Chapter 46: Cousin
Controlling two puppets simultaneously was risky, so the Demon Lord had one of them meditating while she used the other one to interact with Luo Nianshang.
Although Luo Nianshang seemed aloof and unapproachable, she would eventually respond if persistently pestered.
The Sword Saint had dominated the cultivation world for centuries, yet no one had ever heard of her master. The Demon Lord was intensely curious about everything related to Luo Nianshang.
She wanted to know what everyone else knew, and she craved the knowledge that remained hidden. So today, she had sought out Luo Nianshang, her questions relentless.
Luo Nianshang, overwhelmed by her disciple’s enthusiasm, subtly distanced herself, her gaze fixed on the girl’s ordinary face.
“The Demon Lord injured you that day,” she said. “Are you feeling better?”
The Demon Lord, controlling the puppet, smiled. “Thanks to Master’s medicine, I’ve recovered.”
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she turned away, wiping them with her sleeve. “I’ve been alone since childhood, Master,” she said, her voice trembling. “Meeting you has been the greatest blessing in my life.”
Luo Nianshang, who had only taken on disciples to prevent her beloved Hong Ying from being lonely, suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She moved closer, awkwardly patting the disciple’s head.
“You have two senior sisters now,” she said. “And everyone else at the Ejian Sect.”
The puppet beamed at her. “Yes, Master,” she said. “And most importantly, you’re so kind.”
Seizing the opportunity, the Demon Lord pressed her advantage. “Master, did you have a master?” she asked. “Was your great master also kind?”
No one had ever dared to ask Luo Nianshang about her past. It wasn’t forbidden, but Luo Nianshang exuded an aura of “Do Not Approach.”
However, the word “kind” made Luo Nianshang’s brow furrow.
“No,” she said dryly. “She wasn’t kind.”
She paused, then added, “Neither of them were kind.”
The Demon Lord, back at the Demon Palace, her eyes widening, her curiosity piqued, tossed aside the spirit fruit she had been nibbling on. She ignored her left envoy’s report on the situation in the Demon Realm, focusing all her attention on manipulating the puppet.
“Master, you had two masters?” she asked, her voice a playful whine. “Tell me about them.”
Luo Nianshang, unable to resist her persistent pestering, sighed. Her eyes took on a distant look, her thoughts drifting to the past.
She had been raised at the Ejian Sect. Back then, it had been a small, insignificant sect.
Its disciples were few, its reputation weak, so it had attracted only those with limited talent.
She had been raised by two elders, becoming their disciple when she was old enough to cultivate.
They were cousins, the elder named Fang Xin, the younger Fang Yue Lian.
“Master Fang Xin was impatient,” Luo Nianshang said. “Master Yue Lian was a bit more gentle.”
As she spoke, memories resurfaced, vivid and painful. They hadn’t vanished. They had simply been buried beneath layers of grief.
But now, the pain was less intense. Not because the memories themselves were less painful, but because time had dulled the edges.
She fell silent, her gaze fixed on the sky, a sigh escaping her lips.
The Demon Lord, realizing she had touched a sensitive subject, regretted her question. She was about to change the topic when Luo Nianshang continued, her voice calm and even.
“If you were a mortal woman, coveted by a powerful man, forced to become his concubine, facing a life of misery, perhaps even death, how would you resist?”
The Demon Lord froze, her heart pounding. She had almost revealed her true identity. During those dark, painful years, her beauty had indeed attracted unwanted attention.
Her solution had been simple: she had turned those who had dared to touch her into puddles of flesh and bone.
She glanced at Luo Nianshang, but her eyes were clear, her expression devoid of suspicion. Her identity was still safe.
She let out a sigh of relief, then Luo Nianshang continued, “My two masters faced such a situation before they became cultivators. How do you think they reacted?”
The Demon Lord was stumped. She had become a walking poison factory after that traumatic incident, her body filled with toxins she had struggled to contain. But that poison had saved her life.
She had simply unleashed it, filling the room with poisonous fumes. The man who had tried to force himself upon her had died before he could even touch her.
But how could ordinary mortals escape such a situation? She had no idea.
“I don’t know, Master,” she said.
Luo Nianshang smiled, a rare, fleeting expression that vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
The puppet stared at her, confused.
But the usually cold and aloof Sword Saint was surprisingly beautiful when she smiled. The Demon Lord, watching her, couldn’t help but smile too.
The left envoy, who had been reporting on the situation in the Demon Realm, was startled by the Demon Lord’s sudden laughter. She stared at her, bewildered. The Demon Lord had taken a bite of a spirit fruit, but instead of chewing, she was simply grinning.
The left envoy was deeply concerned.
The afternoon sun was too precious to waste. Bai Jingxue, realizing her limitations as a cat, decided to embrace her feline nature and bask in the warm sunlight.
Lü Qingyan, the ever-attentive dog, circled Bai Jingxue, her movements first clockwise, then counterclockwise, as if performing a ritual.
