Rain and mist mingled, hazy and icy cold.
In the faint light of the red lantern, the entire Li family, no, even the entire Xiongshan County seemed to have become a playground for the "demon"...
The "demon" wielded the knife, and the county's citizens were like fish ready to be sliced.
Li Xuan watched the familiar maid before him, his heart pounding wildly. He finally understood why so many people could be silently killed by the flower thief.
Whether it's Zhangsun Yu, the Grandmaster and Vice Sect Leader of the Yu Sect, or the Magistrate guarded by county soldiers, they could fend off enemies but not those close to them.
He also finally understood why those deaths were terribly gruesome, leaving only heads while the bodies seemed to be flayed.
It wasn't flaying, but... being eaten alive, muscles torn apart by sharp teeth, organs like liver and lungs gouged out and eaten clean.
Heads are hard to gnaw, so... they don't eat the heads.
The demon's skill could no longer be called a hiding technique, but a terrifying magic to alter its form, a type of magic that a low martial world couldn't bear, even talked about only in street storytellers' tales.
If he didn't have demon blood, how could he perceive something wrong with the maid?
If the maid hadn't exposed herself, how could he approach her so easily?
At that moment, the maid bared her teeth at him, eyes fierce, like a beast warding off another beast invading its territory.
This eerie scene, if Li Xuan were alone, would surely shock him no matter how brave he was. But now with demon blood sustaining him, the feelings of rage and brutality from the blood strangled his fear, making his eyes widen like lanterns, flickering with fury and wickedness inside.
The maid threatened Li Xuan with a "woo-woo" sound.
Li Xuan glanced around, this was the Li family.
To fight, he must choose another place.
Moreover... since the "demon" is extremely cunning and good at transformation magic, could what appeared before him be a fake, but the aura doesn't lie; the "demon" must be nearby.
How to verify?
How to ensure no mistakes?
Don't jump to conclusions!
Don't be self-righteous!
Li Xuan's emotions were excited, trembling yet calm, his mind flashed with thoughts one after another, countless possibilities unsurely birthed and died in his head.
Suddenly, he straightened his body, arms stretched out, leaning forward, his over two-meter frame overlooked the maid, mouth corner grinning wildly, sporting sharp teeth alike.
The maid didn't retreat but advanced, seemingly unfearful of his towering figure, stepping forward for close combat, growling lowly: "Leave!"
Li Xuan let out a deep, strange laugh, then in a hoarse voice, said: "Alright."
Saying this, he suddenly leapt, flying to the roof.
With agility boosted to 29 points, this leap of two or three yards was trivial.
On the rain and mist-shrouded rooftop, there wasn't a bit of commotion.
Li Xuan darted like a demon leopard, leaping in bounds, each landing light to the extreme.
He didn't go far, but only a short distance before suddenly stopping, slowly circling back.
With his return, the "demon" aura also stirred, swiftly approaching in the direction he was heading, blocking the way.
On the deserted rain street, two silhouettes met again at the street corners.
This time though, it wasn't the Li family's maid holding a lantern, but a soaking wet drunkard clutching a wine bottle.
The drunkard's pupils bulged, staring at Li Xuan fiercely, roaring a threat: "Leave!"
This time, Li Xuan didn't leave, but stepped towards the drunkard, the line saw in his sleeve untriggered, only gripping a dagger in his five fingers, which was taken from the family warehouse these days, a sharp blade.
The dagger concealed his meticulous schemes.
His two weapons, one short, one long, the short barely a few inches, the long over two yards; the sudden switch of weapons could catch the enemy off guard.
At the moment, the dagger's cold gleam was masked by his sleeve.
Thud!
Li Xuan stomped fiercely, water splashed from the puddle, soaring, droplets devoid of light.
His figure suddenly lunged forward, seeming to slow time down, his over two-meter demon form stretched in the air like a beast hunting.
Yet, he... didn't use full strength.
His right hand flicked the dagger, savagely stabbing at the drunkard.
But just as he was about to pierce the drunkard, unexpectedly, a fierce draft abruptly sprung from beside him.
Not from the front, but the side!
Li Xuan felt a chill erupt at his softest waist and abdomen, goosebumps dense and responsive.
In mid-air, he awkwardly twisted like a carp leaping, waist and abdomen dodging, right hand borrowing force to counter swipe, tracing a small arc, intercepting towards the draft.
The interception echoed with a crisp "ding" sound.
Li Xuan's grip sank at the tiger's mouth, feeling he struck something equally solid.
