Chapter Twelve: The Cat Demon (Please add to your bookshelf and keep reading!)

"You lunatic, Qin! What nonsense are you spouting?" An elder of the Zhao clan roared with fury, his eyes filled with malice as he glared at the woman in mourning garb, his threat unmistakable.

This elder was named Zhao Mingtang, and the deceased Zhao Qi was his son.

"I'm not speaking nonsense! Every word I say is true. If it weren't for you, my husband wouldn't have died—all of this is your doing!"

Despite the fear she felt from Zhao Mingtang and the others' threatening presence, Qin had already spoken her mind and now, having crossed the line, she saw no reason to hold back any longer.

"I'm not afraid of you. Now our household consists only of a widow and an orphan. At worst, we'll end up like Li Ping and her daughter!" A wild light flickered on her face as she glared with hatred at Zhao Mingtang and the other four elders of the Zhao clan.

"Enough!"

A cold glint flashed across Su Ye's strikingly handsome face. Under his chilling gaze, Zhao Mingtang, who had intended to threaten Qin further, immediately fell silent, not daring to make another sound.

"The five of you will take me to the place where Li Ping and her daughter are buried," Su Ye said, his meaning clear as his gaze settled on the five elders.

"Master Su, the rain is getting heavier. Why don't we wait until tomorrow, when the weather clears, to go?" The five elders of the Zhao clan paled. Their bodies, never robust, were already struggling after only a short time in the rain—let alone leading Su Ye all the way to Wushi Mountain!

Li Ping and her daughter had been buried alive by Zhao Mingtang and his fellows, deep within Wushi Mountain.

The mountain path was treacherous at the best of times; now, with the downpour turning the trail to mud, venturing into Wushi Mountain could well cost them their lives.

"I won't repeat myself a second time." Su Ye's gaze fixed upon Zhao Mingtang, and the faintest tendrils of murderous intent seeped from his body.

At that moment, the guards of the Su family stepped forward to stand behind Su Ye, their eyes just as cold as they stared down the five elders.

Accustomed to a life of privilege, the five elders of the Zhao clan had never faced such a scene. They trembled with fear, no longer daring to argue, and immediately agreed to lead Su Ye to the burial site of Li Ping and her daughter.

Su Ye instructed Gao Yuan and the other guards to remain at the Zhao estate, while he proceeded alone with the five elders towards Wushi Mountain.

The Zhao estate lay at the foot of Wushi Mountain. After leaving the mortuary, the group had barely walked before an endless range of mountains loomed before them—the very silhouette of Wushi Mountain.

The five elders, advanced in years and burdened by the cold, wet weather, moved at a torturously slow pace. The icy rain lashed against them, chilling them to the bone.

Su Ye followed silently behind them, using a water-repelling spell to shield himself from the rain; not even the muddy trail left a single trace on his shoes.

The mountain path was slick and treacherous. The five elders stumbled and fell repeatedly, their once-fine garments now so soiled with mud as to be unrecognizable. In their wretched state, they looked even worse than beggars by the roadside.

Time crept by. After more than an hour of this arduous journey, they finally reached the burial site of Li Ping and her daughter.

By then, only two of the original five elders remained. The other three had been left behind, unable to continue due to exhaustion.

"Master Su, this is the place where Li Ping and her daughter were buried," one of the remaining elders said, pointing fearfully at the freshly turned earth.

He was terrified. Having done such a wicked deed, and now, with the village plagued by strange happenings and the weather so gloomy, he was more frightened than ever to return to the place where Li Ping and her daughter had been buried alive.

Su Ye frowned slightly as he gazed at the disturbed soil. Gathering the energy from his dantian, he channeled it to his feet and stamped forcefully on the ground.

A surge of powerful energy shot from his foot into the earth, rolling like a dragon beneath the surface and instantly upheaving the soil.

When the energy reached the spot where Li Ping and her daughter were buried, it exploded, blasting a large pit into the ground.

"We buried Li Ping and her daughter right here. Where have their bodies gone?" Both elders gasped in horror when they saw the empty pit.

Their faces were drawn with terror. They had personally witnessed the burial, even waiting until all movement had ceased before leaving to avoid any mishap.

But now, what had become of the bodies of Li Ping and her daughter?

"They've all turned into vengeful spirits and corpse demons—they would not remain in this pit," Su Ye said after quietly sensing the lingering traces of death and yin energy in the earth.

These two forces entwined—an unmistakable sign of vengeful spirits possessing corpses.

"Come out, little cat," Su Ye called, glancing behind him. Just then, a ghostly green light flickered in the darkness.

As the eerie green glow slowly faded, a large tanuki cat with yellow and white fur appeared before him.

"A demon cat!"

"Master Su, what should we do now?" The two elders recognized the cat at once as the very monster that had caused havoc at the Zhao estate.

Fresh blood and bits of flesh still clung to the demon cat's claws and fur. Its emerald eyes swept over Su Ye, then fixed on the two Zhao clan elders.

"Take your people and leave the mountain. Do not meddle in this affair," the demon cat said softly, its voice thin and high, like that of a child.

"You may kill these two to avenge your master, but I will not leave," Su Ye replied with a smile. From the moment he and the elders entered Wushi Mountain, he had sensed the demon cat's presence.

The demon had stalked them from behind; Su Ye suspected it would strike down the three elders who had fallen behind from exhaustion, and now, seeing the fresh blood on its fur, his suspicions were confirmed.

"Master Su, you cannot do this! Save us, please—the demon cat will kill us!" the two elders cried, edging closer to Su Ye as the cat advanced.

But Su Ye, like a gust of wind, slipped away in a flash, putting distance between them.

"You deserve your fate. The only reason I haven't killed you myself is because I don't want to dirty my hands," Su Ye said coldly. He truly wished to kill the five elders of Zhao, for what they had done was beneath even the vilest of beasts.

The two were nothing more than frail old men, already exhausted from the long climb.

The demon cat was savage and merciless. In a matter of moments, the two elders were dead, torn apart by its jaws.