Chapter Eighty-One: A Deep Misunderstanding

In the blink of an eye, the bluish tinge on Lady Blossom's face faded rapidly, her lips, once black, now visibly regained their rosy hue, and her complexion gradually returned to normal, her skin glowing like mutton-fat jade with a hint of blush. After confirming that no trace of the blue poison remained, Little Azure inhaled toward the demon core, which spun and flew back into her mouth.

Having retrieved her demon core, Little Azure turned to Wang Yuanfeng and said, "Brother Yuanfeng, her poison has been neutralized."

"Well done," Wang Yuanfeng nodded approvingly.

At that moment, Lady Blossom, lying on the ground, let out two coughs, as if she were about to regain consciousness.

"Should I wake her up, too?" Little Azure glanced at Lady Blossom, who was stirring, feeling rather pleased with her own prowess. She pointed to Zhang Sanggu, who lay on the other side.

"No need," Wang Yuanfeng shook his head. "Let's question Lady Blossom first; we'll wake the other afterward."

"Alright," Little Azure agreed, recalling how, back at Lake Tai Xuan, they would always interrogate captured criminals separately.

After being bitten by Little Azure, Lady Blossom had felt dizzy. Then, another person pursued her, flinging a vine at her. She was just about to cast a spell in defense when darkness overtook her and she lost consciousness.

Now, as her mind cleared, she still felt weak and uncomfortable. Sensing her body, she realized the poison was gone, but she could not move—she seemed to be bound. It must have been the vine that had struck her. Clearly, she had been captured.

Opening her eyes, she saw several people gazing down at her, especially that young girl who had spewed poisonous mist. Lady Blossom remembered what her father had said—her own mother had been killed by the green snake demon of this very mountain.

Enemies met, her eyes burned with hatred. She glared angrily at Little Azure and spat, "If you want to kill me, just do it. There's no need to humiliate me like this."

"Absurd," Little Azure retorted. From the very start, Lady Blossom had attacked her with deadly intent, yet she had no enmity with her. Why such hatred at first sight? "I should have killed you just now. If not for Brother Yuanfeng, I'd have left you to your fate. Your life or death means nothing to me."

"Fine, kill me now, just as you killed my mother. Why bother with these pretenses?" Lady Blossom gazed at Little Azure with deep resentment, her voice full of sorrow.

Little Azure thought Lady Blossom was raving nonsense—something was clearly wrong. She regretted not killing her outright. Turning to Wang Yuanfeng, she said, "Brother Yuanfeng, the roe deer demon must have been poisoned in the brain by me and lost her wits. Why not kill her and eat her flesh?"

Hearing this, Lady Blossom lay there in utter despair, the light fading from her eyes as if all hope had died.

Wang Yuanfeng and Erqing exchanged glances, both sensing something very odd about Lady Blossom’s behavior.

It was too strange. Ever since Little Azure struck, Lady Blossom had acted as though facing a mortal enemy. Now, her demeanor was all wrong.

Wang Yuanfeng, puzzled, asked, "Little Azure, have you ever crossed her before?"

"How could I? The roe deer demon lived on the southern side of Cleaver Axe Mountain; we lived on the north. Besides, we left there long ago, and I’ve been cultivating at Lake Tai Xuan with Elder Brother ever since. I’ve never even met her," Little Azure replied bitterly, glancing at Lady Blossom, feeling wronged—she’d done nothing, yet was treated as a mortal enemy, with no idea why.

Then, glaring at Lady Blossom, she added, "Anyway, she’s gone mad now. Let's just kill her and eat her. I’ve heard roe deer meat is delicious." She even swallowed twice, almost involuntarily.

Hearing that they still meant to eat her, Lady Blossom’s body trembled twice, tears sliding from the corners of her eyes. A pall of desolation seemed to spread from her.

Wang Yuanfeng was convinced something was amiss—Lady Blossom was surely mistaken about something, and it was a deep misunderstanding at that. He stepped forward and asked, "What grudge do you bear against Little Azure that you hate her so fiercely?"

Lady Blossom snorted and turned her head away, refusing to speak. Who didn’t know they were all on the same side?

Wang Yuanfeng felt helpless—Lady Blossom had no intention of talking, as if resigned to die.

"If she won’t talk, I’ll kill her and eat her," Little Azure, incensed by Lady Blossom’s obstinacy, stepped forward as if to strike.

Wang Yuanfeng was startled and tried to stop her, but his body lagged behind his thoughts. Fortunately, Erqing reacted swiftly, intercepting Little Azure as she lunged at Lady Blossom, preventing a fatal outburst.

Lady Blossom was surprised. This didn’t match what her father had said about snake demons—she looked more like a little girl than the vicious monster her father had described.

Her father had always said the snake demons of these mountains were cruel, ruthless, leaving no survivors, but this one wasn’t following the script. Had her father’s words been mistaken? She shook her head fiercely—her father had warned her of this more than a century ago, and if it were false, he wouldn’t have persisted for so long.

As for her father deceiving her, the thought flickered and was ruthlessly suppressed.

She had steeled herself for death—if they wanted to kill or carve her up, so be it. Why all this hesitation? She turned to Little Azure, her gaze even more defiant.

