“It really is him.” Suyu’s expression turned stern as he told Jiang Hong, “Go back to the Illusion Spirit Department and dispatch more personnel. Do not cause a stir, and keep the City Lord’s Mansion under constant surveillance.”
“Yes!” Jiang Hong acknowledged the order, never expecting that even a small place like Chizhou would be this restless.
Suyu lifted the blanket and got up to dress. Only then did Jiang Hong notice the thick layer of bandages on Suyu’s shoulder. Even without seeing it with his own eyes, he could easily imagine how shocking the wound underneath must be.
“My Lord, you are injured?!”
“It’s nothing,” Suyu said lightly.
In reality, the wound was still faintly throbbing. Qingmo’s medicine was what the Ghost Shadow Guards used, so its effectiveness went without saying, which only showed how severe his injury truly was.
“But…” Jiang Hong could see that Suyu was moving with difficulty.
“He has me, so just go do whatever you need to do! Stop meddling in things that are none of your business!” Annoyed by his nagging, Qingmo quickly shooed him out.
Then, he snatched Suyu’s robe. “Alright, this time it’s my turn to wait on you.”
A warm smile danced in Suyu’s eyes. “Then I’ll have to trouble Lord Ghost Fiend.”
As it turned out, things did not go as smoothly as imagined.
Qingmo hadn’t dealt with such trivial chores in a long time. He fussed over the sash for ages, only to end up tying a dead knot.
After struggling in vain for quite a while, he gave up. “Let Hanzhao do it.”
How was he supposed to survive without Hanzhao?
The two of them finally managed to get dressed. Qingmo, who had practically been the one causing chaos, acted as though he had done all the heavy lifting, panting heavily as he flopped down into a chair. “I’ve felt that Yue Zhiqiang wasn’t a good person from the very beginning. Looks like we won’t be getting to drink Bai Yingfei’s wedding wine.”
Suyu offered a hint. “If you simply want to drink wedding wine, the Demon Lord’s wedding banquet probably hasn’t ended yet.”
Zhi An had deep obsessions, and in every lifetime, his wedding ceremonies were grand and extravagant, lasting a full month before he was willing to stop.
“But he always serves the exact same few dishes over and over again. I’ve eaten my fill of them.” Qingmo had attended a wedding banquet shortly after first meeting him; it had seemed novel back then, but after so many repetitions, he had lost all interest.
Suddenly, his eyes rolled around in a clever spin, and Suyu knew he was up to no good. Sure enough, the next second Qingmo pounced right up beside him.
“I want to eat your wedding wine!”
“Me?” Suyu felt it was somewhat absurd and hard to explain. “That will have to wait quite a while.”
“That’s why I’m going to help you win him over faster.” Qingmo reasoned logically, grabbing the white jade bracelet from earlier and shoving it into Suyu’s hand. “Make him your proper Demon Queen, and you have to reserve a private table just for me at the banquet.”
Amused by the idea, Suyu indulged him affectionately. “Alright, you said it. On my wedding day, you must be present.”
Qingmo agreed readily, his fingers restlessly tapping against Suyu’s hand.
Suyu narrowed his eyes, unable to resist the instinct ingrained deep in his bones. Refusing to yield, he pulled his hand out and placed it right on top of Qingmo’s.
Hey!
Remembering that Suyu was a cat, this was what they called the cat’s paw on top. But refusing to believe in losing, Qingmo placed his hand right back on top, determined to press Suyu down.
Suyu flipped his hand over without a second thought.
The two of them went back and forth so fast their movements blurred into afterimages. Dozens of rounds later, it ended with Qingmo being forced to concede to the principle of the cat’s paw on top.
Since he couldn’t win this game, he shifted to serious business. “What should we do now? Should we go straight to capture Yue Zhiqiang and interrogate him?”
Suyu had originally planned to wait for the right opportunity to wipe out Yue Zhiqiang and the black-robed culprit spreading the demon seeds in one fell swoop, but now the enemy’s moves were multiplying and he himself was injured, meaning procrastination was clearly no longer viable.
Coincidentally, right as Qingmo finished speaking, a guard outside the courtyard came to report an invitation from the High Priest.
Qingmo sneered. “Look at that, they delivered themselves right to our doorstep.”
