CHAPTER 291
Returning to Old Ways
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【A13-75.3-H53】
These are spatial coordinates, encoded using the Blade of Execution's standard encryption method.
After splitting and decrypting, the true target coordinates can be obtained.
"It should be somewhere nearby. I'll check the northern area, and Steward Xu will cover the south. If you find anything, don't act on your own—contact me first."
"Understood."
After over an hour of sword-riding, they arrived at the edge of a remote mountain village in the western part of the Eastern Domain.
Su Cheng lit a cigarette before splitting up with Xu Zhanfeng.
This task had originally been assigned to Cheng Liang, but the calamity had arrived sooner than anticipated. Su Cheng understood clearly that the current Cheng Liang clearly lacked the strength to confront this disaster.
Twenty years too soon.
Had he remained alone, he would never have meddled in such a mess.
But he was no longer alone. This was the world he shared with his disciples…
Su Cheng shook his head, refusing to dwell on these useless thoughts.
"Hah, I really am good at making excuses for myself…"
He walked toward the village center. Clearly, this small settlement held no living souls.
The miasma obscured his vision while its paralyzing toxins would poison anyone within fifteen minutes.
Amidst this poisonous fog lurked a few escaped Apostles. They required no sustenance, possessed no discernible thought, and pursued only a singular, insatiable lust for slaughter.
"Watch out!"
Just as Su Cheng was about to step into the village, someone grabbed his sleeve and yanked him back three or four meters…
Su Cheng turned to see who had grabbed him…
None other than the reincarnated villain's First Disciple.
"Master Su, this miasma is poisonous! How could you recklessly enter without any protection?"
Chu Youwei stood before Su Cheng like a wife complaining her husband forgot to bring her something home from work, her expression tinged with disappointment and frustration!
Surprised, Su Cheng feigned ignorance, thinking to himself: No wonder she's my SSR—she's truly something else!
"Is that so? Thank you for your assistance, Miss Chu. Did you also sense the anomaly here?"
"Me? What does the abnormality have to do with me? I came to protect you—didn’t I just save your life? You’d better remember this life-saving favor!"
Su Cheng chuckled inwardly. This girl really knew a lot!
"Of course."
With that, Su Cheng fell silent and prepared to enter the village once more.
Chu Youwei tugged at his sleeve, pulling him back. Her expression turned serious. "Wait! I told you it's poisonous! Why are you still heading in?"
Su Cheng had originally intended to dispel the toxic mist with his magical artifact, but now he felt no urgency. Instead, he wanted to see what else Chu Youwei knew.
Watch as Chu Youwei slowly tiptoed, using her fragrant silk scarf as a mask to tie over Su Cheng's face…
"Will this really work?"
"It helps, but not much. Prolonged exposure will still poison you. But I have pills—these are breath-holding pills. With these, you won't fear the poisonous gas."
Su Cheng recognized this pill. It wasn't particularly potent, typically used for diving or feigning death.
After swallowing them and lying still on the ground, one would appear lifeless as if dead.
Watching Chu Youwei pour two pills into Su Cheng's palm before taking two herself, they set off together toward the village.
Under the thick fog, visibility was limited to about ten meters. After walking just a few steps, Su Cheng stumbled upon something soft.
"Probably been here seven or eight days now."
Su Cheng crouched down to examine the corpse, now little more than a half-body. Such gruesome scenes were not uncommon; they littered the village.
Chu Youwei showed no surprise at the sight of the corpse, and neither did Su Cheng.
Both understood that even without entering, the village's horrors were easy to imagine.
"Most were brutally killed after losing consciousness and falling into a coma. At least they didn't suffer."
Chu Youwei remarked. Compared to the apocalyptic scenes she had witnessed before, these few corpses were but grains of sand in the desert.
Su Cheng searched the village thoroughly but found no trace of the Apostles nor any survivors.
"Look at this body. There are distinct bite marks on the wounds, as if attacked by a ferocious beast."
"Yeah, there are claw marks on the wall here too. Looks like the killer was probably huge."
Su Cheng nodded. "If that's the case, the killer likely left traces when they departed."
On the collapsed wall, claw marks about an arm's length apart were spaced widely, indirectly confirming the killer's size.
This was reverse deduction. Both Su Cheng and Chu Youwei could probably guess what kind of creature had committed the crime, but at this moment, they both played along.
Chu Youwei pondered how to naturally guide her master, while Su Cheng calculated how much Chu Youwei actually knew.
With unspoken understanding, both slipped into detective roles, neither willing to be the first to speak up. They knew all too well that overstepping could easily trigger the other's guard.
It seemed neither wanted to be pushed away, nor to allow the other to keep their distance. Instead, they deliberately maintained a comfortable space between them.
Their proximity fluctuated—close yet distant, attentive but not ambiguous, valued yet not pressured.
Following the clues left by the "culprit" deeper into the mystery, Chu Youwei casually inquired.
"Master Su, you seem remarkably open to new things?"
"You seem to know me quite well?" Su Cheng was never one to take things lying down, though he rarely crossed swords with women. Usually, Xiao Ai handled such matters.
"I know you fairly well. With the initiation ceremony approaching, I've gained some insight into all the sects."
Su Cheng crouched down, carefully surveying the surroundings. Just moments ago, he’d noticed something amiss. This killer seemed far from easy to deal with.
"Wait—isn't there someone over there?"
Su Cheng gazed toward the nearby stream, where a figure—a young girl, it seemed—lay collapsed!
"Huh~ Looks like it."
As they spoke, Chu Youwei and Su Cheng hurried over.
Su Cheng noticed something utterly bizarre! Everyone else was entangled in quantum mechanics, yet he was inexplicably entangled with a beauty?
Here in the Eastern Realm, he'd somehow stumbled upon a girl from the Northern Realm!
None other than the future's evil arch-villain—one of the few women who had nearly single-handedly defeated Cheng Liang.
Miaomiao. Though it seemed she'd adopted a much more formidable name in the future. The name Miaomiao, in his memory, was one only her late mother would have used.
"Why her?" Su Cheng helped Miao Miao to her feet, silently activating his magical artifact to perform a full-body scan on her…
In a hidden corner where Su Cheng didn't notice, Chu Youwei's expression also shifted slightly. Her?
Indeed, Chu Youwei recognized this "Evil God" too. The delicate-looking girl before her eyes was none other than the future God of Slaughter—an existence that regarded no one as human!
Truth be told, she and this Chu Youwei weren't entirely unrelated. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Chu Youwei didn't mind befriending the Evil God, as long as it meant toppling the Heavenly Dao Pavilion.
But this time, it wasn't necessary. Reborn, she would not repeat the mistakes of her past life.
This time, even if Cheng Liang had nine lives, he wouldn't live to see the day of ascension!
And those vile creatures by her bedside? Not a single one would escape!
"Master Su, what is this?"
While her mind raced with calculations, Chu Youwei also spoke up to test the waters. Her master seemed to recognize this Evil God!
"I met her once in the Northern Realm. Her mother was gravely ill, forcing her to resort to street theft. That's when she unexpectedly crossed paths with me."
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