The skin washed by the blood began to slowly smooth over, every fine wrinkle disappearing. Amid the rising steam, Wu Yan’s appearance was undergoing subtle changes.
Her slightly sagging face became firm again. The faint creases between her brows and eyes seemed to be smoothed flat by the steam. The downward curve at the corners of her mouth gradually disappeared, and even the lines on her lips faded. Her entire person became as delicate as the first flower bud blooming on a branch in early spring.
A single bath in the blood pool had actually transformed this beautiful woman, who had appeared to be over forty only moments ago, into a girl in the absolute prime of her youth.
She was gorgeous and seductive, like a flower immersed in a pool of blood, absorbing the blood of wronged souls who had died over thousands upon thousands of years into her veins. From that point on, color returned to her skin, while an air of innocence filled her brows and eyes.
Wu Yan scooped up a handful of blood water. Her vermilion lips parted slightly, and after swallowing several mouthfuls, she opened her eyes.
Even her gaze was as clear and pure as that of a young woman in her early twenties.
Gu Mang stared at this utterly inexplicable scene. As his thoughts shook, something suddenly seemed to break through the earth within his mind—
He understood!
The peerlessly beautiful woman described in the rumors of Liao was her, and the old woman with white hair and wrinkled skin was also her!
Presumably, when Wu Yan attempted to cultivate the path of immortality, she had failed to find the proper method. Not only had she failed, but she had severely damaged her vitality and rapidly aged.
But considering a demon’s natural lifespan, she should still have been in the prime of her life. How could Wu Yan possibly accept her youthful beauty withering away so soon?
Therefore, the Blood Spirit Pills refined from the blood of the Feathered People should have an effect similar to that of the Agate Pool—
No, they should be even more powerful.
Not only could they restore Wu Yan’s primordial spirit, they could also rejuvenate her entire body.
The blood pool might only be able to return her to her early twenties, and perhaps its effects could not last very long. But the Blood Spirit Pills…
The Blood Spirit Pills should be capable of restoring her appearance and physique to that of a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl, while allowing the effects to last much longer…
Wu Yan soaked for a while. The abundant yin energy in the pool nourished her endlessly, and she seemed to radiate the glow of youth from the inside out. This appeared to dispel some of the gloom in her heart, and even her voice became more relaxed.
“A-Fang, what kind of people are the ones who returned to the island this time?”
A-Fang replied, “According to Shan Gao, there were four of them, all men. But Shan Gao was cursing and swearing so much that nothing useful came out of his mouth, so I don’t know much more than that.”
“Four men.” Wu Yan snorted. “It would be one thing if I didn’t go abduct mortals myself. Yet these ants insist on coming to my island of their own accord. If they are made into my playthings, they deserve it.”
“…”
Gu Mang thought to himself: Just as I thought. She didn’t say she would keep them as playthings. She said she would make them into playthings.
This Bat Queen really did have a White Moonlight in her heart. That was why she had used the parasitic insects to alter Yue Chen Qing’s appearance and features.
He just wondered which man possessed such charm that a female Bat Queen could obsess over him for so long, almost to the point of madness.
A-Fang said, “Your Majesty, mortals only live for a few short decades. The cultivator who came to the island last time to seek medicine for his mother—you only played with him for twelve or thirteen years before he could no longer withstand the torment and passed away. How many years do you think these four will last after we capture them?”
Wu Yan lifted a finger, sending strings of crimson droplets flying.
“They tried to take the Feathered People’s medicinal catalyst from my island, making me so angry. It doesn’t matter if I play with them for a few fewer years. They’re all puppets I created anyway. It’s not like they’re…”
She paused.
The pure expression vanished from her beautiful, seductive face, replaced by a darkness and madness that even demonic magic could not conceal.
“They’re not the real him.”
“Your Majesty…”
“Forget it. Let’s not talk about it.” Wu Yan tilted her head back, resting her neck against the pebbles. “He is an immortal. Heh heh. But what kind of immortal was he? A faithless bastard. I lost my true feelings for him long ago. After all these hundred years, the only thing I can’t forget is that handsome face of his. And wanting an identical face—isn’t that easy?”
Gu Mang was startled.
What? The one Wu Yan fell for was an immortal?
After his shock came sudden enlightenment.