“More like you’re walking right into a trap.” Suyu didn’t think Yue Zhiqiang was a fool; meeting up at this juncture meant he must be fully prepared.
He checked his own injury and decided to stake all his chips on Qingmo. “I’m afraid I’ll only be a burden, so I’ll have to trouble you to handle it.”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”
Yue Zhiqiang had invited them to meet at the sacrificial altar without stating a reason, though both parties knew full well what it was about.
Before leaving, Qingmo leaned close to Hanzhao’s ear and muttered something under his breath.
Seeing that Qingmo was the only one following him, Suyu asked, “Aren’t you bringing Hanzhao along?”
Looking all mysterious, Qingmo replied, “I’ve given him a more important mission.”
The sacrificial altar was decorated simply yet retained a solemn atmosphere, flanked on both sides by tall, man-shaped vegetation that looked eerie. At the very bottom, a circle of prayer mats was laid out for worshippers, with four staircases leading to the highest point of the altar.
And the most out-of-place thing right at the top center was actually a mound of dirt with a crooked sapling rooted in it, using its frail body to hover above.
As soon as Suyu stepped foot inside, a wave of sorrow washed over him. “There are fallen demons here.”
Influenced by the resonance of kindred spirits, tears welled up uncontrollably in his heterochromatic pupils.
Yue Zhiqiang stood in the center of the altar with a gentle smile on his face, looking even more harmless than Suyu. “You’re here.”
With a booming crash, the doors locked tight, laying bare their hostile intentions.
“No good wine or food to treat us with?” Qingmo asked despite knowing the answer, pulling a handkerchief from his chest pocket and handing it to Suyu to wipe his tears.
Only after handing it over did he realize it was the exact same handkerchief Liu Ze had given him earlier, making the atmosphere instantly awkward.
“Uh, I felt the elder’s handkerchief was crafted quite nicely, so I, well…”
The handkerchief was pristine, clearly never used once. Suyu stared at it in contemplation for a moment, ultimately unable to bring himself to soil it, and handed it back instead. “There are still many such handkerchiefs at home. If you like them, I’ll give you a few more when we get back.”
Muttering a vague reply, Qingmo tucked it away like a precious treasure.
Yue Zhiqiang, who had been ignored on the side, patiently waited for the two of them to finish before gracefully gliding down to the base of the altar. “I never expected the Ghost Fiend and the Demon Lord to share such deep affection.”
Qingmo didn’t deny it. “There are plenty of things you never expected. I heard praying at the altar can make wishes come true, so I’ll give it a try.”
With that, he dropped straight to his knees on a prayer mat and clasped his hands in silent prayer.
Qingmo’s sudden, unpredictable impulses were always impossible to fathom, making Yue Zhiqiang feel rather uneasy. “The blessing envoys of the Witch clan cannot withstand this kowtow from the Ghost Fiend.”
“Whether they can withstand it or not is their problem. At least my sincerity was delivered.” He muttered his wish a few times, opened his eyes, stood up, and brushed off nonexistent dust.
Suyu stepped onto the stairs leading to the altar. With every step he took, that sorrow of fading life echoed endlessly in his mind.
He closed his eyes to mask his grief. “How many mermaid corpses are hidden underneath?”
Yue Zhiqiang’s smile grew deeper as he stared at the injury on Suyu’s shoulder. “You might as well dig them up and see for yourself.”
Refusing to be provoked, Suyu said calmly, “Qingmo.”
This clearly meant he wanted Qingmo to do the digging. Qingmo protested, “I was being polite to you, and you’re actually starting to order me around?”
Just as Yue Zhiqiang was about to utter a sarcastic remark, a loud cracking sound echoed. Though he had complained verbally, Qingmo’s actual movements were extraordinarily prompt; with his bare hands, he started pulling up the saplings planted across the altar one by one, displaying an inexhaustible reservoir of energy beyond ordinary people.
He had endless boundless energy morning and night.
Suyu stood aside with his hands tucked into his sleeves, practically gloating. “Never underestimate the Ghost Fiend’s talent for tearing down houses.”
Was this anything worth gloating about? Yue Zhiqiang could no longer maintain his smile.
