Avoiding eye contact

Han Jiang had absolutely no clue about the two thousand taels of gold.

Where can you earn so much money in a year? Maybe you could consider going into business and selling fire talismans? Han Jiang only knows how to draw fire talismans, and the making of talisman paper requires the infusion of spiritual power, which Han Jiang only has enough for fire talismans.

However, it seems that items from the Immortal Sect are prohibited from being sold to ordinary people.

Let's go out and see what's selling well later.

The clothing in the demon realm is truly different from that in the human realm. Perhaps it is because demons are born with the ability to use demonic energy, so they can skillfully use demonic energy to protect themselves from the cold. As a result, the clothes here are more focused on looking good than keeping warm.

Humans are different; not every human can utilize their spiritual energy.

Walking down the street, Han Jiang was the only one wrapped in a thick cloak, looking out of place.

"Do you only sell summer clothes here?" Han Jiang looked around but couldn't find any clothes that fit her. "Don't demons live through winter?"

Even the capes they sold were just a thin layer, without any down, serving purely an ornamental purpose. This wasn't just true for the skirts; even the men's clothing was the same.

"Demons value appearance and attire. Besides, demons are rich," Cang Jing retorted.

A large number of human refugees didn't even have clothes to wear, while the demons were all living in luxury.

The Demon Realm itself has an excellent geographical location, situated in the south, with favorable weather conditions. Both grains and fruits are produced in excellent quantities, enough for the demons to eat themselves while also selling large quantities to humans.

Furthermore, since all demons can use demonic energy, it's equivalent to everyone being able to rely on spiritual power to assist in their lives and achieve the state of abstaining from grains through cultivation.

Once you no longer have to worry about going hungry, life naturally becomes more abundant.

The only downside is that it's damp and rainy all year round, and the sky is always gloomy, which affects people's mood.

The demon race was already plagued by internal strife, and even in places where spiritual power could be used, private feuds were inevitable. Conflicts of all sizes were constant in various places, which, while demonstrating the strength of the demon race, also led to instability in demon society.

Until the previous Demon Lord ascended to the throne, he directly prohibited private fights, enforced strict laws while guiding the people towards goodness and beauty, and emphasized peace and friendship.

Without fighting or conflict, and with nothing else to do, one can only develop in other areas, such as researching how to design beautiful clothes.

This move weakened the overall strength of the Demon race, which has been suppressed by the Vermilion Bird Pavilion of the human race for the past few years, and has not won a single open duel.

Even so, the human race still dared not invade the demon race. Although the demon race's overall military strength was insufficient, they could not withstand the powerful strength of the Demon Lord.

After the previous Demon Lord abdicated, the three princes he left behind were not to be underestimated.

This made Han Jiang even more curious about who that Demon Lord was, but Cang Jingqi refused to bring it up.

"There are still so many people on the streets on New Year's Eve. Aren't people going home for the New Year?"

"Isn't this everyone's home? Where else can we go back to?"

Oh right, people here don't have to travel far to work elsewhere; they live right near their homes.

Han Jiang suddenly felt that living here was quite nice. There wasn't much pressure in life, and the demons, under the leadership of the previous demon lord, were friendly. It was a livable place.

After shopping all afternoon, Cang Jingqi agreed to use his demonic energy to protect Han Jiang and keep him warm, which is why he managed to buy a few clothes.

The prerequisite is that Han Jiang must stay by Cang Jingqi's side, otherwise the protective effect will easily fail.

Anyway, Han Jiang isn't planning to go anywhere, so she'll stay by Cang Jingqi's side and be ready to devise a strategy at any time.

She's never pursued anyone before. What do people say online? "When a woman pursues a man, it's easy; she just needs to make her presence known first!"

As the old saying goes, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

On New Year's Eve, Hanjiang decided to have Cangjingqi cook.

This step is too difficult, let's move on to the next one.

Hanjiang thinks that cooking requires talent, and she's the kind of person who's just not good at cooking. Her food won't kill her, but it just won't taste good! Sometimes she follows online recipes step by step, but the result is still not tasty.

