001 The Great Demon Lord Turns Out to Be…
The moon pierced through dark clouds, and a cold wind swept through the forest.
In the Hopeless Mountains, the dense canopy blotted out the sky. After a brief clamor of insects and scattering birds, silence reclaimed the woods.
Nan Yao was utterly bewildered.
At that moment, dozens of layers of the Body Immobilization Spell restrained her, her hands bound by shackles, and a sword pressed against the back of her neck.
Dozens of people surrounded her, watching her with predatory intensity.
“Yao Yao, I don’t love you.”
The speaker was a young man, the picture of an elegant noble. His plain white robes fluttered in the wind, his eyes dark as lacquer, his voice gentle as jade.
He held a delicate young woman in his arms.
The girl was sobbing against his chest, her figure frail and pitiful.
“I’m sorry, but you must take Jiao Jiao’s place in the sacrifice,” the young man said, his brow slightly furrowed, his eyes filled with reluctance as he gazed at Nan Yao. “If you truly love me, let me and her be together.”
Nan Yao: …Absurd.
Do you even hear the nonsense you’re spouting?
The person before her was Xue An.
Three months ago, he had borrowed seventy taels of gold from her and still hadn’t repaid it. At noon today, Nan Yao had received a carrier pigeon message from him, inviting her to meet here at dusk.
She thought he was going to return the money.
Instead, it turned out to be a vicious kidnapping.
Xue An was also watching Nan Yao.
He looked heartbroken, reluctant, his eyes slightly red as if forced into this, yet stubbornly holding back tears.
“I’m sorry,” Xue An said. “In the end, I’ve failed you.”
Xue An was handsome and well-read, always carrying himself with scholarly refinement. He was quite popular among the young women of the Hopeless Mountains.
In recent months, he had noticed that Nan Yao often engineered deliberate “chance” encounters. She also liked giving him inexplicable little gifts—seven wildflowers, seven smooth stones, seven calligraphy brushes…
As one of the Hopeless Mountains’ most eligible young talents, he was accustomed to admirers. So when Xue An received Nan Yao’s gifts, he immediately understood her “schoolgirl crush.”
Hah, she has a secret crush on me.
Xue An felt rather pleased about being secretly admired by Nan Yao.
Because she was beautiful.
She possessed the unique vitality and spirit of youth, with bright eyes and white teeth, a natural crimson mark between her brows that stood out strikingly against her fair skin.
Anyone who saw her for the first time would assume she had been pampered and cherished while growing up.
Unfortunately, despite her pitiable beauty, her background was utterly mediocre.
Moreover, Nan Yao seemed to have no father—just a mother and daughter living deep in the mountains, far from any community.
Such family circumstances offered no advantage to Xue An, who aspired to join an Immortal Sect someday.
Jiao Jiao was different.
Jiao Jiao was the treasure of the Hopeless Mountains, daughter of the Head of the sect. Born into privilege, raised on gold and jade, she was like clouds to Nan Yao’s mud.
Xue An knew that only someone like her was worthy of him, someone who could pave the way for his future.
However, Jiao Jiao’s father had always looked down on Xue An, frequently mocking him as unworthy of his daughter.
But now, an opportunity had arisen.
While Xue An was lost in his fantasies, Nan Yao fell into stunned silence.
How could this be?
Did these people really think her taste was this terrible?
This was an indirect insult, a challenge to her discernment and standards.
Heartache aside, Nan Yao had to ask one question: “Let’s set aside whether you love me or not for now—has anyone told me what this ‘sacrifice’ is, some new form of entertainment?”
When she first moved to Hopeless Mountain, Nan Yao’s mother had said, “This mountain is far from worldly conflicts, with simple folk customs—perfect for cultivating one’s mind and character.”
How, after just three years here, had they developed a “sacrifice” program?
The people around her wore expressions of disbelief. “You don’t know? The Demon Realm is about to invade. That bloodthirsty, murderous Demon Lord will soon take control of Hopeless Mountain!”
…Oh, that matter.
Nan Yao did know about it.
The legendary Demon Lord had broken through his bottleneck half a year ago. No one knew exactly how powerful he had become, but in a single night, all the forces that once opposed the Demon Realm vanished without a trace.
Riding this momentum, the Demon Realm expanded its territory, pushing its borders all the way to Hopeless Mountain.
Everyone on Hopeless Mountain was terrified for their lives.
When she was informed of this earlier that morning, Nan Yao had been sprawled over her desk writing in her diary.
