Lin Muchen made a request, and the cold, white-haired Demon Emperor opposite her glanced at her before nodding after a moment.
"Alright."
He opened his mouth, as if to explain.
"Xiao Ci... it's not that I didn't want to give you the Yaoshen Panshi... it's just that Qing Que Zhi Zhi truly needed it more. When her wings have grown, I'll lend it to you, alright?"
Lin Muchen, however, let out a cold laugh.
"No need. Do you think I'm helpless without your Yaoshen Panshi?"
"You just want to see me beg you, don't you?"
"No need."
"It doesn't matter if I have spiritual meridians or not. You were the one who stripped them from me years ago – I gouged out Qing Que's eyes and broke her wings, so consider us even."
"Remember this, I owe you nothing, and you owe me nothing."
The man opposite her had a pale complexion, devoid of blood.
His features remained as refined as jade, and the hint of sorrow that touched them made him appear even more ethereal.
To be honest, as a Demon Emperor, he was quite handsome, not at all like a ferocious demon.
The moment he looked at Lin Muchen, his eyes were filled with bitterness. He offered a wry smile, and for a fleeting instant, he seemed almost helpless.
His appearance was so reminiscent of Si Muci, the former Demon Emperor's daughter, as if she were indebted to him!
He pursed his lips, his voice rustling in the wind.
"Xiao Ci... please don't be like this. We've known each other for over a thousand years. Seeing you like this pains me deeply."
"I know you've always been stubborn since childhood..."
"It was my fault. I hurt you."
"It's just that... Qing Que needs to survive. If she is to live, she can only borrow your spiritual meridians..."
"Xiao Ci... please don't blame her."
Even now, he continued to defend the white lotus character.
Lin Muchen, without even seeing this Qing Que, couldn't help but admire her cunning, thinking what a meek little spirit beast she was, while she herself had become the unreasonable bully.
Her expression was frosty. She thought that in the Demon Emperor's eyes, she must be utterly detestable!
However, she didn't care for his approval.
Although Ling Qianhe was dark, he was at least forthright, willing to go to any lengths for revenge.
And he had truly suffered immensely, transforming from a genius into a cripple overnight, his spiritual meridians stripped, his spiritual bones shattered. Each time the aftereffects struck, it felt like dying again, an agonizing torment.
It was normal for him to distrust people.
But this Demon Emperor, born a five-clawed golden dragon, had grown up with her, sharing her childhood for over a thousand years, yet he had publicly broken off their engagement, making her a laughingstock in the demon realm.
To save his beloved little Qing Que Zhi Zhi, he had ruthlessly gouged out her spiritual meridians.
He had verbally apologized to her.
But if he truly felt sorry – why didn't he offer his own spiritual meridians as atonement?
This fellow opposite her always acted as if he had no choice, which only made one…
Hate him even more.
Who cared about his apologies?
She glanced at him and snorted dismissively.
"Stop with the nonsense. I'll ask you just one thing: why haven't you sent me away yet?"
...
Ling Qianhe had been in a coma. Every time his condition flared up, he suffered unbearable pain – a feeling akin to dying all over again.
But this time – he didn't seem to be in as much agony.
Ling Qianhe's fingers twitched, and then he heard a familiar voice. The maiden reached out, her fingertip gently stroking his chin, speaking with a playful tone.
"You're awake?"
"We've left the dangerous land of Hongze Great Wilderness. We are now in the northern territories of the Dynasty. I heard that many demonic cultivators frequent this area, so it's quite chaotic—"
She glanced at Ling Qianhe's face, her tone casual, yet with a hint of concern audible.
"Although this place is very chaotic, it's quite suitable for you."
"After all, in this godforsaken place, no one can track you, and no one would imagine that someone could emerge from Hongze Great Wilderness."
Ling Qianhe saw the maiden's smile opposite him, and for a moment, he was disoriented. Si Muci, what was this woman saying? How could they have possibly escaped Hongze Great Wilderness?
It was simply impossible.
Hongze Great Wilderness… what a perilous place that was.
But the surroundings indeed seemed…
Not like that dangerous place anymore.
"I've found you an inn."
"With your shattered bones and meridians, people might notice, which could cause trouble. So I didn't take you to a medical clinic. You should know that doctors at those clinics wouldn't be able to heal you anyway."
"I have some fierce beast inner cores here. After you refine them and consume that Jade Bone Lotus, your meridians will be reborn."
"Originally, I planned to get you something else good, something that could stabilize your spiritual meridians… but something unexpected happened, and that item is probably unobtainable."
Lin Muchen said this, but she didn't seem overly regretful.
