Chapter 476: Won't Let Go

Beneath the sky full of stars, Niu Youdao sensed that most of the aberrant demon qi within the other party's body had been dissolved and slowly lowered his hand. There was no way to eliminate it completely.

Niu Youdao had tried.

It was useless.

The Holy Rakshasa's body itself seemed to be the source of that aberrant demon qi. Every time he dissolved it, more slowly emerged again, like wisps of smoke gradually appearing inside a room until the haze eventually filled the entire space once more. Niu Youdao truly had no other solution. Only then did he withdraw his hand and slowly take two steps back, looking the woman opposite him up and down. The Holy Rakshasa lowered her hand as well. But she no longer resembled that demon king at all.

She looked like an entirely different person. The silver armorlike bone across her body had vanished. Her skin was delicate and smooth as fine white jade. Her pointed ears were gone. Her liquid-mercury silver hair had become long, glossy black hair.

The Butterfly Rakshasa face covered in sinister silver markings had become a normal human face—pure and lovely, with large bright eyes and delicate lips. The fangs in her mouth were gone. Her sharp claws had become ordinary hands and feet. The hard bone growing across her body had disappeared. She now looked like a true woman.

A completely naked woman.

Her figure was slender and graceful, without a thread covering her. With the hard armor gone from her chest and lower body, the sight was enough to make one blush. Only the pair of wings remained. They still shone with silver radiance. That light made her alluring naked body seem sacred, like a holy maiden, leaving one instinctively unwilling to profane her. Before, her ferocious appearance had carried a sinister, bewitching quality. Now she looked entirely pure. Beneath the silver light of those wings, she even seemed holy.

The Holy Rakshasa blinked her large, bright eyes and kept staring curiously at Niu Youdao. There was something about the look in her eyes that was difficult to describe. Yuan Gang examined the woman's body more than once. He too found the transformation astonishing, but there were no improper thoughts in his mind. He held the Three-Roars Saber angled in one hand and remained purely vigilant. Whether the Holy Rakshasa was a naked woman or not made no difference to him.

It was not as though he had never seen a woman before. They were facing a choice between life and death. No matter how beautiful, sensual, or tempting she looked, she was still a demon. Niu Youdao likewise had no lustful thoughts. At a time like this, even the greatest beauty in the world would not interest him. But he thought about more things than Yuan Gang did. So he felt somewhat awkward and quickly turned his gaze aside, adopting an attitude of propriety and avoiding the sight.

He was mainly afraid of offending her and being killed by one punch. This demon king was far too dangerous to provoke. Seeing Yuan Gang regard the beauty before him as no more than rouged bones, Niu Youdao coughed twice in reminder. Only then did the ever-vigilant Yuan Gang turn his face slightly away. Even so, he seemed to have pricked up his ears, still keeping watch.

"Well..."

Niu Youdao finally spoke.

Then he realized he had no idea how to address her. Calling her Holy Rakshasa or demon king did not seem appropriate.

In the end, he changed his wording.

"Senior, we truly meant no offense..."

The silver glow suddenly vanished. Both men immediately turned back to look. The Holy Rakshasa's two wings had abruptly folded and shrunk until they disappeared completely. Without the wings, her naked figure became even more conspicuous. Barefoot, she walked straight up to Niu Youdao and reached out to grab his clothes.

"..."

Niu Youdao was speechless.

He remained cautious and highly alert. Yet from her expression, she seemed to harbor no hostility. He could not understand what she meant.

"Senior, what happened before truly was a misunderstanding. We genuinely had no intention of offending you..."

He explained at length.

It was useless.

He had no idea whether she understood a word. In any case, she simply held onto his clothes and refused to let go, staring at him with wide, expectant eyes. There was even a faintly pitiful look about her. Niu Youdao felt as though everything he had said had been wasted. The Holy Rakshasa did not answer even once. She simply watched him in silence. It almost seemed as though she was not listening to what he said at all, but merely watching him speak.

