Double Kill

What was even more terrifying was that when they turned Miss He over, her face was unrecognizable, a complete mess of blood and flesh.

Her facial features seemed to have been ground up and mixed together.

Lian Qiao sucked in a cold breath.

She had seen her fair share of gruesome sights, but such a cruel method was still rare.

For a moment, she remembered Lu Wu Jiu’s words and regretted not having gone next door.

But it was only for a moment. She quickly composed herself and reached out to check Miss He’s breath.

But it was obvious. She was beyond saving.

Zhou Jiannan entered a little later, his reaction even stronger than Lian Qiao’s. His legs went weak, and he had to lean on the doorframe to keep from kneeling.

Yan Wushuang was much calmer, but she still remarked with some emotion, “This demon is vicious enough, tsk tsk, even the fetus…”

Before she could finish, Zhou Jiannan, while covering his own eyes, clapped a hand over her mouth. “Don’t! Don’t say it.”

What was done was done. All they could do now was catch the culprit as soon as possible and let Miss He be buried in peace.

So Lian Qiao took out her compass to try and detect demonic energy, but after a full circle around Miss He’s boudoir, the needle didn’t move an inch.

She channeled her spiritual power again, extending the compass’s range to cover the entire He residence, but still there was no reaction.

It was truly strange. Usually, when a demon was causing trouble, even if she couldn’t track it, she could at least detect a trace of demonic energy.

At that moment, in the chaos, someone knocked over an oil lamp. Instantly, flames licked up the bed curtains, spreading all the way, and the entire wing was engulfed in a sea of fire.

Screams, the cracking of roof beams, and servants fleeing in terror…

The entire He residence was thrown into complete chaos.

Some fought the fire, some rescued people. By the time the fire was gradually brought under control, the night had passed.

Miss He’s body was now burned beyond recognition. Upon seeing this, Councilor He fainted on the spot. Gu Sheng’s eyes were red and swollen, regretting the harsh words he had spoken the day before. His voice hoarse, he tried to rush toward the charred remains, but the fire was not yet completely extinguished. The servants desperately held him back, barely managing to calm him.

Such genuine emotion, such heart-wrenching grief, it was unbearable to witness.

Suddenly, he seemed to see something and stumbled back, falling to the ground in terror.

“A demon! The heart-ripping demon, it was her!”

Lian Qiao immediately rushed over and scanned the area, but the compass didn’t even twitch. There was absolutely no trace of demonic energy. So she turned and asked Gu Sheng, “What demon? What did you see?”

Gu Sheng grabbed her sleeve, his expression panicked. “It was the demon! She came back! She must have been the one who killed Mei Niang!”

He was speaking incoherently, seemingly terrified, and kept shrinking back as if dodging something on the ground. Lian Qiao bent down for a closer look and realized it was a single white hair, seemingly from some kind of beast.

“Don’t touch it!” Gu Sheng immediately shielded his face with his sleeve, looking very frightened.

But Lian Qiao had already picked up the white hair. She sniffed it lightly. “Is this fox fur? Are you saying the demon that killed Miss He is a fox demon?”

Gu Sheng’s expression was dazed. “Indeed.”

Lian Qiao asked, surprised, “How would you know?”

A look of struggle appeared on Gu Sheng’s face. Yan Wushuang, being impatient, cursed, “Your wife and child were killed by this demon, what are you still hesitating for?”

Gu Sheng gritted his teeth and finally confessed everything. “Because—this fox demon was once my wife.”

The group was instantly stunned.

Gu Sheng seemed reluctant to recall the memory. “Actually, before Mei Niang, I had another wife. It was only later that I found out she was a fox demon…”

It turned out that Gu Sheng had been poor since childhood and had always lived in a village at the foot of a mountain, farming and studying. One day, while cutting firewood in the mountains, he came across an injured woman and rescued her.

By the time the woman’s injured foot had healed, the two had fallen in love over time and become husband and wife. But as time went on, he found himself growing weaker and weaker, suspecting he had contracted a strange illness.

At first, he sought medical help everywhere, but the medicine was useless. In desperation, he turned to praying to gods and buddhas. It just so happened that one day he met a passing cultivator. This cultivator pointed out the root of his problem, telling him that he was not sick, but had been entangled by a demon, his body full of demonic energy, and that there must be something unclean in his home.

Gu Sheng was greatly alarmed by this and invited the cultivator home. Sure enough, with a single formation, the cultivator forced his wife back into her original form.

It turned out she was a white fox that had been cultivating for a hundred years!

The white fox, its true nature exposed, went mad and tried to bite them to death. Fortunately, the cultivator’s skills were quite high. He ripped out her heart and burned it, thus saving Gu Sheng from a terrible fate.

Having said this, Gu Sheng recalled, “But that fox demon was cunning by nature. After the fire, I couldn’t find her remains and suspected she hadn’t died completely. For the past month, strange things have been happening in the town, and many of the victims had their hearts ripped out. I became increasingly suspicious that she had returned. Now that I’ve seen this fox fur, I can finally be certain.”

Lian Qiao understood. “You’re saying this fox demon has returned for revenge?”

Gu Sheng said, “It’s very much like her style. Because she was killed here, she hates everyone in the town. Because she hated the new wife, she specifically kills brides. A demon’s nature is cunning and truly unpredictable.”

Lian Qiao, however, thought, ‘A human cannot live without a heart, and a demon can’t live long without one either. Unless this fox demon had a fortuitous encounter with something, like, for example, the Kongtong Seal fragment they were looking for…’

She immediately pressed him, “When did this happen?”

Gu Sheng thought for a moment. “It was at the beginning of this year, only about five months ago.”

A few months. It was entirely possible.

But Lian Qiao suddenly discovered another troubling fact. This Miss He was at least four months pregnant. If Gu Sheng’s fox demon wife died just five months ago, wasn’t the timing a little too close?

It seemed this Gu Sheng was no good either.

He had just killed his first wife, and immediately turned around to seduce Miss He.

Recently, a richer and more beautiful widow had come to town, so he abandoned Miss He and started cozying up to the widow. Truly, you can know a person’s face but not their heart!

This was probably why Gu Sheng had been so reluctant to tell the truth.

He looked troubled, his head slightly bowed.

Lian Qiao had no intention of saying more. Catching the demon was the priority now. She pressed on, “Where was this fox demon killed?”

“At the West Mountain Pavilion.” Gu Sheng pointed to the highest peak among the distant mountains. “Right there. There’s a pavilion at the foot of the mountain.”

So Lian Qiao immediately set off for West Mountain to look for clues.

However, she hadn’t expected that the fire at the He residence not only kept them busy all night, but also alarmed the entire town.

By the time she left, a large crowd of onlookers had already gathered in front of the He residence, whispering amongst themselves, all talking about how tragically Miss He had died, about the misfortune of the Councilor’s family, and then turning to question Lian Qiao and the others.

“Are these immortals any good at all? How could Miss He have her heart ripped out by a demon right under their noses!”

“The demon must be too powerful. I’m afraid they can’t beat it.”

“I think it’s better to just let us out! If even Miss He can be killed, we probably won’t be able to escape either.”