If Helian Lanyan wouldn't give it, she didn't particularly want it either. She couldn't possibly beg him again – a person must maintain their pride and dignity.
While Ling Qianhe was still unconscious, she had asked the little system and devised an alternative method.
The little system had told her.
Although the Yaoshen Panshi was gone, to stabilize this废弃 (fèiqì - discarded/abandoned) prince's meridians, she could administer acupuncture. However, he would have to endure some pain.
And the newly formed meridians wouldn't be as good as those refined by the Yaoshen Panshi.
She thought, as long as the spiritual meridians could be used, it would suffice.
Make do with it.
It was better than nothing.
The little system hesitated for a moment and suddenly asked her a question she hadn't anticipated.
"Host, in your current identity… your spiritual meridians were also destroyed."
"After all, your spiritual meridians were dug out by Helian Lanyan and given to that Qing Que. Although you destroyed her eyes and broke her wings back then, the spiritual meridians ultimately remained within her."
"Because once the spiritual meridians were dug out, that Qing Que would have immediately gasped her last breath."
"You descended to the mortal realm to prevent the heavenly demon Ling Qianhe from becoming a demon."
"This body also has no spiritual meridians… after all, if you didn't have them in the heavens, they wouldn't magically appear in the human world."
"Helian Lanyan said he would give you the Jade Bone Lotus to use. If you use it on Ling Qianhe, you'll have none for yourself."
"But there's only this one Jade Bone Lotus in heaven and earth… you see…"
The little system was hesitant, stuttering, undecided, unsure of what Lin Muchen was thinking.
Lin Muchen, however, found its reminder utterly baffling.
"Isn't this the script? Don't I have to follow the plot? Can I change the story?"
"What does the script say? I have to save him, right?"
This was a rhetorical question.
The little system stammered evasively.
"Probably… maybe, I have to save him."
Lin Muchen hummed in acknowledgment.
"Then what are you hesitating for? Stuff the Jade Bone Lotus into his mouth—if he doesn't eat it, and Helian Lanyan thinks I don't want it and gives it to his Qing Que, won't I be so angry I could die?"
"It's better to give it to Ling Qianhe."
"It doesn't matter if the new spiritual meridians are almost there. Isn't he exceptionally talented? The script describes him as so powerful. Even without the Yaoshen Panshi, he should be able to defeat everyone, right?"
The little system hummed, its tone very flustered.
"But… but the Yaoshen Panshi is meant to temper a person's willpower… without it, even if he regains his spiritual meridians, he will become dark and cold, emotionally unstable, and prone to fits of madness… a truly yandere and dark personality. Host, you'd better be prepared."
Lin Muchen felt that it was fine.
Perfectly acceptable.
She could handle it.
"Yandere, you say? I'm a specialist in handling yanderes, didn't you know?"
The little system: "Hmm…"
It thought to itself that these were the host's own words; she mustn't cry later.
However, the host saving Ling Qianhe was a good thing. No matter what, she would save him anyway.
It was too difficult.
It couldn't let the host know that this wasn't a script at all – this was a world she had truly experienced before!
That was why it could only hint at things so vaguely.
Anyway, the host's memories were sealed, so she shouldn't be able to find out.
It just wanted to subtly remind the host, through this method, what had happened between her and Ling Qianhe, how deep Ling Qianhe's obsession was, and where it originated.
Yes, Ling Qianhe was that demon Ling Qianhe himself!
It was just that the host didn't know, thinking it was a simulated script being filmed in the acting space.
Although this was its misdirection, it felt it couldn't let the host know the truth. Otherwise, it was genuinely worried the host would turn tail and run.
It was truly too difficult!
Sob, sob, sob.
It couldn't let the host know the truth, so it could only resort to such roundabout means.
In any case, the host was still herself. Even without memories, she would forever… make the same choices.
...
Lin Muchen and Ling Qianhe rented a small courtyard, which was rather like the time when he was in the cold palace and she, as his maid, took care of him.
He needed to consume fierce beast inner cores daily.
Lin Muchen asked him if he seemed less resistant to consuming the Jade Bone Lotus.
Lin Muchen breathed a sigh of relief. It was best that this stubborn, arrogant little fellow listened. She feared he would insist on being strong – that would be truly hopeless.
The Jade Bone Lotus was a special item, and she kept it in the large water vat in the courtyard. It looked exceptionally beautiful, exuding an ethereal aura, clearly a sacred object of heaven and earth, quite extraordinary.
She looked at it every day, with Ling Qianhe by her side, his expression still cold and stubborn. He looked at her, a hint of mockery on his lips.
"You like flowers?"
