Chapter 642: Just Who Are You?

The demon bailiff's words made Fu Hongmei's heart clench.

He swallowed hard and glanced around.

Mo Yuan had naturally heard the demon bailiff as well. He made no scene, simply glancing at the Mister beside him.

Chen Changsheng said nothing either.

Seeing Fu Hongmei looking about, the demon bailiff offered another warning. "Let me give you one more piece of advice. Up and to your right, a little thing has been eyeing you for quite a while."

Fu Hongmei froze. 'Up and to the right...'

'It followed us the whole way...'

'How is that possible? Why didn't I notice it at all?'

"Little mice," the demon bailiff continued, "I strongly advise you to turn back right now. Otherwise, going about like this, there probably won't be anything left of you tomorrow but bones."

Fu Hongmei swallowed again, the fear in his heart unfurling completely.

Chen Changsheng turned back to look at him. "Instructor Fu, this is far enough. The night is already deep."

Fu Hongmei snapped back to reality. "No, um..."

He kept glancing around, panic written all over his face.

Seeing him like this, Mo Yuan teased, "There are no bandits on this mountain, so there's no need to be so terrified."

Fu Hongmei opened his mouth, but in his fluster, he couldn't even form the words.

Mo Yuan patted his shoulder and smiled. "Alright, this is where we part. We'll meet again in the jianghu."

"Or maybe..." Fu Hongmei stammered.

"You should really head back. The road ahead truly isn't safe."

Mo Yuan said, "Don't worry. We've walked all this way, haven't we? We haven't seen a single bandit."

"That's because—" Fu Hongmei's voice caught in his throat as he glanced back at the demon bailiff behind him.

Mo Yuan patted his shoulder one more time. "We're leaving."

Fu Hongmei could only watch. He reached out to grab them, but grasped nothing but empty air.

His gaze darted toward the nearby woods.

'Where is it... Where is it... Just where could it be...'

In his panic, his legs began to tremble.

He looked down the path again, only to see that Chen Changsheng and Mo Yuan had already walked quite a distance.

Clenching his fists inside his sleeves, Fu Hongmei turned back to the demon bailiff. "My lord, my lord..."

"Could I beg you to help them?"

The demon bailiff shook his head. "Don't make this difficult for me. I just do things by the book. If it's not my business, I can't intervene."

Fu Hongmei swallowed hard, his arms trembling.

He hated his own incompetence.

Yet the impulse in his heart was crushed by his sheer powerlessness.

Watching the two of them fade further down the path, Fu Hongmei stood at the intersection, staring at the dense woods on the adjacent slope.

The demon bailiff said, "Just leave it be and head back. As the saying goes, life and death are fated, aren't they?"

Fu Hongmei ignored the bailiff's words. His eyes kept sweeping back and forth across the mountain, searching for the demon the bailiff had mentioned.

"Is that demon... powerful?"

"Not particularly. But it's more than enough to kill two mortals."

The demon bailiff yawned. "Alright, are you going back or not? I don't want to stand around waiting here."

Fu Hongmei's heart suddenly jumped—he caught a flash of light in the woods.

At that exact moment, Chen Changsheng and Mo Yuan happened to step into the shadow of the trees at the bend in the road.

"Look out!"

Fu Hongmei shouted, suddenly sprinting forward.

Seeing this, the demon bailiff muttered, "Idiot."

He might not have possessed any extraordinary abilities, but when it came to sheer speed, he could outrun countless demons.

As the distance closed, Fu Hongmei saw a dark figure dart out from the woods, hurtling straight toward Chen Changsheng.

Hearing the shout, Chen Changsheng paused and looked back.

A vicious glint flashed across the suddenly revealed demon's face. Baring its sharp claws, it kicked off the ground and redirected its murderous charge toward Fu Hongmei.

"You dare ruin my plans?! Then I'll kill you first!"

Its claws whistled sharply through the air as it lunged for him.

Fu Hongmei's heart seized. In that split second, his mind went blank.

Watching those razor-sharp claws close in, he squeezed his eyes shut in terror, his entire being trembling violently.

'A moment of hotheadedness...'

'Just a moment of hotheadedness...'

In truth, Fu Hongmei regretted it.

Had he known it would end like this, he never would have rushed forward so recklessly without any preparation.

But it was too late for that now.

"You really have a lot of nerve."

A faint voice suddenly sounded right beside Fu Hongmei's ear.

Squelch.

Warm blood splashed across his face, looking exceptionally grisly in the moonlight.

Fu Hongmei let out a muffled groan, convinced he had just met his end.

Yet the agonizing pain he expected never came.

A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes.

He looked ahead.

His eyes widened in shock. Stumbling backward in sheer terror, he collapsed heavily to the ground.

Right in front of him, the vicious demon from moments ago had its chest completely pierced through by a single hand. A bloody arm protruded from its heart, a torrent of blood spilling freely from the wound.

The demon's life force was snuffed out in an instant.

And standing behind the creature was someone Fu Hongmei knew all too well.

Mo Yuan withdrew his hand.

Thud.

The corpse hit the ground and instantly reverted to its true form.

Looking closely, it was a tiger demon with distinctive stripes on its forehead. Its sharp fangs were still bared, and its eyes remained wide open in death, as if it had died harboring a deep grievance.

Mo Yuan shook his hand, and the bloodstains instantly faded away.

He looked down at Fu Hongmei. "Instructor Fu, snap out of it."

Prompted by Mo Yuan's voice, Fu Hongmei slowly regained his bearings.

His eyes were still filled with utter shock. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

The man standing before him was obviously familiar, yet right now, he gave Fu Hongmei a feeling far more terrifying than that vicious tiger demon ever could.

For a split second just now...

Fu Hongmei had sensed a majestic wave of Demonic Power—and it came from Mo Yuan.

He never could have imagined that this Brother Mo, whom he had spent the last few days traveling with, was actually such a...

His lips parted slightly. "Brother Mo..."

Chen Changsheng walked over from behind Mo Yuan. "Did you really have to be so frightening about it?"

Mo Yuan turned to look at the Mister, his face instantly shifting back into that familiar, cheeky grin. "I just couldn't hold back in the moment. Please don't blame me, Mister."

Fu Hongmei slowly pushed himself up from the ground.

Only now did he realize that the two men before him were anything but ordinary.

"You..."

"Just who are you two?"

Mo Yuan looked at him, thought for a moment, and said, "I don't think that's important."

Hearing this answer, Fu Hongmei was entirely at a loss for words.

Chen Changsheng, on the other hand, cupped his hands in a polite salute. "Thank you for risking your life to save us, Instructor Fu."

"I..." Fu Hongmei stammered.

'Just who saved who here?'

Chen Changsheng said, "If you ever run into any difficulties in Donglin Ward in the future, Instructor Fu, you can seek out the city god for help. This Chen has some ties with him, and he would be willing to afford me some face."

Mo Yuan stood off to the side.

He stared at Fu Hongmei, still genuinely puzzled. He couldn't help but wonder exactly what kind of mindset had compelled this man to charge forward like that.

Chen Changsheng added, "It's getting late. Please head back, Instructor Fu. The underworld deputy has been waiting for a while."

Fu Hongmei snapped out of his daze and turned to look back.

Not too far down the mountain path, the same demon bailiff from before was standing with his arms crossed, waiting. Even through his mask, a clear look of astonishment was visible in his eyes.