solemn and respectful, while Zhexiu’s breathing became somewhat ragged.

"Those human cultivators in the Garden of Zhou, it seems to me that it was you lot that poisoned them?"

Seeing Liu Wan’er with the pot in hand and Teng Xiaoming with the carrying pole on his shoulder, he suddenly thought of this matter.

Liu Wan’er did not respond directly to his questions. With a gentle and sincere gaze, she said, "From the time you all entered the Garden of Zhou, we knew your exact positions. The people we want to kill were also you. After we kill you, we will take our leave. If you want less people to die, then you might as well cooperate with us."

Cooperate? How should we cooperate? Cooperate by you killing us? Or was it suicide? This clearly preposterous matter, but when it was said so sincerely and seriously by her, it actually gained an indescribable type of persuasiveness. Chen Changsheng stared blankly at her and said, "For you to infiltrate the Garden of Zhou, how many people do you plan to kill? Just the two of us?"

Liu Wan’er gave off the feeling that she would say everything she knew, and that she would not stop until she had finished. She said, "The venerable Military Advisor said that you were the future of humanity, and so you must die. Besides the two of you, there are still other targets, but it’s inconvenient to inform you of them."

Chen Changsheng replied, "The Divine State’s Seven Laws sent two people......Liang Xiaoxiao and Qi Jian, these are definitely people you want to kill."

Liu Wan’er smiled. "Makes sense."

Chen Changsheng continued, "Although there are several other upper level Ethereal Opening seniors that have entered the Garden of Zhou, they are already too old. Their chances of breaking into the next realm aren’t that great."

Liu Wan’er nodded. "Not bad, there is no way the venerable Military Advisor would care about such rotten and incapable seniors."

In the world of cultivation, no matter how one looked at it, the upper level of Ethereal Opening was already considered the realm of experts. Even if it took slightly longer to cultivate to that level, was it deserving of being called rotten and incapable? Chen Changsheng was somewhat at a loss for words as he said, "Since you are targeting younger people, then you’ve definitely been carefully observing this year’s Grand Examination examinees...... Zhuang Huanyu?"

Zhong Hui and Su Moyu had remained in the Mausoleum of Books, and he could only think of Zhuang Huanyu’s name.

"Who is Zhuang Huanyu?" Liu Wan’er knit her brow and turned to her husband.

Teng Xiaoming obediently replied, "Heavenly Dao Academy Mao Qiuyu’s student. He’s rather good."

Liu Wan’er chuckled and shook her head, then turned back to Chen Changsheng, "I don’t even remember his name, so how could the venerable Military Advisor remember it?"

Chen Changsheng continued, "To be remembered by the famous Black Robe......I don’t know if I should be honored or scared."

Liu Wan’er smiled, then replied, "The venerable Military Advisor wanted to kill Luoluo, but then you came out of nowhere to destroy his plans. How could he forget you?"

Chen Changsheng remained silent.

"Let’s quickly exchange hostages then." Liu Wan’er said with a sincere expression. "With an hour to run away, you’ll be able to live another hour at the very least. If, while chasing after the two of you, we happen to come upon those two children from Mount Li, perhaps you can live even longer."

"If......she really is Nanke."

Zhexiu glanced at the dying demon woman in his grasp and impassively continued, "Then regardless of who that girl in your carrying pole, what qualifications does she have to be exchanged with Nanke?"

Liu Wan’er replied, "You should be able to guess that this girl is a disciple of that secluded sect in the east. If we’re discussing groups, then she’s in the same group as the Pope. Are you saying that she doesn’t have the qualifications?"

Chen Changsheng said nothing, while Zhexiu indifferently said, "I’m not a member of the Orthodoxy, so I don’t have any relationship with the Pope. In exchanging hostages, I only care about fair or not fair."

Liu Wan’er sternly replied. "Fair? That’s reasonable......you’ve destroyed all her clothes, so we can’t give the clothes along with the girl."

As the words fell from her mouth, without her seemingly taking any action whatsoever, with only the sound of tearing, the undergarment of the unconscious split apart like butterflies and danced into the air.

