Chapter 49. Getting married? I don't want to!
The door collapsed.
The boy and girl fell to the ground, embracing each other. The whole thing happened in an instant, and although Meng Ji was momentarily stunned, he still managed to catch them in his arms, using his back to support their weight. The impact with the ground added another wound to the existing bruises, and a sharp pain shot through his back. He groaned, "Ugh..."
Dust inevitably rose from the ground. Startled, Yao Jin suddenly gripped his hand tightly. The already precarious strip of cloth tore completely under the impact, and with a ripping sound, the boy's pale waist and abdomen were exposed to the air.
His waist and abdomen were taut, connected to a pair of narrow-legged trousers. The trouser legs were loose, revealing a pair of straight and slender legs, but Yao Jin couldn't see them. She straddled his hips with her legs apart, only feeling that he was too thin, so thin that the bony protrusions at his hips were visible, digging painfully into her flesh. Her eyes brightened, she blinked her eyelashes, and reached out to touch him. "What's that...?"
She touched the side of her pelvis, where there was a crooked scar resembling a centipede's mark, extending all the way inwards.
A crack appeared in Meng Ji's cold eyes. He took a deep breath and bent his legs. "Don't move."
Yao Jin didn't listen at all. She even wanted to pull down the other person's belt to take a look, but as soon as her hand touched him, she said, "This is..."
Meng Ji immediately stopped her movements, straightened her head and held it in place, and said helplessly, "Don't move."
Directly opposite the two were two demons who were about to leave but had not yet left the courtyard. Upon seeing this, the two demons slowly opened their mouths wide: "Heavens."
"So powerful..."
This door carries many memories. When my childhood wish for gold was not fulfilled, the door was thrown. When my cultivation of demonic arts was not going well, the door was thrown. And when I couldn't eat my favorite sweets because of losing my baby teeth, the door was thrown again.
However, due to Yao Jin's special status, everything in her palace was exquisite and luxurious, and of course, of the highest quality. This door had undergone countless tests, but ultimately it was gloriously sacrificed due to a passionate affair.
Of course it's a love affair; otherwise, how would you explain the swordsman's bare upper body and his posture that only served to conceal his true feelings?
One of the demons burst into tears, clutching his heart, crying, "My lady!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Chunqing arrived. Unlike the two demons, she was not stupid. She was stunned for a moment when she saw the situation, but she quickly helped Yaojin up. "Miss."
Yao Jin's nose was filled with the refreshing scent, and her body was enveloped by the scalding heat of the skin. She felt a little lightheaded, and as she was helped to her feet, she looked at Chun Qing and exclaimed, "Sister Chun Qing, what brings you here?"
With the lingering red marks on her head, Chunqing had a look of pride on her face, like a mother seeing her daughter grow up. She smiled at Yaojin and said, "Congratulations, Miss, you've grown up."
Every hundred years, the Demon Realm holds a grand ceremony to celebrate the arrival of the Demon King. On that night, all the demons stop what they are doing and wander aimlessly in the black market. The black market is filled with all sorts of strange and wonderful things, and demons swarm around, shouting and fighting can be heard. But all these sounds will stop at midnight, because at that time, brilliant fireworks will explode in the sky, and all the demons will raise their heads and look at them with smiles.
That smile was just like Chunqing's at that moment.
Yao Jin sat on the bed, somewhat bewildered. Beside her sat the boy she had met less than a day ago. The room was filled with red window paper, candles, and black wine glasses.
The wine glasses were placed on a tray on the table, one on the left and one on the right, symmetrically, as if some kind of ceremony was taking place.
Chunqing smiled and glanced at Yaojin one last time before closing the door.
With only two people left, Yao Jin asked, having never seen such a grand scene before, "Why is her smile so creepy?"
Yes, it's creepy.
In the room decorated in black and red, the burning candles danced like little figures, their reflections shimmering on the airtight window paper, creating an eerie sense of festive joy.
Why are you laughing at a time like this? What are you laughing at?
Yao Jin was familiar with the environment, so she wasn't afraid; she just frowned, deep in thought. At the same time, Meng Ji's gaze swept across the surroundings, the glaring red that was impossible to ignore making his heart race. The paper cutouts on the window depicted pairs of lovers intertwined in joyful poses, bold and direct, as if a pair of naive teenagers were directly enveloped by a red heart.
After a moment, he lowered his eyes, his fingers tracing the bright red groom's suit and the red ribbon bow tied at the collar. "Perhaps it's to congratulate you on growing up."
"Hmm? My lord?" Yao Jin was a little confused, but her rich knowledge of reading suddenly surged into her mind, and after a moment she suddenly realized, "Oh, the nuptial wine and the dragon and phoenix candles."
"You're married?"
"Who, us?!" Yao Jin immediately stood up. "No way, I don't want to."
She was about to rush out, but forgot that the other end of the red ribbon was tied to her body. This movement affected Meng Ji, and despite the considerable force, she couldn't pull him up at all.
Instead, she was the one who was pulled back onto the bed.
Then came a gentle voice—"No, why did you tie me up?"
The kidnapping was both reasonable and unreasonable; at least Yao Jin heard it while Chunqing was still in shock or grief.
