149: Another demon

“Hehehe…”

A series of laughter came from behind Xiong Lu, so close that it felt like it was right against the back of her neck.

“Thud!”

Xiong Lu went limp, released her grip on Lu Ze’s clothes, and collapsed to her knees.

“Oh my, Miss Xiong, why are you kneeling? Giving Young Master Lu such a big bow, it’s not even a holiday, what are you doing?”

The voice from behind continued, its timbre very similar to Fu Liang’s, yet there was a noticeable difference.

Lu Ze reached out, grabbed Xiong Lu by the back of her collar, pulled her behind him, and simultaneously took a step forward, speaking calmly, “Who are you?”

The voice continued, still in Fu Liang’s timbre, “It’s me, Fu Liang, Young Master Lu, do you not recognize my voice?”

This time the voice was even more similar; if Lu Ze hadn't listened to Fu Liang’s voice day and night, he might have felt a little disoriented.

“Is that so?”

Lu Ze’s right hand rested on his sword’s hilt. His field of vision only showed a figure in a dusty grey robe standing directly in front of him, the robe covering the person’s entire body, not even a glimpse of their face.

“Didn’t we agree to split up? Why did you follow?”

Lu Ze continued to probe.

The voice came again, this time with a perfectly accurate timbre, identical to Fu Liang’s, “Young Master Lu, I can’t bear to leave you, I want to follow you!”

The moment the voice fell, the dusty grey robe suddenly moved, a dagger flashed out, and struck towards Lu Ze’s face with extreme speed!

Lu Ze neither dodged nor avoided. His sword was unsheathed and slashed horizontally!

“Bang!”

The instant the sword and dagger met, sparks flew. The sword sank, directly severing the dagger, and continued its downward sweep, directly cutting through the person’s body!

“Whoosh!”

The moment the blade touched the robe, the robe, which had been supported by a human body, completely deflated. The sword sliced through, cutting the garment, but there was no trace of blood.

The dusty grey robe fell to the ground, split in two. Inside, there was nothing.

Lu Ze recalled the moment the dagger extended: there had been a shriveled hand holding it.

“System, what was that thing just now?”

“System Notification: Human Demon!”

Another Human Demon?!

Behind Lu Ze, Xiong Lu had wrapped her two hands and two legs around his thigh, trembling like a sieve.

Her small face was buried in Lu Ze’s leg, not daring to look.

It wasn’t until she heard Lu Ze’s sword return to its sheath that she cautiously squinted one eye to look forward, only to see the robe on the ground, but no person.

Did Lu Ze kill that thing?

Before Xiong Lu could look around, Lu Ze kicked his leg, directly flinging her away.

“Ah ya!”

Xiong Lu was kicked several meters away, falling hard to the ground. As soon as she got up, she reproached, “Lu Ze, what are you doing?”

Lu Ze glanced over, his eyes deep, “Is Shennong City’s education really that bad? If it had been truly dangerous just now, by grabbing my leg and restricting my movement, we would have just had to wait to die! Is it not enough for you to die alone, are you trying to drag me down with you?”

After Lu Ze’s scolding, Xiong Lu felt embarrassed, but what Lu Ze said was indeed true.

If they really encountered danger, what Xiong Lu did would completely drag Lu Ze down.

Xiong Lu was not an unreasonable person. She bowed to Lu Ze, “I’m sorry, I know I was wrong.”

Lu Ze nodded, “Mm, remember it. When we get out, you’ll repay me this favor with something.”

Xiong Lu watched Lu Ze continue forward, feeling a bit confused for a moment. This guy, was he just trying to trick her out of something?

“Are you coming or not? If not, you can stay here alone.”

Lu Ze’s voice came, and Xiong Lu immediately followed.

The two continued, one in front and one behind, exploring forward.

Xiong Lu couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “Was that thing really human just now? Its voice sounded so much like Fu Liang’s!”

“It’s a Human Demon.”

Lu Ze directly stated the essence.

Another Human Demon?

Xiong Lu frowned, muttering, “Why are there so many Human Demons in this place? When we first came in, we encountered one Human Demon, then there was another in the dilapidated temple. With so many Human Demons, how is this place a relic battlefield? I’m afraid it’s a place specifically for creating Human Demons, isn’t it?”

Lu Ze’s footsteps suddenly stopped. He turned to look at Xiong Lu, his face as still as water, “What did you just say?”

Startled by Lu Ze’s serious expression, Xiong Lu gave an awkward laugh, “I was just talking nonsense, don’t take it to heart.”

“No, repeat the last sentence you just said.”

“I said, I’m afraid this place is specifically for creating Human Demons, isn’t it?”

Lu Ze seemed to have grasped a key point. He took out some wood from his storage ring, built a bonfire, and lit it.

The burning fire illuminated an area.

“Let’s rest here for a while.”

Lu Ze sat down cross-legged, took out food and water, and began to stare blankly at the fire.

Xiong Lu didn’t think much of it and also began to take a short rest.

“System, can you examine the corpse in that ice coffin?”

“Yes!”

“System is detecting, please wait…”

After more than ten minutes, the System was still detecting.

Xiong Lu had already eaten and drunk her fill, and seeing that Lu Ze had only eaten half of his bread, she began to complain in her mind.

He usually eats so fast, doesn’t he?

Why is he so refined now?

Xiong Lu suddenly felt bored, got up, and started walking around the bonfire.

After a while, Xiong Lu seemed to see something and let out an “Eh.” She moved closer to a passage outside the fire’s illumination; something seemed to be written on the wall of that passage.

She slowly walked out of the fire’s range, then disappeared into the darkness, out of sight.

Lu Ze’s attention was currently on the System’s answer and he didn’t notice that Xiong Lu had disappeared.

“System Notification: Detection complete!”

“Detection result as follows: This is the Mother of Human Demons.”

“After the Spiritual Qi resurgence, only three Mothers of Human Demons will be born among countless Human Demons. Where a Mother of Human Demons resides, Human Demons will proliferate endlessly, continuously developing, and even significantly enhance their power! Host, please note, the current state of the Mother of Human Demons is not death, but slumber!”

“After System detection, one of the conditions for the Mother of Human Demons’ slumber to end is: leaving this ruin!”

“Someone wants to awaken the Mother of Human Demons?”

A vast, enormous plan emerged in Lu Ze’s mind.

Perhaps his previous conjectures were all correct: there were already Human Demons in human skin among the high-ranking officials of humanity!

And the purpose of their mission this time might be to have Lu Ze take the Mother of Human Demons out.

Why did it have to be him to take her out?

Although Lu Ze’s jade token could open the Formation, there were certainly more than just his token in this world that could open it.

If they wanted to bring her out, they could just find someone in charge of a jade token to open it and take her out, which wouldn't waste time.

Having Lu Ze open it might even carry the risk of casualties, after all, Lu Ze only had a Fourth Grade cultivation.

All of this felt like it was directed at him…