Chapter 63: Chapter 61: The Missing People

Seeing Xu Ningying fall silent, Su Qing decided to be direct.

"To be honest, I won’t know which attack will be the dangerous one when you’re fighting."

"I’m no Immortal. It’ll be hard for me to intervene at the critical moment."

"Let’s put it this way: what’s more important, your Contribution Points or your life?"

Su Qing was, in fact, being selfish. First, he didn’t want Xu Ningying to die. If she died, he’d probably be homeless by the next day.

Second, he didn’t want to waste too much time fighting Demon Fiends. Su Qing wasn’t sure of Xu Ningying’s true strength, and he couldn’t possibly gauge it just from the Spiritual Qi she passively emitted.

But if Su Qing were to act, he could probably kill any Demon Fiend with ease, as long as it wasn’t freakishly powerful.

Xu Ningying fell silent again.

"How about this? Let me test the Demon Fiend’s strength first. I’ll make a judgment call very quickly, and then we’ll decide if you need to help me. If I don’t call for you to save me, it means I can handle it alone."

Xu Ningying didn’t want to lose so many Contribution Points all at once, so she proposed this plan.

People always prefer a compromise, and Su Qing was no exception.

This was a concession from both of them.

Su Qing agreed.

"Alright then. We still have some time, so I’m going to cultivate for a bit."

Although Su Qing didn’t cultivate the Five Qi God Demon Technique, he could cultivate the Geng Metal Sword.

But just as he was about to start cultivating, Su Qing stopped again.

’It’s too dangerous.’ Before he understood Zhengxuan City, Su Qing might have risked cultivating the Geng Metal Sword.

But now, he didn’t dare.

This vast land of Zhengxuan City was filled with the eyes of its City Lord. If some instrument detected the Demonic Qi from his cultivation, he would be finished. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Su Qing didn’t dare practice the Geng Metal Sword on this land.

The only thing he could really cultivate right now was the Geng Metal Sword.

After a moment’s thought, he resignedly went back to cultivating the Five Qi God Demon Technique.

Anyway, Xu Ningying had said it would take half a day to reach their destination.

’Might as well cultivate for one small Grand Circulation.’

The Flying Car didn’t seem to require much manual control, as Su Qing hadn’t seen Xu Ningying actively steer it much.

Or perhaps it could be controlled by consciousness, which would be incredibly awesome.

Honestly, that was a real possibility. That Ou Mingjie guy had achieved a mechanical Ascension, so consciousness-based control was probably feasible.

Xu Ningying didn’t say anything further. After all, Su Qing was in the middle of Cultivation.

She felt it would be rude to speak.

...

After cultivating for one Grand Circulation,

Su Qing concluded his session.

He turned his head and saw Xu Ningying lying on her chair, her back to him.

That damn slender waist and the curve of her hips made Su Qing jolt and quickly look away.

Even her loose-fitting martial arts robes couldn’t hide her figure.

Su Qing thought for a moment and decided to pretend to be asleep. After all, he hadn’t slept at all last night.

...

—

"Su Qing, we’re here."

Su Qing woke up in a daze.

Xu Ningying’s voice was familiar.

And it snapped Su Qing fully awake.

Outside, the scenery looked like an ancient town, making Su Qing feel as if the Flying Car was a time machine.

Xu Ningying was already outside.

Su Qing got up and stretched as he walked out.

The sun was already setting in the west.

"This is the city that sent the distress call."

Su Qing nodded and looked around. ’Has the Demon Fiend already struck?’

"You said there’s a Demon Fiend here, so why are there no casualties?" Su Qing asked, puzzled. "The common folk are the same, walking on the streets without much fear."

"I’m not sure. Let’s wait through the night. If no Demon Fiend appears, we’ll go ask the local Government Office tomorrow."

"Mm, I suppose that’s our only option."

Su Qing paused, glanced at the sky, and saw it wasn’t quite dusk yet.

"I’m going to the blacksmith to buy some weapons. I forgot to bring any when I left."

Xu Ningying suddenly called out to him, "Stop. You just need a weapon, right? Here, take this."

