The Supporting Male Characters Who Died Alone All Those Years Later

Master Qian was stunned by He Dongchen’s words and couldn’t say anything for a long while.

Seeing the townsfolk gradually gathering around, He Dongchen turned away from Master Qian and addressed the crowd. He lifted his head and pointed at his forehead. With a flash of spiritual light, there was an astonished murmur from the crowd.

The townsfolk whispered among themselves, discussing with excitement that it was exactly as described in the storybooks.

Seeing that, Bai Ling quickly performed a ritual as well. She raised her hand, pointed at her forehead, and, after a flash of spiritual light, announced loudly, “I’m Bai Ling, the twelfth-generation exorcist of the Bai family from Qing Mountain.”

After revealing her identity, He Dongchen said, “Recently, there have been demons appearing. If you see any unfamiliar and strange individuals, remember to stay away.”

Bai Ling continued, “For example, the Peach Blossom Demon from just now, the entire street was filled with her fragrance, which is definitely abnormal.”

The Peach Blossom Demon in the oil paper shook its branches; As if other demons are always this fragrant!

Seeing that the two of them appeared quite amiable, the townsfolk began to ask questions, mostly trivial, such as what kinds of demons there were, whether demons were immortal, and if eating demons could grant immortality. They also inquired if there were many demon slayers, whether they took apprentices, and if they had any special talent.

Bai Ling looked at an elderly man with white hair asking these questions, her lips twitching as she awkwardly explained, “Our demon slayers inherit their skills through bloodlines and don’t take apprentices.”

“Oh, I see…” The old man looked disappointed and then sized up Bai Ling, saying startlingly, “I see you are quite young, so you must still be unmarried. How about becoming a member of the old Chen family and giving us a future demon slayer?”

The old man spoke as if it were a great favor he was offering.

As soon as he finished speaking, a nearby aunt couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“Old Chen, you sell pancakes, not have a serious illness. At your age, do you still not have self-awareness? You deserve to stay single all your life!”

After scolding Old Chen, the aunt rubbed her hands and smiled at Bai Ling, saying, “My son is young and strong, and he’s not married yet, hehe.”

Bai Ling, who had been smiling, now turned serious and silently took a step back.

Seeing the chaos, He Dongchen waved his hand, parting the crowd to clear a small path, as if creating invisible walls that separated the middle from the sides. He threw a remark to follow him and then walked away.

Bai Ling was amazed by this and followed with her flute.

Behind them were the dispirited Flying Pig Demon and Rat Demon. It was troublesome enough to be caught by one demon slayer, and now there were two.

The townsfolk, suddenly pushed to the sides and unable to approach, exclaimed in shock. This was truly a celestial technique!

When the excitement subsided and they regained their composure, the celestial figures had long disappeared. The invisible walls gradually faded away, and the crowd could once again walk into the middle of the street.

***

The news of the demons and demon slayers spread throughout the entire town. Unfortunately, despite searching everywhere in the city, no one could find the two demon slayers.

Over time, it became the material for a new story.

He Dongchen and Bai Ling left the city and traveled for an unknown amount of time. Eventually, they stopped one in front of the other at a lakeside meadow, where the shimmering water illuminated them with a lively glow.

Bai Ling rested her hands on her waist, slightly panting. A line of fine sweat appeared on her smooth, full forehead, her face flushed. Her hair, which had been tied high at the back of her head, had now fallen onto her chest.

She licked her dry lips and asked, “Your footwork is so swift; could you be from the Liu family of Yang City?”

The Liu family’s ancestor was known for running errands. After obtaining the demon slayer bloodline, it was said they had created a unique walking technique, renowned for its speed.

He Dongchen shook his head. “No.”

Upon hearing that, Bai Ling suddenly realized, “I see. You had sealed the Peach Blossom Demon with oil paper, so you must be from the Lu River’s Cheng family. My apologies.”

He Dongchen continued to shake his head. “No, not that either.”

Noticing Bai Ling slightly panting and seeming thirsty, He Dongchen took out an unopened bag of water from his spatial bag and tossed it to her.

Seeing such a large water bag appear out of nowhere, Bai Ling was stunned and fumbled to catch it. Given the previous two instances of being embarrassed, she carefully said, “Could it be that you are a demon slayer from the Hua family of Luo City?”

He Dongchen chuckled. “None of the above.”

He then tilted his head towards the sword on his back, indicating, “I’m from Lianshan’s He family.”

Bai Ling blinked. She had thought such a large sword was just for show since many demon slayers felt their magical tools lacked grandeur and liked to complement them with swords or blade. She hadn’t expected to encounter a genuine one.

“Nice to meet you,” Bai Ling said, opening the water bag and taking a few sips to alleviate the awkwardness.

“By the way, you’re impressive! You subdued the Peach Blossom Demon with a single strike without drawing your sword!” Bai Ling’s face was filled with admiration.

He Dongchen smiled.

Demon slayers had a rule of avoiding the world, so they rarely communicated with each other, leading to isolated development. Over a thousand years, even after a millennium of cultivation, there was no complete cultivation system; such as spells, magical tools, and clothing, as each generation’s teachings either evolved into new techniques or fell short of the ancestors.

