Chapter 213 What has become of that well-behaved and quiet child?

Demon race, Baifeng Mountain.

Inside a cave halfway up the mountain, a massive white tiger was fast asleep, its snoring carrying far and wide, making the tiger cubs on the mountain tremble with fear.

The sleeping white tiger felt an itch on its nose. It waved its paw, but the itch persisted. It roared and impatiently lifted its eyelids.

A slender figure appeared in its line of sight.

It paused for a moment, blinked, and then realized it wasn't seeing things.

"How strange, what wind blew you here?" The white tiger crossed its front paws, rested its head on its paws, and spoke in human language.

The Fox King, who had brought her own chair to another demon king's cave, was still trimming her nails, which didn't suit her taste. When she heard the White Tiger ask her a question, she didn't even look up: "I need your help."

"I won't help. If you come to me, it's never good news."

An invisible hand slapped the white tiger on the head, making all the fur on its head stand up.

The white tiger opened its blood-red maw, yawned, and flicked its tail, remaining completely unmoved.

"This is a good thing."

The white tiger turned its head to the other side, refusing to look at the fox king: "You always lie to me and say it's a good thing."

They've known each other for so many years, and it's lost count of how many times it's been deceived. No wonder, in human books, fox spirits are generally portrayed as bad people; on that point, it sides with humans.

The Fox King walked up to it, turned its head around, and said in a very sincere tone, "This time, I guarantee it's true."

The white tiger closed its eyes, trying to avoid seeing the problem.

"You don't want Flowing Mountain anymore?"

Those demons who lived through the Demon Kingdom era only knew that the Flowing Mountain was the residence of the Demon Emperor, but they did not know that it was once the ancestral home of the White Tiger Clan.

After the Demon Emperor appeared out of nowhere, he chose Liujin Mountain, and the White Tiger Clan had no choice but to hand over that land.

"Liujin Mountain?" Baihu suddenly opened his eyes again. "Wasn't that place occupied again?"

After saying that, it complained somewhat resentfully: "It's all your fault for not letting me take the land back in the first place. Now look what's happened, a half-demon has moved into the mansion of the Demon Emperor that you so respect."

The Fox King completely ignored its taunts: "Stop talking nonsense, do you want it or not?"

The white tiger looked the fox king up and down, its tone hesitant: "What's wrong with you?"

The Fox King didn't beat around the bush and said, "Xi Jing is dead. You should have noticed, right?"

The celestial phenomena at the moment a person breaks through to the fifth realm are the same as those at the moment of their death, which the White Tiger naturally noticed. When Xi Jing broke through, the thunder kept it awake for half the night, and the thunder after his death was just as loud as before.

The white tiger gave a muffled "hmm".

Xi Jing used to frequently visit Baifeng Mountain. Among its many cubs, a fox cub would often sneak in and lead those fools to cause trouble everywhere, while Xi Jing would follow behind to clean up the mess.

It can be said that Xijing grew up right under its nose.

Unfortunately, the fox cub grew up in the blink of an eye and then disappeared.

"It was done by the Demon Emperor."

"snort."

The White Tiger was not surprised. The death of the Demon Emperor was a taboo among the demon race, but they all knew that this matter was related to Xi Jing.

At that time, all the old men were terrified by the Demon Emperor, but Xi Jing was the bravest and the smartest.

It seems that before the Demon Emperor died, he deliberately left behind a method to target him.

The Fox King's tone grew even calmer: "He died, and his two cubs didn't survive either; they went with him."

The white tiger looked at the fox king and listened to her say, "These days, I often think of him. I wonder, if I had helped him back then, perhaps he would still be alive now?"

White Tiger turned his head away: "It's all in the past."

It didn't help either.

The Fox King sighed: "He is dead, and his daughter is dead too. But the Demon Emperor's daughter has moved into Liujin Mountain in a grand manner and has even raised a fifth-realm half-demon to rival us."

White Tiger narrowed his eyes: "Her skills are indeed considerable. What do you plan to do?"

"As his mother, I haven't done anything for Xijing. After thinking it over, I can only send all the Demon Emperor's descendants down there." The Fox King smiled. "The Demon Emperor has been dead for many years. He must be very lonely underground. It's time for him to enjoy some family happiness."

White Tiger nodded: "That's a good idea, but that half-demon is a problem. Do you want me to help you?"

The Fox King shook his head: "He is not a concern. I have my own way of dealing with him. I am only worried about the other old things getting in the way."

