Chapter 69: Lord Qingshan

“Fresh?”

“Who are you calling fresh?”

Zhou You turned his head to look. The first thing he saw was a head covered in fur.

The thing’s head was extremely long and narrow, like a pointed snout. Its nose protruded outward, and when it opened its mouth, layers of fangs jutted out like blades. A foul fishy stench washed over him.

There was no doubt about it, this was a wolf’s head.

But just like the pig demon he had encountered at the beginning, beneath that wolf’s head was a burly human body.

At this moment, the demon was carrying a blood-soaked cloth sack on its back. As it licked its lips, it sized Zhou You up.

Within those dark yellow round pupils was undisguised greed and hunger.

When the female ghost saw the wolf demon enter, the smile on her face became even brighter.

“Well, if it isn’t Lord Qingshan. Long time no see. What brings you here today?”

The wolf demon did not turn its head. It continued staring at Zhou You maliciously before replying casually.

“Nothing much. I found a hunting ground nearby these past couple of days. I indulged myself and slaughtered everything there, but afterward I realized there was too much stuff for me to handle alone. Then I found something particularly good among it all, so I thought I’d bring it here for you to process.”

After speaking, it did not wait for the female ghost’s response. Instead, it jerked its chin toward Zhou You.

“But dead meat can never compare to something freshly slaughtered. I never expected to run into a ready-made one here at your place. He looks a little skinny, but at least there should be some chew to him. So, Madam, how much would it cost for you to sell this fellow to me?”

The female ghost continued smiling.

“Lord Qingshan, my apologies, but this one is a guest of the inn.”

Before she could finish, however, the wolf demon replied loudly:

“A guest? They’re just a bunch of two-legged sheep. Either they’re being eaten or waiting to be eaten. How are they worthy of being called guests? Under Grand Duke Jupiter’s rule, humans are nothing but livestock. We can eat them whenever we want and play with them whenever we want.”

As it spoke, the wolf demon spat a thick gob of phlegm onto the floor. Then it set down the heavy sack, its eyes growing increasingly eager.

Yet the target of its attention did not react.

Zhou You merely turned his head slightly and glanced at the female ghost.

She still wore that same smile. She neither spoke nor showed any intention of stopping the situation.

Then he looked at the wolf demon again.

The way this creature looked at him was exactly the way one would look at a pig awaiting slaughter.

At this point, Zhou You more or less understood what was happening.

Although he had revealed a bit of yin energy earlier, he was still a complete stranger. The female ghost remained somewhat suspicious. Since this foolish wolf demon had conveniently arrived, she intended to use it to test him.

“Not a bad idea. As expected of the famous Madam Bone. Your skill at using others as weapons is truly perfected.”

The voice came not from Zhou You, but from the old Daoist inside the sack.

Zhou You’s expression remained unchanged. As casually as if by accident, he slipped a hand into the sack and lightly traced a few strokes.

Master, do you know these two?

The old Daoist chuckled.

“I don’t know Lord Qingshan, but he looks like a wolf demon that only recently took human form. He doesn’t have much cultivation to speak of. Even with your current strength, you could handle him. As for Madam Bone, hehe, that’s a famous monster throughout Cangzhou. Although she’s not as powerful as Grand Duke Jupiter or White Dew Spitting Silk, her notoriety and beauty are second to none.”

How so?

“You’ve already seen the beauty part. That thing will climb into bed with anything, dead or alive, regardless of species. As for the notoriety...”

The old Daoist’s voice rose slightly, but his tone turned ice-cold.

“You saw that stunning face of hers, didn’t you? It isn’t her own. It was taken from a beautiful human woman, flayed off while she was still alive. She changes it once every three years. The same goes for her internal organs, except those need replacing much more often. Every couple of months, she has to find a strong man and rip out his organs alive at the moment when his yang energy is at its peak.”

“Back in the day, the sins she committed became so numerous that Xuanyuan Master personally intervened. He didn’t kill her, but he at least shattered her murderous bones. After that, she completely disappeared from sight. I never expected that after Grand Duke Jupiter rose to power, she’d end up working with him. I was wondering where that thing got the Animal Transformation arts from. Turns out it learned them from her.”

Before the old Daoist could finish, however, the wolf demon finally seemed unable to restrain itself any longer. Stretching out a claw covered in gray fur, it grabbed boldly toward Zhou You.

“Enough talking. I want this one. It’s been quite a while since I tasted one of your live-cooked humans, Madam. Thinking about it now is making me hungry. Today I’ll take him...”

Zhou You watched the approaching hand without the slightest trace of fear on his face. Only when the gleaming claws were about to touch his face did he softly utter a single word.

“Om.”

In an instant, it seemed as though a sea of blood churned before them. Countless miserable souls floated and struggled within the foul crimson tide. For a moment, it even felt as if they themselves would be dragged into it.

The greedy expression on Lord Qingshan’s face froze immediately.

Madam Bone’s smile also stiffened at that very moment.

Zhou You did not hesitate. Taking advantage of the opening, he seized the bloodstained dagger and lowered his body.

Then he exploded forward!

Empowered by the original owner’s physical abilities, he crossed several meters in the blink of an eye. The next moment, the blade wreathed in yin energy was about to slash across the wolf demon’s throat.

But at that moment, a shrill scream rang out.

“Stop!”

Instantly, dozens of skeletal arms burst forth from the inn’s floor, tables, and pillars. Their speed was not particularly great, and Zhou You easily avoided them, but they still caused him to lose the perfect opportunity to close the distance.

Several full beats later, Lord Qingshan finally recovered from the effect of the true word. Once he realized what had happened, his eyes immediately turned blood-red.

He might not have much fame in Cangzhou, but he still called himself a mountain lord. Yet he had suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of a mere human and had nearly had his throat slit.

What kind of joke was this?

Dropping low, he immediately opened his foul-smelling jaws.

“Lord Qingshan, you stop too!”

But the enraged wolf demon ignored her. Right now, all it wanted was to tear this human being into pieces with its own claws.

Then, in the very next second, a cold voice sounded.

“Lord Qingshan, I told you to stop. Didn’t you hear me?”

The wolf demon’s movements halted at once.

Slowly, it turned its head and looked toward Madam Bone, who was no longer smiling seductively.

The wolf demon suddenly shuddered. Then a somewhat flattering smile appeared on its face.

“N-no, that’s not what I meant. Since Madam has spoken, how could I possibly refuse to stop?”

Seeing that the demon had completely lost its will to fight, Zhou You could only tuck the dagger back into his robes.

Still, he could not help sighing inwardly.

What a perfect opportunity. What a pity.