However, she doesn't sit idle; praising others is an important way to increase favorability.

Wow! Your Highness is amazing!

Wow! This is so delicious!

Wow! It smells delicious!

Cang Jingqi: "If you have nothing else to do, just leave the kitchen."

"I was just worried you'd get bored in the kitchen all by yourself!"

"Han Xiaoman, have you taken the wrong medicine too?"

Han Jiang muttered, "What a boring man."

"You're so romantic, but you're having an episode in the kitchen?" Cang Jing retorted sharply.

Unable to bear the chill of the approaching cold, he stormed out the door.

Enraged, he turned back and stomped on Cang Jingqi's foot before storming out again.

Cang Jingqi stood there, holding the spatula, feeling both annoyed and amused, wondering what she had done to offend her.

A table full of food, but only two people eating it, is bound to be a bit wasteful.

Han Jiang deliberately nitpicked: "It's not tasty, it's too salty."

"You just said this was delicious in the kitchen." Cang Jingqi wasn't angry at all, and smiled as he watched what kind of trouble Han Jiang was going to cause.

"Is it good?" Han Jiang's eyes darted around. "Then feed me!"

Han Jiang felt disgusted by her words, but she couldn't do anything about it. Cang Jingqi didn't seem like someone who couldn't understand romance, so how could he be so unresponsive?

Cang Jingqi's smile froze on his face.

When Han Jiang first saw Cang Jingqi laugh like that, she felt incredibly ashamed and bewildered.

She couldn't bear to watch any longer and buried her head in her rice.

My first attempt was a disaster. How do you even pursue someone? I've never been in a relationship before, my experience is zero!

Han Jiang wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground, but Cang Jingqi just stood there, watching Han Jiang eat without saying a word.

"Why aren't you eating?" Han Jiang couldn't stand it anymore and asked.

Cang Jing retorted, "I'm testing your spiritual power to see if you've become a different person again."

"Don't ask such a pointless question!" Han Jiang pouted. "What if I changed to someone else?"

“Kill him.”

"It's the Lunar New Year, aren't you going to avoid these taboos?" Hanjiang remembers that during the Lunar New Year, the elders would always specifically remind him to avoid these taboos.

Cang Jing retorted, "There's no need for such formalities. Even though A Mo is dead, the Demon Palace is still decorated in fiery red."

I know about the cold rain. The previous Demon Lord believed that as a leader, one should set an example and keep everything simple. If the death of someone in the palace is celebrated with great fanfare, wouldn't that disrupt the daily lives of the people?

So when Cang Jingxing died, he was buried somewhere random, without bothering the people to mourn him. Even Cang Jingqi didn't know where Cang Jingxing was buried.

Cang Jingye caused a great disturbance in the Demon Palace because of this.

Han Jiang was initially puzzled as well, as Cang Jingmo had died without any indication from the Demon Palace.

It was later learned that Cang Jingqi had no decision-making power, and Cang Jingmo's body was sealed in a side hall, to be discussed again during the Chongxue Festival.

The situations of Cang Jingmo and Cang Jingxing are not entirely the same.

Cang Jingxing died at a very young age, and few people remember him.

But Cang Jingmo has done a lot for the people and should not be treated the same as Cang Jingxing.

But this is not something Cang Jingqi can decide; we'll have to wait for that person to come out of seclusion to decide what to do.

The Heavy Snow Festival is in early March, and Cang Jingmo's body is temporarily preserved with demonic energy.

When Cang Jingqi mentioned Cang Jingmo, his expression became somewhat serious. Han Jiang quickly changed the subject: "Then, when we first met, you were also planning to kill me?"

Cang Jingqi nodded: "At first I thought you were a rebel in disguise, and I wanted to follow you to get some clues. Later I found out that you were a spirit energy disintegration body, which I found amazing. How could only the inside be different?"