Qingmo remained proud of himself. “This is only one! Back then I demolished eight of them! But what I’m more worried about is how devastated Bai Yingfei will be once he realizes your true colors.”
“Everything I do is for him.” Yue Zhiqiang showed a hint of emotional turmoil, though he was also helpless against his circumstances.
Qingmo moved swiftly. The trees rooted atop the dirt mound were all uprooted, and once the soil was shoveled away, rows of buried skeletons were exposed.
At a single glance, the blood in Suyu’s veins froze.
Digging further down, the skeletons multiplied. The massive sacrificial altar was built entirely upon the white bones of the demon race.
Beneath the bright, sunny sky, an icy chill radiated outward from the altar, and white snow abruptly began to drift down from the heavens.
Qingmo reached out and caught a flake, which quickly melted in his palm. It was Suyu’s spiritual energy, weeping in grief for their fellow demon brethren who had perished here.
“Why bother putting on a show for others to see?” Yue Zhiqiang waved his sleeve to brush away the falling snow. “These are all mermaids who once betrayed the demon race. When the Demon Lord and the Ghost Fiend jointly suppressed them, the number they slaughtered was no less than this.”
Suyu kept his head slightly lowered, his expression unreadable. Two lines of clear tears gathered and fell, dripping into the turned-up soil. “This is different…”
His voice choked up. He opened his mouth, only to realize the other person wasn’t entirely wrong; regardless of the underlying motive, creating slaughter was an undeniable fact.
“Why are you wasting your breath arguing with him?” Qingmo smoothly uncoiled the Seven Absolute Strings. “Just watch how I beat him up for you.”
Qingmo was terrible at self-reflection; whenever trouble arose, his first instinct was to blame others, and most of the time he didn’t view bloodshed as something inherently wrong.
He acted in accordance with the Heavenly Way.
With a cold face, Yue Zhiqiang waved his hand toward the vegetation on either side, which instantly transformed into towering Witch puppets that closed in to surround the pair.
“Ever since you wreaked havoc in the Witch clan, the elders developed this barrier specifically designed to trap the Ghost Fiend. Since you insist on meddling, you can stay right here!”
With a sharp command, the sluggish Witch puppets stretched their limbs as if infused with life, lunging toward them with vicious movements.
Qingmo sliced off the head of a Witch puppet. Its body crashed to the ground, but within moments, a new head sprouted right back out.
“Tch, so hard to kill.” He kicked one of the severed heads away and looked back at Suyu, only to find the latter still standing motionless.
Qingmo instantly panicked. “I was just joking with you earlier! You can’t actually refuse to help at all?!”
Suyu’s complexion was abysmal, enduring agonizing pain. “I seem to be unable to move.”
A terrible premonition suddenly struck Qingmo. He reached out and yanked open Suyu’s collar, exposing his wounded shoulder.
The bandages wrapped around it prevented him from seeing how the wound was healing, but he could clearly see the sinister, malevolent Qi lingering over it.
“Despicable, dirty tricks!” Qingmo cursed angrily, flying into a rage as he chopped off three more puppet heads in one go. “Yue Zhiqiang, I am going to twist your head off as well!”
Yue Zhiqiang retreated over twenty paces outside the altar, channeling his spiritual energy and slamming a palm into the ground. “Let’s see if you have what it takes.”
Vibrant spiritual energy surged through the earth into the vegetation disguised as Witch puppets, making the enemies not only unkillable but increasing their numbers rapidly.
Fighting head-on like this was definitely not a viable solution. Suyu suddenly spoke up, “Qingmo, come here.”
“Qingmo is busy, can’t come over.”
“Come here, hug me.”
Qingmo felt it necessary to make him realize how absurd this request was. He bound several puppets together with his strings, marched over to Suyu with an angry expression, and gestured wildly.
“Do you want to look at our builds before saying that? You want me to hug you? Why don’t you just ask me to toss you into the sky!”
The moment the words left his mouth, the person in front of him suddenly vanished, replaced by a ball of fluff in his arms.
His expression changed instantly, the ultimate double standard in action. Qingmo beamed with delight, cupping the soft, plump Rice Cake in both hands. “Hehe, actually, tossing you into the sky wouldn’t be impossible either.”