Chapter 1195: Fox Demon
Yang Haoran’s gaze fell upon Ye Zhiqiu and the woman. Before he could speak, Ye Zhiqiu, with a lazy air, took the initiative to say:
"I've brought the person to you. The rest is none of my business."
As his words fell, Ye Zhiqiu lightly tossed the rope in his hand. The rope, once released, seemed to suddenly come alive, whistling through the air as it coiled around the woman's body with lightning speed.
Seeing this, the woman tried to dodge, but before her body could react, the rope had already wrapped around her.
It wasn't that she was incompetent; rather, she was simply too weak at the moment. Her scant remaining power had been sealed by Ye Zhiqiu, and with Ye Zhiqiu acting without warning at such close range, how could she possibly have dodged successfully?
Originally, only the woman's hands had been bound tightly by the rope, but now, her entire body was firmly trussed up, like a human-shaped zongzi.
"This rope is a decent Demon Weapon of mine. When you're done, remember to return it to me. Don't just toss it aside like some worthless hemp rope."
Ye Zhiqiu glanced at the woman, who was tied up like a zongzi, then withdrew his gaze. After adding that remark to Yang Haoran, he turned and began to walk away.
Yang Haoran smiled faintly. Ye Zhiqiu, who had just stepped out the door, immediately paused at these words. He then pulled back the foot that had crossed the threshold, turning to look at Yang Haoran.
"Really?"
Ye Zhiqiu's lazy demeanor shifted slightly, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.
Yang Haoran took a puff from his cigarette, then smiled and nodded at Ye Zhiqiu, giving an affirmative reply.
"Really."
After receiving Yang Haoran's affirmative reply, a smile appeared on Ye Zhiqiu's face.
"Since you, my boss, are giving me some time off, I'm not in such a hurry to leave. It's fine if I stay here and keep you company for a bit longer."
Ye Zhiqiu chose the nearest seat in the study, walking towards it while speaking with a smile.
As he spoke, he retrieved his flask from his personal spatial dimension. By the time his words finished, he was already leaning back in the chair, legs crossed, taking a large gulp of strong liquor with a look of pure enjoyment.
Yang Haoran knew why Ye Zhiqiu had been so eager to leave just now. It must have been because Ye Zhiqiu was in a hurry to see his wife, Red Lotus. After all, over the past year or so, Ye Zhiqiu had spent little time with his wife, and he had barely returned to the Guardian District before having to go out on another mission. Ye Zhiqiu must have assumed it was the same this time, which was why he was so eager to depart, hoping to save more time to spend with his wife, Red Lotus.
And indeed, that was the truth. Ye Zhiqiu's haste to leave wasn't due to any grievances against Yang Haoran, nor did he wish to avoid seeing or interacting with Yang Haoran. Rather, as Yang Haoran had guessed, he and his wife had spent little time together over the past year. Thus, upon returning to the Guardian District, he immediately abandoned the woman and prepared to depart. He had no desire to waste time with Yang Haoran; he would rather spend that time with his wife.
As for why he now voluntarily stayed, it was because he, Ye Zhiqiu, had captured this woman and brought her back. He had some understanding of her, whereas Yang Haoran knew nothing about her. If Yang Haoran had any questions, he could tell him everything he knew, to the best of his ability, to clarify things for Yang Haoran.
If Yang Haoran hadn't given him a vacation, he wouldn't have had the leisure to stay here and answer Yang Haoran's questions. If Yang Haoran wanted to know more about the woman, he could ask her himself; it had nothing to do with Ye Zhiqiu.
However, since Yang Haoran was giving him an extended vacation, this unexpected surprise put him in a very good mood. He felt it wouldn't hurt to spend a little more time with Yang Haoran, as he had plenty of time ahead of him.
"Heh heh, why don't you first give me a rough overview of this 'esteemed guest'? That way, I can get a preliminary understanding of her."
Yang Haoran watched Ye Zhiqiu, who was leaning back in his chair with a look of enjoyment, took a light puff from his cigarette, and then spoke with a faint smile.
Upon hearing Yang Haoran's words, Ye Zhiqiu's face openly displayed a look of disdain. This contempt was, of course, not directed at the woman, but squarely at Yang Haoran.
"Damn, only you, Yang Haoran, could say something like that. In all my life, I've never seen an 'esteemed guest' treated this way."
Ye Zhiqiu spoke with disdain etched on his face, but Yang Haoran showed not the slightest change in expression because of Ye Zhiqiu's contempt. Instead, Yang Haoran merely smiled without speaking, showing no intention of replying.
Ye Zhiqiu observed Yang Haoran's reaction, understanding his meaning. He then took another swig of strong liquor, and continued to speak.
"A fox Demon, at the peak Great Demon realm."
Ye Zhiqiu spoke concisely, as if every word were precious. As his words fell, he said nothing further, instead lighting a cigarette for himself and continuing to sip his wine.
That this woman was a Demon, Yang Haoran already knew. Since Ye Zhiqiu was a Demon Hunter, anyone he referred to as prey was naturally a Demon.
However, before Ye Zhiqiu spoke, Yang Haoran only knew that the woman was a Demon. He knew nothing else – for instance, what specific type of Demon she was, or what level of power she possessed. He couldn't discern any of this by sight alone, due to the seal on the power within her body.
Now, hearing Ye Zhiqiu's explanation, Yang Haoran gained a preliminary understanding of the woman. Yang Haoran wasn't particularly interested in her identity as a fox Demon, but her power at the peak Great Demon realm certainly piqued his interest.
