The Demon King is an Idiot [BL]-Chapter 162: Innocent?

"Are you sure that’s your blood?" Quan Mu asked, stepping a little closer to the woman.

Song Xiuying immediately took a few steps back and had a complicated expression on her face as she heard this question. For a second there, she even looked a bit stunned and worried.

"O-Of course it is my blood! I was almost killed by that demon! You don’t even know how I managed to survive!"

"And how exactly did you?" Quan Mu asked with an amused smirk, "So many villagers were killed by that demon but you are the only one who managed to survive. How did you do it?"

Song Xiuying gulped as she heard this question and suddenly started crying.

"I... I almost died because of you two... W-Why are you suspecting me like this? What did I ever do to you? Why are you suspecting me? Should I have just died like the rest?" Her voice sounded a bit choked up and her acting was certainly top-notch.

When they saw her cry, the villagers immediately took her side and supported her.

Xue Lan and Quan Mu could only look on with a disappointed sigh.

"Why are you pressuring her? Can’t you see that she is scared?"

"That’s right! How can you stand there and accuse her when you are the ones in the wrong?"

"I wonder if you are really trying to save us. Aren’t you immortal Xue Lan? We’ve heard so much about you. We thought you’d be able to catch that beast and help us, but so far, we’ve seen you do nothing but put us in danger!"

Quan Mu smirked as he heard this and glanced at Xue Lan, wondering how the man would handle this situation.

Song Xiuying quietly sobbed, hiding behind the villagers that took her side.

Xue Lan only smiled and didn’t seem to be offended by the accusing words.

"In that case, it seems like I am no longer needed here," Xue Lan spoke with a sigh, "You are right. I haven’t been able to help you nor have I been able to catch that demon. Since it is like this, I do not think I’ll be able to help you any further. Before the sun rises tomorrow, I’ll be gone and you won’t have to worry about me."

"..." Both the villagers and Quan Mu were shocked at this response.

Quan Mu thought Xue Lan would try to defend himself, but who could have expected Xue Lan to give up so easily?

Xue Lan turned around and walked toward the door with the full intention to leave the village.

However, how could the villagers just let him go like that?

"W-Wait...! How can you leave like this? So irresponsible! You already took on the job. You should at least finish it before leaving."

The other villagers nodded their heads, agreeing.

"I’m afraid I can’t do that," Xue Lan sighed as he spoke, "The beast that you want me to catch is precisely that woman whom you are protecting. How can I ignore your wishes and kill her?"

Some of the villagers warily glanced at Song Xiuying and moved a few steps away from the woman.

"Y-You do not have proof!" One of the villagers shouted, "We cannot hand over an innocent woman."

"Innocent?" Xue Lan repeated and thinly smiled as he asked, "How can she be innocent? Just look at her."

The villagers turned their heads to look at Song Xiuying but didn’t seem to notice what Xue Lan was trying to point out.

"She went missing just a few days ago but look at how much weight she has lost."

"O-Of course I will lose weight...!" Song Xiuying cried out with a frown, "Do you think that demon fed me? He didn’t! I was almost starved to death! I am not a cultivator like you that can go unfazed even without eating."

Xue Lan nodded his head, agreeing as he spoke, "That’s right. Normal humans cannot live without food and water. So how did you manage to survive? I’m sure the demon wasn’t kind enough to feed you even once."

Song Xiuying gulped as she heard this and stayed quiet.

"The demon did not starve you," Xue Lan added with a thin smile, "In fact, it wasn’t a demon that kidnapped you."

"What are you trying to do?" Song Xiuying asked, looking a little concerned.

"You haven’t been able to consume life energy for the last few days, have you?"

Song Xiuying’s eyes slightly widened as she heard this but she tried her best not to show a reaction that could make her seem suspicious.

"W-What is life energy?" She stuttered out as she asked.

"It’s something that a demon needs to consume in order to look human. You are probably familiar with it."

"I do not even know what it means," Song Xiuying defended herself, "Why would I need it?"

"You know exactly what it means. Isn’t that why you covered yourself up in blood?"

Song Xiuying gulped as she heard this but gave no response.

Quan Mu smirked as he finally realized what Xue Lan was trying to do and couldn’t help but feel impressed by the man.

"You thought you’ll disappear and keep on hunting the villagers. However, for the last few days, they have all been gathered up in this house together, and hence, you were unable to hunt anyone. As a result, you did not consume any life energy and your facade almost broke."

"W-What are you talking about?" Song Xiuying took a step back in fear as she nervously stuttered out.

"So you had to act fast before I realized what you truly were," Xue Lan sighed as he continued, "You covered yourself up in the blood and tried to sneak in here in order to collect life energy."

"Isn’t that just an assumption?" Song Xiuying accusingly asked, "Such nonsense cannot be proved."

"Then tell me why you covered yourself up in chicken blood," Xue Lan replied with a smile.

The villagers looked at Song Xiuying with suspicion and fear as they heard Xue Lan’s words.

"N-Nonsense!" Song Xiuying shouted, "It’s not chicken blood! It’s my blood!"

"Can you prove it?" Xue Lan questioned and Song Xiuying could only remain silent as she heard this.

"I can," Xue Lan added as he raised his sword, "You see, this spiritual sword has special powers. It can detect the difference between blood that belongs to an animal and blood that belongs to a human. It can also detect the difference between the blood that belongs to a cultivator and blood that belongs to a demon."

He was bluffing, however, his confidence left no room for doubt and the villagers immediately believed his words.

"Let’s see if the blood on you is really yours or not," Xue Lan spoke as he continued, "It won’t hurt too much. Just a pinch is all that would be needed."

The villagers looked at each other and nodded their heads as they heard this. They seemed to have been convinced by the man’s words and agreed in unison, thinking that it was probably good to be on the safer side and check.

"Nonsense! There is no spiritual sword that can do that!" Song Xiuying retorted, sounding sure of herself.

Xue Lan smiled as he heard this reply and asked, "How do you know that?"

"..." Song Xiuying immediately pursed her lips closed and felt as if she had been tricked.

"I thought you were just a normal human being," Xue Lan chuckled as he continued, "How can a mere mortal like you know the matters of the martial world?"

Song Xiuying glared back at the man but gave no response.

The villagers seemed to be even more convinced that there was something wrong with Song Xiuying’s reaction.

The people, who were standing in front of Song Xiuying and shielding her from the two cultivators, stepped aside as they silently agreed to trust Xue Lan.

When Xue Lan stepped closer to Song Xiuying with his sword, Song Xiuying desperately looked around for help but when no one stepped up to help her, she grew annoyed and angry.

Suddenly, her eyes changed color and her nails grew into claws.

"Damn it all!" She cursed out loud and grabbed the person that was nearest to her as she threatened, "Stop right there or I’m snapping her neck!"

Xue Lan stopped as he heard this but the smile on his face did not falter at all and his reaction to her sudden change was quite calm.

"How the hell did you know?!" Song Xiuying cried out, glaring at Xue Lan with hostility.

"At first, it was just a guess," It was Quan Mu who chuckled as he spoke, answering her question, "It was actually you who gave us a hint."

Song Xiuying frowned as she turned to look at Quan Mu.

"You stopped crying," Xue Lan spoke as he added, "When your father died. You were more interested in listening to us talk. Normally, people do not stay that calm when they see their father’s dead body sitting in front of them."

Quan Mu nodded and spoke, "You also agreed to become the bait. Even after seeing what that beast did to your father, you still dared to become the bait. That was quite courageous of you."

"So it was a trap all along?"

Quan Mu and Xue Lan glanced at each other before turning to look at Song Xiuying as they nodded in unison.