July 17th, clear weather
Today marks seventeen years since I crossed over. The weather is mild and sunny, my mood is excellent, and gazing out, Hopeless Mountain looks peaceful and serene.
My mom is in a good mood too—she won 100,000 gold from the little monster next door playing mahjong. Now the little monster has lost so badly he has to play in the nude. Mom won’t let me go watch, says minors can’t see bare bottoms.
She’s currently playing mahjong with a ten-thousand-year-old nine-headed snake. I sneaked a peek earlier—the nine-headed snake lost his pants too. I did the math: Mom nets 150,000 gold daily but only gives me five taels for allowance.
Mentioning the five-tael allowance reminded her of the seventy taels of gold Xue An owed her and hadn’t repaid.
How infuriating.
She’d tried at least twenty different ways to hint at it, yet he remained completely unmoved.
So she added a line in her diary:
According to Jianghu rules, if he doesn’t repay soon, I’ll chop off seven of his little fingers.
Just as Nan Yao was fuming with righteous indignation, Xue An’s carrier pigeon message arrived.
Hooray.
He’s going to repay.
So Nan Yao went to meet him.
And then she got illegally kidnapped.
“The Demon Lord is descending upon Hopeless Mountain. To express our sincerity, we have decided to offer a flawless maiden as a sacrifice to the Demon Lord.” The Head of the sect gripped Nan Yao’s chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Miss Nan Yao, you are the most suitable candidate.”
A young, beautiful, and pure maiden’s body was always the best sacrificial offering.
Moreover, Nan Yao had no background—if she died, no one would cause trouble for them.
Originally, it was the Head’s daughter, Jiao Jiao, who had unfortunately been chosen as the sacrifice.
But the Head didn’t want his own daughter to be sacrificed, so he decided to find a maiden with no background, whose life or death no one would care about, to take his daughter’s place in death.
However, if the mountain folk of Hopeless Mountain found out about this, it would surely damage the Head’s dignity.
So he told Xue An, “If you can find someone to replace Jiao Jiao, I will marry her to you. Moreover, I will secretly send you and Jiao Jiao away from here and help you both join an Immortal Sect.”
Then, Xue An thought of Nan Yao.
“Let me summarize.” Nan Yao finally pieced it together. “You want to sacrifice me to the Demon Lord to ensure your safety?”
The Head stood with his hands behind his back, chin slightly raised. “Yes, Miss Nan Yao. You have no other choice.”
Nan Yao protested, “I never agreed to this.”
“It is an honor three lifetimes over for someone like you to die in Jiao Jiao’s stead.” The Head of the sect didn’t even lift his eyes, letting out a cold laugh. “Since when do we need your opinion?”
“…”
Nan Yao was finding it increasingly difficult to understand men.
A person encounters many absurd things in their lifetime.
For instance, Nan Yao had just started high school when she died unexpectedly, only to find herself reincarnated into an infant’s body.
For instance, her mother was playing mahjong with a hydra and got so angry at its cheating that she chopped off one of its heads to use as a pendant.
For instance, a certain Great Demon Lord who pursued her mother, after being rejected, climbed outside their window to sing “Love Until Death.”
Compared to these events, the current situation was practically trivial.
Truth be told, Nan Yao could break free from these binding curses at any moment. Though she appeared soft and delicate, she was a formidable soft and delicate girl.
Still, being stared at by so many eyes eagerly awaiting her death was rather awkward. It felt impolite not to play along.
After some thought, Nan Yao reasoned that she had lived in Hopeless Mountain for three years after all—she ought to show some courtesy to these enthusiastic mountain folk. So she kindly reminded them, “I think you’re all overreacting. What if the Demon Lord turns out to be amiable and easy to talk to?”
“Foolish child, unaware of heaven’s height and earth’s depth.”
“Born of lowly origins, naturally narrow-minded and fanciful.”
Those around her sneered contemptuously.
Nan Yao was speechless. As a creditor, she was utterly frustrated: not only could she not recover her money, but she was also viciously kidnapped, and to top it off, these kidnappers were insulting her personally.
The key issue was that Xue An was still putting on his act of tragic romance: “Yao Yao, don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your mother for you.”
…Shut up, you scheming poor man.
At this point, it seemed these people were determined to sacrifice her.
Nan Yao accepted it calmly, not even bothering to struggle.
However, there was one last question she had to ask Xue An: “So, do you remember or not—three months ago, you borrowed seventy taels of gold from me and still haven’t paid it back?”
