Since his cultivation is seclusion, Qiu Yunru had been able to somewhat visually detect traces of both spiritual qi and demonic qi. It was rather a cliche thing to see: spiritual qi, considered the more righteous of the two, manifested in white, glittering wisps. Demonic qi, on the other hand, was made of up black and purple smoke-like wisps.
Li Chenyuan stared at Qiu Yunru's face, then down at his hand grasping his purple sleeve, then up again. Noticing this, Qiu Yunru awkwardly released his sleeve.
Had he made this kid uncomfortable? Now that he thought about it, he really had messed up. Grabbing the sleeve of a noble, even if he was a kid--it was disgraceful!
"This humble one should keep an eye on the demonic qi and follow it to find its source," Qiu Yunru explained to Li Chenyuan. "Lord Li should find my shixiong Fang Hai and alert him."
"You want me to leave?" Li Chenyuan muttered.
"...Ah...yes...? This humble one doesn't want Lord Li to be injured by any demonic entities."
What a strange kid, Qiu Yunru thought. Wouldn't a normal person without cultivation run the other way when told a demon might be nearby? What a confident attitude!
"No. I want to see. Lead the way." Li Chenyuan snapped, causing Qiu Yunru to jump.
"Ah...?"
What should he do? Never mind this reckless attitude--Qiu Yunru really didn't want to have to worry about protecting another person while going and seeking out the source of this qi. Not only would it drag him down, but what if Li Chenyuan got injured? He'd lose face and potentially make the Li clan an enemy of the Jade Clouds Sect!
What's more, it wasn't an option to leave this kid here to watch for creatures and go get Fang Hai himself. That would be even worse! Imagine the blowback if they came back and found Li Chenyuan in a pile of blood?! No, that was definitely not an option!
The best option would surely be to send him away!
However, seeing the determined set of Li Chenyuan's brow, Qiu Yunru's words withered in his throat. He held back a sigh.
"All right. Please stay behind this one, Lord Li. It could be dangerous."
Li Chenyuan fell in line behind Qiu Yunru without a word. As soon as he was out of Qiu Yunru's line of sight, his cheeks flushed pink, and he flicked his fan open and closed again.
After giving Li Chenyuan a protection talisman in case of an attack, Qiu Yunru crept down the hall, sword drawn. He followed the trail of black qi, peering in each room they passed.
Slowly, the qi grew thicker and thicker, until even the air seemed to weigh oppressively on Qiu Yunru's shoulders. He didn't want to admit it even to himself, but he was beginning to grow nervous. What kind of creature would leave such a strong trail of demonic qi?
Would he even be able to handle it?
What would happen if this ended his chance at a peaceful life?
However, Qiu Yunru pressed onward. From the outside, it was impossible to tell that his stomach was turning a million times. From his previous life of going on living each day even while in great pain, he had developed a talent of disguising pain and fear with a calm expression.
Besides, it wasn't as if he could stop here and run. What kind of reputation would that give him in front of a young noble lord? Surely that was enough to deduct 100 Reputation points in one go--maybe more!
The qi seemed to be roiling forth from one room in particular. Qiu Yunru made a motion to Li Chenyuan to not make any noise. Then, sword raised, he peered inside.
The attack was instantaneous.
One moment, he was craning his neck around to look for anything out of place in this guest room, but everything seemed fine: no shadows, no figures, no sounds out of the ordinary.
Then, he was flung across the room and into the wall. The force of the throw was so violent that the walled cracked behind him! His head snapped backward, his vision momentarily going black.
Qiu Yunru fell to the ground on all fours, spitting blood. Fuck! Fuck!
This really was bad! Horrible! He was going to die! If he hadn't even been able to sense this thing here while standing so close to it, how could he fight it?!
Still, he wiped his mouth with a calm demeanor and looked up to see what had attacked him. Thankfully, Li Chenyuan was standing in the doorway, seemingly unharmed. His face was as pale as ice, his normally narrowed and sharp eyes wide with horror. However, something was strange.
He seemed to be trying to move his feet to get into the room. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move them a single inch!
This was because, spreading like ink all over the ground was a black liquid.
It had crept up Li Chenyuan's ankles and glued him to the floor!
Qiu Yunru recognized it after a moment as the smell of soot rose in the air. This truly was a sea of moving ink. He had read about it in the Jade Clouds Sect Library.
Binding Ink, as it was aptly named, was a tool of various scholarly demons. Yes, there were sects of demons who prided themselves on their intelligence and wisdom, and used scholarly weapons to torment the human race. Binding Ink was a common favorite, as it easily caught prey.
If there was Binding Ink here, then that meant...
Qiu Yunru looked up with a sinking feeling.