002 Love Till Death
Demon Lord Ye Yin, a man whose evil deeds were as numerous as the stars.
His name alone was enough to make children cease their crying at night.
He was a madman who cared not for his own life. Once, to save his demon realm comrades, he charged alone with his sword up the ninety-nine layers of the Exorcism Pagoda. Even with his meridians shattered, he could single-handedly defeat thousands of cultivators.
His demon emperor’s palanquin was crafted from the finest crimson spirit wood in the world, painstakingly constructed over centuries by the Ghost Mansion Sect.
The white fox fur he wore came from a ten-thousand-year fox king who once wreaked havoc across the continent, until Ye Yin personally slew it.
Every possession of Ye Yin’s was stained with blood, bearing witness to his path of cruelty and slaughter.
And now—
Nan Yao was curled up in the palanquin’s soft seating, wrapped in the white fox fur. A demon general with millennia of cultivation handed her a plate, and she was munching away on crimson fruits that only bore fruit once every hundred years.
The demon general thought: How could something so absurd be happening?
From start to now, Ye Yin had only spoken three sentences.
“What happened?”
“Who tied you up?”
“Good.”
Then he scooped Nan Yao into the soft seating, turned around, and began dealing with the others.
To be honest, Ye Yin didn’t even need to exert himself to handle this group. With just a slight lift of his eyes, his spiritual power transformed into chains that instantly bound them so tightly they could barely breathe.
The chains continuously tightened, cutting through flesh until the group screamed in agony.
Ye Yin didn’t kill them.
Death would be too easy—the true suffering lay in being unable to die yet unable to properly live.
Thus, the scene unfolded—
Nan Yao sat eating and drinking comfortably in the soft seating, while Ye Yin dealt with the group as effortlessly as sorting vegetables, tormenting them with mere finger movements.
When Nan Yao accidentally choked,
Ye Yin paused, returned to pat her back, then went back to his “vegetable sorting.”
Just as Ye Yin reached Xue An during his methodical work, Nan Yao suddenly jumped down from the soft seating and called out: “Wait!”
She scurried over in her cloak, grabbing Ye Yin’s arm: “Don’t touch this one yet.”
Xue An had long been trembling with fear. Hearing this, he felt as if granted amnesty. With tear-filled eyes, he pushed away Jiao Jiao who was clinging to him: “Yao Yao, I knew you still cared for me. I promise I won’t betray you again. Today, these people forced me to do this, I…”
“Here’s the thing,”
Nan Yao deftly drew a dagger from Ye Yin’s waist: “To prevent you from dying too quickly under torture, I need to chop off seven of your little fingers first. Now, who was it that refused to repay debts while falsely accusing me of puppy love?”
Xue An: “…”
Then he watched helplessly as Nan Yao forced his hands apart, counting out seven fingers to line up together.
After struggling in vain, Xue An cursed furiously: “Nan Yao, you’re riding on someone else’s power and colluding with demons! Someone like you will be hunted down by the righteous path and end up with your body in pieces! Don’t think just because you have the Demon Lord as your backer you can do whatever you want! My distant uncle is from the Immortal Realm—if the Immortal Realm’s respected ones learn of this, they won’t let you get away!”
“Mhmm,” Nan Yao nodded like a pecking chick, asking obediently, “Finished talking?”
“…Finished.”
“Then I’ll start chopping.”
Xue An was on the verge of breakdown: “Didn’t you understand what I said?”
Having been lectured, Nan Yao did feel a little ashamed.
She decided to change her attitude and mindset, so instead of arrogantly chopping off Xue An’s fingers, she shamefully cut off his little finger.
The blade fell, blood splattered everywhere.
Nan Yao even explained to him: “I understood, but there’s no other way. After all, spoiled people like me are usually little troublemakers.”
Xue An was in so much pain that his veins bulged and he wailed loudly.
Nan Yao used Xue An’s sleeve to wipe the dagger clean, carefully returned it to the sheath at Ye Yin’s waist, and said: “Thank you, uncle.”
