Chapter 84: The Child
Luo Nianshang wasn’t in a hurry to return to the Ejian Sect. She wanted to soak in the spirit spring for a few more days. After all, her recent episode had resulted in someone getting hurt, although the method of injury had been rather unusual.
The Sword Saint blushed, then sighed.
How had things escalated to this? A “lesson she’ll never forget” shouldn’t be this unforgettable.
Walking down a bustling street, she suddenly paused, her gaze fixed on her hand. She stared at it for a long time, then, her cheeks burning, she quickly turned and walked away.
The Demon Lord, following her discreetly, had initially intended to return to the Demon Realm, but seeing that Luo Nianshang wasn’t heading back to the Ejian Sect, she had changed her disguise and continued her pursuit.
Despite her recent defeat, she was confident. She wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
She was determined to understand what had happened to Luo Nianshang, but as the Demon Lord, she wouldn’t get any answers. She needed a new approach.
She stared at the flower basket in her hand, her simple, patched-up clothes a stark contrast to her usual luxurious attire. She mussed her hair, then, her target identified, she ran towards Luo Nianshang, blocking her path.
She held up the basket, her voice timid. “Big Sister, would you like to buy a flower?”
Luo Nianshang, seeing the girl’s worn clothes, assuming she was from a poor family, retrieved a silver ingot from her sleeve, placing it in the girl’s hand. “I’ll take them all,” she said.
The Demon Lord’s eyes widened. “Thank you, Big Sister,” she said. “Are you leaving the city?”
This was the righteous realm. Luo Nianshang had only come here to keep an eye on the Demon Lord. Now that the Demon Lord was gone, there was no reason for her to stay.
She nodded, but the little girl, her expression filled with alarm, grabbed her sleeve. “Don’t leave the city, Big Sister,” she pleaded. “There are monsters outside.”
This area bordered the Demon Realm, but it wasn’t as if the Demon Realm was right outside the city gates. There was a vast expanse of wilderness separating them.
Luo Nianshang wasn’t afraid of monsters. She had a whole collection of them at home.
This realization made her pause. She, the leader of the righteous realm, was surrounded by demons.
A cat demon, a dog demon, a flower demon, a bird demon, and a dragon.
She patted the little girl’s head, her voice gentle. “I’m not afraid,” she said.
But the Demon Lord clung to her sleeve, tears welling up in her eyes, her voice trembling. “Please don’t go, Big Sister,” she sobbed. “My mother was attacked by a monster outside the city. She’s still unconscious.”
Luo Nianshang was concerned, but she faced a bigger problem. She had no idea how to comfort a crying child.
She crouched down, wiping away the girl’s tears, her movements awkward. “Don’t cry,” she said. “Can you take me to her?”
The Demon Lord, her sobs subsiding, looked up at her. “Can you heal her, Big Sister?”
Luo Nianshang nodded. “Take me to her.”
The Demon Lord was delighted. The Sword Saint was so easily deceived.
But her excitement got the better of her. She made a sudden movement, then winced, her hand flying to her lower back.
Seeing Luo Nianshang about to leave, she panicked. She had hastily applied a pain-suppressing talisman, but her sudden movement had dislodged it.
“Damn it,” she thought. But she couldn’t risk revealing her true nature in front of Luo Nianshang. “My mother is ill,” she said, her voice weak. “I’ve been working too hard, trying to care for her.”
Luo Nianshang, touched by the girl’s filial piety, found her even more adorable, but this wasn’t the time for such thoughts. Seeing the girl’s pale face, she scooped her up into her arms.
“Where do you live?”
The Demon Lord, startled, pointed towards a random direction. “Over there.”
Luo Nianshang, noticing the girl’s flushed cheeks, asked, “Are you feeling hot?”
The Demon Lord shook her head.
Luo Nianshang, reassured, carried her in the direction she had indicated.
As they walked, Luo Nianshang realized they were in a poverty-stricken area. Beggars lined the streets.
Worried about the girl’s mother, she ignored them.
The Demon Lord, however, glared at them, her heart filled with disdain.
She had been a beggar once. It had been an unpleasant experience. She wondered how many of these pitiful creatures were actually villains in disguise.
They walked for a while, then the Demon Lord pointed at a dilapidated shack made of wooden planks. “That’s it,” she said.
Luo Nianshang pushed open the door, but the shack was empty.
The girl was clearly surprised. “Mother?”
Of course, it was empty. She had simply chosen a random location.
The Demon Lord, her expression a mixture of panic and despair, said, “How could this be? I only left for a little while. Where did she go?”
Luo Nianshang, staring at the girl’s worried face, her breath catching in her throat, felt a strange sense of familiarity.
She composed herself, her voice soothing. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Describe your mother to me. I’ll find her.”
Then, realizing the danger of leaving a child alone in such a chaotic place, she asked, “Where’s your father?”
The Demon Lord wiped her eyes, her voice trembling. “He died of an illness.”
Luo Nianshang didn’t know how to respond.