Before he could react, from the rain mist, a figure frantically pounced with a rapidly swinging knife light, seeming to chop him to pieces.
Li Xuan raised his dagger to fight back.
Clang clang!
Clang clang clang clang!
A series of piercing sounds echoed in the rainy night.
Both their speed and reactions were incredibly fast, in the fleeting moments of their exchanges, they seemed to have multiple hands and arms.
However, it was as if neither of them understood any fighting techniques, merely relying on their terrifying agility and reflexes to strike at each other.
During this, Li Xuan's gaze shifted slightly, catching a glimpse of the drunkard who had mysteriously disappeared.
He frowned slightly, but quickly refocused his sight.
In the darkness, a flash of cold light exploded, piercing straight at him!
He turned his hand to block.
Clang!
Another sharp screeching sound, and both retreated from each other.
Li Xuan's hand was slightly numb, while the opponent did not continue to attack, clearly also feeling numb.
The loud noises were enough to alert the county soldiers who patrolled during the night.
However, at this moment, with the rain and mist combined, and the county soldiers already frightened out of their wits, where would anyone be patrolling the streets?
"Go!"
In the rain curtain, that figure no longer attacked but issued a threatening low growl.
This time, Li Xuan saw clearly, it wasn't a maid, nor a drunkard but evidently a large monkey demon covered in hair, with droopy features, brown hair and a pale face, its eyes gleaming with savagery and lust.
In a previous life, he had seen some stories about monkey demons, Wukong being a later figure, while in stories before Wukong, monkeys were often depicted as evil, lustful beasts.
He vaguely remembered stories saying "The great ape from Yunnan stole my lovely concubine, fearing pursuit, I dared not chase, retreating to sleep alone again," and "In the mountains dwells a wild hag, a group of females without a mate, flying up and down like monkeys, fond of male flesh," this great ape and the wild hag were obviously monkeys. Besides, there were stories like "The old ape stole wives," "Lean Chiangs legend of the white ape," etc...
These thoughts quickly drifted away.
"Go!"
That figure disappeared, replaced inexplicably by a drunkard appearing again, baring its teeth in a menacing roar.
Li Xuan acted startled, slowly retreating, leapt up to the eaves, sprinting quickly, heading towards the county city gate.
As he ran, he sensed the aura of that monkey demon.
Sure enough, the monkey demon was quite wary of him.
He ran, the monkey demon kept a distant trail, as if ignoring its planned "good deed," solely fixated on ensuring his departure, intent on driving out another of its kind that trespassed its territory.
Soon, Li Xuan reached the city gate.
The county's gate tower had no one, merely faintly showing the glimmer of fire pots in the sentry posts.
But the view for the county soldiers stationed inside was extremely restricted, they could see nothing.
To eliminate "blind spots" and create slopes for the "rolling rocks," city walls often have a pitch.
This slope wasn't steep enough for people to climb.
Li Xuan swiftly scaled the city wall, then leapt off it.
The guards in the sentry had no clue at all.
Li Xuan slowly retreated from the city gate, heading towards the forest outside the city.
He could completely sense the monkey demon following him to the city gate, even seeing a sentry suddenly appear behind the parapet, angrily shaking a fist at him, signaling him to leave.
'Not a transformation of flesh and blood, but... an illusion skill.'
At this moment, Li Xuan made his deduction.
Reviewing the previous information, it all aligned completely.
Firstly, the monkey demon hadn't pretended to be anyone long-term, merely killing and lusting after people daily. If it mastered the transformation of flesh and blood, it could stay in a certain identity long-term. If not long-term, at least two or three days it could. But it didn't, not even once.
Secondly, the drunkard earlier, and the sentry on the parapet just now appeared suddenly and disappeared just as suddenly. Meanwhile, the monkey demon's attack was entirely from the sides, indicating... both the drunkard and the sentry were illusions; the real monkey demon was hiding nearby.
This means the monkey demon can not only transform itself but also create an "illusionary puppet" to attract others' attention.
Thinking of this, Li Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Luckily, he hadn't attacked that maid with full force earlier at the Li family.
Otherwise, his powerful move the "Saw Blade Ultimate" would hit nothing but air, alerting the monkey demon to his true strength, leading to it becoming cautious, possibly hiding away and then striking in secret.
He could only perceive the monkey demon's presence when demon blood entered his body and when he was relatively close to it, making confronting it difficult.
And if the monkey demon gradually discovered his identity during this concealment process, then... the consequences would be unimaginable.
However, such a scenario did not occur.
Now... it's his hunting time.