Chapter 64 Signs of Infiltration (3) Do you remember who I am...?

The Demon Lord greeted her, "Did you enjoy your holiday?"

Xia Ying glanced at the giant dragon in the sky and the sea monster in the water, and almost wanted to scream.

She exclaimed in frustration, "Forget about holidays for now..."

Before Xia Ying could finish speaking, Xu Lu suddenly slammed on the brakes. The inertia caused Xia Ying to scream and fall forward. Cerberus, who was beside her, quickly grabbed her shoulder, while Fenrir put his arm around her waist.

A series of supernatural events made Xu Lu's common sense crumble. She struggled to adjust her breathing and tried to rebuild rational order: "Wait, wait, one thing at a time."

She turned to the beautiful devil in the passenger seat: "First of all, sir, who are you?"

Then he turned to the two dogs, one black and one white, sitting on either side of Xia Ying in the back seat: "So, when did you two get on the car?"

Then, she forcefully opened the car door and pointed first at the monster hovering in the clouds and then at the sea monster churning the waves in the water: "What are those things?!"

"Lulu, Lulu, calm down." Xia Ying tried to soothe her cousin, who seemed on the verge of a breakdown. "It's a long story..."

"Wait a minute, I have one last question." Xu Lu's gaze swept among the group, finally settling sharply on the Demon Lord. "Since just now, it seems we can't seem to leave this bridge. Do you know why?"

After Xu Lu reminded her, Xia Ying suddenly realized that the bridge seemed to have no end. She looked around and saw that white fog had enveloped them at some point. Although she could still vaguely see the outlines of buildings in the distance, no other car passed by.

It's as if this bridge and the car on it are separated from the real world.

Xia Ying couldn't help but ask, "Where exactly is this place?"

"A silhouette of the world," the Demon Lord replied. "This is neither entirely the human world nor entirely the demon realm. If I had to describe it, it is a moment when the human world was separated from it."

"Then can I assume that the appearance of Fafnir and Charybdis did not actually have any impact on the real human world?"

"Of course, even if the spatial barrier is gradually weakening, it is still impossible for three abyssal creatures at the level of Ring Domain King to pass through."

"You mean three?" Xia Ying said slowly, "Things can't be what I'm thinking, can they..."

As soon as she finished speaking, a huge shadow gradually emerged from the thick fog. Xia Ying got out of the car and looked up. First, she saw a pair of bright green eyes, and then a giant snake revealed its form in front of her.

Xia Ying whispered, "Jormungandr."

Jormungandr lowered himself docilely, silently flicking his tongue as if sensing her scent. Xia Ying gently stroked the fine scales on his snout, then looked at the tattered cloth held in the giant python's mouth with hostility.

“To be honest, I’m not surprised at all,” Xia Ying said, “but this time it’s really gone too far, Taotie.”

"Jormungandr, can you eat this thing?"

The giant snake raised its neck and swallowed a little of the rag.

"Okay, okay, it was definitely me who did it again! But I really have a very good reason!"

The hood clung tightly to the snake's fangs.

"I admit that initially, the only person I thought of coming from the human world was Karybu."

Xia Ying thought about it: It seems to make some sense.

Although sirens are generally mild-mannered and hostile to humans, they are, after all, powerful creatures of the abyss, and any unintentional action could cause irreparable damage to the human world.

Seeing her thoughtful expression, Taotie quickly pressed his advantage: "But if Fafnir also comes, the situation will be completely different! The Demon Lord will definitely find out about this. With him involved, wouldn't the safety of the human world be even more guaranteed?"

After finishing his speech in one breath, Taotie suddenly became full of confidence: "That's right! I am actually protecting the human world!"

The Demon Lord coldly curled the corners of his lips: "Since you dare to make fun of me, Taotie, you must be prepared to accept punishment."

Taotie seemed to recall some tragic experience, and immediately became listless.

