Chapter 72 Rebirth (Part 2) This memory is a hundred years away from now...
The seal of the evil spirit in Lian Qiang's body was placed by Jiang Lang, so it was natural that he had to break it himself.
The two were about to return to the Demon Realm. Just before arriving, Lian Qiang, recalling the "grand occasion" of their previous visit, subtly suggested, "Would you like to disguise yourself?"
For Chi Xingji, going to the Demon Realm several times would easily damage his reputation; for the Demon Realm, the frequent visits of the famous Immortal King would be hard not to misunderstand it as a signal of impending war.
Chi Xingji immediately understood what she meant. In a moment, all the pure spiritual power in his body was withdrawn, making it impossible for anyone to notice. Even his facial features were covered up to look a little ordinary.
"How about this?" He looked at Lian Qiang and leisurely opened his arms to show her. Lian Qiang was about to agree, but frowned and said, "The most important thing is missing."
"What?" Chi Xingji was puzzled. He looked himself up and down, but could not find any so-called omissions.
Lian Qiang raised her right hand, the lotus on the back of her hand in full bloom. She said, "That's the demonic pattern. Perhaps you, Immortal Lord, don't know this, but in the demonic world, we often use it to prove our identities. After all, pure demonic energy can't be faked."
She treated it as a joke, but Chi Xingji's face turned serious. He lowered his eyes slightly and looked at her. His tone was extremely serious: "Now not only do you know, I know too."
Lian Qiang, who had thought he was just trying to tease her, was stunned by this unexpected response. She had thought Chi Xingji had just said it carelessly, that he didn't mean to show any pity or sympathy for her. But when she met his deep gaze, Lian Qiang felt that he wasn't being intentional.
Lian Qiang couldn't express the emotions surging in her heart at the moment, nor could she tell whether Chi Xingji had seen through the bitterness hidden beneath. She could only smile and change the subject: "...Give me your hand, I'll help you paint it, at least to make it look like it."
Chi Xingji obediently handed her his hand. Their palms touched, and Lian Qiang calmed herself down, took his hand, and asked, "What pattern do you want to draw?"
In an instant, millions of possibilities flashed through Lian Qiang's mind, the one he liked, the one that suited him...
But none of them were as good as Chi Xingji's low voice: "Just like you."
It seemed as if something exploded in her mind. Lian Qiang was afraid that she might misunderstand, so she calmed her mind, stained her index finger with magic energy, and carefully painted on the back of her hand.
She looked at the lotus in her hand day and night, and was confident in her plan. With just a few strokes, the lotus came to life.
The two of them held hands together, and except for a few different strokes, the rest of their works were exactly the same. From a distance, they looked like twins, blooming on two stems.
Lian Qiang felt a little embarrassed, unable to tell whether it was because of those mistakes or because the two flowers were too similar. Fortunately, Chi Xingji didn't intend to delve into it.
He raised his hand, examined it carefully for a moment, and praised, "You draw very beautifully."
Lian Qiang couldn't help but feel flattered after receiving the praise. She was about to brag about her elder sister, who taught her painting, but she changed her mind and dropped the subject.
Seeing her expression suddenly change, Chi Xingji couldn't help but ask, "Is there something wrong?"
Lian Qiang put down her hand, shook her head and said with a smile: "Nothing."
She just felt that Chi Xingji had lost his memory and didn't recognize Lian Wei, so there was no need for her to go through the trouble of talking to him about their shared past that he had forgotten.
The two of them didn't waste any more time. Perhaps because of the lessons learned from the past, the entrance to the Demon Realm was increasingly restricted. Fortunately, Lian Qiang was experienced and had disguised himself beforehand, so he was able to enter easily.
Lian Qiang and Chi Xingji headed straight for the Demon Palace, but were stopped by a familiar guard: "Are you here to look for the Demon Lord? He's in seclusion these days and won't allow anyone to disturb him."
"The Demon Lord is in seclusion?" Lian Qiang was a little surprised. In the years that she had known Jiang Lang, the Demon Lord had always done whatever he wanted and didn't like to stay in the demon world. Not to mention seclusion, it was rare for him to stay at home.
The guard glanced at Chi Xingji with a strange expression, to show his vigilance towards this unfamiliar outsider. The latter understood, took a few steps back, and also made a silent gesture for them.
Seeing him act like this, Lian Qiang breathed a sigh of relief. The two sides were on opposing sides, and it was difficult for her to take sides. If Chi Xingji could give in, that would be great. Seeing this, the guard whispered in Lian Qiang's ear, "The Demon Lord told us that the Demon Abyss has been...unrest lately."