After all, the ancestors had fought demons with real weapons in times of chaos, creating numerous spells with life and death on the line. Once the realms of humans and demons separated, and peace was restored, not only did mortals forget about demons, but even demon slayers could only learn about demons from scant records of the ancestors.

If an ancestor was illiterate, things were even worse, passing down only through oral tradition, which could become distorted over time.

Moreover, while a demon slayer’s bloodline could be inherited, their talent could not. For example, if descendants lacked the talent for certain magical tools like those used in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, these tools would become mere decorations and wouldn’t wield their true power.

The original owner was considered talented, cultivating rapidly and mastering various spells quickly, with superb swordsmanship. Unfortunately, due to his compassion, he ended up causing his own downfall.

In summary, various reasons had led to the current demon slayers becoming a group of practitioners with spiritual power but little ability to use it effectively, only vaguely skilled in the spells passed down from their ancestors.

This was why Bai Ling had repeatedly mistaken He Dongchen for someone else earlier.

He Dongchen noticed that the Flying Pig Demon and Rat Demon were tentatively approaching with lively expressions, while Bai Ling seemed not to notice them. He fell silent for a moment before asking, “Can’t you see them?”

“What are you talking about?” Bai Ling asked in confusion, looking around and spinning in place twice.

“There’s nothing here. By the way, what was that small demon you used to smash the Peach Blossom Demon? It looked like a pig demon from the records, greedy and fearful. Where did it go?”

“It was a Flying Pig Demon!” the Flying Pig Demon protested.

But Bai Ling neither heard nor saw it.

Seeing that, He Dongchen sighed softly. The current generation of demon slayers was truly lacking.

He raised his hand and performed a spell. The illusionary effects around the Flying Pig Demon and Rat Demon disappeared, revealing their true forms.

The novice Bai Ling was astonished.

He Dongchen then pointed and sent a burst of white light into Bai Ling’s forehead, explaining, “This is an illusion technique used by demon slayers to conceal demons. It makes demons invisible to ordinary people and demons themselves, except to those of the same sect.”

Bai Ling focused on absorbing the information flooding her mind and, after a moment, opened her eyes. She clumsily performed a spell on the Flying Pig Demon and Rat Demon. Soon, the Flying Pig Demon had lost two wings, and the Rat Demon had lost its long tail, looking quite odd.

He Dongchen smiled slightly. “Not bad for a beginner. You managed to achieve this on your first try.”

Bai Ling was thrilled. Excited, she practiced a few more times and mastered the spell by the third attempt.

Overjoyed, she bowed deeply to He Dongchen and said, “Thank you so much for teaching me such an important spell! Bai Ling is very grateful and at your service!”

“It’s just a minor spell,” He Dongchen said, dismissing it lightly.

But Bai Ling took it to heart and asked, “Where are you headed? How about we travel together? It would be safer.”

“Sure,” He Dongchen said, recapping what the Flying Pig Demon had told him. “I’m heading to the entrance of the Demon Realm to eliminate demons along the way.”

Hearing that the Demon Realm would soon launch a large-scale invasion, Bai Ling’s expression grew serious. She resolutely said, “I’m willing to contribute my strength!”

With that, the two set off together, heading north under the blazing sun.

***

Bai Ling shared what she knew: “Our Bai family’s allies have been descending the mountain one by one because demons have appeared in various places, so they’ve scattered. I followed the Peach Blossom Demon here and was fortunate to meet you. The illusion technique you taught me is unfamiliar to us.”

At this point, Bai Ling felt a bit embarrassed, noting that they had lost most of the spells passed down by their ancestors.

He Dongchen believed her explanation. After all, Bai Ling’s demonstrated talent indicated that as long as the inheritance was intact, she could learn any spell.

As they passed through a small town, the Flying Pig Demon pointed out another demon. This time, it wasn’t a small demon, but a shape-shifting fox.

Demons had their own unique ways of survival. Especially for small demons like the Flying Pig Demon, to avoid being swallowed by larger demons, it was as if they had opened their third eye. They knew where all demons were and avoided those they couldn’t handle.

When they found it, the Fox Demon had transformed into a chubby, innocent-looking child, tricking the townspeople into believing it had gotten lost. It made the group of naive villagers spin in confusion, with its cunning and contempt contrasting sharply with its seemingly innocent appearance.

The Flying Pig Demon, seemingly having been tricked by this Fox Demon before, said angrily, “This Fox Demon loves to make fools of demons too. It never tells the truth!”

The Rat Demon nodded in agreement, clearly upset. It was evident how malevolent this Fox Demon was.

“What should we do? Should we just go over and catch it?” Bai Ling asked.

“Of course. It’s lost, isn’t it? We’re here to take it back home,” He Dongchen replied, then stepped toward the center of the crowd.

Bai Ling followed with curiosity.

The Fox Demon was smugly enjoying itself, making plans with the ignorant humans in front of it. It played with a few pieces of candy and, amidst the eager eyes of several children, tossed the candy into its own mouth, wearing a malicious grin.

The children were upset and cried, telling the adults, who then scolded them.