The farce was finally coming to an end. The Demon Lord waved his hand to dispel the thick fog, allowing the dragon and siren, who had been blocked by the fog, to approach the bridge. They began to change their postures and gradually drew closer. Xu Lu unconsciously tightened her grip on Xia Ying's hand.

Xia Ying held her hand tightly and whispered, "Don't be afraid, everything will be alright now."

"Well, now you believe me, right?"

Does my mom know?

"Um."

Xia Ying looked at her and said, "Mm."

As Xia Kaiyun's sister, Xia Siyun should have been aware of her special characteristics long ago. She might have also suspected the true cause of Xia Kaiyun's death, just like Xia Ying. This fear of the unknown completely erupted when Xia Ying and Xu Lu also accidentally experienced danger from another world.

So when Xia Ying suggested living alone, she didn't try to stop her, but simply remained silent.

“I think my aunt just didn’t want to face the risk of losing her child after losing her sister,” she said softly. “In any case, I have no reason to blame her.”

"So it's all because of me." Xu Lu sniffed hard, her eyes clearly reddening. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"It sounds a bit cheesy," Xia Ying said with a smile, "but it's probably because we all love you."

Xu Lu seemed to have made up her mind and said, "Xia Ying..."

Just then, the sky cracked open, and golden light poured down with the hymn. Xia Ying looked up sharply and saw countless deadly halos filled with eyeballs in the crack in the sky.

It's a virus.

Xia Ying exclaimed in surprise, "Why is there a virus here?"

"It seems that spatial fluctuations do indeed attract these ants," the Demon Lord commanded. "Taotie, go clean up your mess."

"Yes, Lord of Demons."

The Ring King, resembling a tattered rag, nimbly slipped out of the snake's mouth, causing its body to continuously extend until it quickly covered the sky.

Black matter poured out from beneath his cover, slowly closing like an endless curtain. A halo-like virus struggled within, unable to cause any harm to the viscous mud.

Finally, the curtain suddenly closed, swallowing the rings, golden light, and hymns into its belly.

The world suddenly fell silent.

The Demon Lord tilted his head slightly, seemingly gazing at something.

Xia Ying watched him with trepidation, fearing that some strange enemy might suddenly appear... Suddenly, the Demon Lord turned his gaze to her, and with a snap of his fingers, night fell instantly.

Darkness suddenly enveloped the cross-sea bridge, and Xia Ying was unable to see anything for a moment, only hearing the sound of the tide.

In the stillness of the night, the voice of the Demon Lord rang out calmly.

"Make a wish, Xia Ying."

"Huh, now?" Although a little confused, Xia Ying closed her eyes as he said and spoke her wish in her heart.

The moment the prayer was made, the first glimmer of light appeared in the sky.

After the first star lit up, more and more stars shone brightly, gathering together to form a magnificent sea of ​​stars.

"The universe has heard your wish."

He spoke to her, and perhaps because the starlight had entered his eyes, the Demon Lord's expression appeared gentle.

Happy birthday, Xia Ying.

"Ah! Shouldn't we talk about this when we're eating cake!" Cerberus, whose cake had been stolen from him, complained and hurriedly shoved something cool and hard into Xia Ying's hand. "Here you go, Xia Ying, this year's present!"

Xia Ying opened her hand and saw a small, white, cute tooth in her palm, with its sharp edges carefully rounded off.

She laughed: "Is this year's gift also a baby tooth?"

Kernel said matter-of-factly, "Well, you are my most precious treasure, but I can't give you to myself, so I have to give you the second most important thing."

Seeing this, Fenrir looked troubled: "...I'm sorry, Xia Ying, I can't find my baby tooth."

Xia Ying chuckled and said, "It's okay, it doesn't have to be this for me."

Fenrir pondered for a moment, then raised his hands and condensed a small, transparent crystal between his palms.

“This is a frost crystal that has gathered ice magic,” he said. “With this, ice magic will not be able to harm you easily.”

Xia Ying gladly accepted, saying, "Thank you, Fenrir."

