Chapter 9 Bloody Immortal Hero

The day Nan Yan asked him to accompany her happened to be the Lantern Festival in Youdu City.

After the last quarrel, Chu Liyue sent the Demon Guards to the mortal world that night to keep an eye on the movements of Ye Qingsang and the others. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, no action has been taken.

He deliberately kept himself busy, because only in this way would He Nanyan's miserable and desperate face not keep flashing through his mind. Every time he thought of her, he had an urge to escape.

When he thought back to what he said to He Nanyan that day, his heart felt as if it was suffocating. After all, those words were too cruel to a woman who liked him.

Chu Liyue took a deep breath and suppressed the discomfort in his heart.

It was obvious that he liked He Nanwan, and the person he wanted was also He Nanwan, and it always was.

No matter how much He Nanyan pretends to be like the real thing, she is just a fake. How can a fake compare to the real thing? Even if she does a good job, she can't even touch He Nanwan's finger.

She is just a stand-in, just a stand-in.

He said this to himself in his heart, but for some reason, the vague feeling of dull pain in his heart did not disappear, as if there was something important that he could no longer grasp.

Therefore, Chu Liyue's face was always not very good, and to outsiders, he was angry about He Nanwan and Ye Qingsang's marriage.

…

The next day, when He Nanyan was standing outside the palace waiting for him in a bright green dress, Chu Liyue had a strange expression on his face.

He thought she must hate him, after all, he forced her to marry for him, which was really too much for her...

But the woman in front of him didn't look like she hated him at all.

The woman in green dress standing among the flowers was graceful and lively, like a lady walking out of a painting. She looked at him with clear and distinct eyes, as if what happened before had never happened.

Chu Liyue couldn't explain what he felt deep down, especially when he met those eyes, an inexplicable emotion was churning in his heart.

He asked unconsciously, "Why...are you wearing this?"

He had always thought that this person loved to wear red dresses, and was as bright and flamboyant as He Nanwan.

In the past, when she came to the palace to find him, she always liked to wear a red dress, and her look would always subconsciously overlap with He Nanwan. Now that she changed her clothes, he felt as if he was out of time.

Nan Yan could roughly guess what this man was thinking from his expression. Since he was a capturer, it wouldn't do to keep crying and whining to gain sympathy.

This cruel and merciless Lord Demon will not soften his heart just by crying. She must leave a deep and unique impression on him.

So, she has to play by unconventional means, to put it bluntly, it's another routine.

Nan Yan pursed her lips and chuckled. Her smile was like a blooming flower, gentle yet decent. "Does it look good? In the past, I lost myself in order to imitate others. I always forced myself to wear red clothes that I didn't like. In fact, I like this green color more. It's full of vitality."

Chu Liyue pursed his lips. He naturally knew who she was imitating.

But so what.

No matter how similar the imitation is, it's not her.

Nan Yan walked towards him, the hem of her willow-green dress fluttering as she walked towards him, and the belt around her waist undulating and flowing, making her look particularly beautiful and lively.

The more Chu Li looked at her, the more he saw the frown on her face. It seemed that she really didn't remember what happened that day.

Chu Liyue avoided her gaze and said coldly, "It's up to you. Whatever you wear has nothing to do with me. After today, we will no longer have any intersection." And he will be with He Nanwan, and they will be husband and wife.

Since I couldn't change my promise to her, I might as well just spend a day with her.

After saying this, he clearly noticed that the other person's body stiffened for a moment and her face turned a little pale, but she soon recovered.

"I know, but... the Demon Lord should remember what he said. You have to accompany me all day today and you can't treat me as a substitute for anyone else."

Looking at her calm eyes, Chu Li felt a little uncomfortable for some reason.

Then he couldn't help frowning, "So, what do you want me to do?"

Finally, we get to the point.

Nan Yan smiled at him tenderly, and then stated her request, "Demon Lord, you don't need to do anything, just accompany me to play in Youdu City for a day."

