Chang Yuan awoke with his head resting on Er Sheng’s lap, while she was gently poking at the furrow that had formed between his brows during sleep.
Their eyes met quietly, and they stared at each other until Er Sheng suddenly covered Chang Yuan’s eyes with her hand. She closed her own eyes and shook her head: “Accidentally went cross-eyed… ugh… so uncomfortable.”
Chang Yuan spoke with a hoarse voice: “Rub my eyes too.”
Er Sheng obediently rubbed his eyes: “Chang Yuan.” She stopped her movements and stared at him intently. “Shall we go to the Nine Abyssal Demon Capital together?”
Chang Yuan startled slightly. Looking at the dark red in Er Sheng’s pupils, his heart skipped a beat, filled with aching tenderness. He remembered that his Er Sheng once had the most beautiful eyes in the world, black and pure as could be.
Seeing Chang Yuan’s long silence, Er Sheng felt slightly panicked: “You… don’t want to go? Do you… hate demons?”
With a soft sigh, Chang Yuan reached out to stroke Er Sheng’s cheek: “I love Er Sheng.” Loved her too much to hate any of her flaws.
Dragons, as creatures, weren’t subtle with emotions. Like their techniques, they were overwhelming and dominating, sweeping away thousands with a single move. Their love and hate were the same—either none at all or all-encompassing.
“I love Chang Yuan too.” Er Sheng held his hand, lowering her eyes. “Very much.”
“Let’s set out for the Nine Abyssal Demon Capital,” Chang Yuan said. “Together.”
Er Sheng nodded, but couldn’t help recalling Kong Meiren’s cold words in her mind—sooner or later, you won’t be able to control your desires, and you’ll destroy him with your own hands.
Destroy Chang Yuan? Only if she truly went mad. Er Sheng then thought of the violent killing intent constantly surging in her heart, and her face suddenly went pale. Wasn’t she already mad now?
Chang Yuan sat up, patting his clothes, and as if suddenly remembering something, asked: “How was the poison in my body cured? Did you find the one who poisoned me?”
Er Sheng didn’t want him to know how she’d obtained the antidote. After a long silence, she pointed at the leaves overhead: “Chang Yuan, look, summer’s almost here. This July I’ll turn eighteen. Mother told me that when girls reach this age, they can have children. When the time comes, shall I lay you a round dragon egg?”
Chang Yuan’s ears suddenly turned red. He was silent for a moment, then pressed his lips together: “All right…” he said gently, “July… it’s soon.”
Laying eggs… would probably be soon too.
Thus distracted by Er Sheng, Chang Yuan completely forgot what he’d originally asked, lost in his thoughts until his face turned crimson.
Er Sheng thought that her heart must have truly turned bad, learning to use her advantages to tease Chang Yuan.
Purple Scale Town, which Kong Meiren had mentioned, wasn’t easy to find, and Chang Yuan was injured, unable to move quickly. Er Sheng feared they wouldn’t reach the place Kong Meiren specified in three days. Her anxiety showed, and Chang Yuan, seeing this, thought Er Sheng was worried about his condition. He comforted her: “Being able to wake so quickly after being poisoned is already fortunate. Naturally, I can’t summon divine power. Er Sheng needn’t worry.”
Er Sheng dared not tell Chang Yuan the real reason, only pretending not to be anxious. The two traveled with frequent stops, losing much time. On the second evening, they encountered an unexpected person on the road.
Er Sheng’s martial nephew—Chen Zhu.
The youth who once trembled at Chang Yuan’s presence had grown as tall as Chang Yuan himself, now in the prime of his life. When Er Sheng met him, Chen Zhu had just slain a pig demon. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned alertly, only to find Er Sheng, whom he hadn’t seen in ages… and her husband.
Chen Zhu’s face, which had just flushed from exertion, immediately paled: “Er Sheng! You…” He was about to rebuke her as he usually did when meeting her in the mountains, but remembered there was nothing wrong with Er Sheng being with this man—they were husband and wife after all. Chen Zhu’s throat caught, leaving him momentarily speechless.
Seeing Chen Zhu, Er Sheng immediately became wary. She looked around and, after confirming no others were present, stared at Chen Zhu: “I won’t return to Wufang. Leave. I don’t want to fight you.”