Jiang Lang and the Demon Palace were all very kind to Lian Qiang. Although she had some resistance in her heart, Lian Qiang also considered her a member of the Demon Realm. Upon hearing this, she put herself in his shoes and became worried. She asked quietly, "Is he sure?"
The other party remained silent after hearing this. Lian Qiang understood what he meant and asked, "Did he say when he would be released?"
"It's almost time. The Demon Lord said he will come out of seclusion at the beginning of next month."
Lian Qiang calculated the time and estimated that there were still about ten days left, so he thanked the guards and said goodbye, then returned to Chi Xingji's side.
Just in case, she deliberately postponed the date for a few days and thanked him. After hearing this, Chi Xingji thought about it and replied, "Why not stay here first, so we don't have to travel back and forth."
Lian Qiang was of course happy to see this happen, but she was worried about whether the environment of the Demon Realm would have an impact on Chi Xingji. As soon as the question came out, Chi Xingji immediately rejected it: "No problem."
"Will it have no impact, or will it be fine?" His words were vague, but Lian Qiang insisted on distinguishing the two.
“…It won’t have any impact.”
Under Lian Qiang's long gaze, Chi Xingji finally told the truth: "There will be, but it's very small."
Lian Qianghu asked doubtfully, "Really?"
"Absolutely true."
Lian Qiang still had a look of doubt on her face. Chi Xingji said helplessly, "I wouldn't lie to you twice in a row."
"That's unknown," Lian Qiang finally smiled and let him go. "Isn't it just based on your conscience?"
Chi Xingji remained silent, obviously unable to find the right words to refute.
New obstacles arose. Where would Chi Xingji live? Lian Qiang's small residence only had one room, not even as big as their courtyard in Chonghua Mountain.
The Demon Realm is not a place for doing good deeds and accumulating virtue, so naturally there are no inns for people to stay in. Lian Qiang did not dare to leave Chi Xingji alone outside.
After going around in circles, there is only one answer left.
Lian Qiang brought Chi Xingji back to the small courtyard. They hadn't been home for a long time, and even though the furnishings were simple, the dust on it took them a long time to clean.
After finally straightening up, Lian Qiang and Chi Xingji looked at each other, then they remembered that they were no longer on Chonghua Mountain. They didn't have to follow worldly customs. Cleaning was just a matter of making a hand gesture.
Lian Qiang sighed and smiled bitterly. She accidentally glanced at Chi Xingji, who also had a slightly imperceptible smile on his face.
She suddenly recalled an afternoon in the Wuji Sword Sect a hundred years ago when the two were newlyweds. Everything that happened afterwards was so far away from them.
Chi Xingji suggested taking advantage of the good weather to spread out all the books in the cave to dry them in the sun.
Lian Qiang didn't think that the books preserved by magic would get moldy, but she liked the sunshine and liked Chi Xingji even more, so she volunteered to accompany him and move the books to the yard in piles.
After moving in, she really didn't want to do this repetitive and laborious task, so she begged Chi Xingji to let her look through the books.
At that time, she was still young, innocent and spoiled, and she was trying her best to act coquettishly, so Chi Xingji agreed to everything. Lian Qiang squatted down and, under the pretext of flipping through the pages, she scanned his obscure books at a glance.
She always wanted to know more about him.
But no matter how you read it, the ancient Chinese text was really difficult to understand. Lian Qiang felt dizzy after reading it. Just as he was about to stand up, he was dazzled by the sun and was about to fall to the ground.
Fortunately, someone held her steady and warned her, "Be careful—you see, you can't act without sincerity."
Having her predicament exposed, Lian Qiang quickly opened her eyes and retorted, "A gentleman judges actions, not intentions. I'm helping you out of good intentions, how can you say that to me? This is too much!"
Chi Xingji didn't say anything at that time, and responded to her with the same smile as now.
Lian Qiang was so angry that she grabbed Chi Xingji and asked him to read every word to her for a full hour.
Chi Xingji did recite it, but his tone was too steady, and in a moment, Lian Qiang fell asleep.
Since then, she never helped Chi Xingji to dry books again, but occasionally, Chi Xingji would read some unfamiliar stories from the books to her.
This memory is a hundred years old now, but after many twists and turns, they are still by each other's side by some strange coincidence.
Pulling herself away from her memories, Lian Qiang couldn't help but feel sentimental, so she suggested, "How about we go find a few books for you? That way, you won't have such a hard time killing time."