Su Qing had just started to turn when he saw Xu Ningying pushing a longsword into his arms. He had no choice but to catch it with both hands.

He drew the sword from its scabbard and examined it closely.

The edge was incredibly smooth, so reflective he could see his face in it.

[Thousand Forged Sword: Can sever a falling strand of hair, incomparably tough, a Top Grade weapon of the Mortal Realm]

"It’s a fine sword indeed," Su Qing said with a satisfied nod and a smile. "Thanks."

"Don’t mention it. It’s just a random weapon I picked from the Sect. I already have a Magic Sword, so I have no use for it."

"Well, thanks again. What’s a Magic Sword?"

"It’s a sword that can channel Spiritual Qi. In other words, a Magical Artifact. I don’t know how to judge the quality of Magical Artifacts, but I know they’re definitely better than weapons from the Mortal Realm."

Su Qing nodded. A weapon that could channel Spiritual Qi was indeed better than Mortal Soldiers.

"So what do we do here?"

"We wait."

"Wait for the Demon Fiend to appear."

"..." Su Qing was speechless.

"How about we go buy something to eat while we wait?"

"Good idea. I’ve only had breakfast today," Xu Ningying readily agreed.

But before Su Qing and Xu Ningying could get very far,

a group of constables rushed over, along with several Government Office officials dressed in large Qing robes.

Su Qing glanced at Xu Ningying. "I don’t want to deal with this. You handle it."

"..." Xu Ningying shot Su Qing a look, her eyes filled with resignation.

...

...

In a guest hall of the Government Office,

three people were seated at a large table.

Besides Su Qing, there was Xu Ningying, chatting with the Cheng Yi.

Cheng Yi was equivalent to a City Lord. This place was directly administered by Zhengxuan City, but it was too remote to be considered part of it. As for why he wasn’t called a City Lord...

The key was the word ’Lord’. Immortal Cultivators probably didn’t like using that title for others.

The large table was laden with dishes, and Su Qing was busy stuffing his face.

It was a feast of delicacies. Rare animals from his previous life were making an appearance on the table.

There were also some animals that didn’t exist in his past life.

For example, a dish made from a "Fire-Feather Chicken." The meat was truly tender and smooth. The meat from the entire chicken was like dark meat, and even more tender than a normal chicken thigh.

After exchanging some pleasantries with this Song Chengyi,

Xu Ningying got down to business.

"Song Chengyi, you know why we’re here."

"Tell me everything you know in detail," Xu Ningying asked.

"Hiss..."

"Let me think..." Song Chengyi seemed troubled.

"Actually, I’m not even sure if it’s a Demon Fiend. But people have been disappearing from the city every night, which is why I reported it."

Xu Ningying frowned, her expression grave. "Roughly how many people?"

"According to our Government Office’s records, it’s estimated to be over a thousand people."

"I submitted the report half a month ago."

"The last master sent here found nothing strange. It’s just that after a night passes, more people are gone. The strangest part is that the neighbors and relatives of the missing people seem to have forgotten they ever existed."

"This..." Xu Ningying was speechless.

Su Qing stopped chewing.

’Is this something I can handle at my current level?!’ Su Qing screamed internally.

Then, with a stern face and a sharp gaze, he shook his head at Xu Ningying.

He couldn’t do it.

Su Qing really couldn’t do it.

Something that bizarrely affects memories—was that something Su Qing could solve right now?

Obviously not. And he couldn’t take the risk.

Receiving Su Qing’s pointed look,

Xu Ningying’s expression turned grave as well.

"Song Chengyi, do you have any idea what you’ve been concealing?"

"This is far more than a simple so-called Demon Fiend."

After her rebuke, Xu Ningying glanced at the food on the table and took a few quick bites.

Xu Ningying was no fool. Even at the Gathering Spirit realm, she had never heard of Magic that could affect memories like this.

Even her superiors in Shangjing, those at the Qi Cultivation stage, didn’t possess such bizarre Magic or methods. Why would she be willing to stay here any longer?

...