Wei Sheng occasionally thought of the past, yet it felt hazy, as if it were all just a dream.
He still remembered how, as a child, he roamed freely through the Demon Palace, followed by a large group of attendants. They would chase after him with white fur cloaks, pleading, “Young ancestor, please put on another layer!” sweating profusely as they tried to bundle him up before he went out.
At such times, his mother would inevitably rush out with a stick to discipline him, never relenting until she had smacked his bottom enough to make him wail loudly.
Meanwhile, his mischievous father, who had been waiting by the door to take him out to play, would immediately bolt at the sight of his mother, completely forgetting he had a pitiful son left behind.
Their Demon Realm existed apart from the human and immortal worlds, with little interaction with the outside. The demons were self-sufficient—those who wished to cultivate demonic arts did so, while those who didn’t simply farmed the land. No one ever went hungry, making it no different from a paradise.
Wei Sheng possessed exceptional bone structure and rare talent, surpassing the cultivation of many adults even at a young age.
Whenever he displayed his skills, he was met with endless praise, enough to make his head swell with pride.
In the year he turned eighteen, intruders breached the Demon Realm.
It was an injured outsider, two or three years older than him, named Feng Liannuo.
Feng Liannuo claimed he was being pursued by evil cultivators and had accidentally fallen into the Demon Realm, seeking refuge to recover from his injuries.
It was Wei Sheng’s first time seeing someone from the outside world.
Feng Liannuo had a dignified appearance and an upright aura, treating others with kindness and respect.
Wei Sheng’s parents helped Feng Liannuo heal, while he stayed by their side, curiously observing the outsider.
Feng Liannuo was talkative and always knew how to bring up topics Wei Sheng enjoyed.
Being close in age, they quickly became friends as they chatted.
Feng Liannuo would tell him stories of the outside world, and Wei Sheng would share his treasured collectibles with him.
Whenever his parents saw him hurriedly carrying his prized possessions out, they would tease him for still acting like a child even after coming of age.
To this, Wei Sheng retorted confidently—it was all because they had spoiled him! If the sky fell, his parents would be there to hold it up!
Feng Liannuo was his first friend of the same age. Every time Feng Liannuo spoke of the fascinating things outside, Wei Sheng longed to explore the world with him.
Until Feng Liannuo tore open the Demon Realm’s Barrier.
Outsiders flooded in, while the Demon Palace had unknowingly been sealed with restrictions by Feng Liannuo.
They rampaged through every corner of the Demon Realm, burning his home and plundering the treasures of the Demon Palace.
At that time, Wei Sheng still didn’t realize these people had been let in by Feng Liannuo.
He fought his way through, drenched in blood, trying to drive out the invaders, only to witness his parents brutally slain by Feng Liannuo.
Their faces had been mutilated beyond recognition.
And Feng Liannuo, holding a blood-stained dagger, simply smiled at him and said:
“I thought the Demon Lord would be harder to kill. Conquering the Demon Realm was easier than I expected.”
How laughable—just moments before witnessing this scene, he had even worried that these invaders might be Feng Liannuo’s enemies.
He failed to kill his nemesis.
He couldn’t even retrieve his parents’ bodies.
Forced to grow up overnight, he lost all right to be willful. He fled the Demon Palace, gathered the surviving demons, and led them away from the Demon Realm in search of sanctuary.
Only to discover that the outside world was nothing like the paradise Feng Liannuo had described—it was already a living hell.
The invaders who had stormed the Demon Realm never ceased their pursuit of him.
For years, he struggled, barely managing to hide the surviving demons, but ultimately succumbed to enemies from all sides and fell into Feng Liannuo’s hands.
Before his parents died, they used their last breath to bestow upon him a blessing of immortality, making it impossible for Feng Liannuo to kill him.
Feng Liannuo dismembered him and cast the pieces into a filthy mud pit, imprisoning him in the lightless Death Row Prison to endure eternal humiliation and suffering.
Yet this fate proved far more terrifying than he had ever imagined.
