mtlumby2d Chapter 288 It's not easy.
Chapter 288 It's not easy.
Ning Xiaoxi frowned and placed her hand on its head.
"town!"
On the Azure Bird's demon core, red flame runes swirled and intertwined, eventually forming the character "镇" (zhen, meaning to suppress). However, the last stroke of the character "镇" seemed to lack strength, making it look as if it might break at any moment.
The black aura dissipated, the golden light dimmed, and the cyan feathers lost their radiant beauty; though still beautiful, they were merely beautiful in name only.
The liveliness in her golden eyes had vanished, leaving only endless emptiness.
Ning Xiaoxi's expression was very complicated. "I can't let you become a demon, and I don't want to kill you, so I can only seal your demon core. Don't blame me!"
"Chirp! Chirp!"
The light, clear chirping sound was devoid of any spirit, only instinct remained!
Tuanzi nestled on Ning Xiaoxi's shoulder. "Xiaoxi, I think it might actually prefer you to kill it."
Ning Xiaoxi gritted her teeth. "I don't want its hope, I want my hope." It hoped the Bluebird lineage would be extinguished, but she hoped there would still be a glimmer of hope.
Tuanzi turned her head and glanced at Ning Xiaoxi, but didn't say anything more.
"Tuanzi, can I go find the murderer?" Ning Xiaoxi changed the subject.
"What are you going to do?" Tuanzi asked warily.
"You urge me to slay demons and monsters, but you also want to interfere in human conflicts?" Isn't this the excuse Tuanzi often uses? Human conflicts!
The dumpling choked. [System upgrade in progress...]
Ning Xiaoxi raised an eyebrow, then looked down at the bluebird nestled against the little bluebird. "Whether you survive or not depends on your own fate. This is all I can do! This place is no longer suitable for monsters to live in. Leave here!"
Ning Xiaoxi turned and left the cave, a tiny, shimmering spirit crystal beneath her feet disappearing into the dust.
The bluebird's empty eyes were fixed intently on that single glimmer of light.
Outside the south gate of the city was a mortuary for the deceased, where people who had died violently or were homeless were laid to rest. If no one claimed their bodies after three days, they would be buried on the spot in an open space to the north of the mortuary.
Ning Xiaoxi landed on the open space north of the mortuary, sensing that beneath this bare ground lay countless white bones. The fact that so many skeletons could be kept so clean and tidy, without any unpleasant odor or lingering ghostly energy, was quite intriguing.
Inside the mortuary, separated by a door, two people stood by the door, watching Ning Xiaoxi's movements outside.
A mid-level seventh-grade Celestial Master? Ning Xiaoxi's expression turned ugly; there was actually a Celestial Master cleaning up the mess.
"boom!"
The spiritual energy slammed into the doorway as if it were a physical force, and the two people were pressed to the ground before they even had a chance to dodge.
Ning Xiaoxi lightly jumped into the room and landed in front of the two people.
The spiritual energy swept over the two people's bodies, but there were no official jade tokens or any other objects that could prove their identities, only a clean set of clothes.
"An unidentified Celestial Master?" Ning Xiaoxi said softly, "So killing him would be pointless, and no one would hold it against you?"
The two men were being crushed so hard their spines felt like they were about to break. It was already a miracle that they were gritting their teeth and not making a sound. Now that they heard they were going to be killed, they could no longer bear it.
A voice, hoarse and loud as a cat's, called out, "Our Qingping Bai clan!"
Ning Xiaoxi frowned. The Bai family? Ever since the strategist's heart entered the Dragon Mine, she had barely sensed his presence. She never expected to encounter members of the strategist's family in this small town thousands of miles away.
"How could the Celestial Master of the Bai family not be registered at the Celestial Master Pavilion?" Ning Xiaoxi refused to believe that they had said so.
"We haven't had time to register yet."
"Ha!" Ning Xiaoxi couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Do you even believe what you're saying?"
Ning Xiaoxi straightened up. "I was just passing by when I noticed too many skeletons. Fearing demons might be causing trouble, I stopped to investigate. But I found you two here on guard. What do you think I should do?"
The two men were so restrained that they couldn't move their fingers. "It's up to the lady to decide."
Ning Xiaoxi's eyes darted around. "Since we met by chance and have no past grudges or present animosity, I naturally won't make things difficult for you two." Her spiritual pressure eased, and her figure disappeared from the mortuary. "You two can just pretend you never saw me." Her voice faded into the distance.
The two lay on the ground, not daring to get up immediately, until they could no longer hear any unusual noises, before they cautiously stood up.
Just as the two had regained their footing and hadn't even exchanged their insights, two dazzling streaks of light streaked across the sky. As the light flashed, the two agile pythons disappeared into the shadows.
"Hiss! Hiss!"
A terrifying hissing sound came from their throats, "Hiss! Hiss!"
"Uh! Uh!"
The body that had just stood up fell back to the ground, lifeless.
The city gates of Yancheng closed very early today, and news of what happened on the street inside the south gate has spread throughout the entire area and is now spreading to the whole city.
After receiving the report from the constable, City Lord Yan Jiacheng was restless. He knew he had done wrong, and he didn't want to, but he couldn't afford to offend the garrison commander. Although he was nominally the city lord of Yancheng, and his family was a local powerful clan, who knew that the Yan family was nothing more than lowly soldiers under the command of their superior?
"Xiaoxi, are we going to go and kill that guy?" Xiaojiu asked, whispering in Ning Xiaoxi's ear.
“We’re civilized people, let’s not always be fighting!” Ning Xiaoxi turned her head, “Oh, you’re not human.”
Xiao Jiu turned her head, "Just say what you want to say, no offense intended!"
The city garrison is located in the northern part of Yancheng. It covers a vast area with pavilions and towers, but it is sparsely populated and has no regular guards.
Ning Xiaoxi squatted on the wall, peering into the courtyard. "This isn't right! It's like it's been deliberately cleared out. Is it opening the door for me?"
"Just showing weakness!" Xiao Jiu scoffed. "If this were our demon race, we'd kill the entire clan if they dared to disobey. Apologizing wouldn't help. Is it really okay to just apologize for something you did wrong? Giving them a chance to reincarnate would be an extraordinary favor."
Ning Xiaoxi pointed to the only lit room, the main room, and said, "He offered himself up." There was a figure sitting inside, the door open.
"He didn't kill anyone, so what's the point of him sacrificing himself? He's just a scapegoat." Xiao Jiu looked down on such spineless people.
Ning Xiaoxi's legs were a little numb from squatting. She looked up at the starry sky. It was the end of the month and the beginning of the new year, there was no moon, and it was a cloudy day. She let out a soft sigh. "Let's leave it at that for today. It seems they don't take this scapegoat seriously at all. I was hoping to go fishing, but the fish aren't taking the bait."
"That criminal is in the next yard, why do you insist on guarding this place?"
Ning Xiaoxi jumped off the wall. "The government and the Celestial Masters are two different systems. I am a Celestial Master. If a Celestial Master commits a crime, I can kill him at will without any consequences. But it's different for officials. We are not in the same system and cannot play different roles."
"call!"
A hot wind arose without warning, and the blazing heat was colorless and lightless.
"Ouch!" Ning Xiaoxi leaped up, turned in mid-air, and stepped out of the city.