When Qi An awoke, she was captivated by the beauty before her.
The morning light had snuck in through the plantain-leaf window, quietly creeping onto the edge of the bed. A beam of sunlight fell, perfectly and squarely, upon the young man’s handsome face.
Mo Qing was resting his head by the bedside, dozing. His profile, illuminated by the daylight, looked quite vibrant. Without his usual air of grace and majesty, he appeared almost boyish.
Perhaps because she had never seen the Demon Lord like this, Qi An took advantage of his slumber and unabashedly admired his sleeping face. His expression was serene, and even in his sleep, the corners of his mouth were turned slightly upward.
He certainly loves to smile, she thought. I wonder if he is having a pleasant dream.
Qi An admired him for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before Mo Qing leisurely began to stir. The moment he opened his eyes, they met Qi An’s gaze. For a fleeting moment, he seemed disoriented, as if he did not know what day it was.
Still tinged with sleepiness, he murmured, “Qi An?”
Qi An’s heart skipped a beat. A small part of this was due to being caught in the act of watching him, but more so because the way he called her name carried a sense of intimacy she had not felt in a long time.
This familiar feeling inevitably made her think of Shang Ziliu.
She stared blankly at Mo Qing. He was so radiant—a stark contrast to the young man who had lived a life of poverty with her in that small town—yet, why did he always make her think of him?
Mo Qing quickly regained his composure. Seeing her strange expression, he straightened up and asked with concern, “How are you feeling? Are you still uncomfortable?”
“I am fine, but I do not know if it will flare up again,” Qi An said, brushing aside her jumbled thoughts. “Is there any way for me to master these magical powers as soon as possible?”
Mo Qing glanced out the window and smiled with a mysterious, inscrutable look. “There is. Today, I will take you to cultivate, and we can catch a spirit pet to play with along the way.”
After tidying up, the two headed downstairs to meet. Mo Qing led Qi An out of the city toward the western suburbs.
Mo Qing had inquired with the innkeeper and learned that the western suburbs held the training ground closest to the Imperial City. The spiritual energy there was very abundant. Many young demons with shallow magic and insufficient cultivation would go there to practice before they could fully transform into human form.
Today was no exception; many young demons had gathered on the lush, green grass. They huddled in small groups, sharing cultivation techniques and gossiping about the Demon Realm it was quite lively.
However, halfway through their chatter, they suddenly fell silent. They were too weak to defeat anyone and were therefore extra vigilant against danger. When the faint aura of an outsider approached, they immediately scattered like beasts and birds. The long-legged ones were gone in an instant, while those with short legs hid in the forest, secretly observing the situation, not daring to make a sound or draw attention to themselves.
Qi An did not miss the panicked expressions on their faces as they fled. Unable to bear it, she asked Mo Qing, “You said you wanted to catch a spirit pet you don’t mean these little demons, do you?”
Mo Qing replied in a lighthearted tone, “These are too weak; they are not worthy of being your spirit pet.”
Qi An asked curiously, “Then what kind are we looking for?”
“The kind that will follow us on its own,” Mo Qing replied mysteriously.
Qi An was confused, but in the next instant, she saw Mo Qing flick his sleeve toward the back. A gust of wild wind erupted from under his sleeve, nearly blowing down a large swath of trees.
Following that, a figure was seen darting through the leaning trees. Before Qi An could see clearly, Mo Qing called out toward that direction, “You have been following us for more than a day now; aren’t you tired?”
Qi An’s eyes widened. They were being followed?
There was no response to Mo Qing’s question.
Mo Qing’s gaze fell upon a tree in the dense grove, and he said, “Since you accepted this mission, you should know who I am. Are you truly not afraid that I might, in a moment of displeasure, overturn this cultivation treasure ground of yours? I have never been one to show restraint. If I were to flip over something else like the palaces in the Imperial City well, you can’t blame me.”
Silence returned to the forest, but after only a few breaths, Qi An saw a black shadow flash out from the woods and leap before them.
The one following them was a female demon skilled in hiding her aura. She bowed and offered a greeting: “This small demon pays respects to the Demon Lord.”
Qi An looked at her curiously and asked, “Does your demon tribe wear black clothing as well?”
The female demon looked up and said, “The storybooks that the Demon Emperor brought back from the Mortal Realm say that wearing night-traveling clothes makes it harder to attract attention.”
Qi An’s brow twitched. Is she serious? In the colorful and vibrant Demon Realm, running around in a night-suit? That is the most eye-catching thing one could do!
Mo Qing found it amusing as well; he had not expected that the storybooks from the Mortal Realm would also poison the Demon Realm.
Mo Qing looked down at the female demon from his superior position, too lazy to engage in pointless talk. “Why did Rong Mu send you to follow us?”
The female demon did not hesitate. “It has nothing to do with the Elder. I followed secretly on my own to admire the presence of the Demon Lord and the Immortal Envoy.”
“If you are unwilling to say, so be it,” Mo Qing said, to the surprise of both Qi An and the female demon. He did not press further. “However, my presence is not something to be admired so easily. Since you are here, you must pay a price.”