"Not good," Wang Yuanfeng saw Lady Blossom’s expression and knew things were getting worse.

"Second Sister, step aside! I’m going to kill her!" Little Azure, thoroughly enraged by that look, let her demon aura flare, ready to explode if released.

Luckily, Erqing held her fast, though even so, Lady Blossom received two kicks from Little Azure as she lay on the ground.

Wang Yuanfeng was exasperated—he had to think of something, or else if Lady Blossom provoked Little Azure into another rage, she’d have no hope of survival. As he pondered, he glanced at Zhang Sanggu, lying nearby, and an idea took shape.

"Don’t kill her yet. There’s more to this than meets the eye. Let's interrogate Zhang Sanggu first." Wang Yuanfeng pointed to Zhang Sanggu. He noticed that although Little Azure still looked as if she wouldn’t rest until Lady Blossom was dead, her efforts to break free from Erqing’s grip had lessened.

Wang Yuanfeng quickly used a sealing technique, pressing lightly on the mute gate point beneath Lady Blossom’s occipital bone, saying, "I’ve sealed her mute gate. She won’t be able to speak for now. Let’s hide her, then question Zhang Sanggu. There may be hidden truths here."

Hearing this, Little Azure hesitated. Erqing chimed in, "Yes, Little Azure, something’s definitely unclear. Lady Blossom is acting too strangely. Let’s see if there’s a misunderstanding. If not, you can kill her then."

At this, Little Azure relented, looking at Wang Yuanfeng, Erqing, and then Lady Blossom.

Lady Blossom waited a long time, but Little Azure did not kill her—only kicked her twice. Now, seeing Little Azure’s gaze, she was baffled. She tried to taunt her to finish the job, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make a sound. She guessed it must have been Wang Yuanfeng’s doing.

If she couldn’t speak, she still had her eyes—so she glared at Little Azure with all the anger she could muster.

"Well, say something if you have the guts! Why are you silent now?" Little Azure jeered, glancing at Wang Yuanfeng with shining eyes. She was greatly impressed by this method—it was almost like the magical deaf-mute technique, but here, just a touch had sufficed. She made a mental note to ask about it later.

Everyone present knew the mute gate was one of the thirty-six deadly points of the human body, also known as the King Yan point. Striking it could sever the body’s energy flow, fix the consciousness, lead to fainting at best, death at worst. But seeing it used merely to silence someone was a novelty. Erqing’s eyes shone with curiosity, but knowing it was likely Wang Yuanfeng’s secret art, she didn’t ask further.

After a brief discussion, Erqing hoisted both Lady Blossom and Zhang Sanggu, and the group moved into the house, hiding Lady Blossom in a concealed spot.

Little Azure stepped forward and gently tapped Zhang Sanggu on the crown. The poison mist in Zhang Sanggu’s body floated out from her seven orifices. With a wave of her hand, Little Azure made the toxic fog vanish—it seemed to have been collected.

Under the watchful eyes of the group, Zhang Sanggu slowly regained consciousness. Upon opening her eyes, she saw herself surrounded by those she considered enemies and grew agitated, realizing she had been captured.

But Zhang Sanggu was shrewd and masked her distress, speaking calmly, "Fellow Daoists, may I ask why you’ve captured me? I cannot recall ever offending you."

"Drop the act and tell us everything you know. One lie, and we’ll kill you and eat your flesh." Though she tried to conceal it, her earlier panic had been noticed, so Little Azure put on a fierce front, hoping to intimidate her.

"What do you want me to say? We bear no grudges, recent or old. You attacked us out of nowhere. If you’re displeased with our hospitality, I apologize," Zhang Sanggu replied, experienced enough not to be frightened.

"Exactly, what do we want her to say?" Little Azure was at a loss, unsure what to ask, and turned to Erqing and Wang Yuanfeng for guidance.

Erqing suspected, from Lady Blossom’s odd hostility, that she had mistaken Little Azure for someone else, perhaps an old enemy.

But Wang Yuanfeng saw it differently—Lady Blossom’s behavior was too abnormal. She’d mentioned her mother had died here, and she seemed to know something. There was only one possibility: she’d come seeking revenge.

Having realized this, Wang Yuanfeng addressed Zhang Sanggu, "Let’s not beat around the bush. We know your true purpose here. Tell us who you came with, their identities and backgrounds, or I’ll rip out your soul and burn it with the Fire of the Nine Netherworlds."

"No, no, I’ll talk! I’ll talk!" Zhang Sanggu blurted out in terror. She immediately understood Wang Yuanfeng was not to be trifled with. At first, she’d thought they were merely enemies of her eldest brother, Zhang Xiangzi, but now she realized these people were from the Snake Cave of Cleaver Axe Mountain. In their hands, life and death hung by a thread.

Her nerves tightened. The Fire of the Nine Netherworlds could torment a soul so unbearably that one would beg for death but be denied it; the agony would not lead to unconsciousness, and the soul’s awareness would remain excruciatingly clear, unable to scream or cry out—a most terrible torture. After a moment’s thought, she added anxiously, "If I tell you, will you promise not to kill me?"