"Yes, I'm here," a familiar voice rang out. The Demon Lord said without a trace of guilt, "I see you're quite comfortable here, as if you don't want to leave."
Jian Lin opened her eyes and sighed heavily, filled with resentment. "Young Master, please don't joke with me. I don't have the strength to laugh right now."
The Demon Lord lowered his head, looking disdainfully at the pile of straw. After a moment's hesitation, he chose to squat beside Jian Lin and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you injured?"
Jian Lin nodded heavily, covering her chest with her hand, and said with a face full of sorrow, "Young Master, the moment you abandoned me and fled that day, my heart shattered into pieces and could never be mended."
The Demon Lord curled his lips, looking at her with a half-smile. "Your ability to spout nonsense is getting better by the day."
"Don't believe me," Jian Lin said earnestly. "I'll remember this for a lifetime, just like a nail hammered into wood. Even if you pull the nail out later, a wound will still remain!"
The Demon Lord chuckled lightly and nodded perfunctorily. "Alright, if you say so."
What a scumbag's tone! Jian Lin puffed out her cheeks and glared at him, remaining silent, preparing to use her silent protest to make the Demon Lord understand the gravity of the situation.
Their eyes met, and as they remained locked in a stalemate, the Demon Lord suddenly leaned in, so close that their breaths mingled, an extremely ambiguous distance.
It was no exaggeration to say that for a moment, Jian Lin thought the Demon Lord was going to kiss her. She froze, yet a hint of anticipation flickered within her.
Then, she heard that scoundrel say, "Your scent... it's not quite right."
Jian Lin's scalp tingled, and an overwhelming sense of shy embarrassment washed over her. Scent? What scent? Was he saying she smelled bad?
Impossible. She was a cultivator; she could maintain her cleanliness daily through magic. How could she have an unpleasant odor!
"You, you can't talk nonsense," Jian Lin was about to faint from anger.
To her surprise, the Demon Lord did not stop. He reached out, took Jian Lin's wrist, and rolled up her sleeve. He carefully sniffed her pulse point and then said in a deep voice, "I'm not talking nonsense. It's indeed not quite right, like a demonic art. I don't understand it well, but I can feel it."
Jian Lin's eyes lit up, and she suddenly remembered what the High Priest had said. "Speaking of which, the High Priest said he marked me. I checked myself these past few days, but I couldn't discern anything."
The Demon Lord continued to sniff, then released her wrist and leaned in to kiss her neck. Jian Lin was so startled she dared not breathe. Fortunately, the Demon Lord quickly straightened up and released her.
"What is this mark for? Do you have any unusual reactions?" the Demon Lord asked.
"I don't know everything, but at least it serves as a locator. He can sense where I am, and ordinary concealment spells can't fool him," Jian Lin replied in detail. "I haven't had any special reactions. My cultivation has been smooth sailing these past few days, with no impact on my spiritual power or demonic energy."
Jian Lin silently added to herself that even communicating with the system was unaffected.
"As expected, a very powerful demonic art," the Demon Lord said with great interest. "I've learned a lot from this visit."
Jian Lin couldn't help but roll her eyes. The Demon Lord was actually happy. What was there to be happy about!
"Young Master, you're still happy?" Jian Lin said with heartfelt distress. "Do you know that the Demon Emperor has known you were in the Demon City for a long time, and he even wants to kill you? At a time when your life is threatened, what are you happy about?"
"Calm down, don't be anxious," the Demon Lord snorted disdainfully. "Why shouldn't I be happy? So what if he knows I'm here? The fact that he dares not act against me proves he's a coward, that he fears me. If the Demon Emperor dared to come to my Demon Sect, to my territory and cause trouble, I would surely fight him to the death."
What he said made sense, and Jian Lin was convinced, yet she still felt something was amiss. In the end, she could only advise him, "Young Master, in any case, we can't just keep waiting. We need at least a general plan. What are you going to do next?"
"Leave the Demon City and go to the Northwest tribes. Zhan San Dao has gone there. I suspect there's a clue about the Dragon Core, and we'll follow it," the Demon Lord said slowly, then suddenly changed the subject. "However, not now. We need to find a way to remove the mark on you first."
Jian Lin's spirits lifted. Regardless of anything else, at least there was progress. As for the mark, she believed the Demon Lord would soon find a solution.
After that, Jian Lin stopped sulking and seized the time to tell the Demon Lord everything she knew, including the High Priest's near-death state and the Demon Emperor's similar condition.
However, Jian Lin did not mention the matter of her destined person.
She always felt it was a ploy by the High Priest to coax little girls. Jian Lin was afraid the Demon Lord would mock her if she said it, and after much deliberation, she still didn't speak of it.
After chatting for a long time, it was late into the night when the Demon Lord finally got up to leave, transforming into a black shadow and disappearing.
As the Demon Lord vanished, the barrier also disappeared. Jian Lin looked up and saw Xiao Li squatting outside the fence, looking at her expectantly.
Not knowing how long she had been waiting, Jian Lin waved her hand, signaling Xiao Li to come in. She stroked its fluffy back and said softly, "Xiao Li, be good. Don't tell any demons what you've seen, or Sister Apei might be taken away too."
Xiao Li lay on Jian Lin's lap, its golden eyes emitting a faint glow. It asked with great acuity, "Sister Apei, are you leaving?"
Jian Lin's hand paused. She looked down at Xiao Li, gazing into those innocent eyes, and found herself unable to lie.
