Xiao Lingyu and Chu Mingwei did not stay long at Yunming’s hut. After the meeting with the boy, Bai Mi soon reappeared from somewhere, as if he had been waiting nearby the entire time, ready to lead them back to the Demon Emperor’s palace.
Xiao Lingyu could not tell whether Bai Mi had overheard their conversation. All he knew was that Bai Mi remained silent the entire journey. Only when the Demon Emperor’s palace came back into view did Bai Mi suddenly speak.
“Yunming’s wish is my wish. I promised him something, and I will fulfill it.”
After that, he fell silent again for the rest of the journey.
That night, Xiao Lingyu and Chu Mingwei were arranged to rest in a side hall of the Demon Emperor’s palace.
Lying on the wide bed, Xiao Lingyu had no intention of sleeping. The events of the past few days replayed in his mind like scattered fragments. He only felt that the world truly was unpredictable.
In his previous life at this time, he knew nothing of the outside world. He did not know the secrets of the Ancient Great Collapse, did not know that the mysterious Illusory Demon Realm was actually on the verge of collapse, did not know that the demons from ancient times were still watching from the shadows, and did not even know that the lower realm might collapse at any moment—erasing him completely, leaving no chance of reincarnation.
But precisely because he knew nothing then, he had lived recklessly. He had been unrestrained, arrogant, and bright.
In this life, everything had changed from the beginning. He was no longer as fearless as before; instead, he had restrained himself and acted obediently.
Over time, Xiao Lingyu himself could no longer distinguish whether that “obedience” was an act or part of his true nature. These ten years in the Heaven’s Fate Sect had been unexpectedly comfortable. Because of his senior brother, because of his master, because of the sect leader and his fellow disciples—he had gradually begun to see himself as part of the sect. He had begun to care about more and more people.
Old Ghost Head, Zhu Yurou… unknowingly, he had taken responsibility for far too many things.
Xiao Lingyu could not help but smile bitterly. He could no longer act as recklessly as he once did. The people around him, the ones he cared about—he only wanted them to live safely.
Lying there, he stared blankly at the ceiling.
In his previous life, until the moment he died, the lower realm had shown no sign of collapse. So perhaps what Qingming said—that collapse could happen at any time—did not mean it would happen immediately. Maybe the general trend would not change. If so, the lower realm might still last another twenty years.
He quietly calculated the time, then suddenly thought of Zhu Yurou’s beginnings.
Back when they first met in Wucheng…
If he had not broken through to the cultivation realm at six years old in this life, who would Zhu Yurou have encountered? Would he have been cared for like now, fat and carefree? Or would he have met someone cruel, leaving him thin and miserable?
Xiao Lingyu was still imagining Zhu Yurou’s “tragic fate” in some absurd alternate timeline when—
That very subject climbed onto the bed.
“Little Monster, Little Pig is hungry.”
Xiao Lingyu glanced at him helplessly. “Didn’t you just eat a plate of pastries tonight?”
Zhu Yurou blinked pitifully. “I already digested them.”
Xiao Lingyu studied him suspiciously. For some reason, Zhu Yurou seemed to be eating more and more lately.
Seeing Xiao Lingyu unmoved, Zhu Yurou immediately pressed his belly against him. “Touch it, Little Monster. It’s all deflated.”
At that moment, Chu Mingwei came out after bathing and saw Xiao Lingyu reclining on the bed while Zhu Yurou clung to his arm and acted spoiled.
When he heard Zhu Yurou asking for food, even Chu Mingwei was surprised. “Zhu Yurou, didn’t you already eat a lot tonight?”
Zhu Yurou looked wronged. “Senior Brother is mean. Little Pig didn’t eat that much. My stomach is really empty now.”
Chu Mingwei subconsciously reached out and touched Zhu Yurou’s belly. Indeed, it felt oddly empty.
A thought flashed through his mind. “Zhu Yurou… are you about to advance in cultivation?”
“What does ‘advance’ mean?” Zhu Yurou blinked blankly.
Xiao Lingyu suddenly sat up.
He grabbed Zhu Yurou. “Did you eat the Ascension Fruits?”
Zhu Yurou stiffened.
Then he hugged Xiao Lingyu quickly. “Little Pig just couldn’t resist…”
Xiao Lingyu’s expression darkened. “How many?”
