Chapter 39 Dual Rebirth Mu Qingheng was reborn, and so was he! ...

...

Lingwei waited for Mumeng to return at the palace gate. He should have been back by this time usually, but today he was a little late.

Lingwei craned her neck and looked around for a while, but saw no movement. There was no one around to talk to her, so as she waited, she couldn't help but start to daydream.

Having not seen his master for many days, he wondered how the young prince was doing. However, the young prince had been visiting him frequently these past few days, so he must be overjoyed. With love and affection nourishing his heart, he would certainly not fade away like most of his kin.

It's still unclear whether the young prince has finally come to his senses. His master seems so confident; perhaps it's only a matter of time before he does. Given their deep affection over the years, perhaps after the young prince learns that they are not blood-related siblings, he will gradually be able to truly fall in love with his master.

Finally, one of their demon clansmen has emerged who is different from the rest, a clansman who can comfort the spirit of their holy ancestor in heaven.

As Lingwei pondered this, a comforting smile unconsciously appeared on her face.

As night deepened, the dark sky became as thick as ink.

Lingwei waited for another half hour, but Mumeng still hadn't returned. She decided to go back to the inner palace to prepare a late-night snack for her. She went out through the side gate of the palace, but had only gone halfway when someone suddenly appeared and blocked her path.

Lingwei paused, her eyes flashing with a sharp light as she recognized the newcomer. She glanced around, then lowered her voice, "What are you doing here? If you, as a spy, are discovered meeting me in secret, the consequences will be dire..."

"Alright, enough of that. It's not your place to tell me what to do." Yu Da looked at her coldly and took a step closer. "Tell me the truth, what has been wrong with Master these past few days?"

Lingwei frowned: "I don't understand what you mean."

"Stop acting with me. The master has been missing for several days. He sent everyone away, and even I couldn't get into his inner chamber. A few days ago, I saw that he looked terrible. He was injured, wasn't he?"

"He wasn't injured in the demon realm. He was already unwell before he went to quell the rebellion, wasn't he?" Yu Da pressed on. "Why?"

Lingwei looked around and said, "Don't be unreasonable. This is the Celestial Clan. Do you think this is your own territory? I have no idea what you're talking about. Just do your job."

Yu Da sneered, spitting out each word clearly, "I know even if you don't say it. Looking at the entire Celestial Clan, there's practically no one who can make Master seriously injured and unconscious! I've already secretly investigated. That idiot Mu Meng mistakenly took the Nine Poison Pearl and was poisoned. Master just happened to be seriously injured at this time. Don't tell me it's a coincidence."

Lingwei took a deep breath. "You haven't seen your master for a few days, and you've made up such a story. It's ridiculous. Why should your master report to you what he wants to do? Get out of my way!" She pushed Yu Da's shoulder aside and took a step to leave.

Yu Da grabbed Ling Wei's wrist and, seeing that no one was around, pulled her into a side alley.

"Lingwei, my patience is limited. I am the Demon Realm Envoy, and you are the Protector. Think carefully before you reply!"

"There's no doubt that Mu Meng was poisoned, but in the end she was completely unharmed while Master was unconscious for several days. Isn't that because he transferred the poison from her body? Master has the Azure Phoenix Feather. If he wanted to attack Mu Meng, he could have just ripped out her heart. He wouldn't have lost so badly. So, he didn't attack the poison in Mu Meng, but rather deliberately took the attack to transfer the Nine Poisons Bone-Eating Poison, right?"

Yu Da gritted her teeth, and after a long while, she asked, word by word, "Master has developed a fleshy heart, and has even formed a mental connection, right? Otherwise, why would he be so foolish?"

Lingwei used all her strength to shake off Yu Da's hand and stared at her coldly: "I don't know. I only know that the demonic soldiers on the desolate border are ready to go, and our previous plans are being implemented one by one. Whatever the master has gone through or what arrangements he has made is not something you or I can comment on."

"Stop playing dumb with me!" Yu Da suddenly flew into a rage, grabbing Ling Wei by the neck and tightening her grip. "You've sent your people away from the desolate border. They're nowhere to be found in the entire border. You must have hidden them in the outside world! And Cang Bi, Cang Bi has been acting strangely lately. Why? Is it because you already know we're fighting a battle we're destined to lose?"

Lingwei's face flushed red, but she remained neither humble nor arrogant, meeting Yu Da's eyes directly.

After watching for a while, she laughed and said in a hoarse voice, "Since you noticed my actions, if you're smart, you should arrange things like I do, instead of coming to question me. If you don't have that kind of brain, then just do your duty as a subordinate, obey your master's orders, and follow the demons' arrangements. The rest is none of your business."

"How can you say it has nothing to do with me?" Yu Da raised one eyebrow slightly, sneered, and said in a sinister tone, "Although everything is proceeding in an orderly manner, I am really unable to eat or sleep. If he really develops a heart, how can you expect me to believe that he sincerely wants to destroy the Celestial Clan?"

