After Switching Bodies with the Villainous Demon Lord - Chapter 19

After Duan Ze’s figure disappeared into the stone wall, the glimmer of hope that had surfaced on Xie Qingyu’s face instantly crumbled into dust.

Impossible. Duan Ze was always the kind of person who paid attention to every little detail, constantly parading his fake kindness in front of others—how could he possibly leave an exit that was totally out of reach at a time like this?

Chi Xiuzhu shouted in the direction where Duan Ze had vanished. Then, without sparing a single glance at Xie Qingyu, who was hanging beside him, he sank his claws deep into the nearby stone wall and began climbing along it as if walking on flat ground.

Xie Qingyu stared as Chi Xiuzhu moved farther and farther away. A tremble crept into his heart. What did Duan Ze mean by this? If he had treated them that way just now because he had no intention of letting either of them live, then why would he leave behind an exit that was absolutely no challenge for Chi Xiuzhu?

Was it just so he alone would die? Did Duan Ze already know what he had done?

A chill clutched at the youth’s heart. He suddenly shouted, “Brother Chi, save me!”

Chi Xiuzhu’s figure paused briefly. He reverted to human form and turned to look at Xie Qingyu, a struggle flickering across his face.

If he were to save someone, it would be almost impossible not to touch them.

Chi Xiuzhu didn’t like touching humans. He’d rather watch Xie Qingyu die right in front of him. Besides, he only brought the kid along to get some information about Duan Ze.

But along the way, he noticed that Duan Ze didn’t treat Xie Qingyu nearly as protectively as the rumors claimed. Especially just now—he didn’t even try to help his own disciple. Maybe… he’d been tricked.

Xie Qingyu could tell Chi Xiuzhu was conflicted and quickly added, “My Shizun is doing this to train me! Didn’t he still leave us an exit? But I’ve used up all my strength along the way—I really can’t go any farther. If something happens to me…”

At that moment, the two maids outside finally failed to hold off the griffin and were both devoured.

The griffin, having finished off the two annoying humans, sniffed around and charged toward the cave where Xie Qingyu and the other had taken refuge.

But its body was way too big, so all it could do was crash into the cave opening again and again, madly and relentlessly.

Chunks of stone fell from the wall, one after another, smashing into Xie Qingyu. His sword started to slip from his grip, slowly sliding downward.

In the pool directly beneath him, a strange fish lurked—one that could bite a cultivator at the out-of-body stage to death in a single chomp. And he hadn’t even reached the out-of-body stage yet.

The youth felt like a giant hand had clamped tightly around his heart. Cold sweat poured from his forehead. His voice, when he shouted, was tinged with fear and panic, “Save me! Since my Shizun left us both a way out, obviously he meant for us to escape together! Hurry!”

“If you save me now, I’ll tell my Shizun, and he’ll definitely bring a generous thank-you gift to personally repay you!”

Only at that last line did Chi Xiuzhu hesitate. He glanced down at his own hands, then finally pulled a bow and crossbow from his storage ring, tied a rope to an iron arrow, and fired it over.

By now, the griffin had managed to shove more than half its head into the cave, roaring furiously at Xie Qingyu. The boy didn’t have time to find anything to cushion his grip—he just grabbed the rope barehanded and slid across. The next second, the griffin burst inside.

Xie Qingyu instinctively held his breath and rushed into the stone wall. In the blink of an eye, the two of them appeared on a barren stretch of land, not far from the forest they had passed through before.

The griffin didn’t follow them—they were safe.

Xie Qingyu finally let out the breath he’d been holding, his heart that had been on edge finally settling down. He took a deep breath and cupped his fists toward Chi Xiuzhu.

“Thanks.”

“No need. Just make sure you tell your Shizun to come thank me himself. If he doesn’t show, I’ll make you suffer more than getting fed to that griffin,” Chi Xiuzhu replied with a chilling grin. Then he transformed into a white fox and darted into the nearby forest.

In an instant, only Xie Qingyu was left on the barren land. He looked at his hands, now torn and bloody, then took out some cloth from his storage ring and tightly wrapped them up to stop the bleeding, like he didn’t feel any pain at all.

His eyes were full of deep hatred and resentment.

A damp, chilly breeze blew out from the forest, making him shiver. His gaze gradually cleared.

Something was wrong. Thinking back carefully, Duan Ze had been acting pretty strange lately. Even if he was intentionally suppressing something, there were still too many suspicious points.

Xie Qingyu pondered this as he stepped into the forest. The artifact he’d originally come to find had already been taken. There was no reason to stay here anymore.

Duan Ze’s strange behavior seemed to have started after his sudden disappearance during the Cultivation Ceremony.

He remembered clearly—he had drugged Duan Ze, and the aftereffects should’ve kicked in early. But the last time he saw him, he looked completely unaffected by any dark technique.

Then there was the banquet. Duan Ze gave off a vibe that was different from usual, like he was a completely different person.

Oddly enough, that outer sect disciple he had never seen before actually gave off a faint feeling that reminded him of Duan Ze’s shizun.

And then Duan Ze said he was going to duel the Demon Lord, but came back without even a scratch.

Maybe… they never actually fought. Maybe they were scheming something together.

So many things were starting to deviate from his memories—there had to be something fishy going on.

He had to thoroughly investigate Duan Ze.

—

On the other side, Duan Ze and the others had already reached the exit of the ruins.

With his hands tucked into his sleeves, the dizziness from blood loss and the wound on his hand had already disappeared without a trace.

He turned to Xiao Wuchen and said, “I told Li Qingyuan and the others I’d be in seclusion. During this time, you should come to the Demon Realm when you can. Let’s sync up our cultivation habits a bit.”

After all, Xiao Wuchen had already set up a teleportation array connected to the Demon Realm in Duan Ze’s room, so it was super convenient for him to come and go.

And when using the teleportation array, he added a layer of spellwork—only Duan Ze’s body could activate it. No one else could use it.

“Mm.” Xiao Wuchen nodded perfunctorily, still lost in his own thoughts.

He used to be really against body-swapping with Duan Ze, but now he realized that with Duan Ze’s body, he could easily pull off things he used to struggle with.

If he used Duan Ze’s body to take the things he wanted from Cangyu Sect, it would be a piece of cake.

Outside, dawn was just breaking. Even so, there were still quite a few people rushing over. Even though the most precious artifact in the ruins had already been taken, there were still plenty of other treasures worth risking their lives for.

Not that it meant they had the luck to get them. After traveling this far, other than Chi Xiuzhu’s group, they hadn’t seen a single other living soul.

Xiao Wuchen glanced at Duan Ze. The guy’s expression was calm and distant. He never said it, but whenever Duan Ze spaced out or stayed silent, his expression was exactly the same as when they hadn’t swapped bodies.

Like it had become his default mask, one he could wear anytime, anywhere.

So… which one was the real Duan Ze?

Xiao Wuchen suddenly, and quite out of character, said to him, “You stay in the Demon Realm and don’t run around.”

Duan Ze froze, goosebumps instantly rising. “What’s with you?”

“Nothing.” Xiao Wuchen gave him a cold look, then pulled a teleportation talisman from his storage ring and vanished, reappearing outside the Cangyu Sect’s gates.

He quickly put on a cool and aloof expression and, with eager steps, headed into the sect toward the Treasure Pavilion.

⸻

Author’s Note:

Duan Ze: “Why is everyone out to screw me over?!”