Only children make choices; adults have no choice at all.
The battle has begun.
Li Qingjun thrust her silver spear, catching the spider demon off guard. Anger flashed across its face as it raised its arm to block, creating a loud clang as metal met metal.
The spider demon's other arm shot out like a sword, aiming for Li Qingjun's face. She tilted her head slightly, and the spider arm grazed past her hair, cutting off a strand.
With a burst of force, her silver spear swept low, but the creature blocked it again, and both fighters took a small step back.
Surrounding them were seven or eight tightly wrapped human-shaped cocoons, while Li Qingjun stood firm, holding her spear against the demon. The fear she felt earlier had vanished, replaced by a chilling determination in her eyes.
In the pouring rain, her long hair flowed freely, sticking to her cheeks. She was soaked more than when Qin Yi had drenched her, yet she stood tall like a spear, unwavering.
"Where are the Taoists from the temple?"
The spider demon cackled, sounding almost human. "They've been eaten."
Li Qingjun took a deep breath and shouted, "You deserve to die!"
Silver light erupted again, cutting through the darkness of the temple. The force was deflected by the monster, creating a large hole in the earthen wall of the courtyard.
Li Qinglin stepped out of the courtyard, holding his long spear and standing beside his sister, not joining the fight but clearly wanting to train her.
Liu Su sighed. "These people offended her; what’s there to save? The previous Taoists? They’re dead, so why bother?"
Qin Yi ignored him. He didn’t think Li Qingjun was wrong this time; in fact, he admired her a bit. He thought for a moment and quietly stood at the exit of the courtyard, using the sharp end of his wolf fang club to draw a simple formation on the ground.
It was a simplified binding formation, the same one they had used against the demon tiger. He wasn’t sure if it would work against the spider demon, but he figured it was worth a try.
Looking back at the fierce battle, one side was graceful, with hair flowing and the silver spear moving like a dragon, while the other side was terrifying, roaring like thunder. The stark contrast made Li Qingjun seem even more like a fairy.
"I never thought this wild girl was so pretty. A red flower needs green leaves to stand out," Qin Yi muttered.
Liu Su chuckled.
Qin Yi glanced at the white cocoons on the ground and felt his stomach churn. He cautiously asked, "Does this monster have any special techniques besides binding?"
"Poison. Spiders usually have poison," Liu Su replied. "I don’t see any other skills; after all, it's just a little demon. In terms of combat skills, it might not even match Li Qingjun. But its techniques can be tricky; Li Qingjun might struggle alone."
In the center of the battle, Li Qingjun sliced through several strands of white silk with her spear, aiming for the spider demon's shoulder.
The demon couldn’t dodge in time and let out a painful roar, stumbling back a few steps. Despite its seemingly invulnerable body, it had been pierced, and green blood flowed out.
However, at the same time, the spear tip embedded in it quickly became entangled in spider webs, making it impossible to pull back. A dark blue hue spread from the spear tip, creeping up toward Li Qingjun's hands.
Li Qingjun suddenly broke free from the webs and withdrew her spear, looking a bit flustered.
Qin Yi stroked his chin and said to himself, "This spider demon looks scary, but it’s not that strong... Its strength doesn’t seem to match that of the demon tiger."
"Strength is limited by its natural abilities. In terms of various techniques, it’s much stronger than the tiger," Liu Su explained. "Especially traps; Li Qingjun just hasn’t fallen for one yet. The biggest difference between demons and beasts isn’t strength, but this."
"Intelligence?"
"Exactly. You can see it doesn’t dare provoke Li Qinglin, but keeps looking at you, probably thinking you’re an easy target. It plans to break through when things get tough; quite clever."
"..."
In the midst of the battle, Li Qingjun was starting to lose ground.
As Liu Su said, the spider demon didn’t have impressive combat skills, but Li Qingjun also lacked experience dealing with its techniques. Every time she thought she could win, she ended up in a tough spot because of its strange abilities.
Qin Yi was still enjoying the show, but Li Qinglin, worried for his sister, finally decided to intervene.
"Whoosh!"
Before anyone could see, the silver spear was already at the demon’s face. The fierce aura made the spider demon's hairs stand on end. Instinctively, it raised its arm to block, but the spear's force burned its arm, creating a smell of scorched flesh as the spiraling energy drilled into its tough limb.
At the same time, it seemed like something was glowing around Li Qinglin. The spider demon let out a terrified scream and, in a panic, charged toward Li Qingjun, ignoring the spear tip that was already aimed at its face.
Liu Su pondered, "Li Qinglin has something... This isn’t just a result of pure martial arts..."
The fear Li Qinglin instilled in the spider demon was so strong that it stopped trying to dodge. It charged straight into Li Qingjun, whose left hand struck the demon's throat. Despite the pain, the spider demon kept pushing forward, forcing Li Qingjun back several steps.
