(Serialized as a new novel on September 25, 2022)
“Damn little beast, how dare you bite me! Kill him!”
Vile curses reached Rong Yao’s ears as she slowly opened her eyes. The moment she did, the glaring sunlight made her uncomfortable, and she closed them again.
The sun!
It felt like she hadn’t seen the sun in forever!
Ever since she married the Demon King Yin Yanxiu, she had been imprisoned in his palace in the Demon Realm.
The Demon Realm was heavy with dark energy—eternal night all year round, no sun, only a blood-red moon hanging bleakly in the night sky.
Rong Yao rarely got to see the sun. Only occasionally, when the man was in a good mood, would he mercifully bring her to the mortal world—but that had only happened a handful of times.
At the thought of her husband, Yin Yanxiu, Rong Yao’s eyes snapped open.
She remembered now. She had been imprisoned in the Demon Realm, and Jichuan had come to rescue her—only to be discovered.
Her Demon King husband had flown into a rage, striking Jichuan down with a single palm, then come over and seized her by the throat.
His eyes had been bloodshot, fury blazing across his face, his crimson eyes locked on her. “Rong Yao, do you want to die?”
That was where her last memory ended…
Rong Yao looked down at the lush green grass beneath her feet. Bright sunlight spilled over her, a gentle breeze carried the fragrance of flowers, and birds sang sweetly in the branches. The scene before her felt as unreal as a dream.
Where was she now?
Was she dreaming?
The curses from earlier were still continuing. Rong Yao looked toward the sound and saw, in the shade of some trees not far away, three youths kicking and punching someone lying on the ground.
The person being beaten curled up, shielding his head, making not a sound.
At the sight, Rong Yao instinctively spoke up to stop them. “St… stop it.”
She had no strength at all right now, her whole body weak, her voice soft and feeble.
Her voice was tiny, like a kitten’s, but the youths nearby still heard it. They stopped and all turned to look at her.
A frail girl stood behind a tree, weakly calling out to stop the bullying. She gripped the trunk, seemingly struggling just to stand.
She bit her pink lip, and because her body was so weak, even the corners of her eyes were tinged with a flush of red.
Gazing at the girl’s stunningly beautiful face, the leader of the youths flushed red at once. He scratched his head self-consciously and said to Rong Yao, “Junior Sister Yaoyao, what are you doing here?”
Rong Yao looked at the youth who had spoken to her. He had called her Junior Sister Yaoyao—did they know each other?
She stared at his face, and slowly it merged with a face from her memory. This person was Senior Brother Tang Zhi?
How could that be? Wasn’t he already dead?
No… wait. To be precise, the person standing before her should be Tang Zhi in his youth.
Rong Yao’s eyes widened, and at the same moment, a sudden premonition rose in her heart.
Just then, her gaze unexpectedly met that of the boy lying on the ground.
The boy looked about sixteen or seventeen, his eyes crimson and brimming with vicious killing intent.
When Rong Yao saw that face, the color drained from hers in an instant.
She had been imprisoned in the Demon Realm with the Demon King Yin Yanxiu for nearly ten years—she recognized him at a glance. This boy was her husband, the Demon King Yin Yanxiu, the butcher of the Three Realms whose very name struck terror into the hearts of the gods!
Seeing the girl’s face suddenly turn pale with fright, Tang Zhi lifted his leg and stomped his foot onto the boy’s head, then pressed his head hard against the ground.
“You little beast, what are you looking at? Do you think you’re allowed to look at Junior Sister Yaoyao?”
The boy was humiliatingly pinned beneath his foot. He clenched his fists tightly, not making a sound. Though he didn’t resist, his bloodshot eyes brimmed with towering hatred.
Rong Yao stared at Yin Yanxiu, who was being trampled underfoot like a dead dog, and froze. She had never seen Yin Yanxiu like this.
In her memory, her husband Yin Yanxiu was omnipotent, with immense magical power. A million demon soldiers obeyed his command, and even the gods of the Heavenly Realm joining forces were no match for him. Yet now, he was being humiliated like this.
Seeing the boy’s humiliated, wretched state—so different from the handsome, towering figure in her memory—the flicker of premonition in Rong Yao’s heart grew ever stronger.
She had been reborn, reborn into her youth.
This was the year before the Immortal Gate Sect was massacred, before she was given away to the Demon King Yin Yanxiu. Most crucially, the Demon King Yin Yanxiu who would one day bathe the Three Realms in blood was still nothing more than a lowly disciple of the Immortal Gate Sect!
“Out of respect for Junior Sister Yaoyao, I’ll spare you for today.”
Tang Zhi watched the boy lie motionless on the ground like a dead dog before turning around and saying obsequiously to Rong Yao, “Junior Sister Yaoyao, let us escort you back to Pure Dust Palace.”
Pure Dust Palace, where her master, Elder Wuchen, lived.
Rong Yao nodded slightly. As she was leaving, she instinctively turned her head to glance at the boy on the ground.
The boy lay there motionless, as if dead.
Recalling all the terrible things that man had done to her in her past life, Rong Yao bit her lip, thinking that a villain like him was better off dead!
When Rong Yao returned to Pure Dust Palace and saw the familiar layout before her, her eyes reddened in an instant.
Ten years. In her past life, she had been imprisoned by Yin Yanxiu in the Demon Realm for nearly ten years. She had missed her master so, so much.
“Master…”
Rong Yao searched the entirety of Pure Dust Palace but could not find any trace of her master.
Just as she was about to burst into tears, a tiny green figure darted into her view.
“Goodness, why are you crying the moment you return? His Eminence the Immortal Sovereign left for the mortal world yesterday. Did you sleep yourself silly?” the Peach Blossom Sprite said, yawning as it spoke.
It was so sleepy—it had finally managed to take an afternoon nap, only to have it ruined by this bratty girl!
Hearing the familiar voice, Rong Yao stopped crying. At the sight of the little green sprite before her, she threw her arms around it and wailed even louder.
“Waaah, Taotao! I missed you so much! Waaah…”
“You… you you, let… let go!” Taotao was squeezed so tightly in her embrace that it could barely breathe.
Just as it was about to be smothered, the girl finally released her grip.
“You bratty girl, are you trying to kill me…”
Taotao was just about to denounce her terrible behavior when, before it could finish, it met the girl’s eyes, red and swollen from crying like a little rabbit’s.
The fierce words on the tip of its tongue caught in its throat.
Taotao sensed something was wrong. “Brat… bratty girl, what’s wrong with you?”
How had she come back from one trip outside crying like this?
Content warning: This is a practice piece with amateur writing. Not a strong female lead—the heroine is delicate, fragile, and a little crybaby. The male lead is a yandere, unhinged black lotus.