Xiyao seemed not to notice Huai Xi’s increasingly unpleasant expression. She put on a gossipy air and said, “That grave was actually empty! The demon race’s supreme treasure was missing too—the Soul-Transferring Jade that had been buried alongside that man. Mingye is now absolutely furious and searching everywhere for the man who tricked him into marriage. He’s even traced the trail all the way to the Heavenly Realm.”
“Mingye is someone who holds grudges over the smallest things and always takes revenge. Now that he’s discovered the person is from the Heavenly Realm, I’m afraid he’ll attack us before long. Dear younger brother, what do you think we should do about this?\~” Xiyao blinked, looking terribly troubled.
“Elder Sister,” Huai Xi took a deep breath. “I must descend to the mortal realm tomorrow. You’re resourceful and wise, so I’m sure you can handle Mingye.”
Xiyao gave him an ambiguous smile and was just about to speak when an immortal attendant entered.
“The Demon King Mingye requests an audience with the Heavenly Emperor.” The attendant’s expression was somewhat complicated. “He says… he says he wishes to stay in the Heavenly Realm for a while, to purify his soul.”
…………………………………..
Xiyao finally couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter, swaying so much that her hair ornaments trembled.
“My dear younger brother, it’s not that your elder sister doesn’t want to help you. It’s just that Mingye is moving far too quickly!”
The immortal attendant kept his head lowered, not daring to look at the two people seated above him. He was waiting for their orders, his expression rather awkward. He also felt that the Demon King’s excuse was utterly ridiculous.
Who in the Three Realms didn’t know that Demon King Mingye was debauched and wanton, with a penchant for slaughter? Now he had barged into the Nine Heavens without even submitting an invitation. It was obvious that he hadn’t come with good intentions.
Huai Xi’s expression was rather unpleasant. He remained silent, seemingly considering how to deal with the situation.
Xiyao, however, was the first to rise. Her teasing remarks had merely been a probe, an attempt to find out whether the Demon King Mingye’s runaway Queen was actually her dear younger brother.
Now, it seemed there was no need to ask.
“Go take care of your own business.” Xiyao gently waved the round fan in her hand. Every frown and smile of hers carried an imposing air. “Leave Mingye to me.”
With that, Xiyao turned to leave. But just as her foot crossed the threshold, Huai Xi gritted his teeth and said, “There’s no need.”
“I’ll go myself.”
Mingye was suspicious and jealous by nature. Huai Xi truly hadn’t expected him to do something as absurd as digging up a grave.
The final step in Lanxing’s resurrection had been to use the Soul-Transferring Jade to send his weakened soul into the mortal realm. Huai Xi had no choice but to fabricate an identity and approach Mingye. Originally, he had merely intended to use a few tricks to make Mingye owe him a favor. That way, he could take the opportunity to ask to borrow the Soul-Transferring Jade.
Who could have known that Mingye would actually… actually…
Even thinking about it now made Huai Xi grit his teeth in hatred. He cursed inwardly, What a shameless, indecent man!
However, after spending some time with him, Huai Xi had realized that Mingye wasn’t the bloodthirsty tyrant described in rumors, someone who knew nothing but conquering the demon race through slaughter. On the contrary, his mind was extraordinarily meticulous.
Now that Mingye had come all the way to the Nine Heavens, he had probably already learned about the snow lotus blooming again in the Jade Lake.
Very few people could activate the Soul-Transferring Jade. Since Mingye had narrowed his suspicions down to the Nine Heavens, there could only be a handful of possible targets.
If Huai Xi didn’t show himself, that would only make Mingye more suspicious.
Huai Xi walked unhurriedly toward the Golden Palace, already calculating how he would send Mingye away.
Inside the Golden Palace.
Mingye sat on a low couch with his eyes lowered, seemingly lost in thought. A crystal cup in his hand held fragrant, mellow wine. He wore black from head to toe, and his long hair was tied high with a red ribbon. A tiny red mole appeared in the crease of his eyelid, disappearing again when he raised his hand.
