Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Dark Clouds Bear Down on the City

Li Yuanqing used his Magical Power to neutralize the fine wine he had drunk, but on the surface, he still feigned a drunken stupor.

For the past twenty-some days, under the pretext of not having had enough at Yingxian Tower and wanting a second round, he had managed to get into the homes of several Independent Cultivators.

Most of the Independent Cultivators weren’t wary of him, but unfortunately, he hadn’t found anything. At least, from what he could see, these Independent Cultivators all seemed normal, with no signs of anything suspicious.

As a Cultivator at Qi Cultivation Perfection, Li Yuanqing’s Divine Sense was much stronger than an ordinary Qi Cultivator’s. Occasionally, he would get a sudden premonition, a gut feeling that had once helped him survive a great disaster. In the last two days, this feeling of impending doom had returned, making his heart pound with fear.

During the autumn defense, the city of Huashan County was already the safest place around. If he wanted to flee, the only option was to escape to Fuyuan Prefecture.

But the moment he arrived in Fuyuan Prefecture City, he would be arrested for desertion and either be sent to do hard labor or returned to Huashan County to atone for his crime.

Li Yuanqing took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He was now caught between a rock and a hard place, able to only do his best and leave the rest to fate.

He raised his cup and downed a mouthful of fine wine.

“Speaking of which, why didn’t Fellow Daoist Wang come for a drink today? Isn’t he usually the most eager one?”

The Fellow Daoist Wang Li Yuanqing mentioned was the very Cultivator who had gone out of the city to hunt the Iron Wire Python. His name was Wang Wei, and his Cultivation was at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer. Although his Cultivation Technique was quite ordinary, he was skilled with a Flying Fork, and his Power of Magical Combat was rather outstanding.

Wang Wei had gone out of the city twice more since then, reaping bountiful rewards.

After that, this Fellow Daoist Wang had stopped leaving the city as much, content to enjoy himself at Yingxian Tower. He would drink himself into a stupor every day, and he was a lavish spender, throwing silver coins around like water, which earned him the fawning attention of the Dancing Girls.

With him absent today, the banquet felt somewhat dull. Even the Dancing Girls’ movements were half-hearted, as they weren’t being showered with generous tips.

A thought stirred in Li Yuanqing’s mind. ’Wang Wei’s absence today feels off. He might be the key to this whole thing.’

He put on a drunken act.

“Without Fellow Daoist Wang, even this wine tastes bland. Come on, let’s go find him for a drink.”

As he spoke, Li Yuanqing acted like a lecherous old man, getting up with his arms around two Dancing Girls.

Some of the Independent Cultivators had long been green with envy over Wang Wei’s earnings. The Demon Beast hides, sinews, and bones he had gathered recently were alone worth over two hundred Spirit Stones. They toiled in their Spirit Fields for an entire year and couldn’t make nearly that much. They planned to use the boisterous mood to coax Wang Wei into bringing out some Demon Beast Flesh for them to try.

The group of them, drinking their wine and holding the Dancing Girls, made their way toward Wang Wei’s residence.

A flock of chattering Dancing Girls and Female Attendants supported the Cultivators, behaving wantonly all the way. The Dancing Girls’ dresses, as thin as gossamer, fluttered like flower petals, revealing their jade-like white skin in a dazzling display.

Passersby on the street stared, dumbfounded.

When they arrived in front of Wang Wei’s residence, a Cultivator who knew him well activated a Communication Talisman, which transformed into a streak of light and flew over the courtyard wall.

But after a long wait, there was still no movement from within the residence. Wang Wei didn’t come out.

“Could Fellow Daoist Wang have gone out?”

“Impossible. We agreed to support each other, and our Communication Talismans are bound to each other’s Qi Mechanism. He should be in the courtyard,” said the Cultivator who had sent the talisman.

A sharp glint flashed in Li Yuanqing’s eyes.

“Perhaps Fellow Daoist Wang is in the middle of cultivating. We should wait outside for a bit.”

His words immediately stirred up the dissatisfaction in the hearts of the Independent Cultivators.

