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Chapter 5: Mistress Ming
"Meow—"
The cat spirit appeared to be searching for something as it prowled about with its eerie, lifeless, and terrifyingly strange eyes. With a light leap, it stirred up a swirling gust of chilling wind, heading straight for the private quarters of the Ming Residence.
Chu Liang obviously wouldn't allow it to advance any further. If allowed to remain in this world, an entity with such strong vengeance would undoubtedly harm people.
"Sword Manipulation Technique! Activate!"
Chu Liang pointed the sword toward the sky, and the flying sword transformed into a streak of flowing light, swiftly shooting away.
"Meowww—"
The moment the sword light shot out, the cat demon let out a strange cry. It fixed its strange eyes on Chu Liang and swiftly transformed into a black shadow, dodging the flying sword. Then, it turned back and pounced towards Chu Liang.
In retaliation against Chu Liang's strike, the cat spirit launched a fast and fierce assault with a strong surge of bloodlust. It was aggressive and relentless!
Chu Liang dodged in a flash, narrowly evading the pounce, but a tear appeared in his clothing.
The cat spirit's body landed on the ground, leaving two bloody marks as it scratched the surface.
However, a beam of swordlight had already caught up to the monster. It was Chu Liang's flying sword!
Swish!
The swordlight swiftly slashed past, but the cat spirit's body contorted at a strange angle, narrowly dodging the fatal strike.
"MEE-ROOOOW."
The cat dodged, but its evasion was not entirely successful.
The swordlight left a deep wound on the cat spirit.
In an instant, black blood gushed from the wound, intensifying the surrounding surge of bloodlust around the cat spirit!
This is bad!
Chu Liang frowned.
This cat spirit, a unique amalgamation of entities, possessed the characteristics of an infant spirit. Any damage it received could be converted into attack power, making it even more powerful with the ability to deal greater damage. If it were not killed in one single strike, its opponent should be prepared to face an even stronger enemy!
This effect was immediately evident in the cat's increased speed!
Swish!
Like an invisible streak of black light, it reappeared behind Chu Liang in the blink of an eye, leaving behind two lightning-fast afterimages.
Chu Liang reacted quickly, summoning his flying sword back into his grasp, but there was no way to defend against the impending attack from behind!
His hair stood on end. Although it was silent, he knew that the cat spirit's sharp claws were about to strike!
In the nick of time, Chu Liang's right hand suddenly relaxed, and he shouted, "Bind!"
A streak of red light shot out from his sleeve like a spirit snake, instantly securing the cat spirit that had been about to strike Chu Liang's back.
Tortoise-shell bondage method!
Demon-Binding Rope!
"Meow-raaar—!" The cat spirit let out a painful cry, but its body plummeted to the ground uncontrollably.
What’s the most effective method when dealing with a highly agile foe? A movement-restricting tool!
And Chu Liang just so happened to have gotten the Demon-Binding Rope the day before yesterday in his hand.
Despite having an enchanted artifact, there was no guarantee he could hit the target. That's why he had taken the risky move of allowing the cat spirit to approach, all in order to use the Demon-Binding Rope at a closer range.
If the speed at which he hurled the Demon-Binding Rope had been any slower, the outcome of this fight would have been completely different. Had he not been patient enough or if the distance hadn't been close enough, the cat would have dodged the Demon-Binding Rope.
Nevertheless, he had won. With a casual flip of his body and a confident wave of his hand, the sword rose and fell.
With a single slash, the demon was slayed.
The spirit had no form. Once the demonic entity was slain, nothing remained but a golden silhouette, glimmering as it descended upon Chu Liang's body.
Just as the dust settled, the situation was resolved.
It had been a brief yet perilous battle. Compared to the spider demon he had encountered just the day before, this cat spirit, an amalgamation of various creatures, proved to be an even more formidable adversary.
He let out a deep breath. Before he could even notify the Ming Household, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps approaching from one direction. Led by Official Ming, a group of Ming Household servants rushed out.
"Oh, Young Hero Chu is truly formidable!"
"I had no doubt that Young Hero Chu would succeed."
"Young Hero Chu's skills are truly remarkable; he killed that evil entity in just a few strikes!"
"..."