What kind of weird request is this?

Chu Liyue couldn't understand it, but what puzzled him even more was that he actually agreed to her request.

It was not until he arrived in the outside world that he realized that today was the Lantern Festival in the human world. Youdu still retained the customs of the mortal world, which he was not aware of.

As a cultivator, Chu Liyue basically would not waste his time on these messy things. In his memory, the happiest time he had spent in the human world was the days when he and He Nanwan were exorcising monsters at the foot of the mountain...

But this Lantern Festival took him by surprise.

At night, under the dim moonlight, the streets of the market are decorated with all kinds of lanterns.

Countless young men and women traveled together to the moat of Youdu to place a bright lamp, adding a touch of fireworks to this place where humans and demons live together.

"Look, Lord Demon, the lanterns over there are so beautiful."

"There are too many people, don't squeeze... It's just a lantern, what's there to see?" Chu Liyue frowned, and it was obvious that he was very disgusted by such crowded streets.

Nan Yan turned around and saw that his body was tense and he gave off an aura of "don't mess with me". She couldn't help but burst out laughing, and that smile was so bright that Chu Liyue was a little dazed for a moment.

"In that case, then you, Demon Lord, just stay where you are. I will go and see it by myself." Nan Yan blinked with her back to him. This time she was not going to obey him.

She turned around and squeezed into the area with more pedestrians, but this time she was not very lucky and someone stepped on her foot accidentally. Her body was unstable and it was Chu Liyue who quickly pulled her up to prevent her from being pushed down.

"I have tolerated you for a long time."

Chu Liyue grabbed the man fiercely, his heartbeat instantly speeding up. God knows how nervous he was when he saw the other person being pushed. "I told you it's crowded here. If you really get trampled to death, I won't save you."

This is probably the kind of person who is stubborn but insists on being stubborn. Nan Yan saw his nervous expression at that moment. This is probably what it means to be in love without realizing it.

She smiled silently at him, and then stretched out a hand, passed it in front of him, tilted her head and asked with a smile, "Then can you hold me? This way I won't be squeezed out."

These words made Chu Liyue react. He realized that he was still holding her other wrist, and he let go suddenly.

"Don't push your luck."

Don't think he doesn't know what she's up to.

Nan Yan was not angry, she just looked at him quietly, as if she had expected this result, so there was no change on her facial expression.

Chu Liyue became more and more annoyed by being stared at and turned around impatiently.

Seeing that more and more people were walking around, she could only reluctantly pass over a sleeve and said, "Hold on tight. If I lose you, I'll have to waste energy looking for you." The subtext was to let her hold the rope in order to avoid trouble.

Nan Yan's mouth curled up, and a satisfied smile finally appeared on her face. She carefully reached out a hand and gently grasped the corner of the clothes that was passed to her.

Chu Liyue pursed his lips even more tightly, with an expression that said "keep away from strangers" on his face. Little did he know that when he turned around, his ears hidden under his black hair had turned red unconsciously.

In his heart, he despised what He Nanyan had done, and felt that it was really beneath his status as a demon king to accompany a woman to the night market. But when he saw the woman blushing and holding onto his clothes, and seeing her acting like a human being, he didn't find it so hard to accept.

There was a kind of sweetness that I had never felt before welling up in my heart.

But at this moment, he thought of He Nanwan again.

When he was with He Nanwan, he would obey her unconditionally. He didn't have to worry about her running away in the crowd because he knew she could protect herself. But he was not so relaxed with this woman. He always felt that she was in danger all the time. If he didn't keep a close eye on her, she would have countless accidents that he could not imagine.

Chu Liyue finally attributed this idea to her being too weak. This woman had no spiritual talent and was not even as good as the lowest-ranking disciple in the sect. Naturally, she was not as good as her.

They walked up along the street, and saw many exquisite and beautiful decorative spices and small items such as rouge and powder along the way. Finally, Nan Yan stopped in front of a hairpin shop.