In an instant, that girl’s body was devoid of clothing. Her fair and youthful body was revealed, looking just like a white lamb.

Her arms wrapped around her legs, curled up in a basket; this picture had a sort of indescribable attractiveness.

Chen Changsheng angled his body so that he could not see it directly.

Zhexiu had no reaction. He stared right at it, as if he had seen nothing at all.

They were both alike in the cool-headedness, not showing the slightest sign of panic.

Liu Wan’er continued to smile. Her expression remained gentle, but in her heart, she was somewhat surprised. After a moment, she slowly continued, "Only without clothes......it’s still not fair."

Chen Changsheng seemed to think of something and his expression changed. He was prepared to say words to stop her, but he was not fast enough.

An extremely beautiful blade glow appeared on the lake shore.

A scarlet spray of blood spilled out.

The pretty girl’s right hand had been severed at the wrist.

The severed hand plopped on to the ground.

Teng Xiaoming slowly crouched down and picked it up, then turned to Liu Wan’er and said, "For tonight’s dinner, should we steam it or fry it?"

This was the second sentence this demon general had said today.

He was talking about eating human flesh.

As he said these words, he maintained his straightforward and honest expression, as if he were discussing a very ordinary matter.

Liu Wan’er thought the matter over, then said, "It’s better to boil it in plain water, it will be more fragrant."

She said this very calmly and casually, just like when she was speaking from the forest, as if describing how to cook pot-roast. This time she was describing how to cook a hand.

Chen Changsheng’s face paled somewhat, and his body grew stiff.

Zhexiu remained calm. He knew from the rumors of the cruel deeds that this seemingly straightforward and plain demon general couple were famous for.

In addition, on the snowy plains, he had also eaten meat that was forbidden.

Liu Wan’er chuckled, "You see, isn’t it fair now?"

Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu had cut off the demon woman’s hand.

Now, demon general couple had severed that human girl’s hand.

It seemed to be very fair.

In Chen Changsheng’s eyes, this demon wife’s amiable and sincere smile had suddenly become extremely frightening.

He looked at her in silence for a while, then said very earnestly, "Can you not eat human flesh?"

Liu Wan’er could only stare. She had thought of many ways in which these two human teenagers would respond to this scene. Perhaps they would put up a strong front and say they that were not afraid, or perhaps vomit in revulsion, or maybe coldly ignore it. However, she had never imagined that Chen Changsheng would so earnestly urge her to not eat human flesh.

She saw that Chen Changsheng was so earnest, so she also became more earnest than she had ever been.

In this world, there was some earnestness that was truly worthy of admiration.

She asked Chen Changsheng, "Do you eat meat?"

Chen Changsheng replied, "Yes."

She asked, "What crimes did chickens and ducks commit?"

Zhexiu suddenly said, "The weak are prey to the strong."

Liu Wan’er smiled, "We are stronger than you humans, so why can’t we treat you as food?"

Chen Changsheng replied, "You are all intelligent. We can speak and communicate."

Liu Wan’er looked into his eyes, then said very earnestly, "But you humans once ate dragons."

Chen Changsheng was speechless. He really had not known that humans had once eaten dragons.

At this moment, he realized that the hilt of his dagger was trembling.

"I am a human, so I have to advise you to not eat human flesh."

After a moment of silence, he continued, "Just as if I were a dragon, I would prevent humans from eating dragon flesh."

"So in the end it’s still a matter of perspective." Liu Wan’er smiled.

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "I would never eat a dragon that could talk, even if it would give me all sorts of benefits......I think that, perhaps, the person who ate dragons could not even be considered a person......at least in my view."

At these words, Liu Wan’er was quiet, and then said, "That person may already not be considered a person."

As this housewife—the twenty-third demon general—was recalling the past, Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu glanced at each other.

Afterwards, Chen Changsheng took a step back.

The two teenagers stood shoulder to shoulder.

Then, afterwards, Chen Changsheng used his right hand to grab onto his dagger and move it behind his waist.

An extremely thin black shadow emerged from between his fingers.