Jing Yi looked on in horror and then slowly got to his feet, staggering over to Liu Cheng and pulling him back. "What did you do?!" He stared at Peng Mu who was holding Yawen’s limp body in his arms, unable to believe what had just happened. She … She couldn’t be dead, could she?

Liu Cheng flicked his sword, making the blood drop to the ground before he sheathed the weapon. He shook off Jing Yi’s hand and then turned away, not bothering about the couple on the ground any longer. "It wasn’t even human. There’s no need for you to behave like this."

Jing Yi had nothing to say in return. He opened his mouth, trying to find at least some words but there was nothing. He finally just went over and knelt down next to Peng Mu, still staring at the two of them in a daze. He also didn’t know what to say to Peng Mu. Even if Yawen wasn’t human … He had still loved her, hadn’t he?

If he imagined that this was him and Qiu Ling … No, he couldn’t even do that. He had panicked the moment he had to realize that Qiu Ling was not coming back and might be injured. And for Peng Mu, it wasn’t just a worry. He knew. He knew for sure that she would never come back to him.

Peng Mu also didn’t say anything. He just held onto Yawen, unable to make sense of the situation. He reached up, gently brushing through her hair with his fingers as if he still had to comfort her because of the scary situation.

His hands trembled halfway through and he finally pulled her closer, burying his face at her shoulder. "Yawen … Yawen!" His voice was choked with tears. He wanted to shake her awake but he knew it was futile. She was gone. She was gone forever. Just one look at her face that got paler and paler was enough to know this. The coldness coming from her body chilled him to the bone as well. Yawen, the woman he had loved for several years, was gone. She could never come back.

Jing Yi reached out, wanting to comfort him somehow but at that moment, Liu Cheng turned back and called out to him.

"Jing Yi. Why are you still there? Didn’t I say that after I had finished what I needed to do, I would bring you back? Since there’s no information to be had from that demon anymore, we might as well leave."

Jing Yi turned around, leaping to his feet in anger. "How can you say that?! You killed her!"

Liu Cheng sighed, regretting once again that he hadn’t waited for one of his martial brothers and sisters to get here. "You’re still saying that. You treat her as a human. But obviously, she isn’t. Haven’t you seen what she did before? She’s a demon. That is all there is to know. You have no idea how vicious they can be. She killed those three men from the fields. She also would have killed me today. And you as well if you got in her way. Haven’t you seen that?"

Jing Yi was taken aback. He did not know about the situation in the fields and what made Liu Cheng so insistent that it had to have been Yawen who killed them but he had indeed seen that she was prepared to kill Liu Cheng today. And yes, for a fleeting moment, he had also thought that maybe, she would even kill him. That … That was just his conjecture though. Who knew if that really would have happened? And in the end, Yawen had also done this because she had been attacked. Would she really have done anything unprovoked? He had seen nothing that suggested that.

"I don’t know anything about demons or demon hunting but … I still think this is too much. You can’t just kill somebody like that."

Liu Cheng gave him a long look but was too tired to explain. Anyway, this Jing Yi was just a child. He hadn’t seen what he had. He didn’t know what demons were able to do. Even if he explained it to him, he would never understand. "I do understand where you are coming from. Still, it is already done. I do not regret doing it if it can save even one human life. Now, that aside, don’t you want to return to the Long kingdom? You can take some time but after that, we should really get going. It’s not a short distance until there. Even if you’re traveling with me, it will take time. So, we should get ready."

Jing Yi stared at him, not sure what to say to that. Yes, naturally, he wanted to return. He wanted to see Qiu Ling again and make sure that he was alright. Now more than ever. But … How could he leave now?

He turned back to Peng Mu and wanted to crouch down again but Peng Mu finally looked up. His eyes were red-rimmed and part of his face was covered in blood. He absolutely didn’t look like that friendly person from the fields anymore that smiled brightly at him and spoke up in his favor when the others doubted him.

"You should go. Isn’t your fiance still waiting for you? You should go and make sure that he is alright."

Even though he said that, Jing Yi still hesitated. "But …" He glanced at Yawen but finally lowered his gaze and nodded. "Alright. Then … I will be going." He took one last look at them and then turned around, leaving the courtyard together with Liu Cheng.

He just did not have the face to stay there when he had been the one who helped Liu Cheng get information about Yawen and led him here. Even though he did not want to admit it, this was also his fault. And there was no way to ever make up for that.