Chapter 32 The Demon King's Scheme

After walking several miles along a long road, the snow-covered forest completely disappeared into the horizon behind them. Villages gathered around them, ghosts came and went, and the air was thick with ghost smoke. In the underworld, there was no sunrise or moonset. Even a few days in the forest were like a new weather pattern. Cang Ming felt as if he had already spent ten days and half a month in the dense forest. By the way, he remembered a fatal incident -

"Not yet! Xisheng said we should meet by the river in five days!"

She hurriedly searched her body for the yellow positioning talisman and took out a moldy leaf.

Wei Ci said amiably, "General, the formations in the forest can hinder the magical powers of the immortals, and naturally will also break their spells. Zou Chaoxian might have already left on his own. Why don't we go back slowly?"

"I wonder what day it is now?" Cang Ming looked at the ghostly figures that flashed by with a headache. "Strange, how do they tell the time?"

Wei Ci's eyes, which had once melted away their ice, began to gleam coldly again. "Those who dwell in the underworld for too long, whether they are demons, ghosts, gods, or devils, will lose their sense and control of time. Some have missed out on important events because of this, living in despair and regret, and even giving up on reincarnation."

Cang Ming glanced at him for a few seconds, then he turned and smiled faintly. He didn't know when Wei Ci had become so hot and cold, so unpredictable. If my twenty-year-old self had met this kid, I'd probably have been overwhelmed with anxiety and worry.

Cang Ming threw away the spotted leaf and said indifferently, "It's okay to give up reincarnation. What's the difference between the human world and the underworld?"

Wei Ci whistled softly: "General, you owe me a meal..."

Cang Ming was stunned for a moment, then immediately said, "That's right, I remember that! Let's go back to where we came from to look for Xi Sheng. If we can't find him, we'll go back to the human world. I'll treat you to a nice meal on the way. How about that?"

"It's a deal." Wei Ci nodded happily.

The Ice Blade Sword was unsheathed and thrown into the air by Cang Ming. In tacit coordination, the two of them leaped up and landed gently on it, one in front and one behind.

Cang Ming led the charge, followed by Mo Ci. Their longswords soared ten thousand feet into the air, soaring forward against the wind. Clouds and mist swirled around them, and occasionally they had to push them aside to peer down at the fields and villages below.

Wei Ci, with his excellent memory, kept track of the route, whispering directions in Cang Ming's ear all the way. Cang Ming almost wanted to ask him if he had a hair crown by the river. Thinking of the sterling silver crown on her head, she felt a chill run through her body as if it had been struck by lightning.

The irritation of being watched and the shame of being controlled and seen through resurfaced like a gourd that couldn't be pressed down.

Even though he was only looking at the back of Cang Ming's head, the Demon King still observed his expression: "General, are you tired? Why don't we go downstairs and rest?"

Considering that the atmosphere had finally eased, Cang Ming simply said, "No, I'm fine."

After a moment, a faint smile appeared on Cang Ming's cheeks: "Do you want to go back and eat quickly?"

Wei Ci happily replied, "Of course that's fine, General. I'll make the arrangements."

With a humming sound, the longsword suddenly launched out like a cannon. While Wei Ci's voice lingered behind them, the two figures had already leaped forward several miles, even leaving a trailing shadow across the sky.

This sudden acceleration caught Wei Ci off guard, and she staggered back a step. The sword suddenly resumed its steady speed, causing Wei Ci to rush forward another step. She held onto Cang Ming's shoulders with both hands to avoid bumping into her.

For the first time in his life, the First Demon King of the Underworld nearly fell from the sky. Cang Ming tried her best to suppress a smug laugh, while her eyes shone with a gorgeous gloating brilliance. Wei Ci felt the slender shoulder in his palm tremble slightly from the laughter he was holding back.

Instead of retreating, he stepped forward. Cang Ming tilted her head slightly to glance at him. His head drooped limply, his broad, noble forehead almost touching her temples. His two large hands gripped her shoulders tightly. "General, I suddenly feel dizzy."

The fresh, sharp breath of air, like bamboo leaves, broke through the surrounding clouds and mist, covering Cang Ming like a flurry of snow. A warm chest pressed against her back, and she was trapped in this strong and powerful embrace.

