7 Chapter Seven
He would rather die than give his heart to her.
Although Hu Mei was already the most esteemed Left Protector of the Demon Realm under Lu Yue, she was still worried about the demons lurking in the shadows who coveted her position. Therefore, she tried her best to please the Venerable One in every aspect of her work. She had Wu Yan rush to finish the bath in less than half a day and even came to Lu Yue to ask for credit and reward.
“Your Excellency, I have prepared a private hot spring for Shangqing.”
Hu Mei didn't know how to address Xue Ji. She said that although the hostage had been so well taken care of by His Majesty, Xue Ji was still a virgin.
Wu Yan, who was standing next to him, was taken aback. Wasn't it him who did it? But he wisely remained silent.
"These are things that a subordinate should do. Why bother Your Majesty?" Wen Ruoxu walked around the throne behind Lu Yue and sat in the seat that should have belonged to her as the Left Protector.
Hu Mei's face turned pale, and she could only endure it. The old man must have some skill to have been able to swagger around in the Demon Realm for so long. If she were to make a move rashly, she would only be asking for trouble. Moreover, the Venerable One was clearly closer to him, but he just had a silver tongue. Could it be that he had really relied on his quick wit to stay in the Demon Realm for ten thousand years?
But did Wen Ruo truly feel reverence for the Venerable One, or did she harbor inappropriate desires? After all, the way Wen Ruo looked at the Venerable One was so nauseating to her. Like an endless autumn rain, cold and damp, it clung tightly to the Venerable One.
If it were her, she would have gouged out those eyes long ago, but he always puts on that hypocritical face of an elder. His hands-on approach makes him seem like a respected father.
Hu Mei deliberately provoked, "It's not proper for Elder Wen to be sitting right behind His Excellency."
"Left Protector is truly inexperienced. I have been with His Majesty for a hundred years and have watched her rise to the position of Demon Lord. I have long treated her like my own child, and I have always taken care of her affairs carefully." Wen Ruo slowly sipped her tea, completely disregarding her.
Hu Mei still found him disgusting and retorted, "Your Excellency, I only did this out of respect..."
"Hu Mei, if you have nothing else to do, you can leave."
Lu Yue grew tired of the arguments and naturally trusted Wen Ruo more, after all, he had been by her side for so many years. Even knowing he had ulterior motives, she still told him about Yan Qing's existence. Although she knew Wen Ruo usually made things difficult for the child, she still tolerated him. However, lately, Wen Ruo seemed to dislike Yan Qing even more.
Perhaps we should find a new trusted confidant to take care of him.
Hu Mei still refused to leave, and was about to argue when Wu Yan swiftly and decisively resisted. Looking at Wen Ruo's hypocritical smile, she wanted nothing more than to tear his face apart.
Lu Yue was getting a headache from the noise, so she decided to go to the bathhouse to calm herself down. Xiao Bai blushed and said he wanted to bathe with her, but she just wanted some peace and quiet and asked him to leave first.
Wen Ruo was still serving him, kneeling respectfully in the misty steam to untie the lord's robes. He carefully lowered the heavy jade crown, lest it get tangled in the lord's hair and cause him pain. He carefully gathered up a few stray strands of hair and wrapped them around his wrist.
Looking at Lu Yue's increasingly composed demeanor, Wen Ruo reminisced about the first time she met Lu Yue.
The Demon Realm only recognizes the strong. Each Demon Lord has been ruthlessly killed by the next one before ascending to the throne, a symbol of status. Wen Ruo was most satisfied with Chong Li among all the Demon Lords. He was cold and ruthless, already possessing the body of a dragon, and if he cultivated for another thousand years, he might become a god.
But he loved killing too much and always liked to stir up trouble, deliberately provoking the righteous path. Chongli always sent the soldiers of the Demon Realm to kill the famous sword masters of the righteous path.
If they failed to complete the assigned task, they would be killed by Chongli upon their return. In his view, useless things had no reason to live, and thus many promising talents were lost.
Once upon a time, a beautiful demon queen, having failed to complete the task assigned by Chong Li, returned to the Demon Realm hoping to escape punishment. She deliberately lay naked and alluringly on the Demon Lord's bed, hoping to use her beauty to beg Chong Li to spare her life.
Wen Ruo saw it and made a sarcastic remark, saying that a pink skeleton was really boring.
Demon Lord Chongli is indifferent to women; he only loves killing. His favorite sound is the clang of swords. He only gets excited when his opponent bleeds. Nothing else holds any interest for Chongli.
Wen Ruo glanced at her and casually had the demon general take her away; he happened to choose Lu Yue.
Her body was covered in black soft armor, and her indifferent expression seemed unmoved. She stood there in the dark corner, as if she had become one with the darkness.
Just as Lu Yue was obeying orders to take the Demon King away, she unexpectedly found herself pinned down by him.
The woman's full, soft flesh rested on her arms, and her alluring fragrance stirred restlessness among the surrounding demon generals. At that time, Lu Yue was still young, and even after living for a hundred years, his eyes still revealed helplessness.
He watched silently from the shadows as the woman slithered across his body like a snake. The demon king's alluring fragrance wafted through the air as he deliberately whispered mischievously in her ear, "Your Majesty is so handsome, aren't you tempted?"
Lu Yue's face remained expressionless, her purple eyes as calm as still water.
Wen Ruo also began to wonder. Many beauties in the Demon Realm had offered themselves to the Demon Lord, but he had undoubtedly dealt with them all. Chong Li despised these tedious affairs and preferred the exhilarating pleasure of sword dancing.
Chong Li's unparalleled cultivation, handsome appearance, and indifferent vertical pupils certainly attracted many women. How interesting it would be if he could make those cold eyes soften and be moved by him.
