Xiao Fuxuan's deep voice suddenly sounded: "Does it hurt badly?"

Wu Xingxue was taken aback. He answered, "No."

"Then why do you keep moving."

Wu Xingxue looked at the figure. "Before, the chains rattled, so it's understandable that you knew I was moving. The chains didn't make a sound this time, so how did you still know?"

"..."

Xiao Fuxuan was silent for a moment, then said, "They are rattling."

Wu Xingxue: "Oh."

...

Yi Wusheng, at the side, was about to lose it.

He thought, 'What kind of bizarre conversation is this between a Demon Lord and a High Immortal?'

He was just about to play dead to the end when he suddenly heard the Demon Lord ask, "How much longer until we reach Great Sorrow Valley?"

Yi Wusheng was prodded by Xiao Fuxuan's sword. Unable to keep up the act, he resignedly opened his eyes.

Right, certain High Immortals rarely traveled this way in the Mortal Realm and truly couldn't answer such a question.

"It's very far," Yi Wusheng said, clutching the paper. "And after what happened in Great Sorrow Valley all those years ago, there are Restrictions left by the Immortal Sects all along the way. An ordinary carriage of the common folk would take a month. The Hua Family's spirit horses can read maps and bypass some of the Restrictions. Three days, I suppose."

He really couldn't stand being stared at by both the Demon Lord and the High Immortal in this darkness, so he raised a hand and touched a golden rivet on the carriage wall.

The next moment, a bean-sized flame lit up inside the carriage.

The lamps in the Hua Family's carriages were specially made. The oil was mixed with spiritual pills and medicinal powders, making them not only windproof but also able to ward off some simple Evil Demons and malevolent spirits.

There were myriad living beings in the world, and many things that ordinary commoners feared.

The most rampant Evil Demons nowadays had originally come into being because someone had practiced the Evil Demon path; they "arose from the living."

Those that "arose from the dead" were all considered Yin Creatures.

Evil Demons congregated in Zhaoye City. Yin Creatures were different; the more desolate and uninhabited a place was, the more scattered with graves and tombs, the more likely one was to encounter them.

One would often encounter some Yin Creatures on the road to Great Sorrow Valley. Some had been starving for who knew how long and could smell the scent of a living person from dozens of miles away. For a taste of something fresh, they would often secretly cling to the backs of travelers, or to the top or bottom of their carriages.

In the past, Great Sorrow Valley was a necessary route between several large cities. The disciples of the Immortal Sects also had to pass through here once every ten days to gather spiritual items from the Endless Sea.

To prevent being entangled by those Yin Creatures midway and causing unexpected trouble, the carriages of every Immortal Sect would be equipped with a few of these specially made Filth-Expelling Lamps.

Yi Wusheng lit the lamp out of habit.

But as soon as it was lit, he saw Wu Xingxue opposite him turn his face away, his eyes half-closed, as if he really disliked the light.

"..."

'Oh, right. This lamp wards off Yin Creatures and Evil Demons.'

And sitting right in front of him was the head of the Evil Demons.

Yi Wusheng's fingers stiffened. Unsure if he should ask for help in advance, he silently glanced at the High Immortal Tianxiu.

He then saw the High Immortal Tianxiu frown slightly and turn his head to look at the glass lampshade on the carriage wall.

The two characters for "Filth-Expelling" were written on the lampshade. His gaze swept over them before he looked away again, his expression neutral.

The next instant, the lamp went out with a 'puff'.

'Brilliant.'

The carriage returned to darkness.

Yi Wusheng clutched the torn paper, his lips beneath the black cloth moving slightly. In the end, he didn't say a word and huddled there in resignation. He thought: 'Fine, if the lamp is out, it's out.'

The Demon Lord opposite him had gone quiet for some reason.

The carriage was quiet for a good while.

After a long time, Yi Wusheng heard Wu Xingxue say, "When we pass the city outskirts in a bit, could I trouble you, sir, to pick up two people?"

Yi Wusheng thought, 'Not at all, not at all, how would I dare find it troublesome?'

"Who might they be?" he asked.

Wu Xingxue said, "The people I was traveling with before. My family's underlings, I suppose?"

"..."

'Family's...'

'Underlings...'

'What could Wu Xingxue's family's underlings be?'

'Does this mean I have to give a ride to two more little demon lords?'

While Yi Wusheng was sighing internally, on the side of a mountain road in the outskirts of Chunfan City, Ning Huaishan and Duan Bi were squatting on a rock, resting their elbows on their knees.

They saw that not far away, at the city exit, sword-bearing disciples of the Hua Family were hurrying back and forth, pasting something onto two divine statues. From a distance, it looked like a notice.

Ning Huaishan felt like puking whenever he saw the divine statues and originally didn't want to go over.

But he was too curious, so he dragged Duan Bi along, sidling over. From a distance of eight zhang from the statues, he saw the contents of the notice.

The notice was full of long-winded official language. In summary, it boiled down to just two sentences at most—

Two righteous heroes have helped my Peach Blossom Isle solve a great problem.

These two, along with the Elder of our Four Halls, Yi Wusheng, are now heading to Great Sorrow Valley. They are not to be obstructed on their journey in and out of cities.

Two portraits were attached below the notice.

The artists of the Hua Family were exceptionally skilled, a fact evident from the portrait of their ancestor, Hua Xin. Therefore, as long as one had eyes, one could recognize who was in the two portraits with a single glance.

Ning Huaishan stared at the person in the portrait with a bizarre expression, nudged Duan Bi, and said, "Look familiar? The clothes?"

Duan Bi was expressionless. After a long pause, he said in a hoarse voice, "Familiar. Our City Lord and his puppet."

Ning Huaishan then stared at the four words "righteous heroes" with an even more bizarre expression and said, "Has the Hua Family gone mad, or have the two of us gone blind?"

Duan Bi: "Hard to say."

The two stared at each other for a long time before Duan Bi slowly spoke, "I've been wanting to say this for a while. You really don't think there's a problem with the City Lord?"

Ning Huaishan didn't speak.

After another while, Duan Bi said, "The more I think about it, the more it feels wrong. What do you think?"

After a long moment, Ning Huaishan said, "So?"

Duan Bi said, "If he's really an imposter, I can't let him get away with it. Who am I supposed to ask about this arm of mine?"

Ning Huaishan thought for a moment, then licked his teeth and waved his hand grandly, "Wait!"

"When he leaves the city, we'll give him a good scare."

"If he's really messing with us, we'll make him cry and beg for help."

The author has something to say:

Underlings: Danger.