"Meow—"
The cat spirit seemed to be searching for something, its terrifyingly dead eyes roving all around as it lightly leaped, stirring up billowing Yin energy. The direction it was leaping toward was precisely the rear residence of the Ming family.
Naturally, Chu Liang wouldn't allow it to proceed. Such a deeply resentful being, if left in the mortal realm, would surely harm people.
"Sword Mastery! Forward!"
Pointing his sword towards the sky, the flying sword transformed into a stream of light and swept away.
"Ah-woo—"
As soon as the sword light was emitted, the cat demon let out a strange yell, its eyes glancing at Chu Liang, then its figure turned into a black shadow, dodging the flying sword, and immediately pounced back!
This attack was a retaliation against Chu Liang's sword, coming fast and fierce, carrying immense bloodthirstiness, ferocious and fierce!
Chu Liang dodged by a hair's breadth, but his clothes still showed a slight rip.
Hiss—
The cat spirit landed, leaving two blood-red marks.
But a sword light, shadowing its every move, had caught up – it was Chu Liang's flying sword!
Shoo—
The sword light swiftly passed, and the cat spirit's body suddenly twisted into a strange arc, avoiding the fatal blow. "Ah—"
It managed to dodge, but not entirely.
The sword light still left a deep wound on the cat spirit's body.
In an instant, black blood rushed out of the wound, making the blood waves around the cat spirit even more turbulent!
Not good.
Chu Liang frowned.
This specially empowered cat spirit possessed the ability of an infant spirit, meaning the damage it received would be converted into new strength. The heavier the injury, the stronger it would become! If one sword did not kill it, then he needed to prepare to face an even stronger enemy!
The manifestation of this on the cat spirit was its increased speed!
Swoosh—
Almost an invisible black light, slashing like lightning, had already appeared behind Chu Liang the next second.
Chu Liang, in the first instance, summoned back his flying sword to his hand, but he still couldn't stop what was coming from behind!
His hair stood on end, and though it was soundless, he knew the cat spirit's sharp claws were about to strike!
At this critical moment, Chu Liang's right hand suddenly loosened, and he shouted, "Bind!"
A red light shot out from his sleeve like a spirit snake, instantly binding the cat spirit, which had been preparing to pounce from behind, securely.
Turtle shell binding!
Spirit-binding rope!
"Meow-oww—" the cat spirit let out a piercing cry, but its body uncontrollably fell to the ground.
How to deal with enemies who are particularly agile?
Control!
And in Chu Liang's hands, he happened to have the Youfu Ropes he had just acquired the day before.
But even with a magic weapon, it is not guaranteed to hit. He made a risky move to allow the spirit cat to get closer, so he could use the Youfu Ropes at a closer range.
If the speed of releasing the Youfu Ropes is even slightly slow, the outcome of this battle will be reversed. If he loses his calm and the distance is insufficient, the magic weapon may be avoided by the spirit cat.
In any case, he won. He turned around and effortlessly wielded his sword.
Chi.
A sword slays the spirit.
A spirit, once slain, leaves nothing behind. Only a faint golden shadow floats down to Chu Liang.
The dust settles.
A brief but perilous battle, this specially skilled cat spirit was obviously more difficult to deal with than the spider spirit from the previous day.
Taking a deep breath, before he could inform anyone, he heard the chaotic footsteps coming from the other side, and a group of Ming family members ran out under the guidance of Ming's son.
"Wow, Chu Shaoxian is mighty!"
"I knew Chu Shaoxian would make it."
"Chu Shaoxian is so powerful, he slayed this evil spirit in just a few moves!"
"..."
The flattery of these voices rang out.
Chu Liang looked at the celebrating team, also surprised at how suddenly they disappeared and reappeared, and how well they did it.
...
The next morning.
Chu Liang, who had rested for the night, woke up feeling refreshed. After washing up, a maid came to inform him that the banquet was prepared by the Master to celebrate Chu Shaoxian's victory.
"I will be there shortly," Chu Liang replied warmly.
Then, he walked around the backyard, bypassed the corridor, and walked to a splendid room. There, he found the master and lady's bedroom.
Knock, knock, knock, he knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" A soft female voice came from inside.
"I am Chu Liang. I heard that the lady is unwell, so I came to pay a visit," he replied.
"... " There was a moment of silence inside before she said, "Oh, it's the young hero from the Shu Mountain sect. I am not able to receive guests at the moment. I appreciate your kind intentions, but please leave."
In stark contrast to the warm Ming Master, the voice of the Ming Lady carried a hint of coldness.
"I have a secret technique from the Shu Mountain sect. It might be effective for the lady's illness. I can wait here until the lady is available for a visit."
After a pause, there was a sound of footsteps, followed by the creaking of a door opening.
The Ming Lady looked tired, without makeup, wearing a home robe. But her fair skin and beautiful appearance still shone through, truly a beauty.
She led Chu Liang to sit in front of a screen in the room. The light was dim, so she lit a red candle and poured two cups of tea before saying, "I was just a little startled. Since the young hero Chu managed to eliminate that monster last night, I will be fine in a few days. You need not worry too much."
"That's good then," Chu Liang nodded, and then said, "However, regarding the cat spirit from last night... There are some things I'd like to tell the lady."
"Oh?" The Ming Lady frowned. "What does Young Hero Chu want to say?"
"It's just some speculation," Chu Liang said slowly. "Because the cat spirit from last night was quite strange. It might be a grudge spirit, a demon spirit, or an infant spirit, which made me quite curious. So I wondered, why did it come to your Ming Mansion..."
"Evil spirits harm people. Do they need a reason?" the Ming Lady said.
"It does matter. If it's a grudge spirit, it would definitely seek the person who caused its death... If it's an infant spirit, it would seek its own mother first..." Chu Liang continued. "And this cat spirit has been gradually moving forward in your mansion for three consecutive days, without harming anyone, as if it's looking for something..."
"What is it looking for?" The Ming Lady's gaze seemed unfriendly.
"I also wonder. Master Ming said your family is virtuous and does not harm animals. Then... is it looking for its own mother? But it's a demon spirit, so is its mother also a demon?"
"And since the appearance of the cat spirit, the only one in the mansion who has not dared to show herself is you, Madam..." Chu Liang's gaze softened as he looked into the Ming Lady's eyes.
The Ming Lady chuckled, "Young Hero Chu, are you suggesting that I am a demon?"
"To know whether or not, we need to test it," Chu Liang said.
"Do you have a demon-revealing mirror?" The Ming Lady raised an eyebrow, seeming skeptical.
To reveal the demons, they would either need to actively use demon magic, which would emit demonic energy, or have special supernatural abilities, yet Chu Liang's cultivation was not sufficient. Another way would be with specialized tools, the most famous of which is the demon-revealing mirror.
However, demon-revealing mirrors are extremely rare. It is said that they exist in the royal palaces of the mortal world, the Cloud Convent Monastery of the Buddhist sect, and indeed the Shu Mountain sect. However, whether they would allow a young disciple to bring it down the mountain is highly doubtful.
"No," Chu Liang shook his head, "but something similar."
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