Bian Menghan regretted his quick tongue, but looking at Shi Changting’s expectant gaze, he could not bring himself to take his words back.
“Um, clean up. I will take Shizun out.”
“However, if Shizun thinks about running away again, then this disciple will…”
“Will what?”
“I will make Shizun unable to get out of bed for a month.” Bian Menghan’s smile was filled with threats, making one shudder with fear.
His hand gently caressed Shi Changting’s cheek, stroking it with tender affection. “This disciple keeps his word. Shizun, do you understand?”
Shi Changting fell silent for a moment. “Understood.”
The lad is actually quite polite, as he even knows to ask if he understands.
Shi Changting knew he had no right to refuse and had no choice but to go along with him. The system was right: if you cannot beat them, join them. Since he could not escape from Bian Menghan for the time being, he would pretend to accept his fate, lower the other’s guard, and slowly plot his escape later.
Bian Menghan held Shi Changting by the waist and flew all the way until they reached a marketplace for demonic cultivators. Aside from the demonic energy rushing everywhere, the lack of sunlight, and the ghostly atmosphere, it was not much different from a human marketplace.
Apples, bananas, mangosteens, strawberries, candied chestnuts, and also…
Shi Changting stared intensely at a stall selling tanghulu (candied haws), and tears of hunger could not help but spill from his mouth. The tanghulu were big and red, coated in a scorched-yellow sugar crust. If one could just take a bite, it would surely be sweet to the very heart. In his previous world, Shi Changting had loved tanghulu very much, as he felt that the combination of sour and sweet was the ultimate enjoyment of flavors.
Bian Menghan curled his lips. “Want to eat?”
Shi Changting refused without a second thought, “I do not want to.”
Bian Menghan bought one and handed it directly to Shi Changting.
Shi Changting’s eyes widened. “I did not mean…”
Bian Menghan’s smile was doting and warm, his gaze toward Shi Changting so soft it seemed it would melt away.
“No means yes. Don’t want means want. Shizun is best at saying the opposite of what he means.”
However, Bian Menghan did not dare say this out loud.
They walked a few more steps, and Shi Changting stopped again. Damn, grilled meat! It smells so good. I really want to eat a bite.
Bian Menghan smiled slightly. “Not this one, Shizun.”
Shi Changting immediately frowned. “Why?”
“Because,” Bian Menghan tilted his head, his smile sticky and sweet, “Shizun surely would not want to know where this meat came from.”
Shi Changting: “…”
Shi Changting instantly thought of various possibilities: human meat, a corpse, a rat, or some strange type of beast?
Thanks. I am not hungry anymore. Really, I am not.
One sentence was enough to kill his appetite. You win.
Shi Changting gulped hard. “Then let us forget it. I will eat vegetarian.”
Just as the two were engrossed in their stroll, an abrupt voice intruded inopportunely.
“Third Brother is out playing; why did you not bring your Second Brother along?”
Shi Changting looked back with confusion. The newcomer had delicate features, distinct facial contours, a high bridge of the nose, and eyebrows like swords. Beneath them, the corners of his eyes turned slightly upward, with a pair of charming peach-blossom eyes that looked affectionate and romantic.
“Bian Que, what are you doing here?” Bian Menghan’s tone was cold.
Bian Que?
Shi Changting’s eyes shifted. There was indeed such a character in the original novel: the Demon Lord’s second son, Bian Menghan’s half-brother, and the only son of the Demon Lord and the Demon Queen. Although Shi Changting had not written much about him before he stopped updating, in his original outline, Bian Que was definitely one of the most important characters. This person seemed dissolute and unruly, but in reality, he was deep-scheming, playing the pig to eat the tiger.
Because he harbored a blood feud with Bian Menghan, Shi Changting had earmarked him as the best candidate for cooperation. Although cooperating with Bian Que to take down Bian Menghan was no different than dealing with a tiger, for the Shi Changting who was tortured to the brink of death at the time, even drinking poison to quench thirst was better than being tortured to death by Bian Menghan’s side. However, this matter had to be planned carefully.
“What else could I be doing?”
Bian Que smiled, his red lips opening and closing, seemingly carrying some sort of soul-stealing aura. “Just out for a stroll. But being all alone, it is inevitable to feel lonely and bored; otherwise…”
Bian Que shifted his gaze to Shi Changting. At this moment, Shi Changting was dressed in snow-white brocade robes with cloud patterns. He stood tall and upright, as pristine as snow, his features mild and gentle, his skin as lustrous as jade. His hair was loosely tied up. Because his hair quality was excellent, as the demonic wind blew, his strands swayed with it, looking indescribably ethereal and graceful, making Shi Changting look cold, fragile, and unimaginably beautiful.
Bian Que involuntarily licked his lips. He had indeed received news that his Third Brother had forcibly abducted someone from a righteous sect, keeping them in his room for three days, indulging in them night and day. He was genuinely curious about what kind of celestial appearance had bewitched his usually cold and reclusive Third Brother to such a degree. Today, he finally heard that Bian Menghan had taken his little Shizun out, so he had come specifically to intercept them. He had originally intended to probe Bian Menghan’s reaction to see if he was as attached as the rumors suggested, which could become a weakness he could exploit.
But now, he had suddenly changed his mind. At this moment, Bian Que’s gaze was extremely dangerous, like a beast staring at its prey. “Could I ask Third Brother to part with him? Let the Immortal Venerable accompany me for a few days…”
He had a nickname in the Demon Tribe: “The Three-Second Man.” It did not mean he lasted only three seconds, but that it only took him three seconds to fall for someone, and after he got his hands on them, it only took him three seconds to abandon them. Everyone said he was heartless and not a good person, but he disagreed. There were so many beautiful men and women in the world; he just wanted to give each of them a home. Did he do anything wrong? No.
Just like right now. Bian Que stared blankly at Shi Changting, his heart trembling as if it had been struck by something suddenly. He made his decision in three seconds. He was going to get Shi Changting, no matter the cost.
Shi Changting rolled his eyes in his heart. Pervert, we just met and you are already like this; you really dare to think.
Bian Menghan was instantly jolted and pulled Shi Changting behind him. “Bian Que, stay away from my Shizun!”
“Your Shizun? Second Brother is hilarious,” Bian Que said, as if insisting on acting against Bian Menghan. “Is your name written on the Immortal Venerable? Or will he answer you if you call him?”
Shi Changting said silently in his heart: “He will not.”
Bian Menghan saw the avoidance in Shi Changting’s gaze and already knew the answer. His expression instantly turned gloomy, his fists clenched white, and his eyes burned with killing intent. “Bian Que, you are courting death!”
“Bian Menghan, do not think that because you brought back the Immortal-Slaying Sword and Father acknowledged you into the family, that you have been accepted,” Bian Que sneered, extremely disdainful. “A child born to a base woman, no matter how much you are elevated, you are nothing but a base seed. You must always know your place.”
“Bian Que, you had better remember what you said today.” Bian Menghan’s eyes were blood-red, demonic energy surging out instantly; in the next second, he was about to blast Bian Que into dust.
Suddenly, another man’s voice came through the wind.
“Everyone, stop.”