Chapter 821: Brothers Reunited

Left Wuji smiled at Yan Fei and Lu Chengfeng.

“They have lost their will to fight, but there are always those who haven't given up…”

“Well said…” Yan Fei's voice, slightly low and weak, indicated he now had enough strength to speak.

“Has Grandmaster’s medicine started working?” “Brother Yan!”

“I’m fine. If it were an ordinary Xiantian martial artist, they might not have held on, but I have the protection of the Martial Fiend Primal Qi. Although it’s far from perfect, my injuries are only superficial. My previous unconsciousness was due to evil qi intrusion. Now, with the help of herbs, my true qi has suppressed that evil qi.”

“Grandmaster, Fourth Master, please both sit cross-legged. I will circulate my qi to help you recover.”

At this point, neither Yan Fei nor Lu Chengfeng stood on ceremony. Left Wuji first helped Yan Fei up, then Lu Chengfeng also got onto the bed. The two sat cross-legged side by side, while Left Wuji sat behind them, placing his hands on their backs to transfer his true qi.

It had to be said that Left Wuji’s true qi was remarkably effective in helping Yan Fei and Lu Chengfeng heal their injuries. His true qi, imbued with his own will, rapidly expelled the lingering evil qi from their bodies.

After a long while, Left Wuji concluded his session. Yan Fei and Lu Chengfeng’s complexions had significantly improved. After their wounds were bandaged, even Yan Fei regained simple mobility.

As dusk approached, Yan Fei’s breathing also grew stronger, which filled Left Wuji, who had been diligently guarding his two masters, with immense joy.

“Wuji, I’ve been half-conscious for the past two days. We are now in a difficult situation, in a country ruled by demons. Tell me what else you’ve discovered.”

As Yan Fei spoke, he instinctively reached to his side but grasped only air. His long sword, usually never leaving his side, was now gone.

Left Wuji smiled, picked up a hard wooden stick from under the bed, and handed it to Yan Fei.

“Grandmaster, please make do with this. You’ll definitely still need to kill demons.”

Yan Fei didn’t refuse. He took the wooden stick, tested it with a casual swing, and then placed it beside him. At his level of martial arts, grass, trees, bamboo, or stone could all serve as a sword, and even using his hand as a sword-finger was possible. However, they were certainly not as effective as his divine weapon, and a longer weapon always had an advantage.

“Masters, I’ve been carefully observing the situation in the city these past two days. I’ve found that aside from demons appearing on the outer city walls, there are almost no evil creatures within the city itself. Of course, it’s also possible they’ve transformed, and I can’t discern them.

“Every evening, some people arrive pulling carts to deliver goods. The carts carry muddy, red-skinned melons and fruits, as well as corn cobs and beans. The people delivering these goods look numb. They seem to observe us with curiosity but never say much. I don’t know when they were captured. Oh, and most of their clothes are coarse and worn.

“Then, whenever these large carts arrive, many of the seemingly desperate people in the city rush to grab the goods, while the deliverers stay far away. I once tried to approach them, but they seemed to avoid me as if I were a viper.”

As Left Wuji spoke, the faint sound of gongs could be heard outside.

“Clang clang clang... clang clang clang…”

Yan Fei and the others’ gaze drifted towards the door, while Left Wuji calmly stated, “They’re here.”

“Good, let’s go together and see!”

No one spoke of resting due to weakness. Although Yan Fei was severely injured, he had his pride, and besides, moving normally was not an issue at this moment.

The three emerged from the house, passed through the ruined alley, and outside, they already saw more and more people running towards the sound of the gongs. Some who were clearly martial artists paused briefly upon seeing Yan Fei, but without speaking, they quickly ran towards the gong sounds.

By the time Yan Fei and his two companions reached the area in front of the city gate, it was already packed with several layers of people. Although it was impassable, the three still forced their way through, which was not a problem for them.

However, despite the crowd and constant chatter, the gong continued to ring, and the people around were very restrained. They didn’t rush forward all at once. Previous lessons had taught them that they could only go for the food once the gongs stopped.

At the city gate, carts were continuously entering. Yan Fei clearly saw that each cart was roughly the size of an ordinary farm cart, typically pulled by one person with a rope, while two others pushed from behind, one on each side, to maintain balance.

The line of such carts stretched as far as the eye could see. Besides the two people beating the gongs at the front, more carts were constantly entering the city.

“Wuji, no oxen or horses pulling the carts?”

Left Wuji shook his head. “It’s always people pulling them. I’ve never seen any other livestock. Master, those people over there, they’re demons!”

Left Wuji pursed his lips, motioning for Yan Fei and Lu Chengfeng to look at some people who were coming along the city wall. In the eyes of the three, these people had a faint, ethereal aura, and their expressions seemed relatively relaxed.

“Great Hero Yan, Great Hero Lu, Great Hero Zuo… you’re here too?”

A whispered voice came from the side. Yan Fei and his companions looked over to see a large man with a full beard. Beside him were four or five other people who were clearly together, all martial artists. Although Yan Fei and his companions couldn’t recall who they were, they must have met before, so the three nodded in return.