"So, do you still want to kill me now?" Han Jiang stared at Cang Jingqi with wide eyes.

Cang Jingqi avoided Han Jiang's gaze: "Let's eat. There's nothing to do on the streets tonight. Go to bed early."

Han Jiang poked at the rice in his bowl with his chopsticks: Why won't you answer this question? Could it be that Cang Jingqi wants to kill him?

"You're going to break the bowl." Cang Jingqi couldn't stand Han Jiang playing with the rice in the bowl.

"I have no appetite..."

"Are you full?"

Han Jiang muttered, "You still want to kill me, how can I possibly eat? It's like a last meal before my execution."

Why would I want to kill you?

"I just asked you a question, why didn't you answer?" Han Jiang looked at Cang Jingqi again.

Cang Jingqi once again avoided Han Jiang's gaze.

Han Jiang still didn't believe it. She turned Cang Jingqi's face to face and forced him to look into her eyes: "Cang Jingqi, something's wrong with you."

"Something's not right?" Cang Jingqi brushed Han Jiang's hand away. "I need to wash the dishes after I finish eating."

He got up and walked out of the house.

Now it was the monk Hanjiang's turn to be completely baffled.

She glanced at Cang Jingqi's bowl; he hadn't eaten much.

Could it be that mentioning Cang Jingmo provoked him?

Cang Jingmo was basically a stranger to Han Jiang, having met him only a few times, but to Cang Jingqi, he was family for over twenty years, even though the two brothers didn't seem to have a very good relationship.

It really shouldn't have been mentioned.

Han Jiang felt guilty, wondering if he had been too hasty. How could an older brother start dating right after his younger brother's death?

We can only wait until the Heavy Snow Festival.

After finishing their meal on the day of Cold Descent, Cang Jingqi came to collect the bowls.

The two did not exchange a single word throughout the entire conversation.

The Demon Palace was deserted on New Year's Eve. The last time I celebrated a festival in the book was the Mid-Autumn Festival. Wenxu was still there then, and the five of us were on the top of Cold Mountain. It seems like a long time has passed.

Occasionally, the sound of fireworks could be heard outside the Demon Palace, but the sound was very faint and could not be seen.

I really want to go home.

The worst part is that starting from New Year's Eve, Cang Jingqi began to avoid the cold rain.

Now things are really messed up; the brother and sister won't be able to see each other during the Cold Rain season.

Cang Jingqi seemed very busy. He had been busy since the first day of the new year, always staying in his study for the entire day. It wasn't until very late, when the cold winds blew, that he heard footsteps outside the door. Cang Jingqi then went back to his room to rest.

I thought I'd be spending the first few days of the new year in this eerie atmosphere with Cang Jingqi, but thankfully the cold weather has arrived.

He brought Hanqi along, saying he had come to pay a New Year's visit.

Han Jiang said, "There's no reason for a master to wish his apprentice a Happy New Year."

"Before we're master and disciple, we're family first." Han Tian gave Han Jiang a very large red envelope.

"Thank you, Master!"

After exchanging only a few words, Han Tian was about to take Han Jiang back to the Four States Sect.

"The rebels have made a move, and the Vermilion Bird Pavilion and the Four Continents Sect are discussing this matter." Han Tian's implication was that it was not safe for Han Jiang to stay in the Demon Palace.

“Although there are rebels in the Demon Palace, both Your Highnesses are here, so we should be fine.” Han Jiang was mindful of his expression.

Since Cang Jingqi and Han Tian said that ordinary people can also cultivate and control spiritual power, there is no reason to doubt the two princes.

Han Tian looked troubled: "Xiao Man, come with me first. Cang Jingqi's situation is a bit complicated."

Did Han Tian find out something? Han Jiang's heart tightened.

"Master, what's wrong with him?"

"He's not safe either. In any case, you should just go with your master!"

Could it be that Cang Jingqi has abandoned his neutrality and chosen to join the rebels and turn against them? That doesn't make sense!

They haven't been seen since the New Year; are they planning a rebellion?