As if thinking of something, Wen Shuyu paused mid-step, then suddenly turned around and dragged her maid away.
Fuling: ?
What on earth—her young lady saw the Crown Prince and actually left?
Back where he stood—
Xiao Jingchen’s ink-dark eyes followed Wen Shuyu’s retreating figure. Beneath his sleeve, his fingertips pressed together, rubbing slowly.
Standing beside him outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Eunuch Desheng spoke in surprise, “Your Highness, that was the County Princess just now, wasn’t it? I didn’t see wrong, did I? This time she didn’t come over to you? She…”
Before he could finish, Xiao Jingchen flicked his sleeve and walked away.
Only a faint sentence drifted back to Desheng’s ears:
“You couldn’t see clearly from that close? If your eyesight is failing, go see the imperial physician. Don’t let yourself go blind, Eunuch.”
Desheng: ?
Was His Highness talking about him?
Why did it feel like His Highness was… angry? Why did that sound so oddly sarcastic?
No, no, it must be his imagination. Someone as kind as His Highness wouldn’t get angry. He must just be concerned about him. Could it be that his eyesight really had worsened? He’d better go see the imperial physician—he couldn’t let down His Highness’s goodwill.
…
Inside the carriage heading from the palace to the Prime Minister’s residence, Wen Shuyu lounged leisurely, flipping through a book on talisman cultivation.
Outside, Fuling quietly lifted the curtain a crack and asked curiously, “Miss? Why did you leave as soon as you saw His Highness just now?”
Wen Shuyu looked up. “How could I not leave? I just got scolded by my Empress Aunt and the Empress Dowager. The palace is full of gossip—if someone saw me pestering Xiao Jingchen again right after, I’d be dragged back for another lecture. My ears are already about to grow calluses.”
“Besides, I already forced a kiss today. That’s enough for now. I’ll let him off today—tomorrow, I continue.”
“Fuling, I think I can’t keep going about this so recklessly. I’ve decided—from tomorrow onward, I’m going to use my brain. I’ll make a detailed plan.”
“This time, I won’t listen to anyone. Don’t interfere, Fuling. I have my own rhythm.”
Fuling: …
She wasn’t interfering. She didn’t dare.
Three years. Over a thousand days. Failure every single time—and yet her young lady still insisted on “her own rhythm.”
If she put this kind of perseverance into cultivation, forget ascending to godhood—speaking blasphemously, even the Heavenly Dao itself might have to give up its seat for her.
Inside the carriage, Wen Shuyu acted immediately. She set aside her talisman book, pasted a soundproof talisman inside the carriage, and calmed herself to begin drafting her meticulous plan.
Picking up a brush, she wrote on the cover: Forty-Two Strategies.
Flipping to the first page, she began writing: Strategy One.
“Milord! I finally found you! Waaaah—Milord!”
Just as she was about to write, a deafening wail exploded beside her ear.
Before she could react, a blubbering, snot-bubbling thing flew in through the window and straight toward her.
Wen Shuyu’s cleanliness obsession instantly kicked in.
Bang!
In one swift motion, she kicked it flying out.
“What a huge golden winged fly!” she exclaimed, patting her chest in shock. “That scared me to death. Good thing I reacted fast. So filthy—these days even flies cry snot!”
The kicked-away qilin divine beast: ???
Wen Shuyu closed her Forty-Two Strategies and stared at the creature that had flown back in again.
Blinking, she took a closer look—oh, it was a winged qilin, glowing gold and quite beautiful. Being a sucker for appearances, she stared at it and didn’t chase it away this time.
The little beast’s eyes were red as it clutched its sore backside, looking aggrieved. “I’m not a fly! I’m a divine qilin. You always called me ‘Little Six.’ You must have lost your memory, that’s why you don’t remember me.”
Wen Shuyu pointed at herself. “I lost my memory? Then who was I before?”
