The Demon Heart felt it was doomed.
Doomed—it was truly doomed. The idea it had proposed, to have the cleanliness-obsessed Venerable One hide among a group of beggars, had not only failed to attract the Heavenly Dao but had also drawn the attention of a woman more vicious than even their own demon clan.
Having a blood-stained handkerchief thrown in his face by Wen Shuyu, combined with the filthy surroundings of the beggar crowd, Xiao Jingchen felt a faint throbbing pain at the center of his brow.
Why had Wen Shuyu passed by this place?
And yet, Wen Shuyu still did not let him off: “The next time I pass by here, I want to see you kill all those who bullied you, not get beaten up like this again.”
“If you remain this useless, I’ll have someone beat you up myself!”
“What a disgrace!”
Xiao Liu was stunned.
What are you doing?! You’re the Heavenly Dao! You’re more like the Demon Venerable than the Demon Venerable himself! Did the two of you swap scripts?!
Xiao Liu’s voice trembled: [My lord, let’s go, my lord. I might have made a mistake. I don’t think he’s the Demon Venerable. Let’s leave quickly, my lord!]
He was truly afraid that if they stayed a second longer, this Demon Venerable—who wasn’t yet a demon—would be forced into becoming a Demon by his own Heavenly Dao.
Until he could suppress the demonic energy within the Heavenly Dao, he would never bring her to find the Demon Venerable again. It was too terrifying—influenced by the demon bone within her, she was more like the Demon Venerable than the Demon Venerable himself.
Before leaving, Wen Shuyu did not forget to kick the dirty, trampled bun on the ground right in front of Xiao Jingchen’s eyes, sending it flying.
“Let me tell you, it’s survival of the fittest, where the strong rule. In this world, only those with power have the right to define the rules. If you’re weak, even your existence is a mistake.”
“The next time I see you, if you’re still this useless, I won’t be kicking a bun—I’ll be kicking you.”
A thick, snow-white fox-fur cloak, carrying a faint fragrance, was thrown onto Xiao Jingchen. The pearls embroidered on it struck his head.
Along with it, a bottle of golden wound medicine and a few pastries wrapped in a handkerchief rolled to his feet.
Only after Wen Shuyu’s figure vanished from sight did the Demon Heart dare to steal a glance at its Venerable One’s expression. Seeing the light in his eyes darken, the Demon Heart sensed trouble.
“Who does she think she is?! Venerable One, she’s too wicked! She insulted you like that, called you useless, and even kicked away your bun. Just wait, calm down, and I’ll go skin her alive!”
Xiao Jingchen stood up and raised a hand. Wherever his spiritual power reached, his appearance returned to normal, once again the peerlessly elegant and radiant figure he always was.
He picked up the fox-fur cloak from the ground, gently brushing off the dust that had settled on it, then collected the golden wound medicine and the handkerchief.
His gaze, icy cold, fell upon the Demon Heart. “Where is the Heavenly Dao?”
Oh no. The Demon Heart’s heart skipped a beat. “Venerable One, listen to my excuse—no, listen to my explanation. This was an accident. Who knows where that damned Heavenly Dao has gone off to?”
“And then we ran into such a vicious woman. Venerable One, next time, next time I’ll definitely—”
Xiao Jingchen’s voice was as clear and smooth as jade, a faint smile playing on his lips as he lightly interrupted, “I don’t keep useless things by my side.”
These words caused the Demon Heart’s expression to change drastically, and it immediately knelt on the ground. “Venerable One, I was wrong. Please give me another chance.”
Xiao Jingchen turned and left, leaving behind only a voice devoid of any discernible emotion.
“You should be able to transform into human form, so go do something proper. Starting tomorrow, go to these beggar clusters and the refugee slums in the capital every day to distribute porridge, in Wen Shuyu’s name. Her reputation is too poor.”
Demon Heart: ?
Wen Shuyu? Who’s that?
Wait, it’s the Demon Heart! In the script, it’s the top villain’s biggest lackey! Why should it be doing something righteous like distributing porridge?
This is simply turning the world upside down.
This must be the Venerable One’s punishment, testing its will.
No, it must do well to impress the Venerable One. Demon Heart made up its mind.
…
Ever since returning from the beggar cluster that night, the Kylin Beast had become withdrawn, frantically flipping through divine books, searching for ways to suppress the demon bone’s demonic energy.
As for Wen Shuyu, she secluded herself for two days and finally finished writing her “Forty-Two Stratagems.”
Her fingertip traced over “Stratagem One”—yes, using her brain to pursue him would surely be different.
She nodded with satisfaction, full of confidence as she prepared to go out.
Before leaving, she didn’t forget to ask the Kylin Beast beside her: “I’m going out. Are you coming?”
Xiao Liu had nearly buried its entire head in the pile of books, its whole body crushed under the scattered volumes, only a tail sticking out and swaying in the air.
It shook off the books on its body and crawled out from the pile: “Where to?”
Wen Shuyu: “Chasing someone.”
Xiao Liu: “…”
It shook its head: “I need to study the demon bone and demonic energy. Your demon bone influence is too severe, my lord. What you said to the Demon Venerable that night has kept me awake.”
Wen Shuyu shrugged indifferently: “That Demon Venerable, that young man, let me tell you—if he keeps getting bullied and beaten, his inner resentment will accumulate too long, making him more likely to become a demon. If he learns to resist, works hard to cultivate, and kills those evil people who bully him, maybe he can walk a slightly more righteous path.”
“There’s another possibility: he’s already cultivating, maybe even knows he’s a natural enemy of the Heavenly Dao, and is pretending like that to lure the Heavenly Dao into a trap. After finding the Heavenly Dao, who knows what method he’s planning to use against it? So we need to be vicious, lest he mistakenly thinks we’re the Heavenly Dao.”
“After all, I have no Spirit Bone now and can’t cultivate, while his aptitude is so good. What if I really am the Heavenly Dao and expose myself early? Without memories, I can’t beat him—I’d die.”
“I think the reason you can’t sleep at night might be because you’re too idle during the day without working. You could go find some work at night, like scrubbing chamber pots or something. When you’re tired, you’ll naturally fall asleep.”
Xiao Liu: “…”
Before it could recover, Wen Shuyu had already run off to the Eastern Palace to chase after a man.
Meanwhile, the entire capital was curious why Wen Shuyu hadn’t gone to pester the Crown Prince these two days. Had she suddenly changed her nature?
The person in question, Wen Shuyu, had already arrived at the Eastern Palace gate with the “first stratagem” of her “Forty-Two Stratagems.”
The guards and eunuchs at the gate couldn’t stop her. “Princess, slow down. Let this servant report first. His Highness is bathing right now, please don’t rush in.”
Wen Shuyu didn’t believe it. “Bathing in broad daylight? If he doesn’t want to see me, just say so. And you all—if you want to stop me, say it directly. What lousy excuses are these?”
What exactly was Xiao Jingchen doing in broad daylight?
Wen Shuyu opened her Storage Pouch, pinched a swift talisman between her fingers, pushed open the inner hall door, and charged inside.
No one behind her dared to truly block her way, only retreating a few steps before hastily stepping aside. If she were truly injured, the Empress Dowager and the Empress would surely have their heads.
The moment the palace doors were forced open.
Misty steam drifted like delicate smoke. Inside the White Jade Pool, Xiao Jingchen leaned against the edge, the warm water submerging his porcelain-like skin and dampening his dark hair.
His long lashes, adorned with glistening droplets of water, slowly opened, meeting Wen Shuyu’s gaze.
“Wen Shuyu, you’re causing trouble again…”