“The Demon King truly is as unrestrained and unruly as the rumors say.”
Huai Xi stepped into the hall, his words carrying a hint of mockery. Beneath his wide sleeves, his slender, pale fingertips dug into his palm until they sank into his flesh.
Mingye raised his head. What he hated most about the Nine Heavens was its omnipresent light. Just like now, Huai Xi approached against the light, making it impossible for Mingye to see his expression or appearance. All he could hear was that clear, crisp voice, like jade pieces falling onto a plate.
Annoying. Hypocritical.
Mingye indifferently withdrew his gaze. Remembering what Yichuan had told him—that the most urgent task was to find that heartless bastard without deploying a single soldier, so he could preserve as much strength as possible to properly torment that shameless man—he suppressed his disgust toward the Nine Heavens.
Without even looking at Huai Xi, who had entered the hall, he drawled lazily, “You’re too kind.”
Huai Xi took his seat at the head of the hall. Hearing this, the veins in his forehead throbbed twice. He silently added another insult to the list: Shameless.
“I heard the Demon King wishes to come to the Heavenly Realm to purify his soul. The Cloudwater Pool can cleanse the impurities of the mortal world. I’ll have an immortal attendant escort you there shortly. How about washing away all that filth clinging to your body?”
The Cloudwater Pool was located at the boundary between the immortal and mortal realms, in a remote area. Beyond the pool lay the mortal world.
Mingye propped his head up and turned slightly. Only then did he get his first clear look at this Heavenly Emperor, who had ascended to the throne less than a thousand years ago.
Young, handsome, frail.
A Heavenly Emperor with a deathly pale complexion, looking as though a gust of wind might knock him over.
“The Heavenly Realm certainly has plenty of good things. I notice the Heavenly Emperor is pale and looks rather sickly. Does the Heavenly Realm not have some kind of pool, spring, or medicinal bath that can nourish the body? Something like, say, the Jade Lake?”
Huai Xi rested his fingertips on the armrest, tapping it intermittently. His tone was cool.
“There’s no need for the Demon King to concern himself with that.”
The corners of Mingye’s lips lifted into a smile. His dark green eyes fixed on Huai Xi, looking him up and down with scrutiny. He was like some beast lurking in a corner at night, watching, searching, and waiting for its prey to appear.
After a while, Mingye slowly rose to his feet. His interest seemed to have completely vanished. Without even saying goodbye, he headed straight out.
Huai Xi’s cold fingertips twitched. He turned his head to watch Mingye’s retreating figure, revealing a barely perceptible hint of relief.
\*
Outside the Cloudwater Pool, the immortal attendant gestured invitingly.
“Lord Mingye, this is the Cloudwater Pool. There are immortal attendants inside specifically assigned to take care of your food, clothing, accommodation, and daily needs during your stay in the Heavenly Realm.”
After speaking, the attendant was about to leave. But Mingye’s dark green eyes suddenly lit up. He bent down to look at the attendant and slowly asked, “Where did the Heavenly Emperor get his injuries?”
The moment the attendant met Mingye’s eyes, his entire expression became vacant. Mingye’s question seemed to act like a special command, making him answer mechanically.
“Injured by High God Zhili.”
Zhili. That familiar name again.
It was the name Yichuan had mentioned most frequently whenever he spoke of Lanxing.
“Why did he injure him?”
“Not long ago, High God Zhili sealed off the Jade Lake, enraging the Heavenly Emperor.”
“Where is Zhili now?”
The immortal attendant replied blankly, “Ever since Divine Venerable Lanxing fell, High God Zhili has never appeared again. Only the Heavenly Emperor knows his whereabouts.”
Mingye narrowed his eyes. After a moment, he asked, “Is there anyone in the Heavenly Realm named Tingyun?”
“No.”
The answer came without the slightest hesitation.
Although Mingye already knew that Tingyun was most likely a false name that man had used to deceive him, he had still asked with a barely perceptible trace of hope. When that hope was finally dashed, it nevertheless stirred up an uncontrollable surge of murderous rage within him.
