These words made Chu Danfeng shudder, and he felt that they were even more terrifying than the ghosts he had seen in the Luofeng Secret Realm. The most terrifying thing in the world is probably not ghosts, but human hearts.
Children who grow up in such a distorted environment take it for granted that their closest relatives will kill each other.
"It's done, would you two like to take a look?" The one-armed young man had wrapped the human skin in an old blue cloth and carried the whole thing out.
But when the child heard his father's voice, he ran away.
Hua Tingxuan was quite straightforward. He handed over the money and the goods, sent the one-armed young man away, and left with Chu Danfeng.
Chu Danfeng also knew that they should return to the sect to report, but he walked slowly, with his hands hidden in his sleeves, quietly clenching his natal peach blossom fan.
"What's wrong, Dan Feng?"
Chu Danfeng said unwillingly: "If we just leave like this, isn't it too easy for that kid?"
Hua Tingxuan understood that his junior brother was standing up for him.
He felt sweet inside, but said, "Forget it, the things from our childhood are all in the past. Now that you love me, I am very content."
Chu Danfeng: "But..."
Hua Tingxuan: "It's getting late, we should go back. Master is still waiting for our report. This is a secret operation, so we should not make any unnecessary trouble."
What's more, that man had a child like that. In a few years, he would get his retribution by having his own son turned into human skin. Then, he could sneak back to the village, buy the human skin, and make some handy magic tools. Wouldn't that be more interesting
Chu Danfeng didn't know what he was thinking, and he had a "Daoist companion filter" in his mind. He looked at Hua Tingxuan with more pity: "Xuan'er, you are always so soft-hearted."
This child always makes me feel so sorry for him.
Hua Tingxuan took the opportunity to act like a spoiled child, "Then little brother, please be kind to me. When we get back to Lixu Peak, it will be just the two of us in our bamboo house. Xuan'er has been holding it in for too long and is going to get sick..."
“…” No matter how long it had been since the wedding night, Chu Danfeng would feel pain in his butt whenever he mentioned it.
"After returning to Lixu Peak, I will go into seclusion. You can sleep in the side room by yourself!"
Hua Tingxuan then pretended to be a mushroom with grievance: "I knew that you were just talking, and you didn't even want to sleep with me."
Chu Danfeng: “…”
Hua Tingxuan: "It's okay, Xuan'er can wait."
As they were talking, the two had already left the village entrance. Outside a wooden fence covered with thorns, there was a group of zombies gathered. When they saw them, they slowly raised their featureless faces and "looked" over in unison.
"!!!" Chu Danfeng's hair stood up.
"Junior brother, you know me. Xuan'er has been weak and timid since he was young. He dares not sleep alone..." Hua Tingxuan was still pretending to be pitiful when a zombie happened to rush over. He reflexively waved his hand and the zombie fell to the ground and turned into a pool of foul-smelling thick water.
Chu Danfeng: “…”
“…” Hua Tingxuan touched his nose and shut up.
Boss Hua's feat of easily knocking down a zombie had an immediate deterrent effect. The zombies dared not approach them again. They all turned away slowly and stiffly, and some even accidentally fell in their eagerness to get away from Hua Tingxuan.
The scene was a little funny for a while, but then the terrifying atmosphere suddenly subsided and Chu Danfeng was not so scared anymore.
Only one zombie did not retreat but advanced, desperately chasing after the two of them. Hua Tingxuan was desperate and didn't want to play the pitiful one anymore. He just raised his hand to hit it, but was stopped by Chu Danfeng: "Wait! It doesn't seem to have any bad intentions. It seems to be here... to look for human skin?"
Hua Tingxuan stopped obediently, and the zombie really touched the bag on his back.
Although he touched it, he was afraid of Hua Tingxuan's skills and did not dare to snatch it openly. He made a hoarse sound of "hehe" with his mouth. After a moment of stalemate, he suddenly knelt down with a plop - his knees made a crisp sound of "click" because they were forced to bend, as if they were broken.
