“I was forced.”
Wanshao, hiding a distance away, rushed back when she spotted Shang Can, her face contorted with distress, immediately launching into an inexplicable complaint.
“How could you leave me alone with Yunzhong-jun?! I’m a demon! This is way too dangerous for me—hey, did Yunzhong-jun change her clothes? She looks a bit familiar?”
Shang Can, somewhat at a loss, pushed Wanshao back as she craned her neck to look behind her. Furrowing her brow in frustration, she replied, “…Dangerous for you?”
It was the first time Shang Can had seen a demon so frantically proclaiming the danger of being with a human. She was puzzled, asking, “If you don’t provoke her, can she just suddenly draw her sword and attack you?”
“Why are you like this?! Do I look like someone who would provoke her?” Wanshao snapped indignantly. “Of course, I wouldn’t, but she has blood on her waist!”
“That stuff is like some kind of mind-numbing drug for us demons. You just burned a bunch of demon beasts—don’t you understand that?”
So, wasn’t she just urging Yunduan to change her clothes in the woods?
Shang Can felt a headache coming on as she glanced back at Yunduan, who stood behind her, completely indifferent as if their conversation had nothing to do with her.
…She really had no sense of crisis. Knowing her blood was like catnip for demons, she still didn’t think to change her bloodied clothes and just blundered her way from Tianwaitian all the way here. If it hadn’t been for Shang Can speaking up, who knows when Yunduan would have remembered to address this?
“But I don’t have any other clothes right now.” The normally composed Yunduan explained, “All my luggage is at Tianwaitian, I didn’t bring anything with me—should I just tear off the bloodied parts?”
In order to avoid a situation where Yunduan would walk around with her waist exposed in this relatively conservative era, Shang Can had to rummage through her own clothes and lend her a rarely worn sky-blue dress. As for Yunduan’s original plain white robe—
“I have nowhere to put it. Just throw it away?”
The meticulous Yunduan, praised for her carefulness, completely failed to consider that discarding bloodied clothing might attract demon beasts. So, with a sigh, Shang Can reluctantly stored the bloody robe in her brocade pouch, determined to be the good Samaritan.
“And then what? What actually happened earlier?!” Shang Can rubbed her temples, exhaling in exasperation as she urged Wanshao, “What about her sword? And the—”
“It’s over there! I didn’t touch it! Not even a bit!”
Wanshao hurriedly pointed to the side of a large tree, and there, indeed, leaned the Wuyou sword, looking quite pitiful against the trunk.
From the way it was placed so neatly, it didn’t appear to have been snatched away during a struggle. It looked more like the owner had deliberately set it aside.
Speaking of this, Wanshao felt like hitting the heavens in frustration.
After Shang Can and Chu Ming left, she had been wisely standing far away from Yunduan, huddled like a quail, patiently waiting for Shang Can to return.
But within just two minutes, Wanshao’s keen nose caught the scent of the Immaculate Immortal Body’s blood wafting through the air, sending her heart racing. She turned to see that Yunduan had silently approached within five steps of her, nearly causing Wanshao to leap up a tree in fright.
“I know you might not believe me, but it was really Yunzhong-jun who was fishing for trouble!” Wanshao exclaimed, almost in tears, as if she were swearing on Shang Can’s leg. “I admit I was drawn to her blood for a moment, but I reacted immediately! Right away!”
“I don’t believe that a random vine of mine could disarm this—this Yunduan!”
From Wanshao’s perspective, it seemed like Yunduan had gracefully let go of Wuyou, allowing the bewildered Wanshao to bind her spiritual power, after which Yunduan merely nodded and wandered into the woods.
Rather than saying they had just fought, it felt more like they had completed a mysterious ritual of exchange.
Shang Can glanced at the wronged Wanshao, then at Yunduan behind her, who seemed uninterested in commenting on Wanshao’s claims, and found this world to be rather strange.