She considered this for a moment, then decided to keep the child with her. She was confident in her ability to protect her. And she couldn’t see the girl’s destiny.
Perhaps they were fated to meet.
She had taken on two disciples, but they rarely interacted with her eldest disciple. This went against her intentions.
This child was lively and energetic.
She considered taking her on as a disciple. “Don’t worry,” she said. “What’s your name?”
The Demon Lord, clinging to Luo Nianshang’s neck, said, “Cai Lian.”
She had chosen the name randomly. She had forgotten the names of her two puppets.
“I’m leaving the city,” Luo Nianshang said. “Are you afraid of monsters?”
The Demon Lord, of course, wasn’t afraid of monsters. She had killed plenty of them. But she couldn’t reveal her true nature.
She clung to her role as a helpless, vulnerable child. “I’m not afraid,” she said. “I have to find my mother.”
Luo Nianshang, touched by her determination, her fear masked by a brave facade, sighed softly. “Come with me,” she said.
She was powerful. She could protect this child.
She left the city, expanding her divine sense, searching for the girl’s mother.
The Demon Lord’s heart pounded. She hadn’t expected Luo Nianshang to take her search seriously. She hadn’t prepared a backstory. There was no “mother.”
But Luo Nianshang soon withdrew her divine sense. “I found her,” she said.
The Demon Lord was surprised. She hadn’t expected Luo Nianshang to actually find someone. Fate was clearly on her side.
Luo Nianshang flew towards the location, then paused, her brow furrowing.
She cast an illusion spell, making the corpse less gruesome.
The Demon Lord recognized the spell and saw the corpse.
Or rather, the partial corpse. Only the skull and a few ribs remained.
She silently offered a prayer for the unknown demon. The death of a single mortal wouldn’t usually concern a cultivator, but Luo Nianshang was a meddler.
This demon had simply been unlucky.
Luo Nianshang, seeing that the girl was staring at the corpse, her expression blank, assuming she was simply overwhelmed by grief, covered her eyes with a hand. “Don’t look,” she said gently.
Catching the culprit hadn’t been difficult. It was a rat demon.
The matter resolved, the Demon Lord, nestled in Luo Nianshang’s arms, burst into tears, her sobs echoing through the forest.
Luo Nianshang, oblivious to the fact that she was being taken advantage of, wondered how to comfort the child. But the child eventually cried herself to sleep.
The girl’s even breathing calmed Luo Nianshang’s heart. She wiped the sweat from the girl’s brow, her gaze lingering on her flushed cheeks, still stained with tears.
She suddenly missed her own masters. She had often fallen asleep in Master Yue Lian’s arms.
She had considered resurrecting them.
But their cultivation levels had been far higher than the little whale demon’s. Resurrection came at a price.
During those two months of unconsciousness, Bai Jingxue had sometimes placed her hand on her neck, her grip tightening, as if she were trying to strangle herself. Thankfully, Lü Qingyan had been there, calling for help. The consequences could have been dire.
Luo Nianshang had gradually abandoned the idea of resurrection. She had studied the giant tree and had been observing He Rong, but she couldn’t figure it out.
She sighed, a shiver running down her spine. Even she had considered exploiting that method. Others would surely be tempted as well. It was a good thing she had kept it a secret.
She carried the sleeping child towards the Demon Realm.
As they approached the spirit spring, the girl woke up.
Seeing that she was flying, she clung to Luo Nianshang’s neck, her eyes wide with fear.
Once she realized she was safe, she looked up at Luo Nianshang, her voice filled with wonder. “Are you a goddess, Big Sister?”
“Yes,” Luo Nianshang replied.
The girl seemed skeptical. “Can you bring my mother back?” she asked.
Luo Nianshang, staring at her innocent eyes, shook her head. “I can’t,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
The girl’s face fell, then she apologized, her voice small. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m asking for too much.”
Luo Nianshang, touched by the girl’s politeness, smiled. “It’s alright,” she said. “I just can’t do that.”
Seeing the sadness in Luo Nianshang’s eyes, the Demon Lord seized the opportunity. “Do you also have someone you want to resurrect, Goddess?” she asked.
“Yes.”
The Demon Lord was delighted. Luo Nianshang was answering all her questions. “Your parents?” she asked. “Do goddesses have mothers and fathers?”
Luo Nianshang paused. “Yes,” she said. “But I…”
She stopped, her memories of her parents faded, overshadowed by her memories of her masters.
She had spent more time with her masters. Her parents were distant figures.
She couldn’t even remember their faces.
But she couldn’t tell this child that.
She simply patted the Demon Lord’s head. “Are you tired?” she asked.
Acting was exhausting. And her body ached.
Thankfully, Luo Nianshang had carried her most of the way.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Then sleep.”
The Demon Lord obediently closed her eyes, her heart filled with joy.
This disguise was perfect. She no longer needed an excuse to be near Luo Nianshang.
But she suddenly felt a pang of worry. She had created too many disguises.
She couldn’t even remember the names of her two puppets. And now she had another one.
She thought about it for a moment, then dismissed it. She wouldn’t need any more disguises.
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