Chapter 12: "It's late, junior sister."
As far as Sang Ying knew, the Demon King of the Northern Desert was a burly and imposing man who had fought his way to the Demon King position with his iron fists a few years ago and was quite famous.
But...pregnancy?
Sang Ying recalled that beautiful scene and suddenly felt uneasy. She shook her head. "Are you sure it's pregnancy? Or maybe I've been drugged or something?"
Xiao Lingzhou laughed: "What you, Junior Sister, can think of, the Demon King must have thought of as well. Otherwise, why do you think the Demon King of the Northern Territory would come to the Southern Territory?"
Nanlijing is skilled in Gu poison techniques. Sang Ying nodded. Making a male demon pregnant out of thin air would indeed raise suspicions about evil Gu techniques, so it's normal for her to come to the Demon King of Nanlijing.
However, since they had already contacted the Southern Demon King and kidnapped so many female cultivators, it meant that it wasn't caused by Gu poison.
"The Northern Demon King was unconscious at the time, and only vaguely remembered that she was a young human woman with profound cultivation." Xiao Lingzhou took a sip of pear juice.
Sang Ying understood that since she wasn't sure of her target, she was grabbing people everywhere, and when she saw a young female cultivator, she would drug her and take her away.
She took another bite of the flower cake. A female cultivator with profound cultivation... No wonder the young girls from the four major families were all taken away. Luckily, she was weak, otherwise she might have become a target too.
Sang Ying was now genuinely curious: a male demon getting pregnant, and it was a human female cultivator who did it.
"How has my junior sister been doing these past few years?"
Sang Ying was taken aback, then replied, "Not bad?"
Having not seen her for several years, she was unusually gentle, smiling as she said, "Cold Face has improved his swordsmanship recently, but he still has that wooden face. Trumpet has been traveling all over the place these past few years, so it's inconvenient for me to go out. He's in charge of many of the local branches."
Lengmian and Laba were both picked up by Sang Ying; they were a few years younger than her.
After their marriage, Lengmian stayed by her side as her bodyguard. Laba was good at socializing, always chattering away like a little trumpet, managing the various branches.
Both of them had names: Lengmian was called Chiyan, and Laba was called Fengchao. However, Sang Ying could never remember their names, so she named them Lengmian and Laba based on their personalities. Over time, even Jingxi and Xie Lingyu started calling them that.
Xiao Lingzhou rested his chin on his hand, his gaze deep and thoughtful: "Junior sister is really good at picking things up."
One Xie Lingyu wasn't enough, so they picked up two more.
Sang Ying also sighed softly. She still couldn't shake the habit of picking up things randomly, but she was trying her best to control it.
Six months ago she encountered a boy who was in a coma, last month she encountered a rabbit that was in a coma, and last week she encountered a child who was in a coma... She didn't take any of them home.
"The branch...the Yunshui Chamber of Commerce is yours?"
Sang Ying nodded. There was nothing to hide from Xiao Lingzhou; his bad reputation didn't matter.
Xiao Lingzhou laughed, "Junior sister is good, doing great things quietly."
After chatting for a while, Xiao Lingzhou suddenly asked, "What about Xie Lingyu?"
Sang Ying asked curiously, "You don't need to ask me about this, do you? There are rumors about him everywhere. The demon cultivator genius, Qingyu Sword Lord, just won the top spot on the Heavenly Ranking a few days ago."
That's not what I meant.
Xiao Lingzhou moved slightly closer, his eyes narrowing as he stared at her: "I mean, how are things between you and him? Have you confessed your feelings to him?"
Sang Yingxin's heart skipped a beat, but she remained calm and composed, tilting her head back. "Second Senior Brother, which eye of yours saw that I like him? Even if we get married, it's just a delaying tactic. He's just my little follower. How could I, the dignified leader of Minghua Mountain, possibly like him? Second Senior Brother, you're overthinking it. It's impossible, absolutely impossible."
"..."
Xiao Lingzhou looked at her trembling eyelashes, amused and helpless, "Alright, alright, your senior brother is overthinking it."