She wanted to refuse, but she simply couldn't. The heartbroken monster's binding technique was so skillful, and the knots he tied were exactly to her liking, like a gift being offered to her with both hands.
She didn't expect that just by lingering her gaze for a moment longer, she would find that Meng Ji's chest and the knots binding his hands behind his back were replicated.
The knot was so exquisitely tied that Yao Jin couldn't untie it at all when she tried to do so, as it also bound her.
She was still trying to untie the knot on Meng Ji's hands. She temporarily released the knot, saying, "I tied you up here just to make you my male concubine. You want to be my husband? What makes you think you can?"
After saying that, she added, "Besides, as the old saying goes, there are plenty of fish in the sea, and there's no such thing as being hung up on just one. There are plenty of men in the world. I've already given away my position as the main wife, so why would I want to hang around with some monster?"
Although Yao Jin's words were somewhat nonsensical, the logic was roughly the same: she was still young and shouldn't be putting all her eggs in one basket. Besides, Sister Chunqing had said she could find people to play with, and the more fun the better.
As soon as the words fell, the hands that had been docile under the knot suddenly moved. Those hands were definitely not those of an ordinary swordsman. Swordsmen do not use their fingers to exert force, unlike those who wield knives. Usually, calluses would only appear on the thenar eminence, and even with more effort, they would only appear on the palm of the little finger.
But these hands, inside and out, are covered in marks and calluses. The joints on the sides of the fingers and the lower edges of the fingertips look like they've been doing manual labor for years. Yet, these hands are also very dexterous; with a gentle pull, the fingers slip out of the seemingly unbreakable knot.
"So, Miss wants to use me and then discard me."
The voice grew softer and softer, and if you listened carefully, you could hear a hint of sarcasm. Yao Jin felt her ears were intoxicated, and she leaned unsteadily against his leg.
However, in the blink of an eye, the situation between the two changed dramatically. The hand that was shaking the gold was wrapped around her back, and the long silk ribbon bound her to the soft and high quilt. The gold threads that symbolized good fortune slid across her soft cheeks, leaving two red marks.
Meng Ji looked at her, cupped her cheek in his hand, and suddenly spoke, "I am a disciple of Buzhou Mountain."
This was a position of absolute control, which Yao Jin didn't like by instinct. But just as she was about to struggle, another sentence from the other party made her stop moving instantly.
"I am the son of a servant, and have been for most of my life. My father was a lowly stable boy. My mother was demoted and married to my father because she failed to seduce the master. She cried every day and always dreamed that one day she could return to the inner quarters and become a first-class maidservant by the young lady's side again."
Meng Ji really had a talent for storytelling. Even though his tone was flat, Yao Jin was still captivated. She asked, "And then, did she become a first-class servant again?"
"No." Meng Ji shook his head. "There aren't that many surprises in this world. Miss has a whole bunch of servants around her. If this one is gone, there will always be someone better to take her place."
"Although she was a servant, she had never suffered because she had followed her mistress since childhood and could order around the maids, so her life was quite comfortable. Unfortunately, she was suddenly married to her father, and her status dropped, so she spent her days in tears."
Yao Jin sighed, "He's truly a man with a tragic fate."
Meng Ji replied, “Yes, that’s why she never smiled. My father, who was a stable boy, had already suffered enough outside. When he came home, he couldn’t get a smile from her either, so he forced her to smile. He was furious until one rainy night when he forced her to give birth to me.”
Yao Jin exclaimed, "How could this be?"
Meng Ji's hand followed the sound of "ah" and suddenly squeezed into her mouth, as if recalling a distant past. He slightly closed his eyes and said, "That's how life is. Luck never favors others. On the one hand, she pitied me because I was her flesh and blood, but on the other hand, she felt humiliated because I was the flesh and blood of a stable boy. She was depressed, so I had a very hard childhood."
Yao Jin had never heard of such a tragic story before. He was so engrossed in listening that he forgot about the strange sensation in his mouth.
Meng Ji's fingers seemed to be unconsciously fiddling with each other, "But until my master appeared."
"You've been rescued?" Yao Jin spat out the finger, momentarily forgetting to reprimand him for his rudeness.
Actually, no, but Meng Ji just grunted in agreement. He looked at the thin, transparent liquid, his eyes flashing with a dark light. "He thought I had a unique destiny and took me in as his last disciple."
"Although I am young, I am of high seniority and am the eldest brother of everyone. If nothing unexpected happens, I will always be the eldest brother. I came out to represent the Immortal Realm this time in order to make contributions so that I can rightfully become the eldest brother when I return."
Yao Jin didn't understand. "What are you trying to say?"
Meng Ji stared at her intently, "Do you think someone like me would become your male concubine?"
Yao Jin was stunned. To be fair, if the Taoist priest had directly refused, or had made it clear through his actions that he would not become her male concubine, she would not have had this idea.
She likes obedient girls who don't have many of their own thoughts.
But after all that had been said, Yao Jin followed his train of thought and responded very seriously, "You have a high status, so it's impossible for you to be an unknown male concubine in the Demon Realm."
Meng Ji didn't reply, but just stared at her, then smiled.
So Yao Jin, who was already somewhat unwilling to be flattered, became even more unwilling now.
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