Yu Da stared intently at Ling Wei, her tone gradually turning disdainful, "If the master we follow becomes someone else's slave, how can we talk about restoring the Demon Clan? Once Mu Qingheng follows Feng Xixue's old path, his heart is tormented and riddled with holes because he fell in love with a woman, and he becomes a madman who is neither human nor ghost, he will not be worthy of being the Demon Lord. We will naturally no longer need to follow him, and we should establish a new lord."

After she finished speaking, she flung Lingwei away.

Lingwei took a breath and couldn't help coughing. After coughing for a long time, she remained silent, then suddenly chuckled softly.

She covered her mouth, as if she had heard the funniest joke, her shoulders shaking with laughter. After laughing enough, she suddenly raised her head and looked directly at Yu Da: "You're efficient, and your demonic arts are quite good, but why is your brain always so stupid?"

"Establish a new ruler? Open your eyes and take a good look. Do you think Mu Qingheng would allow you to establish a new ruler? Yes, he won't lead the Demon Clan to revive, but he will never allow anyone else to lead the Demon Clan to trample on the Celestial Clan! Don't compare him to Lord Feng Xixue. Lord Feng Xixue fell in love with a human girl. Even if he's crazy, he'll only be crazy behind closed doors. But Master loves a Celestial Clan princess. He will never allow the Demon Clan to pose the slightest threat to the Celestial Clan. His inner conflict is clear. From the moment you realized this, you should have understood what the final outcome would be. As a member of the Demon Clan, you should know how crazy a Demon Clan member can be when they truly fall in love with someone."

"For the sake of our years of working together, I'm giving you a piece of advice: don't do something as futile as throwing an egg against a rock. If you're smart enough to escape from the desolate border with the people you want to take, and hide your identity at the ends of the earth, your master's heart won't soften for you. But if you dare to provoke him, you'll only perish along with the desolate border."

Lingwei was never as flamboyant as other members of her clan, and was even somewhat unassuming, but her words were sharp and forceful, leaving Yu Da stunned.

In fact, she was by no means a fool; otherwise, how could she have boldly deduced that Mu Qingheng had fallen in love based on just a few scattered pieces of information?

But no matter how much she thought about it, Yu Da felt she could never have come up with this idea. At this moment, she could only feel disbelief: "You mean he would slaughter his own people for Mu Meng? How is that possible?!"

“Why not? His heart wasn’t made for you or for the demons,” Lingwei said coldly. “He doesn’t even care about his own life for Mu Meng, so why would he care about you? So what if you’re a Demon Envoy? Can all seven of you Demon Envoys combined be worth half of Mu Qingheng?”

Lingwei took two steps back, her expression grim, and turned to leave. After taking two steps, she paused, tilting her head slightly: "I've survived until now because I'm sensible, and my master understands that I am. We should be grateful that he has developed a heart of flesh and blood. Although he only has one person in his heart, at least he's willing to clean himself up for that person and not do anything ruthless. You'd better take my words to heart, don't act rashly, and don't send a message back to the desolate border. If you dare to rebel..."

She turned around, her eyes shining as she stared at Yu Da. "I guarantee that even if I can't predict the fate of the Celestial Clan, the Demon Clan will definitely be wiped out before the Celestial Clan."

Yu Da stared at Ling Wei with a sinister look, but Ling Wei was not afraid at all. She left after saying a few words.

She gazed at her aloof back, her anger burning ever more fiercely, eventually transforming into intense resentment and unwillingness. Her fist clenched tightly in her sleeve before slowly relaxing.

Yu Da gave a disdainful smile and turned to leave the alley.

...

At Changjin Palace, Mu Meng was still waiting for Mu Qingheng's reply.

"Brother, do you know why I cultivate in this way?"

Ever since asking that question, Mu Meng has been staring at Mu Qingheng.

There was indeed deep tenderness and affection in his eyes when he looked at her, but these were not what she really cared about. What really made her feel uneasy was the pain he was trying to suppress, yet which still left subtle traces.

That extremely subtle pain overlapped with the pain he felt on his birthday.

Not only that. But also the way he looked at me with such careful tenderness and appreciation over these past few days.

For a moment she realized something—

As a princess of the Celestial Clan, she naturally possessed pride. Although she maintained a superficial relationship with Mu Qingheng, she still had her bottom line, which she was well aware of. In fact, upon closer examination, she could be considered distant and indifferent towards Mu Qingheng.

Having distanced herself from him and remained indifferent for so long, observing things from the sidelines, she saw some things more clearly—her indifference and aloofness were so obvious, didn't Mu Qingheng find it strange at all? He had never even raised a single question, still treating her as always, even treating her better and better, as if there were no limits to it.

Mu Qingheng's patience with her was almost to the point of groveling and humbling himself.

She mistakenly believed she liked him, a point she hadn't clarified. So, how did he view his "liking" her? Could there be such utterly indifferent affection in the world?

