“What would I need to know that for?” Han Jie completely ignored the anticipation brimming in the girl’s bright, clear eyes. He turned his head and continued staring at the petty thief demons struggling in the mist, waiting to die.
Meng Qingtong was met with a cold shoulder and pursed her lips awkwardly. Then, with her free hand, she patted her cheeks, clenched her fist to cheer herself on, and said with a smile, “What if I said that knowing an evil demon’s true name lets me obtain threads of its karma, and that in the end, there’s a very good chance I can piece together the reason they formed?”
Han Jie’s right palm tightened, pressing the misty expanse several inches lower. To cover it up, he went with the motion and activated his spiritual power, making the killing intent within the fog even denser. In the blink of an eye, the two batches of petty thief demons were ground away until nothing remained.
As he drew his sword, Meng Qingtong also reacted quickly, lifting the suppression on the spirit formation on her body so that it no longer attracted more evil demons. Smiling, she said, “Not easy, huh? You old man have finally shown a bit of interest.”
Han Jie released his hand, and the misty expanse turned into wisps of spiritual thread that returned to his soul. He stared at the petty thief demon twisting and writhing in Meng Qingtong’s hand and asked, “So this is your secret?”
Meng Qingtong nodded and said softly, “A constitution that attracts evil demons isn’t really much of a secret. Plenty of people know about it. The note they gave me in the Second Institute’s files is literally ‘the girl who attracts evil demons.’ But this matter of evil demons’ true names—only a handful of people know about that.”
She lifted the petty thief demon and slapped it on its furry backside. “I’ve been testing it over and over. It was only recently that I became familiar with the specific method and confirmed the effect of true names.”
“What effect?”
“It’s hard to explain clearly…” Meng Qingtong hesitated, then extended her free left hand toward him. “I’ll demonstrate it for real in a moment. I’ll open up my divine sense, and you can feel it for yourself.”
Han Jie did not take her hand. Instead, his brows furrowed again. “Miss Meng, divine sense is connected to the sea of consciousness. For you to rashly open it to me like this… isn’t very appropriate, is it?”
In his past understanding, even dual cultivation partners might not be willing to do such a thing. After all, with an undefended sea of divine sense laid bare before them, a spiritual cultivator with even a bit of strength could do far too much.
Meng Qingtong was both angry and amused. “Great Gentleman Han, no matter how handsome you are, I’m not such a lovesick fool. I’m covered head to toe in talismans and formations. If you really had bad intentions, even if I couldn’t resist you, I could still drag us both down together. Could you please stop acting like I’m some woman who can’t give herself away?”
“It’s just shared perception. Stop dawdling.” She muttered and shook her hand, a little impatient.
What she had not expected was that Han Jie’s hesitation was not only because he feared there might be consequences from her lowering her guard. There were also reasons on his own side.
Though his life could be considered exceedingly long, of those nearly two thousand years, more than eighteen hundred had been spent concentrating every ounce of his mind on reforging his body, and more than a hundred had been spent roaming about slaughtering demons while carrying a blood feud on his back. His interactions with women were pitifully few. In that regard, his experience was probably inferior to that of a likable little boy who had just started school in this world. Even the Heart-Bewitching Birds among the evil demons, who were most adept at using romantic feelings between men and women as a method, had been utterly helpless against him.
So he was also helpless against Meng Qingtong’s hand—opening divine sense, shared perception, and holding hands on top of that… was that not a little too intimate?
Meng Qingtong blinked twice, looked at her own left palm, and said quietly, “Are you that particular? It only got a little dirty when I braced myself landing. Fine, fine, I’ll wash it with the water I’m carrying. Help me hold this little guy, don’t let it take the chance to run.”
“No need.” Han Jie suppressed the warmth on his face, turned his gaze aside, and reached out to gently hold the tip of her index finger. “I don’t think it’s dirty.”
Meng Qingtong stared wide-eyed at his hand. The web between his thumb and forefinger had only encircled one joint of her finger, and he had not used any force at all. She observed Han Jie’s expression and, after confirming that he was not saying one thing while secretly thinking it was dirty, held back a laugh and gently tugged her finger free. Then, with a turn of her hand, she grabbed his large palm instead. “As long as you don’t think it’s dirty. Then I’m starting.”
Han Jie turned his face even farther away, twisting lines into his neck. He did not reply, only gave a hum.
If they had been familiar enough for her to know where the limits of joking were, Meng Qingtong really would have liked to scratch his palm and see whether he would jump in fright.
No matter how she looked at him, he was clearly a pure-hearted, ancient-style beauty of a youth who always liked to keep a stern face. She truly could not connect him with some senior who had lived nearly two thousand years, and could not help becoming cheeky.
