Demonio del infierno

Capítulo 19

As soon as the woman in red finished speaking, the particles floating in the air began to hiss softly, and at the same time, they sprouted into slender vines. Unlike last time, these vines were covered with what appeared to be hard thorns.

Blood-Dried Vine!? The name flashed through Qing Lin Anxue's mind. She remembered her father mentioning that it was a low-level plant that lived in the Demon Realm. It was extremely aggressive, contained deadly poison, and could instantly knock out any animal it attacked. It also fed on blood.

---janeadam

Reply [43]: Seeing countless Bloodvines stretching out like a group of venomous snakes, Qing Lin Anxue retreated while taking out her Ice Bow from her waist to hunt demons. The sudden burst of spiritual freezing energy caused the surrounding temperature to drop rapidly. An ice arrow shot out from the Demon Hunter's Bow and then exploded into a sky full of ice shards, which, as if they had eyes, smashed into the Bloodvines on the ground.

In an instant, nearly 30% of the "crawling plants" turned into hard blocks of ice. However, just as Qing Lin Anxue gathered her spiritual power again, preparing to shoot a second arrow, the red-clad woman who had been observing quietly moved.

With a whoosh of wind, Qing Lin Anxue spotted the red-clad woman leaping down and the thorny vine whip she was wielding aimed at her. She changed her Demon Hunter Bow's angle from horizontal to upward, instantly switching targets and firing an ice arrow at the red-clad woman in mid-air.

Everyone thought the woman in red, with nowhere to gain leverage in mid-air, would be doomed to the sudden attack of the ice arrows, but unexpectedly, something incredible happened again. One of the blood-dried vines on the ground suddenly stood upright, landing squarely on the woman in red's foot. Taking advantage of this opportunity, she leaned back, causing the ice arrows to miss, and then revealed a wicked smile.

Just as Qing Lin Anxue came to her senses, she was shocked to find the blood-dried vines covering the ground right in front of her. She immediately realized that the woman in red's actions were just a feint to attract her attention.

At this moment, Qing Lin Anxue had no time to dodge and was about to fall victim to the Blood-Withered Vines. But in the next instant, a change occurred that astonished the woman in red as well. A powerful spiral airflow suddenly arose in the center of the Blood-Withered Vines, like a miniature tornado, severing and pulling in all the surrounding vines. Had the woman in red not reacted quickly enough and leaped out of the area beforehand, she would likely have suffered the same fate as the crawling plants.

Watching her Blood-Withered Vine being shredded to pieces in the tornado, leaving not even a trace, the woman in red let out a few cold laughs.

"So you really do have backup..."

"If you knew beforehand, you still dared to come out and commit violence. You really have a lot of guts."

With a slightly magnetic male voice, the handsome young man, Lv Fengjian, slowly emerged from the darkness, followed closely by the Kahneman brothers.

Thus, the situation now appears to be one-sided: four against one. But the woman in red remains calm and smiling.

"Hehehe, turns out he's a handsome guy."

“Thank you for the compliment. Well then…” Lu Fengjian smiled rather nonchalantly, “all you need to do now is surrender.”

"Do you really think you can catch me like this?" The woman in red still seemed to have no intention of backing down.

"We'll know once we try."

“But I don’t want to keep you company any longer. Let’s chat another time, handsome…” The woman in red winked at Li Fengjian, completely ignoring the stares of the others, and walked away on her own. Suddenly, as if she remembered something, she turned back and said, “Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Yan Ye. Don’t forget.” After saying that, she turned and walked away again.

"Hmph, naive woman!"

With a casual wave of his hand, Ryūka Ken unleashed a blade of energy that cleaved through the night towards Kotoha. Kotoha, however, did not turn her head. Instead, her body swayed like a willow branch in the wind, and with a slight dodge, she narrowly avoided the blade.

Just as they were about to give chase, darkness suddenly enveloped them, as if all the streetlights had gone out in an instant. But they knew that was not the case.

"You guys are so naive. Hehehe..." In the absolute darkness, a sinister laugh came from somewhere. It wasn't Kotoha who spoke; it was clearly a man's voice.

The four trapped people didn't have time to react before the darkness vanished after only a short while. Of course, the alluring Kotoha had also disappeared without a trace.

---janeadam

Reply [44]: An Unexpected Encounter in Episode 3

After a night, a brand new day began, and Yuan Peilin finally recovered from yesterday's low spirits. This was one of his strengths, something he was always proud of. On a broader level, Yuan Peilin believed that if a person always tries to find happiness while carrying the burdens of past misfortunes and pain, they will inevitably become even more unhappy and miserable.

