“Or could it be that the person this seat has painstakingly cultivated is about to abandon this seat and throw themselves into the arms of that righteous immortal leader?”
What utter nonsense!
Hearing him say this, Yan Zhu felt a wave of profound grief and indignation. To think that he, a dignified and mighty Demon Lord, had been resurrected only to fail at shaking the world anew and instead sink to such a wretched state, actually allowing a group of men to fight over him back and forth. It was simply a supreme humiliation.
Yet, upon feeling that a large hand had once again settled onto the back of his deeply unfortunate neck, Yan Zhu reined in the turbulent thoughts in his mind and spoke with utmost pragmatism.
“How could such a thing happen? This subordinate will definitely obey the Lord’s commands.”
A true man knows when to yield and when to stand tall.
“I heard that Yu Li gave you a new name, called Xianyan?”
“The Lord is truly all-seeing and omnipotent.”
Yu Sui’s pair of fox-like eyes narrowed once again, the gaze deepening even further as it fell upon the youth’s brightly reddened lips, though he still smiled carelessly. “What a coincidence indeed, it is practically the same name this seat gave to Ah-Yan. Ah-Yan is truly good at bewitching others; no matter where you go, you can always win people’s favor. This seat is honestly feeling a bit reluctant to let you go.”
Yan Zhu’s internal alarm bells rang wildly. He hoped this flirtatious fox didn’t suddenly have a lapse in judgment and abduct him back to the demon palace. In his past life, although he and this Demon Lord had kept to their own waters and never crossed paths, every rumor he had ever heard about him painted him as capricious and utterly uninhibited.
Seeing that his expression was truly grave, Yu Sui chuckled once more.
“I am only joking. How could this seat’s grand scheme do without Ah-Yan? Rest assured, Ah-Yan, once we successfully deal with Yu Li in the future, I naturally will not treat you unfairly.”
Yan Zhu’s gaze flickered slightly as he cautiously raised his eyes to look at him. “Has the Lord’s grand scheme already been fully planned out?”
Yu Sui glanced at him indifferently. “Is Ah-Yan in such a rush? When the appropriate opportunity arrives, I will naturally tell you.”
By the time Yan Zhu emerged, the sky had turned pitch black. He pulled the message transmission jade talisman given to him by Yu Li from inside his robes and sat there in brooding silence for a long while.
His strategy had failed.
Who could tell him how someone without spiritual power was supposed to use this gadget?
While standing there flustered in the wind, a white-clad youth drifted down gracefully from a nearby tree, staring at him with an expression of displeasure.
Yan Zhu’s eyes lit up as he earnestly said, “Yun Zhongfei, carry me back to the peak. I forgot that I have no spiritual power and cannot use the transmission jade talisman, and I’m afraid that if I return too late, the Immortal Lord will punish me.”
“What a nuisance.” Despite his complaints, Yun Zhongfei was actually a very kind-hearted crane. No matter how impatient he looked on the outside, he still honestly transformed back into his original form and carried him as they flew toward the peak.
Sitting on the back of the immortal crane, Yan Zhu wanted nothing more than to look up at the heavens and roar with laughter three times.
This was truly a rare stroke of good fortune. The demon clan and the human race were fighting so fiercely behind his back without him even knowing; all he had to do was wait for them to both suffer heavy losses so that his demon race could launch a surprise attack and reap the benefits of the fisherman.
By then, wouldn’t the entire realm of cultivation belong to him?
Having calculated a full circle of his wonderful future life, Yan Zhu grew even more excited, the corners of his mouth curving high upward, completely impossible to suppress.
Yet, he was unable to keep smiling for long.
The peak of Qianji Peak was extremely empty, with only a single fusang tree, and right now, a solitary figure was quietly seated beneath the tree. Dressed in snowy robes with ink-black hair, lowering his gaze and holding a white Go stone between delicate fingers, he was playing a game of chess against himself.
Seeming to have heard the commotion of their return, the peerlessly refined and elegant person slowly lifted his previously lowered eyes. His expression was clear and aloof, yet biting cold to the bone.
Seeing that Yu Li’s expression was unsightly, Yun Zhongfei hurriedly gave a careful bow. “Reporting to the Exalted Lord, the sword attendant has already been delivered, and this subordinate will now take his leave.”