Of course, his affection for himself was also not in the way a normal person would normally have.

In her previous life, she lived a carefree and innocent life, but she had experienced Yue Liutian's heartfelt confession, felt Sheng Yuanting's silent devotion, and witnessed Yun Jiuyan's blood and tears. Coupled with her sister's sweetness and bitterness in her two lives, and her own unspoken feelings for Mu Qingheng that ended without a trace, she had developed her own views and understanding of love between men and women.

When one person likes another, they should wish for the other's happiness and joy. Whether it is the one who gives love or the one who receives love, they are equal, and neither is superior to the other.

But Mu Qingheng was too strange. His efforts had no limits; they were almost a kind of humble, muddy flattery.

In a daze, an outrageous yet inescapable thought grew bigger and bigger in Mu Meng's mind.

She slowly turned her head, stared at Mu Qingheng, and asked again, "Do you know why I cultivate in this way?"

This time, she didn't call him "brother".

Mu Qingheng clenched his fists, which were hanging in his sleeves, his nails digging into his palms unconsciously. He maintained a calm and composed expression and said softly, "I don't know."

Mu Meng remained calm, but the image of her sister's concerned yet cunning face flashed through her mind that day. Thinking about how her sister had uncovered her secret, she lowered her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she looked up again, her gaze was icy cold.

She sneered, "Don't know? Mu Qingheng, before you found out, I wanted to play dumb with you like this, but now that you've discovered my cultivation secret, we don't need to maintain the facade of peace anymore."

"How could you not know? You should be the one who understands me best in this life. I did this because I was afraid, afraid of ending up like in my previous life, trapped in the abyss of demons, unable to save others or protect myself. Tell me, shouldn't I cultivate like this?!"

Mu Qingheng's face suddenly turned pale, and his lips trembled slightly: "Meng..."

He uttered only one word, then his expression suddenly hardened.

But it was too late. Mu Meng took several steps back, her eyes filled with deep wariness: "As expected... as expected, you were also reborn."

Mu Qingheng was reborn, and so was he!

For so long, he has been feigning innocence, but in reality, he is the devil who committed all sorts of evil deeds in his past life!

She underestimated his methods and his wickedness!

Mu Meng trembled, her gaze, initially filled with shock, anger, and fear, gradually turning into deep hatred: "Mu Qingheng, you truly have an excellent acting skill; I am utterly defeated! In your past life, you were a cold-hearted and ruthless devil, but in this life, you've become a devoted and affectionate lover? If you were to have another life, what role would you play? You'll stop at nothing to achieve your goals, and you can concoct any absurd lie. I was so foolish to be deceived by you once again! I didn't realize your true colors in time, and I even thought... I thought you were different from your past life. You must think I'm ridiculous!"

An endless stream of hatred spread from the bottom of her heart. Deception, humiliation, killing, and more deception. All the things from her past and present lives combined, she hated him even more than she did before she died in her previous life!

Mu Qingheng's face had long since lost all color. He shook his head frantically, "No, Mengmeng, I didn't... I..."

He wanted to explain, but he didn't know where to begin.

Those hurts truly existed. If he were reborn, he would repay them a thousandfold, hold this one and only treasure in his palm, and cherish and pamper her with all his might.

But Mengmeng came back too.

She returned carrying with her all the hurt and hatred she felt for him.

How can he make amends?

"You want to explain? Fine," Mu Meng smiled slightly. From the initial shock and fear of discovering his true colors, to the anger and humiliation of realizing that he had been deceived by him again, his emotions were now completely calm, leaving only a deathly silence of hatred. "Go ahead and tell me, I'm listening. Let me learn from your endless tricks. You've suffered so much in this life, there must be a reason."

Mu Qingheng felt his heart beginning to tear apart. He didn't know what kind of torment he was about to face, and could only say while he was still lucid: "Mengmeng, I didn't lie to you. In this life, I didn't touch Yunze Realm, nor did I destroy the Azure Phoenix Feather. I..."

He couldn't continue. He saw Mu Meng's cold gaze, and a mocking smile appeared on her lips, which were usually gentle and innocent.

In an instant, a violent, heart-wrenching pain suddenly struck, overwhelming him to the point of losing his voice.

It hurt so much that I couldn't even let out a scream.

Mu Meng shook her head, her words like knives: "Is that all? If that's all, you don't need to pretend anymore, and you don't need to put on this affectionate act. It's disgusting. You'd be better off with that cold and frightening face from your past life; I find it more comfortable to look at."

"Actually, your rebirth is also a good thing for me. In my past life, you beat and humiliated me, pierced my heart with the Azure Phoenix Feather, and threw me off the Endless Cliff. I always thought that I would never find my enemy in my entire life because of this grudge."

She raised her chin, her gaze icy: "Make your move. If you don't kill me today, I will make you taste the pain of having your heart ripped out and your blood drained. And your people, I will not spare a single one of them."