“Alas, we have no hope now. Those who are laughing must be the demons’ lackeys!”

Left Wuji interjected a reminder. “Those are the demons themselves.”

Upon hearing this, the martial artists suddenly fell silent, like ducks whose necks had been squeezed. In their understanding, demons capable of taking human form were terrifying. They couldn’t distinguish between true transformation and illusion, but either way, they were not beings mortals could fight.

Yan Fei snorted. “Hmph, those by the city gate are nothing. Even without my weapon, killing them wouldn’t be difficult.”

The martial artists exchanged glances, clearly somewhat disbelieving. Setting aside whether Great Hero Yan could do it at his peak, he was clearly injured now, with a pale complexion. How could he possibly deal with demons in human form?

Noticing their disbelief, Yan Fei and his companions offered no explanation, simply continuing to observe the scene.

“There should be twelve in total. Six inside the city walls, and six outside. They’re likely supervising the food delivery team.” Left Wuji spoke, relying on his qi perception. The martial artists nearby exchanged more glances, wondering how he could sense them from such a distance to the city gate.

Lu Chengfeng flexed his injured left hand, clenching his fist to assess the state of his muscles and bones, then calmly stated, “If the three of us work together, we can feign weakness first, then strike explosively. As long as they can’t fly, we should be able to kill them all within thirty moves.” Both their prior knowledge and personal experience told them that not all demons could fly. Flying demons were generally considered quite powerful.

Left Wuji thought for a moment and said, “Twenty-five moves. The first three will be careless and won’t be able to counter us; they can be killed in a single move. The rest will require a struggle.”

“Great Heroes, please reconsider!”

“Yes, three Great Heroes, please reconsider! We are now in the Land of Human Livestock, this is the demons’ territory!”

Yan Fei and his companions paid little attention to the martial artists’ first half-sentence, as they were merely estimating based on qi perception, not actually planning to attack. However, upon hearing the words “Land of Human Livestock,” their full attention was captured.

“Land of Human Livestock?” Yan Fei fixed his gaze on the speaker, who nodded and gestured around them.

“Those delivering the food aren’t like us, captured from our homes. Their ancestors have lived here for generations. Someone successfully made contact with them and said this is the Land of Human Livestock, where humans are treated as livestock, all bred and kept by demons and monsters. When they want to eat, they simply choose people to consume…”

“What? Treating us like cattle?” Lu Chengfeng exclaimed in shock. The speaking martial artist quickly tried to console him.

“Great Hero Zuo, please calm your anger. It is said that demons don’t eat humans excessively; they only pick people occasionally, and usually, demons don’t even appear. Many people aren’t eaten until they are about to get old. Some live peacefully for decades, even to old age. We are all in our prime, so we should…”

Yan Fei’s face was ashen, and Left Wuji beside him was consumed by rage, blood vessels bulging in his eyes, teeth grinding audibly. His fists were tightly clenched, scaring the attempting-to-console martial artist into silence.

“You mean, we should calmly accept being livestock, live ignobly, and wait to be captured and eaten by demons at some unknown time?” Left Wuji was clearly furious, but his voice had become unnervingly calm.

At that moment, Yan Fei’s heart suddenly stirred, and then Left Wuji and Lu Chengfeng also sensed something. The three looked up at the sky and saw a vast, hazy cloud flying from afar. They immediately understood that truly powerful demons were arriving and had no choice but to suppress their anger.

However, only Yan Fei and his two companions noticed this; the others seemed to have seen nothing.

On the dark cloud were indeed Old Niu and his group, along with several demons under King Wenyun. Gazing at the dense crowds at the city gates, Old Niu’s heart suddenly skipped a beat as he sensed Yan Fei’s aura.

“Brother Niu, come look here! The city is already packed with tens of thousands of people. There’s sure to be someone to your liking!”

“Uh, many thanks for your auspicious words, Brother Ma. How about we go check out that city gate first?”

“Hahaha, why not!” The Horse Demon laughed heartily.

The demonic cloud descended within the city but did not appear before mortals. According to the rules of the Land of Human Livestock, demons were not to show their true forms to humans, to avoid scaring the “livestock.” This way, the “livestock” would deceive themselves, even weaving beautiful lies.

Old Niu, feeling a bit guilty and fearing Yan Fei might expose him if seen, cast a minor illusion on himself.

The group walked from the periphery to the city gate, watching the crowd with smiles. The Horse Demon pointed directly towards the direction where Yan Fei and his companions were.

“That area has particularly vigorous vital energy. There must be quite a few human martial artists. Their meat is the most tender and delicious. For this Myriad Demon Feast, such top-quality specimens will be captured for the Great Kings to enjoy.”

Old Niu instinctively glanced at the white-clad woman behind him. Seeing her expression unchanged, he could only turn back and agree with the Horse Demon, his heart, however, was filled with complex emotions.

‘I never thought I’d reunite with Brother Yan in such circumstances…’