Chen Zhu started, his brows furrowing deeply: “What are you saying? What’s happened to you, and what’s this order from the Immortal Lord about? Why does it seem like a warrant for your arrest? I was only in closed cultivation for a few months—what trouble have you caused now?”
Though Chen Zhu was a generation below Er Sheng in seniority, he relied on having entered the sect earlier and being naturally gifted in cultivation, working hard to achieve much better results than Er Sheng had before. When speaking to Er Sheng, he mostly lectured her. Er Sheng disliked listening and would use her seniority to pressure him. The two could argue endlessly over small matters. But whenever Er Sheng got into trouble, Chen Zhu would always help her bear it.
Today, however, Er Sheng didn’t argue with him, only saying flatly: “I haven’t caused trouble. Things just developed this way, and I have no choice.”
Chen Zhu was silent for a moment before stepping forward to pull Er Sheng away from Chang Yuan’s side: “Whatever the case, let’s return to Wufang first. Whatever wrong you’ve done, I’ll help you bear it.”
Chang Yuan’s gaze fell on their clasped hands, remembering the emotions that had surged in Chen Zhu’s eyes whenever he saw Er Sheng these past years. Chang Yuan’s eyes narrowed subtly. He wasn’t ignorant of such feelings but had never taken Chen Zhu seriously. In his view, it was merely a youth’s unrequited love—Er Sheng’s heart would always hold only him.
But now things were different. He loved Er Sheng and cared deeply for her, and they had promised to lay a dragon egg together. He could no longer allow others to harbor improper thoughts about Er Sheng, not even in their minds.
Chang Yuan opened his mouth to speak, but Er Sheng had already consciously withdrawn her hand from Chen Zhu’s, saying seriously: “I won’t return to Wufang. Never again. I’m going to the Nine Abyssal Demon Capital.”
Hearing this, Chen Zhu was greatly shocked. His expression changed as he shouted: “What nonsense! If the Immortal Lord hears of this, he certainly won’t spare you!”
“Since you say the Immortal Lord is pursuing me, then he must already know.” Er Sheng lowered her head, not letting Chen Zhu see the bitter smile on her lips. “I’ve fallen to demonic cultivation, killed people. The Immortal Lord probably wants to capture and eliminate me by any means necessary.”
Chen Zhu’s whole body froze as he stared at Er Sheng, finally noticing the faint demonic flame mark on her brow. His mind reeled, leaving him momentarily dazed.
“Return to Wufang. I don’t want to fight you, much less accidentally kill you.” After speaking, Er Sheng took Chang Yuan’s hand and continued walking forward.
The delicate hand holding his was quite sweaty. Chang Yuan watched as she slightly lowered her head, walking quickly and urgently past Chen Zhu. Chang Yuan thought that perhaps Er Sheng wasn’t as indifferent as she appeared.
Yesterday’s friend had become today’s enemy.
Though Er Sheng had fallen to demonic cultivation, her mind was still clear. She had always been someone who feared loneliness and loss. Speaking such words now, the most heartbroken person was probably herself.
Chang Yuan sighed, gripping Er Sheng’s hand tightly. At least he could still stay by her side.
“Stop!”
Seeing Er Sheng about to leave, Chen Zhu grew anxious. With a “swoosh,” he drew his sword, pointing it at Chang Yuan: “It must be you! Er Sheng was fine before—you must have deceived her with some nonsense!”
Er Sheng parried Chen Zhu’s sword with her own: “Don’t lay a hand on Chang Yuan.”
Seeing how she protected that so-called husband while treating himself so coldly, Chen Zhu grew furious. Pointing at her nose, he scolded: “You heartless girl! How can you not even distinguish who truly cares for you? How can you face your master and senior sister like this? How can you face the Immortal Lord? How can you face Wufang? How can you face… face me?” Chen Zhu’s eyes reddened with urgency as he threatened, “I’ll say it once more—return to Wufang with me, or don’t blame me for being discourteous.”
“Chang Yuan is very good to me,” Er Sheng said. “Chen Zhu, I’m sorry.”
With those words, Er Sheng pulled Chang Yuan away, their figures flashing as they attempted to flee. Chen Zhu enraged, thrust his sword at Er Sheng, determined to stop them both.