She steadied herself, pinched the petty thief demon whose features were growing increasingly hideous, and lifted it before her chest. After taking several deep breaths, she did not mobilize the flowing spiritual energy of heaven and earth around her at all. Instead, she only used the spiritual power stored within her own body to slowly wrap around it. At the same time, she quietly explained to Han Jie, who had already begun sharing perception with her, “The more times my spiritual power comes into contact with an evil demon, and the longer it lasts, the more complete the information I can obtain. That information may include the evil demon’s true name. Once I know the true name, the information I can obtain becomes more… fundamental.”
“I’ve already made contact with petty thief demons several times before, which is why I had this plan. I believe its true name will appear very soon…”
Her words were soon verified.
In the state of shared perception, Han Jie could clearly sense that something deep within Meng Qingtong’s soul was connecting to the evil demon. It was like a swaying floating bridge had been erected within a torrent of spiritual energy, allowing cargoes of information to pass through with difficulty.
The information was chaotic, disordered, and so complex it was difficult to understand. But Meng Qingtong had long since found an effective method. In the blink of an eye, her divine sense captured a strange word—Xuedun.
Sensing her delight, Han Jie asked in confusion, “This… is the petty thief demon’s true name?”
“Mm. Concentrate. Now is the time to dig out more through the true name!” Meng Qingtong’s eyes shone as she summoned more spiritual power to revolve constantly around the Xuedun under her control.
That Xuedun suddenly went berserk. Its claws and sharp teeth grew several inches, and a chilling red light burst from its ashen eyes.
But the talisman she had slapped onto it earlier had been prepared precisely for this moment. Spiritual light flared, and several faint purple bolts of lightning instantly struck the top of the Xuedun’s head. It let out a long, piercing scream, twitched several times, and slowly turned into ash particles that scattered with the wind in Meng Qingtong’s hand.
She flipped her right hand and continued maintaining the ring of spiritual power, binding all of the remnant aura the Xuedun left behind within it, doing her utmost to prolong the duration of contact.
At this moment, Han Jie finally discovered what was hidden behind the evil demon’s true name through shared perception.
Countless chaotic, blurred images and sounds surged and flowed, like a river of memory fragments charging straight at Meng Qingtong. Normally speaking, only the portion that struck her directly could be identified and captured by her. But perhaps her special constitution that attracted evil demons took effect here as well, for even the fragments flowing past the sides were like iron filings rushing toward a magnet, merging into her memories.
His breath hitched, and his mind was instantly drowned by those incomprehensible scenes.
If Meng Qingtong had not promptly acted as a guide for him in the domain of divine sense, helping him understand the general meaning of those scenes, then even with shared perception, what he perceived in the end would have been nothing but a fog of confusion…
A trembling old woman pulling roll after roll of public toilet paper in the restroom.
A fashionably dressed young man sitting by a table, continuously stuffing roasted meat and chicken drumsticks from the buffet into a schoolbag lined with a plastic bag.
A middle-aged peasant woman with a smile all over her face, taking advantage of a customer looking at their phone to swap the packed vegetables for another bag kept under the stall.
A lean, sturdy, dark-skinned man throwing bags of construction materials over a wall one after another under the cover of night.
A bored-looking yellow-haired student casually pulling a new pen refill from the drawer of the desk beside him.
…Even though he understood what these varied yet similar scenes were about, Han Jie still did not understand what any of it had to do with Xuedun.
It felt as if a long time had passed, but in reality, the assault of information lasted only a few breaths.
Meng Qingtong let out a long breath and released Han Jie’s hand. “It’s over.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. It was quite clear and intuitive.” As she spoke, she took out her phone from her backpack, opened a document, and rapidly entered text. “Looks like, barring any surprises, the entry for Xuedun won’t need further supplementation.”
“What exactly do those things from just now have to do with the origins of evil demons?” Han Jie saw that she was focused on typing and had not intended to disturb her, but he was truly curious and could not help asking, “And what are you doing now?”
“What we saw just now were clues to the root of an evil demon’s appearance found through the true name in conjunction with divine sense perception. Xuedun is comparatively weak, so these clues were very direct. To put it plainly, isn’t it just that bit of petty, profit-seeking mentality people often have?” Meng Qingtong was very excited. Her pace of speech had quickened considerably, and a faint blush appeared on her tender cheeks. “Now I’m even more certain. To find the root of evil demons, we have to work in the direction of the human heart.”
Han Jie was briefly startled. Then a chill crawled all over his body, and he could not help saying in a deep voice, “You mean to say that the root from which all evil demons are born is actually… within the human heart?”
Seeing that his expression was off, Meng Qingtong hurriedly said, “No, how could I jump to conclusions so arbitrarily? Counting everything, the evil demons I’ve thoroughly investigated amount to only two, and Xuedun is only the third. With such a small sample size, it has no statistical value. You… what’s wrong? Your face looks awful. Are you really hungry? I’m done here, so let’s pack up and go. I’ll treat you to something good, how about it?”
Han Jie steadied his emotions, no longer revealing the slightest flaw in his expression. He said blandly, “Perhaps I am indeed hungry. Let’s pack up first. Oh, right—you still haven’t told me what those things you wrote just now were.”