That was right…
Otherwise, why would a demon like her painstakingly defy fate to cultivate, choosing the immortal path rather than the demonic path?
It was because her dream lover was an immortal.
Since ancient times, immortals and demons had never belonged together. Back then, this female Bat Queen must have been deeply infatuated, which was why she had resolved to change her spiritual affiliation so that she could be with that immortal openly and legitimately.
But judging from what she said, this immortal had later “betrayed his trust.” He must have done something that had left her deeply disappointed, perhaps even utterly despairing.
As a result, she could no longer cultivate the immortal path and was instead left with a body full of illnesses, aging while still in the prime of her life.
And so, her infatuation from back then had rotted into a twisted obsession.
She refused to willingly meet any men outside her own kind. Whenever a man intruded upon Bat Island, she would turn him into the likeness of that immortal, torment and defile him, and play with him until death.
Gu Mang looked at this female demon and felt that she was both hateful and pitiful. He could not help sighing inwardly.
A-Fang massaged Wu Yan’s shoulders and said, “Exactly. Once we capture those four fools who don’t know what’s good for them, we’ll make them, along with that little brat they tried to steal away, swallow the parasitic insects. That way they can change their skins, forget their mortal lives, and obediently remain on the island to serve our queen. Hmph! We’re even doing them a favor!”
Wu Yan’s mood improved, and she laughed.
“You certainly know how to flatter.”
Then she turned her head.
“Bring the fruit tray over. I’ll have a little.”
Gu Mang came back to himself. Without revealing anything, he lifted the white jade porcelain plate with both hands and approached the Agate Pool, respectfully kneeling down.
Wu Yan’s long, jade-white fingers picked through the fruit. In the end, she pointed at a bunch of lychees.
“This one. Peel them.”
Gu Mang answered, “Yes.”
A maid beside them immediately brought over a small celadon bowl. The crystalline, tender lychee flesh was quickly peeled by Gu Mang—six in total, arranged inside the bowl.
Wu Yan picked up one of them. Her vermilion lips opened and closed as she placed the sweet and sour, wine-syrup-like flesh into her mouth. After chewing several times, she said,
“Today’s are especially delicious.”
Gu Mang smiled but said nothing.
He had cast a Soul-Seizing Spell on the fruit while carrying it over. To conceal the traces of the spell, he had also added several illusions that he had once thought would be completely useless, making the fruit taste even sweeter and more delicious.
His spellcraft was already extraordinary, while the Fire Bat Clan was one of the simpler-minded demon races. Thus, he succeeded with ease.
After Wu Yan ate the lychees, the Soul-Seizing Spell would disperse throughout her body and extract the memories Gu Mang needed. Afterwards, all he had to do was recite the incantation again, and this invisible, formless spell would be drawn out of Wu Yan’s mind and return to Gu Mang, delivering all the information it had gathered.
After Wu Yan finished the fruit, she used the silk handkerchief promptly handed to her by a maid to wipe her fingers. Then she lazily closed her eyes and leaned against the edge of the pool, continuing her blood bath.
The most important step had already been accomplished. Gu Mang was just secretly breathing a sigh of relief when A-Fang suddenly asked,
“Your Majesty, do you need us to bring guards in tonight to attend you in bed?”
…
The breath Gu Mang had just released caught in his throat again.
Attend her in bed?!!
“The Mysterious Maiden dual-cultivation method naturally has the effect of prolonging life. Since I cannot take a Blood Spirit Pill today, I need to supplement yin with yang even more. Naturally, I’ll need a guard to attend me tonight.”
Gu Mang: “…”
“Go arrange it for me.”
A-Fang answered, “Yes.”
The senior maid A-Fang left.
Wu Yan remained immersed in the blood pool. This seductive beauty looked like a female ghost crawling out of hell, so alluring that words could hardly describe her beauty.
She raised her little finger and examined the crimson nail polish on her fingertip for a while before saying casually,
“I’m in a bad mood today. Burn some incense and help me get into the mood.”
“Yes!”
Two bat demons on either side immediately stepped forward, each holding a crystal bottle with a narrow neck and rounded body. The bottles contained pale-pink floral dew incense.
They knelt beside the blood pool, lowered their elegant necks, and poured the fragrant liquid into the water.