Bai Jingxue, her sunlight blocked, finally opened her eyes, placing a paw on Lü Qingyan’s head, silencing her.
“Jingxue, what should we do?”
“Nothing,” Bai Jingxue replied dryly. “You’re just a dog. Why do you care so much? Justice requires strength.”
“But shouldn’t we at least try to do something?”
Bai Jingxue considered this for a moment. “You’re right,” she said.
Lü Qingyan, assuming the cat had finally decided to take action, was surprised when Bai Jingxue covered her eyes with her paws.
“Now I can’t see it,” Bai Jingxue said, her voice matter-of-fact.
Lü Qingyan was speechless.
She pulled Bai Jingxue’s paws away. “Don’t do that,” she said.
What else could she do? If she were human, she would have intervened the moment that servant had started harassing Yue Lian. But she was just a cat.
Could a cat save the world?
Doraemon was a robot cat. Black Cat Detective was a cow cat. She was just a black blob.
She sighed, resigning herself to her fate. She licked her paw, then lay down again.
But the sunlight vanished once more. She opened her eyes to see a pair of beautiful eyes staring at her through the window.
She flinched. This was more terrifying than their homeroom teacher peering through the classroom window.
The guards outside the room noticed the woman standing by the window. “Eldest Miss,” they said respectfully.
The woman, her eyes narrowed, her lips pressed into a thin line, had an air of authority.
She walked towards the door, the guards parting to let her pass.
Fang Yue Lian, sitting at her vanity, stared at the imposing young woman, her heart pounding with fear.
She had grown up in a remote village. She had never encountered someone so elegant and refined. She didn’t even know how to address her.
She watched nervously as the woman closed the door, approaching her with measured steps, then settled onto a stool, crossing her legs. She looked Yue Lian up and down, her expression contemptuous. “I hear you’re my cousin,” she said.
Fang Yue Lian blinked. “Huh?”
Her clueless demeanor annoyed Fang Xin even further. She scoffed. “Tomorrow, you’ll be taking my place,” she said, her voice cold. “You’ll be sent to that dog as a concubine. He’s a cruel man. You’re better off letting me go.”
Lü Qingyan, overhearing this, nudged Bai Jingxue. “I think she just insulted me,” she whispered.
Bai Jingxue covered the dog’s ears with her paws. “You can’t hear anything,” she said soothingly. “You can’t hear anything.”
Lü Qingyan, comforted by the cat’s touch, her wounded pride forgotten, wagged her tail, though her expression remained pitiful.
Fang Yue Lian, overwhelmed by the information, simply stared at her, her mouth open. “Huh?”
Fang Xin sighed, her annoyance growing. “Is that the only word you know?”
Fang Yue Lian flinched, intimidated by her harsh tone. She glanced at the woman who claimed to be her cousin, her voice a soft whimper. “Huh?”
Fang Xin, her patience exhausted, snapped. She had been pampered her entire life. She was used to getting her way. She flipped the table.
The porcelain tea set on the table crashed to the floor, but the sound was drowned out by Fang Xin’s furious roar.
“Stop saying ‘huh’!”
She stormed out, leaving a single sheet of paper behind.
Fang Yue Lian, trembling, watched her go.
Once the door was closed, she cautiously picked up the paper.
Bai Jingxue, though literate, wasn’t sure if the written language in this place had changed. She jumped onto Fang Yue Lian’s shoulder, peering at the paper.
Thankfully, she could understand it. It was a detailed escape plan, outlining the route and the destination.
She was surprised. In a typical story, the damsel in distress would have kept quiet, but this girl was different. She didn’t want to involve anyone else.
It seemed Lü Qingyan was right. The plot was progressing on its own. The next step would be Fang Yue Lian’s daring escape.
Bai Jingxue wagged her tail, happy for Fang Yue Lian, but she couldn’t help but glance towards the door, remembering Fang Xin’s departure.
This ending wasn’t perfect.
She was about to sigh when Fang Yue Lian spoke, her voice filled with despair. “I can’t read.”
Bai Jingxue lost her balance, tumbling from Fang Yue Lian’s shoulder.
“Jingxue!”
Lü Qingyan circled the cat, her tail wagging anxiously, but Bai Jingxue simply lay there, motionless, as if she were dead.
Lü Qingyan panicked. She tried to flip Bai Jingxue over, wanting to perform CPR, but she couldn’t move the cat. She whimpered, her distress growing.
Bai Jingxue, annoyed by the dog’s fussing, raised a paw, placing it on Lü Qingyan’s head. “I need some peace and quiet,” she said.
Suddenly, she had an epiphany. This was the key to clearing this stage. She was a literate cat, capable of understanding the escape plan. She could follow the route outlined in the plan.
Fang Yue Lian would surely search for her, and she could lead her to safety.
She felt a surge of responsibility.
“Lü Qingyan, get off me!” she shouted, her voice laced with a hint of panic.
Lü Qingyan, startled, jumped off Bai Jingxue’s back.
Bai Jingxue sighed with relief. Her burden had lifted.
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