After His Demise, the Demon Lord's Doted Canary Finally Sees the Light - Chapter 12

A fierce wind roared through the air, whipping up violent gusts. Looking down from above, a huge fissure cut across the land, running through the entire Demon Realm.

Qiu Fuxue was blinded by the blowing sand. He hid behind Jiufang Cangze, hugging his arm.

This Abyss of a Myriad Tribulations was said to hold an ancient beast. One could vaguely make out its tall, rocky body through the churning clouds and mist.

A deep, resonant roar echoed from the abyss. Jiufang Cangze glanced at the little person who kept hiding behind him, a smirk on his lips.

“Are you scared?”

Qt Fuxue blinked and nodded slightly. “Demon Lord, why did you bring me here?”

Jiufang Cangze put his arm around his shoulder and pressed his thumb on it, neither too hard nor too soft. “You’ll know in a moment.”

Just then, a noisy sound of footsteps grew closer, accompanied by cries of struggle.

“…Let go of me!”

“…What have you done to Senior Brother…!”

The voices were somewhat familiar. Qiu Fuxue looked over curiously and saw guards escorting two people in the uniforms of the Qiannian Sect.

Xuan Xu walked in front, bowing his head in a salute. “Demon Lord, the people have been brought.”

Jiufang Cangze gave a soft “hmm,” then waved his hand, ordering them to bring the two disciples forward.

“Let go… don’t touch me!”

The two disciples were stubborn. Pushed by the guards, they refused to kneel before Jiufang Cangze. They bared their teeth and looked fierce, about to curse, but when they saw the person standing behind the demon lord, they swallowed their curses.

“…Senior Brother!”

Qiu Fuxue stepped out, a little surprised. “Yuan Fu, Yuan Qiao? What are you doing here?”

These two were some of the few disciples in the Qiannian Sect he was on good terms with. Due to his special status and his dedication to cultivation, he rarely spoke to his junior brothers and sisters all year round. Only these few, who were more playful, occasionally dared to joke with him.

Yuan Fu glared fiercely at Jiufang Cangze and explained, “Senior Brother! We heard you were captured by this demon lord, so we came to rescue you, but…”

But due to the vast difference in power, they were caught by patrolling demon soldiers as soon as they crossed the immortal-demon barrier.

Qiu Fuxue frowned, not understanding what Yuan Fu was saying.

He… was captured?

His head suddenly exploded with pain. Qiu Fuxue covered his head with his hands in agony, his body swaying. He stumbled and fell onto the person next to him.

“Ah… Demon Lord… my head… it hurts so much!”

Jiufang Cangze put one arm around his waist, and with the other hand, he lifted his chin, his gaze gentle as he met his eyes. “Little one, get rid of those messy thoughts, and your head won’t hurt anymore.”

Qiu Fuxue’s face was bewildered, with a few physiological tears in the corners of his eyes. He looked at the two who were being forced to kneel on the ground, then turned back to Jiufang Cangze.

Jiufang Cangze’s cultivation was at a level that completely suppressed him. It was difficult to break free from the power of the Joy Parasite on his own.

“These two have trespassed into the Demon Realm and intend to harm me,” Jiufang Cangze said, pointing at the two disciples. “What do you think should be done with them?”

“Bah!” Yuan Fu and Yuan Qiao saw that something was wrong with Qiu Fuxue, as if he had been given a soul-stealing drug by the demon lord. They were furious. “Jiufang Cangze! What did you do to Senior Brother?!”

“What did I do?” Jiufang Cangze smiled maliciously, his lips deliberately brushing against the fair cheek of the person beside him. “I’ve done everything that should be done and shouldn’t be done. Which one do you want to hear about?”

After enduring that moment of sharp pain, Qiu Fuxue threw himself into Jiufang Cangze’s arms, gripping his clothes. His voice was choked with sobs. “Demon Lord… please… let them go, okay…?”

Jiufang Cangze’s face darkened upon hearing this. He pinched his neck with his hand, but didn’t tighten his grip. “Are you saying that in your heart, my safety is less important than these two insects?”

Tears streamed down his face. Qiu Fuxue frantically shook his head. “No, it’s not… the Demon Lord is very important, I…”

…He just hadn’t forgotten his true nature.

