Fan Wubing said indifferently, "It’s average."

Jiang Sha smiled slightly without saying more, and quietly began to eat. Her eating manner was impeccable, so well-mannered that it was impossible to find any fault, almost making no chewing sound, yet her expression remained constant, bland and tasteless. This made Fan Wubing quite suspicious, wondering if the pastries he made were just ordinary to these big figures?

"Alright, we’ve eaten. Now, it’s time to talk about where to go next."

"Come here."

Fan Wubing walked over.

"Bend down and lower your head."

Fan Wubing did as told.

Jiang Sha raised her left hand, gently tapping his forehead with her index finger. Then, a place appeared in his mind—a standalone palace with projecting eaves, looking as if it existed in a fissure of space, surrounded by formless void.

He was about to ask where this was, but saw Jiang Sha smile, "Someone’s coming in."

Fan Wubing quickly concealed their forms and auras, hiding them from sight.

Under the lead-gray sunlight, two gentle ripples appeared. Bright arcs shot out from the ripples, and then, the figures of Fu Manman and Gu Lan emerged,

Seeing Man’Er immediately, Fan Wubing’s brow twitched fiercely, and he quickly raised his hand to rub it.

Why are they here?

Jiang Sha glanced at Fan Wubing, then looked at the two ahead.

There, Fu Manman first surveyed the surroundings, then looked at the lead-gray sun, and finally set her gaze on Fan Wubing and Jiang Sha.

Fan Wubing’s heart tightened. Have they been discovered? He carefully watched Fu Manman’s gaze, feeling a bit puzzled, then quickly hid himself again. He breathed a sigh of relief; they shouldn’t have been discovered.

"Is this the territory of the Demon Dao forces?" Gu Lan frowned, "It feels quite uncomfortable. Everything is so gray."

Fu Manman casually picked a wisp of demonic Qi, the golden threads in her pupils swaying gently, "Demon Slaying Dao. This should be the Slaughter Hall, hidden in such a place unexpectedly."

Gu Lan asked, "Is Slaughter Hall prone to much killing?"

Fu Manman shook her head, "The ’slaughter’ in Slaughter Hall isn’t what we usually understand. Their ’slaughter’ is essentially a disruption of order, not merely killing life. They act independently, do as they please, with unpredictable and chaotic personalities, denying all distinctions of ’good and bad’, neither adhering to the rules of the righteous path nor the Demonic path."

"Sounds quite individualistic."

Fu Manman laughed, "If you say that, Senior Sister Gu, you haven’t grasped the essence of the Demon Slaying Dao. They have no individuality, or rather, any word used to describe a person’s character is unsuitable for them. In short, they oppose labeling, oppose rules, oppose tradition, oppose customs, and will stop at nothing to disrupt order."

Gu Lan pondered for a moment, "Existences both with and without souls." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"That description is quite fitting."

The two began exploring deeper into the Slaughter Hall.

Fan Wubing, cautiously following behind with Jiang Sha, asked quietly, "Is it really as she said?"

Jiang Sha smiled slightly, "I thought no one on the righteous side knew the true meaning of the Demon Slaying Dao."

"So, do you agree with Man’Er’s interpretation?"

Jiang Sha glanced at him, "You are not as insightful as your little lover. The essence of the Demon Slaying Dao is, opposing both acceptance and rejection. So, there is no such thing as whether to agree or not."

Fan Wubing was not at all embarrassed; instead, he raised his chin and said, "No wonder she’s my Man’Er."

After entering Jiang Sha’s palace, passing through the long corridor, they arrived at her bedchambers.

"A coffin?" Fu Manman immediately spotted Jiang Sha’s bed and walked over curiously. She cautiously examined it, probing the restrictions on the coffin’s surface, frowning slightly, analyzing carefully, "For soul calming, body protection, air isolation, path sealing... aids sleep?"

Gu Lan asked curiously, "Aids sleep? You mean, this coffin is for sleeping?"

Fu Manman was also puzzled. She gingerly opened the coffin lid and immediately smelled the scent of dust. Looking inside, she saw the bedding and said, "It really seems to be a place for sleeping. However, the aura is very old; it seems no one has slept in it for a long time."

Gu Lan sniffed, "The smell of dust, and a hint of... a dead body. Perhaps someone has died in there."

Behind them, Fan Wubing, hearing this, was quite confused too; dust and a dead body smell?

He leaned slightly closer to Jiang Sha, sniffed, and muttered in his heart, there was no dust or dead body smell, rather, it was quite fragrant.

Jiang Sha noticed his small action, tilted her head, and said, "That’s very rude."

Fan Wubing replied awkwardly, "Sorry, couldn’t help it."

Fu Manman walked to the dressing table, and suddenly she stared at the dressing box on the table, froze.

Hidden on one side, Fan Wubing followed her gaze, also froze, and thought in his heart, this is not good.

Gu Lan walked over, asking, "Why did you suddenly freeze?"

Fu Manman reached out, trembling, opened the dressing box, and upon seeing the comb, rouge box, powder box, and other dressing tools inside, her brow twitched violently, and a feeling of dull confusion surged in her heart.

"It’s nothing." She closed the dressing box as it was.

"Is there something wrong with this box?" Gu Lan asked.

Fu Manman wanted to hide the matter, but upon seeing Gu Lan’s gentle and concerned gaze, the dam of emotions suddenly broke. She couldn’t help but say, "This box, it was... it was a gift I gave him."

"Him?" Gu Lan immediately responded, "Is it Junior Brother Wubing?"