The air was filled with everyone’s flattering words.
As Chu Liang watched this group celebrating, he was surprised by how adept they were at disappearing and reappearing suddenly.
...
The next morning, after a full night of rest, Chu Liang awoke feeling refreshed. Once he had washed up, a maid arrived to inform him that Official Ming had prepared a celebratory feast to honor Young Hero Chu's victory.
"I'll be there shortly," Chu Liang responded in a gentle tone.
Afterward, he took a leisurely stroll around the backyard and along the veranda before stopping in front of a splendid-looking door. Beyond it lay the bedroom of Official Ming and his mistress.
Knock-knock! Chu Liang knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" A soft and gentle voice from within inquired.
"It's Chu Liang. I've heard that the lady of the house isn't feeling well, so I've come to pay my respects," he responded.
There was a moment of silence before the lady's voice sounded from inside, "Ah, Young Hero Chu from the Mount Shu Sect. I appreciate your kind gesture, but I'm not in a state to host guests at the moment. Please, return."
In stark contrast to the warmth of Official Ming, Mistress Ming's voice was chilly.
"I have a special technique from the Mount Shu Sect that may help with your condition, madam. I can wait here until you are prepared for my visit."
After a brief pause, the sound of footsteps filled the air, followed by the creaking of the door as it swung open.
Mistress Ming emerged, her face showing traces of weariness. She was without makeup and wearing a simple home robe. Nevertheless, her complexion retained its fairness, and her features remained delicately beautiful.
Her presence was indeed captivating.
She led Chu Liang to a seat in front of a folding screen. The room was dim, so she lit a crimson candle and poured two cups of tea before saying, "I was simply startled. With Young Hero Chu defeating that creature last night, I'll be fully recovered by tomorrow. You needn't concern yourself further."
"Very well." Chu Liang nodded. "But... I'd like to discuss the matter of the cat spirit from last night."
"Oh?" Mistress Ming frowned and asked, "Young Hero Chu, what do you wish to discuss?"
"It's a matter of speculation," Chu Liang explained slowly. "The presence of that cat spirit last night was quite peculiar. It was an amalgamation of a vengeful spirit, a demonic spirit, and an infant spirit. This uniqueness piqued my curiosity. I'm wondering what could have drawn it to your residence..."
"Evil entities are meant to harm people. Is there a need for a reason?" Mistress Ming responded.
"There is a need. If it was a vengeful spirit, it would first seek the person who had taken their life... If it was an infant spirit, it would first seek its mother..." Chu Liang said, "However, this cat spirit has been lurking about in the Ming Residence for three consecutive days. Yet, it didn’t harm anyone. It’s as though it has been searching for something..."
"Searching for what?" Mistress Ming asked as a hint of hostility gleamed in her eyes.
"Official Ming said that your family has been doing good deeds for generations. Your family would never torture and hurt animals. In that case, was the entity searching for its own mother? It is a demonic spirit. Could its mother also be a demon?"
"Since that cat spirit emerged, you...seemed to be the only person in the Ming Residence who didn’t dare to show up," Chu Liang said, looking at Mistress Ming with a gentle gaze.
Mistress Ming scoffed and asked, "Young Hero Chu, are you saying that I am a demon?"
"We will find out the answer once we test it out," replied Chu Liang.
"Do you have a Demon-Revealing Mirror?" Mistress Ming said as she lifted her brow, appearing doubtful.
To discern the true form of a demonic entity, the demons themselves typically had to either willingly employ their demonic techniques, which would unleash their demonic aura, or some special divine spells. However, Chu Liang's cultivation level was not yet advanced enough to learn to cast divine spells.
It was either that or special enchanted artifacts and the most famous one would be the demon-revealing mirror.
Nevertheless, Demon-Revealing Mirrors were exceedingly rare. Rumors had it that one was housed in the mortal world's imperial palace and another in the Buddhist Cloud Monastery. The Mount Shu Sect possessed one as well, but would the higher-ups ever allow a junior disciple to take the mirror off the mountain? Hence, the question lingered, casting doubts upon whether Chu Liang truly possessed a demon-revealing mirror.
"No," Chu Liang replied, shaking his head, "But it's close enough."
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