“Look up.”
The bone chilling voice was like a sharp blade, stabbing painfully into her ears.
Qin Buan slowly opened her eyes. Before her was a magnificent golden hall illuminated by flickering lanterns. A sinister, icy wind seeped through her thin clothes, leaving her feeling both cold and hot at once.
Where was this?
A sudden pain shot through her chin. A slender hand with distinct knuckles seized her jaw without mercy and roughly lifted her face.
The man’s golden eyes were dark and unreadable, while the corners of his red lips curved upward with undisguised mockery.
“Tell me, what is your purpose in coming here?”
“Mm…”
Qin Buan struggled to part her lips. When she finally saw the extraordinarily handsome and cold looking man before her, broken sounds spilled from between her lips.
“Who are you?”
The man raised an eyebrow. His sharp features were filled with impatience.
“You were the one who led your precious senior brother and senior sister here to this place. What is it? Now that death is staring you in the face, you are afraid?”
Senior brother, senior sister?
Qin Buan blinked furiously and gently tried to push his hand away.
“Sir, did you mistake me for someone else?”
At that moment, a voice suddenly came from beside her.
“Qin Buan! Stop pretending! You have long since colluded with Xie Mucheng. How could you, the daughter of the Second Elder, repeatedly plot to bring ruin upon the sect? You betrayed everyone, and you deserve to die!”
The young woman had her hands and feet bound. She glared furiously at them, her eyes bloodshot with rage. If looks could become arrows, Qin Buan would have already been turned into a porcupine.
“Qin Buan, Second Elder, so I…”
Had she transmigrated into a book?
Qin Buan felt her vision go dark. After a moment of confusion, the handsome man before her gradually became clear again.
The memories belonging to the story slowly resurfaced.
Her name was Qin Buan, the only daughter of the Second Elder of Xuantian Sect. She was usually arrogant and domineering, and with her distinguished identity, she could practically do whatever she wanted within the sect. At the same time, she was deeply disliked by the other members of the sect.
Right now, because she was jealous that the original male protagonist, Ye Que, had won the favor of the elders, she had tricked Ye Que and the female protagonist, Shen Yihuan, into going to Wangqing Cliff. She had intended to lure them into the Demon Realm, but they were discovered by patrolling demon cultivators. Ye Que was injured, while she and Shen Yihuan were taken away.
Shen Yihuan had the halo of the female protagonist. The very first time she met the villainous Demon Lord, Xie Mucheng, she made him fall in love with her. Naturally, nothing would happen to her.
The one who would suffer was Qin Buan.
【Xie Mucheng hated people from the cultivation world and sentenced Qin Buan to fifty lashes.】
At the thought of this, Qin Buan’s calves began trembling uncontrollably, and her legs even started to weaken.
Fortunately, the book had also mentioned that Xie Mucheng was already injured, and it happened to be the night of the full moon, when he was at his weakest. Therefore, after punishing Qin Buan, he suddenly passed out.
Shen Yihuan also awakened her spiritual bone after breaking through her spiritual barrier and fought her way out of the Demon Domain.
Only the culprit, Qin Buan, was left behind. She died from blood loss in the Demon Domain.
Time passed second by second. Qin Buan’s heart pounded wildly, like an hourglass turned upside down, as though it could run out at any moment.
It was not difficult to guess that the man coldly staring at her was Xie Mucheng.
“Demon Lord, I, I have something to say.”
After a long while, Qin Buan finally managed to make a sound.
Although Xie Mucheng was gripping her, he was not using enough force to kill her.
She could not figure out what he intended to do, but Qin Buan had no other choice.
Fortunately, when he heard her, Xie Mucheng slightly relaxed his grip, though he still pressed her against the stone wall.
The stone wall was freezing cold.
Qin Buan suppressed the fear in her heart and tried to make her eyes look as sincere as possible.
“Actually, I came here to pledge my allegiance to you!”
“Pledge your allegiance?”
Xie Mucheng slightly raised his chin. A trace of disdain flashed through his narrow phoenix eyes as he slowly repeated those words.
Qin Buan nodded.
“Yes! I am willing to submit to the Demon Lord. From now on, I belong to you.”
“Qin Buan! How dare you commit such an outrageous act! You deserve to die for betraying the sect. Today, I will make sure you are buried here with this traitor!”
Shen Yihuan gritted her teeth as she rebuked her.
“Shut up!”
Xie Mucheng frowned in irritation.
In the next instant, Shen Yihuan was struck against a stone pillar by a single palm strike. The intense pain caused her to immediately lose consciousness.
Xie Mucheng calmly adjusted his slightly disheveled robe. His tall figure stood alone, while cloud patterns drifted across his broad black and gold robes and the ornaments at his waist chimed softly. Every movement he made carried an oppressive force that was almost suffocating.
