The guesthouse was a small courtyard enclosed by three small buildings. In the courtyard stood a willow tree. The three buildings were three stories high, with about a dozen rooms, almost all occupied.
And at this moment,
The willow tree in the courtyard stretched out branches as thick as wrists, like coarse ropes, reaching into the rooms and forcibly dragging out the guests.
In the dark night, the scene made He Li's scalp tingle. He had seen his share of storms and witnessed many shocking and disgusting scenes, like the blood villa and the boss who treated him to human heads.
But none of it was as shocking as this. Fifty to sixty people were being dragged from the second and third floors, while those on the first floor, close by, had their necks already bound and hung from the tree.
The scene resembled a dead tree full of corpses in a dark fantasy movie.
He Li looked down and found several broken willow branches on the corridor in front of his window, likely gnawed off by Xiao Lan.
He Li swallowed, thinking, "You damn idiot boss, I told you not to plant willows. Look, trouble has arrived..."
Before He Li could finish his internal complaint, a figure walked in from the guesthouse entrance. Or rather, it couldn't be called a person, but a monster wearing human skin. The skin hung loosely, and beneath the torn flesh were earth-brown branches.
Then,
An even more shocking scene unfolded before He Li.
As the demon wearing human skin approached the willow tree, its skin gradually tightened, completely encasing its body. By the time the demon reached the willow tree,
It had transformed into a tall, aloof beauty, her jet-black hair pinned atop her head with a few branches.
He Li's eyes widened, and he was speechless.
He thought to himself:
"Holy crap! Willow God has arrived!" kuAiδugg
He Li thought this, but he still had to act. If he hadn't encountered it, fine. But since he had, he had to do something. Otherwise, if he slept in his room while a beautiful demon outside the window "crunch crunch crunch" ate fifty to sixty people, even if he wasn't scared,
He couldn't stand it if the demon slurped while eating.
He Li slightly extended his hand, and the long saber leaning against the bedside cabinet unsheathed with a "clang," flying into his hand.
He Li leaned on the window frame with one hand, about to shout and jump out,
When a loud shout erupted from the roof of the small building: "Ha!!!"
He Li was startled, almost losing his grip on the window frame and falling out. Once he stabilized himself, he looked out at the courtyard again.
Who was that? So powerful? What a loud shout.
The next moment,
He Li fell silent.
The person leaped down from the third floor, holding a standard-issue saber from the Spirit Management Association, wearing an ugly Yin ghost mask. The shout was full of momentum, and the descending posture was incredibly cool, exuding the grandeur of a roc spreading its wings. Under the moonlight, the saber's gleam was sharp, and the killing intent was palpable.
However,
The willow tree extended a vine, moving with extreme speed like a steel whip, and with a "snap," it lashed the waist of the little hero descending from the sky.
The little hero, who had fallen from the sky, immediately fainted,
Successfully joining the ranks of the "hanged ghosts."
He Li licked his lips, thinking, "So you could only shout, huh? And then... you wait to see if the demon is an idiot. If it is, you wait to be chopped. If it's not, you're finished?"
"Impressive,"
He Li shook his head, "You scared me, almost made me fall into the corridor. In the end, I still have to step in."
He Li sighed, his body like a leopard, he leaped out with his saber.
Also descending from the sky,
The previous little hero had roared loudly and charged with great vigor,
While He Li moved silently, like a stealthy leopard on the hunt.
But the demon still detected He Li. Hundreds of branches, like pythons and giant snakes, lunged at He Li in mid-air.
He Li held his saber horizontally, imbued with spiritual energy. The green blade trembled slightly as he swung it fiercely at the attacking branches. A massive green slash directly struck the branches, crushing them all with overwhelming force.
A sky full of wood chips,
The green slash continued unabated, striking directly at the trunk of the willow tree.
Boom!
The willow tree shook violently, its leaves rustling down.
The demon, with fierce eyes, watched He Li slowly descend. A large amount of black demonic energy emanated from its body, and its form swelled. With a tearing sound, the human skin ripped open, and a tree demon nearly five meters tall, emitting a screech like grinding glass shards, lunged at He Li.
When He Li's slash hit the tree trunk earlier, the masked little hero, who had been roaring with vigor, was jolted awake. He opened his eyes and saw a giant tree demon lunging at a human holding a saber.
Then,
The human simply raised his saber slowly, his movements agile. With a twist and turn, he appeared behind the tree demon, shouldering the saber. At the same time, the tree demon stopped in its tracks. The next moment, the tree demon was split in half down the middle.
He Li smirked, shouldering his saber, using the saber's back to gently tilt his shoulder, and mockingly looked at the little hero hanging from a tree branch.
Beneath the mask, the little hero's eyes darted away, as if shy. After all, he had shouted so loudly, but his attack had failed, effectively dying before he could even begin.
He Li grinned again, turned, and walked up the stairs back to his room to sleep. By the time he reached the third-floor corridor, he looked down to see the little hero chopping willow branches, rescuing people one by one and placing them on the ground.
He Li ignored him, entered his room, and casually tossed the saber in his hand. The long saber formed a perfect parabola in the room and was smoothly sheathed.
After killing the demon, it was peaceful. Time to sleep!
As soon as He Li lay down on the bed, there was a knock on the door.
Tap... Tap-tap.
Three crisp knocks.
He Li smiled, thinking, "Quite polite. Knocking has its etiquette. One knock to alert the person inside, then two knocks to signal someone is looking for them."
Continuous "tap-tap-tap... tap-tap-tap..." knocking was like a fire alarm or a death announcement. Knocking like that meant either a fire or bad news, and it was impolite.
He Li got out of bed and opened the door.
The knocker was the little hero from before. Up close, He Li realized this little hero was petite. As they faced each other, a faint fragrance wafted towards him.
He Li nodded, pondering, "Judging by this fragrance, this little hero should be a girl, and she's probably drenched in cosmetics."
The little hero looked up at He Li and reached out to remove the Yin ghost mask, her long hair cascading down.
In an instant,
He Li was slightly stunned. It was a girl, and a very beautiful girl at that, at least on par with that bitch Praedana.
"Hello, my name is Xu Shuya, I'm from the Hangzhou Spirit Management Association, Logistics Department, Second Team. Are you also from the Spirit Management Association? Judging by your combat power, you must be a formal demon hunter, right?"
Without even thinking, He Li blurted out, "Yes, my name is Kuer, and I'm a demon hunter from the Taxian Spirit Management Association. I'm here on a business trip to Wulin and will be leaving tomorrow."
...