Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao-Chapter 496 - 269 Death

With a gentle flick, his sharp nails sliced through the air with a fierce sharpness, instantly cutting across Lao Qing's body, blood splattered, turning the ground into a bright red.

Lao Qing's body immediately fell to the ground, he could no longer speak, only his eyes distantly followed the figure of Hong Xiu escaping, in those vertical pupils there was no longer the chill of the past, only warmth. He wasn't without humanity, it was just all vested in one person.

Hong Xiu seemed to sense something, she turned her head back, saw Lao Qing lying in a pool of blood and understood his last look. This extremely hideous man was using his life to win for her a chance to escape.

Suddenly, many scenes from years ago flashed through her mind, back when they had not yet become commanders under Madam Deyong, just ordinary demons living in these deep mountains.

Lao Qing was born with defects, so he became particularly ugly after shape-shifting, and coupled with a reclusive nature, he was not well-liked by other demons in the mountains. He would often wander alone in the great mountain, and back then cultivation was his only way to pass the time.

One day, he encountered a female demon being hunted down, her red dress captivated him in a moment, and for some reason, he decided to save this female demon named Hong Xiu.

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Hong Xiu remembered the first time she saw Lao Qing, she too was shocked by his appearance, but due to the debt of having her life saved, she did not discriminate against him. Back then, she was just a little demon without much strength, beauty became her original sin. She had been accustomed to the lustful gazes of many demons along the way,

So she acutely noticed the amazement in Lao Qing's eyes and felt quite proud inside, thus she made a decision, to follow this seemingly strong and not so viciously cruel ugly fellow as an acceptable choice until she found a better support.

Thus, the once always-lonely Lao Qing now had a companion in red traversing the forest with him. However, Hong Xiu soon realized that Lao Qing was an extremely boring individual. He would always walk with a downcast gaze, seldom speaking a word to her. Yet, when she was hungry, he would often offer her the tastiest food. It seemed that cultivation was the only thing in his life, so the moment she saw Madam Deyong, she chose to leave, attaching herself to the powerful had always been her way.

The next time she saw Lao Qing was to enlist him for Madam Deyong, after all, Lao Qing's strength was notable within a hundred miles, and Hong Xiu also wanted to use this opportunity to become one of Madam Deyong's confidantes.

Everything went smoothly, Lao Qing, who was always a solitary demon, surprisingly agreed quickly to join Madam Deyong's ranks under Hong Xiu's persuasion, and because of this merit, Hong Xiu caught the eye of Madam Deyong and rapidly rose to become a much-sought-after significant figure within these mountains.

From that time on, she gradually distanced herself from Lao Qing, after all, she was now illustrious, taking charge whenever Madam Deyong was in seclusion or away, seemingly second only to one and above thousands.

Even though Lao Qing had joined Madam Deyong's ranks and even had the title of a commander, he still kept to himself as always, not bonding with the other commanders, who also did not care much for this capricious, cold-eyed, and hideous demon.

As the days passed by, Lao Qing and Hong Xiu seemed to become parallel lines, never crossing paths again.

Until this day, when Madam Deyong went to Lion Camel City to gather information and since then vanished without a trace. According to Hong Xiu's knowledge of her, she had either been captured or killed.

At this moment, Madam Deyong's trusted aide harbored a different thought deep in her heart. Perhaps it was because she had stood at the top for too long, her ambition had grown wildly like weeds. After witnessing Madam Deyong's might, she yearned to command the demons from the summit just like her.

However, although her strength had greatly improved over the years with Madam Deyong's patronage, it was impossible for her to subdue the other commanders in the cave, especially the notoriously violent Leopard Commander, who had always looked down on her and was certain to cause trouble.

At that time, the image of Lao Qing suddenly flashed through her mind, and she realized that by winning over this ugly demon, she could potentially grasp that coveted position, and she was well aware of Lao Qing's affection for her.

Therefore, she deliberately orchestrated a reunion with him. As someone who often flitted between male demons, she quickly made Lao Qing believe she liked him, which prompted him to decide to stand up and support Hong Xiu.

Hong Xiu still remembered that at that time, there was no sign of happiness on Lao Qing's face. He just stared at Hong Xiu dumbly for a long time, his eyes incredibly complex, before he said in a hoarse voice, "If you want to do it, I'll support you."

When she heard these words, Hong Xiu's heart was already filled with ecstatic joy, so much so that she failed to see the complexity in Lao Qing's eyes. Now, looking at his body lying on the ground, that scene abruptly reappeared in her mind.

Hong Xiu had a moment of clarity. Perhaps Lao Qing had always known she was deceiving him, but he just didn't wish to expose it.

She suddenly stopped running. At this moment, the man she once saw as ugly had become a cold corpse, no longer able to stand silently behind her when she was lonely.

Hong Xiu's heart suddenly felt empty, followed by an immense pain that enveloped her completely, causing tears to streak across her face.

It turned out that she had never truly understood her own heart. The reticent and solitary man had, unnoticed, walked into her heart, yet she had always denied it.

Yet the surrounding demons, including Madam Deyong, were stunned by Hong Xiu's actions. They could never believe that Hong Xiu would stop and cry for the Lao Qing lying on the ground; it was a joke, since Hong Xiu was known to be all about appearances.

But amidst the shocked gazes, Hong Xiu slowly walked over to Lao Qing's body, reached out her hand to gently caress his scale-covered face, her tears continually falling on this face that she had previously thought ugly.

Scenes from the past kept resurfacing in her mind, and she had grown accustomed to his presence without realizing it. She had thought he would always be there behind her, but in the blink of an eye, he had vanished forever.

Hong Xiu slowly closed Lao Qing's eyes, which still held his look of concern. This fool always hid his emotions behind those cold, vertical pupils.