However, judging from Yuan Peilin's upright posture in the hallway during class, it's hard to believe he will find happiness in the future. Fortunately, there is someone who is with him to share this damned misfortune.

"Pei Lin, it's all your fault this time!" Qi Guangjian complained angrily.

"How can you blame me again...?" In fact, Yuan Peilin did not think that being punished by standing was a shameful thing. On the contrary, he felt that it was better than sitting idly in the classroom.

"It's your own fault for not being careful when taking my note. You made such a big movement, of course the teacher would notice!"

"But the problem is, the main reason for being punished by standing wasn't because the teacher found the note..."

"Then tell me, what's the reason?"

Seeing the famous "school beauty expert" with an expression that refused to admit it no matter what, Hara Pei-lin had no choice but to continue explaining: "It's clearly because you drew a nude picture of the teacher on it..." Actually, he thought Qi Guang-jian's drawing was very vivid.

"But no matter what's drawn inside, as long as you don't let him find out, everything will be fine!"

"..."

"..."

Just as the two "disrupting classroom discipline" were still having a pointless conversation, the bell finally rang throughout the campus, and the jarring sound made them immediately shut up.

"Wow... get out of class is finally over!"

Yuan Peilin watched Qi Guangjian rush into the classroom, shouting excitedly, and couldn't help but sigh. Then, the teacher's angry roar filled the entire classroom. No wonder; this was the fate of someone who started acting before the teacher even announced the end of get out of class.

Yuan Peilin was somewhat worried. Staying with someone so oblivious to others all the time might make her mentally challenged in the future.

He walked into the classroom and sat there quietly for a while, as usual. Yuan Peilin was not an impatient person and hated trouble, which was why he didn't go to the canteen during lunch break to engage in a terrifying "food war" with the many incredibly hungry students.

Whatever's left, as long as it's edible, it's fine. Yuan Peilin swayed as he stood up from his seat and walked towards the welfare center, which should have long since vanished.

In the corridor, one could occasionally encounter a few students, regardless of gender or build, all bathed in the golden glow of youth, radiating vibrant energy. Compared to before arriving here, Yuan Peilin felt she had changed a lot; she no longer felt out of place. She should be grateful; her initial choice was correct, even though many unexpected troubles had arisen. For example…

Qinglin Anxue.

Even Yuan Peilin couldn't quite grasp the extent of this seemingly cold girl's importance in his heart; he only knew she was extraordinary. Whenever he saw her, an overwhelming joy would well up within him, as if the world had suddenly brightened considerably. Thinking about it, it seemed strange—it should contradict his own belief in tranquility, so why did he prefer this reaction...?

Perhaps I should thank her for rejecting me, otherwise I might not have been able to pull myself out of this situation. From now on, I must pull myself together.

Lost in thought, Yuan Peilin arrived at the entrance of the welfare center, which was much quieter than he had imagined. Naturally, it was already closed. Yuan Peilin couldn't help but smile bitterly; he was getting more and more unlucky. Oh well, he wasn't particularly hungry anyway; he should be able to get through the afternoon.

"Hey, Pei Lin, so you're even later than me!"

Upon hearing the loud voice, Yuan Peilin immediately recognized who it was. He turned around and saw his "colleague" Qi Guangjian walking towards him with a gloating expression on his face and a bread bag in his hand.

"I just got a good scolding from that old man, and when I came over, the school cafeteria was sold out of food," Qi Guangjian said, holding up the bag of bread in his hand. "So I had to buy a loaf of bread from the convenience store outside the school."

"What kind of bread is it?" Yuan Peilin asked, staring intently at Qi Guangjian's life-saving food.

---janeadam

Reply [45]: The school beauty expert noticed Hara Peilin's "hostile" gaze and quickly tightened his grip on the bread bag, making a gesture of protecting it with his life: "Melon Honey Bread".

"Eating too many sweets is bad; you should lose weight..."

"I like it! But don't think that just because you say that I'll give you the lovely bread!"

"Whatever you want..." Yuan Peilin sighed inwardly. High school students these days are getting more and more wary.

"Oh, right!" Qi Guangjian suddenly remembered something, "I saw a beautiful girl at the school gate just now!"

"What kind of beauty is she?" Yuan Peilin had already started to move and was about to leave. He had no interest in Qi Guangjian's words at all. After all, he had heard Qi Guangjian say the same lines at least seven or eight times a day.

