Perhaps because this was the first time he had taken human form, Zhu Yurun spent the entire night in high spirits, tossing and turning.
Xiao Lingyu had tried several times to suppress him as he once did when Zhu Yurun was still a little white pig, but each time he met those soft, trusting eyes, he would end up giving in and resigning himself to accompanying him.
Freshly transformed, Zhu Yurun was endlessly curious about his own body, constantly asking Xiao Lingyu questions.
“Little monster, where did Little Pig’s ears go?”
“Little monster, will Little Pig have to walk on two hind legs like you from now on?”
“Little monster, what is this?”
When Zhu Yurun curiously revealed his own small, pink, tender male organ and looked at Xiao Lingyu for an answer with wide, innocent eyes, Chu Mingwei, who had been standing by and laughing without restraint, finally showed a rare trace of conscience. He reached out and scooped Zhu Yurun up.
“This is your tail,” Chu Mingwei said seriously.
Zhu Yurun looked at him in confusion. “But shouldn’t a tail be on the butt?”
Chu Mingwei nodded solemnly. “When you transform into human form, it moves to the front.”
Zhu Yurun curiously reached out and poked it, then looked up with certainty at both Xiao Lingyu and Chu Mingwei.
“Little monster and Big Brother don’t have tails, right?”
Chu Mingwei: “……”
Xiao Lingyu: “……”
Compared to his curiosity about his body, Zhu Yurun’s biggest problem was walking. By the time he had fallen onto the bed for the tenth or so time, crawling forward on all fours, Xiao Lingyu finally accepted reality—there was no way Zhu Yurun would learn to walk in a single night, even with his favorite snacks as motivation.
Chu Mingwei leaned against the bedside. Every time Zhu Yurun instinctively crawled toward Xiao Lingyu’s arms, he would pull him back, claiming it was “training his walking ability.”
When Zhu Yurun finally gave up, lying spread-eagled between the two of them, Chu Mingwei realized a serious problem: in human form, Zhu Yurun could no longer sleep in the corner as he used to. Worse, it seemed he intended to stay right between them.
Without hesitation, Chu Mingwei lifted him up. “Zhu Yurun, turn back.”
Zhu Yurun blinked. “What does ‘turn back’ mean?”
“Turn back into your original pig form.”
Zhu Yurun looked even more confused. “How do I do that?”
Both Xiao Lingyu and Chu Mingwei froze at the same time.
Xiao Lingyu tried cautiously, “Zhu Yurun, do you remember how you turned into human form?”
Zhu Yurun shook his head blankly. “Little Pig just slept, and when I woke up, I was like this.”
Xiao Lingyu gave a bitter smile and looked at Chu Mingwei.
This was troublesome.
They had originally assumed that if he could transform into human form, reverting would be natural. But Zhu Yurun was too ignorant—his transformation had clearly been accidental.
Thinking of meeting the Demon Emperor the next day, and the possibility of conflict, Zhu Yurun could not be placed into a beast storage bag as easily as before. If they broke through the void later, they could protect themselves—but Zhu Yurun would be in danger.
Xiao Lingyu sighed inwardly. He suddenly found himself sympathizing with Luo Shaohan, even though their situations were entirely different.
Zhu Yurun, unaware of their concerns, once again crawled into Xiao Lingyu’s arms and fell asleep peacefully.
Chu Mingwei, amused, pulled both of them into his embrace, gently poking Zhu Yurun’s soft belly. The two men exchanged a glance, both unable to hide their tenderness.
Meanwhile, in the Demon Emperor’s palace, the night was anything but peaceful.
All the elders of the various demon clans had gathered in the main hall, arguing fiercely.
The Demon Emperor sat silently on the throne, watching the dispute below.
“Demon Emperor! Little Pig is a member of our Phantom Demon Realm—how can we allow humans to take him away?” Bai Ze of the White Tiger Clan said angrily.
“Exactly! The Spirit Rhinoceros lineage has always protected our realm. Little Pig is their descendant—protecting the Phantom Demon Realm is his duty!” Elder Qi Wei of the Crimson Flame Clan echoed.
Bai Mi finally spoke coldly, “Elder Qi, are you saying you want to watch the Spirit Rhinoceros lineage go extinct?”
Qi Wei snapped back, “I only speak the truth!”
The hall descended into chaos again.
Bai Mi lowered his eyes, concealing the sarcasm in them. He thought of Yun Ting’s final request: Take Little Pig out of the Phantom Demon Realm.
He had promised.
He could not fail him.
At the same time, the Demon Emperor quietly made his decision.
The Phantom Demon Realm had become what it was because of his hesitation. If he had chosen long ago to integrate with the lower realm instead of hiding here, perhaps the Spirit Rhinoceros lineage would not have been reduced to a single member.
He raised his aura slightly. The entire hall fell silent.
“I have decided,” the Demon Emperor said calmly. “We will form an alliance with the human cultivators to prevent the collapse of the lower realm. If we survive this disaster, the Phantom Demon Realm will merge into the lower world. As for Little Pig, he will leave with the human cultivators.”
Shock erupted throughout the hall.
“An alliance with humans?”
“You must reconsider, Demon Emperor!”
The Demon Emperor’s expression turned stern. “Do you question my decision?”
“No!”
After the meeting dispersed, Bai Mi silently accepted the order, already thinking of Yun Ting.
That night, the entire Phantom Demon Realm was shaken by three pieces of news:
The lower realm might collapse at any moment.
The demon race would ally with humans.
Little Pig would leave with the human cultivators.
And far outside the Phantom Demon Realm, Qing Ming stood at the edge of the spatial barrier, his expression full of mockery.
He lightly touched the barrier.
Then suddenly—he slashed.
And extended his hand into it.