His gaze lightly fell upon Qin Buan as he asked seemingly casually, “Why do you want to pledge allegiance to me?”
Qin Buan glanced at Shen Yihuan, who had been lively just moments ago but was now unconscious after being struck. The sweat in her palms grew even heavier.
The villain could even strike the woman he loved. How could he possibly spare her insignificant life?
“I, I may be the daughter of the Second Elder, but I have never been liked by the people in the sect. Actually, I have wanted to leave the sect for a long time and establish myself elsewhere. This is the perfect opportunity!”
Xie Mucheng lowered his eyes and parted his thin lips.
“You have quite a way with words. However, if you truly wish to submit to me, I will give you this opportunity.”
Qin Buan’s dark eyes brightened.
“Yes, yes.”
Xie Mucheng smiled lightly.
“Kill her.”
“Who?”
“Her.”
Xie Mucheng pointed at Shen Yihuan.
“Take her life, and I will spare yours.”
The smile on Qin Buan’s face stiffened again and again as she stared helplessly at Shen Yihuan lying on the ground.
This was the female protagonist. How could she possibly kill her?
Xie Mucheng asked coldly, “Unwilling?”
“N, naturally not!”
Qin Buan swallowed hard and began calculating when Xie Mucheng would collapse.
Killing the female protagonist was obviously impossible, but she also had to preserve her own life. As long as she could stall until Xie Mucheng passed out, she could escape alive.
The problem was that Xie Mucheng currently looked perfectly energetic.
Qin Buan smiled ingratiatingly. Her almond shaped eyes curved like a pair of shining moons, while the fear hidden on her fair little face was impossible to conceal.
Her acting was terribly clumsy.
Yet the pleasure brought by watching prey struggle desperately on the brink of death was indeed enjoyable. What made Xie Mucheng even more curious was how the person who had been so arrogant only moments ago had suddenly become someone so afraid of death.
Xie Mucheng raised his hand and gripped her neck. His fingertips exerted a little pressure, leaving deep and shallow marks upon her fair skin.
“Then why are you not doing it?”
Just when Qin Buan thought he was about to twist her neck, Xie Mucheng leisurely spoke and released her.
The place on her neck where he had gripped her still throbbed with pain, but Qin Buan had no time to care about it.
“Demon Lord, please listen to me.”
Qin Buan remained standing and spoke with great emotion.
“Although Shen Yihuan has no spiritual bone, she is deeply favored by the elders. I think it would be a pity to kill her. It would be better to keep her alive so that she can be used to threaten the people of Xuantian Sect in the future.”
“Oh?”
Xie Mucheng slowly furrowed his brows as though considering her suggestion. After a few moments, he suddenly understood.
“Then I will kill you and keep her.”
As he spoke, a mass of black mist appeared in Xie Mucheng’s palm. The mist gradually expanded, and a long sword glowing with silver light emerged from within. The hilt was engraved with a black and red nine tailed fox demon.
Qin Buan cried out in alarm.
“Let us talk this through. Please, do not act yet!”
Xie Mucheng held the sword in one hand. He raised its edge until it rested against Qin Buan’s chin. As long as he moved it forward another inch, it would cut through her skin and send blood flowing.
“Kill her, or do not?”
Qin Buan gritted her teeth.
“Demon Lord, do you really not want to hear why I chose to pledge allegiance to you?”
“Annoying.”
Xie Mucheng had no desire to listen.
Qin Buan continued relentlessly.
“Actually, I know one of the Demon Lord’s secrets.”
Silence lasted for several moments before Xie Mucheng suddenly smiled.
It was a smile that did not reach his eyes, an extremely eerie expression filled with murderous intent. It was like a venomous snake wrapping tightly around her, ready to bite through her neck at any moment.
His appearance was truly extraordinary, but smiling clearly did not suit him.
“A secret?”
Qin Buan nodded repeatedly.
“But do not worry. I will not tell anyone.”
Xie Mucheng said nothing. He merely looked down at her coldly.
The murderous aura surrounding the sword had weakened slightly.
That meant he had also become curious.
Qin Buan said, “Today is the night of the full moon…”
“Enough!”
Xie Mucheng coldly interrupted her.
“I have changed my mind. I do not want to hear it anymore.”
“You cannot go back on your word!”
Qin Buan looked at him helplessly.
“Please listen to me. I guarantee that after you hear me out, you will not want to kill anyone anymore. Wait, do not throw me away!”
Qin Buan refused to give up. Her arms wrapped around Xie Mucheng’s waist like vines.
“I have a way to solve the problem of your body becoming weak on the night of the full moon. Do you believe me?”
Xie Mucheng stared at her.
“You are threatening me?”
Qin Buan fell onto the ground and spoke in an aggrieved tone.
“I am not threatening you. I am genuinely trying to give you advice!”
