The Demon Lord sat obediently, and Jian Lin looked down at him, unable to hide her smugness. "Does Young Master feel even a sliver of regret now? Who told you to bully me, throwing me aside like this? We finally meet, and before we exchange two words, you start bullying me. You forced my hand!"
The Demon Lord raised his eyes to meet hers. After a long pause, his expression gradually softened. "You are right. I cannot move right now. If you wish to take revenge, then do so."
"Look at what Young Master is saying; you misunderstand me. How could I bear to take revenge on you?" Jian Lin knew when to stop. She bent down and knelt before the Demon Lord, smiling as she explained, "That powder is for enhancing pleasure, not poison. It will wear off soon, so Young Master need not worry."
"Hmph, I doubt you have the guts," the Demon Lord's body stiffened, but his mouth remained defiant. "From our earlier exchange, I noticed your cultivation hasn't improved at all. At this rate, when will you be able to cultivate the second level of the Bright Moon Divine Art?"
"Oh dear," Jian Lin interrupted. She had no desire to discuss cultivation. An idea struck her, and she decided to take advantage of the situation. She then raised her voice and said, "Young Master, talking about such things is boring. I've learned a new demon dance, and I'll perform it for you."
With that, Jian Lin stood up and began to imitate the dance steps of the Fire Fox Queen. She was both fierce and beautiful, her movements sharp and decisive, carrying a hint of killing intent.
The Demon Lord raised an eyebrow, unconsciously captivated. He casually praised, "This dance is more interesting than the ones you performed before."
"Are you comparing me unfavorably?" Jian Lin was displeased and immediately changed her dance style, returning to her previous seductive movements. "The previous ones were also good. What's not to like about this?"
"It's good, just not interesting," the Demon Lord commented, still lacking in tact.
Jian Lin was furious. Suddenly, a plan formed in her mind. She thought, 'You want interesting, do you? Then I'll show you the most interesting dance I learned at Cloud Pavilion.'
As her skirt swirled, Jian Lin moved in front of the Demon Lord. She hooked her finger, moving from bottom to top, from his Adam's apple to his chin. She curved her eyes into a seductive smile, a blatant act of flirtation.
The Demon Lord was stunned. No one had ever dared to treat him this way. Putting aside everything else, no one had ever been able to get close to him before. Jian Musheng, what audacity!
After the first touch, Jian Lin grew bolder. She steeled herself and prepared to go for a strong move, throwing herself into the Demon Lord's arms for an intimate embrace.
Her dance became increasingly wild. Jian Lin pretended to trip over her skirt, preparing to fall directly into the Demon Lord's embrace. In the instant their eyes met, she suddenly saw a wolf-tooth club appear in the Demon Lord's arms.
The club was studded with sharp iron nails, gleaming with a faint blue light. If she collided with it, she would surely be disfigured. If she hit his eye, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Jian Lin's face turned pale with shock. She let out a scream and quickly dodged to the side, falling awkwardly onto the ground.
As she fell, she clearly heard the Demon Lord let out a low chuckle. That scoundrel!
Jian Lin looked back dejectedly, asking in disbelief, "Young Master, you can move now?"
"My physical body cannot move, but there are other ways. Dealing with you is more than enough," the Demon Lord said disdainfully.
Jian Lin slowly got up, pouting helplessly, and dared not act rashly again.
She got up, brought a small tray, and placed it before the Demon Lord. Then, she went to the counter behind them, found a pot of new wine, and sat down relaxedly in front of the Demon Lord, preparing to chat with him while drinking.
"Young Master, I've gathered a lot of information these past few days. Do you want to hear it?" Jian Lin said as she poured herself some wine.
The Demon Lord's gaze shifted downward, fixed on the wine cup. He ignored Jian Lin's words and instead requested, "I want to drink too. Pour me a cup."
Jian Lin's hand paused, her eyes filled with hesitation. "Young Master, don't lie to me. Can you move right now?"
"No."
"Then how will you drink?"
"You feed me." The Demon Lord's eyes flashed with a hint of amusement, and he said with a veiled threat, "Before you made your move, did you ever consider the consequences?"
Fine, it was her fault. She admitted it. She would feed him.
She got up, found another small wine cup, filled it, and raised it to the Demon Lord's lips, serving him attentively. "Young Master, please."
The Demon Lord drank a cup with satisfaction and commented after savoring it, "The wine from the demon realm is better than the wine from the human realm."
"Right? I think so too," Jian Lin said excitedly.
When she was in the Demon Palace, she had nothing to eat and could only drink various wines, so she knew very well that the wines in the Demon Palace were no match for the wines in the demon realm.
Jian Lin said proudly, "The wine at Cloud Pavilion is all brewed by Tao Niang. She's truly amazing."
"What does that have to do with you?" the Demon Lord said mercilessly. "Tao Niang, you call her so familiarly. Don't forget she's a demon."
"I haven't forgotten. What's wrong with being a demon? She's good to me, and I like her," Jian Lin's thoughts were open, and she didn't hide her affection.
The Demon Lord snorted coldly, too lazy to argue with her. He then turned to the main topic. "You said you found out a lot of information. What is it? Tell me."
The topic shifted back. Jian Lin put down her wine cup and told the Demon Lord everything, recounting the conversations of the old demons and her own speculations.
"Young Master, I believe the Dragon Pill doesn't exist. Since that's the case, why don't we play along? We can falsely claim the Dragon Pill is in our possession, and Zhan San Dao will surely come looking for us. Isn't that much easier than us finding him?" Jian Lin offered her advice diligently.
