Chang Yao merely smiled. She lit two incense sticks, placed them in the ground, and straightened up. "I should go."
As Shi Tianhao watched her stroll away, a look of worry flickered in his gentle eyes.
"Ever since Little Sister sneaked off to the human world because she was afraid of your beatings, she’s been different," Shi Tianhao said, turning to Fu Jin with a hint of complaint. "She used to be so cute. Now look at her."
Back then, Chang Yao would tug at his sleeve calling him brother incessantly, throw herself into his arms to act spoiled, and share the spiritual fruits or trinkets she’d mischievously stolen from the great demons of the mountain.
Compared to the past, the current distance between them was far too great.
Fu Jin said coldly, "Did you manage her back then? Would she have cultivated without being beaten? Could she have lived until now without becoming strong?"
Stumped by the barrage of questions, Shi Tianhao pinched the bridge of his nose. "Back then they watched me too closely, and Father’s incident happened—I couldn't leave. But didn't I eventually go to the human world and find her? Not like you, who didn't even know she was missing. If no one had gone for her—"
She would have been burned to death by those mortals.
Though Chang Yao possessed a powerful bloodline, she was a half-demon. The black sword array of the white-clad sword cultivator suppressed her demonic strength; as a human, it was difficult for her to practice demon arts, and there were no demons in the Demon Realm who could teach her human cultivation. Thus, she had appeared exceptionally weak.
A small half-demon, broken by her brother’s pressure to grow up, had fled the mountain and wandered into the human world by mistake. By the time her second brother found her, she had been forced into her true form, her blood drained and flesh carved by mortals who were about to burn her at the stake.
After Shi Tianhao brought her back, Chang Yao slept for over a year. Upon waking, her personality had changed completely. She no longer resisted cultivation and gradually rose from a weak half-demon to become the new Lord of Wujiu Mountain.
Part of the reason for the siblings' estrangement was that Chang Yao had actively left her brothers' protection to venture out alone.
She seemed unwilling to be close to anyone or maintain intimate relationships.
Shi Tianhao was sensitive and perceptive; he noticed more than Fu Jin. He sometimes felt his little sister was even more suspicious and cold-blooded than old monsters like the Demon Emperor or the Phoenix King. She was unwilling to trust anyone besides herself.
A crisp cry of a small phoenix bird echoed on the cliff. It trailed long tail feathers, arriving with a wake of blue fireflies.
Fu Jin extended his hand, letting it rest on his knuckles. After receiving the message, he raised an eyebrow and said with a half-smile, "He’s chased her all the way to the Demon Realm."
Shi Tianhao asked, "Lord Yunshan?"
"I wonder what that unlucky ghost sees in her to be so devoted." Fu Jin tossed his hand to let the phoenix fly away and drifted into the void. "Since he has arrived in Canglan Province, I should go meet this supreme of the mortal world."
He glanced at his brother and frowned. "Go back to your Fox Mountain early. Stop wandering around outside."
Shi Tianhao shook his head. In an instant, he was the only one left on the cliff.
He looked down at the scar running across his right palm, his expression somber. Having failed his love tribulation and with injuries yet to heal, he had spent these years recuperating at Fox Mountain and had not visited the human world for a long time.
Canglan Province was the territory of the Phoenix Clan.
The human and demon realms were connected, and the gates to the Demon Realm were not only opened from the inside. As long as human cultivators mastered the method, they could enter. Because day and night were inverted, near dusk, rare "Void-Reality Gates" would open randomly. At those times, walking down a road, your next step might land you in the Demon Realm or the human world.
The young Chang Yao had wandered into the human world through such a gate.
Regardless, the Demon Realm was far too dangerous for mortals. Many cultivators went there never to return, their bones lost forever.
Song Jixue could open a path to the Demon Realm, but he could not choose his destination. Upon exiting the gate, he found he had not landed in the Demon Emperor’s Jiufu Province.
Moving from dawn into night, the city before him was brilliantly lit. Streets were filled with red lanterns and green fires. Demons of all sizes came and gone—some bizarrely shaped, others in human form, chatting and laughing.
Small, green-faced ghost demons carried wide bamboo baskets filled with trinkets, clothes, and some beautiful human jewelry. they moved through the alleys in groups, hawking their wares.
Song Jixue swiped a cloak from them, donned the hood, and hid his aura to blend in.
Ignoring the grotesque figures in sight, the rest of the Demon Realm was no different from the human world, even sharing the same chaotic bustle of certain human cities. This was not Song Jixue’s first time here; just as the demon race had strongholds in the human world, cultivators had them in the Demon Realm.
In the deepest part of an alley where ghost fires flickered, there was a tall, magnificent building called West Canal Road. It stood seven stories high, circular in shape, with bridges connecting the levels as they spiraled upward. From the outside, each floor looked smaller than the last, but only upon entering would one find the opposite to be true.
This was the most complete entertainment hub in Canglan Province, and indeed the entire Demon Realm. To seek pleasure was to mention West Canal Road. Whether a great or minor demon, one could always find their preferred pastime here. Human entertainment was categorized and adapted for demons, ensuring West Canal Road sang every night and never closed its doors.
Whether the person entering was human, ghost, demon, or immortal did not matter. West Canal Road only cared about business; life and death were one's own responsibility. However, every entry required an item, which changed daily.
Today’s entry requirement was a leaf from a Moon-Hanging Tree.
As soon as Song Jixue entered the first floor, he heard a deafening roar of voices. The interior was resplendent with light and shadow. Round tables were crowded with demons and ghosts. A small demon child immediately stepped forward and led him upstairs.