Xie Mucheng smiled gently.
“I truly would like to put your suggestion into practice, but the thing I hate most in my life is being threatened. Therefore, I cannot let you live.”
As soon as he finished speaking, dense demonic energy surged around the sword.
Qin Buan watched as the sword drew closer and closer. She instinctively closed her eyes, but after waiting for a long time, she felt no pain. The oppressive force belonging to Xie Mucheng also suddenly disappeared.
When she opened her eyes again, the enormous golden hall was completely empty.
Xie Mucheng was nowhere to be seen. Everything was as peaceful as before, as though he had never appeared.
Qin Buan let out a long breath and leaned against the wall to rest.
According to the original plot, Xie Mucheng should have suddenly lost his spiritual power and should currently be hiding somewhere to recover from his injuries. He would not appear again for a short while.
The most important thing now was to escape the Demon Domain.
Looking at Shen Yihuan lying on the ground, Qin Buan made a decision.
She would call her twice. If she did not wake after two calls, Qin Buan would escape on her own.
“Junior Sister Shen?”
There was no response.
“Junior Sister Shen?”
Qin Buan tentatively called a third time. The person lying limp on the ground finally moved.
Shen Yihuan propped herself up with one hand and raised half of her body. She stared at Qin Buan with deep meaning in her eyes.
“Just now, he ordered you to kill me. Why did you not do it?”
Qin Buan froze for a moment before suddenly understanding.
Shen Yihuan had not actually fainted. She had been pretending the entire time.
“Junior Sister, if I said that what I did just now was merely a temporary measure, would you believe me?”
Qin Buan instinctively asked.
Shen Yihuan gave a cold laugh and raised her chin.
“Pretend however you want. However, Xie Mucheng was already injured, and whether he is alive or dead now is uncertain. If you still intend to join him and betray the sect, do not blame my sword for showing you no mercy.”
Qin Buan wanted to explain, but Shen Yihuan had already turned and walked away, her back looking carefree and decisive.
“We are in the Demon Domain. I do not want to waste words with you here. Once I take you back to the sect, the elders will decide your fate.”
Qin Buan was left speechless, but she did not dare stray too far from Shen Yihuan. She followed her at a distance of roughly half an arm’s length.
Xie Mucheng preferred peace and quiet, so there was no one guarding the area outside the Demon Hall. This gave them a chance to escape.
The two of them did not dare to stop. Following the guidance of the Guiding Butterfly, they fled toward the foot of the mountain.
Just as they were about to reach Wangqing Cliff, a fierce, freezing wind suddenly appeared and blocked their path.
“Xie Mucheng?”
Shen Yihuan cried out in shock.
Author’s Note:
Babies, please support my upcoming novel, “After Rebirth, I Cultivated Dual Cultivation With My Archenemy.”
Synopsis:
Shen Lingqiu was the foremost figure of the righteous path, elegant and aloof, while Lin Yuan was a demon who insisted on competing with him.
Today Shen Lingqiu obtained an extraordinary sword, and tomorrow Lin Yuan wanted one even better.
Today Shen Lingqiu advanced one level in cultivation, and she wanted to advance two.
The two of them fought constantly and could never stand each other for a thousand years.
Then, during a great war between immortals and demons, Lin Yuan died.
Before closing her eyes, she saw Shen Lingqiu staggering toward her.
She thought that he had probably come to deliver the final blow.
When she opened her eyes again, Lin Yuan had been reborn into the body of an utterly ordinary female cultivator.
She heard that a sword immortal who had fallen into the demonic path was imprisoned in Youlan Valley. His cultivation was profound, making him the perfect cultivation partner.
For the sake of revenge, she was willing to do anything!
Even if it meant deceiving a terrifying sword immortal into cultivating together with her.
She secretly slipped a pill into the sword immortal’s medicinal bath.
Through the mist rising from the water, Lin Yuan saw Shen Lingqiu lying in the bath with a flushed face.
What a terrible coincidence.
Lin Yuan intended to kill Shen Lingqiu when he lowered his guard, but she accidentally discovered a hair ribbon beneath his pillow.
It was the old ribbon she had thrown away.
Later, Lin Yuan found the broken wooden sword she had once discarded in his cabinet, along with the challenge letters she had sent him time and time again.
What?
In the end, Lin Yuan came to the conclusion that Shen Lingqiu had kept these things as trophies from the great war between immortals and demons in which he had killed her!
At last, the day of Lin Yuan’s revenge arrived.
She raised her sword and left behind one clean sentence.
“Shen Lingqiu, goodbye.”
But before she could take two steps, she fell into a warm and cool embrace.
The man whom she had trapped with a formation was now standing perfectly well behind her. His voice was deep as he called her by the name she had once used.
His voice carried longing and resentment.
“A Yuan, are you going to leave me again?”