Chapter 13: Shameless
Bai Jingxue was utterly baffled by the recent turn of events. This world, having diverged from the original plot, was becoming increasingly unpredictable.
The Demon Lord was cooking?
No, that couldn’t be right. Their relationship was far too hostile. Bai Jingxue was more inclined to believe she was poisoning the food.
Her emerald eyes gleaming with suspicion, she hid in her cat bed, observing the situation. She contemplated knocking the dishes over, just to be safe.
Luo Nianshang, deep in meditation, suddenly began to tremble. Black wisps of energy emanated from her body, her face flushed, sweat plastering her robes to her skin.
She looked like she was in a sauna.
Suddenly, her eyes flew open, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. Bai Jingxue, startled, rushed to her side, meowing in concern.
“Meow?”
Luo Nianshang wiped her mouth, her fingers coming away stained crimson. Her smile was strained. The scent of blood mingled with another aroma, something sweet and enticing.
Bai Jingxue’s gaze fell upon the four dishes and a bowl of soup laid out on the table. She leaped onto the table, extending a paw towards the food, only to be scooped up by the scruff of her neck.
“Master, your cat is adorable,” a voice purred. “Look at her little pink paw pads.”
Bai Jingxue glared as the Demon Lord squeezed her paws. She was tempted to lash out, but she wasn’t keen on testing the nine lives theory. She endured the indignity.
Luo Nianshang, finally remembering her new disciple, resumed her usual aloof demeanor.
Glancing at the food, she said, “I no longer require sustenance.”
“Of course, Master,” Hong Ying replied smoothly. “But I do. I thought I’d prepare a meal for both of us.”
Bai Jingxue’s mind raced. This was all so bizarre.
Even though the original plot was no longer a reliable guide, this was a complete deviation. In the novel, the only person worthy of the Demon Lord’s culinary skills had been the male lead.
Then, a memory surfaced. The Demon Lord had only cooked once, and the male lead had nearly died after consuming her food. It wasn’t poisoned, just incredibly disgusting.
Bai Jingxue felt a surge of pity for Luo Nianshang. She couldn’t help but stare at her with sympathy.
Hong Ying’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. “Please, Master, have a taste,” she urged. “Let me know what you think of my cooking.”
Bai Jingxue couldn’t bear it. She meowed loudly, but Luo Nianshang didn’t understand.
Despite her cold exterior, Luo Nianshang had a soft spot for those who asked for favors. And she wasn’t one to refuse a request, especially from her new disciple.
She nodded, taking a seat at the table. Hong Ying had already filled a bowl with rice and served her a portion of each dish.
Luo Nianshang picked up her chopsticks and took a bite, her expression unchanging. “It’s good,” she said calmly. “Why are you standing there? Eat.”
Only then did Hong Ying release the cat.
Bai Jingxue rushed to Luo Nianshang’s side, relieved to see that she seemed unharmed. But her relief was short-lived. A thud echoed through the chamber.
She turned to see Hong Ying sprawled on the floor, unconscious.
What was happening? Bai Jingxue had always considered herself intelligent, but this plot twist baffled her.
Luo Nianshang, startled, rushed to Hong Ying’s side, her voice laced with concern. “What’s wrong?”
Hong Ying’s eyes fluttered open. “I’m fine, Master,” she whispered, her voice weak.
She took a deep breath, her gaze meeting Luo Nianshang’s. “Did you… truly find the food palatable?”
Luo Nianshang nodded, her expression serene. “It was quite good.”
The Demon Lord had never cooked before. She hadn’t even bothered to taste the food as she prepared it. Seeing the appealing presentation and smelling the enticing aroma, she had assumed she had done well.
But that single bite had nearly killed her.
She would go down in history as the first Demon Lord to be slain by her own cooking.
She couldn’t help but admire Luo Nianshang’s fortitude. To think that she had managed to swallow that abomination and declare it “good.”
Bai Jingxue leaped onto the table. If the Sword Saint had deemed it safe to consume, then it couldn’t be that bad. Curiosity got the better of her, and she dipped a paw into the soup, taking a tentative lick.
The taste…
She fell off the table.
Bai Jingxue, deceased, at the tender age of one.
Just kidding. She had merely fainted. As her life flashed before her eyes, she longed for Lü Qingyan’s cooking. Her ex-girlfriend had been a culinary genius, spoiling her with delicious meals in their past life.
She was suddenly back in her old apartment, the familiar scent of chicken soup filling the air as Lü Qingyan emerged from the kitchen, a large pot in hand.
“Meow.”
Luo Nianshang, having revived her disciple, then turned her attention to the cat. She issued a strict order forbidding Hong Ying from ever entering the kitchen again. To ensure the order was enforced, she added it to the sect rules.
***
A few days later, a small, furry figure crept towards the Ejian Sect’s main gate.
It scurried from behind a boulder, then rolled to a stop behind another large rock, peering out cautiously.
A dilapidated kitchen stood before it, a sign hanging above the entrance. The sign read: “Kitchen: Restricted Area. Hong Ying, Do Not Enter.”
Lü Qingyan didn’t know her owner’s current alias. After observing for a while, she decided to make her move, dashing towards the sect gate.
The night held no terrors for Lü Qingyan. She effortlessly dodged the patrolling disciples, circling around to find a less guarded entrance.
However, infiltrating the Ejian Sect, the most heavily fortified sect in the righteous realm, was no easy feat. The moment she brushed against the protective barrier, the entire sect was bathed in blinding light.
Silence shattered, replaced by a chorus of panicked shouts.
“Enemy attack!”
“Isn’t that the Demon Lord’s dog? The Demon Lord is here!”
“The Demon Lord is attacking!”
The Demon Lord, deep in meditation, frowned, her eyes snapping open.
