I Can Devour Spirits

Chapter 254: A Sinister Smile

Shen Yanliu took another sip of bird’s nest soup and suddenly his eyes shifted, as if he had thought of something.

"Someone, come!"

With Shen Yanliu’s deep shout, a servant quickly stepped in and stood quietly awaiting orders.

Shen Yanliu said, "Go call the young lady over!"

Shen Yanliu and Shen Mizi together entered the dungeon; the unpleasant smell inside made Shen Mizi frown, showing impatience on her fair face.

Shen Yanliu led Shen Mizi into a hidden cell, where the stench of blood made Shen Mizi immediately cover her nose with her sleeve.

Shen Yanliu went over and pulled up Su Di, who was curled in a corner, covered in blood and missing an arm, dragging her to the cell door, grabbing her by the hair to reveal her face.

The dim yellow light outside shone on Su Di’s face.

"Do you recognize this woman?"

Shen Mizi did not understand what her father meant; how could she know such a person akin to swine or dogs? However, she still moved closer to take a careful look, and with just one glance, her heart jolted.

Half a year had passed since she was humiliated and groped by Duan Rong at the painting stall, and she had put that matter behind her. But seeing Su Di now, those past events surged back into her mind, and a trace of disgust echoed in her heart once again.

"I’ve seen her before!" Shen Mizi coldly stated.

"At Duan Rong’s painting stall?"

Shen Mizi was surprised that her father knew so clearly about it. Her face reddened, and she nodded, "Yes."

Shen Yanliu felt relief in his heart, letting go of Su Di. It seemed that young man did not lie to him, and he did not want the Merit Order, fearing retaliation from the Filthy Blood Sect, only after autumn’s reckoning.

Shen Yanliu coldly said, "Let’s go."

He led Shen Mizi out of the dungeon and then went to his study. Along the way, he did not say a word to Shen Mizi as he was deep in thought about the case.

Shen Mizi stood dazed in the corridor for a while, then left in anger.

Back in her room, thinking about her father’s indifference, Shen Mizi became quite annoyed.

Moreover, March was approaching when she would participate in the Taiyi Sect’s Registered Disciple selection, but Shen Yanliu had never asked her how her preparations were going, nor had he ever cared about her cultivation progress, only thinking obsessively about next year’s political performance evaluation.

It was hard enough for him to call her, and she thought he would ask about her assessment, only to inquire about something she had already let go of.

Recently, Shen Mizi’s pressure had indeed been significant, with the assessment approaching, yet her mastery in the Fourth Level of the Inner Breath Realm remained unachieved.

Deep down, she was actually an extremely insecure person. Recently, the matter of cultivation had driven her nearly to collapse, leaving her sleepless often. Mornings were her worst mental state, and Shen Yanliu suddenly called her to the filthy dungeon and treated her coldly, becoming the final straw that shattered her psychological defense this morning.

Shen Mizi sat at the carved redwood desk, smiled to herself as a trace of madness appeared in her eyes.

Suddenly, she stood up, took out a yellow snakeskin dagger from a chest by the bed.

Clutching the dagger, Shen Mizi sat back down at the desk; her hands, due to nervousness, kept rubbing the dagger...

Suddenly, Shen Mizi drew the dagger, looking at its cold glint, and smiled eerily, her eyes filled even more with madness...

She rolled up her sleeves, took the dagger, and pierced her fair forearm...

The sharp dagger instantly tore through her delicate skin, bright red blood oozing out...

Shen Mizi looked at her crimson blood, and a sense of relief appeared in her eyes.

As crimson blood flowed over her fair skin, like lotus roots, there were several scars of varying depths...

She initially did this to herself when she was ten years old. By then, Shen Yanliu had been married to Ma Chunmin for several years. However, as Shen Mizi grew older, she became increasingly disgusted with this stepmother, particularly hating Ma Chunmin’s pretense of caring for her.

It was during her most agitated times that she, as if under some ghostly influence, injured herself. At that moment, seeing the blood flow out, she felt a cruel pleasure.

Since reaching adulthood, she had not done this for a long time.

She knew it was not normal.

But on this irritating morning, she repeated it again.

As the pleasure passed, Shen Mizi suddenly panicked. She wiped away the bloodstains, applied the Golden Wound Medicine to herself, and carefully wrapped her wound with a bandage, biting her lip.

After doing all of this, she felt an inexplicable lightness in her heart as if a huge stone had been removed. She gave a faint smile and went to the courtyard to practice her skills.

Meanwhile, Sun Huang’s wife, early in the morning, sat in the courtyard scolding him.

"You scoundrel, just die outside and don’t come back!"

Sun Huang had said he’d be back by evening, and she had waited all night but never saw a trace of him.

Upon waking in the morning, she assumed that Sun Huang had stayed overnight in Tanghe County, most likely with Luan Jingfu.

"Who knows what kind of scoundrel deeds they’re up to?" Sun Huang’s wife muttered in the courtyard.

Just then, there was a knock at the courtyard gate.

Sun Huang’s wife smirked, "Still know how to come back? See how I deal with you!"

Thinking it was her husband returning, she went to open the courtyard gate, only to find her neighbor Cai Shi standing there with an empty basket, looking pale and flustered, saying, "Sister Liu, I just saw your husband Sun Huang on the street..."

"Sun Huang?" Liu Eying glanced behind Cai Shi, smiling, "Where is he?"

"Your Sun Huang is dead," Cai Shi blurted out.

Liu Eying’s face changed, angrily replying, "It’s New Year, what nonsense are you spouting?"

"You should go ask at the County Government Office," Cai Shi said. "I just saw his corpse hanging on a horse on the street..."

Liu Eying’s expression looked awful. Cai Shi was known for stirring up trouble and gossiping among neighbors, but this joke was a bit too much.

Seeing Liu Eying’s hostile expression, Cai Shi said no more, turned, and left with her basket.

Nervous at heart, Liu Eying locked the courtyard gate and headed towards the government office.

All the way, she kept pondering Cai Shi’s words, but then she thought about it; her husband had been a bodyguard for over ten years without incident. This trip to Tanghe County was nothing unusual. She had even been to Tanghe County several times. Besides, this time Sun Huang went with Luan Jingfu.

Being a housewife, she didn’t understand much, but she had heard Sun Huang mention that Luan Jingfu became the Chief Leader because he was a... True Qi Realm expert.

The more Liu Eying thought about it, the more convinced she became that nothing could have happened to Sun Huang.

Liu Eying reached the County Government Office, pestered the gate constable for a long time, but he didn’t give her a straight answer, continually making lewd jokes at her.

As Liu Eying came down the stone steps of the government office, she felt that no news might be good news. If something had truly happened, the government office would have been abuzz already.

However, on her way back, she overheard many street discussions saying that Luan Jingfu’s house had been raided.

She also heard that the County Magistrate entered the city early in the morning, leading a horse with two bodies hanging on it.

"A horse? Two bodies?" Liu Eying’s heart grew anxious, and her pace involuntarily quickened as she decided to find Cai Shi for a clear explanation.

As Liu Eying walked, tears began to trickle involuntarily down her face...