Pengxi has joy 2

The person who spoke walked away without changing expression.

The obedient person, her face flushed, covered herself with the blanket.

If he ever had the chance to meet a writer or storyteller, Huaiwen would definitely have someone change the way the dignified Demon King Lingshan Xuanye spoke, so that he would not use cold words but sweet words.

Huaiwen sighed with emotion, realizing how well he had done in the task of learning to speak three hundred years ago...

Back to the point, Xuan Ye prepared a table full of delicious food for Huai Wen, including nourishing blood and qi, refreshing and thirst-quenching dishes, and exquisite and beautiful dishes... It seemed as if he wanted to lay out all the delicacies at once.

Huaiwen picked up a few pieces of food with her chopsticks. As she ate, she asked, "Where did you find these? And... you still haven't told me what's going on here."

As Xuan Ye served Huai Wen food, he explained, "Although this is a place of exile, Zui Meng Lou has expanded its business here."

"You still have business in the land of exile?" Huaiwen's eyes widened; this was completely unexpected.

Xuan Ye smiled indulgently: "Yes, you should know that my greatest hobby is making money."

"Write it down," Huaiwen thought. "Even ladyboys can make a living here in a single day."

Huaiwen had originally planned to go find Fulin today, but then something like that happened last night. She didn't get up until evening, and going out at this hour seemed inappropriate.

Besides, she hadn't scouted the area yet and didn't know the situation, so it was best not to wander around. Furthermore, since her master had sent Huang Ying, he must know she was here.

If her master didn't want to see her, not to mention the oriole, her master would definitely be able to sense her freezing over the hundred miles of Pengxi Lake and would come out to stop her.

Therefore, she has some difficulty judging her master's current behavior.

After much deliberation, Huaiwen decided to go outside after dinner to scout out the terrain. Xuan Ye, needless to say, accompanied him.

This wooded area is especially cool in the evening. Although there aren't many birdsong or insect sounds, the island seems like an ordinary little island, perhaps even with a better ecosystem than other islands.

As the two walked further, the hidden things quietly appeared. First came the sounds of demons and gods arguing, then the hanging lanterns, and finally the wooden house where they lived.

It literally cleaved open a street in the middle of the forest.

When the demons and gods saw Xuan Ye and Huai Wen, they dared not approach rashly. The noisy commotion they had been causing instantly subsided.

They appeared cautious, but not particularly fearful.

"What's wrong with them?" Huaiwen asked. "Lord City Lord, do they know you?"

"Probably."

Suddenly, they heard two demons whispering to each other. But they seemed to be used to their usual tone, so although they were whispering, the volume was actually quite loud.

One of the demons said, "Why is the city lord here? The last time was two hundred years ago, when he came here with a man to kill us."

Another demon said, "Yes, this time they brought a woman instead. Has the city lord changed?"

"Is the woman with you Aoba?"

"No, you don't even recognize Qingye? You're face-blind! Speaking of which... hehe! What's the city lord doing here this time? Planning to give us another makeover?"

"Can I have a house? I've been living on the top of a 500-year-old tree."

"You're not going to make any money for the city lord. It's good that you live on a big tree. Haven't you seen some demons who couldn't even get a big tree and were thrown into that swamp and died? You should be content!"

The two little demons talked louder and louder until a demon behind them nudged them, and they finally shut up.

Huaiwen overheard the conversation, and doubts arose in her mind. Huaiwen turned her head to look at Xuan Ye. In the setting sun, Xuan Ye appeared so aloof, which was different from the impression he gave people before.

“What happened in the past?” Whitman asked.

Xuan Ye smiled with one hand behind his back: "Nothing major, just brought Qingcheng to the island and developed this place."

Huaiwen was skeptical: "A-Ling...you said you would listen to everything I say, right?"

Xuan Ye nodded: "Yes."

"Then I want to know about this. Tell me about it."

His lover's eyes held expectation, which put Xuan Ye in a difficult position. He disliked talking about such things because he was afraid Huai Wen would be angry and dislike it if he knew. Xuan Ye tried to reduce Huai Wen's thirst for knowledge, but it was no use.

"A secret you can't tell us?" Huaiwen probed.

"Um...no." Xuan Ye drooped his head. "I'm just afraid that if you knew, you would criticize me and think I'm not good enough."

Huaiwen replied humorously, "No. Even when you said you killed the Taoist priest, I didn't intend to kill you."

Xuan Ye felt wronged; this matter was truly going to become a permanent barrier between him and Huai Wen. However, he was still reluctant to let Huai Wen remain completely unaware; he still had some selfish motives.

But if the person he loves wants to know, he should tell them.

About two hundred years ago, Xuan Ye brought Qing Cheng here.

Before they arrived, Pengxi, the place of exile, was desolate, let alone this island. The demons and priests exiled here could hardly survive, and they often fought bloody battles for a place to live.

But tragically, after that, the place to survive may not be enough to keep you alive; it may even cost you your life.

These demons and gods fought and struggled, but in the end, they all met with the destruction of their souls. Desolation and terror, hatred and fear are the themes here.

One day, Xuan Ye brought Qing Cheng to the island, only to find it filled with devouring and plundering. The demons and ghosts, who had initially seen the red and black figures standing there from afar, pounced on them fiercely.

Qingcheng drew his sword and slashed, but one man could not withstand the many.

A living, flawless Qingcheng was a delicious treat for them. They surged towards Qingcheng in a massive swarm, only to be reduced to ashes in an instant.

The demons and ghosts that had been rushing after them immediately stopped. They were thinking that another powerful figure had arrived in this place of exile.

When the smoke cleared, a figure in red and a figure in black emerged. The demons and ghosts, recognizing the newcomers, scattered in terror. Xuan Ye simply made a hand seal, and the fleeing demons and ghosts were all brought back.

