Takeshi covered his nose and mouth.
The combination of the strong smell of blood and the cold air kept Takeshi's throat feeling constantly uncomfortable.
"Could it be that here too..."
"No," Kanae interrupted. Since she was now sharing a body with Takeshi, she could share the five senses of his body.
"It's not a Demon. If it were a Demon, the scent would be even stronger and more murderous," Kanae explained.
The snow fell thicker and thicker, the wind scraping against his face like tiny blades.
The sky had noticeably darkened, and the outlines of the distant mountains began to blur. Takeshi glanced back at the path they came from—it was a vast expanse of white, his footprints long gone.
Ahead was the deathly silent Luyu Village; behind was dozens of miles of snowy plains.
"I have to go in." He exhaled a puff of white mist and rubbed his frozen, stiff fingers. "Even if there are no Demons, I need to find a place to shelter from the snow for the night."
No matter how good one's physical strength was, enduring a blizzard overnight in the wild was seeking death. Moreover, he needed to find out what exactly had happened in this village.
The snow had already covered most of the road, making a crunching sound as he stepped on it.
He didn't expect the snow to be so heavy even before December.
However, that smell of blood was getting closer and closer.
Until Takeshi arrived near a broken bridge.
There were many houses near the broken bridge, but they were tightly closed. Strangely, despite the blizzard outside, there were no fires burning inside these houses, and no smoke coming from the chimneys.
Takeshi stepped forward and knocked on the door, but there was no response from inside.
His brow furrowed. "My apologies."
Since receiving guidance from Kanae, Takeshi's overall martial arts and physical capabilities had significantly improved, so he could easily kick open the wooden door.
"Crash—"
The wooden door fell to the ground, and the snow on the eaves rustled down.
Takeshi walked in. There was no smell of blood inside, and the house was neatly arranged. Although there was no fire, there was charcoal in the stove that hadn't been lit yet.
"This doesn't look like an uninhabited place, but in such cold weather, where did the people in this house go?" Kanae wondered.
"The smell of blood is stronger toward the west of the village. Let's go check it out!"
"Yeah!"
Before leaving, Takeshi propped the door back up to temporarily prevent the snow outside from blowing into the house.
The layout of the village was simple. After passing through a main road, he soon reached a relatively secluded and open area.
This should be a square similar to those used for activities or sacrifices.
He could see many implements related to sacrifices.
And in the center of the square, firelight was actually flickering!
It must have just been lit, otherwise he would have seen the rising smoke earlier.
He didn't make a sound, but instead approached slowly.
Although heavy snow was falling, Takeshi could still see clearly.
A group of elderly people were either standing or sitting, huddled around a bonfire. Their figures flickered in and out of view between the firelight and the curtain of snow, indistinct.
No one spoke, and no one moved.
Takeshi approached slowly. When he was less than ten meters away, a young voice rang out:
"Good evening, everyone!"
In front of the bonfire, a thinly dressed youth was spreading his arms. His voice was full of a certain burning passion, as if he were standing on a high platform under the spotlight:
"Welcome to this place! From today on, I will lead you all to a brand new world!"
The elderly people remained silent, the firelight dancing in their hollow eyes.
"Have you all ever felt pain? Despair? Resentment? Do you feel hatred for this remaining life with no one to rely on in your old age?" The youth took a step forward, his voice extremely piercing. "From this moment on, forget them!"
"What you don't want to do, you no longer need to force yourself to do! Everything that causes you pain, cast it all aside!"
"Our only purpose for coming into this world—" He spread his arms, his voice suddenly rising, like a divine oracle:
"Is to live every day without any burdens, in joy and peace!"
The wind and snow swirled with his words, echoing across the open square.
The youth suddenly knelt on the ground and tremblingly took out a small sealed jar from his robes.
He excitedly pulled out the wooden cork from the small jar. "This was bestowed upon me by That Lord. At this moment, under the witness of all of you, I shall become a true—Agent of God!"
"From today on, I will become—the first Cultivator of the Eternal Paradise Cult to receive God's recognition. I shall have eternal life and proclaim—"
The youth laughed maniacally. Holding the jar in his hand, he was about to shove its contents into his mouth.
"Not good, stop him!" Kanae's expression was one of terror when she heard the youth's last sentence.
"Clang—"
An ordinary long sword instantly appeared in Takeshi's hand. He held the sword with a reverse grip, the hilt facing forward.
His calf muscles tightened, and his feet pressed hard against the snow as he charged toward the youth.
However, even though Takeshi was fast enough, it was already too late.
The youth had already poured the contents of the jar into his mouth.
Takeshi only managed to strike the youth's wrist with the back of his blade.
The jar fell to the ground.
The youth suddenly clutched his throat as if in extreme pain.
A bizarre and terrifying scene unfolded.
He was hunched over, and something seemed to be scurrying and bulging under his skin.
On his exposed neck and the backs of his hands, his skin turned greyish-blue and black at a speed visible to the naked eye. The veins beneath the skin bulged, like wriggling black worms.
His nails grew wildly, curving and sharpening, transforming into pitch-black claws in an instant.
"Aghhh—!"
An inhuman howl erupted from his distorted mouth. His head snapped back unnaturally, his neck making a bone-chilling "cracking" sound.
"Just like this, just like this—wonderful! Ah~ the blood bestowed by That Lord... is this what eternal life feels like—" The person who was normal just moments ago had now turned into a hideous and ugly Demon.
"Eh? I'm feeling a bit hungry... Meat, fresh meat..." Saliva mixed with black blood dripped from his split mouth onto the snow, making a sizzling sound.
It suddenly lunged at the nearest person, who didn't even try to dodge.
Takeshi forcefully threw the sword in his hand.
"Squelch—"
Although it was just an ordinary sharpened sword, Takeshi's strength was immense, and it directly pierced through the face of the youth who had turned into a Demon.
"Ah—it hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Who is it! Who is disturbing the sacred ceremony!"
Takeshi stared intently at the Demon. Since the Demon-slaying incident in Wilderness Town, he hadn't seen a Demon for two months.
Seeing one now, his hands still trembled slightly.
He took out a small dagger from his robes. "Kanae..."
Kanae's voice rang in his mind, exceptionally cold and heavy: "That's right, he's turned into a Demon! And—"
"It's the blood bestowed by that bastard! The one whose head looks like it's been drenched in blood—"
"Who smiles so harmlessly—"
"The Demon—who uses a fan as a weapon!"