Everything seems the same as before.

Jiang Yan went to great lengths to bring Shu Yun things she liked. As the ruler of Penglai, Shu Yun had seen many rare and precious treasures, but she preferred some ordinary items.

But both of them knew perfectly well that all this harmonious coexistence was based on Jiang Yan suppressing the restless Demon Realm and maintaining peace in the Three Realms.

Compared to their natural relationship in the mortal realm, their relationship now involves a transactional element.

Jiang Yan's meaning of staying by his side is the most straightforward and obvious one: he wants to know her whereabouts at all times and follow her wherever she goes.

He doesn't restrict her freedom, but he doesn't want her to leave the Demon Realm. Places outside the Demon Realm are outside his sphere of influence and there are many uncertainties.

Besides that, he indulged her wherever she went. He didn't manage the Demon Realm much and had no interest in improving it, which Shu Yun had mentioned. He just stayed by her side. He would accompany her to any place she wanted to go and pay for anything she wanted.

If the people of the demon realm are dissatisfied with this, he will violently suppress them, completely disregarding what others say and the increasingly frequent riots. Anyone who dares to resist will be personally eliminated by him.

He didn't need to be a qualified monarch. All the wealth and status he painstakingly acquired were for the purpose of keeping Shu Yun by his side. He had already achieved his goal, and all the other tools used to pave the way could be discarded.

The more demons he killed, the more evil energy he absorbed into his body, and the darker the bloodshot in Jiang Yan's eyes became.

Shu Yun twitched her fingers, let out a soft moan, and slowly woke up.

Every time she indulged in a drink, she would become completely drunk and have no memory of what happened. She gradually reduced her alcohol intake. This time, she clearly only drank two cups. Even with her tolerance for strong liquor, she shouldn't have drunk so much.

The light was a bit too bright, so she covered her eyes and eyebrows with her arm to shield them from the light. Someone was sitting on the edge of the bed against the light.

She knew who it was without even looking.

"Why did you come in again without permission?"

Jiang Yan raised his hand, and dark demonic energy swirled and flew out from his hand, lowering layer after layer of curtains to block the light that she found dazzling, leaving only a little light to penetrate, which was very gentle.

His voice was very soft. She was still half-asleep and didn't like noise. "I'm always afraid you'll sneak away again."

As darkness fell, Shu Yun lowered her hand and glanced at Jiang Yan. "I won't go back on my word."

Jiang Yan responded softly, but his expression clearly showed disbelief.

"Master, is there anywhere you'd like to go today?" He mentally reviewed the map of the Demon Realm. "The Frost Flowers in the north should be blooming now. Would you like to go see them, Master?"

She sighed softly, "I don't want to go out today."

Jiang Yan readily agreed, "Then I'll stay in the city with my master."

Over time, Jiang Yan had become almost always accommodating to her requests, and she was more comfortable ordering him around than she was with Zi'e and the others.

The person sitting by the bed had beautiful features, but a gentle and docile expression. He restrained her with the stability of the three realms, yet carefully served her.

She suddenly didn't want to figure out why Jiang Yan had tampered with the food. Maybe she should just pretend she didn't know and simply avoid alcohol and food altogether in the future.

Her tone inevitably carried a hint of something unusual: "You can leave now."

The person next to him didn't move, but said softly, "It's snowing outside."

"Hmm," Shu Yun responded sullenly, closing her eyes and refusing to look at him.

There was no sound of Jiang Yan getting up and leaving the room; he stayed by the side, observing Shu Yun.

After a long while, a deep and pleasant voice reached Shu Yun's ears, "Master has discovered it."

Her eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes to look at him. "Why did you do this?"

Jiang Yan's beautiful eyes reflected her image, and he answered slowly, "Because Master dislikes contact with me when he is awake."

Seeing her become somewhat uncomfortable, he continued, "I'll just use some tricks to touch Master without him knowing."

Shu Yun opened her mouth but couldn't speak. She was amazed by his honesty and at a loss for words because of his undisguised truth.

“I love Master,” Jiang Yan said calmly, stating the facts. “Didn’t Master already know that?”

She heard him say he liked her again, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled to calm her complicated emotions.

She propped herself up and sat on the bed, looking Jiang Yan in the eye. She met his gaze and pondered for a long time before speaking, "Jiang Yan, I don't understand."

"I only provided you with a place to live and some food a hundred years ago, and gave you the opportunity to study. All the other paths to success and status you have achieved are earned through your own abilities."

“I didn’t pay much attention to you after I took you in, I’m an incompetent master, what exactly are you…” Shu Yun found it difficult to say.

Why do you like me?

Snowflakes fell from the sky outside the window, snow-laden winter clouds, white flakes flying. A biting winter wind howled across the barren land of the Demon Realm. This was the changing of the four seasons, equally enjoyed by the three realms: spring, summer, autumn, and winter, which fairly favored the three realms.

The houses in the Demon Realm's main city, which had been carefully decorated by the Demon Lord, were completely silent.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Yan heard his own low, hoarse voice say, "I don't know."

He didn't know when these unusual thoughts began to arise in his mind. At first, he frantically tried to suppress them, but later the suppressed emotions suddenly rebounded, and a small spark ignited a wildfire.

The more he warned himself, the stronger his desire for Shu Yun became. The desire was like a raging fire engulfing him. When he suddenly woke up and tried to extinguish it, the fire had already burned into his internal organs and merged into his flesh and blood. To cleanse it was to remove everything from him.

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