The Demon Lord shook his head. "My information is the opposite of yours. The Dragon Pill exists. The High Priest is ill precisely because he suffered a backlash from forcibly comprehending heavenly secrets. His condition is so severe that he has no reason to lie. If we falsely claim to have the Dragon Pill now, we might not wait for Zhan San Dao, but instead, we'll directly attract the Demon Emperor."
Speaking of which, Jian Lin suddenly became interested in another question. "Young Master, if, hypothetically, you were to fight the Demon Emperor, what would your chances of victory be?"
"I don't know. We might have to have a spar," the Demon Lord said seriously. "The martial arts of the demon realm are unpredictable and lack structure. I've gained a lot from fighting demons these past few days, which has been very beneficial. When I return to the Demon Palace, I will go into seclusion for cultivation, and perhaps I will achieve a new breakthrough."
Jian Lin was stunned. Were other people's breakthroughs so easy?
Her own body was truly disappointing!
Jian Lin, fearing the Demon Lord would start discussing her cultivation, quickly returned to the topic of Zhan San Dao. "I heard that old demon say Zhan San Dao has carried out two secret missions for the Demon Emperor. I guess one of them must have been the matter of Guanlan Sect. I don't know what the other one was, but it must have been very important."
"I think... it's not a matter of the demon realm," the Demon Lord reached for a cup of wine and drank it down heartily. "These past few days, I've gathered information about Zhan San Dao's background. I heard he was born into an ordinary mortal family and only returned to the demon realm when he was fifteen or sixteen. That's why he understands many human customs, and it's also why the Demon Emperor values him and sends him out on missions."
Jian Lin nodded and pondered. Suddenly, she realized and stammered, "Young... Young Master... you can move now."
"Mmm," the Demon Lord moved his neck, as if assessing his recovery. He praised her with a hint of mockery, "Jian Musheng, speaking of which, you haven't made no progress. Your cultivation hasn't increased, but you've learned to use dirty tricks. I think instead of joining Guanlan Sect, you should have joined the Demon Sect long ago. Perhaps you would already be a sect leader and my right-hand man."
Jian Lin carefully considered. Was he complimenting her or scolding her?
The two chatted in the private room for a long time. By the time dawn broke, the Demon Lord got up to leave.
Jian Lin knew she couldn't stop him, so she settled for the next best thing, pleading, "Young Master, when you're in a good mood, please remember to visit me often. If you can't come, write a letter, even just a sentence!"
The Demon Lord frowned, looking exceptionally disgusted.
Jian Lin knelt on the ground, grabbing his hem and refusing to let go, shamelessly clinging to him.
Their eyes met. The Demon Lord relented. It wasn't a big deal, and there was no need to beat Jian Lin.
"Alright, I understand. Let go."
Jian Lin released him, her face beaming with joy. "Then, Young Master, farewell. See you again."
The Demon Lord snorted coldly, quickly bypassed the screen, jumped out the window, and vanished rapidly.
As soon as the Demon Lord disappeared, Tao Niang's voice came from outside the private room. "Miss A Pei, are you in there?"
"Yes," Jian Lin replied loudly upon hearing it was her.
"May I come in?"
"Of course. Please come in." Jian Lin went to open the private room door and smiled at Tao Niang. "What's inconvenient about this? Cloud Pavilion is your territory, Tao Niang."
Tao Niang smiled slightly. "Nominally, it is. I sensed a barrier just now, so I assume your Young Master came to find you. I stayed outside the door, ensuring no other demons approached. Please rest assured."
Jian Lin realized that the Demon Lord was cautious and must have set up a barrier as soon as he appeared to prevent any demons from eavesdropping.
Of course, Tao Niang was even more thoughtful, guarding the door for them.
"Mmm, my Young Master came to say a few words. Thank you for your trouble, Tao Niang. You don't need to guard the door for us next time; we'll be careful ourselves," Jian Lin replied with a smile.
"It's nothing. It's just a small effort."
As the two were discussing matters at the entrance of the private room, the Fire Fox Queen suddenly appeared from the other side of the corridor. Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were open, clearly having just gone through a fierce battle.
"Tao Niang, why are you here?" the Fire Fox Queen asked.
"I came to find Miss A Pei," Tao Niang replied softly. "As for you, why are you appearing at this hour?"
"Lord Bai Mei had an urgent matter and left. After I saw him off, I came to look for my peony hairpin. I think I might have dropped it in this room," the Fire Fox Queen replied.
Upon hearing this, Jian Lin sidestepped, helping the Fire Fox Queen search for the hairpin.
As soon as the Fire Fox Queen entered, she froze, her face showing an expression of disbelief. "This scent... Who, who was in this room just now?"
Jian Lin, who was searching for the hairpin in the corner, immediately looked at Tao Niang upon hearing this, unsure how to answer.
She didn't know if Tao Niang's business involved the Fire Fox Queen, and if she could let her know.
Tao Niang gave her a reassuring look and smiled at the Fire Fox Queen, saying, "Hong Qu, what's wrong? Who is in this private room, don't you know better than anyone?"
Hong Qu's face turned pale, and her eyes flickered. "Yes, it can't be. He wouldn't appear here, after all... he detests demons the most."
Jian Lin was secretly surprised. Who? Was the Fire Fox Queen referring to the Demon Lord?
Did they know each other? No, that would be too absurd!
Jian Lin was about to probe further when she saw the Fire Fox Queen leave without a word, not even looking for her peony hairpin, her footsteps faltering.
Jian Lin noticed that even Tao Niang looked surprised. There must be something going on here!