From paradise to purgatory—the taste of the world’s greatest joy and sorrow was nothing more than this.

Gui Yansheng stood in place like a puppet, his face pale as he said: “I don’t believe it.”

“Don’t believe it?” The woman laughed, looking at him as if she were looking at the most pitiful person in the world: “Right now, you can go out, randomly grab someone on the street and ask them, then you’ll know whether I’m lying to you. The decree to execute half-demons is written on the vermilion wall at the city gate—why don’t you go see for yourself?”

Gui Yansheng pressed his lips tightly together.

His hands were clenched so tightly into fists that his nails nearly embedded into his palms. Yet he didn’t speak, only stubbornly staring at the person before him, as if by not believing it, the matter wouldn’t be true.

The person across from him sighed: “How pitiful. I suppose you came to Heishi City to gain the Demon Lord’s recognition. Your mother was a mortal, and your half-demon body…” She thought of something, her voice becoming subtle: “However, even if you weren’t of half-demon blood, you probably still wouldn’t gain the Demon Lord’s recognition. On your way here, you should have seen Heishi City decorated with lanterns and colored banners everywhere, because…” She smiled charmingly: “The Demon Lord is taking a wife.”

“Taking a wife?” Gui Yansheng’s gaze became confused for an instant.

“Yes, the future Demon Empress is of the Demon Realm’s pure Heavenly Demon bloodline, a perfect match made in heaven with the Demon Lord. Right now, all of Heishi City is witnessing this marriage.” The woman seemed to think he wasn’t suffering enough and stabbed at his heart with each word: “At this time, for you to appear now, what your fate will be—I don’t need to say more for you to know.”

Gui Yansheng’s steps staggered, and he spoke with difficulty: “I still don’t believe it.”

“Don’t believe it?” The woman looked at him, smiled thoughtfully, then suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his hand: “Then I’ll take you to see with your own eyes.”

The moment those hands covered his, his vision blurred. When he raised his eyes again, before him was no longer the eerie cave dwelling. His entire body couldn’t move, nor could he make a sound. Gui Yansheng had become a golden little snake, coiled around the woman’s wrist.

This was a great hall, extremely luxurious and resplendent with gold and jade. On a bright red jade couch spread with snow-white wool cushions, a beautiful woman reclined languidly. This woman wore black robes that men would wear, her raven-black long hair bound up with a hibiscus jade crown. Her appearance was gorgeous beyond description.

Maidservants brought clear water for washing hands, and the clear water was placed in an exquisite golden cup. The black-robed woman unhurriedly dipped her hands in the clear water, carefully wiped them clean with snow-white silk, then casually picked up a mirror from the side to look at herself. Suddenly, she smiled charmingly, truly dazzling and of unparalleled beauty.

Attendants carried forward a chest, respectfully saying: “Your Highness, the wedding dress that the Demon Lord ordered to be made has been delivered to the hall. Would you like to examine it?”

The black-robed woman carelessly glanced at the chest: “Just leave it there. I’ll look at it when I have time.”

She seemed very indifferent, as if having someone deliver wedding dresses and being carefully attended to was only natural. She appeared to have never suffered any hardship, her expression lazy yet proud. This pride made her the most eye-catching presence in this magnificent hall.

Inappropriately, Gui Yansheng suddenly thought of Jiang Yiru.

It had been many years since Jiang Yiru’s death. When she was alive, their mother and son relationship wasn’t as intimate as other families’ mothers and sons. So that now, when Gui Yansheng thought of her, he only remembered the constant coughing and tears in the house, and her increasingly hunched figure.

Jiang Yiru had originally been very beautiful, too. According to the villagers, when she first drifted to the village, some men coveted her beauty and wanted to marry her. But in Gui Yansheng’s memory, his beautiful mother seemed never to have existed. She was always timid and cautious; others’ gossip and criticism always made her nervous. She was melancholy all day long. Once, when someone in the village was getting married, she leaned against the door, watching the bridal sedan pass by, her eyes full of twilight gloom.

That night, he woke up in the middle of the night and heard Jiang Yiru secretly crying in the room.

Demon Lord—what an impressive-sounding name, born to look down upon all living beings and trample mortals underfoot. He didn’t understand—since the Demon Lord looked down upon mortals and considered mortal blood base and lowly, why had he entangled himself with his mother? The golden basin this woman used to wash her hands, Jiang Yiru couldn’t afford even if she embroidered handkerchiefs for a lifetime. And the wedding dress that Jiang Yiru had yearned for was casually placed aside by this person, too lazy to even glance at it.

Why were people’s lifetimes so unfair? Since he was unwilling to have a relationship with them, why create all this tragedy?

A slightly cool sensation fell on her wrist, and the woman, coiled with the small snake, was startled.

That golden little snake, looking at the woman in the hall, shed a tear.

…

The Mingming River of Heishi City seemed even deeper than when he had come.

Giant waves roared in his ears as the youth stood numbly in place, no longer having any light in his eyes.

The woman smiled slightly, her voice gentle: “I originally wanted to keep you to be my next face skin. But you happen to be the Demon Lord’s son, born with the Demon Lord’s bloodline protection—no matter what, I can do nothing to you. Since that’s the case, I might as well do a favor.”

“Why don’t you inform the Demon Lord of my whereabouts and let him kill me?” Gui Yansheng said coldly. “Demon Lord bloodline… might as well call it a base half-demon body.”

“I can’t kill you.” The woman smiled: “What if someday you awaken your Demon Lord’s yuanli and kill your way back to Heishi City, becoming Heishi City’s next master?” She moved closer to Gui Yansheng, her words ambiguous: “The current Demon Lord is Heishi City’s tenth master—who knows if you might become the eleventh? You must know, in this world, the strong are supreme. If a half-demon is truly strong enough, regicide isn’t impossible.”

“You’ve got the wrong idea.” Gui Yansheng’s voice was cold and heavy: “I will never, ever come to Heishi City again.”

The Demon Realm was not his place of belonging. A son who was to be deliberately eliminated by his father seemed like a joke here.

Forget it. He had yearned to find his father and clarify his origins. Now that the time had come, he discovered the truth was so unbearable. He wasn’t a demon race, nor was he a human race—he was someone rejected by both races. Fortunately… Gui Yansheng gripped the fish spine beneath him tightly. Fortunately, he still had a companion who had shared hardships with him.

At least Xiao Chun would never abandon him.

The black giant fish drew closer and closer to the opposite shore. From the dense forest, a heavy, bloody scent faintly drifted over. This fishy smell drilled into his nostrils with the wind, and Gui Yansheng suddenly felt a wave of unease.

When he left, Xiao Chun waited for him here. She appeared gentle and soft but was clever and bold. She was the most trustworthy person in this world, the only remaining warmth he had in this world.

Gui Yansheng found Xiao Chun’s broken corpse deep in the dense forest.

Her heart cavity was empty, her expression terrified, dying with eyes wide open.