Hearing her words, the white tiger felt strange. Before this, she had always been like those old things, guarding her feelings for the Demon Emperor and not letting him do this or that. Now that she had turned against him, it found her much more pleasing to the eye.

“This is not difficult.” The white tiger propped itself up on its thick limbs and shook its fur. “Qingluan and Zhuyan will definitely be willing to help. They would love for the Demon Emperor’s entire family to die. Whenever you want to make a move, I will have them block the door.”

Years ago, the Zhu Yan clan was nearly wiped out for refusing to submit to the Demon Emperor, and they have yet to recover. Several of the Azure Phoenix Demon King's daughters, skilled in music, were captured by Suan Yu and offered to the Demon Emperor, entering the Eternal Palace, but ultimately did not leave alive.

The relationships among the demon race are complex, and the stances of the various demon kings are unclear. Even though the demon emperor is dead, trying to harm his descendants can easily lead to a lot of trouble. They all have their own concerns, and so does it.

However, things are different now that the Fox King is leading the way. She is determined to eliminate the Demon Emperor's descendants, and they certainly won't refuse.

"Seven days from now, tell them to prepare in advance, so that nothing goes wrong."

"Okay, I'll go find them now." The white tiger thought for a moment, then moved its large head closer to her. "Can you really beat that half-demon?"

The Fox King slapped it on the nose: "Enough with the nonsense, just wait and see how you collect the Flowing Water Mountain."

The white tiger bared its teeth, revealing a ferocious smile.

Recently, several demon kings of the demon race suddenly became more active and began visiting each other. This news reached Liujin Mountain six days later.

Although Ji Heng's cultivation level was comparable to those demon kings, he was a half-demon with some issues regarding his identity. Since his breakthrough, no demon king had come to befriend him, so his information was naturally not as readily available.

The news reached Liujin Mountain because it was specially delivered by the demon king of the Kui Niu clan, who had once taken good care of her.

The one who came to visit was the grandson of the Kui Niu Demon King. He was young but quite favored. After seeing Princess Xueyao, he did not bow, but stepped forward and said, "I wonder if the princess has any free time lately? My grandfather invites you to visit our clan."

Princess Xueyao could tell that although the little Kui ox was polite to her, it was not respectful, which made her feel a little displeased.

Even if he met the Kui Niu Demon King, he would not be so disrespectful.

After a moment's thought, Princess Xueyao asked, "Why have you invited me as a guest? Has the Kui Niu clan had any happy events recently?"

The little Kui Niu said in a serious tone, "The Fox King and the Tiger King have come to the Kui Niu clan because of the death of the Fox King's sixth son."

Upon hearing what the little Kui Niu said, Princess Xueyao's expression changed slightly.

Back then, the Fox King's eldest son, Xijing, killed her father, and no demon king in the entire demon race dared to challenge him. So even though she knew the Fox King had always sided with her father, she couldn't help but feel resentful.

The death of the Fox King's sixth son was partly orchestrated by her. However, the other party had already been expelled from Qingyu Mountain by then, and the Fox King showed no reaction after the fox demon's death. She thought the matter was over, so why was it suddenly brought up again today?

Princess Xueyao straightened up, her words carrying a hint of sternness: "Tell me the truth about what your grandfather said."

“My grandfather told me to tell the princess that he had calmed the Fox King down, but that the princess would have to come in person to handle the matter. So he took it upon himself to leave the Fox King in our tribe and asked me to invite the princess to our tribe for a meeting.”

Princess Xueyao hesitated for a moment before asking, "Only me?"

The little Kui Niu replied, "The Fox King and the Tiger King have both brought their younger relatives to our clan. My grandfather specifically instructed that the princess may bring her younger relatives along, but it would be best if the princess's husband did not go."

Upon hearing that Ji Heng was not to go, Princess Xueyao frowned and said to the little Kui Niu, "I need to consider this matter carefully. Please wait a moment."

The little Kui Niu nodded without urging him.

After Princess Xueyao finished speaking with the little Kui Niu, she turned around and went to find Ji Heng.

Ji Heng was teaching his youngest daughter to write in his study. He was teaching patiently, but the student didn't seem to care much about writing. She hadn't written many characters and had left a pile of crumpled paper on the floor.

Princess Xueyao entered the study and immediately saw her youngest daughter, who looked aggrieved.

When the little girl saw her mother arrive, she finally had someone to rely on. She immediately ran over and threw herself into her arms, complaining, "Mother, Father insists that I learn the human language. It's so hard! I don't want to learn!"

