It would have been better not to look. Upon looking, he discovered a layer of blood-red miasma seeping into the black-yellow soil below, making it appear eerie and filthy. This energy wasn’t easily detected—only in his eyes could its true form be revealed. To Er’er, it was probably just an ordinary long street.

Li Ye couldn’t help but turn to look at her.

The little one covered her head, her cheeks snow-white, the tip of her nose slightly wrinkled, just like a small animal sensing danger. Yet she couldn’t see anything; her moist eyes glanced left and right, only trying hard to remember.

If the Way of Foresight hadn’t been severed by the Divination Master of the Heavenly Way long ago, he would have almost thought she possessed the aptitude for foresight.

“It is indeed around here.” Li Ye looked up, observing the seemingly empty shops and residences on both sides, and helped Er’er down from the cart.

Er’er murmured: “Why isn’t there anyone around?”

“In a place that just experienced chaos, what people would there be?”

“That’s not right,” she shook her head. “In the mortal realm, even if civilians avoid places where trouble has occurred, there should be soldiers standing guard. But in this place, the aura of living people is too faint.”

The spacious marketplace streets had traces of fire damage along both sides. Half the vendors’ stalls were broken, alcohol and blood mixed, emitting an extremely pungent smell. A collapsed archway crushed a carriage compartment. In the distance, a misty fog shrouded something black piled into a small mountain, cold and eerie.

…

…

Er’er squinted her eyes to look in that direction.

As the fog gradually dispersed, the outline of the black mound became clearer.

Hands, feet, heads.

Dozens of soldiers’ corpses were piled together, with the topmost body facing their direction, eyes wide open, blood vessels having crawled into the pupils.

“…”

Li Ye extended his hand and, unsurprisingly, caught a small thing that was trembling violently.

“Wh-wh-what is this?” Er’er was so frightened that her head shook, burying herself in his embrace before looking up again, terrified. “The city is already under martial law, how could this still happen?”

Those people still had lingering warmth, clearly having died not long ago. The authorities had already notified nearby cities last night, so how could there still be people killing now?

Placing his hand on her forehead, Li Ye said indifferently: “What are you afraid of?”

Nonsense! Er’er glared at him: “Someone is killing people!”

“Are you human?”

You’re not human, nobody in your entire Bing Palace is human! Er’er bared her teeth, wanting to bite him, but as her eyes shifted, she suddenly remembered.

Oh right, she had already ascended to immortality; no matter how fierce mortals might be, they couldn’t kill her.

Her tense shoulders relaxed, and just as Er’er was about to catch her breath, she felt a sudden tightening around her waist.

Li Ye embraced her and quickly flew up to the roof nearby. The moment his feet landed on the tiles, the Slaying Phoenix Blade appeared in his hand with a swish.

Scorching flames surged to form a defensive barrier, swiftly enveloping them both.

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense. Er’er clutched his garment, looking down in confusion.

An ordinary mortal stood where they had just been, holding a chopping knife, his face gloomy as he looked up at them.

“Hawks from the authorities?”

A hoarse, deep voice seemed to echo throughout half the street.

Er’er instinctively answered: “No.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Just passing by.”

“…” Li Ye gave her a complex look before slightly raising his left hand.

Divine fire quickly gathered in his palm, its momentum so fierce that whirlwinds rose around them.

Er’er caught sight of this and hurriedly rushed over to grab his hand: “Please slow down. Mortal things are fragile. If you throw down even a bit of fire, the entire street will be gone.”

“So what if it’s gone?” he asked, not understanding.

“We’re here to find something, not to destroy the city!” Gritting her teeth, she intertwined her fingers with his and forcefully pulled his hand down, holding it against her chest and gently patting it. “Don’t move around.”

What kind of gesture was this? Li Ye found it somewhat distasteful, but her embrace was quite warm, and he was too lazy to struggle. Glancing at the person below from the corner of his eye, he snorted lightly: “If I don’t move, can you handle this?”

“I’m an immortal after all. Who are you looking down upon?” She gave him a white-eyed look and made a hand seal.

A barrier of mixed colors descended around them. The mortal below gripped his knife vigilantly: “What do you intend to do?”

“Nothing much, just want to ask a few questions.” Making sure the barrier enclosed everything nearby, Er’er composed herself and smiled at him. “Do you still want to kill people?”

The chopping knife already had a nick in it, with blood dripping down from the gap, creating a truly unpleasant sight.

The mortal looked down and sneered: “Those I killed weren’t humans, they were beasts.”

These words were filled with such heavy resentment that they fell like a massive boulder, stirring up the originally present miasma on the ground as if it had gone mad.

Li Ye frowned in disgust, wanting to take Er’er further away, but she suddenly drew in a light breath.

“Oh no.” She turned her head to look at the other side. “I think I’ve trapped other living people within the barrier as well.”

When the barrier descended, it couldn’t exclude living beings. After all, this was a mortal city; having other living people wasn’t surprising.

Li Ye turned to look in the direction she was gazing. Before he could utter words of reassurance, his mist-colored pupils froze slightly.

A familiar figure was hobbling toward them.

He wore two shoes—one half-worn, one brand new. His elegant clothes were still somewhat disheveled, with bits of straw from the ox cart clinging to his sleeves.

It was that old man.

Er’er had recognized him too; the seal in her hand froze just before completion.

“Chu Xiao! Chu Xiao!” the old man shouted in fury. “Return my daughter to me!”

He walked unsteadily, looking as if he might fall at any moment. Er’er watched with her heart in her throat, and rose to her feet, shouting: “Run—”

Who would look for their daughter at a crime scene? The murderer standing below was not someone to be trifled with. With the old man’s frail body, even if no one laid a hand on him, just a fall could break him apart.

Anxiously breaking free from the master, she flew down, but despite her swift movement, she was still too late.

The old man stumbled toward the murderer.

The sharp chopping knife still dripped with blood. The murderer, with his expressionless face, watched the old man fall toward him and stepped forward with his right foot.

Er’er thought blood would surely splatter everywhere and half-closed her eyes.

However, in the next moment, the blood-stained chopping knife was released.

Chu Xiao opened his arms, somewhat frantically catching the old man and steadying him.

His brows were tightly furrowed. After helping the old man stand, he immediately backed away, crouching down to retrieve his knife, his lips pressed together without a word.

The old man, after catching his breath, supported himself on his knees and began cursing vehemently: “You beast, you dog born without a mother’s raising, where is my daughter? Where is my daughter?!”

Er’er opened her mouth in astonishment.

Li Ye descended from the eaves, disdainfully waving away the surrounding miasma, casually conjuring a chair and sitting down comfortably.