"Spare me, Your Majesty! Spare me, Your Majesty!"

"You blockhead! The king likes people to call him Lord City Lord!"

"Lord City Lord, please spare us! We didn't know it was you, we were blind and didn't recognize you! Please spare us!"

Qingcheng pointed the knife at the kneeling demons and ghosts and shouted, "Listen up! The city lord has arrived! Line up now, the city lord will examine you one by one."

A vast array of demons and ghosts lined up, varying in height and build at will. Xuan Ye took out a white talisman, cast an incantation on it, and the talisman began to split, falling one by one to the demons.

While they were still wondering, the white talisman suddenly entered their bodies, which terrified the demons and ghosts, causing them to scream and flee in panic. Not daring to curse too harshly, they could only beg for mercy.

They spontaneously combusted, terrified of being burned to death by Xuan Ye's cherry blossom fire foxes. Amidst their frantic jumping and screaming, the foxfire on their bodies, though burning, didn't seem to actually harm them. They slowly calmed down, looking at each other, then at Xuan Ye with puzzled expressions.

What's going on?

"The city lord didn't kill us, did he?"

"Thank you for sparing my life, City Lord."

The foxfire gradually died down, and Xuan Ye's eyes grew even more somber. A hundred years had passed, and he still hadn't found her.

Smoke and dust billowed up, yellow sand filled the sky, and a sandstorm swept fiercely from the island. There were only a few withered branches in this place; they had nowhere to escape. Some demons were swept in, some were thrown out; those swept in were devoured, and only bones were thrown out.

The sandstorm continued, originally heading towards Xuan Ye, but it changed direction halfway and headed towards the lake. The skeletons were thus swept into the lakebed.

After the storm passed, the person who stopped the sandstorm appeared before Xuan Ye—it was Mo Heng, who had been exiled.

"What are you doing here?" Mo Heng, leaning on his sword, looked up and met Xuan Ye's gaze. He was a little stunned and a little scared. But when he thought about how he had been exiled, he put those worries aside.

Xuan Ye stared down at Mo Heng: "Why did you do that just now?"

Mo Heng stood up, supporting himself with his sword. As he sheathed the sword, he replied, "I am a priest. Even though this is a place of exile, I should not let the sandstorm continue to devour everyone and turn them into skeletons."

Which of the priests in this land of exile didn't hope these sandstorms would kill other demons in order to secure a place for survival? Mo Heng's actions made him stand out from those priests.

"Is it worth it?" Xuan Ye asked coldly.

Mo Heng gave a helpless, bitter smile: "As far as I'm concerned, I've already made a mistake. I can only do what I can."

"They want to eat you, and you're going to help them? Heaven knows how ridiculous that is," Xuan Ye mocked.

After a long silence, Mo Heng said, "Do you know? Gods can also become vengeful ghosts after they die. Most of the ghosts that become gods end up here. I don't want Rong Yun to become a vengeful ghost because of hatred, nor do I want to encounter Rong Yun and A-Jun in this place of exile a hundred years from now. If such a day ever comes, and I am unlucky enough to meet them here, then I hope I can give them a better environment, so that they won't be devoured by other ghosts here..."

Xuan Ye surveyed the desolate land, he had taken Mo Heng's words to heart. Imagine the worst-case scenario: if A-Jun truly came here as a ghost, in this desolate place, people would kill each other—how could that be tolerated…?

He didn't like the assumption. Xuan Ye closed his eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, when Qingcheng returned to the island, he brought with him a group of lesser demons. They carried the magical artifacts and various tools given to them by Xuan Ye, and dealt with the demons and ghosts there.

Mo Heng learned of this and spread the word among the exiled gods, urging them to cultivate the land together. Unfortunately, even those exiled officials remained arrogant and prejudiced; they simply disliked demons.

The exiled priests did not participate in this reform; they even mocked and attacked it, waiting for Xuan Ye to embarrass himself or even die under his leadership.

After two hundred years of refinement, the Lord of Falling and Floating gave birth to this forest in this land of exile.

As for those priests who once mocked him, some have long since disappeared, some have become envious and tried to seize the position, and others are trapped in their own limitations, living out their lives.

The story ends here.

Upon hearing this, Huaiwen remained silent. Xuan Ye asked with some concern, "A-Jun, is it because I only helped the demons and not the gods that you don't like it?"

“No.” Huaiwen said with some disappointment. She had never thought that the roles of gods and demons would be reversed.

"Then why are you frowning?"

“I just feel… many things are not as I thought…” Huaiwen said heavily, “A-Ling, I feel like things are different now…”

After careful consideration, Huaiwen spoke up: "Actually, anyone can board that small boat in Pengxi and get here effortlessly. Getting in is easy, but getting out is difficult. Especially for exiled priests, who are bound by cursed shackles, they cannot escape."

"Our entry into Pengxi has been blocked."

Huaiwen fell silent more and more as she spoke; she had a bad feeling about this.

Xuan Ye frowned unconsciously, then took a deep breath and gently rubbed Huai Wen's brow with his hand: "No matter what, I'll be here."

The sky darkened once more, and Huaiwen stopped walking. She merely glanced a few more times at the exiled demons, then looked up at the ghosts floating in the sky.

She could clearly sense that the black energy within her body seemed to be attracting the ghosts above. The black energy suppressed within her body appeared calm, but in reality, it was already gathering momentum.

Perhaps it was a strong premonition, but Huaiwen withdrew her gaze, walked over and took Xuan Ye's hand, smiling gently, "Let's go, it's getting late. Let's go home."

Surprised and delighted, Xuan Ye grasped it in return, a smile spreading across his face, radiating happiness. The ever-burning lamps hanging outside the wooden house, which had been dim before, now shone as brightly as the sun's corona in broad daylight.