Li Qingjun remained calm; as she pushed against the demon, she adjusted her spear and thrust it deep into its mouth, shattering several of its fangs and driving it straight into its throat.
The spider demon let out a deafening scream, but suddenly, it spewed out red smoke, enveloping Li Qingjun, who was close by.
Poison. Who knows what kind of spider this is or what kind of poison it has?
Li Qinglin was startled and was about to help his sister when he suddenly froze, stopping in his tracks.
Just as the spider demon's arm was about to pierce Li Qingjun's throat, there was a loud "crack," and it let out another pained cry. Its arm, which should have struck Li Qingjun, instead impaled itself on a wolf fang club that had appeared out of nowhere.
The sharp teeth of the club pierced its arm; even though its arm was as tough as a sword, the pain was unbearable.
They had pushed close to Qin Yi by now.
With one hand, Qin Yi blocked the spider's arm with the club, and with the other, he pulled Li Qingjun back three steps. As soon as they were steady, he quickly took out a pill and shoved it into Li Qingjun's mouth.
Li Qinglin didn’t follow; he seemed interested in watching Qin Yi’s actions.
Li Qingjun was momentarily stunned.
The pill dissolved immediately, and a cool sensation spread through her mind and limbs. The drowsiness from the poison vanished, and her strength returned to her hands.
Turning to look, she saw Qin Yi smiling at her.
"This is a pill that neutralizes poison. I offered it to your brother earlier, but he didn’t want it."
Li Qingjun pursed her lips, about to say something when Qin Yi suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist and swiftly retreated three feet.
The spider demon charged again, roaring as it came after them.
Qin Yi pulled Li Qingjun to the door, and just as the spider demon reached them, it suddenly stopped.
It seemed to have stepped on something, as if it was stuck to the ground and couldn’t lift its feet. It tried to reach out to attack Qin Yi and Li Qingjun, but was a foot short, unable to reach them.
Looking up, it saw Qin Yi grinning, revealing the wolf fang club.
"Did you think I was an easy target? This club will teach you a lesson."
...
"Thank you for saving us," the freed people from the cocoons said gratefully. "When we return, we will definitely go to the Changsheng Temple to pray for you."
"Hey!" Li Qingjun protested. "We saved you; why are you going to pray at the temple?"
"Even though we should thank you, having seen a real demon, we should be more respectful to the gods..."
Li Qingjun didn’t know how to respond to that and silently watched as they left, thanking them profusely.
The three of them didn’t stay in the temple any longer and moved to a pavilion outside the mountain. The pavilion was fresh and clean in the rain, making the three who had just left the stinky temple feel a bit better.
Li Qingjun’s earlier gloominess quickly lifted as she stretched her arms and said, "I actually killed a man-eating demon. Does that mean I can be considered a fairy?"
Qin Yi found her amusing.
He looked at Li Qingjun with interest, while Li Qinglin looked at him with curiosity. "I really have to thank you for your help just now."
Li Qingjun pouted and turned to look at the distant mountains in silence.
Qin Yi said, "It was nothing. It was just a moment of urgency. If I hadn’t acted, your brother wouldn’t have let anything happen to your sister. That monster was no match for you."
"Still, you helped," Li Qinglin said with a smile. "And you were able to sense the demon's presence here in advance; that’s quite a skill."
Qin Yi felt a bit embarrassed.
Li Qinglin glanced at Qin Yi's wolf fang club and said, "But I didn’t expect this club to be so effective; it can smash the demon's head."
"Ha! Its head is just a human head; it’s not that tough," Qin Yi said, not wanting them to probe into the club. He changed the subject, "Earlier, I heard you say you don’t believe in immortals. A tiger with wings can be considered a mutation, but seeing this kind of demon in front of you, aren’t you surprised?"
Li Qinglin explained, "You misunderstood. I only don’t believe in exaggerated claims of immortality. I don’t doubt the existence of demons or the techniques to subdue them. The former lacks evidence, while the latter has many facts. In fact, I’ve killed demons before."
"I see..." If that’s the case, Li Qinglin’s view of "immortals" is different from others. To ordinary people, having some techniques makes you an immortal, but to Li Qinglin, it just means you’ve mastered some special skills, and maybe he could even defeat them.
Not being able to achieve immortality essentially means they haven’t surpassed the human realm.
No wonder he showed no interest in his sister’s "search for immortals." Perhaps there are many "immortal traces" and plenty of "demons," but none of those are surprising to him.
Li Qinglin continued, "Actually, dealing with demons is simple, but dealing with people is much harder."
Qin Yi was taken aback. "Why is that?"
"Because demons aren’t that impressive. You can easily pierce them with a spear, and there’s no burden in killing them. Even if you kill a harmless demon, people will praise you. But if you kill a person, you’ll face all sorts of troubles; no matter who you are, it’s hard to do as you please."
Qin Yi fell silent.
(End of Chapter)