The chubby stall owner was very considerate and handed over a jade hairpin in the shape of peach blossoms, and said enthusiastically, "You two guests are truly the most well-matched couple I have ever seen tonight."

"My dear, why don't you take a look at this jade hairpin? It is exquisitely crafted and matches your dress very well. Why don't you buy one for your wife?"

Nan Yan smiled and looked at the stall owner, shaking her head and explaining, "The stall owner has misunderstood. We are not husband and wife."

Chu Liyue paused for a moment as he was about to reach out, and frowned unconsciously after hearing her words.

But his expression was always grim, and others could not see any difference. They just saw him taking the hairpin.

The stall owner didn't really care. If they were not a couple, they were an engaged couple. What kind of relationship could there be between a man and a woman who came out to play together during the Lantern Festival? Most of them were in love.

When Nan Yan saw Chu Liyue reaching out for the hairpin, she thought of something and asked tentatively, "Does the Demon Lord want to buy this hairpin for my sister?" When she asked this, a glimmer of expectation flashed in her eyes, hoping that he would answer no.

可不知為何，楚離越原本還算友好的表情瞬間變得有些陰沉了，因為拿到這枚簪子時，他第一時間想到的居然是眼前這個女人，他只是單純覺得玉簪與她的衣裙很相襯，那麽她戴上去應該也是合适的。

可這女人居然以為自己是給賀南婉買的。

心裏有種說不出的憋屈和惱怒，但到底在怒什麽，連他自己也不是很清楚。

于是便不耐煩回了句，“是又如何，這與你又有什麽關系。”

說罷便丢下那枚簪子轉身離去，頗有種惱羞成怒的別扭感。

而南嫣自然而然的跟上了，只是不知何時已松開了他的袖子。

她在後頭慢慢走着，微垂着眸，叫人看不上她臉上的神情，“魔君的眼光很好，那枚簪子，姐姐應當會很喜歡。”

這人怎麽總喜歡說這種話？

“夠了，別說了……” 楚離越冷硬打斷她，嫌她說話不合時宜，“本君做事不用你來教，你記住自己的身份就行了。”

南嫣似乎被他的惱怒驚了一下，下意識擡起頭，與他煩躁的視線對上，但很快又挪開了，對于他這種喜怒無常的态度似乎早就習以為常了。

而楚離越說完也覺得自己語氣好像太冷硬了，但他高高在上慣了的，尤其是面對賀南嫣這個慣來弱勢的女子面前，他根本拉不下臉來道歉。

氣氛就這麽尴尬着。

眼見着此時天色已經不早了。

南嫣還是主動了，她提出了今晚最後一個要求，語氣略帶些淡淡的遺憾，“既然這樣的話，那魔君陪我去放一次河燈可以嗎？結束之後，我們便回去吧……”

楚離越抿緊唇，這要求并不難，只是莫名其妙的……他有些不想去，可能是因為她最後那句 ‘放完河燈之後便回去’ 的話。

心底忽然生出一種這麽下去倒也不是很難接受的想法。

他這麽想着，

但很快又被另一種不甘壓下去了。

他對賀南婉的執着已經讓他辨不清其他情緒。

兩人沿街一路來到上游，賞着風景、看着花舫，最後南嫣心滿意足地捧着魔君大人給她買下的一盞花燈，來到了河邊。

那只做工精巧的蓮花河燈被她緩慢放進了河水裏。

楚離越瞧見她剛才似乎放了一枚寫了字的紙條在裏面，便忍不住問了句，“你在燈裏面放了什麽？”

“魔君不知道嗎？這是人間的習俗，将心願與河燈一同放出，願望就可以成真的。”

“心願？你許了什麽願望？” 在他看來，依靠外人實現自己的願望還不如依靠自身，不過看她那般可憐的模樣，倘若這心願不算過分，他倒是可以幫她一把。

聞言，湖邊的女子轉過頭朝他笑了笑，那張白皙的面容在月光下愈發顯得清透美麗，而那雙眼裏，滿是他的身影。

然後便聽到她搖頭拒絕道，“這可不能說的，告訴你的話，願望興許就不能實現了。”