The peak Great Demon realm was only a short step away from the Demon King realm. Once that step was taken, entering the Demon King realm would bring a substantial increase in power, placing one at the same level as an Underworld Office agent who had opened their Earth Soul.
Furthermore, even if she hadn't yet entered the Demon King realm, her current peak Great Demon realm strength was still not to be underestimated. The fact that she couldn't defeat Ye Zhiqiu, and was even captured by him, was only because Ye Zhiqiu's power was overwhelmingly superior to hers. This merely indicated that she was weaker than Ye Zhiqiu; it didn't mean she herself wasn't powerful.
In truth, the power of a peak Great Demon was by no means weak; without specific countering methods, even an Underworld Office agent at the peak Heaven Soul realm might not be a match. However, unfortunately for this woman, she encountered Ye Zhiqiu, a Demon Hunter. A Demon Hunter's techniques not only possessed a strong suppressive effect on Demons, but Ye Zhiqiu was also a three-star Demon Hunter, whose cultivation realm surpassed hers. Therefore, even with her considerable power, this woman could absolutely not be Ye Zhiqiu's opponent; facing him, she couldn't even manage to escape.
"Heh heh, peak Great Demon realm. Very impressive."
Yang Haoran's gaze rested on the woman as he spoke with a smile. It was evident that he was quite pleased with her cultivation realm.
As his words fell, Yang Haoran took a puff from his cigarette, then looked towards Ye Zhiqiu.
"Put away your Demon Weapon. Treating an esteemed guest like this is indeed rather impolite."
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu glanced at Yang Haoran. Without asking further, he simply waved his hand, and the rope tightly binding the woman immediately loosened and returned to Ye Zhiqiu's grasp.
Freed from the rope's constraints, the woman's body regained its liberty. She first casually rubbed her reddened wrists, then, without any warning, lunged towards Yang Haoran with an arrow-like dash.
Although her scant remaining power had been sealed by Ye Zhiqiu, her physical prowess still remained. Moreover, being a Demon by nature, the sturdiness of her physical body was incomparable to that of an ordinary person. Even without the support of her internal power, she could still unleash a certain degree of destructive force.
The woman's speed was swift, and her movements were incredibly agile. In the blink of an eye, she had darted to the edge of the table in front of Yang Haoran. With a leap, she powerfully pushed off the tabletop with her toes, using it as leverage.
Crack!
A hole appeared as the tabletop cracked. The woman's body shot towards Yang Haoran, who was behind the table, like an arrow released from a bow. Along the way, her hands clenched into fists, and she swung one down towards Yang Haoran's face.
Just as the punch was about to connect with Yang Haoran's face, a mass of Yin Qi suddenly surged forth in front of him, intercepting the woman's strike.
There was no explosion, nor was the Yin Qi torn apart by the woman's punch. When her fist struck the Yin Qi, it felt as though she had hit a wad of cotton — soft yet incredibly resilient. Her physical strength alone was utterly incapable of dispersing this mass of Yin Qi.
Immediately afterward, a powerful rebounding force surged forth, directly sending the woman's body flying backward. When she was forced to land, she surprisingly found herself back in her original position.
At the same time, the violently swirling Yin Qi in front of Yang Haoran vanished completely the moment the woman landed.
After steadying herself, the woman's blazing gaze fixed on Yang Haoran. This look was no different from the one she had previously directed at Ye Zhiqiu: furious and brimming with intense killing intent.
Yang Haoran showed no anger or displeasure due to the woman's sudden ambush. The expression on his face remained unchanged from before; he simply watched the woman, whose eyes seemed to spit fire, with a faint smile.
Throughout the entire process, not only did Yang Haoran's facial expression remain completely unchanged, but Ye Zhiqiu's did as well. Ye Zhiqiu continued to leisurely smoke and drink as before, not taking the woman's sneak attack seriously at all. If there was any difference, it was only that he spared the woman two more glances than before.
After steadying herself, the woman did not give up. Instead, she launched another attack on Yang Haoran.
However, her attack had no effect whatsoever. The moment her body neared Yang Haoran, the recently dispersed Yin Qi reappeared, simultaneously blocking her assault and sending her body flying back again.
The unyielding woman launched several consecutive attacks at Yang Haoran, but the outcome was always the same: she couldn't harm him in the slightest. Each time her attack was about to strike Yang Haoran, the intense Yin Qi would reappear, blocking her assault. No matter which direction she attacked from, she couldn't breach that wall of Yin Qi.
Her repeated attacks inflicted no damage whatsoever on Yang Haoran, but they placed a considerable burden on the woman's body. She was already weak, and her physical injuries were not light. Furthermore, forcing several attacks on Yang Haoran within a short period added immense strain to her body, causing her physical injuries to worsen instantly.
Therefore, after her series of attacks concluded, the woman did not continue her assault on Yang Haoran. Instead, she stood rooted to the spot, gasping heavily for breath, her body trembling slightly.
"Heh heh, I untied you and restored your freedom, yet you immediately tried to kill me. Isn't that a bit. . . impolite?"
Yang Haoran asked with a faint smile, utterly shameless words flowing from his mouth without the slightest hint of discomfort.
Upon hearing Yang Haoran's words, the fury in the woman's eyes visibly intensified, but she still did not speak.
Seeing this, a flicker of doubt arose in Yang Haoran's mind. Logically, the woman shouldn't have remained silent in such a situation; a few furious curses were practically guaranteed. Yet, precisely that did not happen, which was why he felt a touch of bewilderment.
However, this doubt lingered in his mind for only a fleeting moment. Then, something occurred to him, and he turned his gaze to Ye Zhiqiu, who was leaning back in his chair, smoking and drinking.
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