Chu Danfeng took a step back in response, obviously frightened by the tooth-grinding "crack", but he forced himself to remain calm and said, "Seeing how persistent he is, this... could it be his skin?"
Hua Tingxuan: "It's possible."
Chu Danfeng hesitated for a moment and said, "It seems that there is no use for us to take this human skin. Why don't we return it to him? It's so pitiful."
Hua Tingxuan knew that his junior brother was kind-hearted and would always help when encountering injustice. Moreover, this old zombie was most likely skinned alive by his own grandson, which was indeed quite pitiful.
Hua Tingxuan then spread out his spiritual sense and confirmed that there was indeed no one around and that no one would notice the strange behavior of the two "ghost cultivators". He then opened the bag on his back, pulled out the dried human skin, and handed it back to the zombie.
The zombie took the human skin tremblingly, and couldn't wait to put it on his body. But how could the skin that had been dried by the wind fit well with the body that had already stiffened
In the end, the zombies just put the human skin on their bodies like they were wearing clothes, and their faces hung there stiffly like a mask, which made them look even more weird.
However, immediately afterwards, the zombie actually started speaking.
It was no longer a strange "hehe" sound, but an old, hoarse voice: "Two immortals, have you seen my useless grandson? My grandson is so pitiful, he only has one arm."
It was indeed not a comfortable thing to talk to such a monster that was neither human nor ghost. Chu Danfeng's hairs almost exploded. He replied calmly, "Maybe."
The old zombie's shriveled "face" moved, twisted with excitement: "Is he still alive? I know you are the child of the demon tribe back then. I recognized you at first sight. You are here for revenge, you are back for revenge!"
Chu Danfeng suddenly understood that the reason why the zombies surrounded Hua Tingxuan and screamed strangely and tried desperately to stop them was not because they had accidentally violated any taboo. It turned out that the zombies recognized Hua Tingxuan's identity.
Knowing that he was the child who was bullied and tortured back then, they were afraid that he would come back for revenge.
Chu Danfeng: "Weren't you killed by your grandson? Why are you still thinking about him?"
After hearing this, the old zombie became even crazier, and kept muttering neurotically: "I recognize you, you are back for revenge, please don't harm my child, my grandson is so pitiful, he only has one arm, and he sold me for money so that he can get a wife. I recognize you, you are back for revenge, please don't harm my child, my grandson is so pitiful..."
Chu Danfeng was so angry at the repetitive words that he said, "How can your grandson be pitiful? My junior brother is pitiful!"
Hua Tingxuan advised: "Forget it, Junior Brother, its soul is incomplete and its mind is no longer clear. Let's not argue with it and hurry on."
"Where are you going? Are you in a hurry to return to Shuangji Sect?" A shrill voice came from the bushes, "Since you are here, why not meet an old friend!"
Chu Danfeng and Hua Tingxuan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a tiny "firefly" in the grass. It was that thing that was talking.
There was a piece of cloth tied behind the butt of "Firefly", which looked familiar. It considerately turned its butt over, and Chu Danfeng could see clearly that it was actually a corner of the disciple uniform of Shuangji Sect, with the words "Li Xufeng" clearly embroidered on it.
The two looked at each other and asked, "Is it... Fourth Brother's clothes?"
The firefly flashed and turned into a puff of black smoke. Hua Tingxuan, as usual, put on an attitude of "following the lead of the junior brother" and asked, "Do you want to chase?"
Chu Danfeng also said succinctly: "Chase!"
However, immediately afterwards, he felt someone pulling his sleeve, and it was actually that old zombie.
The old zombie murmured, "My grandson is so pitiful. He only has one arm. He didn't deliberately let the dog bite people. He is still a child. If you want revenge, you can find me, an old man. My grandson is so pitiful..."