She silently walked over to retrieve Wuyou from under the tree and returned it to Yunduan, but instead of extending her hand to receive it immediately, she regarded Yunduan with a questioning look of “What are you doing?”
Ah, shouldn’t she be the one asking “What are you doing?”
“Take it, and let’s go back to Qingyu.”
Shang Can felt a mix of emotions and struggled to comprehend the bizarre turn of events. Seeing that Yunduan was uncooperative, she took it upon herself to fasten the sword back to her waist and pulled Wanshao’s wrist to undo her binding spell.
“I don’t care what Yunduan is thinking.” Shang Can stepped back a couple of paces. “Kidnapping the Immaculate Immortal Body, Yunduan, would be a charge that Biluohuangquan cannot afford.”
Yunduan stared at her for a long moment, frowning in apparent confusion. “Aren’t you interested in the Immaculate Immortal Body?”
“…”
The question, coming from Yunduan, felt oddly nuanced to Shang Can. She found herself laughing involuntarily and retorted, “Yunduan, do you want me to be interested?”
“Yes.”
Incredibly, Yunduan nodded without hesitation, her right hand casually brushing the hilt of Wuyou.
“If that’s the case, I’ll have leverage.”
“If you don’t take me back to Biluohuangquan, you can come with me to Qingyu.”
Perhaps the expression on Shang Can’s face, which resembled one who had seen a ghost, was too obvious. Yunduan paused for a moment before adding seriously, “The food in Qingyu is better than that in Tianwaitian.”
Did she not know that? Or which food wasn’t better than that of Tianwaitian? —This question wasn’t important!
Beside her, Wanshao, who had been crying injustice just moments before, suddenly halted, her expression shifting dramatically, almost like she had just discovered a scandal.
Shang Can’s head throbbed. She shoved Wanshao aside and took a few steps closer to Yunduan, chuckling, “Do you know what you’re talking about, Yunduan?”
“Or do you mean, is my disguise in Tianwaitian too convincing that Yunduan still hasn’t adapted to my true identity?”
As she spoke, Shang Can extended her hand, summoning a softly burning ball of golden flames in her palm.
Her intention was to help Yunduan see reality, but unexpectedly, Yunduan glanced at it and uttered something Shang Can did not expect: “So, that night when you roasted the chicken, when you said you brought a fire talisman, you were actually lying to me and used this fire to roast the chicken, right?”
“…”
Before Shang Can could respond, Wanshao, having been set aside, turned back toward her with a defiant look, her face filled with mockery of “You actually used heavenly fire to roast chicken,” but was quickly shoved back.
“…What does Yunduan really want to do?”
Shang Can, feeling defeated by the impasse, finally decided to ask candidly.
Yunduan lowered her gaze. The sky-blue dress made her appear softer compared to her usual ethereal white attire, but she still exuded an otherworldly beauty.
After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth thoughtfully.
“You resemble someone from my past.”
Shang Can’s mind buzzed, and she blurted out without thinking, “Not at all.”
After her words left her mouth, she realized the mistake, and sure enough, Yunduan was now looking at her intently, her tone infused with conviction: “I haven’t even said who it is. Why is Shang Can so sure that it’s not them?”
Shang Can felt her heart race but thought that despite Yunduan’s strange demeanor, she didn’t seem to have recognized her, so she asked with a hint of hope, “Who is it?”
“…”
Yun Duan pressed her lips together, hesitating for a long while, her clear, dark eyes scrutinizing Shang Can closely, a hint of confusion appearing in her gaze, like mist shrouding her thoughts.
“…I don’t remember.”
Her voice was soft, but to Shang Can, it felt as heavy as a stone dropping into a pit, echoing deeply in her heart.
Shang Can couldn’t quite determine whether she was happy or upset. She just wanted to end the conversation quickly, so she feigned casualness and said, “Well, it must not have been an important acquaintance if you don’t remember. Let’s forget about it.”
