Seeing that the Demon King did not intend to pull him forward anymore, Lin Qing asked again, “Then Master, can I go gather herbs now?” He was already itching to test the power of his new sword.
The Demon King pulled him along. “Let us go. Your Master will accompany you. Scorpio Grass is a great tonic for demonic cultivators, but it is usually guarded by demonic beasts, so be careful.”
It was only then that Lin Qing realized they were holding hands. The posture felt a bit too intimate. “Master, I can walk by myself.”
“Fine,” the Demon King replied as he released Lin Qing’s hand. He let go so readily and naturally that it made Lin Qing feel as if he were the one being petty and overthinking things. Lin Qing decided that it was just holding hands. As old as this demon was, he probably just saw Lin Qing as a junior to look after.
Lin Qing looked at the phantom Demon King before him. The Demon King had no facial features. He was just a humanoid figure made of mist. Every time they spoke, there was no way to observe his expression, which made him seem even more mysterious and unpredictable. Moreover, the phantom was elusive. If he did not move intentionally, Lin Qing could not guess what he was about to do.
“Master, since you can transform into the shapes of the Demon King and the others, can you also transform into your own true appearance?”
The Demon King replied, “I can, but I do not want to.”
Lin Qing was puzzled and could not help but let his mind wander. He wondered if the Demon King was actually hideous. He speculated that the Master practiced illusion magic just to avoid letting anyone see his real face.
Noticing Lin Qing’s blank stare, the Demon King spoke helplessly. “Stop your wild imagining. Your Master is simply too handsome. I fear that if you see me, you will fall hopelessly in love.”
Lin Qing rolled his eyes. “Rest assured, Master. No matter how good you look, I do not like men.”
The Demon King spoke with interest. “Oh? Is that so? Then how can you be sure your Master is a man if you have never seen me?”
Lin Qing was at a loss for words. He muttered under his breath that he did not care to see anyway if the Master would not show him.
The little disciple was easily teased and grew cranky after just a few words. The Demon King gave a low chuckle. “Once your Master’s body is repaired, I will let you see.”
The idle chatter between master and disciple did not hinder their journey to the Eastern Peaks. Scorpio Grass typically grew on steep cliffs. Lin Qing pointed to a spot on the cliffside and told his Master that they had found the Scorpio Grass.
“You lack combat experience. This is a good chance to practice with the three star demonic beast inside,” the Master noted. As the Demon King finished speaking, he leaped onto a crooked tree growing out of the cliff. The phantom leaned against a branch and looked as leisurely as if he were waiting for a performance to begin. He called out to Lin Qing, who was already climbing the rock face. “Little disciple, remember to come ask your Master for help if you cannot beat it.”
“I can do it myself,” Lin Qing responded defiantly.
The demonic beast living in the cave near the Scorpio Grass heard the commotion and immediately poked its head out. it launched an attack at Lin Qing, who was trying to steal the herb.
“Holy crap!” Lin Qing shouted as he hurriedly dodged on his sword. However, this beast had wings. It looked like a giant wild goose but was far more massive. It flapped its wings in the sky and created a gale that nearly knocked Lin Qing off his sword. Lin Qing’s stance wavered and he wobbled on the demonic blade.
The beast seemed to find this amusing and actually stopped its attack to watch. But Lin Qing was not going to be polite. He immediately seized the opportunity to fly above the beast. The creature gave a sharp cry and its pointed beak pecked upward at Lin Qing.
Lin Qing jumped onto the stone wall and raised his sword to parry. The man and beast fought for a long time, from daylight until dusk, until the beast finally lost. It gave an unwilling cry and abandoned the Scorpio Grass to fly away. It was not that the beast feared humans, but this human was simply too stubborn. In the time spent fighting, the beast could have easily found another herb elsewhere.
A victorious Lin Qing was not in much better shape because his brand new clothes had been turned into tattered rags during the fight. However, he did not care about such small details. After grabbing the herb, he happily waved to the Demon King watching from the tree. “Master, look! I got it!”
The Demon King leaped down to his side and praised him generously. “Well done. As expected of my good disciple.” He had thought Lin Qing would surely ask for help due to injuries, never imagining he would defeat the beast on his own. This little disciple was stronger than the Master thought.
“Of course! Hiss!” Lin Qing tried to tilt his head up, but the movement pulled at a wound on his chin and made him wince in pain.
“If you are hurt, stop moving and let me apply some medicine,” the Demon King said. He took out an ointment to help Lin Qing. “Look at this pretty face. We cannot have you disfigured.”
Lin Qing bared his teeth in dissatisfaction. “Master, you do not call a man pretty. I am handsome.”
The Demon King held Lin Qing’s restless head still. “Stop moving,” he said seriously. “If you leave a scar, you will not be handsome anymore.”
Lin Qing resisted the urge to scratch the wound. “Master, what kind of medicine is this? Why does it itch?”
The Demon King spread the transparent gel evenly. “This is a medicinal liquid I just refined. Your Master does not get into such pathetic scrapes, so I did not have any healing medicine on hand.”
Lin Qing rummaged through his storage ring and sadly discovered that his own healing medicines were not much better than the Demon King’s. The treasures in the original owner’s ring were either from people trying to curry favor or from the sect’s general distribution. For injuries, there was only basic salve and no miraculous pills. The System Mall had them, but once Lin Qing thought about the side effects of those pills, he decided he would rather have a scar.
The Demon King led Lin Qing to an open area and spread a blanket on the ground. “Come, lie down. Your Master needs to check the wounds on your back.”
“Oh,” Lin Qing replied. He stowed the Scorpio Grass in his storage space, then went over, removed his shirt, and lay face down. He felt an itching sensation on his back as if a feather were gently brushing over him and bringing a cool breeze. Lin Qing pillowed his head on his arms and turned to look at the phantom focused on applying the medicine. Even without facial features, he could feel the seriousness and caution in the phantom’s movements. This featureless phantom actually looked quite agreeable after staring at it for a while.
Lin Qing suddenly thought that if the phantom ever gained a human body and face, he might actually find it hard to get used to it. “Master, once you have a body, will you really go and destroy the world?”
The Demon King seemed to look up at him and said, “You are still too weak. Stop thinking about such things. Knowing will not do you any good.”
Lin Qing pulled himself up and said firmly, “Master, I will get stronger. I will not be a burden. Hiss!” The movement pulled his wounds again and made him gasp in pain.
“I know. Stop moving,” the Demon King said. He pressed Lin Qing back down while carefully avoiding his injuries. He comforted Lin Qing in a tone used for coaxing children. “And what does my dear disciple want to do once he gets stronger?”
Lin Qing lay back on the blanket and said without hesitation, “I want to go back to my world. Hiss! Master, be gentler!”
The Demon King lightened his touch as if the pressure on Lin Qing’s wound just now had been an illusion. He looked at Lin Qing. “You really want to go back.”
Lin Qing clenched his fists with a fierce expression. “Of course. I still have a debt to settle. I will never let the person who caused me to fall into this world get away with it.”
The Demon King asked neutrally if this world was not good.
Lin Qing used the Demon King’s own words against him. “This world is absurd and ridiculous. What is good about it?” He did not want to spend his life under the protagonist aura of an adult novel.
The Demon King laughed. “Well said. Remember to take your Master with you when the time comes. You promised.”
Lin Qing spoke hesitantly. “In our world, nothing is allowed to become a spirit after the founding of the nation. Demons are not allowed either.” Although the Demon King looked harmless now, if he went to that world and accidentally lost his temper, a single wave of his hand could kill a massive number of people. Bringing him along would be like carrying an uncontrolled nuclear weapon.