“?”
Ye Yin frowned at her and finally spoke his fourth sentence since earlier: “Call me father.”
Everyone around gasped in shock.
What’s going on?
Does the Demon Lord have an illegitimate daughter?
Nan Yao: …Speechless.
This matter is a long story.
She was originally a high school student who grew up in an orphanage since childhood. On the first day of high school, she was in a car accident on her way home after school. When she opened her eyes, she found she had become a baby.
Nan Yao had strong adaptability and quickly got used to the fact that she had traveled through time.
She thought she was remarkably calm.
But after three days, she couldn’t remain calm anymore.
Because she realized she seemed to have transmigrated into a book.
This book was a classic early-era tragic romance novel, but the author abandoned it halfway through.
The general plot was set in a cultivation world with three powerful figures. These three were the wicked Demon Lord, the aloof and ethereal Celestial Venerable, and the charmingly arrogant Demon King.
They all fell in love with the delicate female protagonist.
But male leads in early-era novels were usually not quite right in the head. They loved her, yet insisted on imprisoning her, neglecting her, pretending not to love her, making her beg them, and ultimately losing her.
Only after the female protagonist left did the male leads come to their senses, realizing they had fallen in love with her. Then they began a great battle to win her back, clamoring to give their lives to her.
The male leads fought to the death, leaving the three realms in devastation.
The author abandoned the story at this point.
Now, Nan Yao had transmigrated into this novel.
But she had become someone who never appeared in the original book’s existing plot.
She was the biological daughter of the female protagonist in this early-era tragic romance.
…Daughter?
When did this unfinished novel secretly reach its conclusion?
Back then, pacifier-sucking Nan Yao stood in her crib, bewildered by the scene before her—
Why was she sucking on a pacifier? Do pacifiers exist in the cultivation world?
Why were the three powerful figures who were supposed to be mortal enemies in the book currently playing mahjong in her home?
Why was there mahjong?
Why was the gentle yet resilient female protagonist described in the book as delicate and pitiful like a willow in the wind, Nan Yuqing, cracking melon seeds while shouting: “What do you mean, what do you mean? Ye Yin, don’t think I didn’t see you secretly showing your tiles to that old monster beside you just now. Everyone gets fined!”
The old monster referred to the Demon King.
The Demon King guiltily lowered his head.
“What? Didn’t bring enough money? Write an IOU. Don’t even think about skipping out on a single coin, or don’t bother coming to my house anymore.”
“You dare play that tile? Celestial Venerable, may I ask if you’re colluding with the Demon Lord to scam me here?”
The gentle female protagonist Nan Yuqing single-handedly scolded the three powerful figures until they couldn’t lift their heads.
Nan Yao felt something was wrong.
How was this different from what was written in the book?
Where was the gentle and lovely female protagonist?
Where were the domineering male leads?
Weren’t these three supposed to be fighting to the death? How did they end up colluding at the card table trying to secretly cheat the female lead out of her money, only to get caught?
Nan Yao found it very unsettling.
What was even more unsettling was how these three powerful figures kept finding excuses to visit their home, eagerly vying to become Nan Yao’s father.
Ms. Nan Yuqing was an emotionless card-playing machine who would gently kick people out after winning large sums from them.
So they changed tactics and started currying favor with Nan Yao.
At first, Nan Yao couldn’t get used to it. After all, in the novel, these three were extraordinary figures – the three classic male lead archetypes from early tragic romance novels, none of whom were easy to deal with.
But she soon realized she was overthinking it.
Initially, their affection for her was merely love for the house extending to the crows, but over the years, watching Nan Yao grow up, they had genuinely come to regard her as their own daughter.
Though these three powerful figures usually appeared capable of destroying heaven and earth, they were downright doting when it came to their “daughter.”
Not just doting, but constantly competing with each other.
When the Celestial Venerable gifted a divine weapon forged from spirit jade, the Demon Lord sent a ten-thousand-year sacred beast as a pet. Not to be outdone, the Demon King tried to transfer the deed to the Demon Palace to Nan Yao.
Only to be sternly rejected by Ms. Nan Yuqing: “I won’t let my daughter develop the bad habit of keeping up with the Joneses.”
The three even held meetings where they signed agreements –
Whoever eventually became Nan Yao’s father would not deprive the other two of visitation rights.
Later, because these three visited daily for tea, even dogs were too scared to visit Nan Yao’s home. Combined with their terrible card skills, Ms. Nan Yuqing felt her card-playing career lacked challenge.
So she took Nan Yao and moved to Hopeless Mountain, a remote place far from the jurisdictions of immortals, demons, and monsters.
Little did they expect that the current Demon Lord Ye Yin would expand his territory right to their doorstep.
Now, the pampered Nan Yao sat in the demon emperor’s palanquin, trying to coax the sulking Ye Yin.
Ye Yin’s reason for sulking was simple: His precious Yao Yao wouldn’t call him “Dad.”
He sat with arms crossed, eyes tightly shut as he leaned against the soft couch, his face dark with stormy clouds. Though he hadn’t spoken a word, his intimidating aura was so overwhelming that the surrounding demon soldiers didn’t dare even breathe.
The last time their Demon Lord had been this angry, countless demons on a mountain had been reduced to dust in an instant.
Everyone remained silent, afraid that whoever provoked him would have their head removed on the spot.
Yet there was one fearless soul beside him.
Nan Yao: “Want a banana?”
Ye Yin didn’t respond.
So Nan Yao could only eat the banana she had peeled herself.
Nan Yao: “Want some grapes?”
Ye Yin still didn’t speak.
So Nan Yao could only eat the grapes she had peeled herself.
Nan Yao: “Want some walnuts?”
Ye Yin remained silent.
So Nan Yao lowered her head, huffing and puffing as she worked for a while, then reached out to gently poke Ye Yin’s arm, whispering: “Can you help me crack these walnuts? I want to eat them, but I can’t open them.”
Everyone gasped in horror.
How audacious!
Absolutely lawless.
Even the Demon Lord’s illegitimate daughter wouldn’t dare be this presumptuous before the great demon king! Moreover, based on earlier circumstances, she wasn’t even an illegitimate daughter.
She’s courting death.
Truly courting death.
Challenging the Demon Lord’s bottom line repeatedly like this was simply asking for trouble.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Ye Yin opened his eyes.
Under the watchful eyes of all, he stood up and took the walnut from Nan Yao’s hand, crushing it into several pieces with a gentle squeeze.
He picked out the walnut kernels and placed them in Nan Yao’s palm, then lay back in his previous posture, closing his eyes to continue sulking.
The demon soldiers and generals: Their pupils trembled in shock.
How could this be?
How had the Demon Lord become so gentle, kind, generous, and even a little tsundere?
Nan Yao immediately seized the opportunity to coax Ye Yin, rambling from “If it were Uncle Ye Yin, he would never be angry with me” and “Wow, the walnuts peeled by Uncle Ye Yin are the most delicious in the world” all the way to “If my mother dares to scold Uncle Ye Yin again, I’ll be the first to object.”
Ye Yin was utterly delighted by the flattery, but he still stubbornly maintained his Demon Lord image, nodding coldly with feigned indifference. “Hmm.”
The demon soldiers and generals: Stop pretending—you’re clearly grinning like a fool.
After the world’s best Uncle Ye Yin had cooled off, he pulled a jade pendant from his robe and handed it to Nan Yao. “I couldn’t make it to your birthday celebration recently, so here’s a belated gift.”
The jade pendant emitted a faint green glow, appearing pure and flawless under the moonlight. Holding it, one could feel a surge of abundant spiritual power.
An intricate pattern was carved into the jade, and upon closer inspection, it resembled a squirrel.
“This is Spirit Spring Jade, capable of containing all things. Unlike ordinary treasure pouches, it can store living creatures. Not long ago, I discovered a spirit beast in the Spirit Spring Mountains, captured it, and stored it in this jade to give to you as a spiritual pet.”
“A spirit beast?”
“Yes.” Ye Yin smiled. “You can summon it to take a look when you return home. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
As they spoke, the Demon Lord’s palanquin arrived at Nan Yao’s doorstep.
Pushing the door open, they found Lady Nan Yuqing playing cards.
The nine-headed snake had already lost so badly it only had three heads left. Hearing the noise, it looked up and froze at the sight of Ye Yin. A few seconds later, it snapped back to reality and began frantically scrambling around the room, crashing into and shattering a pile of items.
The Demon King!
The great Demon King!
The great Demon King had fought his way here!
Lady Nan Yuqing remained perfectly calm, deftly flicking her abacus to calculate the cost of the damaged items. “Six hundred and thirty taels of silver. Let’s call it six hundred as a friendly discount.”
The nine-headed snake was too terrified to care about money. Trembling all over, it stammered, “Ye-Ye-Ye-Ye-Ye…”
Lady Nan Yuqing looked puzzled. “Why are you cheering all of a sudden?”
Ye Yin glanced at it but said nothing, silently walking up to Lady Nan Yuqing and reaching out his hand.
The nine-headed snake immediately curled into a ball, covering its three heads’ eyes, too afraid to witness the impending bloodshed.
This is bad.
That woman is about to lose her head and meet her end on the road to the afterlife.
In that brief second, the nine-headed snake thought of many things. Though this wicked woman constantly won money from it, she was still one of its few friends over all these years.
Damn it.
I’m fired up.
The nine-headed snake rose indignantly. “Don’t touch her!”
“…Huh?”
Everyone in the room—three humans and one snake—turned to stare at the nine-headed snake.
The scene was intensely awkward.
Because Ye Yin was currently giving Lady Nan Yuqing a shoulder massage. Hearing this, he paused his hands, then narrowed his eyes and looked at the nine-headed snake as if sizing up a rival in love.
This was, without a doubt, the most absurd scene the nine-headed snake had ever witnessed.
The Demon Lord.
Was giving this woman.
A shoulder massage?!
Nan Yao soothingly patted the nine-headed snake’s tail: “Uncle Ye Yin will visit often from now on, don’t make a fuss. Be as steady as I am. By the way, could you move aside? I need to return to my room.”
Nine-headed snake: “Not a single normal person in your family!”
After returning to her room, Nan Yao took out the jade pendant.
She held it up by its red cord and carefully examined the jade under the moonlight.
A spirit beast…
She hesitated somewhat.
After all, Ye Yin’s taste had always been rather peculiar. Last time, the spirit beast he gave Nan Yao was a malevolent sound giant bird that passionately recited love letters written by Ye Yin from the rooftop for an entire day. It ended up having all the feathers on its rear plucked out by the irritable Ms. Nan Yuqing who had just woken up, before being packed up and sent back.
This time…
Nan Yao took a deep breath and pressed her palm against the jade pendant, channeling her spiritual power into it.
The jade pendant shimmered with an emerald glow that transformed into a peculiar shape before gently landing on her knees.
After a moment, the light faded, revealing a well-behaved, adorable little squirrel sleeping soundly on her lap.
So cute!
Anything fluffy is adorable!
Nan Yao happily reached out to pet the little squirrel. The squirrel stretched lazily and rubbed its sleepy eyes with its tiny paws. When it lifted its head and saw Nan Yao, it suddenly sat upright, blinked its round eyes, and opened its little mouth—
“Your dads are going to die!”
Nan Yao: “…” What kind of monster is this?
Author’s note:
Daily question:
A year ago, Xiao Zhang had a brief chat with a WeChat friend. A year later, Xiao Zhang lost seven fingers. What happened?
Answer:
So you’re not going to repay the money, huh?
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