Chapter 111: The Leak of Information
“Ssssh!”
The sharp sound of a tire bursting pierced the air, jarringly loud.
Shen Qingli frowned instinctively. Due to the overwhelming inertia, the car veered uncontrollably toward a nearby tree.
“Bang!”
The impact reverberated. Though Shen Qingli reacted swiftly, using her spiritual energy to shield herself and her assistant from glass shards, the assistant still fainted.
Smoke billowed from the car’s front, a clear sign of a severe collision.
[Host, are you alright?]
The voice of Green Cilantro sounded drowsy from the back seat. Shen Qingli sighed silently, reached back, and lifted it onto her shoulder.
“I’m fine. Let me get out first and check what caused this.”
She murmured softly, gathering strength, and kicked open the car door with a single powerful strike.
The moment she stepped out, the sharp scent of gasoline hit her. The car was leaking fuel.
[Host, be careful. I sense a very unusual aura nearby.]
[It seems like there are many monsters around...]
Green Cilantro warned anxiously, its large eyes scanning the surroundings, fearful it might fail to alert Shen Qingli.
“Keep watch here. I’ll rescue the assistant first.”
The car was in a dangerous state, and any careless movement might trigger an explosion.
[Don’t worry, Host. I’ll keep a close eye!]
Shen Qingli tested the car door but found it stuck. The door was deformed from the crash. She had to exert spiritual energy to pry it open.
She hauled the assistant out of the driver’s seat and moved them to a safe spot.
Since they were on a suburban road, no other vehicles were in sight.
“Where’s my phone?”
She suddenly recalled leaving it inside the car.
As she turned to retrieve it, the car exploded suddenly, a wave of intense heat surging toward her.
[Host, watch your face!]
Green Cilantro’s urgent voice accompanied the sudden appearance of a protective barrier, narrowly saving her from harm.
“Cough, cough…”
Despite the protection, Shen Qingli was still choked by smoke and ash, coughing several times.
[Something’s approaching rapidly!]
Green Cilantro’s alarm heightening, Shen Qingli immediately tensed, scanning the area but saw nothing.
“Are you sure it’s not just your imagination?”
After waiting a moment without any movement, Shen Qingli whispered.
[It shouldn’t be... I clearly...]
Before Green Cilantro could finish, a sinister figure suddenly appeared behind them. With razor-sharp claws, it lunged at Shen Qingli’s back.
She dodged swiftly, instinctively summoning vines that lashed out at the figure.
“Smack!”
The figure spun and landed firmly on the ground.
It was a woman, clad in a fiery, provocative outfit, licking the blood on the back of her hand from the strike, eyes brimming with murderous intent.
“A nine-tailed cat demon.”
Shen Qingli recognized her true form at once, unease stirring within her.
How had these monsters become so brazen?
“You truly are powerful. Devouring you will surely grant me immortality!”
The cat demon snarled and lunged again with terrifying speed.
Shen Qingli could only enclose herself within the protective vines.
“Cilantro, is there anything to slow her down?”
Watching the vines begin to fray, she asked quickly.
[Host, yes! There’s a slowing powder. Just sprinkle it on her, and it will reduce her speed!]
Feeling the weight in her hand, Shen Qingli nodded and immediately released the vines.
The cat demon, caught off guard by her boldness, hesitated.
Seizing the moment, Shen Qingli flung the powder at her.
“What did you just throw on me? It smells awful!”
The cat demon recoiled, disdainful, then suddenly found her movements sluggish, her fur bristling.
To Shen Qingli, the demon seemed frozen in time, almost comical.
“How did you find me?”
Her body was sealed with a restriction set by Xie Jingchuan; no human or demon should detect her spiritual energy.
Yet the cat demon had clearly been lying in wait.
“Don’t you know? Your information has already spread throughout our demon territory.”
“Even if you catch and kill me today, there will be thousands more like me!”
The cat demon sneered, regarding Shen Qingli as a fool.
“Who leaked this information?”
Shen Qingli frowned, sensing this was no accident but a deliberate act.
“We don’t know, but it must be someone who hates you.”
The cat demon said, and when Shen Qingli momentarily lost focus, she transformed into her true form and fled.
That woman was too strange. Having finally grown nine tails, she could not be allowed to die.
[Host, she’s running! If you don’t kill her, she will bring endless trouble!]
Shen Qingli’s eyes flashed coldly.
With a swift hand seal, the fleeing cat demon was pierced through the chest by vines, perishing instantly.
“This serves as a warning to the demons.”
She was never one for kindness. Had she not reacted quickly, she might have become a wandering spirit herself.
[Host, what now? You don’t have your phone, and there’s no car nearby. Plus, someone is still lying on the ground.]
Shen Qingli sighed. “We can only wait.”
Yet fortune favored the diligent, and soon enough, a car arrived.
By then, her assistant had regained consciousness.
Seeing the charred vehicle, they quickly understood what had happened and took out their phone to report to Xie Jingchuan.
“Madam, President.”
Shen Qingli nodded and took the phone, hearing the man’s anxious voice.
“I’ve heard. Are you alright? Did anything else happen?”
She wanted to explain but remembered others were nearby.
“I’m fine. Heading to the concert now. You focus on your meeting. Don’t worry. I’ll tell you everything tonight.”
Xie Jingchuan understood immediately.
Clearly, she had encountered something unusual. “Alright, I understand. Take care of yourself.”
Shen Qingli nodded and ended the call, her mind troubled by the demons’ affairs.
Soon, the car reached the concert venue. Since preparations were ongoing, staff had set up barriers to prevent unauthorized access and avoid accidents.
“Wait! You there, stop!”
As Shen Qingli entered with Green Cilantro in its dog form, a woman’s stern voice halted her.
The woman sized her up coldly and warned, “You cannot enter here!”