Luo Nianshang, too, heard the commotion. She rose to her feet, heading towards the exit. Pausing, she reinforced the protective barriers around her chamber, just to be safe.
“Stay here,” she instructed. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Yes, Master,” Hong Ying replied obediently.
The moment Luo Nianshang was gone, the Demon Lord dropped her facade.
She smiled, stretching out on the bed, her posture deliberately alluring.
Only the cat and the Demon Lord remained in the chamber. The Demon Lord, amused by the cat’s wary distance, rose to her feet and sauntered over, crouching before it.
“You recognize me, don’t you?” she purred.
Despite the Demon Lord’s seemingly harmless demeanor, Bai Jingxue opted for playing dumb. She tilted her head and meowed, her expression innocent.
The Demon Lord chuckled. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I have no interest in harming your precious master.”
Bai Jingxue’s eyes widened. Was she planning to torture her nemesis instead?
Why couldn’t they just get along?
Luo Nianshang, having left the chamber, extended her divine sense, searching for the Demon Lord. There was no trace of her, but she did find a small white dog being chased by a group of disciples, heading straight for the sect’s deadly protective barrier.
She teleported, intercepting the dog and scooping it into her arms.
“The threat has been neutralized,” she announced calmly. “Return to your duties.”
Lü Qingyan, her heart pounding from the chase, was eternally grateful for her ability to teleport. Otherwise, she would have been shredded.
Luo Nianshang was truly a kind and compassionate soul.
Lü Qingyan regretted ever doubting her.
“Where is your owner?” Luo Nianshang asked.
Lü Qingyan shook her head. She had no idea. She only knew that the Demon Lord had been gone for days, and she had finally seized the opportunity to escape the confines of the palace, only to nearly get pulverized by a magical barrier.
But now that Luo Nianshang had rescued her, she could finally see Jingxue again!
Luo Nianshang had the same thought in mind. She carried the dog back to her chamber. As they approached the entrance, the dog began to tremble.
Seeing the falling snow, Luo Nianshang assumed the dog was cold. She cast a warming spell, but the trembling continued.
Lü Qingyan had caught a whiff of the Demon Lord’s scent. It was faint, carefully concealed, but her nose was incredibly sensitive.
Hong Ying, setting the cat aside, rose to her feet and sauntered towards Luo Nianshang, her gaze falling upon the trembling dog. “You certainly have a way with creatures, Master,” she said, a sweet smile on her face.
Her words were innocuous, yet there was an underlying current of something else, something darker.
Luo Nianshang felt a flicker of unease, but she couldn’t pinpoint the source. She set the dog down.
The moment her paws touched the ground, Lü Qingyan darted behind Bai Jingxue, cowering like a frightened puppy.
The cat and dog resumed their private gossip session.
Lü Qingyan peeked out from behind Bai Jingxue, her voice hushed. “Jingxue, what is the Demon Lord up to?”
Bai Jingxue stretched out, letting out a yawn. “How should I know?” she replied. “I’m a cat, not a mind reader.”
Lü Qingyan took offense to that. “You’re much cuter than a mind reader!” she retorted. “Don’t put yourself down like that!”
Bai Jingxue sighed.
The cat might have been aloof, but the dog’s enthusiasm was relentless.
“Don’t you find this situation strange?” Lü Qingyan continued. “In the original story, they would have been at each other’s throats the moment they met. They practically wanted to rip each other’s heads off.”
Bai Jingxue shifted position, finding a more comfortable spot. Despite her nonchalant demeanor, she shared Lü Qingyan’s concern. She finally confronted the unspoken issue that had been looming over them.
“Isn’t that what you’re here to figure out?” she asked lazily.
Lü Qingyan considered this. It was true. But she was so accustomed to relying on Bai Jingxue’s judgment that she had developed a habit of seeking her input, even if she didn’t always follow her advice.
She scratched her head sheepishly. “But you’re the brains of the operation,” she said.
Bai Jingxue shot her a sideways glance. “Do you want to save the world?”
Lü Qingyan’s ears perked up, her tail wagging excitedly. “Of course!” she exclaimed. “It would be a waste to transmigrate into a novel and not do something epic.”
Bai Jingxue, seeing her enthusiasm, inched away slightly.
Glancing at Luo Nianshang and the Demon Lord, who were now engaged in a seemingly amicable conversation, Bai Jingxue couldn’t help but think that they looked rather good together, their red and white robes complementing each other perfectly.
She quickly banished the thought.
That was a dangerous path to go down.
She chuckled, her gaze returning to Lü Qingyan. “Look at them,” she said, her voice serious. “One is the strongest cultivator in the righteous realm, the other the leader of the Demon Realm. If we could get them together, wouldn’t that bring peace to the world?”
Lü Qingyan stared at her, her ears twitching in disbelief. “You can’t just play matchmaker with those two!” she exclaimed.
She was about to launch into a detailed explanation of why this was a terrible idea when she remembered the portrait in the Demon Lord’s chamber. Doubt crept into her mind.
She turned back to the two women, who were now discussing demon cultivators.
Luo Nianshang’s expression was serious. “Most demon cultivators are wicked and dangerous,” she said. “If you encounter one, be wary of their deceptive ways.”
Her gaze hardened. “Especially the Demon Lord.”
The Demon Lord, amused by this unexpected turn of events, feigned respect. “What is the Demon Lord like, Master?” she asked.
Luo Nianshang’s jaw clenched. The mere mention of the Demon Lord brought back unwelcome memories.
She couldn’t help but let her emotions slip. “Shameless,” she spat.
The murderous intent in her eyes made Lü Qingyan shiver.
“Yeah, maybe saving the world isn’t such a good idea after all,” she muttered.
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