I Can Deduce Arts by Slaying Demons

Chapter 539: Chapter 357: I’ve Been Waiting for You!

"Woah—"

With a clear horse neigh, the luxurious carriage inlaid with gold and jade slowly stopped on a rarely traveled bluestone street.

At that moment, the clanging sound of metal clashing suddenly echoed from deep within a nearby alley.

Dozens of burly men dressed in black, wielding gleaming horse-cutting knives, swarmed out and surrounded the carriage.

The leader, a burly man with a bristling beard, with a face full of coarse flesh, heavily slapped the back of his knife on the carriage’s shaft, causing the curtain to shake: "Who are you people, daring to trespass here?"

"If you don’t want to live, just say so!"

"Get out of here at once!"

The guard driving the carriage abruptly pulled on the reins, and the bay horse reared its front hooves high.

He wore a dark iron helmet, donned chain armor, and the bronze beast head at his waist shone coldly under the sun.

The guard glared fiercely, the scar at the corner of his eye twisting with rage: "Damn it, are you blind?"

The guard flipped off the horse with a sudden move, the chain armor clinking crisply with his movement.

He pressed the hilt of his sword with one hand, cold light seeping through his fingers, a murderous aura emanating from him, forcing the surrounding men to retreat half a step.

It seemed as if it was not the carriage that was surrounded, but the knife-wielding men.

"Who the hell are you? I don’t know you, are you tired of living?"

"I think you want to find..." The bearded leader shouted violently and was about to swing his knife.

However, before he could utter the word "death," he was suddenly grabbed by the wrist by his lieutenant.

The lieutenant’s face was as pale as paper, his Adam’s apple rolling violently, pointing a trembling finger towards the carriage: "Boss! Wait...wait a moment! Something’s wrong here!"

"Boss! This carriage..."

Under the noon sun, the entire carriage looked like a moving Jinluan Hall.

The carriage’s frame was made of sandalwood, covered with golden cloud patterns, and Eastern pearls embedded in the wheel rims sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight.

What was even more shocking was the dark purple embroidery on the carriage curtain, with a five-clawed dragon raising its head and swaying its tail, a privilege only the Crown Prince of the Wenjing Dynasty could use.

"P-Purple robe with five-clawed dragon!"

"Are you kidding me!"

The bearded man’s eyes widened in shock, his long knife clattering to the ground, his molars trembling uncontrollably.

Someone from behind murmured "Crown Prince," scaring the man and his lieutenant to kneel immediately.

They knelt heavily on the scorching stone road, daring not to breathe loudly.

There was nothing more to say; all they could do was kneel!

In the Wenjing Dynasty, apart from the emperor, the Crown Prince’s status was the most revered.

"Thud, thud—"

The sound of two heavy falls echoed on the bluestone surface.

The bearded leader tensed his muscles, his forehead pressing firmly against the cold ground.

In his line of sight, the dragon pattern on the golden-threaded cloud-patterned boots sparkled with fine gold under the sunlight, the embroidery extremely intricate.

At this moment, beads of sweat as big as beans slipped down the man’s temples, leaving dark traces on the bluestone.

It was real!

In trouble now, the Crown Prince has come, won’t his master’s orders be foiled!

"Where is Mo Gui Lane?"

The voice fell slowly.

The man’s Adam’s apple rolled a few times before he dared to slowly lift his sweat-drenched face.

The midday sun stung his squinting eyes, and he first saw the dark patterned maroon hem, then the mutton-fat jade pendant at his waist.

When he finally looked up completely, he met Lu Xuan’s downward-gazing eyes.

Those pupils were pure black, calm as a dead lake, indifferent as if looking at a dead object, with not a trace of emotional ripple.

"Reply...Crown...Crown Prince, it...it’s over there!"

The man’s voice squeezed out of his throat, his Adam’s apple rolling violently, "In...in the third alley on the west side..."

His calloused hand pressed firmly on the scorching bluestone.

As someone from the palace, he had seen the side profile of this Crown Prince from afar during the sacrificial ceremony.

Now his mind was blank, only his master’s instructions buzzing in his ears.

Those words seemed to have a life of their own, uncontrollably spilling from his trembling lips: "At the alley entrance, there’s a century-old locust tree... behind the tree... behind it is..."

"Mo Gui Lane!"

By the time he uttered the last few words, his voice was as faint as a mosquito, and his forehead knocked heavily on the ground again, raising small plumes of dust.

Lu Xuan followed the direction indicated by the man’s trembling finger, seeing a towering ancient locust tree standing at the alley’s entrance, its massive trunk blocking the entire alley tightly.

The bark was scarred with the marks of age, gleaming with an eerie grey-green luster under the sun.

In just a few breaths, Lu Xuan and Peng Lie arrived there.

Their gazes penetrated the narrow gaps between the tree’s trunks.

Inside was a small alley paved with grey bricks, extending straightly, its surface pristine as new, with not a single fallen leaf to be seen.

The gaps between the stone bricks showed no trace of moss or weeds, as if someone tended to it carefully every day.

"Xuan, hold on."

Peng Lie suddenly stopped Lu Xuan by the shoulder, his grizzled beard fluttering without wind.

His cloudy eyes stared fixedly into the depths of the alley, "Inside, there’s a malevolent aura..."

Gray mist seemed to faintly churn deep in the alley.

Even though it was high noon, it seemed as if some invisible thing isolated the sunlight outside.

At the mention of "malevolent aura," Lu Xuan’s eyes suddenly lit up with a fierce brilliance, like a hungry wolf seeing its prey, even his breathing became rapid.

"Grandfather, follow the plan!"

Peng Lie’s grizzled brows faintly furrowed, a trace of confusion flashing in his cloudy eyes.

While on the carriage, this usually composed grandson had indeed solemnly instructed him.

If encountering anything sinister, its life must be spared, leaving it for him to personally handle.

This curious request had left even the experienced Peng Lie astonished.

However, despite his many doubts, seeing the unusual gleam in his grandson’s eyes,

Peng Lie ultimately only gave a deep "hmm."

The gold-threaded cloud-patterned boots left a faint trace over the ancient locust’s roots.

Without hesitation, Lu Xuan walked in, with Peng Lie following closely behind.

When their figures disappeared completely into the alley, the ancient locust’s branches and leaves swayed without wind, the hanging roots silently and curtain-like closed together.

The guard outside the alley only felt a blur before his eyes, and Lu Xuan and Peng Lie’s figures disappeared without a trace.

Even the bearded man beside them discovered in horror.

The footprints left by Lu Xuan and Peng Lie on the tree roots vanished mysteriously, as if no one had ever stepped into that deep alley.

"Whew—!"

A bone-chilling gust swept past Lu Xuan’s ear, the cold penetrating to his very bones, as though countless tiny ice needles pierced his skin.

Yet the chilling presence came and went as quickly as it appeared, fleeting in an instant.

Lu Xuan turned abruptly, only to see Peng Lie already enveloped in an aura as red as blood.

The scorching wave distorted the surrounding air.

In Peng Lie’s right hand, wrapped in the red aura, he tightly gripped a terrifying ghastly head.

The ghost’s face was contorted, black blood dripped from its eye sockets, and its fanged mouth emitted a bizarre "clicking" sound.

"I’ve been waiting for you a long time!"

Lu Xuan’s lips curled slightly, his eyes suddenly bursting with brilliant golden light.

Behind him, twelve golden dragons’ phantasms broke through, their scales shimmering with sacred radiance, dragon whiskers fluttering as they emitted Buddhist chants.

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