THE LEGEND OF SHENLI

CHAPTER 33

     Demon technique? Shěn Lí wrinkled her brow.

The Demon realm had been under the Immortal realm’s jurisdiction since the end of the war a thousand years ago. The boundary dictated by the Immortal realm was firmly enforced by the Demon emperor, so even if the demon people didn’t like it, they couldn’t disobey. Despite this, there were those in the Immortal realm who suspected the demon people had evil intentions and were simply biding their time, waiting for a chance to strike back. But because the Demon emperor took great pains to enforce the boundaries, there were no issues between the two realms and nothing for the Immortal realm to complain about or use as evidence.

This would change if immortal beings were being kidnapped. If a link, no matter how dubious, could be drawn to the demon people, the already suspicious people of the Immortal realm would jump to conclusions and pass a guilty judgment.

The reputation of the Demon emperor and his people would be tarnished and the already tenuous peaceful relationship between the two realms would crumble.

Shěn Lí thought it would be great if the feigned friendship between the two realms fell apart and they could stop pretending to be nice to each other, however she had an issue with being used.

“Undo the limiting spell,” Shěn Lí said to Xíng Zhǐ as she walked to the group of men clad in black. She said this, but before he could do as she asked, she had already broken through the ice, grabbed one of the men by the scruff of his neck and punched him to the ground.

He lay in a fetal position clutching his belly. She promptly kicked his legs out and sat on his stomach, then she forced his mouth open to keep him from committing suicide.

“I’m going to ask each question once and only once. Refuse to answer and I will cut your finger and force you to eat it, so take stock of how many fingers you have.”

Xíng Zhǐ knew from the coldness in her eyes she was serious. She was a king of the Demon realm after all, so he didn't doubt her ferocity.

The man under her trembled, wanting to escape, but Shěn Lí was like an immovable thousand-pound weight.

“Who is your master?”

The veins on his face bulged and he looked like he was choking. Since he refused to answer Shěn Lí moved her hand to his waist and reached for the dagger sheathed there. She slid it out and pressed the blade to a finger, ready to slice it off. The man squeezed out the words, “Sect Master. . .

Before Shěn Lí could ask the next question his face turned a ghastly purple. The already bulging veins on his face expanded and pulsated like worms. Their movement grew in intensity until his eyes bulged out. A whinny sound of pain escaped his throat before a loud “pop” erupted from his head.

The brunt of the blood splatter landed on Shěn Lí’s hands, but some still managed to make it to her face. She glanced down at the body underneath her before tossing the dagger away and standing up.

Bones and flesh disintegrated into sand and spilled out of his clothes like an overfilled bag.

“What a malicious death curse. Answering questions will blow you up.”

With a grave expression, Xíng Zhǐ turned to the other men in black to find their eyes closed in suicide. Apparently, they didn’t want to die the same horrible death their comrade suffered.

Shěn Lí turned to follow his gaze. With a frown she said, “We lost our only lead.”

“I . . . I once overheard about a lake.” Hú Lù hesitated but pushed forward. “The immortals being kidnapped are being held in a cave near a cliff that’s covered with green vines. It’s by a huge waterfall. The only place that fits that description is Qingya cave.”