Xia Ying cautiously observed the dragon's attitude toward her true identity. Fortunately, the dragon seemed unconcerned about it and instead focused on rummaging through its body before pulling out a piece of dragon horn.

"The horn I replaced before I came of age has the effect of being immune to dragon fire."

Wow! This is great stuff!

Before she could respond, the siren presented her with a teardrop-shaped blue gem, drawing Xia Ying's attention away.

"I know humans celebrate birthdays... but unfortunately I didn't know today was your birthday, so I wasn't prepared as thoroughly." The siren inwardly resentful, but outwardly maintained a faint smile. "This is mine..."

“Oh! I understand!” Xia Ying said, “These are gems formed from your tears!”

Karybdis swallowed the word "magical tool" and lied, "That's right, these are my tears, which can resist most water magic."

Jormungandr gave her a snake scale instead.

“You’re immune to toxins,” he said. “That way, my poison won’t kill you either.”

Actually, given Jormungandr's true size, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to swallow me whole. Xia Ying thought to herself, but didn't say anything.

Finally, we arrive at Taotie.

"Do you have a gift for me?" Xia Ying threatened. "You're the one who should give me something to make up for it."

“I…I digest everything I carry with me, so…” Taotie stammered, trembling as it pulled out a clump of unidentified black substance, “...or I’ll give you some of my internal organs…”

"Who wants this?!" Xia Ying shouted. "Go back and transfer 20,000 to me!"

"Xia Ying," the Demon Lord spoke up at this moment, "I'm afraid your vacation is coming to an end here. Staying too long will attract more viruses."

Xia Ying touched the storage disk she carried with her, then looked at Xu Lu beside her.

"Well then, Lulu, let's say goodbye here." She smiled. "I didn't get lost, nor was I kidnapped by bad guys. Don't even think about calling the police this time."

Where are you going? Is it dangerous there?

Xu Lu didn't ask those questions, but simply said, "There's a cake in the trunk, can't we eat it before we leave?"

Xia Ying glanced back at the Demon Lord and said regretfully, "It probably won't work. We can't afford to delay any longer."

"..." Xu Lu lowered her head slightly, then tried to lift her face again, and squeezed Xia Ying's hand tightly. "Next time you come back, contact me first, understand?"

Xia Ying promised her, "Okay."

The Demon Lord opened a spatial passage, and the monsters disappeared one by one. Black feathers enveloped Xia Ying, making her figure gradually become transparent.

Before Xia Ying's figure completely disappeared, Xu Lu suddenly remembered something, hurriedly took out a thin piece of paper from her bag, and stuffed it into Xia Ying's hand.

"Oh right, my mom told me to give this back to you."

Xia Ying was about to look at the item Xu Lu handed her when she heard Xu Lu ask, "Xia Ying, in the place you're going, is there someone who loves you too?"

Xia Ying put the tissue paper into her pocket, her fingertips touching the other odds and ends of the gifts.

So she replied, "Yes, I think so."

The black feathers carried her away from the human world.

In the blink of an eye, Xia Ying stepped onto the territory of Cocytus once again. This time, she was no longer as uneasy as she had been when they first met.

She took out the thing Xu Lu had given her at the last minute from her pocket and discovered it was a photograph.

It was the very photo that was originally displayed in the center of the photo wall at home, a photo of Xia Kaiyun at the awards ceremony.

Xia Ying gazed at the photograph with nostalgia, her eyes suddenly fixing on a certain spot.

She was looking behind Xia Kaiyun, at the top right corner of the photo. In the crowd, Xia Ying spotted a blurry but strangely familiar figure.

Without realizing it, she blurted out, "Why is he here?"

Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings reached her ears. Xia Ying abruptly raised her face and saw a face identical to the one in the photograph.

The Lord of Demons was watching her from in front of her.

After a long silence, he asked.

"Do you remember who I am, Xia Ying?"

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Author's Note: To prevent any misunderstanding, the Demon Lord is not Xia Ying's father. There is no father figure in this story.