楚離越聞言也沒繼續追問，不過還是不滿地眯了眯眼，真當他很想知道嗎？不過就是随口一問罷了。

所以當南嫣轉身将手中的紙筆還給租賃的攤主時，楚離越擡手一揮，略施法術，那原本漂向遠處的河燈便被他收了回來。

随後他毫無顧忌地展開了那燈芯裏頭的字條，上面赫然寫着一句祝福的話：

惟願夫…魔君得償所願，諸事順遂。

那“夫” 字寫了一半被劃掉了，改成了“魔”，而最後一行則附上了他與賀南婉的名字。

看到那字跡的時候，楚離越說不出心底的感受，只覺得胸口的位置正一點一點的收緊了，仿佛被一只手用力攥住了似的，呼吸有些微顫。

怎麽會有這麽……蠢的人。

她怎麽事事都要想着他，依着他，難道……就這麽喜歡他嗎？

而身後的南嫣走過來時，楚離越還在出神，“魔君這是怎麽了，怎麽一動不動的？”

楚離越聽到她的話時，瞬間清醒，狼狽的将紙條與河燈一同收進儲物袋裏，最後只幹巴巴回了句，“無事。”

而他也不知道自己為什麽會這樣，只是心口的不适越來越深。

南嫣走到他身旁來，将他臉上的表情看在眼裏，心裏猜測着這人是看到河燈上寫的內容了。

那燈上的字條願望當然也是她故意寫出來的來了，按照楚離越此時的別扭性格，她越是不想讓他知道的東西，他便越是想要知道。

她早猜到這人會去偷看的了。

正好也要開始下一步計劃了。

南嫣擡起頭來，那雙含笑的眼眸溫柔望着他，“……魔君可以閉上眼睛嗎？我有一個驚喜想要送給你。”

楚離越疑惑皺眉，低頭看她，“你要做什麽？”

南嫣眨了下眼睛，抿唇搖了搖頭，“我這麽一個弱女子，你還怕我會傷害你嗎？魔君大人信我一次好不好？”

呵，真當他蠢嗎？

她上次說這種話的時候就戲弄了他一把。

楚離越深深望進她眼裏，猶豫了片刻，但最終還是應了，“你最好別耍小花樣，否則本君……本君不會饒過你。”

粗粗說了句不痛不癢的威脅，魔君大人便很老實的閉上了眼。

南嫣沒忍住笑了。

嘴上說着不願意的魔君大人，眼睛倒是很誠實的閉上了，将這口嫌體直的個性展示的淋漓盡致。

楚離越閉眼後五感便格外靈敏，他聽到了南嫣的笑聲，腦海裏竟下意識地勾勒出了她歡笑時的模樣。

魔君大人抿了抿唇，将那副畫面驅逐出腦海。

臉上面無表情，心底卻并不平靜。

主要是這閉眼的場景又讓他想起了那日她趁他閉目凝神時做的事情，雖然沒有真正親到，但那時的緊張情緒還是讓他有些不自在……

他甚至在想，這女人讓他閉眼，是不是想在這大庭廣衆之下偷親他，若真是如此，這女人真是……未免也太有失禮數了。

可不知道為什麽，他心底竟有些隐隐緊張，尤其是一想到那種畫面，魔君大人的耳根子又詭異地開始發紅了。

可他等了半天了，那女人還是沒有絲毫動作，楚離越便有些不耐煩了，“你到底在做什麽？”

……

“賀南嫣，你最好不要亂來，否則本君真的會懲罰你……你聽見了沒有？”

“為什麽不回答我，你到底在……”