"They are merely wilting, vibrant things that grow in the mud, hiding so much darkness and filth beneath them."
Lin Muchen, however, said:
"I like anything beautiful."
"These flowers are so beautiful; wouldn't it be a pity if no one appreciated them?"
"Not just the flowers—"
She raised her head to look at Ling Qianhe.
"You are also good-looking, and I quite like that."
She was accustomed to teasing Ling Qianhe in modern times. Both were actors, so sweet talk came easily to their lips. However, the pale, sickly prince opposite her fell silent for a moment, pursed his lips, and looked at her as if she were blaspheming against him.
"You, a mere maid… how could you… how could you say such things!"
Lin Muchen, however, continued to smile at him. Her eyes shimmered with a rippling light, lotuses swayed gracefully beside her, and she looked at the flush that gradually appeared on his pale face, saying:
"The love of beauty is universal."
"Moreover— in Hongze Great Wilderness, you were fed fierce beast meat by my mouth, bite by bite."
"Having eaten my fierce beast meat, you are mine."
"And you were my master to begin with – there's no reason why I can't praise you."
His face flushed. He looked at Lin Muchen and said in a muffled voice.
"When my spiritual meridians are truly reborn, I should be able to cultivate quickly again— I will strive to recover my cultivation, and when my revenge is complete, I will avenge you as well."
He looked at her.
"But I've always wanted to ask you, how exactly did you manage to get me out of there?"
Hongze Great Wilderness was notoriously a place of great peril, and anyone who entered had only a dead end. This maiden was full of secrets; how she had brought him out was something he couldn't fathom.
Lin Muchen blinked her eyes.
"That's my secret."
"Perhaps I discovered an ancient teleportation array, and my blood just happened to be able to activate it. How do you know there isn't such a teleportation array inside?"
She casually concocted a story, as he wouldn't be able to go back anyway, and there were no witnesses to refute it.
The young man opposite her stared intently into her eyes, as if judging the truthfulness of her words. After a moment – he finally let out a muffled grunt.
His voice was low.
"Don't you dare lie to me."
"If you lie to me, then I…"
Lin Muchen laughed.
"What will you do?"
"Everyone has secrets."
"Oh, you're curious about me?"
She seemed to discover something, hopped in front of him, and dangled a jade-like finger before him. Her smile was as radiant as the morning sun, making one's heart feel ticklish. Then, she said with a smile:
"Let me tell you, scientific research shows that curiosity about someone is the beginning of love."
"You're just curious about me now."
"Then, you'll constantly think of me."
"You'll always see my image in your mind, remember what I said to you, and late at night, you'll toss and turn, pondering the meaning of my words."
"Then, you're done for, you'll fall in love with me."
A flash of panic crossed the eyes of the handsome, pale youth opposite her, but he immediately straightened up, spat, and a trace of ferocity flickered in his gaze.
"I will never fall in love with anyone, especially you!"
"If you lie to me, I'll… I'll kill you! Drink your blood, eat your flesh!"
"I'll freeze you in ice and torment you day and night!"
"I'll make you wish you were dead but unable to die!"
His words were somewhat contradictory, but he was clearly enraged and speaking without thinking, not caring about logical consistency. Lin Muchen, however, casually picked at her ear, showing no fear.
The last person who had threatened her so stubbornly was called Ling Qianhe.
Later, he had tearfully embraced her.
He had cried profusely, begging her not to leave.
He had said he was willing to give up everything just to have her stay by his side.
Hmm.
How could this fellow be so similar to Ling Qianhe? Even his tone of threat was identical. She smiled at him, tilted her head, and then made a funny face.
"Wow, you're already thinking about how to torment me?"
"And you still say you don't think about me?"
"Love to death – tsk tsk tsk, little prince, you're done for."
Ling Qianhe looked at her with reddened eyes. How could this woman be so shameless? What nonsense about love? His heart was only set on revenge! If this woman said another word, if she continued to be so noisy… he, he would…
Lin Muchen continued to smile at him, walked up to him, and patted his head twice.
"Good boy, you're still far from being able to help me with my revenge."
Ling Qianhe wanted to push her away!
In this world, besides his deceased mother, no one had the right to touch his head!
But he bit his lip, hesitated for a long time, the ferocity in his eyes slowly melting into his pupils. Then he turned away, abruptly closed the door, with a loud bang.
His heart was in a turmoil.
He told himself the woman was talking nonsense.
But her bright, smiling face from moments ago actually appeared in his mind.
Damn it…
How damnable!
He would never fall for a mere maid!
This maid even bullied him and patted his head!
He would be sworn enemies with her!