Confessing love
Huai River Bridge.
Qi Yuan asked awkwardly, "Is this outfit really okay? Why is everyone in the Demon Realm wearing clothes like this..."
Mu Qinghuai's ears turned bright red, and he turned his head away from her: "You, you can wear it as clothing from another city. The Demon Realm is more open-minded..."
The outfit was pitch black, which fit the impression of the demon realm, but for Qi Yuan, who always wore thick clothes all year round, the fabric was still too little.
"If you wear the jade pendant on your waist, you can enter the Demon Realm without hindrance." Mu Qinghuai's eyes darted away.
The jade pendant carries his demonic energy. Any demon who senses this demonic energy on the jade pendant will know that Qi Yuan is the Demon Lord's person, and thus can move freely without hindrance.
Qi Yuan stretched her limbs and said, "Let's go."
Mu Qinghuai opened a rift, and the two passed through it, arriving at the entrance to the Demon Realm in the next second.
Even from the entrance, you can tell that the Demon Realm is truly vast, almost as large as the Ghost Realm. Its eerie color scheme is similar to the Ghost Realm, only with an added touch of red. The buildings are all very tall and come in various shapes.
Two red-clad demons guarded the entrance. Mu Qinghuai took out the token symbolizing the Demon Lord, and the two entered the Demon Realm directly.
Once Qi Yuan went inside, she realized that compared to the clothes worn by the demon women, the ones Mu Qinghuai had given her were actually quite conservative.
"Let's go to my palace. We can talk slowly." Mu Qinghuai led the way, always maintaining a steady pace and standing a step in front of her.
"Okay." Qi Yuan looked around the Demon Realm, feeling a sense of novelty.
The demons in the demon realm are all passionate and unrestrained. There are many demon girls embracing and kissing passionately on the street. She looked away as if she had been electrocuted.
"We've arrived." He stopped in front of a magnificent palace. Unlike the other buildings, this palace had a purplish-black color scheme, which gave it a very Mu Qinghuai feel to it.
"Demon Lord, welcome back. And who is this young lady?" a servant asked in a low voice as he approached.
"My people. You can leave them alone," Mu Qinghuai said coldly.
He turned around and said gently, "Come in."
Qi Yuan nodded and followed him into the hall. They walked for quite a while before arriving at Mu Qinghuai's room.
The servants whispered among themselves: "Why did the Demon Lord suddenly bring a woman? Who is this person? Have you seen her before?"
"Seen my ass. Are you out of your mind? Isn't it obvious? That woman is definitely our future Demon Queen! You have no common sense."
Mu Qinghuai pushed open the door, and only after she sat down did he close the door and come in. He said, "Qi Yuan, what's so important?"
"Can you tell me about the Ghost King?" she asked.
“Sure. He’s probably over a hundred years old, and he doesn’t spend most of his time in the Demon Realm. His cultivation level is at the Mahayana stage. He’s a cunning and selfish demon, and his methods are despicable.” Mu Qinghuai thought for a moment.
“I’m not in the Demon Realm most of the time… Yesterday I found the exact same brocade pouch and scroll in Ruan Yiyun’s room, I’m sure they’re completely identical. But you once said that this thing belongs to the Ghost Lord.” She said solemnly.
“That’s right, the item belongs to the Venerable One, so why is it with him?” Mu Qinghuai asked.
"That's not all. There's a demonic aura in his room, even stronger than yours. The books on his bedside table are mostly related to the demon realm. I... suspect he's a demon."
Mu Qinghuai's breath hitched: "His demonic energy is even stronger than mine... In the entire Demon Realm, the only one with stronger demonic energy than me is... the Ghost Lord."
"..." Qi Yuan remained silent.
She paused for a long time before speaking: "Let's compare our timelines. I'll compare Yun Xingjun within the sect, and you'll compare Xing Guijun within the Demon Realm."
“Okay,” he said.
“The day before I met you, the Ghost Lord sent me… to seduce you…” Mu Qinghuai’s face turned bright red, and he stammered as he spoke.
“…The day before I met you, Yunxingjun sent me to investigate you,” Qi Yuan said hesitantly.
Both of them remained silent for a moment.
Mu Qinghuai: "On the night I left the Zhu family, the Ghost Lord was holding a meeting in the Demon Realm, and he has not been in the Demon Lord's Palace since the next day."
Qi Yuan: "The day after I left the Zhu family, I returned to the Silver Bamboo Sect, and Lord Yunxing spoke with me."
Mu Qinghuai: "During that time at Xueya in Quanzhou, neither of us was in the sect or the Demon Realm."
Qi Yuan: "After returning from the Spirit Pool, as the sect competition approached, Yun Xingjun remained within the sect."
Mu Qinghuai: "The Ghost Lord was not in the Demon Realm during that time."
Qi Yuan: "After the competition, during the New Year period, Lord Yunxing was away on business and was not in the Bank Sect."
Mu Qinghuai paused for a moment, then said, "The Ghost Lord just happened to return at that time."
“When I was in Yansha Kingdom and the Ghost Realm, I didn’t know where Yunxingjun was,” Qi Yuan said.
“When I returned from the Ghost Realm, the Ghost Lord was in the Demon Realm and didn’t leave until the end of the month. I remember… at that time, you were just about to hold your disciple-acceptance ceremony.” His tone was tinged with surprise.
Everything matches up.
This illustrates a fact that neither of them wanted to admit.
Yunxingjun is the same as Xingguijun.
