The Questioning Heart Demon continued to polish his dagger, the Wickedness Demon still snored loudly, and the Flesh-Slicing Demon remained expressionless.

No one dared to voice any disagreement with the Diviner’s intentions, nor would they even consider objecting to them.

Amidst the biting cold, Liang Jiu felt helpless, unable to resist or escape, and braced himself for his impending doom.

“No, you can’t,”

He heard a voice say.

“He’s been well-behaved; we should keep him.”

The voice was like heavenly music to his ears!

“I’ll go grab another one for you,” Swallow said urgently, her figure blurring as she vanished into the distance.

Clearly, though she dared to object, she didn’t truly have the authority to stop the Diviner.

She could only offer an alternative, hoping the Diviner would accept it.

And would the Diviner grant her that much favor?

Liang Jiu felt his breath catch in his throat. The feeling of one’s fate being controlled by another was unbearable, yet he was powerless to change it.

He could only think that, in this terrifying environment, he couldn’t afford to lose Swallow’s affection. He absolutely couldn’t…

He felt the Diviner’s calm gaze lightly fall upon him.

That gaze felt as heavy as a thousand jun.

Thankfully, it finally moved away.

The Diviner sighed, “Women are such a pain.”

“Too much trouble!” Li Shou echoed.

No, no, not at all troublesome.

Liang Jiu thought to himself.

He was nearly brought to tears.

In that moment, he felt an immense gratitude toward Swallow.

Even though he wouldn’t be in this predicament if not for these demons…

He was truly grateful, and even the faceless mask no longer seemed so terrifying. Instead, he perceived a strange beauty in it.

He was also thankful to his parents for giving him a face that was still considered handsome.

He took a long breath, savoring the feeling of being alive, all the while trying not to attract the attention of any of the demons.

Only then did he realize that his inner garments were soaked with cold sweat once more.

Too terrifying!

Swallow returned quickly, perhaps worried that the Diviner might grow impatient.

In any case, when she brought back a man of average build, the Diviner and Li Shou hadn’t been chatting for long.

The topics of their conversation were quite strange, mostly about how much silver they had and which jewelry was more valuable, not at all like two notorious demons should talk. The difference was that the Diviner seemed casual, simply making conversation, while Li Shou was red-faced and thoroughly enjoying the exchange.

Swallow threw the struggling man before the Diviner, “See, I was quick, right?”

The Diviner didn’t comment, only telling Li Shou, “Take care of it.”

Li Shou then swiftly began to strip the man’s clothes off.

Meanwhile, Swallow returned to Liang Jiu’s side.

“I’m back,” she said.

In that instant, Liang Jiu felt a hint of tenderness.

“Th… thank you,” his voice choked with emotion.

“Silly boy,” Swallow said, gently wiping the corner of his eye with her slender fingers. “A man should be strong, okay?”

Liang Jiu bit his lip tightly and nodded vigorously.

On the other side, the Diviner half-squatted and casually swept his hand across the ground, causing the grass and plants to recede and stone to coalesce. A smooth, circular stone platform appeared before him.

It didn’t seem out of place, as if it had been there since long ago.

The stone platform was covered in complex carvings, twisting together in a bizarre pattern. Liang Jiu only glanced at it from afar before feeling dizzy.

Swallow covered his eyes, her voice gentle, “Don’t look blindly; it’s not good for you.”

Liang Jiu took a moment to recover, and the nauseating feeling finally passed. He replied with lingering fear, “Understood.”

“He’s called the Diviner, ranked second among the nine great demons, known as the Fate-Calculating Demon,” Swallow whispered in his ear, seemingly introducing him.

“Fate-calculating?” Liang Jiu asked, puzzled.

Compared to names like Wickedness and Flesh-Slicing, the second-ranked demon didn’t seem ferocious at all.

“Ah, fate-calculating,” Swallow said blandly. “Each calculation costs a life.”

Liang Jiu distinctly heard the sound of saliva sliding down his throat. “Is that… is that so?”

The Diviner didn’t seem to care what they were saying, nor did he mind how they discussed him.

He also had no objections to Swallow randomly grabbing a pretty boy from Qingyun Pavilion.

The naked man was laid on the stone platform in the shape of the character “太”.

He was an ordinary person, probably snatched by Swallow from some street. He possessed no supernatural abilities, nor did he show any signs of having practiced martial arts.

His body was noticeably flabby, and he emanated a faint odor of infrequent bathing.

His wide eyes were filled with terror, but he couldn’t even blink.

The Diviner gently stroked his eyes, closing them for him.

A gleaming steel knife was handed over.

Zheng Fei, who had somehow managed to get back on his feet, crowded over to watch. “Here, I’m lending you the knife, so you don’t get your hands dirty.”

“Since he has become a sacrifice, he is not dirty.”

The Diviner didn’t take the knife, but instead used a single index finger to make five cuts on the naked man’s neck, wrists, and the tops of his feet.

He quietly watched the blood flow.

“Since you came so early, why didn’t you kill Yao Qi?” Zheng Fei asked, suddenly bringing up an unrelated question.

The Diviner didn’t look up, only focusing on the steady flow of blood. He said, “If I killed Yao Qi, none of you would survive. Han Xu has something very important to do right now, which is why the trip to Qingyun Pavilion was successful. We cannot be more important than that matter.”

The naked man’s blood flowed along the lines of the stone platform, converging into a shallow indentation.

The indentation resembled an inkstone, with the blood as ink.

He put his index finger into the blood inkstone, allowing the crimson blood to coat his finger, and sighed, “That is where the limit lies.”

Zheng Fei said nothing more.

He was somewhat dissatisfied with being chased so miserably by Yao Qi, but the Diviner had already provided an explanation. And the explanation was reasonable.

Besides, he was a man of reason.

“By the way,” the Diviner said, stirring his finger gently, “regarding that person, the person I’m to calculate fate for. Do you have any more detailed information?”

“Generous,” Zheng Fei said, smiling inexplicably.

“He is a very reasonable person,” Li Shou emphasized once more.

When the Diviner requested information, everyone needed to answer as thoroughly as possible.

Even Swallow, who was flirting with Liang Jiu, “took time out” to say, “His escape technique is very skilled; every step he takes leaves behind a cyan cloud imprint.”

After saying that, she secretly pinched Liang Jiu.

Liang Jiu quickly added, “His name is Yu Songhai, and he was introduced into the sect by Feng Ming.”

After thinking for a moment, he added, “Feng Yue Sect Guardian values him, and Chi Lu Sect Guardian also likes him very much. Oh, and his swordsmanship is excellent!”

He blurted out all the information he knew like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

He would never forget the scene of Yu Songhai stepping out of the darkness with composure and rescuing someone from the hands of the four great demons.

But Yu Songhai didn’t save him.

The Diviner’s gaze shifted, landing on Fang He Ling.

Fang He Ling was still calmly polishing his dagger, saying, “He seems very confident.”

He only said this one sentence.

The Diviner withdrew his gaze.