He didn’t know that Er Sheng’s power had advanced tremendously these past days, far surpassing his own. She immediately deflected his killing move with a sword flourish. As Chen Zhu struck again, Er Sheng felt an uncontrollable killing intent rising in her heart.
No… she warned herself, this was Chen Zhu, she couldn’t…
The Yi Lin sword’s strike deviated, and Chen Zhu seized the moment of Er Sheng’s distraction. Stepping forward, his hand curled into a claw, using a great capturing technique to grab Er Sheng’s wrist while his other hand used his sword hilt to forcefully knock away her sword.
“Come back with me!”
The Yi Lin sword, made from Chang Yuan’s dragon scale, contained great righteous energy and helped suppress the growth of demonic energy within Er Sheng. Now in battle, with the Yi Lin sword suddenly lost from her hand, Er Sheng had nothing to suppress her demonic energy. It suddenly grew wild—her eyes turned blood-red as she grabbed Chen Zhu’s hand that held her wrist. Chen Zhu’s heart jolted in shock as Er Sheng applied force, forcefully dislocating his wrist.
Chen Zhu cried out in pain, his heart even more shocked, his eyes full of disbelief: “Girl! You…”
Er Sheng moved like a demon, taking two steps forward to grab Chen Zhu’s throat. Her blue-black lips spoke in an otherworldly voice as if possessed: “I gave you a chance to leave.” At this moment, Er Sheng’s nails suddenly grew extraordinarily long, digging into Chen Zhu’s throat as blood slowly dripped out.
Seeing blood, the look in Er Sheng’s eyes grew more excited.
Chang Yuan, having lost his divine power, could only watch silently from the side. Seeing this, he knew that if Er Sheng killed Chen Zhu now, she would deeply regret it when she came to her senses. He picked up a stone and accurately struck several acupoints on Er Sheng’s arm.
Er Sheng’s hand went limp, and Chen Zhu fell to the ground, clutching his throat, his expression full of horror. Now he finally fully believed that the bad-tempered, willful, playful girl had truly become a demon.
Er Sheng stared at the stone on the ground for a while before slowly turning to Chang Yuan: “Why did you help him?”
Chang Yuan slowly walked to Er Sheng’s side. Though he had no divine power now, and the demonically possessed Er Sheng could tear out his heart at any moment, Chang Yuan paid it no mind. He patted her head as usual: “If you kill him, you’ll regret it more than anything—both regret and pain.”
Er Sheng irritably touched her nails: “But this urge to kill in my heart… it feels like it’s about to explode… it’s so painful.”
Chang Yuan stroked the fine hair on Er Sheng’s forehead: “Endure it.”
Er Sheng obediently bit her already demonically blackened lower lip, quietly enduring the impulse in her heart.
She trusted Chang Yuan and only Chang Yuan now.
Chang Yuan glanced at Chen Zhu, his thoughts turning slightly. He immediately picked up the Yi Lin sword and had her hold it properly, then led Er Sheng away from the place. He thought, if they couldn’t see it, perhaps she wouldn’t be troubled anymore.
After walking far away, when Chen Zhu hadn’t pursued them, Er Sheng stopped and refused to walk further: “Chang Yuan, I still want to…”
Chang Yuan turned back to look at her, and after a long silence, suddenly lowered his head, his lips gently capturing hers. Using the little technique he had finally learned, his tongue parted Er Sheng’s lips. But once he invaded her territory, he froze stupidly.
Hmm… what should he do next?
At this moment, Er Sheng’s tongue suddenly moved slightly. The two soft things touched and immediately separated, as if both were startled by the other. After a moment’s hesitation, Chang Yuan carefully touched that soft thing again. This time Er Sheng tightly closed her eyes.
As if divinely inspired, Chang Yuan had another moment of enlightenment…
It was a long kiss—their first real kiss. Afterward, the blackness receded from Er Sheng’s lips, and the blood-red in her eyes retreated once again. Chang Yuan smiled proudly and softly: “Now you’ve completely forgotten about it, right?”
Er Sheng nodded, remained dazed for a moment, then quickly shook her head: “I still want more!”
Seeing her bright eyes, Chang Yuan couldn’t suppress the joy in his heart. Their lips met again, and both obediently closed their eyes.
She wanted, he gave—it was that simple.