He Yuzhu returns in Siheyuan

Chapter 781 It turned out to be a misunderstanding

A series of magical explosions erupted in the arena, their blinding brilliance almost tearing the night apart. At times, sharp ice spikes flew through the air, whistling with biting cold; at others, raging flames shot into the sky, scorching the surrounding air; at still others, millstone-sized boulders tumbled down from mid-air, cratering the ground; and at still others, thick vines grew wildly, coiling around their opponents like serpents. The roars, the clanging of clashing magical artifacts, and the buzzing of demonic and spiritual energies resounded, shaking the surrounding vegetation and carpeting the ground with fallen leaves.

After an unknown amount of time, the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn. Both sides were panting heavily, and each bore injuries to varying degrees. The evil wolf's shoulder was slashed by the snake demon's fangs, the wound turning a strange dark purple, the venom slowly spreading through its veins; the snake demon was also in bad shape, several scales on its back were torn off, revealing the mangled flesh beneath, blood seeping from the gaps in the scales; several silver threads of Qingyi's whisk were broken, the once neat tassels now somewhat disheveled, his face pale, clearly exhausted; the fox demon opposite him was somewhat ethereal, its original bewitching charm faded considerably, it seemed maintaining its human form was becoming difficult; the fourth brother clutched the wound on his side, panting heavily, the blood on his short knife already somewhat dried; Xiong Da had a deep, bone-revealing knife wound on his arm, the flesh turned outwards, a horrifying sight; the eldest brother leaned on his double axes, his face as pale as paper, clearly exhausted of spiritual energy; and Xiong Er's forehead was slashed by a stone spike, blood flowing down his brow bone, smearing half his face.

After a final, violent collision, both sides staggered back several steps, the earth beneath their feet churning. They stared warily at each other, their eyes weary yet still guarded, neither making the first move. The cold moonlight bathed them, illuminating their disheveled yet defiant faces. Both were breathing heavily, their labored breaths echoing clearly in the silent forest—further fighting would only result in mutual destruction. The evil wolf let out a low, labored breath, and the snake demon slowly retracted its forked tongue. This fierce battle had ultimately ended in a draw.

Qingyi gently combed through the remaining silver strands on his whisk. He hadn't really intended to fight these demons to the death. After all, most of the demons were gathered together, especially this fox demon, who was connected to the entire fox clan—he vaguely remembered that the sect leader had had some friendship with the fox clan elders in his early years, and it was really not advisable to make things too tense.

He composed himself, looked at the fox demon opposite him, and softened his tone: "Alright, since the outcome is decided, there's no point in continuing the fight. You've been blocking my way in the middle of the night for a reason, so tell me, what do you want?"

The fox demon licked the blood from the corner of her lips, knowing that it was impossible to end the battle easily today. She glanced at her equally exhausted companions, then at Qingyi and the others, and finally relented, her tone softening: "Actually... it's like this. We have a junior in our clan named Xiaoli who left with a mortal named He Yuzhu a few days ago. We were worried about her, so we came to check on her. That's all, it's that simple."

Her words were half-truths, but inwardly she muttered to herself—how could she dare say her real purpose was to capture He Yuzhu? In that great battle years ago, He Yuzhu was the only mortal to survive, while the few surviving demons were all mentally confused and unable to elicit any information about what had happened. The clan elders suspected He Yuzhu was involved in the incident, which was why they sent them to "invite" him back for questioning and to uncover the truth of what happened. They simply hadn't expected Qingyi and her group to appear out of nowhere, disrupting their entire plan.

Qingyi frowned slightly upon hearing her words—He Yuzhu? The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he'd heard it before. He observed the fox demon's expression discreetly, and seeing the flicker in her eyes, he knew there was more to it than met the eye. However, he didn't expose her immediately, waiting to see what she would do next.

Unexpectedly, he encountered four formidable opponents, including Elder Qingyi. After several rounds of fighting, the fourth brother gradually lost ground, sustaining several wounds. He had no choice but to withdraw his attacks and honestly explain the whole story.

Elder Qingyi's gaze fell on the fourth brother, his whisk gently resting on his arm, his tone somewhat serious: "What exactly happened? Tell me everything clearly, don't hide anything."

The fourth brother looked somewhat embarrassed, scratching his head with a hand still covered in dirt from the fight between his fingers. "I didn't ask any questions at the time. I just saw these demons lurking suspiciously outside the valley, their eyes fixed on the direction where the sect leader was in seclusion. I thought they were up to something, so in a moment of panic, I attacked first." As he spoke, he secretly glanced at the fox demon beside him, afraid that the fox demon might take the opportunity to turn the tables on him.

Elder Qingyi turned to look at the fox demon, his brows furrowing slightly: "Since it was an unintentional mistake, why didn't you explain earlier? Why did you have to wait until a fight broke out before you would stop?"

The fox demon also looked aggrieved. Its fluffy tail gently swept the ground, stirring up a few fallen leaves. It cupped its hands to Elder Qingyi and said, "Elder, as you know, the demon race has strict orders that we are not allowed to leave the mountain at will. When I saw this fellow Daoist rushing over aggressively, carrying a weapon, I thought he was a cultivator sent by the human race to capture us. How could I dare to say anything? I could only take action to protect myself first. After all, we demons live in constant fear in human territory."

In truth, the fox demon had other plans in mind—it seemed that his previous plan to take He Yuzhu hostage was no longer feasible. With an expert like Elder Qingyi in charge, a direct confrontation would only result in heavy losses. It would be better to back down gracefully and first ascertain the other party's strengths and weaknesses. He softened his tone and put on a smile: "Alas, in the end, it was all a misunderstanding. It's caused everyone to lose their harmony and suffer so many wounds. It's really not worth it."

Elder Qingyi turned and glared at the fourth brother, his eyes filled with a hint of helplessness: "You, you always act so rashly, you can't keep your composure at all. Next time you encounter something, you must investigate the cause before taking action, understand?"

The fourth brother nodded hurriedly, his tone sincere: "Elder is right to reprimand me. I was indeed reckless this time. I acted rashly without investigating properly, which caused such a big misunderstanding. Please forgive me, Elder and fellow demons."

Then, Elder Qingyi looked at the fox demon and spoke more politely: "Fellow Daoist Fox Demon, may I ask your name? So that we can address each other in the future."

The fox demon grinned, revealing sharp canine teeth, which added to his憨厚 (honest and simple) appearance: "Elder, you're too kind. Just call me Xiao Shuai."