Qi Guangjian hurriedly chased after Yuan Peilin, gesturing wildly with his hands: "You would never guess, she looks just like the popular idol Gu Xiangning!"

"...Gu Xiangning...?" Yuan Peilin suddenly stopped in his tracks upon hearing this somewhat sensitive name. Qi Guangjian, who was behind him, didn't react in time and bumped into Yuan Peilin.

True to his reputation as a "beauty expert," Qi Guangjian, despite the pain in his nose from the impact, still tried his best to recall, clutching the sore spot: "Yes, although that girl was wearing sunglasses and a hat, making it difficult to see her appearance, her nose and lips were absolutely identical to Gu Xiangning's." As he spoke, he struck a smug pose, "You should also know that I'm very thorough in my research on beautiful women."

"oh……"

"However, it couldn't be Gu Xiangning herself. I heard she attends a prestigious school. What would she be doing standing at the gate of a regular high school like this... Hey? Hey! Pei Lin, where are you going?"

"I suddenly remembered something urgent I need to do!"

Yuan Peilin walked towards the stairs under Qi Guangjian's questioning gaze. For some reason, he instinctively felt that it must be Gu Xiangning, the girl who had waited for the sunrise with him on Yunyang Mountain. Unconsciously, Gu Xiangning's pitiful, endearing face from that night resurfaced in his mind. He realized he remembered it so clearly…

"Even if we encounter the same danger again, you will save me just like you did this time..."

It was truly a magical sentence. It made her start to care, as if she had entered into some kind of irreversible contract. Yuan Peilin suddenly felt that fate was becoming more and more interesting.

However, the moment he stepped out of the school building, Yuan Peilin hesitated for a moment: what kind of expression should he wear when facing her? But when he could already see a petite figure in the distance, he put aside all his worries.

It was indeed Gu Xiangning, Yuan Peilin was certain. Although the light blue sunglasses and pure white round-brimmed hat covered most of her face, the kind of girl who exuded a gentle and quiet temperament was not someone you could see every day, just like... Qing Lin Anxue's cold and dignified demeanor.

Gu Xiangning leaned gently against the doorframe, her head slightly lowered, gazing intently at the ground. As if sensing something, she slowly raised her gaze as Yuan Peilin gradually approached, until the boy stood before her.

"It's been a long time..."

"Yes, it's been a long time."

Gu Xiangning responded to Yuan Peilin's simple greeting with a sweet smile, then took off her small sunglasses and bowed slightly to Yuan Peilin.

"Aren't you cold? Why are you standing at the school gate?" Yuan Peilin looked at the girl in front of him, whose thin body was only wearing a thin trench coat.

"There's nothing I can do. You only told me your school, not your class, so I had to wait at the school gate." Gu Xiangning asked curiously, "Don't you guys go home for lunch?"

"Of course." Gu Xiangning's prestigious school must only have half-day classes.

"Am I really unlucky? I waited for so long for nothing."

"Silly girl, you must find out the truth later." Yuan Peilin chuckled and patted Gu Xiangning's head, which was covered by a round-brimmed hat, causing the young idol to stick out her cute tongue.

---janeadam

Reply [46]: It's strange. I don't think I'm that familiar with Gu Xiangning yet. Even Yuan Peilin himself was surprised by his actions just now.

Seeing her made me feel much lighter.

"Um...can you walk with me for a bit?" Gu Xiangning put her sunglasses back on and asked softly.

"sure."

Without a specific destination, the two walked slowly along the narrow road. The tall camphor trees on both sides of the road had long since lost their leaves due to the season, appearing monotonous and desolate, and the occasional cold wind added to the bleak feeling.

"Is everything alright?" Yuan Peilin looked at the silent girl beside him and asked slowly.

"What?"

"If others recognize my identity, it could very likely cause a commotion."

The idol girl pointed to her equipment and smiled as she replied, "Don't worry, this is enough."

"I see..." Yuan Peilin's mind was once again filled with the image of the "school beauty expert." He wondered how many people like that there were.

"I'm sorry..." Gu Xiangning lowered her head, her body appearing even more frail. "Although I know that coming to see you suddenly might cause you trouble, I..."

"How could that be? I'm so glad to see you."

"...That's wonderful."

"Um……"

In this indescribable atmosphere, they arrived at the riverbank and walked onto an iron bridge. They both stopped simultaneously. The river, though not frozen in early winter, shimmered with light. Gu Xiangning placed her slender hands on the railing, her eyes beginning to drift into a daze.

"I...have almost no close friends..."