“The struggle against evil demons is bound to be a long process. Since I have such a useful talent, of course I have to find a way to help everyone deal with evil demons better and more efficiently.” As she tidied her backpack, she spoke carelessly, as if chatting. “So I plan to make a comprehensive encyclopedia of evil demons, compiling detailed information on them for all spiritual cultivators to refer to. I know you’re definitely thinking this task is too huge and that there’s no way I can handle it. That’s why I’m working hard to find partners. Besides… no matter how difficult a goal is, it only has the possibility of being achieved if someone actually tries. Once I’ve made some progress and become persuasive, I’ll be able to find more people to help.”
Han Jie gazed at her and slowly said, “Have you ever considered that if evil demons truly come from the human heart, then this mortal world… will never know peace?”
“How could that be?” she replied with a smile. “I believe that no matter how the process rises and falls, no matter how it goes up and down, this world and the human heart are both becoming better and better. Yes, there will always be good and bad in the human world, but… if there is more and more good, and less and less bad, that’s already very good. One day, evil demons will decrease to the point where spirit arts practitioners can easily resolve all the trouble they cause. Wouldn’t that be peace in the mortal world?”
“Besides…” She picked up another photo recovered this time and waved it at Han Jie. “Don’t think all evil demons deserve to die, either. If they really all come from the human heart, then I believe there will also be good parts.”
In the photo was a man and woman who looked like a couple, one handsome and the other elegant and beautiful. They seemed rather well matched, except there appeared to be a trace of timidity in the woman’s brows and eyes, unlike the spirited confidence of her male companion.
“Good parts? Does it have something to do with this object called a photo?”
She carefully put the photo away and nodded. “This is my commission. Come with me, and I’ll show you that evil demons aren’t all that hateful. I’ve even been thinking that if my conjecture is truly verified in the future, maybe I should call for them to be renamed heart demons. Tsk… the word ‘demon’ is still too negative. I’ll think about it again later.”
Han Jie raised his head and looked toward the sky, his heart filled with confusion. Even the heart sword he had just withdrawn resonated with it.
It was not that he had never considered the possibility that evil demons originated from the human heart. In truth, the clues he had noticed before had all pointed toward this answer. He had simply been unwilling to admit it.
Because once he believed this result, his grand vow to exterminate the evil demons of the mortal world would become a joke that could never be realized.
Why was it that cities where massive populations gathered were more likely to suffer evil demons passing through?
Why was it that, among spirit arts, the heart sword’s restraint against evil demons was so unreasonably powerful?
Why did evil demons appear without any warning, and disperse without a trace after death?
Why were some powerful evil demons able to manipulate people’s seven emotions and six desires as if they could see through the heart and soul?
The human heart bred evil demons.
Thus, the more people there were in a place, the more evil demons there would be.
Thus, only the heart sword aspect, which likewise originated from inner power, could slaughter demons like mowing grass.
Thus… Meng Qingtong’s deduction was most likely the true answer.
He gazed at the boundless firmament and thought: Could this be what that exalted immortal beyond the realm wanted me to see?
Meng Qingtong swiftly finished packing up, even collecting almost all the scattered items over by the battlefield. Seeing him dazed and distracted, she came over, raised her hand, spread her five fingers, and waved them in front of his eyes. Smiling, she said, “Yoo-hoo, return, wandering soul. Let’s go. I’m treating you to a meal. Can we have a proper discussion about cooperation now? What secrets I have and what I plan to do—you already know it all clearly. I trust you this much, so help me, okay?”
“I…” His brows furrowed slightly. He only felt hollow and empty in his chest and abdomen, unable to muster the energy to do anything. “I still need to consider it a little longer.”
Yet for some reason, seeing Meng Qingtong’s disappointed and dejected appearance made his heart ache a little.
Since that was the case, then at the very least, he should first offer her an equal measure of honesty.
He cleared his throat and said in a low voice, “Miss Meng, there’s another little secret I haven’t told you.”
Meng Qingtong waved a hand magnanimously. “Who doesn’t have a few secrets? Even married couples can’t tell each other absolutely everything, right? We only met today. I told you my secret to persuade you to cooperate with me. You can keep yours to yourself. Anyway, I’m the one chasing after you right now.”
“I want to say that you shouldn’t trust me so lightly,” Han Jie said slowly. “Earlier, when I tried to save you, it was not out of the pure kindness you misunderstood it to be. It was because, deep within your soul, I sensed a strange thread of attraction. It had a great deal to do with me, and that was why I chased after you and jumped down.”
Meng Qingtong tilted her head and sized him up, her fan-like lashes fluttering twice. “You mean… you were attracted by my constitution, and that’s why you jumped down after me?”
That seemed more or less to be the meaning. After pondering briefly, he nodded.
Meng Qingtong scratched her head in some distress. “You’re not suspecting, because of this, that you’re actually an evil demon, are you?”