Chapter 23: Taking Action

"At least he didn't make a move last time."

Hardly had Qin Changsheng spoken these words when the youth in the Taoist robe appeared outside their carriage as if from nowhere. He had already finished consuming everyone else. He stared at the two of them with cold indifference, a stark contrast to the slacker demeanor he had worn throughout the day.

"Didn't you say he wouldn't make a move?" Nangong Ruoxi tightened, her expression tense. "Why is he here? You’re making me so nervous..."

The slap in the face came so quickly that the corner of Qin Changsheng's mouth twitched.

"Perhaps he’s just here to wish us a good night, who knows?" Qin Changsheng added, "Also, could you pinch yourself when you get nervous? It hurts, you know?"

"I'm afraid of pain."

"Can't you be a little gentler?"

"I'll try. Just bear with it."

"..."

Seeing the conversation veering into increasingly inappropriate territory, Qin Changsheng had to pry Nangong Ruoxi’s hand off his arm. He was certain that the woman had pinched his skin red.

As soon as he finished speaking, the youth in the Taoist robe reached out and tapped lightly on the carriage wall. "Fellow Daoist... could you do this poor Taoist a favor?"

The youth seemed to be able to peer through the carriage, seeing the two tense individuals inside. His eyes glowed with a gray light, and his cultivation aura had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage—it seemed as though he was only a step away from reaching the Deity Transformation stage.

Qin Changsheng and Nangong Ruoxi exchanged a glance, both sensing that something was wrong. But now that it had come to this, no matter the situation, they had to face it. Qin Changsheng pulled back the carriage curtain, and together with Nangong Ruoxi, stepped out to meet the youth’s gaze in the darkness.

The three young people who had chatted so pleasantly during the day were reunited at night, but the atmosphere had changed entirely. The youth in the Taoist robe wore an icy expression, looking at Qin Changsheng and Nangong Ruoxi as if they were nothing more than leeks to be harvested. He gripped his peach-wood sword, seemingly ready to strike at any moment.

"Brother Chen An, what favor do you need?" Qin Changsheng asked with a complicated tone. Even though he knew the youth's heart was cold as iron, viewing the lives of all sentient beings as mere grass, and knowing the youth would eventually turn on him, he couldn't help but sigh now that the boy was truly knocking at his door.

It was inevitable.

For someone like the youth in the Taoist robe, who practiced the Path of Ruthlessness, there were only two things you could do: don't get in his way, and don't catch his eye. To stop him meant certain death, and to catch his eye meant being used for his ends; neither path led to a good outcome.

"This poor Taoist feels that I am still a bit short of breaking through to the Deity Transformation stage," the youth chuckled. "I see that you two are remarkable prodigies. Whether it is your spiritual roots or your physical constitutions, you are one in a million. Naturally, your fate and souls are far more nourishing than most. I only need one more person to reach the Deity Transformation stage. Which of you two would like to invest in me?"

He looked calm—in fact, he was perfectly calm.

"Didn't you say, Brother Chen An, that investing in you would yield ten thousand times the return, and that you would surely repay us once you became an Immortal Emperor?" Qin Changsheng stepped back, watching him warily, while Nangong Ruoxi silently drew her flying sword.

"Ah, yes. Brother Changsheng has an excellent memory," the youth nodded. "But what you don't know, Brother, is that I have never cultivated the path of the Immortal. I will never become an Immortal Emperor. If I do ascend, it will be as a Ghost Emperor or a Demon Emperor..."

"Tsk tsk, I never would have thought that someone with such an honest face could be so shameless," Qin Changsheng realized with a start. "How is your behavior any different from those scoundrels who swear on other people's names?"

"Hahaha, we are the same, are we not? Haven't you also hidden many things, silently preparing to flee from me?" The youth stared at Qin Changsheng with intensity. "Actually, I feel a great kinship with you, Brother Changsheng. I think we are the same type of person. It’s just that my donkey and my ghost sword showed a keen interest in you from the very first moment we met, so I wanted to see how many secrets you were hiding."

"The more I observe, the thirstier I become. Brother, you possess an aura that even I find intoxicating, as if consuming you would grant me a heaven-sent transformation... So, Brother, can you fulfill my desire?"

The youth laughed loudly, his gray eyes revealing countless forces of death, as if he were a gateway to hell itself. This aura made Qin Changsheng feel a profound sense of revulsion.

"So you don't need someone to witness your rise anymore?"

"Why would I need anyone to witness my rise?" The youth laughed with confidence. "Only cowards care about the opinions of others. A strong person only needs to move forward. The only reason I told you was to make you think I wouldn't kill you just yet. Once I had consumed enough people, I would have the certainty to kill you. And you, in your arrogance, thought I wouldn't dare kill you, so you didn't run away."

The youth spoke as if chatting with an old friend, revealing everything.

"Brother Chen An, you are truly... insidious. In the language of my hometown, you’re a real snake." Qin Changsheng gripped his sword. He finally understood.

When the youth had approached them initially, it was because his donkey had sensed Qin Changsheng's aura. The very first thing the youth had said was that his donkey had taken a fancy to Qin Changsheng’s horse. He had asked if the two beasts could experience a "romantic encounter." Qin Changsheng had refused, but the donkey had lured the thoroughbred to defile it. That night, the donkey had eaten the horse. And from that day on, the youth had followed him.

The donkey walked to the left because it was an undead creature. The youth walked to the right because he was a living one. The moment the donkey ate the horse, it confirmed the unique aura within Qin Changsheng. From that moment on, the youth had marked him for death.

"So, Brother Changsheng, why don't you offer yourself up willingly?" The youth continued. "Don't worry, after you die, I will preserve your body and make you my top-ranking undead servant. And as for your companion, I will take good care of her. After you are gone, she will witness my rise. Most importantly, she is so generous, isn't she? You only gave me five hundred, but she gave me one hundred thousand..."

The youth looked Nangong Ruoxi up and down, feeling a long-repressed urge resurfacing.

"You're not even picky anymore, you're just going to kill me?" Qin Changsheng felt deeply depressed. "And you're playing the cultivation version of 'I will take care of your wife, do not worry'? How is your behavior any different from that villain Cao Cao?"

With that, Qin Changsheng swung his sword at the youth. The youth, not expecting Qin Changsheng to strike first, did not hesitate. His peach-wood sword emitted an eerie light, and instantly, all those whose souls he had consumed opened their eyes in a grotesque display. Everyone he had harvested turned into his accomplices, charging at Qin Changsheng.

Nangong Ruoxi’s expression shifted, and she unleashed her peak Golden Core cultivation. Just when everyone expected a heaven-shattering battle to commence, Qin Changsheng’s blood began to burn, and he triggered an escape technique!

He was ready to bolt.

Both Nangong Ruoxi and the youth were stunned.

"..."