Kill the Junior Demon King, and Qingzhou’s troubles would resolve themselves naturally.

Things might even become more stable than before.

After all, once Jiang Qiulan broke through, even the Howling Moon would have to consider whether it could survive a joint assault from a Martial Immortal and a Mixed Origin Grandmaster. Withdrawing from Qingzhou’s borders and finding new territory elsewhere might simply be the wiser choice.

On the surface, everything looked promising.

But the unease in Aqian’s heart only grew.

She had followed that old wolf for many years. She did not believe it was unaware of what was at stake.

If there had been some urgent circumstance, that would be one thing.

But after it found the Junior Demon King, all it did was exchange a few idle words — which was roughly equivalent to Jiang Qiulan being in closed-door cultivation, and someone knowing full well there was likely a demon on her trail, then suddenly going to chat with her about life, and casually taking away the guards posted at her door.

Unless the Howling Moon was a spy planted by Qingzhou, only two possibilities remained.

It was trying to lure Jiang Qiulan into a trap.

Or the Junior Demon King was on the verge of a breakthrough, and the excitement had simply made it lose its head.

The first possibility was clearly far more likely than the second.

“If they didn’t say it deliberately for my benefit to hear — the Junior Demon King only needs to finish healing, and it can break through at any time.”

Aqian sent the message through her silver bell to the room. “Qiulan. What about you?”

Everyone looked toward the young woman — everyone except General Shen, who was quietly lost in his own thoughts.

“I don’t know.”

Jiang Qiulan shook her head. Her talent was stronger than most, but she was not the sort of freak who broke through realms like drinking water.

Her Heaven-Devouring path infant had fully matured, but shattering her core and achieving Mixed Origin Grandmaster might take a single instant — or it might take many years yet.

“Then it seems we don’t have much of a choice.”

Wu Feng let out a slow breath. Even if this was a trap, even if the Junior Demon King was only bluffing — who would dare gamble with the whole of Qingzhou?

Aqian said nothing. She kept her eyes quietly on Jiang Qiulan.

This was why she had kept Jiang Yuanhua outside the door.

If Jiang Qiulan was unwilling, then today had never happened. The people outside would not know what had been discussed, and would not know what opportunity had been passed over.

This young woman had already grown to the point where she could make decisions in the General’s place.

Whether in the eyes of the Division or the demon-hunters, she had more than earned that trust.

“Perhaps… martial sister Jiang is not well-suited to assassination?”

You Longtao suddenly shifted his gaze, letting it come to rest on the young man’s face.

“…”

Aqian had not expected You Longtao to speak up. She had brought him here because he was the only Demon Suppression General besides Jiang Qiulan who had broken through all three thresholds of Core-Nurturing.

In a group of generals who all relied on accumulated faith, You Longtao alone could fight effectively even beyond Qingzhou’s borders.

His ceiling was visible, too. He could become the next Martial Immortal, but not a second one — not the Mixed Origin path. He could fight, and Qingzhou could absorb the cost if he fell. He was, in almost every way, the right person for this.

Given You Longtao’s character, she had expected him to say nothing that might affect Jiang Qiulan’s decision.

Aqian followed his gaze.

A look of mild resignation crossed her face.

What was the point of looking at Shen Yi right now? She would grant that his rate of growth was more terrifying than most demons’, and that he had earned real credit killing the White Deer at such a young age.

But even taking that credit at full value — the White Deer and the Junior Demon King were not in the same class. The gap between them was wider than the gap between Chen Qiankun and Jiang Qiulan.

“The Junior Demon King carries serious wounds. If General Shen is willing to go, I would gladly lend him my strength. And if we walk into an ambush — even if the Howling Moon comes in person, I will fight to buy him a few breaths of time.”

You Longtao rose slowly, speaking through his silver bell as he turned and clasped his hands toward the young man across from him.

If the Junior Demon King broke through, even Jiang Qiulan’s presence would count for nothing. If it had not yet broken through — with General Shen’s strength, he would be no less useful than martial sister Jiang.

The two Gold-bell demon-hunters exchanged a brief, startled glance. He was serious?

“…”

Shen Yi came back to himself and said, carefully: “General You is too generous. Please, sit down.”

He had seen the Junior Demon King once. Its demon qi had dwarfed anything else he had ever encountered. And You Longtao, who had struggled against two blue-faced lions, would be largely useless once outside Qingzhou’s borders.

The reason Shen Yi had stayed quiet was that he was not in the habit of offering opinions on things he did not fully understand. What Qingzhou should do, and how — that was not his area.

But when it came to killing demons, he actually had a fair amount of experience.

“Ah.”

You Longtao hesitated, then sat back down.

Aqian propped her small face on her hand and found she was understanding the situation less and less.

Then Jiang Qiulan glanced sideways at Shen Yi and said quietly: “You agreed to let me come along earlier. Does that still stand?”

Aqian’s hand slipped, and she nearly put her forehead through the table. “…”

So that was it. She had been silent all this time waiting for Shen Yi’s opinion.

“Fine by me.”

Shen Yi knew what she was hesitating over.

After everything that happened on the way to the capital, he had long since noticed that Jiang Qiulan had a particular gap in her abilities. She was simply worried about being a liability — while genuinely wanting to kill the Junior Demon King.

There was nothing to agonize over, really.

It was just that she had never learned a translocation technique.

He had hauled a flood dragon’s corpse a hundred yards without thinking twice. He could manage one woman.

“Wait — you two have already decided?”

Aqian got to her feet. She had been expecting to make a proper summary once Jiang Qiulan gave her answer.

“I have never once seen a demon report come in that General Shen could sit still through. Even if the two of them didn’t go, he would have gone alone.” You Longtao looked over at grandmother Aqian with a helpless smile.

From the moment she had let Shen Yi into this pavilion, the answer had already been decided.

“…”

Shen Yi’s brow creased slightly. Were his intentions really that obvious?

He hadn’t been planning to get involved.

Going by what Jiang Qiulan had said earlier — every demon withdrawing at once — this had all but announced itself as a trap. He had no interest in leading a group of people to their deaths.

Though he had admittedly been thinking about slipping over to take a look on his own…

“Well.”

Aqian sighed, sensing that no one particularly cared about her opinion.

She still could not work out why these two — master and student — trusted Shen Yi as completely as they did.

She carefully drew a dense strand of qi from her gold bell.

“In that case, let’s put together a proper plan.”

The Junior Demon King had provoked Jiang Qiulan over and over, and escaped cleanly every time. Wounded or not, killing it would not be simple.

“I know it possesses a Red Cloud treasure artifact, so I’ve prepared a gold-thread net. But I don’t know what other methods it has.”

“I haven’t seen any others.”

Jiang Qiulan closed her eyes, casting her mind back carefully. “It always uses a single broadsword, and the Red Cloud. Its speed is even faster than Shen Yi’s translocation technique. Beyond that, nothing.”

(End of Chapter)