In an instant, the entire courtyard filled with fragrance. A peculiar, intoxicating sweetness rapidly spread throughout the waterside pavilion and drifted outward.
Gu Mang had never smelled such a unique sweet fragrance. It seemed to gather every scent he liked in the mortal world into one place.
He smelled the scent of grass, the fragrance of a summer lotus pond…
And the sweetness of honey.
He was astonished that there could be an incense so perfectly suited to his tastes. But from the corner of his eye, he noticed that the bat demons’ faces had also taken on intoxicated expressions.
—Not good. This incense may have hallucinogenic effects, just like the Floating Life Like a Dream that Murong Lian used!
Gu Mang hurriedly shook his head and circulated his inner energy, suppressing the dazed sensation caused by the incense as much as possible.
Once he steadied his mind and looked again, he found that every demon in the pavilion had already entered a dreamy, blissful state.
Wu Yan reclined against the edge of the blood pool. Under the influence of the strange fragrance, her features appeared increasingly beautiful and alluring. Her entire body had become as languid as spring mud, her eyes misty with desire, her vermilion lips slightly parted.
The enchanting fragrance spread slowly in every direction like ink on paper.
After a while, A-Fang returned.
“Your Majesty, they’ve all been brought here.”
She entered the waterside pavilion with a group of guards behind her—ten in total. Every one of them had broad shoulders, narrow waists, and an imposing, heroic air.
Gu Mang swept his eyes over them and immediately spotted the man among the ten with the most extravagantly handsome appearance and the most striking features.
“…”
As expected, Mo Xi had been selected.
But judging from his expression, he clearly had no idea what he had been brought here for.
His sword-like brows were furrowed as he calmly swept his gaze over the demons, lingering on Gu Mang for a moment longer before moving away. There was a faint trace of confusion in his eyes.
Gu Mang thought to himself: This is bad.
Mo Xi belonged to the type of handsome man who was completely unaware of his own beauty. Normally, the reason he could drive away swarms of crazed admirers was simply because he was accustomed to wearing a severe, icy expression that made him utterly unapproachable.
But whenever he encountered something he could not figure out, a trace of bewilderment would appear between his brows and eyes. That sharp, frigid aura would weaken considerably, and he would even acquire a slightly youthful, innocent, and alluring air.
In short—
Beauty.
Since Mo Xi’s good looks could no longer be concealed, all they could do was hope Wu Yan had unusual tastes.
Or hope she was blind.
Gu Mang prayed desperately.
Don’t choose the princess. Don’t choose the princess. The princess has a terrible temper. If she can’t swallow it, she’ll choke and leave…
He sincerely prayed for a long while.
Then he saw Wu Yan raise her hand and point toward Mo Xi.
“You. You’ll do.”
Gu Mang: “…”
Mo Xi: “?”
Wu Yan stretched her body and stood up from beside the blood pool. The Fire Bat Clan had a peculiar constitution. The blood did not stain her body crimson; instead, it slid off like ordinary hot spring water, revealing skin as smooth and white as jade.
Gu Mang nearly wanted to bang his head against a wall over the uninhibited nature of demons.
She had emerged from the bath without the slightest warning and did not even bother to wrap herself in a towel. From Gu Mang’s direction, he could only see her bare back.
But from Mo Xi’s direction…
He could see her chest.
Gu Mang secretly glanced at Mo Xi’s expression.
Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet—it was like watching a rainbow carousel spin through every color.
The Fire Bat Clan was unfortunately not very intelligent and was not particularly good at reading other people’s expressions. On top of that, Wu Yan had already been affected by the incense and was somewhat distracted and filled with restless thoughts.
Thus, she could only see Mo Xi’s handsomeness, completely failing to notice the murderous aura radiating from him.
The female Bat Queen lazily stretched out her arms and gathered her long hair, clicking her tongue.
“You’re such a useless little servant. I picked you to attend me tonight, and you’re so happy you’ve lost your wits? Come here. Come help me change.”
At this point, how could Mo Xi not understand?
His eyes abruptly widened. First, he stared at Wu Yan in astonishment. Then his gaze fell upon Gu Mang.
Gu Mang guiltily lowered his head.
“…”
It was as though Mo Xi had something stuck in his throat. His gaze slowly turned back toward Wu Yan, and his handsome face gradually turned green.