他猛地睜開眼，可眼前已是空無一人，賀南嫣的身影早不見了。

那一瞬間，楚離越立刻就明白了，她讓他閉眼，不過是為了更好的逃跑而已。

……這個騙子。

“好！好得很！” 又騙了他一次，楚離越咬牙捏緊拳頭，憤怒的同時心裏也生出了一絲慌亂和緊張。

他以為這女人是真心同他出來游玩……可如今這個騙子卻是從頭到尾都在騙他，為的不過就是逃跑罷了。

……

而在另一邊，南嫣正在擁擠的人群裏飛快穿行，幸好這花燈節日行人衆多，眼看着她就要順利逃脫。

偏偏這時候，一個年輕男人在後頭喊了一聲，“哎，姑娘，姑娘你東西掉了。”

喊還不過分，他還朝她追了過來。

霎時間，有好事的路人都朝着她的方向看了過去，而南嫣也在慌亂中被人推了一把，也正好被身後的男子追上了，側過了半個身子。

“姑娘姑娘，別跑了，你錢袋子丢了……” 好心人氣喘籲籲的将錢袋子遞過去。

“謝謝。” 南嫣接過錢袋子就走。

與此同時，聽到響動的楚離越也望了過來，尤其是看到她與另一個男子拉拉扯扯時，更是危險地眯着眼睛，直接朝着兩人的方向追過去。

南嫣趕緊往胡同裏跑，可凡人怎麽比得過修士，不過一個轉身的功夫，便再次被人追上了，楚離越用力抓住人的肩膀，往後一拽，她的腦袋便不受控制的撞上了他的胸口。

被抓住了。

南嫣內心并不意外，她可沒想過能憑借自己的能力逃過這位魔君大人的追捕，不過是為了加快計劃速度罷了。

“還想跑？你今晚所做的一切都是為了逃跑是不是？你膽子真不小，騙了本君一次又一次，嗯？”

南嫣磕到他的胸膛，發出痛苦的呻/吟，“你放開我……”

放開，呵。

楚離越見她還敢掙紮，便直接伸手捏住了她下巴，迫使她直視着他，然而他一低眼便看見她滿眼淚水的模樣，動作居然頓了下。

“楚離越，我求你……你放過我吧，放我走吧……我不要嫁給別人，求你了好不好，我會走的遠遠的，這輩子都不會出現在你面前的……”

“不可能。” 聽到她那卑微可憐的乞求時，楚離越下意識地反應便是拒絕，可他拒絕的目的卻被混淆了，“我不會放你走的。”

南嫣此刻眼裏早已泛起了淚光，牙齒咬住唇，用力揪緊他的衣襟。

“你就這麽恨我嗎？你明明知道我的心意，你這樣還不如讓我去死……”

楚離越那禁锢的力道下意識地就輕了些，但很快他又反應過來。

"You still want to lie to me. You have been lying to me from the beginning to the end. You said those words and did those things just to escape, right?"

Nan Yan's body stiffened, and Chu Liyue obviously noticed her reaction. The anger that surged in his heart at that moment almost made him go on a killing spree.

"So, everything that happened tonight was planned in advance, right?" Chu Liyue stared at her, with darkness in his eyes, making people feel oppressive. "You were lying to me from beginning to end?"

Nan Yan shook her head and denied, "No, I really mean it..."

Chu Liyue squeezed her shoulders harder and harder, "Still lying to me." This woman is a liar. She lied to him again when he was almost soft-hearted.

He no longer believed her.

"He Nanyan, I've told you before, if you dare to play tricks, I won't let you go."

Nan Yan's tears finally fell, hitting the back of his hand with a "pa" sound, and she pleaded softly, "Don't do this... I beg you..."

Chu Liyue felt the warmth of his tears on his skin, and finally made up his mind. He suppressed the discomfort in his heart and lowered his eyelids, "It's no use begging me. I won't be fooled by you again."

Having said that, he raised his hand and chopped at the back of Nan Yan's neck. A burst of soreness and pain came over her, and Nan Yan immediately lost consciousness. Her body fell limply on him. Before she fainted, she saw a hint of cold mockery on the corner of his mouth.