Chi Xingji was obviously stunned for a moment, and Lian Qiang realized belatedly: the book cannot be parted with in a short time, and how could he possibly settle here for a long time?
"Forget it--" "Okay." Lian Qiang was about to say self-deprecatingly that she was lazy and seek a reasonable way out, but Chi Xingji unexpectedly agreed.
"Let's go."
"Where are you going?"
Lian Qiang asked without hesitation. Chi Xingji turned to look at her and replied naturally and casually, "Didn't you say you were going to look for a book? You're denying it just a moment after you said it?"
After he said that, even Qiang couldn't regret it: "...No."
The two of them went out like this, strolling around while Lian Qiang told Chi Xingji about the various things in the Demon Realm. He listened very carefully, and during their conversation, Lian Qiang found that the real Demon Realm was not only far from what Chi Xingji had imagined, but also very different.
With a thought, Lian Qiang exaggerated the facts she said. She wanted to deceive Chi Xingji, and when she was talking excitedly, she saw that the other party was staring at her deeply.
The bright gaze made Lian Qiang feel guilty, so he restrained himself and stopped lying.
There wasn't much business in the demon world, but it was not entirely impossible. The two of them bought some books at a roadside stall and prepared to stroll back slowly.
On the way back, there was a demon cultivator with unsteady steps and disordered demonic energy. Such people were common in the demon world. Lian Qiang didn't pay much attention to him, but he stumbled and bumped into her.
It was clearly his fault for being rude. Sensing the pain, the demon cultivator was the first to bare his teeth and threatened, "You have eyes for nothing, you're courting death!"
Chi Xingji was about to speak, but Lian Qiang held him down, signaling him not to move. Filled with demonic energy, it spread from her body, much stronger than that of this demon cultivator.
Even though the demon cultivator was deeply troubled by the demonic energy at the moment, he knew that the cultivation level of the person in front of him was higher than his own and he should not provoke him easily. Moreover, this warning alerted him, but also left him room for maneuver, so he left in shame.
Lian Qiang breathed a sigh of relief after resolving the problem without bloodshed, but Chi Xingji's expression did not brighten.
"Do you often encounter such things?" He finally asked halfway through the journey. This question finally put Lian Qiang's mind at ease.
She could vaguely sense Chi Xingji's thoughts and tried to avoid the main point by explaining, "This is a common occurrence in the demon world, and most of the time it's not necessarily resolved through fighting and killing."
The law of the jungle is the norm in this world, but... in the demonic world, it's more direct and bloody. Furthermore, everyone here is in danger of losing their lives, so naturally they can vent their anger for a moment.
Lian Qiang has been living there for a long time, so even if she was not used to it, she has long since adapted to it.
The two returned to the courtyard, each with their own thoughts. Although they were not sleepy, according to their previous schedule, it was time to rest. Lian Qiang gathered a quilt and spread it on the ground for Chi Xingji to rest.
Lian Qiang's room was small, with many candles burning. The two of them were separated only by a translucent screen.
Seeing her lying down steadily, Chi Xingji waved his sleeve and instantly extinguished most of the candles. The bright room also became dim, leaving only a few scattered lights. Lian Qiang hurriedly stopped him: "No need to extinguish them all!"
Chi Xingji was puzzled: "Why? Do you have the habit of sleeping with the lights on?"
When asked this, Lian Qiang found it difficult to speak out her thoughts: "There is no daylight in the demon world. If I open my eyes and don't see the light anymore... I will really become a confused and dazed walking corpse."
For so many years, she has been in the demon world, and she never forgets to light a lamp for herself before going to sleep. No matter how sleepy or tired she is, it is always better than being alone in the dark when she wakes up.
Chi Xingji said nothing and lay down as well, complying with her wishes. The two of them, one taller than the other, left only their backs to each other.
Lian Qiang stared at the flickering candlelight on the bed curtains. For some reason, her heart was beating very fast. She had already made up her mind to stay awake all night.
After a while, there was still the rustling of clothes on the floor. Chi Xingji hadn't fallen asleep yet. Lian Qiang wanted to pretend to be asleep, but a slight movement made a sound, exposing her current condition.
The atmosphere was stagnant. Chi Xingji coughed lightly, as if he had made a great decision, and whispered: "...When you first came to the Demon Realm, were you doing well?"
Lian Qiang was silent. This topic was not suitable for polite conversation, and Chi Xingji seemed to want to listen to her talk.
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