Chapter 56: A Bloody Incident Sparked by a Beautiful Enchantress

After personally watching Su Muqing get into the Su family car and leave, Qin Xuan finally made his way home.

“I wonder if the girl has returned yet…”

Qin Xuan had no worries about Liu Qianqian being locked out without a key. The name “Nimble-fingered Liu the Empty-handed” was well-earned; unless it was some special restriction, nothing could keep her out.

The mountain road wound between Qin Xuan’s villa and the next peak, but for him, that was no obstacle. With Su Muqing no longer trailing behind, Qin Xuan moved through the mountains as swiftly as the wind, drawing near to his villa in no time.

“Hm? Who are those two...”

He spotted two young Taoist priests skulking suspiciously near the villa, clearly up to no good. Qin Xuan quickly found a hiding spot and eavesdropped on their conversation.

“This is really strange. What sort of barrier is this, that even we can’t get through?” the older of the two said in confusion.

“How come that demon girl could get inside? I don’t believe it,” the younger one muttered, waving his horsetail whisk as he spoke.

A faint stream of spiritual energy shot from the whisk, but when it reached the edge of the villa, it was blocked by an invisible barrier and vanished at once.

The two priests circled the villa again and again, but simply could not get in. Qin Xuan watched from the shadows, sneering to himself: This barrier forbids entry to anyone who has taken a life, unless their cultivation far surpasses even my master’s.

Clearly, these two priests, though they looked upstanding, must have slain their share of demons and monsters in secret—though as for killing humans, Qin Xuan doubted they dared go that far.

“Damn it! Are we just going to let that demon girl hide in the villa and keep threatening the world?” the older one cursed.

“Should we go back and ask Master to handle it? With his power, this barrier would be nothing, and that demon girl would be ours for the taking!” the younger suggested.

“Are you an idiot? That demon girl is so pretty—if we catch her ourselves, we’ll have our fun. If we bring in Master, we’ll get nothing,” the older hissed.

“You’re right, senior brother, you’re absolutely right,” the younger fawned, grinning lecherously. Both their faces twisted with salacious intent, practically drooling.

Qin Xuan’s anger simmered as he listened. These two, supposed men of virtue, were worse than beasts in private—an utter disgrace to the Taoist order. Qin Xuan had met his share of unsavory priests before, but never such shameless ones.

Yet—pretty demon girl? Qin Xuan was puzzled. When had such a creature appeared at his villa? Wait—could it be that flower demon? Had she learned to take human form?

How laughable, he thought. These two were pitifully weak and yet so arrogant. If they ever crossed a truly powerful demon, they’d be lucky to escape with their lives.

“But how do we get past this barrier?” the younger priest complained, growing impatient.

“We’ll have to wait. Wait for the owner of the villa to return and then see what can be done,” the older replied, clearly more experienced.

“No need to wait—I’m right here.” Qin Xuan stepped out of the shadows, his tone icy.

“You!” The two priests jumped in fright. How had someone gotten so close without them noticing?

The older quickly recovered, putting on a haughty air. “So you’re the owner of this villa? Be smart and take down the barrier. My brother and I are here to capture a demon!”

“Oh? I wasn’t aware there was a demon in my home,” Qin Xuan replied coldly.

“Hmph, you hardly look ordinary yourself. Since you’re one of the cultivators, you ought to know the punishment for harboring demons!” the younger one snapped.

“Wait, junior brother,” the older interrupted, then explained, “We were gathering herbs in the mountains when a demon girl snatched the ones we had our eye on. We chased her to your villa and saw her enter unhindered. If you’re letting her in, what is that but sheltering a demon?”

Qin Xuan burst into laughter. “Let me tell you the truth—the barrier on this villa is called the Demon-Repelling Seal. It blocks evil spirits and anyone tainted by killing intent. If you can’t get in, it means you’ve committed wrongful acts, and if she can, it means she’s a kind-hearted demon.”

“Nonsense! There’s no such barrier in the world!” the younger one exclaimed.

“You’re just making things up. I’ve never heard of such a thing,” the older snorted. “Looks like you’re determined to shelter that demon girl. Who would’ve thought, all prim and proper on the outside, but consorting with demons behind closed doors. Today, we’ll deliver justice!”

Qin Xuan was left speechless by their audacity. They were the ones lusting after the demon girl, yet here they were accusing him of impropriety. The shamelessness was staggering.

“Leave now, and I’ll ignore you. If not, I won’t be so polite,” Qin Xuan warned.

These two were mere novices at the first stage of Qi Refining, not even true cultivators. To think of challenging Qin Xuan was sheer lunacy.

“Junior brother, attack!” the older commanded, flicking his whisk. The younger responded at once, casting a spell.

Two feeble streams of spiritual energy shot toward Qin Xuan.

“With such pitiful skill, you dare call yourselves cultivators?” Qin Xuan scoffed. With a flick of his sandalwood sword case, the two attacks vanished without a trace.

“That’s—a sword case!” the older priest gasped, barely able to sense the spiritual energy it radiated.

“Let’s go, junior brother! We must report this to Master!”

At least they had some sense; realizing they were outmatched, the two turned to flee.

But—

“Since you’ve already attacked, wouldn’t it be rude of me not to return the favor?” Qin Xuan sneered.

Clang!

The Taiqing Sword flashed from its sheath, catching the moonlight and casting a silvery glow on the priests’ panicked faces.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two soft but forceful waves of sword energy swept toward them.

For such weaklings, Qin Xuan didn’t even bother using real sword techniques. The sword energy, though gentle, was as lethal as a death sentence to them—they couldn’t evade or withstand it.

Spurt! Spurt!

Both priests were struck, each coughing up blood.

“We may be injured today, but we’ll have our revenge! Come, junior brother!” the older one spat, dragging his weakened companion into the forest.

“If I weren’t bound by my vow not to kill, you’d both be lying here dead,” Qin Xuan muttered, eyes narrowed as he walked slowly toward his villa.