Qi An and the demon both looked at Mo Qing. He continued, “Qi An is looking for someone to spar with, and I cannot bring myself to strike her. Since you are here, you may accompany her for some practice.”
Qi An realized what was happening: Mo Qing wanted her to strengthen her control over her magic by sparring with this demon.
The demon was confused, wondering how she had gone from a secret agent to a sparring partner. Just as she was thinking of a way to object, she heard Qi An ask, “May I ask your name, friend?”
The demon replied obediently, “Bai Qiong.”
Qi An cupped her hands. “Then I will have to trouble you, Bai Qiong.”
With that, she assumed a combat stance. Seeing this, Bai Qiong realized there was no chance to back out, so she manifested demonic fire in her palms and attacked Qi An directly.
Mo Qing walked to the side, sat down on a mushroom as large as a millstone, and spoke with calm poise: “When sparring with our Qi An, you must give it your all, but you must not hurt her. If I discover that you are holding back, or if you dare to hurt even a single hair on her head, I will make you pay for it tenfold.”
Mo Qing’s tone was light, but his warning carried great weight.
Bai Qiong felt miserable inside. She had to give her all and be careful not to hurt her—this was the hardest job ever! If she was lucky enough to return alive to report, she would definitely demand several days of leave to recover and soothe her injured soul.
In contrast to Bai Qiong’s forced compliance, Qi An was delighted. Having a powerful sparring partner who would not hurt her was absolutely fantastic!
Mo Qing sat to the side, looking entirely relaxed, offering pointers to Qi An from time to time. Every word he spoke helped her significantly. Within a mere hour, she felt her energy flowing more smoothly, her movements became much lighter, and she could control her magic with more precision.
Eventually, Bai Qiong was physically and mentally exhausted. Seeing that Qi An had made enough progress, Mo Qing graciously said, “Qi An must be tired; let’s rest for a while.”
Bai Qiong was speechless. Judging by his tone, did he intend to continue later? She felt it was necessary to voice her opinion—after all, this was the Demon Realm, and she still had a tiny bit of standing to express herself, right?
She looked at Mo Qing and said weakly, “I have other duties to attend to later, and my skills are small; I fear I cannot be of much help in improving the Immortal Envoy’s abilities.”
Mo Qing glanced at her. “Are you sure?”
Bai Qiong gulped and nodded, very uncertainly.
“Is that so? Then you have no further use.”
Upon hearing this, Bai Qiong thought he was finally being merciful and willing to let her go—but why did she have a foreboding feeling?
Before she could ponder the meaning of his words, Mo Qing provided the answer through action. He raised his hand and tapped her forehead from a distance. Simultaneously, she felt her body stiffen for a moment.
Then, she noticed that Mo Qing and Qi An were growing larger, and the surrounding scenery was changing. When the changes stopped, she realized with a delayed reaction that they hadn’t grown larger she had shrunk!
She was terrified and looked down at her body, discovering she hadn’t just shrunk; she had turned into a rabbit! She had been forced by the Demon Lord to revert to her true form!
She stared with red, indignant eyes at Mo Qing and Qi An. In the next instant, seeing Mo Qing’s malicious grin, she remembered the fear of being treated as a meal before she had cultivated. She hurriedly tried to gather her energy to shift back into human form, but the magic in her body felt like it had been drained away she couldn’t sense any of it.
Mo Qing grabbed her by the ears, held her up, and said, “So, it is a rabbit demon.”
To Bai Qiong, this sentence sounded no different from “the meat is tender and delicious.” Instinctively, she began to tremble.
However, Mo Qing did not do anything to her. Instead, he handed her to Qi An and said with regret, “My plan failed. I intended to catch a cuter spirit pet for you, but it turned out to be just a common rabbit. Keep her for now; we will catch another one later.”
Bai Qiong was immediately displeased. So what if I am a rabbit? Do we rabbits deserve to be looked down upon? We rabbits have our dignity, too, you know!
She bared her two large front teeth, ready to bite Qi An’s finger. Before she could, she felt a cold, sharp gaze. Turning her head, she met Mo Qing’s extremely dangerous eyes.
She silently closed her mouth, acting as if nothing had happened. Rabbit dignity was important, but a rabbit’s life was more important.
She huddled in Qi An’s arms, shivering. Qi An gently stroked her fur, which finally soothed her young, fragile soul.
Qi An hugged the rabbit, Bai Qiong, and asked Mo Qing, “What should we do now? Should we go and confront that Elder?”
Mo Qing laughed. “No, let us wait for him to send a few more spirit pets first.”
Bai Qiong shivered again.
As Mo Qing predicted, that night, when Rong Mu could not contact Bai Qiong, he sent other demons to investigate. They, too, were captured by Mo Qing and his companion.
Over the next few days, Rong Mu sent several spies one after another to clarify the situation. They were each stronger than the last, but under Mo Qing’s overwhelming power, they all became props for Qi An’s training. In the end, without exception, they reverted to their original forms and became Qi An’s spirit pets.
Qi An felt that if this continued, she might be able to open a zoo in the Demon Realm.
Unfortunately, after that, Rong Mu stopped sending demons to monitor them and appeared in person instead.
Do you have any other specific parts of this story you would like me to help with, or shall we continue with the next chapter?