In fact, countless people have been ruined by this little game!
Meng Fan couldn't be bothered to explain.
It was indeed his mistake to introduce Pai Gow the other day, and a mistake needs to be corrected promptly.
Regardless, he had already destroyed the Pai Gow on the table, showing his stance.
Ye Qingyu's attitude was also clear; she didn't take back the Spirit Stones on the table.
She shook her head and said, "A bet is a bet. How could I take back these Spirit Stones? Besides, such a small amount of Spirit Stones is nothing to me."
As the most outstanding disciple of the Alchemy Hall, a few hundred Spirit Stones were indeed insignificant to her.
If she took these Spirit Stones back, where would her dignity go?
In front of Meng Fan, she had an inexplicable desire to win.
"Alright then, let's pack up and continue our journey," Meng Fan smiled, not insisting, and stored the Spirit Stones into his storage ring.
As for not resting the whole night, it didn't matter to the two of them at all.
With their mental strength, even if they didn't sleep or meditate for a month, they wouldn't feel any fatigue.
***
Moments later, the two of them finished washing up and went downstairs to the inn's first floor for breakfast.
Although they could practice inedia, there was no need to waste the opportunity to enjoy some food.
An inn was the best place to hear all sorts of rumors and gossip.
Groups of people gathered, chatting away, and even if you didn't intentionally eavesdrop, you would still hear some news.
For instance, at this moment, Meng Fan and Ye Qingyu heard something that made them frown.
"Have you heard? Several infants have gone missing in our town recently."
"Of course, I've heard. Those human traffickers are really bold. Even the blacksmith Li's child was taken right from his home!"
"This isn't the work of human traffickers. I heard it's demons causing trouble, specifically eating the brains of infants."
"Really? Why are you saying such scary things?"
***
Meng Fan and Ye Qingyu exchanged glances, seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.
Infants missing?
Demons causing trouble?
As disciples of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect, hearing these words made their hearts skip a beat.
Because the task of Shu Mountain Sword Sect disciples in the world was to slay demons and exterminate evil!
If they encountered demons and ignored them, they wouldn't be worthy of being called Shu Mountain disciples.
Meng Fan wasn't someone who liked to meddle in other people's business, but if what these people said was true, he had an obligation to intervene.
Not to mention, traveling with Ye Qingyu, it wouldn't be right to ignore such a malevolent demon.
At the very least, they couldn't tarnish the reputation of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect.
"Senior Brother Meng, if there really are demons causing trouble and eating the brains of infants, we, as Shu Mountain disciples, can't ignore it!" Ye Qingyu spoke up before Meng Fan could say anything, as he had anticipated.
"Of course!" Meng Fan nodded.
In fact, even if Ye Qingyu wasn't with him, he wouldn't just stand by.
He could be indifferent to killing, as people were killed every day in this world.
He couldn't possibly manage it all!
But such heinous acts as eating the brains of infants were too much for Meng Fan to ignore.
Deep down, Meng Fan still had a sense of chivalry.
He wasn't a great person, a bit selfish, a bit cold, and sometimes unkind.
But some things, even a selfish person couldn't ignore!
"Then let's delay our visit to your Ye family and stay here for a few days to see if we can find the demon harming the infants!" Meng Fan said to Ye Qingyu.
"Alright," Ye Qingyu naturally agreed.
Meng Fan finished his breakfast, then looked up at Ye Qingyu and asked, "Senior Sister Ye, if the demon we encounter is human, will you kill them?"
Ye Qingyu also looked up at Meng Fan, her tone extremely firm, "Yes!"
She was reluctant to kill, but if this "demon" was human, she would still kill them.
Because such a person could no longer be considered truly "human."
She felt she wasn't killing a person, but a demon.
A demon worse than demons!
Meng Fan smiled and said, "In that case, once we find this demon, I'll leave it to you to kill!"
He didn't know what kind of twisted mindset this was.
The more reluctant Ye Qingyu was to kill, the more he wanted her to do it.
Perhaps he enjoyed teaching others!
After paying for their meal and room, Meng Fan and Ye Qingyu left the inn.
***
Then they began their investigation and inquiries.
The most recent infant disappearance was yesterday.
The one before that was four days ago.
And the one before that was seven days ago.
In Black Bee Town, a total of four infants had gone missing.
One every three days!
There were rumors that infant corpses were found on Qiong Yun Mountain a few miles away, with their brains sucked dry.
But these were just rumors; no one had seen it with their own eyes.
It was also possible that the authorities were hiding the information, as such news could easily cause panic.
"Based on what we've learned, the 'demon' should strike again the day after tomorrow!" Ye Qingyu said to Meng Fan.
This was obvious; even a three-year-old could figure it out.
Meng Fan thought for a moment and said, "The day after tomorrow, we'll wait here for the demon. If it appears, it won't escape our detection."
Both of them were in the Heavenly Origin Realm, with strong Divine Senses.
Black Bee Town wasn't large; if the demon appeared, they would definitely sense it.
The demon could come and go freely because the town was full of mortals.
It couldn't possibly come and go unnoticed in front of Meng Fan and Ye Qingyu.
Unless it was a boss-level entity that had reached the Transformation Realm.
But that was clearly impossible!
A boss-level entity could easily wipe out the entire town without sneaking around.
And as long as it wasn't a demon comparable to the Condensation Pill Realm, Meng Fan and Ye Qingyu could easily detect and slay it!
"But before that, we can do more investigation in the next two days. At least, we can check out Qiong Yun Mountain, where the infant corpses were rumored to be found," Meng Fan thought of Qiong Yun Mountain.
According to the pattern, the demon would appear the day after tomorrow.
They couldn't just sit idle for the next two days!
Besides Qiong Yun Mountain, they could also visit the county office to gather more information.
After all, the families of the missing infants would have reported to the authorities, who should have more information.
"Alright, let's go to Qiong Yun Mountain first, then visit the county office," Ye Qingyu agreed with Meng Fan.
Killing was difficult for her.
But slaying demons and exterminating evil was her duty!
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan