Qi An could not distinguish whether the voice she heard in that moment of absolute terror was Shang Ziliu’s or Mo Qing’s. At that instant, she finally realized how similar their voices were.
After that voice emerged, she could feel the pain and the swelling in her body gradually receding. As the agony faded, the blinding, dazzling light also began to recede. As her eyes gradually adjusted to the light, the contours before her became clear. She stared fixedly at the young man before her his appearance was so stunningly beautiful that it certainly could not be Shang Ziliu. Even so, her heart could not help but accelerate, whether from the relief of surviving a near-death experience or something else entirely.
Once her vision had completely returned to normal, she stood up and asked the person before her with a trembling voice, “Did I survive?”
Mo Qing smiled as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his tone remaining as calm and breezy as ever. “You survived. I told you I would save you.”
Amidst the surrounding noisy commotion, his voice was as gentle as a clear mountain spring peaceful, serene, and steady soothing the fear within Qi An’s heart. Once her heart settled, her legs gave way, and her entire body tipped uncontrollably toward the ground. Mo Qing quickly reached out to catch her. Just as Qi An was about to offer a word of thanks, she felt the floor beneath her feet vanish, and before she could react, Mo Qing had scooped her up into his arms, holding her horizontally.
Qi An felt as if her brain had exploded with a boom; her cheeks and ears turned scorching hot. The watching gods fell instantly silent. Among the group, only Yuejiao pursed her lips and gave a scoff. Then, while everyone was still stunned, she pulled her hand away from Yangxu’s grasp and turned to flee.
Feeling his palm empty, Yangxu couldn’t help but call out, “Yuejiao!”
Hearing this, Mo Qing’s gaze instantly converged on Yuejiao. Sensing a bone-chilling coldness, Yuejiao couldn’t help but tremble; her pace faltered. In a single breath’s time, Mo Qing, still holding Qi An, flashed into the air above her. The surrounding gods quickly made way, allowing Mo Qing to land directly before her.
Mo Qing looked at Yuejiao, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, but his eyes were as cold as frost. “So heartless. What if you had hurt your sister-in-law?”
Hearing this, Qi An suddenly remembered being duped into an engagement, and the anger she had spent days suppressing surged back up. But angry as she was, this was not the time to vent. She suppressed her irritation and said with a flat tone, “Put me down first. Don’t let me distract you from your performance.”
Mo Qing smiled, tightening his hold on her just a fraction. “You are so light, it doesn’t matter. Besides, it’s just dealing with her why would I need both hands?”
As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes changed, and an intense, powerful demonic aura erupted from his body. Unlike ordinary demonic energy, he was actually able to solidify his aura. In an instant, the purple mist transformed into several long whips that lashed directly toward Yuejiao. Yuejiao’s brow furrowed, her beautiful face looking ominous and dark. She stared fixedly at the purple whips formed from demonic energy, dodging and weaving with agile grace.
Mo Qing watched her evasion with leisure. “Not bad. You’ve improved compared to before.”
Yuejiao gave him a look of pure hatred and gritted her teeth. “Shut up!”
One must not be distracted when doing important work, lest things go awry. Many people didn’t understand this truth, and Yuejiao was no exception. In the time it took her to say those three words to Mo Qing, her limbs were coiled by the demonic aura, unable to struggle free. A moment later, the energy tightened slightly, and Yuejiao went limp, collapsing to the ground.
Yangxu caught her just in time. Seeing that her breathing was steady—she had only fainted—he felt slightly relieved. Then he glared at Mo Qing, questioning, “What did you do to her?”
Yangxu’s tone was very unfriendly. Qi An was terrified that the Third Prince would anger the Demon Lord and cause a conflict between the two realms. She hurriedly whispered to Mo Qing, “This is your brother-in-law.” The subtext being: he’s on our side, don’t lose your temper.
Mo Qing surveyed Yangxu from head to toe and offered a slow evaluation: “This foolish sister of mine has mediocre taste.”
Qi An nearly vomited blood. If someone with Yangxu’s appearance was considered “mediocre,” she was nothing more than a crooked melon or a cracked date. Before she could swallow that mouthful of blood, Mo Qing dealt her another heavy blow. Facing the scrutinizing gaze of the Heavenly Emperor, who had arrived late, as well as the crowd of gods, Mo Qing smiled and introduced himself: “Pleased to meet you. I am Qi An’s fiancé, the Demon Lord Mo Qing.”
As soon as this was said, it stirred up thousands of waves, shocking every single god present, including Qi An in Mo Qing’s arms. She finally couldn’t hold it in; a sweet, fishy taste rose in her throat, and she spat a mouthful of blood directly onto the face of the Heavenly Emperor, who had just walked up to them.
Completely and utterly, without missing a drop.
The noise vanished once more; the scene became somewhat awkward. Qi An, the center of the vortex, felt she truly could not accept the scene before her and simply closed her eyes, fainting away right after Yuejiao.
Mo Qing looked down at the pale face in his arms, his smile instantly vanishing. She still hadn’t been able to withstand the influx of ten times the power. He looked up at the Heavenly Emperor. “Take me to Qi An’s room.”
When Qi An woke up, she felt immense soreness throughout her body. Every time she moved, it felt like her tendons were being pulled and her bones broken—it was killing her. She used all her strength to prop herself up, sitting at the head of the bed in deep thought. Everything that happened in front of Prince Yangxu’s divine mansion couldn’t have been a dream, could it? She tried to channel her magical power and found it surging and vast, far exceeding what it had been before. She had never heard of a way to undo the Life-Return Art, but she had truly survived and even picked up ten times the power for nothing—all thanks to Mo Qing.
Thinking of Mo Qing, Qi An’s mood grew complicated. Mo Qing treated her extremely well, but that kindness was clearly purposeful. In the Demon Realm, he treated her well for three days, and then he tricked her into signing the Scripture of Fate, linking their names together. Now that he had come to the Heavenly Realm, he was still treating her well. Does this mean I have to pay him back with my life?
She pondered for a while and decided she couldn’t just sit and wait for death. She calculated that Mo Qing was likely with the Heavenly Emperor at this moment; she had to get her immortal position finalized before the Emperor sold her off completely. Once she was an official, as long as she didn’t commit any principled errors, the Heavenly Court had no reason to fire her. And as an official of the Heavenly Realm, she would have to work in the Heavenly Realm. Even if she couldn’t cancel the engagement with Mo Qing, she could use her duties as an excuse to avoid meeting him. Some people, once you avoid them enough, eventually disappear; perhaps Mo Qing would then take the initiative to cancel the Scripture of Fate.
With this plan, she moved her aching body off the bed, sneaking around like a thief and taking side paths as she headed toward the Personnel Department. However, man proposes and God disposes. For some reason, the Matchmaker also took that remote side path today; the moment he saw her, he was overjoyed and dragged her, half-pulling, back to the Hehe Immortal Palace.
As soon as she stepped into the palace, Qi An knew why the Matchmaker had kidnapped her. Inside the immortal palace, Mo Qing was leisurely sipping the tea brewed by the immortal officials, chatting with them. Upon seeing Qi An, her colleagues dragged her to a seat next to Mo Qing, pressing her down to sit.
Colleague A, who loved romantic novels, held her heart and said, “Little An, you are so lucky to have found such a wonderful husband. You wouldn’t believe how nervous and worried the Demon Lord was when you fainted seeing him so heartbroken made our hearts ache too.”
Colleague B, a lover of beauty, cradled her head in her hands, admiring Mo Qing’s face with sparkling eyes: “Look at the Demon Lord’s appearance and his posture—he is top-tier throughout all six realms. You must treasure him.”
Colleague C, who loved magical artifacts, brought out a sword: “Just now, the Demon Lord gave us many magical artifacts. Take a look; these aren’t just ordinary levels, you know.”
In a short time, Mo Qing had catered to everyone’s preferences and bought the hearts of every official in the Hehe Immortal Palace. Qi An rested her head on her hand, not wanting to hear another word. She suddenly understood the migraine the Heavenly Emperor felt every time she went to ask him for money.
Just as the officials were praising Mo Qing, the Matchmaker seemed to feel the scene wasn’t lively enough and threw more fuel on the fire. He took out a red string, placed it in front of Qi An and Mo Qing, and said with pride, “This is the signature red string of our Hehe Immortal Palace. Once tied, it protects the couple’s marriage and ensures harmony. This red string usually costs 1,000 Heart-Clearing Pearls, but considering the Demon Lord is our Little An’s fiancé, I’ll give you a discount only 500 Heart-Clearing Pearls. What do you think, Demon Lord?”
Qi An’s eyes widened. Is the Matchmaker making money off the Demon Lord? That’s too bold! She didn’t expect Mo Qing wouldn’t be angry; he readily took out a bag of Five-Spirit Stones. “I have no Heart-Clearing Pearls, but I do have some Five-Spirit Stones. Consider this a deposit; I will have my subordinates send the rest later. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, yes!” The Matchmaker’s eyes crinkled with laughter. He reached out to take the bag, but Qi An pressed her hand down on his. The Matchmaker thought she was going to expose him and hurriedly signaled her with his eyes, seemingly reminding her that she was still an official of the Hehe Immortal Palace.
Qi An withdrew her hand, assuming an inquisitive expression: “Boss, let me ask you a question: is our Marriage Registry effective?”
“Of course it is.” Mentioning the Marriage Registry, the Matchmaker grew even prouder. “Star Lord Si Ming’s Ledger of Fate can only govern the lives of mortals, but our Hehe Immortal Palace’s Marriage Registry governs the romances of both the mortal and heavenly realms! It’s incredible!”
Qi An asked again, “Then which is more effective the red string or the Marriage Registry?”
The Matchmaker didn’t overthink it and answered casually, “Naturally, the Marriage Registry. This registry records marriages ordained by heaven, which cannot be changed, while the red string is merely the icing on the cake to solidify affection.”
“I see.” Qi An smiled. “In my Marriage Registry, the spouse column is empty. I am destined for a solitary life, so this red string is useless to me.” Turning her head to Mo Qing, she said with profound meaning, “Therefore, even if you get the red string, it’s useless. If it didn’t exist in the first place, no matter how much you try to solidify it, it’s all in vain.”
The Matchmaker didn’t expect a single red string of his could pull out such a deep conversation and was momentarily stunned. Mo Qing, however, remained calm. He handed the bag of Five-Spirit Stones to the Matchmaker, took the red string, and tucked it into his robes. “I remember telling you, I don’t believe in fate.”
Qi An met his sincere gaze, was silent for a moment, and then said slowly, “But I do.”