The person he sought was on the sixth floor.
On the way, he saw guests on the higher floors smashing cups and brawling, while fox spirits huddled together whispering sweet words. What he saw and heard wasn't all joy and excitement; there were also those who had lost all their demonic power, kneeling and weeping for mercy, or anxiously haggling prices for the veiled women crying in their arms.
Pleasure and evil were visible everywhere.
Song Jixue remained expressionless and did not look closely. The sixth floor consisted of rows of large sliding doors painted with cherry blossoms. The doors opened and closed, and the painted blossoms on them turned slowly.
The demon child stopped before one of the doors. Without a word, the door slid open, and he was inside the room.
The light in the room was gentle, the banquet exquisite, and the screen created a perfect atmosphere. Behind the table sat a young man in black formal attire, toyed with a green bamboo fan—opening and closing it with a bored expression.
The boss of West Canal Road was a half-demon—one who only did business.
The boss was delighted to see Song Jixue. His bored expression vanished as he tucked away the fan and poured wine. "Oh, isn't this A-Xue? We haven't met in years. Today, you must drink a few cups with me no matter what."
"I don't have time." Song Jixue stood before the table and looked down at him.
The boss shook his fan, muttering as if it shouldn't be so: "Don't be in such a hurry. It’s no big deal that your wife was taken by the Demon Emperor; she’ll find her own way back in a while."
Song Jixue’s gaze turned cold.
This had happened only recently, yet the man already knew. The saying held true: anyone who entered West Canal Road became his eyes and ears. Whatever a visitor knew, the boss could know too.
However, hearing the boss say this actually eased his mind, as it proved Chang Yao was in no danger.
Receiving Lord Yunshan’s cold stare, the boss curled his lip petulantly. "I'm serious. You should worry about yourself rather than her."
He looked up at Song Jixue with sincere eyes. "After all, I just sold the information of your whereabouts to the Young Master of the Phoenix Clan."
Song Jixue was not surprised in the least.
the boss of West Canal Road could sell information to human cultivators, and he could sell human cultivators to demons. He would do any business he desired. The information he gave was always true, but you could never trust him.
"But there’s time for a cup of wine, just one." The boss eagerly handed him a cup. "I haven't seen a living person here in a long time. Since it’s rare for you to visit, why not stay a while? Anyway, you don't look like someone who would die at the hands of the Phoenix Young Master. Why not just fight here so I can enjoy the show?"
Song Jixue took the cup but did not drink, only turning it in his fingers.
The boss sighed. "I'm just bored."
Song Jixue placed the cup back on the table and turned to leave.
"A-Xue, do you really not want to ask me anything else?" the boss asked in a ghostly tone. "It’s a rare visit, and I have many secrets I want to share. Ask me quickly—I promise to tell you everything I know, but only for tonight."
Song Jixue paused. After a moment of silence, he turned around and sat at the table. He flicked his eyelids toward the young man, who wore a narrow, meaningful smile. "There are indeed a few questions I want to know."
The young man squinted with satisfaction and happily poured him wine, his voice excited. "Exactly! Looking for me when you have questions is always right. Don't say anything yet—let me guess what you want to know. It’s about your wife, isn't it?"
Song Jixue rubbed the rim of the cup with his thumb and gave a single word: "Yes."
Chang Yao left the Demon Realm and returned to the human world, landing in the wilderness. The closest place to her was Shangyuan City.
Dawn was breaking. She unhurriedly killed the minor demons in the area to get some blood on her clothes, intentionally inflicted some injuries on herself, and then triggered the Lingxi Sword Array to wait for Song Jixue to find her.
She sat on a large rock by a stream. The gurgling water was tinged with blood, catching a layer of gold from the morning light. The corpses of demons lay on the shore and in the water, not yet dissipated into spiritual essence. If they were lucky enough not to be gnawed or swallowed by demon beasts within twelve double-hours, they would dissolve on their own and return to heaven and earth.
Chang Yao wrapped her arms around her knees, tilting her head slightly to look past the high canopy of the trees. She habitually wondered what Song Jixue would say when he arrived.
Seeing her injured, he would surely be heartbroken. He would ask where she was hurt, if it pained her, and then transfer spiritual power to her before taking her back to Kunlun to find Xia Sangyi.
Usually, that’s how it would go.
But Song Jixue arrived later than she expected.
Song Jixue emerged from the woods with one hand on his sword, walking uphill. Chang Yao was not surprised to see Zhigui unsheathed, but she noticed the clothing on his left shoulder was slashed and drenched in blood—it seemed he was seriously injured. She immediately climbed down from the rock and asked, "You're hurt? Who wounded you?"
Chang Yao walked toward Song Jixue. The glow of the Lingxi Sword Array quietly dimmed and vanished. At this moment, she was walking toward him, and he was the only one in her eyes.
Song Jixue said nothing, only extending his hand toward her.
The boss’s meaningful and seductive voice echoed in his mind: "The reason your wife was able to leave safely is because she made a deal with the Demon Emperor."
"She obtained certain information. The price is to help the Demon Emperor kill you."
Just as Chang Yao reached him, Song Jixue pulled her into a tight embrace by her waist. She was a treasure he had lost and found again, but also a poison that could kill him.
Song Jixue lowered his eyes to hide the profound depth within them. His broad palm pressed firmly against her slender waist, holding her in his arms with a grip as if he would never let go even in death. He tilted his head slightly, rubbing his cheek against Chang Yao’s in an intimate, slow gesture—filled with the tenderness and dependence of a lover, masking the violence deep in his heart.
It turned out that in Chang Yao’s heart, there were things more important than him.
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