Mingye waved his hand, and the immortal attendant vanished from the spot.
The moment the Glass Shadow Mirror dissipated, Huai Xi covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, coughing twice. Fine flecks of snow fell onto the silk handkerchief, like plum blossoms scattered across snow.
The backlash from activating the Soul-Transferring Jade was actually this severe.
Xiyao looked at him disapprovingly.
“In your current condition, you should rest for a while. Why are you in such a hurry?”
Huai Xi shook his head. His dark, lustrous eyes held a pain that was both obsessive and hollow.
“I don’t want to wait another second.”
After a thousand years of planning, he could finally see him again. He couldn’t bear to wait even a moment longer.
That was Lanxing—his closest friend, and also the person he…
Loved.
“Mingye’s suspicions have already fallen on Zhili. I’m afraid he won’t be leaving the Heavenly Realm anytime soon. I’ll have to trouble you to keep him occupied during this period, Elder Sister.”
Xiyao pondered for a moment. “What if he becomes desperate and sends troops to attack the Heavenly Realm? What will you do then?”
Huai Xi furrowed his brows slightly.
“For the sake of a man? He’d have to be insane.”
“If he’s capable of digging up a grave, what isn’t he capable of?” Xiyao asked. “If that day really comes, it will inevitably cause turmoil.”
“That day won’t come.” Huai Xi’s tone was calm. “I won’t make other people bear the consequences of what I’ve done.”
He didn’t believe Mingye would dare provoke the Heavenly Realm. Even if the demon race went up against the celestial race, it wouldn’t merely be like an insect trying to shake a tree. They would have absolutely no chance of winning.
At present, Mingye was simply consumed by hatred after being deceived. Huai Xi figured that after some time, once he had calmed down, he wouldn’t remain so crazed.
…………………
A City, early winter.
“Tell Director Zhang I’ll accept this script.”
Luo Cheng’an closed the script and casually tossed it aside.
Hearing this, his agent silently pumped a fist in the air.
Yes!
“Then I’ll go tell Director Zhang right now.” The agent happily went outside to make the call.
Luo Cheng’an had an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. He stretched one arm across the sofa and tilted his head back, chewing the “cigarette” to pieces one bite at a time, producing a series of crisp crunching sounds.
When his agent walked back in, he saw Luo Cheng’an staring blankly into space while eating his “cigarette.” He frowned slightly.
“You absolutely mustn’t eat those chocolate sticks in public. If the paparazzi catch you, they’ll say you’re smoking, and you’ll lose even more fans.”
“Then let them leave.” Luo Cheng’an didn’t care. “It’s not as if I haven’t been hated by the entire internet before.”
After spending more than twenty years in the mortal realm, he was tired of pretending to be that innocent, well-behaved Zhili.
Now that everything had finally settled, he no longer wanted to keep up the act.
Whether people hated him or cursed him, he just wanted something to do to pass the time.
He no longer wanted to follow the countless rules and restrictions of the Nine Heavens, either.
As for returning to the Luo family, he wanted that even less. He didn’t want to see how Lanxing doted on the current Zhili, who was practically an idiot.
He had thought that after all the twists and turns, things would finally take a turn for the better. In the end, he still couldn’t compete with Zhili.
A thousand years of scheming. He had thought he could make Lanxing thoroughly despise Zhili, but who could have known that, through a twist of fate, the two of them would go through life and death together, and Zhili would end up binding Lanxing to himself completely.
It was a kind of anger and helplessness, much like lifting a rock only to drop it on one’s own foot.
But did he regret it?
Not at all. As long as Lanxing was still alive, all he wanted was for Lanxing to live…
At the very least, he was still the only closest friend Lanxing had in this lifetime. That was enough.
Perhaps he had been ruled by jealousy for too long. After finally losing everything, he unexpectedly felt a strange sense of relief amid the pain.
Knowing there was no hope and no longer yearning for anything, he could finally relax and do as he pleased.
He no longer had to live in fear of when his deception might be exposed. He could simply let everything fall apart.