Zhu Yurou looked up cautiously. “One…”
Seeing Xiao Lingyu’s face grow colder, he quickly raised a paw. “Two?”
Silence.
He turned pleadingly to Chu Mingwei. “Three…”
Xiao Lingyu’s face went completely dark.
He had already suspected it, but never expected Zhu Yurou to eat all three Ascension Fruits at once. Old Ghost Head had clearly warned that the spiritual energy inside them was extremely violent, and Zhu Yurou’s body could not handle it yet.
Xiao Lingyu immediately checked him with his divine sense.
“Do you feel any discomfort?”
Zhu Yurou looked teary-eyed. “Yes.”
Xiao Lingyu tensed. “Where?”
Zhu Yurou pouted. “Where you’re grabbing hurts… and my stomach is still empty. Hungry!”
Xiao Lingyu was speechless.
Chu Mingwei asked again, “When did you eat them?”
Zhu Yurou shrank his head. “When Little Monster fell asleep last time…”
It turned out that during Xiao Lingyu’s unconscious state in the secret realm, Zhu Yurou had intended to use the fruit to wake him. When that was rejected, he secretly ate one… then another… and finally the last one as well.
After understanding the full story, Chu Mingwei said calmly, “Old Ghost Head said the Ascension Fruits contain powerful spiritual energy. If there were a problem, we would have noticed already. Since he is still active, he should be fine.”
Xiao Lingyu nodded, suppressing his worry.
Still, he warned, “You are forbidden to eat pastries for one month.”
Zhu Yurou immediately protested. “Little Monster is so cruel!”
“Three months,” Xiao Lingyu replied coldly.
Zhu Yurou was defeated.
He sulked and crawled into the corner of the bed.
Chu Mingwei smiled helplessly and pulled Xiao Lingyu into his arms. “Since he met the Demon Emperor today, if there were any issues, the Demon Emperor would have noticed.”
But Xiao Lingyu’s impression of the Demon Emperor was far from good.
In his view, the survival crisis of the spirit rhinoceros lineage was largely caused by the Demon Emperor’s inaction. Relying on their sacrifice to maintain the Illusory Demon Realm was never a sustainable solution.
Xiao Lingyu’s expression turned slightly cold as he thought about it.
Chu Mingwei gently turned his face toward him. “What are you thinking about?”
Xiao Lingyu answered honestly, “Just thinking that the demons must have been very worried about the extinction of the spirit rhinoceros lineage. Now they don’t need to worry anymore.”
Chu Mingwei laughed softly and kissed his forehead.
“Shh. This is the Demon Emperor’s palace. Be careful he hears you.”
Xiao Lingyu twitched his lips. Surely the Demon Emperor would not stoop that low.
Chu Mingwei sat beside him, still smiling. “Still thinking about the spirit rhinoceros lineage?”
“Just feeling it’s unfair,” Xiao Lingyu said. “They were treated as a matter of course. Their sacrifice sustained everyone else’s peace, yet no one cared that their line was almost wiped out.”
Chu Mingwei thought for a moment before speaking gently.
“Perhaps for that ancestor, sacrifice was never truly a choice. Just like the spirit rhinoceros lineage later on—they were bound by so-called righteousness and so-called duty. Even if they did not want to, they were forced into it.”
He held Xiao Lingyu’s hand softly.
“Sleep. Tomorrow we will take Zhu Yurou and leave. If the Demon Emperor refuses, we may have to leave through void passage.”
Xiao Lingyu closed his eyes obediently.
That night, however, in the half-dream state, Xiao Lingyu felt something soft and warm constantly burrowing into his arms.
Instinctively, he grabbed it.
Chu Mingwei lit a small illumination spell.
The two of them froze.
In Xiao Lingyu’s hand hung a completely naked toddler—about four or five years old—who was still wriggling toward him.
The child looked completely unbothered.
“Little Monster, Little Pig is hungry…”
Xiao Lingyu slowly looked toward the corner of the room.
It was empty.
Then he looked back at the child in his hand.
“…Zhu Yurou?”
The toddler nodded happily.
“Little Monster, why are you sleeping on the floor with Little Pig? Did Senior Brother kick you down?”
Chu Mingwei’s face darkened.
“…Don’t slander me.”
Zhu Yurou blinked.
“So Senior Brother also sleeps on the floor?”
Xiao Lingyu was completely speechless.