At that moment, she noticed Chu Ming’s somewhat disheveled figure approaching from a distance. Not wanting to complicate matters further, Shang Can felt anxious and stepped back, creating some distance. She spoke gently.
“I have no intention of making an enemy of you, Yun Zhongjun, but I am not someone you should want to befriend.”
“Whether you believe it or not, I’ve just been unfairly accused of something at Bi Luo Huang Quan. We need to return quickly to deal with it; I have no time to waste with the cultivators from Qing Yu.”
“If, in the future, I happen to meet you both among the cultivators attacking Bi Luo Huang Quan, I’ll be sure to give you a proper welcome.”
With that, she didn’t linger any longer, grabbing the still-dazed Wan Shao and taking off on the wind, vanishing into the horizon in an instant.
Chu Ming rushed to where Shang Can had just been, staring blankly at the direction she left, before eventually lowering his head in resignation.
“…Yun Duan, you and her…?”
His question was cautious, but he was surprised to see that Yun Duan was wearing a set of clothes he had never seen before.
Yun Duan was gazing blankly at the horizon for a long time before finally lowering her hand, which had been resting on the hilt of her sword, and turning around.
Her voice was still calm, but it strangely evoked the image of a tranquil surface hiding dark undercurrents. What she said made no sense, leaving Chu Ming confused.
“I believe you.”
After a long journey, Shang Can and Wan Shao finally returned to Bi Luo Huang Quan.
Bi Luo Huang Quan was located in the demon realm, with its entrance to the cultivation world hidden among the towering mountains. Only those granted permission by the demon lord could find their way in.
Wan Shao opened the entrance, and Shang Can followed her in, feeling familiar with the surroundings. Once inside the city, she finally pulled off the mask she had been wearing.
It had been a long time since she didn’t have to wear a mask, and Shang Can let out a long breath, feeling a sudden weight lift off her shoulders.
“Ah, Can is back!”
A cheerful child’s voice rang out, and Shang Can smiled, bending down to lift the child hugging her leg.
“Why are you running around outside at this time? Be careful, or your mother will spank you.”
“Of course not! I’m helping my mother run errands! She would never hit me!”
“Is that so? Truly impressive! I misjudged you.”
Laughing heartily, she set the pouting child down. A crowd had gathered around her, both young and old, each with joyful smiles on their faces.
“Why is Can back so early? Have you eaten yet?”
“Yeah, I remember the demon lord said you should be gone for at least a month, and it’s only been a few days…”
“Surely it’s because Can is exceptionally brave, finishing the task in such a short time!”
Voices of agreement rose around her, and Shang Can felt a pang of guilt, forcing a smile.
Before she could explain, Wan Shao poked her head out, pretending to be angry as she pulled Shang Can forward, saying, “Why is everyone only looking at Can? Doesn’t anyone see that I, the demon lord, have returned as well?”
The crowd burst into laughter, apologizing to Wan Shao. The street vendors greeted the two warmly, offering various goods and snacks, while children chased and played, their joyful cheers echoing throughout the street.
“Can is back! The demon lord is back!”
This was the Bi Luo Huang Quan, a place shunned by cultivators, rumored to be a domain ruled by fierce demons.
Yet what lay before them was a bustling marketplace, lively and thriving, just like any other.
However, the pedestrians here all bore unusual features, marking their identities as members of the demon race. Even the child Shang Can had just lifted had small, unformed horns on their forehead and mismatched colored eyes—red and green.
Before the hour of You, while it was still bright outside, the sky over Bi Luo Huang Quan had turned pitch black.
There was no daylight here, nor stars or moon, only the lights illuminating the streets, casting a warm glow against the endless darkness.
This was Bi Luo Huang Quan.
After temporarily parting ways with Wan Shao, Shang Can returned to her residence, washed her face, and suddenly felt a sense of peace.
This was now her sanctuary.
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