Yuan Gang tightened his grip on the Three-Roars Saber. He did not dare move rashly either. What in Heaven's name was going on? Could she not torment people like this? Niu Youdao genuinely could not understand.

After hesitating again and again, he tried asking, "Senior, if you have no further instructions, we wouldn't dare disturb your peace any longer. May we leave?"

The Holy Rakshasa still gave no response. Niu Youdao was thoroughly baffled. Were they allowed to leave or not? Could she at least say something? The three remained frozen in that silent posture for a long time. Eventually, Niu Youdao had no choice. Unable to read her attitude at all, he laboriously cupped his hands.

"Farewell..."

He slowly stepped backward, watching her expression carefully and testing how she would react. The bizarre part was that whenever he took one step, the Holy Rakshasa took one too. She simply refused to release his clothes. It was as though wherever he went, she intended to go as well. Even Yuan Gang's normally expressionless face twitched slightly. What kind of situation was this? A faint sweat broke across Niu Youdao's brow.

"Senior, please make your intentions clear."

No intention was made clear. The Holy Rakshasa continued staring up at him with those wide, pitiful eyes.

"What exactly do you want?" Yuan Gang asked heavily.

Unlike Niu Youdao, he spoke much more directly. The instant Yuan Gang opened his mouth, combined with the aura around his body, the Holy Rakshasa seemed somewhat afraid of him. Her hand still clutched Niu Youdao's clothes, but she timidly hid behind Niu Youdao.

"..."

Yuan Gang was rendered speechless. A person who could split mountains and crack the earth with one punch was acting weak?

"..."

Niu Youdao was equally speechless. He and Yuan Gang stared at one another.

Niu Youdao's eyes shifted.

Then he slowly turned around.

Gathering his courage, he met the Holy Rakshasa's eyes directly and asked in a serious tone, "Who are you?"

At last, the Holy Rakshasa reacted.

She shook her head.

Niu Youdao asked again, "What's your name?"

The Holy Rakshasa shook her head again. Niu Youdao glanced back at Yuan Gang. Then he turned to her once more, reached for the part of his clothes she was gripping, and tried to pull the fabric from her hand. The Holy Rakshasa immediately seized it with both hands. She gripped tightly and shook her head with a pitiful expression, refusing to let go.

Crack!

Niu Youdao raised one hand and first reset his dislocated arm. Otherwise, continuing like this was simply too uncomfortable. Then he collected himself and kept testing her. Only after quite some time did Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang begin to understand what was happening. The earlier Holy Rakshasa had merely seemed mentally confused. The Holy Rakshasa now appeared like a blank sheet of paper. She seemed to remember nothing at all. When they asked whether she had killed Yun Ji, she only looked equally bewildered.

Yet the Butterfly Rakshasas surrounding the area still appeared to hold this Holy Rakshasa in reverence. Without her summons, none dared move rashly.

Eventually, Yuan Gang came closer and asked, "Master Dao, why did she become like this?"

Niu Youdao did not know either. But two grown men standing beside a completely naked woman was hardly proper. The Holy Rakshasa, apparently as blank as a sheet of paper, might not care. He could not pretend not to. Niu Youdao undid his outer robe with both hands. The Holy Rakshasa seemed afraid he would escape. The instant his robe loosened, she immediately changed targets and grabbed the inner garment beneath it instead. Why do you keep grabbing me and refusing to let go?

Niu Youdao felt helpless.

He had no idea whether this demon king had truly become simple-minded or was only pretending. Either way, he did not dare act recklessly. He shook out the outer robe and draped it over the Holy Rakshasa's shoulders. Because both of her hands were still gripping his clothes, she could not actually put the robe on.

"Can you put the clothes on first?"

Niu Youdao pointed to his own clothes, then to the outer robe draped over her. The Holy Rakshasa instantly broke into a dazzling smile. It was pure and innocent.

She nodded vigorously.

Following Niu Youdao's guidance, she put both arms through the sleeves, looking fresh and curious about the entire process. Niu Youdao pulled the robe closed for her and tied the sash, finally preventing her from exposing herself everywhere.