She watched as Xue An’s face cycled from pale to livid. After gritting his teeth for a long while, he finally spat out bitterly, “Yao Yao, this is exactly why I can’t love you. Your pettiness is truly unseemly—holding onto such a trivial matter for so long.”
“…”
This left Nan Yao silent. After pondering for a while, she decided to maintain a final shred of politeness: “Young Master Xue An, just a heads-up—later, I’ll be chopping off seven of your fingers. Please mentally prepare yourself.”
Xue An sighed.
Love turned to hatred.
He understood.
Xue An seemed to want to say more, but the war drums sounded first.
Black clouds blotted out the moon, and a thick demonic aura enveloped Hopeless Mountain. As horns blared, the towering Demon Realm banners flapped violently in the fierce wind.
The demon generals were ascending the mountain.
The air around them seemed to freeze in an instant.
Pressure—immense pressure—made everyone tense up, as if bearing a thousand pounds of weight.
Was this the pressure the Demon Realm exerted?
Generations of Hopeless Mountain’s inhabitants had never witnessed such overwhelming spiritual power. The mountain’s monsters hid in fear. Before the Demon Realm even made a move, the others were already in disarray.
The Demon Realm’s procession advanced.
Amid the dark, dense crowd, the crimson Demon Emperor’s Sedan stood out conspicuously.
Upon the palanquin, the rumored bloodthirsty Demon Lord reclined on the soft couch. Supporting his temple with closed eyes, his long hair stirred by the wind, a blood-red mark adorned his forehead, and an aura of killing intent enveloped him.
The Demon Lord, Ye Yin.
A monster who had lived for tens of thousands of years. With his presence alone, no one dared set foot in the Demon Realm.
Without moving a muscle, Ye Yin intimidated those around him into holding their breath.
The Head of the sect exchanged glances with several elders. Xue An tightened his embrace around the sobbing Jiao Jiao, stepping back a few paces as he hushed the woman in his arms in terror.
Jiao Jiao’s weeping softened.
The palanquin halted.
Almost simultaneously, the villagers of Hopeless Mountain knelt in a dense, prostrate mass. The Head of the sect, teeth chattering, picked up the chains binding Nan Yao and dragged her toward the front of the palanquin.
Then, he knelt before the Demon Lord.
“Demon Lord, to express Hopeless Mountain’s submission, this humble elder offers you the most precious sacrifice from our mountain.”
Ye Yin furrowed his brow, not even lifting his gaze, as if impatient.
The Head of the sect panicked. Turning, he noticed Nan Yao still standing rigidly behind him and grew flustered, yanking the chains forcefully. “Kneel at once!”
Nan Yao: “Pull gently, pull gently.”
As she spoke, Ye Yin’s brow twitched, and he opened his eyes to look at her.
Their gazes met, and the wind gradually stilled.
Though her hands were bound, Nan Yao politely managed to raise them slightly in greeting. “Well, you see, I am the precious sacrifice.”
She sounded somewhat proud.
Ye Yin pressed his lips together, visible anger in his eyes. He rose swiftly and strode toward Nan Yao. With a wave of his hand, the chains restraining her shattered into fragments.
The crowd gasped in shock, too fearful to lift their heads. Only Nan Yao remained standing, rubbing her sore wrists.
Outrageous, utterly outrageous!
How dare she show such disrespect before the Demon Lord?
But then, an astonishing scene unfolded.
Demon Lord Ye Yin actually knelt on one knee before the teenage girl, took her hand, and carefully examined her wrist. “Did it get red?”
The rumored god of slaughter now moved with the tenderness of a… doting old father??
Just as Nan Yao was about to speak, she couldn’t hold back a sneeze. “Achoo!”
Immediately, the Demon Lord removed his cloak woven from nine-tailed fox fur and wrapped Nan Yao snugly in it, chiding, “Haven’t I taught you before? You never listen. Do you not know what season it is? Wearing so little at night—what if you catch a cold? Look how thin and small you are, skipping meals again? How many times have I told you to eat more, eat more? Instead of learning good habits, you’re copying your mother’s dieting?”
Nan Yao: …Oh dear.
Author’s Note:
After posting this chapter, I forwarded it to the classmate who owes me 700 and hasn’t paid me back yet, asking her to check out how I wrote it.
PS Don’t worry, don’t worry.
In the next chapter, that poor man’s seven fingers will be gone.