Having spoken, he didn’t even dare to raise his head to look at Yu Li’s reaction, instantly transforming back into his original form, fluttering his two wings, and scrambling away in a flash.
Just looking at his expression, Yan Zhu knew there would be no good fruit for him to eat today, and he wanted to slip away in the chaos as well. Over there, however, a streak of spiritual power lashed out, binding Yan Zhu firmly in place so that he could not move at all.
Light yet perfectly regular footsteps slowly approached, step by step sounding as though they were treading directly upon Yan Zhu’s heart.
With a tranquil expression, Yu Li spoke. “Where did you go? Why are you returning so late? Why didn’t you use the jade talisman I gave you, and why didn’t you take the initiative to contact me?” His voice grew softer and softer, resembling a tender murmur between lovers, yet it was as cold as if it had been forged in ice.
“I went to the back mountain and got lost in the woods, which is why I came back a bit late.” Yan Zhu raised his head to steal a peek at him and forced himself to speak through a hardened scalp.
“Lost? If you got lost, why didn’t you look for me, and why didn’t you use the transmission jade talisman?”
Upon hearing this, Yan Zhu instantly grew full of righteousness and puffed out his neck to argue back with him. “What good is it just giving me a transmission jade talisman? I don’t have any spiritual power.”
After a long silence, Yu Li finally spoke in a low voice. “It was my oversight. There won’t be a next time. Tomorrow, I will clear your meridians for you and assist you in cultivation.”
The restrictive spell binding his body was abruptly removed by someone, causing Yan Zhu to stumble a couple of times and fall straight into the young man’s chest, which exuded a cool sandalwood fragrance. He rubbed his somewhat sore and numb wrists, secretly letting out a sigh of relief in his heart and assuming he had managed to muddle his way through.
Just as he prepared to back out of the young man’s embrace, the arms around his waist suddenly tightened, forcing him to lean against the youth’s chest once again.
He frowned, wanting to throw a temper tantrum regardless of consequences, when he abruptly heard a soft, light chuckle filled with an inexplicable sense of anger.
His body stiffened slightly as he looked up at the young man, whose lips were curved into a faint smile.
He saw that the youth’s eyes faintly revealed a trace of bizarre and unfathomable meaning. A shallow smile floated lightly on the surface, while deep underneath, a profound and heavy fury was hidden, making his entire body feel inexplicably chilled just by looking at it.
“I will give you one more chance. Tell me, where exactly did you go this afternoon, and who did you see? Where did you pick up this full-bodied, rich fragrance, if not from trysting with someone until dark?”
Yan Zhu had originally felt somewhat intimidated by this demeanor, fearing he would suffer for it, but upon hearing these words, raging fury instantly flared up in his heart.
A rush of hot blood surged straight to his head, and casting aside all need for false civility and hypocrisy, he glared straight back at him and snapped, “Does Immortal Lord Yu Li’s mind consist entirely of such illicit and scandalous affairs? You usually look so pristine and detached from the world, yet the words coming out of your mouth are like this. If you are sick, go see a doctor; why are you throwing a fit here with me?”
With that, he struggled violently and flipped around, attempting to break free from the embrace.
Yet Yu Li still clamped a tight grip around his wrists while his other hand held firmly onto his waist. His expression remained calm and aloof, entirely unaffected by those harsh words, and only a pair of deep, fathomless eyes stared fixedly at him.
“I am asking you once more: this afternoon, who did you go to see?”
Yan Zhu was likewise so enraged that his face grew cold and stern. Hearing this, he let out another chilly laugh and retorted without yielding an inch, “Where I went and who I saw, what relation does that have with Immortal Lord Yu Li? What qualifications do you think you have to discipline me?”
“Is that so?”
Hearing him speak thus, Yu Li actually let out a soft chuckle. His deep, dark eyes lowered slightly, and the corners of his mouth curved upward in an ambiguous arc.
Yan Zhu’s internal alarm bells instantly went off, sensing that this person was becoming dangerously erratic right now. He felt a twinge of regret for using such harsh words to provoke him, and with a sudden burst of effort, he struggled fiercely, wanting to distance himself from him, but it was already too late.
The furious, cold immortal lord behind him had already seized the back of his neck, applying slight pressure to force him to lift his head, compelling him to accept a kiss that could only be described as fierce.