For a moment, Cang Ming felt like she was under a spell, not knowing where to put her hands and feet. She asked dazedly, "What's going on? Are you really dizzy, or are you pretending..."

Wei Ci said with great grievance, "I feel very dizzy and my vision is blurry. But the general is in good health and can move freely in the vast space. Even though his sword flies as fast as a meteor, he can stand firm and remain calm."

His voice was always low and gentle when he spoke to Cang Ming, but now, close to his ear, it had an even more hoarse and alluring quality. He felt a surge of blood rushing to his face, and Cang Ming's cheeks suddenly felt hot.

Wei Ci let go of her with amusement, and finally took two steps back: "It's fine now."

Cang Ming turned back, looked straight ahead, nodded, and said, "Oh, oh, that's very good."

Wei Ci, considering the overall situation, said: "General, speed up, I'm fine. I understand that you want to get back to work earlier."

"No need, we're almost there." Cang Ming, who had been tricked by someone else, crossed his arms and said, "You show me the way, but I don't know where it is."

Wei Ci laughed out loud, pointed to the land below and said, "We're almost there. Isn't this the Conch Cave?"

Looking down from the clouds, the river surged past like a vast, boundless silk. Strange rocks rose from the shore, and the conch-shaped cave shrank to a point, as if it were actually a conch at the water's edge. Thinking of the moment they'd embraced in the conch cave, Cang Ming felt a sense of loss.

After flying out for another incense stick of time, he said without hesitation, "We're here."

The two men slowly landed on the riverbank, their robes fluttering in the wind. Cang Ming neatly sheathed his sword. Silence reigned all around, and Xisheng was nowhere to be seen.

Cang Ming stood on tiptoe and looked around anxiously: "I wonder what day it is now? Has Xisheng come yet?"

Wei Ci said, "It's the sixth day."

"..." Cang Ming was silent for a while, then he put his hands on his hips and said, "You are the one who has mastered the secret of judging time, right, Nakano Hiou!"

Whenever Wei Ci showed one of her dimples, she looked like a fox with a jade face: "I do have a way."

Cang Ming tilted his head, waiting for him to show him. He pointed at the river and said, "General, look."

The water shimmered, as calm as a piece of clear jade. Wei Ci said, "When I once journeyed to the underworld, I misjudged the time and caused great disaster. Later, I saw a clue from the Spring and Autumn Ferry: every time the tide rises, three days pass in the human world; every time the tide recedes, another three days pass."

Cang Ming couldn't help but praise him sincerely, "Wei Ci, if you were displaced and had to make the world your home, trying to survive in the wild, you would definitely be an expert with outstanding skills."

“…”

"Since it's already the sixth day and Xisheng isn't here, let's just head back to the human world. Xisheng is so smart, he's probably already guessed the time and headed home." Cang Ming glanced at Wei Ci with a forced smile, "Your Highness the Demon King already knew it was the sixth day."

Wei Ci said seriously, "General, it was you who said you wanted to come and see me. I am your subordinate, so of course I have to obey you."

Cang Ming was speechless and could only urge, "How do we get back to the human world? Lead the way." The last time he returned from the underworld to the Three Quarters of Xiyuan, he had used the key Wu Lu had borrowed from the little demon. This time, he was finally going to get to see the Demon King return, and Cang Ming was actually looking forward to it.

How will the most mysterious demon king of millennia travel back and forth between the two realms? Will he use his power to summon wind and rain to build a bridge to the secret realm, or will he use the rotation of the sun and moon to switch the underworld and the mortal world?

Every subtle change in Cang Ming's expression escaped Wei Ci's attention. He couldn't help but smile as he saw Cang Ming's spirits soar, his gaze radiant, his emotions clearly visible on his face.

"General, there are many places in this micro-city that lead to the ancient building. They are all post stations I have set up over the past thousand years." Wei Ci looked at Cang Ming's almond-shaped eyes, which were wide open with curiosity and urgency, and said slowly and deliberately, "The closest one to here is..."

Cang Ming was about to draw his sword and set out again, but before he could say anything, he said, "It's that conch cave."

“…”

So the two of them turned around and returned to the Conch Cave along the old route. Wei Ci raised his eyebrows and smiled like a fox spirit: "General, I didn't mean to ask you to take a detour. As a subordinate, I must follow the general's wishes and obey his orders."

