Chapter 46: Book Demon Plays Dancer
The sun rose over the mountains, and the lingering white mist gradually dissipated. A pair of slender figures slowly made their way along the stream. Wei Ci led the way, whistling leisurely. Cang Ming's ponytail had been neatly combed, and a few crabapple and late cherry blossoms were placed diagonally beside her silver hair crown. One wore a blue shirt and white boots, the other a white shirt and blue boots. Both had cuffs tied tightly and hems flared, and their hair styles were identical. Whenever they looked at each other, it was like seeing their own reflections in the water. The thought of the demon king meticulously dressing himself like this, imitating Cang Ming's training attire in his previous life, made Cang Ming feel both sad and amused.
As they walked, Cang Ming reached out and gently took Wei Ci's hand. Wei Ci calmly turned her hand and cupped her small hand in his, her cheeks and ears flushing slightly. Cang Ming turned her head, pursing her lips and suppressing the urge to smile, and looked at him with wide eyes, her eyes darting back and forth, shimmering and bright. In the clear sunlight, the demon king's red ears were almost illuminated by them.
Wei Ci pretended to be indifferent and turned his head away: "What are you laughing at?"
Cang Ming put away his smile, raised his head and looked into the distance, then said slowly, "Your Excellency the Demon King is awe-inspiring even without anger, and is highly respected. I wonder if you have ever heard of a book called the Hundred Strongest Chart?"
"Well," Wei Ci coughed dryly and replied with a smile, "I do know. You really asked the right person."
"Then tell me," Cang Ming asked more kindly, "Why did General Wu appear on a red crab, and where are his 109 tomb-robbing brothers?"
Wei Ci walked away silently, maintaining a smile as he said, "General, I am only recording the folk legends about you truthfully."
"..." Cang Ming slowed down his pace and asked murderously, "Then when did I start disrupting the four major schools, helping people perform shaman rituals, engaging in horse-riding rituals, and vainly attempting to unify the world?"
"Hey." Wei Ci looked at her innocently, "General, you don't know that after hearing about your mighty deeds, the people must be in awe and admiration of you."
"You!" Cang Ming jumped up, clinging to his arm, and poked his head gently. Wei Ci was thrown sideways by the poke, stumbling weakly, and said aggrievedly, "The ink in my book is only visible to the general and his confidants. I just wanted to record some useful information for the general, but who would have thought that I would make the general angry instead? It's my fault."
"Is that so?" Cang Ming was stunned, secretly admiring the profoundness of the Demon King's magic.
"Yeah." Wei Ci lowered his head and said nothing, his eyelashes trembling slightly.
Cang Ming thought for a moment and felt that this was indeed a book of great value that was not afraid of being seen by others, so he said simply, "Thank you very much."
Wei Ci suppressed the smile on his face and replied, "You're welcome."
The mountain road gradually opened up, and Cang Ming suddenly felt something was wrong: "Wei Ci, where are we going?"
Wei Ci said slowly, "Little girl, you're following me when you don't even know the road? Aren't you afraid that I'll take you deep into the mountains and sell you off?"
Cang Ming said, "Okay, I'm going to the mountains."
Wei Ci turned his head sharply to look at her, and finally said seriously: "Let's go out of the mountain and return to the ancient building."
"However, the real culprit behind Old Ghost Lotus has not been found yet, and Tian Xinshu is nowhere to be found." Cang Ming felt a headache when he thought of the mess. "I don't know whether the Weiyang Crown is in their hands. Even if it isn't, we have to go into the mountains again to deal with these rabble." The Weiyang Crown has never really appeared before, but people have heard that it has been snatched away non-stop. This time the clue was just a false alarm and disappeared again, just like countless times before.
Cang Ming had long been accustomed to this kind of confusion, but now she was even more puzzled by another matter. The mysterious mastermind behind the underground palace had never come to the mountains to challenge her for a decisive battle. They should have been afraid that Cang Ming would steal the pearl crown, and they should have killed her right here in Tongduo Mountain to prevent any future trouble.
If they intended to spare her life, did that mean the Weiyang Crown would remain out there? Could it be that they planned to keep an eye on Cang Ming, waiting for her to find the Weiyang Crown, so they could suddenly jump out, sack her, and steal the crown by surprise, reaping the benefits?
Wei Ci seemed to understand her thoughts. He sighed and said, "Tongduo Mountain is covered with a complex formation. Even if those losers wanted to hunt us down, they wouldn't be able to find us for a while. I don't know which gate they entered or where they were transferred to in the mountain."
"Indeed, no one followed us along the way. Back then, it took the newly arrived disciples of the Tongduo Sect a long time to fully master this Qimen Dunjia technique." Cang Ming pinched his brows with a headache and asked casually, "But you seem to know the way very well."
Wei Ci said: "After all, Xu is a few years older than you. He has studied these ancient books on his own and can decipher them."
“…” Cang Ming looked back into the depths of the mountain.
Wei Ci held her arm tightly, his eyes darkening, as if a threat lurked beneath the dark waves. He held Cang Ming in his arms with one hand, and with the other, he placed his arm around her shoulders. He commanded her in a firm tone, "Don't go back to the mountains. The Wei Yang Crown isn't there. They didn't try so hard to lure you out, but it wasn't all for the Wei Yang Crown."
