Ling Qianhe's cultivation speed was even faster than Lin Muci had imagined.
His innate Sword Body was highly compatible with the Jade Bone Lotus.
After Lin Muci treated him with needles three times, his spiritual meridians basically stabilized.
He went from Foundation Establishment directly to Core Formation, breaking through like a torrent.
Before his spiritual meridians were stripped, he was already at Nascent Soul, just one step away from Divinity Transformation.
A seventeen-year-old youth cultivating at such a speed was naturally an unprecedented, world-shattering feat.
It was a pity that after his spiritual meridians were stripped, he became crippled.
Now that his spiritual meridians were reborn, the spiritual energy scattered within him had found an anchor.
Coupled with the large quantities of high-level demonic beast inner cores, his cultivation speed naturally increased even further.
The young man looked at the girl; the wound on her shoulder had not yet healed.
He lowered his gaze and applied medicine to her, then slipped two pieces of candy into her palm.
"Candy from the best dessert shop in the city. I saw they still had strawberry-flavored snow cakes, so I bought some for you. Are they tasty?"
The girl looked up at him, a somewhat innocent smile on her face.
"How could the candy you give me not be delicious?"
The young man snorted.
"Sweet talk."
The girl made a funny face at him.
"But I only speak sweet talk to you alone."
"Others don't even have the chance to hear my sweet talk."
Ling Qianhe finished applying medicine to her with focused attention. After a moment of hesitation, he slowly looked up into her eyes.
The girl's eyes were clear and bright, and as she smiled, it was as if ten thousand stars were gently shimmering within them.
His chest felt as if it had been struck again. He slowly touched his chest with his fingertips.
He didn't understand what this feeling was.
It was unprecedented.
The young man turned away and said coldly.
"Are you alright? Can you walk by yourself now? I'm going to kill someone, don't follow me. You're like a stubborn stain, impossible to shake off."
In reality, he didn't want her to see his vengeful, ferocious appearance when he killed his enemies.
The girl rested her chin on her hand behind him and asked him with great curiosity.
"Kill someone? Who do you want to kill?"
"I won't follow you, I'll just watch."
"Can I help?"
A surge of resentment churned within Ling Qianhe's chest. His voice deepened.
"The current Empress—the slut who killed my birth mother to ascend to the throne and stripped my spiritual meridians for her useless son—has a loyal dog, the Director of the East Factory."
"She incited him to utterly humiliate me back then."
"When my mother was gravely ill, this dog servant bullied us with his power."
"I was young then, my spiritual meridians had not yet awakened. I watched helplessly as he sent people to block the gate, and not a single bowl of medicine was delivered."
"I will definitely flay and dismember such a vicious dog, skin him and pull out his tendons!"
His eyes were filled with ferocity, and an incredibly malevolent aura churned within his heart. He then asked her in a low voice.
"Are you scared?"
"Do you want to run as far away from me as possible?"
The young man's eyes were sharp with killing intent. He didn't need to look at his own face to know how terrifying his expression must be.
However, the girl opposite him showed no intention of retreating.
She simply smiled with her eyes curved, looking at the ferocious-looking youth opposite her, and said.
"Such a vicious dog deserves to be flayed and dismembered, to never be reborn."
"If you want to kill someone, I'll help you."
Ling Qianhe fell silent. He pursed his lips and after a long while, said.
"Do you know that what I am about to do upon my return is utterly heinous?"
He looked up at her.
To his surprise, the girl nodded earnestly and properly.
"How could I not know? When I was in the cold palace, I was your maid. I naturally know what kind of suffering you have endured and how much hatred you harbor. They originally sent you to the vast wilderness of Hongze to scatter your soul, never expecting you to return."
"Whether you harbor a devil in your heart or a demon,"
"I will be with you."
"I'm not afraid."
"Going to hell together is more lively than going alone."
The young man's heart fluttered again. He looked at her. She was still holding a bamboo branch, waving it casually.
She didn't even have a proper sword. He quietly grabbed her wrist and said.
"My sword has already recognized its master. But I will find you a better one."
"What style of spiritual artifact do you like? You can tell me anything."
"I know the Imperial Treasury has many magic treasures."
He was already contemplating what kind of magic treasure to find for the girl opposite him, while the girl opposite him smiled and looked at him. She casually nodded her chin, but told him.
"Me?"
"Using a bamboo branch is perfectly fine for me."
The little system said in her mind.
"Host, you have hidden many priceless treasures in the Demon Realm and the Celestial Realm… In the Demon Realm, you are the daughter of the former Demon Emperor, so naturally, no one treated you unfairly."
"As for…"
"The Celestial Realm, you were the cherished junior sister. Everyone doted on you. Your senior brother is Xuanyuan Yuting, you also have a second and third senior brother… Everyone loved you dearly and gave you many magic treasures, but you left them in the Celestial Realm. You never wanted to owe them anything."
She had also been doted on.
Alas, even if she had been doted on, her fate was still tragic, being cast down to the mortal world.
Lin Muci's expression remained unchanged. Although the treasures in the human Imperial Treasury were far inferior to her own private collection, seeing the momentary awkwardness on the young man's face, she parted her lips.
"If you want to give me a magic treasure, then give me a jade flute."
Ling Qianhe's mother hailed from the southern part of the dynasty.
She was originally the daughter of a prominent family. However, during a dynastic rebellion, her family sacrificed their father and brothers to quell the revolt, leaving her as an orphan. To appease the populace, the current emperor chose her to be empress.
But he did not love her.
He had someone else in his heart.
She languished in the palace, and as time passed, she died in the imperial palace, never returning to the southern part of the dynasty. Lin Muci, who transmigrated to become Ling Qianhe's maid, had heard some of the old palace servants mention things about Ling Qianhe's mother, the former Empress.
In the south, there was a folk song, the melodious sound of a jade flute.
In Ling Qianhe's childhood, she would play the jade flute to lull him to sleep.
This was the faint warmth in the heart of this demon. By asking him for a jade flute, she naturally wanted to imprint a scar on his heart as well.
To prevent the other party from turning into a demon, one had to be professional.
Ling Qianhe fell silent, then said.
"Alright. I'll find it for you. Since you're not afraid of me killing people, then come with me and let's go deal with that old eunuch!"
He took her hand, then sprang up. Lin Muci followed him and heard him say.
"When I kill, if you are afraid, close your eyes."
"I am ruthless. I'm afraid you might... have nightmares at night."
Lin Muci still had a gentle expression on her face.
She said.
"It's alright. I'm not afraid, don't worry."
"If there are disasters in the world, and vengeful spirits in the human realm, no matter what, I will accompany you in your revenge."