Cang Ming snorted: "Okay, okay, now you respect my wishes. When you advised me not to become a god before..." She stopped there and didn't say anything else.

The two men walked into the cave and stood face to face, staring at each other. Cang Ming could barely stand up straight, and Wei Ci had to bend down slightly to avoid hitting his head. He gently held Cang Ming's shoulders with both hands and whispered in Cang Ming's ear: "General, close your eyes."

Cang Ming closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling slightly. Wei Ci was probably silently chanting an incantation. The cave was shimmering with silver light, as if the moon's radiance filled a conch shell, and the cloud-like cave walls flowed like silver magma.

Faced with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Cang Ming quietly opened his eyes, only to see that the cave they were in had disappeared, and the surrounding mountains and rivers were distorted and deformed, floating like strange fragments.

A massive wave crashed down from the river, threatening to engulf the two figures embracing each other. In that instant, the mountains and village buildings, like molten mercury, transformed into flying armor. The armor quickly reunited into a silver-blue ice dragon, which coiled into a tunnel that enveloped the two, shielding them from the onslaught of the wave.

The glass-like water curtain crashed heavily against the crystal-clear tunnel. With this immense momentum, the Ice Dragon Tunnel swept the two of them up into the unknown sky.

Cang Ming held Wei Ci's waist tightly, and could hardly tell whether he was sliding in the tunnel or the tunnel was flying towards the sky with him.

The ice was thick and unyielding, like a dense, white mist, blocking everything outside. Cang Ming could only hear whistling and crashing sounds, perhaps waves, giant trees, or something else along the way blocking and whipping the tunnel.

The Ice Dragon Tunnel was full of twists and turns. Cang Ming and Wei Ci were thrown up and down, sometimes their limbs collided with each other, sometimes their torsos rubbed against each other, sometimes they hugged each other and rolled over, and sometimes they held hands and floated weightlessly.

Suddenly, everything returned to calm. The ice dragon's disappearance took away the dazzling silver light, leaving the surroundings in darkness.

By the time Cang Ming's vision cleared up again, the underworld had dissipated silently like a wisp of smoke. The two of them were inside an antique shop. The building was bare, shabby, and cold, just like the night Cang Ming and his companions came to visit Wei Ci. The gorgeous sunset glow streamed in from the fifth-floor windows.

The two of them were teleported by the ice dragon and returned to the human world through the window.

Wei Ci was half-lying on the floor with his back, supporting his upper body with his elbows, looking at Cang Ming with a half-smile.

Sonam was lying on top of him, one hand on his chest and the other on his abdominal muscles, trying in vain to regain a decent balance.

Cang Ming pressed her hand against Wei Ci's firm abdomen, and frantically tried to get up. But even though she wasn't exerting much force, Wei Ci groaned and fell backward, dragging her forward with him. The two of them were once again entangled in an intimate posture.

Snap, snap.

There was an unnoticeable sound of footsteps. Cang Ming turned around and saw a row of waiters holding teapots, tea bowls and snacks, floating in front of the two of them.

The two of them maintained such a sexy look, and Cang Ming's mind went blank: "We, we are just..."

The waiters were well-trained and their expressions remained unchanged. They just gently placed the trays in their hands on the counter and disappeared into the darkness.

The antique shop was closed today. The armored bronze figure stood facing the wall, not looking at the two of them. Cang Ming almost suspected that he had turned around on his own accord.

Cang Ming rolled off Wei Ci's body and first reached for the invisible jar she carried. It wasn't broken; the yellow talisman remained firmly attached to the lid. She breathed a sigh of relief, and Wei Ci pulled her up.

"General, please don't be surprised. The underworld is vast. If you want to return to the human world instantly, you have to use the technique of time and space compression, and turbulence is inevitable." Wei Ci explained seriously.

Cang Ming patted the hem of his robe, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you fall every time?"

A fox-like smile flashed across Wei Ci's eyes: "Well, maybe I was tired and hungry, so I didn't perform well..."

Cang Ming was suddenly startled: "Ah, I forgot, I came back before I even invited you to dinner..."

Wei Ci said considerately, "What's the big deal? General, your most important priority is becoming a god."

After a pause due to being choked, Cang Ming said, "I'll return the jar to Xiyuan Sanfang, and then we can go out for a delicious meal, how about that?"

Wei Ci nodded and said, "Just do as the general says."