The sect leader of the Silver Bamboo Sect, the number one sect in the cultivation world, is the Demon Lord, whose stance is opposite. Qi Yuan is the next sect leader, while Mu Qinghuai is, unsurprisingly, the next Demon Lord. How could such a dramatic turn of events occur?
After a long while, Mu Qinghuai said softly, "Your Excellency, he is actually Ruan Yiyun...!"
"I'm going to kill him," Qi Yuan said calmly. Her tone was not agitated, but it was so composed that one couldn't help but feel her murderous intent.
"Me too." Mu Qinghuai's tone was unusually calm.
“There’s one more thing. Xie Juxing also has that brocade pouch under her pillow. And there’s something in her room that looks like a token. I feel it’s somewhat similar to the token you used to enter the Demon Realm. Could you show me that Demon Lord token?” she added.
Qi Yuan took the token and stroked the patterns on it: "It's exactly the same material and shape as this one, but the magic patterns are different."
"This is a token that only high-ranking members of the Demon Realm possess. Why does your junior sister have it?" Mu Qinghuai asked in astonishment.
“I think it might be Yun Qing’s, or maybe my junior sister was put in there while she was a puppet. But you’ve been in the Demon Realm for so long, and everyone says Yun Qing is a defector. Have you never seen Yun Qing?” she asked.
“…Never. I…did have been on good terms with Yun Qing. But we never crossed paths again. The last time we met after many years was in the maple forest.” He confessed.
Qi Yuan took a deep breath and asked hesitantly, "You once cultivated the righteous path, so was your fall into demonic possession because of Ruan Yiyun?"
"Yes," he answered quickly.
“There are some things from the past that I cannot express in words. If you are willing, I can pass on my memories to you.” Qi Yuan lowered her head, her lips pressed tightly into a straight line.
“I’m willing. Actually, I don’t want to hold anything back from you. If it can be done with magic, you can see everything about me.” Mu Qinghuai’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he stood up.
Qi Yuan was stunned.
“Yes. Me too.” Her voice softened, and her eyes and brows relaxed.
“Qi Yuan. Or rather, Wei Shuang.” Mu Qinghuai’s eyes were deep, his hands clenched tightly.
Upon hearing the last two words, Qi Yuan raised her eyes slightly, surprise appearing in them, her heart leaping into her throat.
"I like you. I did before, I do now, and I will always do." Mu Qinghuai lowered his eyelashes, tugged at the corners of his mouth, and slowly uttered each word.
Her heartbeat went off-beat, and her body reacted first. Qi Yuan hugged him tightly, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind. Her burning body heat penetrated the fabric, and his body stiffened for a moment. His mouth was slightly open, but he couldn't make a sound.
"I, Qi Yuan, like you. I like you very much." Her eyes sparkled like a galaxy, as if they held half a pool of spring water.
From that moment on, she realized that she liked Mu Qinghuai.
Mu Qinghuai placed his hands on the hands around his waist, his heart feeling as if it were being gently tugged by a thread, his fingers trembling slightly with tension. He tried his best to suppress it, but couldn't control the tips of his ears turning slightly red.
He turned around and embraced Qi Yuan, as if he wanted to meld her into his flesh and blood. His breathing was disordered and rapid, and all the thoughts in his mind wandered with her breath.
"Light frost".
"Um."
"Are we... considered Daoist partners?"
"certainly."
Qi Yuan smiled gently: "Whatever you want to know, I will tell you without reservation."
"I want to give you everything I have," Mu Qinghuai said.
He pulled Qi Yuan's arms tighter, his voice tinged with bitterness: "If I die, will you forget me?"
"No. I won't let you die." A wave of bitterness welled up from the bottom of Qi Yuan's heart, and her throat felt choked.
“I’ll kill Ruan Yiyun. You must be alright. Actually, my original plan was to take my revenge and then commit suicide.” Mu Qinghuai’s voice was hoarse. “But I don’t want to die anymore.”
"I don't want... I don't want this kind of peace. You have your grudges, I have my resentments, and I will bear the consequences myself. If, if you die, I will hate you for the rest of my life. So, you are not allowed to leave me alone to live." Qi Yuan felt an indescribable emotion in her heart, and a layer of sorrow filled her eyes.
“…Okay. I promise you.” He raised his hand to wipe away the tears from Qi Yuan’s eyes, even though his own vision was blurry.
"May I... kiss you?" Mu Qinghuai's body trembled slightly, and his throat tightened.
Qi Yuan raised her head slightly: "...Okay."
Mu Qinghuai moved a little closer, his hands trembling with nervousness. He carefully cupped the back of her head and lowered his head to kiss her.
A warm touch came over my lips, carrying his unique, refreshing scent.
The kiss was awkward, yet overflowing with tenderness and affection.
A salty taste welled up between my lips and teeth—it was tears.
After a long pause, she said, "I want to know about your past. I want to know everything about you."
“Yes. You can look at my memories as you like.” Mu Qinghuai said softly, “I used to think that if you knew my past, you would hate me. But I don’t think you will.”
"I know. I won't. I love you." Qi Yuan felt a sudden pang in her heart. "I will also give you my memories."
"Um……"
Qi Yuan gently raised her right hand, her fingertips trembling slightly, as if countless tiny lights were dancing on her fingertips. As she slowly waved her hand, ripples that were barely visible to the naked eye spread through the air.
She kept her eyes tightly closed, her lips moved slightly, and her hands spread out, emitting a bluish light.
“Hold my hand. We can…see each other’s memories,” she said nervously.
"Okay." Mu Qinghuai took her hand without hesitation.
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