Chu Danfeng suddenly remembered a public service advertisement about Alzheimer's disease. The slogan was "He has forgotten everything, but he has not forgotten to love you." Indeed, this old man who has lost his human skin and part of his soul also loves his grandson regardless of past grudges, and even forgives his murderous revenge and is willing to take the blame for him...
This is probably the selfless love that elders have for their children.
Chu Danfeng was somewhat moved, and then... he tore off his skin.
You old thing! You love your grandson, but does that mean my junior fellow apprentice deserves to be bullied? If such a young child didn't have demon blood, he might have been tortured to death by those evil kids! Whose family doesn't have an elder to back them up!
Thinking of this, Chu Danfeng turned around and saw Hua Tingxuan looking at him in astonishment. He coughed lightly, "What are you looking at? I thought about it and decided to be on the safe side. If he suddenly has human skin and flaunts himself among the zombies, he will be discovered sooner or later. Wouldn't that mean our 'secret' mission has failed?"
"Junior brother, you are thoughtful and what you say makes sense." Hua Tingxuan said seriously, but the corners of his lips were almost raised to the sky.
He really loved the hypocritical look of his Taoist partner. She obviously cared about him so much, but she had to act like an "elder". Her stubbornness was cute.
Chu Danfeng felt even more uncomfortable when he laughed at him. His ears turned red and he glared at him fiercely: "What are you laughing at? Why don't you go chase that thing?"
Hua Tingxuan was scolded and pointed slowly: "Don't worry, it's waiting for us."
Sure enough, I saw the "firefly" landed on a flower leaf and flapped its wings.
This is a tracking insect called "Golden Firefly". Chu Danfeng had read about it in the original book, but this was the first time he had seen the real thing. This spiritual insect was refined using ancient methods. The method was harsh and the success rate was very low. It was not only beautiful in appearance, but also had strong concealment capabilities. It could track, transmit sound, and send back images in real time, but it was relatively fragile and easily died during missions. It was also expensive, so not many cultivators could afford it. Only rich women concentration camps like Bixia Pavilion or the nobles of the demon world would raise them in large quantities.
Chu Danfeng looked at the twinkling golden firefly and immediately thought of Ji Xiao. He had a bad feeling in his heart, "Could this be a trap?"
Hua Tingxuan thought to himself: This is obviously a trap.
However, the more blatant the other party is, the more confusing it becomes.
The two of them communicated in secret and discussed for a moment, and decided to see what kind of medicine Ji Xiao sold in his gourd. So they first quietly transmitted the information they had obtained back to the sect using the jade butterfly, and then carefully followed the "firefly".
At the same time, inside the Demon Palace, Ji Xiao was lazily playing with a small bronze mirror. The shadows of Chu Danfeng and Hua Tingxuan were reflected in the mirror. The angle of the figures was from bottom to top, like the perspective of an insect.
A demon servant couldn't help but ask, "They've already discovered it, will they still follow us?"
"It's okay. I didn't mean any harm to you. I just saw my nephew and wanted to catch up. I heard from the 'old man' that my nephew has a very persistent inner demon and is a lunatic. But I think he just likes to kill people, it's nothing serious... But he follows his beautiful senior sister around all day and tries to please her. He looks so useless."
The waiter asked, "What does your Excellency mean?"
"I heard there is a method that is more painful than cleansing the essence and marrow, but it can forcibly seal the inner demon... But how can the inner demon be sealed so easily? I am afraid that even the cultivation and demonic energy will be sealed, and my own strength will be greatly reduced," Ji Xiao sneered, "Open the boundary monument and lead them in. I want to see how crazy he can be. Will he really tie up the beautiful senior brother who is the apple of his eye and torture him severely?"
The waiter said anxiously, "He has already seriously injured you once. If he is really that powerful, aren't we inviting a wolf into the house?"
After a long while, Ji Xiao said quietly, "Because I don't believe that 'old thing', let's make a bet. If what the old thing said is true and he really has sealed his cultivation, I will admit defeat. If I win the bet, then his pure blood and the enchanting cauldron body of the beautiful Chu will all belong to me."