Princess Xueyao stroked her youngest daughter's head and said gently, "If you don't even recognize human characters, how will you deal with humans in the future?"

The little girl scoffed, "Why bother with humans? If I'm stronger than them, they'll naturally submit to me."

After saying that, she looked at Ji Heng with a face full of admiration: "In the future, I want to cultivate to the fifth realm just like my father. Then, who will dare to disobey me?"

Ji Heng and Princess Xueyao laughed at the same time. Princess Xueyao reached out and tapped her forehead: "Alright, go out and play first. Your father and I have something to talk about."

After she left, Ji Heng stepped forward and asked, "What happened?"

Princess Xueyao then said, "I don't know who instigated the Fox King, but she suddenly became concerned about the death of her sixth son. She is currently with the Tiger King of Baifeng Mountain in the Kui Niu clan, and the Kui Niu Demon King sent someone to invite me."

Ji Heng immediately said, "I will go with you."

Princess Xueyao's tone was clearly annoyed: "He specifically instructed me to take the children with me, but he wouldn't let you go. It's just because he thinks you're young and easy to bully. If Father were still alive, which of them would dare to speak to me like that?"

Compared to Princess Xueyao, Ji Heng's reaction to the matter was quite indifferent: "It's alright, there's no need to worry about such trivial matters. They will have their day when they bow down to you."

The demon race places great importance on bloodline inheritance. His path to advancement is different from that of these demon kings, so it's normal for them to isolate him. Ji Heng wouldn't be angry about such a trivial matter.

"Do you want to go?" he asked again.

Princess Xueyao nodded: "Although the Fox King respects my father, she is extremely difficult to deal with. With the Kui Niu Demon King mediating this, I must show my face."

"Only them?"

"The Tiger King is here too."

Seeing Ji Heng's brows furrowing deeper and deeper, Princess Xueyao knew what he was thinking and comforted him, "Don't worry about me. Even for Father's sake, they won't do anything to me, otherwise they would be provoking public anger."

She wasn't worried about her safety, but she knew she would have to back down this time.

“I’ll take you there,” Ji Heng suggested.

Princess Xueyao shook her head and refused: "If you go, they will definitely notice. I will just take a few children with me. It's also a good opportunity for them to get to know their peers. They will be useful in the future."

She knew she lacked talent and would only ever reach the fourth realm. However, she was a descendant of the Demon Emperor, with the Demon Emperor's blood flowing through her veins. Their father was also at the fifth realm, so her offspring might one day dominate the demon race and rebuild the demon kingdom, just like her father.

However, she only thought these things in her heart and never told anyone.

Seeing that Ji Heng remained silent, Princess Xueyao couldn't help but smile and say, "It's really nothing. I'll leave Xiao Wu at home to keep you company. Later, the subordinate I sent to Da Xia to gather information will be back, and he should bring some good news."

Sure enough, her words diverted Ji Heng's attention, and he asked, "What news?"

"The Ji family's affairs were ultimately caused by me. After all, they were once your relatives. If possible, they should leave behind a bloodline. So I sent people to inquire about some information in advance, so that I could make some arrangements in secret."

Although Ji Heng had said that she no longer needed to concern herself with the Ji family, she hadn't really done nothing. Only Ji Chan posed a threat to her children. If she could help the others, she wouldn't mind lending a hand.

A hint of emotion flashed in Ji Heng's eyes, and his tone carried a touch of helplessness: "You're always like this."

Princess Xueyao smiled and said, "Alright, it's getting late and I should be going. If all goes well, I should be back before dark."

Ji Heng saw her out of the study, and thoughtfully added, "Take care on the way."

Don't worry.

Princess Xueyao, along with several guards and four children, left Liujin Mountain with the little Kui Niu. After they left, the Wangu Palace seemed rather lonely.

Ji Heng stopped forcing his youngest daughter to practice calligraphy. He sat down, picked up the unfinished piece of paper, looked at the characters of varying sizes and the ink smears all over it, and shook his head helplessly.

As he looked around, Ji Heng suddenly thought of Ji Chan. When that child was born, she picked up a pen during her first birthday celebration, and Madam Lin told him in private that she was determined to raise her daughter to be a talented woman.

He joked at the time that he would definitely guard the gates of the Marquis's mansion and not let any scoundrels covet his daughter.

So many years have passed in the blink of an eye.

I wonder what has become of that well-behaved and quiet child?