But Wen Ruo saw no love in Lu Yue's eyes, only ambition.
Unable to see this through, the Demon King continued to tempt them: "What if we kill him together? You take his inner core, and I'll eat his demonic body. Neither of us will lose out, so why not?"
Lu Yue's vertical pupils suddenly turned deep and dark. He grabbed her, wrapped her in a gauze curtain, and threw her out of the Demon Realm.
Wen Ruo saw through Lu Yue's ambition at that moment, but unfortunately, her cultivation was too low. Chong Li, who had lived for nearly ten thousand years, could not be easily killed. He admired her forbearance, so he had been secretly watching her. After learning that she had a one-night stand with a certain demon king, he deliberately used some means to make Chong Li kill the other party.
Even after her lover, with whom she had been intimate the night before, turned into a cold body, Lu Yue's eyes remained indifferent, showing no anger whatsoever.
Wen Ruo deliberately probed, "Aren't you sad? You were making love with him last night."
He was very satisfied with Lu Yue's answer.
"Why be sad? I have more than just him."
Wen Ruo knew that the snake race was lewd, and that Lu Yue had countless lovers in the Demon Realm, but few of them lasted more than a month. Even if the other party died because of her, she remained unmoved.
Even when he deliberately instructed Lu Yue to personally cut out and swallow the other party's demon core, she did not hesitate at all.
Wen Ruo gradually became concerned about Lu Yue's every move, to the point that she didn't care about Chong Li's whereabouts.
One day, after Chongli and Luyue had been gone for a year, they returned to find that he, who had been alone for thousands of years, had lost his pure yang body. And there was something else in Luyue's eyes.
That was murderous intent towards Chongli; even though it was well hidden, he could still sense it.
Wen Ruo thought it was time for the Demon Lord to replace Lu Yue. He had expected to wait a long time, but Lu Yue's courage was more commendable than he had imagined. When he saw the blade pierce Chong Li's heart, Wen Ruo, lying in a pool of blood beside him, revealed a smile of admiration.
Seeing that Wen Ruo was lost in thought, Lu Yue asked calmly, "What are you laughing at?"
Wen Ruo's eyes suddenly softened, and she chuckled softly, "I was wondering if Your Majesty killed Chong Li back then because of me?"
"What does this have to do with you?" Lu Yue didn't expect Wen Ruo to think that way.
"After all, I was really in a sorry state back then, and he almost killed me." Wen Ruo showed her vulnerable side for the first time then, being trampled on the ground by Chong Li like a dog. Her strength was not inferior to Chong Li's, but she was almost killed by him because her body was much weaker due to some reasons.
"I didn't notice you, I only wanted his life." Lu Yue didn't want to recall that painful past; one bout of excruciating torment was enough.
"What did you do back then to anger Chongli?"
In Lu Yue's eyes, Wen Ruo was shrewd and sophisticated, unlike Hu Mei, who was foolish and easily manipulated. How could he let Chong Li kill him?
"Who knows? Chongli is unpredictable by nature. It is my blessing to be able to serve you now."
Hearing the commotion in the distance, Wen Ruo leisurely got up and left. Although she was only at the Golden Core stage, she was still a virgin, and it was a blessing for Lu Yue to enjoy her.
Xueji hadn't intended to come to the hot springs to heal his injuries, but since there was a private bath, he decided to give it a try in the evening. The water was indeed remarkably effective, and just when he thought he was all alone, he heard a lazy voice behind him.
"Soaking your feet in hot water is good for your health."
Xue Ji froze, and the unbearable fragrance wafted over again. He could only grit his teeth and hold his breath.
Closing my eyes, it's as if I'm back on that snowy night when I was homeless, with blood staining the thick snow. The peaceful village was burned to the ground, the pure white snow tinged with scorching red.
He huddled shivering under a tattered straw mat, with his long-dead grandparents beside him.
Just when Xueji thought he was about to freeze to death, a soft fox fur wrapped him tightly. He had long forgotten his secular name at that time, only remembering that his master hugged him and gently comforted him not to be afraid.
That was the only smile his master ever gave him; from then on, there were only cold words.
The swirling snowflakes slowly stopped at that moment, and the gloomy sky finally cracked open, letting golden light pour onto the ground and melt the cold snow.
The two flew for a long time in the boundless snow, and he timidly asked, "Where are we going?"
"Shangqing, that will be your home from now on. You should have a new name, how about Xueji?"
"After the snow?"
Because we met when the snow stopped and the sky cleared.
Lu Yue liked the name she had given him very much; it sounded even better than Yan Qing's. She noticed the jade pendant on his neatly folded clothes by the hot spring, engraved with the words "Snow Clears."
She chuckled softly, "Xueji, your name is very nice."
Xue Ji's face flushed slightly, the two of them not far apart. That clear, low, husky voice entered his ears, turning his fair earlobes crimson.
She's flirting with me again; how presumptuous and frivolous!
Xue Ji calmed down, suppressed her agitation, and said coldly, "The name that Master gave me is naturally good."
"Yeah?"
Lu Yue was in a great mood. Looking at his reddened ears, she deliberately got up and came behind him, bent down and chuckled, "Bubble more, I'm still waiting for your heart."
Xue Ji froze, the fragrance drawing ever closer, making it almost impossible for him to breathe. Once the noise behind him subsided, he completely immersed himself in the hot spring.
His damp, black hair floated on the water's surface, and after a long while, Xueji revealed his cool profile. His usually serene eyes became moist and red, and water droplets flowed down his wet hair and into his collarbone.
That's wishful thinking. He would rather die than give his heart to her.
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