"Xiao Li, you know Sister Apei is human. I will leave the Demon Realm sooner or later. If I can't leave, it means I will die." After saying the heavy words, Jian Lin couldn't help but add a lighter remark, "But don't worry, before I leave, I'll give you all my delicious food."
Demons' emotions had always been indifferent. Jian Lin believed Xiao Li would not be too sad for her.
Of course, Jian Lin had never considered taking Xiao Li with her. Firstly, she could barely protect herself, and taking Xiao Li with her would surely implicate the little one if anything happened to her.
Secondly, Xiao Li seemed to have grown accustomed to life in the death row. She had never thought of leaving, and Jian Lin didn't know if she should force her to face the outside world.
Jian Lin would eventually leave the Demon Realm, so what about Xiao Li? Should she entrust her to Tao Niang? But why should Tao Niang risk her life to pay for Jian Lin's thoughts?
"Sigh..." Jian Lin stroked Xiao Li's fur, saying with melancholy, "Xiao Li, you must be well."
Xiao Li lifted its head, nuzzled her chin, and curled up comfortably in her lap, falling asleep.
In the following days, the Demon Lord visited twice more, taking a small amount of Jian Lin's blood, seemingly having found a way to break the curse.
As the day of departure drew near, Jian Lin opened her Qiankun bag and took out everything, one by one, preparing to pick out all the food for Xiao Li as agreed.
To be honest, Jian Lin quite liked the pitiful and sensible little creature that was Xiao Li. It was a pity that her own strength was limited, and she couldn't always rely on others' power to uphold justice. For Xiao Li, this was all she could do.
Xiao Li squatted beside her, looking at the various strange items scattered on the ground. Suddenly, it became interested in a round object. It stretched out its paw, hugged it excitedly, and looked up, asking, "Sister Apei, what is this?"
Jian Lin looked over and saw that it was the Dragon Hum. "Oh, it's a fun thing, a toy for children."
She wasn't lying; the Dragon Hum was indeed a toy for children of noble families in the past.
Xiao Li responded with a sound, then lay on the ground, staring intently at the smoke inside the Dragon Hum. Its golden eyes gradually began to focus, and it looked up at Jian Lin, asking, "Children, I am a child. Then this is a toy I should play with."
Jian Lin chuckled softly at this. Seeing Xiao Li's focused expression, she thought that cats indeed loved playing with balls, but she couldn't give the Dragon Hum to it.
Jian Lin reached out and took the Dragon Hum back, holding it up and saying kindly, "Sister will get you another one. This thing was given to me by someone else, I can'tβ"
Her voice trailed off. Jian Lin's gaze was drawn to the Dragon Hum. The light in the cell was dim, and she hadn't noticed it from a distance earlier.
It was only now, holding the Dragon Hum in her hand, that she suddenly realized the smoke inside the Dragon Hum seemed to be gathering, forming a coiled dragon.
Since entering the Demon City, Jian Lin had often taken out the Dragon Hum to play with and observe, hoping to find a trace of the Dragon Core. However, the smoke had never changed.
Now, she was absolutely certain that the smoke was converging, forming the shape of a coiled dragon.
Jian Lin covered her mouth, held the Dragon Hum tightly, and listened carefully to the sounds around her.
Her cellmates next door were cursing each other, and the footsteps of the guards outside the window were orderly. No emergency had occurred.
This was an ordinary, stifling night in the death row. Why would the Dragon Hum manifest at this moment?
Jian Lin couldn't believe it. She reached out again, unfolding it, and carefully observed the shape of the Dragon Hum. That was right, it was indeed the shape of a coiled dragon.
Why was this happening? Had the Dragon Hum failed?
Xiao Li leaned closer, staring intently at the Dragon Hum from the other side. Its golden eyes flickered, and suddenly it looked up at Jian Lin.
"Sister Apei, do you know about the Dragon Core?" Xiao Li suddenly asked softly.
Jian Lin gazed into Xiao Li's eyes. In those usually pure eyes, a hint of cunning was now hidden.
"I do," Jian Lin leaned in, close to Xiao Li's face, and replied softly, "I came to the Demon Realm to find the Dragon Core."
"As expected," Xiao Li whispered to her. "Uncle Lu said not to trust humans. Humans are insatiably greedy. They are good to a demon because they have ulterior motives."
"Uncle Lu is right," Jian Lin stroked Xiao Li's head, her heart pounding, blood rushing rapidly. She trembled and said, "Xiao Li, don't trust any humans, not even demons."
"But I think Sister Apei is not a greedy person," Xiao Li's pupils constricted into straight lines, as if possessing a strange charm. It licked its nose with its tongue, its three-lobed mouth opening and closing, revealing the truth Jian Lin did not want to hear. "I like Sister Apei, and I'm willing to tell you, the Dragon Core is inβ"
Jian Lin abruptly covered Xiao Li's mouth, her eyes showing a severity never seen before. She shook her head silently. "Xiao Li, don't say it."
Xiao Li pushed Jian Lin's hand away with its paw, licked its nose again with its tongue, and its three-lobed mouth seemed to smile. "I won't say it, but Sister Apei already knows."
Jian Lin closed her eyes, gripping the Dragon Hum tightly in her hand. A tumultuous dizziness engulfed her.
She had always longed for the day she would find the Dragon Core, but when that day finally arrived, she couldn't bear it.