"Senior, whether this is real or you're pretending, we truly need to leave now."

Niu Youdao spoke with great seriousness.

It was useless.

He could say whatever he wanted. None of it affected the Holy Rakshasa in the slightest. The answer remained the same. Wherever he went, she went. She simply clung to him and refused to let go, like a little shadow trailing at his heels...

In the mountain forest, Yuan Fang and Guan Fangyi had returned. They had truly come back, creeping stealthily through the woods as they peered toward the imperial retreat. They discovered that huge numbers of Butterfly Rakshasas still surrounded the palace city.

Now that they had genuinely returned and would genuinely have to face the Holy Rakshasa again, Yuan Fang was not the only nervous one. Guan Fangyi herself was tense too.

"Yaa!"

A clear, long cry suddenly rang out from within the imperial retreat. Among the Butterfly Rakshasas gathered from every direction, several Blood Rakshasas flew toward the palace walls. Their glowing wings illuminated three figures standing atop the battlements.

"It's Master Dao! Master Dao and the others are really still alive!"

Yuan Fang pointed excitedly.

The two rose from their hiding place. Guan Fangyi used spiritual power to project her voice.

"Master Dao!"

On the city wall, Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang heard her and turned to look. Both men had changed clothes. The Holy Rakshasa was also wearing women's clothing now. As for why they had changed clothes, that too had been forced by circumstance. Niu Youdao and Yuan Gang could not remain tangled with the Holy Rakshasa forever.

In the end, they truly had no other choice. Niu Youdao tore his clothes free and ran, at the very least wanting to test the Holy Rakshasa's real intentions. The Holy Rakshasa immediately grew another pair of wings and followed. What left Niu Youdao even more speechless was that an enormous crowd of Butterfly Rakshasas followed her. If they continued like that, how was he supposed to leave the illusory realm inconspicuously? There was simply no way to get out.

In the end, he had no choice but to stop running and patiently communicate with the Holy Rakshasa, speaking gently and at length. He could not shake her off. And as for fighting her, he certainly did not dare. The result of that communication was that they returned to the palace city. They still needed to take Chao Shenghuai away. While retrieving Chao Shenghuai, they made a trip through the rear palace to see whether any clothing remained. Even finding clothes had been forced upon them.

Niu Youdao had given his outer robe to the Holy Rakshasa. The instant her wings emerged again, they punched straight through the garment. That left Niu Youdao without an outer robe, the Holy Rakshasa wearing only a very revealing torn one, and Yuan Gang bare-chested. There was no way they could go outside and meet people looking like that. Unexpectedly, they truly did discover that quite a few garments had been preserved inside the palace. They were all high-quality clothes, finely made cicada-wing gauze robes.

Even after several hundred years in storage, they remained perfectly wearable. Before long, Guan Fangyi and Yuan Fang flew onto the city wall. The two separated groups were reunited atop the battlements. Under the starlight, Niu Youdao stood smiling, one hand resting on his planted sword while the other toyed with a golden pearl. The Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl.

Guan Fangyi's eyes reddened.

She had the urge to rush forward and embrace him.

In the end, she restrained herself. She was too overwhelmed to speak properly. Niu Youdao was surprised as well. He had not expected this woman to survive a blow of such terrifying power from the Holy Rakshasa. Nor had he expected the two of them to come back. He had just been preparing to send the Butterfly Rakshasas out to search for them.

"Master Dao! Master Yuan!"

Yuan Fang waved both arms and laughed loudly.

He was delighted.

As long as these two men were here, his heart felt steady again. He believed they could leave this place alive. After the initial excitement passed, Yuan Fang and Guan Fangyi finally noticed that another person had appeared.

Besides the still-unconscious Chao Shenghuai, there was now a woman with a pure, innocent expression whose hand remained firmly gripping Niu Youdao's clothes. Neither of them could understand what they were seeing. Niu Youdao followed their gazes and looked back at her.

Inside, he sighed helplessly.

She simply would not let go.

[End of Chapter 476]