"Since you don't like him, when do you plan to get a divorce?"
Sang Ying was taken aback, "Divorce?"
"yes."
Xiao Lingzhou leaned against the carriage, arms crossed: "You and Xie Lingyu are only husband and wife in name, not in reality, and there's no affection between you. Sooner or later he'll fall for another girl. When that happens, how will you get along with him?"
Xie Lingyu... likes other girls.
Sang Ying was stunned for a moment, then chewed on those words, a faint pain rising in her heart. But Xiao Lingzhou was right, what if Xie Lingyu had someone he loved...?
"Either way, it's just a cold-blooded delaying tactic. It would be the same for anyone. It's just that people who know each other well are more trusted, but who says he's the only one who knows each other well?"
Xiao Lingzhou glanced at her and smiled, "Since Senior Brother isn't here, I'm still here. If Junior Sister says a few nice words and begs me, I might consider sacrificing myself to help."
Sang Ying slapped him across the face, pushed him away, and said with disgust, "No, you're too ugly. I'm afraid I'll faint during the wedding ceremony."
Xiao Lingzhou snorted, "Your second senior brother is a handsome man who is popular with thousands of girls. When I was taking swordsmanship class, female cultivators would send me love letters every day."
"Forget it, your terrible taste can't be corrected anytime soon." The dog demon pulling the carriage stopped, and Xiao Lingzhou lifted the curtain. "I found you a few nice ones, pick whichever you like."
Sang Ying got off the car and saw a row of handsome young men and women standing there. They all had a cool and aloof demeanor and acted with proper decorum. When they saw her, they simply nodded slightly.
Aloof, taciturn, and indifferent... Sang Ying suddenly realized that these people were all found to be modeled after Xie Lingyu.
She couldn't help but cover her face, "Second Senior Brother, what exactly do you want to do!"
Xiao Lingzhou put his arm around her shoulder. "Just tell me which one you like. Don't worry, I, your senior brother, have personally vetted them all. No romantic history, clean, loyal, loves his wife, and after marriage, he'll only listen to his wife. He'll do whatever she says. Or, if you want them all, you can have them too... Ouch!"
The girl stomped on his foot hard, turned and walked away. Xiao Lingzhou quickly chased after her and walked beside her.
"Hey, junior sister, if you don't like this batch, there's more..."
"Xiao Lingzhou!"
In his memory, Sang Ying rarely called him by his name; she only did so when she was truly angry.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lingzhou backed down and stopped. He looked at the back of her head and pursed his lips.
What's so great about Xie Lingyu? He seems like a bright and upright person on the surface, but he's actually a wolf in sheep's clothing, and he's wicked to the core.
Only his naive junior sister couldn't see his true nature and thought he was a virtuous and upright gentleman, just like the rumors said.
If he could always be good to his junior sister, then it would be fine, but unfortunately...
"puff."
A soft laugh came from the treetop, clearly tinged with schadenfreude.
Sang Ying looked up and saw a boy sitting in the tree wearing bright silver clothing characteristic of the Southern Border. He was leaning on one knee, and his skin was so pale that it was almost gloomy.
He was smiling, but his dark pupils gave off a chilling feeling.
It's a demon, and it seems to be very strong.
She didn't even notice when he appeared.
"What are you laughing at? Be careful you don't get skinned and grilled on skewers while you sleep tonight." Xiao Lingzhou spoke up from behind, his words sarcastic yet revealing familiarity.
It turned out to be someone she knew, and Sang Ying felt a little relieved.
The young man nimbly jumped down, and before Sang Ying could react, he had already leaned close to her and sniffed her. Suddenly, his smile widened, and his beautiful eyebrows and eyes lit up.
"So you're a... um... married woman." Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Lingzhou covered her mouth and dragged her aside. Sang Ying only heard the last two words, paused for a moment, and felt her ears burning slightly.
They talked for a while before returning. Xiao Lingzhou introduced, "Junior Sister, this is Yin Tu, the Demon King of the Southern Territory."