"Yes, they're trying to trick me into revealing my true identity," Cang Ming said thoughtfully. "For ten years, I've been hiding my identity until I arrived in Fengyan City. Their embroidered shoe demon discovered me and sang a song to humiliate me." Back then, she'd believed these shoe demons could see through people's inner fears, like a kaleidoscope. Judging from this trip into the mountains, the embroidered shoe demons possess more ghostly energy than intelligence, and likely lack the ability to penetrate people's hearts. Those lyrics were taught to them by Old Ghost Lotus.
Wei Ci bent down slightly, moved close to her face, stared into her eyes and said, "Don't look for the pearl crown anymore, and don't catch those idiots anymore, okay?" Cang Ming also looked back into his eyes, not knowing how to answer for a moment, so he had to turn away.
"Leave Old Guilian and his group, as well as the real culprit behind the scenes, to me. Just stay by my side, in the safest place, okay?" Wei Ci also leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Cang Cang."
The warm breath beside her ear sent a flash of lightning through Cang Ming's body, as if countless light petals and butterflies were floating in her body. She held Wei Ci's face in her hands and said helplessly, "Your Highness the Demon King, why do you want to imprison me in this tower?"
Wei Ci said solemnly, "Some evil spirits will search the world for people with the right horoscope, capture them, and make elixirs for themselves. After eating them, their power will increase greatly."
Cang Ming laughed and said, "I have become an immortal, not a mortal who is powerless."
Wei Ci continued, "Some evil spirits specifically seek out little girls who have become immortals, lock them up in dungeons, squeeze out their magical powers, and make them into handy tools. It's terrifying, aren't you afraid?"
Cang Ming pretended to think for a moment, then said innocently, "But I think it's easier to gain merit if I catch more big ghosts like this."
Wei Ci pursed his lips and looked at her.
She patted his head and said lightly, "This immortal is a star of destruction, I won't be easily defeated, don't worry."
Wei Ci turned away sadly and said softly, "In that war a thousand years ago, my cultivation was too shallow and I failed to protect you."
Cang Ming's breath caught. In the raging battle, she could no longer remember the pain of being pierced by the enemy's sword, but the aura of fear and despair of death remained forever in her body, usually dormant, but now it was awakened.
Wei Ci loosened his hands, turned his back, and lowered his head. His fists were clenched so tightly that they were almost broken. Cang Ming almost rushed forward with his arms open, hugging him tightly from behind. The Demon King's broad shoulders and back trembled slightly.
Cang Ming said, "Wei Ci, I promise you that this time I will find out the conspiracy of Old Guilian, take back Tongduo Mountain and return it to Wu Lu, and I will not look for Gui Zhuo anymore."
After a while, Wei Ci turned around, took the initiative, and pressed her into his arms, sighing, "Okay."
Cang Ming raised his head and blinked, "Then take me into the mountains, brother Weiqi."
Wei Ci took her hand and turned to walk into the mountains. A flock of silver gulls flew out from the deep mountains and old forests, forming a formation like a flock of geese, gliding gracefully. As soon as they flew to Wei Ci, they jingled and disappeared, as if to report a message. Wei Ci showed a dimple on one side of her face and said, "I've checked. The person hiding behind the scenes is probably no longer in this mountain."
"You sent birds to investigate?" Cang Ming asked curiously, "How many did you send?"
"..." The demon king smiled proudly and reservedly, "Not only did he bring birds, he also brought a lot of followers with him, and they are spread out in this mountain to search for those wastes."
Cang Ming asked hesitantly, "But the person behind this is so elusive that he comes and goes without a trace. How can we find him?"
Wei Ci's thick eyebrows drooped oppressively as he spoke, "When that man appeared in the cave, I sensed a fleeting fluctuation of magical power, but I couldn't see his figure. Later, when you ran out, the cave was pitch black. I briefly fought that man, but the outcome was inconclusive, and he disappeared."
Cang Ming, reflecting on how he had credulously believed the provocation and abandoned him, felt a surge of remorse, eyeing him cautiously. Wei Ci immediately said, "Don't blame me. It's these useless people who are causing trouble. That person chose this very moment to frame me." Cang Ming gave a guilty smile, remembering the way girls and boys usually hold their arms when dating. So, she took the initiative, hugging his arm and walking forward, as a sign of ingratiation and affection. The two of them wandered around, following the changes in the formation, but after a long while, they didn't see a single living person.
"No wonder you agreed to let me enter the mountain." Cang Ming lamented, "I'm afraid they found the escape route of the formation and escaped long ago!"
Before he could finish his words, Cang Ming caught sight of a bright, still figure standing before the rocks. Startled, he leaped back, pulling Wei Ci along with him. The figure was of average height, yet exceptionally large. He stood motionless, his clothing flamboyantly gaudy.
Wei Ci lowered his head and chuckled softly. As Cang Ming's toes touched the ground, he groaned and laughed too. It turned out to be a painted image of a gatekeeper on the cliff face. On a sunny day, the bright sunlight made the lines and colors appear solid, as solid as if the figure was about to walk down.
After they had laughed enough, they went forward to look at the painting together. Cang Ming was just about to comment on the doorman in the painting, saying he had a square head and a broad body, when he saw the doorman's mouth opening and closing as he said, "A distinguished guest has arrived. We are sorry for not welcoming you. Please come in quickly."
As he spoke, the rocks moved to the sides, revealing a path.
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