Little Six answered solemnly, word by word, “You are the Heavenly Dao.”
“The guardian of the three thousand worlds. The kindest, most righteous, and most powerful existence in all of creation.”
“Pfft—” Wen Shuyu had just taken a sip of tea and immediately spat it out. She pointed at herself again. “Me? The Heavenly Dao? Kind and righteous?”
“Are you joking, brother?”
“How did you even manage to put those words together—and then stick them onto me?”
“Did a donkey kick your head before you came here? I think you should ask around the capital about my reputation.”
Little Six scratched its head. “No matter how bad your reputation is, you’re still the Heavenly Dao. With your Dao bones and spiritual power, you should be the strongest existence in the mortal world—surely not worse than that infamous useless woman everyone’s talking about in the teahouse, the one who abducted a man to a brothel… Wen Shuyu.”
Wen Shuyu gave a stiff smile. “What a coincidence. Nice to meet you—I’m Wen Shuyu.”
Little Six: …
Someone tell it—
How could its Heavenly Dao lord possibly become a useless mortal in this world?
…
Eastern Palace, Crown Prince’s bedchamber.
Xiao Jingchen slowly poured tea, the steam curling softly in the air. He stopped precisely when the cup was seven-tenths full. Dressed in a bamboo-green robe, he leaned against the table, his white garments and black hair falling elegantly, exuding an immortal air.
That is, if one ignored the pitch-black, coal-like thing beside him—calling itself “Demonic Heart”—that was currently screaming in utter breakdown.
“Demon Lord! It’s fine if you’ve lost your memory and don’t remember me—but do you remember how your demon bones disappeared?!”
Demonic Heart felt like it was going insane.
After countless hardships, it had finally found its lord—only to discover that the Demon Lord’s demon bones were gone! Without them, how was he supposed to restore his demonic body?
The sky had fallen.
Demonic Heart wanted to smash itself to death. In all its countless years, it had never faced such a catastrophic problem.
Seething with demonic energy, it raged, “Your demonic energy is gone! Your demon bones are gone! Someone replaced them with the Heavenly Dao’s wretched Dao bones—and your demonic energy has turned into spiritual power! It must be that damned woman, the Heavenly Dao! She must have taken your noble demon bones and hidden them somewhere!”
“She actually stole the most sacred demon bones of our race! Despicable Heavenly Dao—I’m going to settle this with her!”
“Where is she?! I’ll force her to reveal where the bones are! I’m so furious I could kill her!”
“You’re rather noisy,” Xiao Jingchen said, his voice still gentle and refined. Looking at it calmly, he added, “I don’t know who you are, nor do I have any memory of this Heavenly Dao or Demon Lord you speak of. Telling me all this is pointless—it will only tire you out.”
“You may look like you’ve lived a long time, but don’t get so angry that you suddenly die. Don’t overstrain your liver or let your temper flare too much—you should take care of your health.”
“Since you seem to know me, I’ll treat you to some tea. Sit.”
Demonic Heart: …
It must have a death wish to dare drink the Demon Lord’s tea.
Even if the Demon Lord’s demon bones had been replaced, with that wretched personality of his, it wouldn’t change even after thousands of years.
He might look ethereal and gentle now, but inside, he was definitely thinking about how to torment others. There was no way it would drink that tea.
Seeing it remain still, even shrinking back warily, Xiao Jingchen suddenly smiled.
The smile was warm and gentle, like a spring breeze—yet in Demonic Heart’s eyes, it felt strangely chilling.
“You’re called Demonic Heart, right? You seem to know me quite well?”
He picked up a pristine white handkerchief and slowly wiped his hands, smiling softly again.
“But I don’t like the feeling of being seen through. So tell me… what should I do about that?”
Under Demonic Heart’s horrified gaze—
He slowly shook his head, as if troubled.
“It’s not proper to neglect a guest, especially upon reunion.”
“How about I kill you… as a welcoming gift?”