Sang Ying was no longer surprised and nodded slightly.
Yin Tu, however, seemed quite interested, his dark eyes fixed on her, and he said with a smile, "Junior Sister, weren't you curious about Fu Ye's affairs? I'll take you to join in the fun?"
Fu Ye is the name of the Demon King of the Northern Border.
Xiao Lingzhou looked disgusted and pushed his face away: "Who is your junior sister? Don't call me that."
"Come with me, junior sister, ignore this kid."
Xiao Lingzhou led Sang Ying to the outskirts of the Northern Demon King's encampment.
As for why the Northern Demon King stayed in the Southern Territory instead of returning, and insisted on coming with Yin Tu, he shrugged innocently and said, "After I diagnosed him and confirmed that he wasn't a demonic gu, he became withdrawn and stayed in his room for several days without making a sound. He wouldn't talk to anyone who came. I couldn't just kick him out, could I?"
Sang Ying pondered, "Ignoring everyone... wasn't it his order to abduct female cultivators all over the cultivation world?"
"Who knows? I can't control that." Yin Tu pointed to the side, "Look, we're here."
Sang Ying's attention was diverted, and without thinking much about it, she followed the two inside.
As soon as I entered, I saw demons lying all over the ground, all of them subordinates of the Northern Demon King.
Xiao Lingzhou muttered, "This kid found this place so quickly," and pulled Sang Ying along, concealing their presence as they moved into the shadows.
Soon, Sang Ying saw that familiar white figure, and her gaze involuntarily fell on him.
This is where female cultivators are imprisoned, guarded by the Demon King's six trusted brothers.
Xiao Lingzhou took out a bag of melon seeds, grabbed a handful for himself, and stuffed them all into her hand. With a leisurely air, he pointed out to her that the one lying on the ground was the second son, the one hanging on the branch was the sixth son, and the one still standing shakily, confronting Xie Lingyu, was the eldest son.
Yin Tu also grabbed a handful of melon seeds, squatted down to her left, and said while cracking them, "They've been working really hard these past few days, bringing people here every day with bruises and swelling on their faces, and they're even shouting slogans to encourage themselves. It sounds quite inspiring."
"..."
How come these notorious criminals, known throughout the cultivation world as vicious criminals, sound like idiots to them?
During their casual conversation on the road, Luo Qing mentioned the wolf demon that Xie Lingyu had captured in Bei Yuan, saying that the wolf demon wasn't very bright.
Sang Ying watched from afar as her eldest brother fell in front of Xie Lingyu. The young man coldly sheathed his sword and walked towards the direction where the female cultivator was imprisoned.
wrong.
Sang Ying suddenly asked, "Are these subordinates of the Northern Desert Demon King good at strength but not at wisdom?"
Xiao Lingzhou cracked a melon seed: "Yeah, isn't it obvious, Junior Sister? They're even openly lurking in other people's territory with their Tibetans."
Since the Northern Desert Demon King has not yet appeared, there must be someone else behind the scenes directing their cooperation with the Brocade Merchant Guild.
He dragged the Yunshui Chamber of Commerce into his scheme, gathering the power of the four major families, the Holy Maiden of Yaochi, and the top-ranked member of the Heavenly Ranking...
Sang Ying's heart tightened as she watched the young man walk to the door of the room where the female cultivator was imprisoned and about to push it open. Without thinking, she stood up.
"Xie Lingyu, no—!"
The dense, pitch-black demonic energy suddenly expanded, instantly enveloping the entire surrounding area.
Sang Ying's vision was swallowed up by demonic energy, and she could see nothing.
The surroundings were eerily quiet. In an instant, Sang Ying could no longer hear Xiao Lingzhou's voice, the wind, the water, or the falling leaves.
Only her left side could be heard with faint breathing sounds.
Sang Ying remembered that it was...
A low laugh escaped his lips, and the boy's chilling aura brushed against her sensitive ear like a snake slithering across her skin, sending a shiver down her spine.
"It's too late, junior sister."
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Thanks, A-Li, for the landmine! [cat paw emoji]
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