“So Fellow Daoist Wang has earned some Spirit Stones and now looks down on us old friends? With his level of Cultivation, is he really going into death-seclusion or something?” a Cultivator said sourly, pushing away the Dancing Girl who was supporting him.

“I’m going in right now. What’s he going to do to me?”

Wang Wei’s nouveau riche attitude of spending money like water had truly provoked the secret jealousy of many Independent Cultivators. With Li Yuanqing fanning the flames from the side, someone finally lost their patience.

That Independent Cultivator strode forward and pushed open the courtyard gate. Before he could even take a step inside, his entire body froze.

Wang Wei was dead, and so were the Dancing Girls he had brought back to his residence. His corpse lay in the middle of the courtyard, his famous Flying Fork dropped by his hand.

All the flesh and blood had been sucked from his body, leaving a dry, brittle husk of skin stretched over his skeleton. It was flaking away in layers, but his face could still be vaguely recognized from the wrinkled skin.

The three Dancing Girls beside him were in an even more wretched state. Being mere mortals, their bodies were far less durable than a Cultivator’s; only a few shattered bones remained. If not for the gossamer dresses scattered on the ground, their identities would have been impossible to confirm.

The Demon corpses that Wang Wei often boasted about to other Independent Cultivators were also nothing but skeletons and hides.

The entire courtyard was densely packed with fist-sized flying mosquitoes. These mosquitoes had blood-red wings, patterned long legs, and bodies covered in Scales and fine hairs that reflected a metallic sheen.

“A Demon has entered the city! Why didn’t the Demon Alarm Bell ring!”

While one Independent Cultivator was still reeling in shock, the experienced Li Yuanqing had already activated a Golden Light Talisman, shielding his entire body.

“Hurry up and protect yourselves! Do you want to be sucked dry like Wang Wei!” he roared, his voice sharp and severe.

“BUZZ!”

With a whirring sound of flapping wings, the swarm of mosquitoes in the courtyard rose into the air like a dark, heavy cloud, circling the Independent Cultivators.

Their dark compound eyes glinted with greedy, cunning light, fixed intently on the Cultivators’ bodies, which were brimming with Blood Qi and Spiritual Mechanism.

The other Independent Cultivators, as if waking from a dream, hastily activated their Talismans and summoned their Defensive Spiritual Artifacts, facing the mosquitoes in the air as if they were a great enemy.

Lin Guitian, who specialized in cultivating Spirit Fields, had grown complacent from his debauchery at Yingxian Tower. He believed he was absolutely safe within Huashan County and hadn’t even brought his Storage Bag. At this moment, his legs were weak with fright.

“Who’s willing to spare me a Golden Light Talisman! I’ll pay thirty Spirit Stones for it! Thirty Spirit Stones!”

The Dancing Girls were also terrified by the scene, their faces pale as they screamed in horror.

Annoyed that the girls’ screams were drowning out his offer, Lin Guitian, with no regard for the night of passion he’d shared with them, ruthlessly cast a Magic spell. He summoned Cyan Vines, which twisted the several Dancing Girls into mangled corpses.

“Fifty! Fifty Spirit Stones!”

His eyes were wide with fury and desperation as he looked at Li Yuanqing.

“Village Chief, save me! Save my life!”

Li Yuanqing did not respond to him. ’To be so foolish and complacent, he’s brought this upon himself if he dies.’

The number of these mosquitoes was staggering; he wasn’t confident he could escape unscathed. A single Golden Light Talisman could mean the difference between life and death. How could he possibly give one to Lin Guitian for free?

The next moment, the mosquitoes in the air plummeted down like hail.

The Dancing Girls’ fair skin was easily pierced by their sharp, short-sword-like Long Needles. A group of three or five mosquitoes would latch on, and with a single suck, they drained the women into dried corpses.

They wailed and begged for help, but the Independent Cultivators, who had acted like doting lovers just moments before, were now as cold as stone.

Lin Guitian cast one spell after another, but he only managed to kill a dozen or so mosquitoes before the dense swarm landed on him.

A moment later, all that was left on the ground was another dried corpse.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep