Chapter 647 - 138: Saving This Red Dust

Wang Qian folded her arms across her chest, pulling her clothes tight. "Dirty," she insisted.

Zhang Deming shook his head seriously. "No," he said firmly. "It’s very clean now. I said so!"

Wang Qian froze. A light flickered back into her dim eyes, shining with an exceptional brightness as she looked at Zhang Deming. It was what one might call hope, or perhaps, a purpose.

"Do you want revenge?" Zhang Deming asked.

Wang Qian came back to her senses but shook her head. "I don’t."

Zhang Deming was taken aback. "Why?" he asked in surprise.

"Because if I get revenge, I won’t be able to follow you! I want to follow you. My grandfather said that Immortal Envoys aren’t really bothered by mortals, they just hate dealing with trouble. I only want to follow you; I don’t want to be a burden," Wang Qian stated plainly, her demeanor transformed.

Zhang Deming was taken aback again. Her words should have been highly inappropriate for the moment, but they didn’t cause him the slightest bit of distaste.

"Then just watch for now." With that, Zhang Deming let go of the girl.

Zhang Deming stood up and looked at the group of women he had saved. "Do you want revenge?" he asked.

One by one, they snapped out of their stupor at his words, their gazes turning to the four strange ’seedling beds’ on the floor, full of bitter resentment.

"We do!" From among the women, one who appeared to be a matron—no, a young woman dressed as one—spat out with extreme hatred.

Zhang Deming nodded. "Then I leave them to you. Anything goes, short of devouring their flesh and drinking their blood."

With that, Zhang Deming turned away, paying them no more mind.

The women all looked at one another. Finally, the same woman who had spoken took the lead, lunging forward first. At the beginning, they only used their fists and feet.

But these were all well-bred young ladies from distinguished families. Their punches... weren’t torture; they were more like a bit of playful roughhousing.

"AHHH..."

No one knows who it was, but someone suddenly yanked out a "seedling." As the stalk and its fine, hair-like roots were pulled out, the man let out a piercing shriek.

The women all paused and stared at the "seedling." From the side, Zhang Deming suddenly added, "They’ll keep breathing until every last one is pulled. And they’ll be perfectly conscious the entire time."

He didn’t instruct them on what to do, nor did he place any restrictions on them. Hearing his words, a vengeful light ignited in the women’s eyes.

"AHHH..."

"AHHH..."

"AHHH..."

A series of wretched screams echoed through the grand hall.

"HAHA..." The screams were accompanied by the gratified, almost maniacal laughter of some of the women.

Zhang Deming glanced over at Wang Qian, who stood to the side with her head bowed. "If you don’t act soon," he said, "you’ll lose your chance."

Wang Qian lifted her head slightly to glance at Zhang Deming, but she didn’t move. Then she lowered her head again.

Seeing this, Zhang Deming shook his head slightly. With a casual wave of his hand, countless blood-red Vines sprouted from amidst the scattered limbs in the hall, swaying as they grew.

As the Vines grew, the surrounding corpses rapidly vanished. Once all the bodies were gone, most of the blood-red Vines disappeared as well, leaving only a single section behind. It quickly wove itself into a memorial tablet.

Zhang Deming turned his head to the women and asked, "Who’s in charge now?"

An old woman in her sixties tottered forward. "Reporting to the Immortal Master," she answered, "all those in charge of the Wang Family have been killed."

"And what is your status?" Zhang Deming asked the old woman.

"Immortal Master, this old woman is now the matriarch of the Wang Family," the old woman replied.

Zhang Deming nodded. "That’ll do. I’ve taken care of the corpses for you. There was... something about them. If they had been left here, they would have caused problems over time.

"Here. This is your family’s memorial tablet. Consider it a keepsake for all the women of your family who remain.

"Hmm... With this as your support, you should be able to survive in this city from now on, no matter what happens, even with only women left."

The old woman took the red memorial tablet from the Vine and clutched it tightly to her chest. She dropped to her knees and began to kowtow, her voice choked with tears. "On behalf of all the Vengeful Spirits of the Wang Family, this old woman thanks you, Immortal Master..."

Zhang Deming frowned slightly as he watched her but didn’t stop her. Only after she had finished kowtowing did he say, "Alright, get up. I have much to do and can’t afford to linger here with your family."

After saying this, he paused, then turned his head to Wang Qian. "You really want to follow me?" he asked.

Wang Qian nodded. "Yes."

Zhang Deming pondered for a moment. "It’s not out of the question," he said. "You do possess some Innate potential."

With that, Zhang Deming flipped his hand over, revealing three Spirit Nurturing Beads. Within each bead, a pair of miniature wings trembled faintly.

Holding out the beads, Zhang Deming said, "Swallow them. If you gain some benefit, you can follow me. If not, then you needn’t bother."

Qin Shizhong, who had been standing silently to the side, saw this, and his expression flickered. A rare trace of envy flashed in his eyes as he looked at Wang Qian. ’He’d struggled in the Immortal Sect for fifty years for a chance like this. And here she was, at her age...’

Hearing this, Wang Qian took the three beads from the Vine and was about to toss them all into her mouth.

"I’d advise you to be more careful. This isn’t some test with poison, and my Martial Uncle wouldn’t be so crude as to give you one. Rather than waste them, you’d be better off giving them to me."

Watching Wang Qian, the savvy Qin Shizhong—perhaps sensing that Zhang Deming truly intended to accept her—began currying favor. His words sounded casual, but an astute person could read between the lines.

Zhang Deming shot a glance at Qin Shizhong, who simply smiled back at him. Unconcerned, Zhang Deming turned his attention back to Wang Qian.