In the endless darkness, he was utterly alone—unable to move, devoid of hope, reduced to incoherent muttering.
Everything from his past faded away; he could scarcely remember his own name.
After an immeasurable time, he lost even the ability to speak to himself.
It was as if he had forgotten how to form words.
Over time, a few others were thrown into the Death Row Prison, but each was more wretched than the last, lying silently even in shared confinement.
Every one of them radiated the same despair that consumed him.
Then one day, a woman poisoned nearly to death was tossed into the prison.
By all rights, she should have been dead.
Just as he thought her corpse would stiffen, she abruptly sat up!
A corpse reanimated!
His eyes widened in shock.
But it wasn’t resurrection—she had genuinely revived.
Though the poison left her unable to speak clearly, he could still grasp her meaning.
Unlike the others, she was incredibly noisy.
She would chatter incessantly with bizarre phrases, drag her swollen body through jumping exercises, and call it the “Third Set of National Middle School Calisthenics.”
What kind of cultivation technique was that? He’d never heard of such a thing.
She had a voracious appetite, devouring a basin of food in one sitting, then stroll along the bars while singing:
“The sun shines overhead, flowers smile at me, the little bird asks, why are you carrying a pack of explosives?”
“I’m going to blow up the school, never late a day, pull the cord and run away, turn back—the school’s blown to bits—”
…What in the world was she singing?
He noticed this woman brimmed with relentless energy, constantly inventing tasks for herself as if being trapped in Death Row Prison couldn’t hinder her chaotic existence.
She was like a riotous wind, recklessly scorching the wild grass, crashing about without a care for anyone else.
Yes, she was alive.
And so was he.
Just like her.
Suddenly, an urgent, irresistible impulse seized him.
He couldn’t quite name the feeling.
It was like the damp mist clinging to tiles after rain—bitter, yet carrying the freshness of breaking soil.
He did something he himself couldn’t comprehend.
Summoning all his strength, he wriggled his dismembered body, detached his head, and rolled it toward the woman’s feet.
He got stepped on.
The pain nearly brought tears to his eyes.
After stumbling, the woman calmed slightly and finally noticed his presence.
…Then she slapped him.
Was that appropriate?!
It infuriated him!!!
Blinded by rage, he tried to curse, but his long-unused voice failed him—the word “scram” came out as a guttural “glub.”
As if this humiliation wasn’t enough, the woman dared to respond!
Yet, undeniably, the moment he was discovered, he felt a thrill.
For that brief instant, he escaped the boundless darkness.
But his joy was short-lived.
The woman cradled his head in her arms!
How could this be right?!
His parents had taught him since childhood not to be rude to girls and to respect them, so he had never even held a girl’s hand his entire life.
He just wanted to talk to this woman, but she actually went ahead and hugged him directly!
She even slept while holding him!
Wasn’t this something only engaged couples were supposed to do!
He had been taken advantage of! His purity was completely gone! Now he had to take responsibility for her!
He was so angry he felt like fainting.
As the esteemed Demon Lord, he certainly couldn’t show weakness in front of outsiders.
But he could cry in front of family.
Since he and Yun Ji were already engaged, wouldn’t it be acceptable to cry angrily in her embrace?
He cried as if the sky and earth were falling apart.
All the despair and grievances accumulated over so many years, along with the pain of losing everything, seemed to pour out through his tears at this moment.
He truly wanted to return to the past, to when he still had everything.
But he could never go back.
He no longer had a mother, no longer had a father—he no longer had a home.
He was no longer that child who was always teased by his parents for being crybaby and needed protection.
Also, this woman really sang terribly—not a single note was in tune.
Oh well, she was his new family after all. He couldn’t even provide her with the treatment befitting the mistress of the Demon Palace yet, which was already unfair to her. He should just bear with it.
Wei Sheng woke up in a very good mood, as if he had just had a very long dream.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Yun Ji smiling brilliantly at him: “Good morning, silly!”
He fainted from anger again.