Chapter 20 is truly harmful to demons.
Chi Li noticed that Tang Lu had been acting strangely lately.
She no longer radiated warmth and happiness like a little sun; instead, she often carried a storybook she'd found at the market, the one that some audacious vendor had sneaked in to sell.
She would always sigh as she watched, and occasionally she would raise her big, watery eyes and look at Chi Li with a hesitant expression.
Her little eyes looked so pitiful, like a puppy about to be abandoned.
At first, Chi Li thought she was just attracted by the stories in the book and didn't pay much attention.
One night, she was awakened by the sound of soft sobbing in her arms.
Looking down, I saw that Tang Lu had woken up at some point and was secretly wiping away tears, golden tears falling down her body and soaking the front of her clothes.
Chi Li panicked immediately.
Since this little tree spirit followed her, apart from occasionally faking tears and acting cute, has it ever actually shed a tear?
"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare? Or are you feeling unwell?" Chi Li quickly sat up, pulled her into his arms, and gently wiped away her tears with his soothing divine power.
The warm tears scalded her heart.
Tang Lu sobbed, her small hands clutching her clothes tightly, and asked in a choked voice, "Lili... will you... will you not want Tang Lu anymore in the future?"
Chi Li was taken aback: "What nonsense are you talking about? When did I ever say I didn't want you?"
"But...but that's how it's written in the storybooks!" Tang Lu complained, feeling wronged.
She even held up the book that was the culprit:
"The scholar inside was very kind to the fairy at first, but later..."
Later, when she met a more beautiful lady from a better family, she no longer wanted the vixen!
He even said that fairies were aliens and would harm him…
She became more and more upset as she spoke, and her tears flowed even more freely.
"Tanglu is also a fairy... and the most useless tree fairy at that..."
Lili is the Demon King, so powerful and so beautiful... There will definitely be even more powerful and beautiful demons who will like Lili in the future...
Then... then Lili will definitely think Tanglu is in the way... sob..."
Chi Li listened to this worry, which was choked with sobs, illogical yet sincere, and felt both annoyed and amused, but mostly heartbroken.
She finally understood what this silly boy had been worrying about lately; he had been led astray by those fabricated and narrow-minded love stories.
"Silly tree spirit." Chi Li sighed helplessly and gently tapped her forehead with her knuckles. "What kind of nonsense are you looking at?"
"It's not a mess!" Tang Lu retorted, unconvinced.
She even gave examples to illustrate her point:
There's more inside!
That fox spirit sister was so good to her human husband. She helped him pass the imperial examination and cured his illness. As a result, her husband became an official and asked a Taoist priest to exorcise her.
They even called her a demon! Wow—"
When she thought of the terrifying things, she burst into tears, as if she could already see a Taoist priest coming to take her away with his magic weapon.
Chi Li felt a chill run down her spine from her crying, feeling even more pressured than facing a thousand troops.
She quickly hugged the sobbing little tree spirit tightly and patted her back to comfort her.
"Listen, Tang Lu." Chi Li's voice was unusually serious and earnest.
She cupped Tanglu's tear-streaked face, forcing her to look into her eyes:
"First of all, I am not one of those blind and ignorant mortal scholars."
"I myself am a demon, the strongest demon in the Three Realms. Why should I care whether others are demons or humans?"
Tang Lu sobbed, blinking her tearful eyes.
"Secondly," Chi Li continued, her crimson-gold eyes filled with unwavering determination, "if I were to like someone, it would be solely because she is herself, regardless of her race, strength, or weakness."
Her fingertips brushed against Tanglu's soft golden hair:
"I like you only because you are Tanglu, a little tree spirit that I personally nurtured and raised little by little."
She's the Tanglu who'll take root in the Hall of State Affairs, make strange pastries, and secretly add honey to my tea. Do you understand?
Tang Lu stared blankly at her, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Seeing that she was still uneasy, Chi Li gritted her teeth and unleashed her ultimate move.
She channeled her divine power, forcing out a drop of crimson-gold essence blood from her fingertip. The blood, like a melted gemstone, radiated a warm and sacred aura.
"This is the essence of the phoenix, and it is intertwined with my life." Chi Li looked at Tang Lu and made a solemn vow to heaven and earth, word by word.
"Today, I imprint this blood upon your consciousness."
From this day forward, your life will be intertwined with mine, and your breath will be intertwined with mine.
Heaven and earth bear witness, the sun and moon are my testimonies. As long as my divine soul, Chi Li, remains, I will protect you, Tang Lu.
Forever and ever, never to be separated.
Before Tang Lu could react, the drop of blood essence transformed into a gentle golden light and entered Tang Lu's brow.
Tang Lu felt a surge of warmth in her mind, as if the strongest and most reliable barrier had been erected to protect her.
She could clearly feel Lili's powerful and warm life force, which was closely connected to her.
This feeling of being marked and protected on a spiritual level instantly dispelled all her unease and fear.
She touched her brow, where a warm sensation still lingered.
"So..." Tang Lu digested this huge amount of information and asked softly, "Li Li won't abandon Tang Lu? Nor will she ask a Taoist priest to take Tang Lu away?"
"Absolutely not." Chi Li said firmly.
"Then... even if there are more powerful and more beautiful monsters in the future..."
"Never mind if you don't have one." Chi Li interrupted her, his tone carrying a hint of domineering affection, "In my eyes, no one can compare to you."
Looking into Chi Li's earnest eyes and feeling the connection deep in her soul, Tang Lu finally felt the last bit of gloom in her heart completely dissipate.
She stopped crying and started laughing, hugging Chili tightly like a little koala, burying her tear-streaked face in the crook of Chili's neck and rubbing against her.
Her voice was still muffled, but it was full of joy: "Tang Lu knows! Tang Lu loves Li Li the most! I will never read those bad novels again!"
Chi Li held the little tree spirit in her arms, who had become sweet and warm again, and let out a long sigh of relief.
Finally, they've calmed her down.
She looked down at the book "The Root of All Evil" that had been tossed in the corner of the bed, and a spark flew from her fingertip, instantly burning it to ashes.
It seems we need to issue an order to thoroughly investigate any storybooks that have leaked into the Demon King's Palace.
These human creatures are doing a terrible harm to demons!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com