He was a human, not a bloodthirsty demon.

“Hmph!” Jiufang Cangze forcefully threw him to the ground, ordering Xuan Xu to toss the two disciples into the Abyss of a Myriad Tribulations.

The ancient beast in the abyss let out a low roar at just the right moment. Yuan Fu and Yuan Qiao were so terrified that their legs went weak, and their bodies were filled with fear.

“No—!”

Qiu Fuxue crawled to Jiufang Cangze’s feet, holding onto his legs and begging with a voice hoarse from screaming.

However, his unextinguished true nature had already annoyed the Demon Lord. Jiufang Cangze’s face showed disgust. He kicked him away with force.

“You fool! If you’re not obedient again, I’ll throw you in with them!”

The kick landed on his chest. Qiu Fuxue tilted his head back and spat out a mouthful of blood. He then heard two miserable screams. He frantically scrambled to his feet, but Yuan Fu and Yuan Qiao were already gone.

In their place, there were a few more red streaks on the mist of the Abyss of a Myriad Tribulations.

He had killed two more innocent lives.

Back in the sleeping chamber, Qiu Fuxue was bound with thorny vines and hung in the golden cage, enduring the erosion of demonic energy day and night.

His consciousness was hazy. It seemed as if all his blood and tears had been drained. His mouth was slightly open, and he pieced together fragmented words from his hoarse throat.

“Demon Lord… please… I know I was wrong…”

Jiufang Cangze came in and saw the person hanging in the golden cage, stained with blood, mumbling something incoherently.

He stood with his hands behind his back in front of the cage. Qiu Fuxue suddenly shivered, his body shaking. He struggled to open his blood-crusted eyelids.

“…Demon Lord.”

Jiufang Cangze said coldly, “I can’t afford to keep someone as disloyal as you.”

A red light flashed. The golden cage suddenly disappeared, and Qiu Fuxue fell to the ground, covered in wounds.

Then Jiufang Cangze turned his back on him, leaving him with an indifferent back. “Get out.”

The person on the ground widened his eyes in disbelief. A terrifying thought surfaced in his mind.

He had been abandoned by the Demon Lord.

The affection created by the Joy Parasite was deeply rooted in his heart. Qiu Fuxue had no time to deal with his physical pain. He crawled desperately to the demon lord’s feet, crying out, “Demon Lord… Fuxue knows he was wrong! Fuxue truly knows he was wrong, Demon Lord! Please, forgive me this one time…”

In a place where Qiu Fuxue couldn’t see, a hint of satisfaction crept into Jiufang Cangze’s eyes. He pretended to be merciful and turned around, placing his foot on the bloody back.

“Qiu Fuxue, you only get this one chance.”

These few words were enough to make the love-struck fool feel as if he had been granted a general pardon.

His festering wounds went untreated. In the blink of an eye, he was fitted with shiny golden shackles. The joy in his heart now overshadowed the pain in his body. With a weak smile, Qiu Fuxue wanted to burrow into the arms of the person he loved as he had before, but he hesitated, noticing how dirty he was.

Jiufang Cangze saw through his little thoughts and generously opened his arms to him, not minding his filth at all.

Having the person he loved back, Qiu Fuxue was as excited as a little beast, rubbing himself against the familiar embrace, messing up his already loose clothes.

“Don’t move.”

Jiufang Cangze commanded in a low voice. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and a flame of anger rose within him.

Qiu Fuxue immediately stopped moving and sat obediently, letting the demon lord play with his jade-like hands.

The Demon Lord really liked his hands.

“Qiu Fuxue…” Jiufang Cangze suddenly called out, holding him tightly from behind and burying his head in the crook of his neck, greedily inhaling the demonic energy converted by the spiritual orb.

“Demon Lord?” Qiu Fuxue tilted his head.

The air was still for a long time. Jiufang Cangze was still resting on his shoulder, his eyes closed, as if he had fallen asleep.

Qiu Fuxue tilted his head to look. He was attracted by the silently surging demonic tattoo on his forehead. His fingertip was about to touch it when he heard the demon lord suddenly let out a low, dreamy murmur.

“…Don’t leave me.”