43: Woman in red dress

When Lu Ming fought this mountain ghoul, he noticed that whether it was strength or vitality, this demon was much more powerful than others of its rank.

After some searching, as Lu Ming expected, this mountain ghoul had condensed a Demon Core, which was why it was able to gather green Qi for attacks.

Putting away the oval Demon Core, Lu Ming glanced at the mountain ghoul's corpse lying on the ground, then looked at the quiet and desolate surroundings, his brows furrowing slightly.

Previously, this mountain ghoul hadn't been aimlessly scurrying around; it had been howling as it fled, and those cries weren't of pain, but rather seemed like it was calling for something.

Moreover, this area, though seemingly barren, was actually quite secluded, and there was a stream not far away, making it a good hunting ground.

“Could it be that this place isn’t far from that mountain ghoul’s lair?” Lu Ming muttered to himself.

If that were truly the case, he could search around; the woodcutter had probably already met his end, but if he could find the remains, it would at least be a closure for the old woman.

In the silent forest, a playful voice suddenly followed Lu Ming's muttering, saying, “I didn’t expect your mind to be quite agile!”

The moment Lu Ming, deep in thought, heard this voice, his Be vigilant shot up, and cold sweat broke out on his back.

He never dreamed that there was a third party in this mountain forest, and he hadn't detected him at all.

“Who is it!” Lu Ming shouted sharply, gripping his gilded long blade and looking coldly in the direction of the voice.

The voice didn't come from the ground; when Lu Ming looked at a towering ancient tree not far away, he saw, with the faint moonlight, a slender figure sitting on a thick, extended branch, her bright eyes carrying a hint of scrutiny and a shallow smile, her jade-like long legs swinging as if on a swing.

Lu Ming narrowed his eyes. This was a woman.

But this discovery didn't make Lu Ming breathe a sigh of relief; instead, it made his vigilance skyrocket.

After all, a woman suddenly appearing in these deep mountains and old forests made Lu Ming's first reaction to guess if she was some kind of demon.

After being discovered by Lu Ming, the smile on the woman's face didn't fade; she gently pushed off with her arms, and her lithe figure landed steadily on the ground.

Under the clear moonlight, Lu Ming finally saw the woman’s full appearance: she wore a red dress, her dark hair cascaded like a waterfall, her beautiful eyes were bright and captivating, her skin was fair and smooth like mutton-fat jade, and her every movement exuded the confidence of a white swan.

Upon seeing that face of captivating beauty, a hint of emotion flickered in Lu Ming’s eyes, but it quickly settled down again.

Looking at the striking woman in red, Lu Ming’s inner vigilance reached its peak.

Everything before him was simply too bizarre; how could such a woman appear in the deep mountains and old forests?

“Who exactly are you?” Lu Ming looked at the woman in red, who was walking towards him with her hands behind her back, and he shouted again.

Glancing at the gilded long blade in Lu Ming’s hand, still stained with the mountain ghoul’s blood, the smile on the red-dressed woman’s face didn’t diminish at all. She leisurely said, “Don’t worry, I am not a demon; I am merely a passerby, just like you.”

Hearing the red-dressed woman's reply, Lu Ming fell silent.

A passerby?

Such a perfunctory answer left him at a loss for words, unable to even begin to complain.

Although he couldn't figure out the other party's intentions, Lu Ming didn't want to get too involved with her.

Given that his keen senses hadn't detected her at all, it meant that if she had truly intended to, she could have stabbed him in the back just now, and he would only have realized it afterwards.

Knowing that the woman in red before him was a dangerous person, Lu Ming took several steps back and said in a deep voice, “Since that’s the case, then let’s part ways here.”

With that, Lu Ming was about to retreat the way he came.

“Wait!” The woman in red clearly had no intention of letting Lu Ming leave; she immediately stopped him.

“As expected, huh?” Lu Ming sighed, not expecting to encounter such an incident while hunting demons.

The Blood Refining Yuan Gathering Skill slowly circulated, and a surge of powerful Qi gradually spread. He slightly tightened his grip on the long saber, ready for battle at any moment.

Lu Ming's tense state did not escape the Dharma Eye of the red-dressed woman, but she paid no mind, instead saying in a seductive tone, “Interesting fellow, you must be from the Demon Suppression Division.”

Lu Ming did not respond. Although he was wearing a dark robe at the moment, not the uniform of the Demon Suppression Division, he had a distinctive iron token at his waist.

The woman in red wasn’t annoyed; she continued, “Don’t you want to know if your guess is correct?”

Looking at the red-dressed woman who was approaching without any sense of distance, Lu Ming saw the curve of her lips, like a blooming rose, exuding a charming and captivating aura.

Looking at that enchanting face, he suddenly thought of the word 'demoness' for some reason.

“No!” Lu Ming said without hesitation.

He wouldn't be tempted by the other party for this; who knew what her intentions truly were.

Hearing those two decisive words, the red-dressed woman clearly hadn't expected it, and her expression became somewhat stiff.

“No, you do!” the red-dressed woman said seriously.

Lu Ming felt a headache coming on; he couldn't figure out the woman's intentions. From her forceful attitude, his own thoughts seemed utterly unimportant.

“What exactly do you want to do!” Lu Ming felt a huge headache.

Although he didn't feel any obvious hostility from the red-dressed woman, her actions left him confused.

“Not far from here is a mountain ghoul lair. Besides the one you dealt with, there are quite a few others. I don’t want to get this dress dirty, so I need a helper,” the red-dressed woman said.

“Of course, there are benefits; we can split the treasures inside.”

“Treasures? How do you know?” Lu Ming’s eyes flickered as he looked at the woman and asked in a deep voice.

“You really are a practical fellow. I won’t hide it from you; it’s because I smelled it,” the red-dressed woman said.

Lu Ming subconsciously looked over; on the woman's soft face, her nose bridge was high, and her slightly upturned nose tip revealed a hint of agility and playfulness.

Looking at her proud demeanor, Lu Ming fell silent, because no matter how he heard it, her words didn't seem practical. Could she be some kind of hunting dog?

Of course, Lu Ming dared not say these words aloud.

“A mountain ghoul lair?” Lu Ming thought to himself.

In reality, what moved him was not the treasures the other party mentioned, but those mountain ghouls.

If he could kill all of them, he might gain a lot of demon lifespan.

Moreover, this was originally his purpose for this trip.

“Alright, I agree!” Lu Ming weighed his options slightly and immediately nodded.